Light-curing printer display device, 3D printer, control method and device, and electronic device

Disclosed are light-curing printer display devices, 3-dimensional (3D) printers, control methods and devices, and electronic devices. In some embodiments, the light-curing printer display device include a screen, a light source assembly, a shielding plate, and a controller. In other embodiments, the light source assembly is arranged on a back side of the screen and the light source assembly includes multiple Light Emitting Diode (LED) light sources independent of each other. The shielding plate is arranged between the screen and the light source assembly and is provided with multiple light holes with the same number as that of the multiple LED light sources. The multiple light holes correspond to the multiple LED light sources one by one. The controller is electrically connected with the multiple LED light sources and is configured to control at least one LED light source to emit light.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Chinese application number 202110828290.9, filed on Jul. 23, 2021, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The disclosure relates generally to printer displays. More specifically, the disclosure relates to light-curing printer display devices, 3-dimensional (3D) printers, control methods and devices, and electronic devices.

BACKGROUND

An ultraviolet light source used by a light-curing printer refers to irradiation of a single and extensive high-power ultraviolet lamp source. Although a Light Emitting Diode (LED) light source has high directivity, there are still a few light sources passing through within a wide-angle range. As a result, the exposure quality is influenced. Regarding the problem that the exposure quality is poor in the prior art, no effective solution has been proposed yet so far.

SUMMARY

In some embodiments, the disclosure provides a light-curing printer display device including a screen, a light source assembly, a shielding plate, and a controller. The light source assembly is arranged on a back side of the screen. The light source assembly includes multiple Light Emitting Diode (LED) light sources independent of each other. The shielding plate is arranged between the screen and the light source assembly. The shielding plate is provided with multiple light holes with the same number as that of the multiple LED light sources. The multiple light holes correspond to the multiple LED light sources one by one. The controller is electrically connected with the multiple LED light sources. The controller is configured to control at least one LED light source to emit light.

Optionally, the light source assembly has a shape selected from the group consisting of a rectangle, a rhombus, a circle, and a triangle.

Optionally, the at least one LED light source is configured to: receive a content to be displayed; determine an area of the screen to be exposed according to the content to be displayed; determine a control instruction by referring to the area of the screen to be exposed; and control the at least one LED light source to emit light according to the control instruction.

Optionally, a diameter of the light hole is

H⁢1H⨯2⁢R.
Here, H1is a distance between an upper surface of the shielding plate and the multiple LED light sources; H is a distance from the multiple LED light sources to the screen; and R is a radius of a round light spot projected by an LED light source through the light hole. In addition, following constraint condition is satisfied:

Optionally, a distance between two adjacent light holes or two adjacent LED light sources is √{square root over (3)}R.

Optionally, the light source assembly has a rectangular shape, and the light source assembly may include twenty-two LED light sources independent of each other.

In other embodiments, the disclosure provides a 3-dimensional (3D) printer, including the light-curing printer display device mentioned above.

In further embodiments, the disclosure provides a zone-controllable control method including the following steps: (1) receiving a content to be displayed; (2) determining an area of a screen to be exposed according to the content to be displayed; (3) determining a control instruction by referring to the area of the screen to be exposed; and (4) controlling at least one Light Emitting Diode (LED) light source to emit light according to the control instruction.

Optionally, the disclosure provides an electronic device including a memory and a processor. The memory stores a computer program therein; and the processor is configured to run the computer program to execute the above zone-controllable control method.

In some embodiments, the disclosure provides a zone-controllable control device including a receiving module, an area determination module, an instruction determination module, and a control module. The receiving module is configured to receive a content to be displayed. The area determination module is configured to determine an area of a screen to be exposed according to the content to be displayed. The instruction determination module is configured to determine a control instruction by referring to the area of the screen to be exposed. The control module is configured to control at least one Light Emitting Diode (LED) light source to emit light according to the control instruction.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following describes some non-limiting exemplary embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. The described embodiments are merely a part rather than all of the embodiments of the invention. All other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the disclosure shall fall within the scope of the disclosure.

It is to be noted that terms “first”, “second” and the like in the description, claims and the above-mentioned drawings of the application are used for distinguishing similar objects rather than describing a specific sequence or a precedence order. It should be understood that the data used in such a way may be exchanged where appropriate, in order that the embodiments of the application described here can be implemented. In addition, terms “include” and “have”, and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, it is not limited for processes, methods, systems, products, or devices containing a series of steps or units to clearly list those steps or units, and other steps or units which are not clearly listed or are inherent to these processes, methods, products, or devices may be included instead.

In the application, orientation or position relationships indicated by terms “upper”, “lower”, “left”, “right”, “front”, “back”, “top”, “bottom”, “inside”, “outside” “in”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “transverse”, “longitudinal” and the like are orientation or position relationships shown in the drawings. These terms are mainly used to better describe the application and its embodiments, rather than limit that the indicated devices, components and constituting parts must be in specific orientations or structured and operated in the specific orientations.

Furthermore, the above-mentioned part of terms may be not only used to represent the orientation or position relationships, but used to represent other meanings, for example, term “on” may be used to represent certain relationship of dependence or connection relationship in some cases. For those of ordinary skill in the art, specific meanings of these terms in the application may be understood according to a specific condition.

In addition, terms “mount”, “configure”, “provide”, “connect”, “link” and “sleeved” should be broadly understood. For example, the term “connect” may be fixed connection, detachable connection, or integral construction. As an alternative, the term “connect” may be mechanical connection, or electrical connection. As an alternative, the term “connect” may be direct connection, or indirect connection through a medium, or communication in two devices, components or constituting parts. For those of ordinary skill in the art, specific meanings of the above-mentioned terms in the disclosure may be understood according to a specific condition.

As shown inFIGS.1-7, the disclosure illustrates multiple embodiments of light-curing printer display devices. As shown inFIG.1, a display device may include: a screen1, a shielding plate4, and a controller5. A light source assembly2is arranged on a back side of the screen1and includes multiple LED light sources3independent of each other. The shielding plate4is arranged between the screen1and the light source assembly2. The shielding plate4is provided with multiple light holes6with the same number as that of the LED light sources3thereon. The multiple light holes6correspond to the multiple LED light sources3one by one. The controller5is electrically connected with the multiple LED light sources3independent of each other and is configured to control at least one LED light source3to emit light.

The screen1plays a role of displaying a corresponding content upon light projection, and the light source assembly2plays a role of projecting the light to the screen1. In the embodiment, the light source assembly2includes the multiple LED light sources3independent of each other, and each LED light source3may emit light independently, and the shielding plate4plays a role of shielding light. The light from the LED light source3may be shielded through the shielding plate4. This way, the light may be projected to the screen1only through the light hole6on the shielding plate4, and the light that is not needed is therefore shielded. As a result, the light source boundary may be more distinct, and accordingly, the exposure quality may be effectively improved. In addition, the light hole6may control an area of a round light spot formed by projection of the light from the LED light source3within a rated value. This way, an area of an overlapping area between two adjacent round light spots may become controllable.

In order to minimize the overlapping area between the round light spots formed by projection of the two adjacent LED light sources3as far as possible on the premise that there is no aphotic gap, the overlapping area may be correspondingly designed. Optionally, the diameter of the light hole6may be

H⁢1H⨯2⁢R.
Here, H1is a distance between an upper surface of the shielding plate4and the LED light source3, H is a distance from the LED light source3to the screen1, R is the radius of the round light spot projected by the LED light source3through the light hole6, and a constraint condition is satisfied:

H⁢1<32⁢H.
Optionally, a distance between two adjacent light holes6or two adjacent LED light sources3is VR. If there is no overlapping area, because the light spot projected by the LED light source3is round, the aphotic gap will inevitably occur between the two adjacent round light spots during splicing of the light spots. Thus, the overlapping area is inevitably needed, as to guarantee that there is no aphotic gap. Based on this, a distribution shape shown inFIG.4may be arranged. Assuming that the radius of the round light spot is R and the range±15° (a total of 30°) of the LED light source3may be an effective incidence part, a length of the overlapping area along an axial direction of two light beads may be (2−√{square root over (3)})R.FIG.5shows a lateral schematic diagram of an illuminating path, an interval between the LED light sources3is √{square root over (3)}R, a distance H from an LED light to the screen1is 2(2−√{square root over (3)})R. The distance from the upper surface of the shielding plate4to the LED light source3may be set to H1in consideration of the thickness and the mounting condition of the shielding plate4, and then the diameter of an opening of the shielding plate4is

H⁢1H⨯2⁢R.
The diameter of the opening of the shielding plate4may be less than the distance between the two LED light sources3, so

H⁢1<32⁢H.
The shielding plate4is designed and the LED light sources are arranged according to the above size constraints. This way, the overlapping area between the round light spots formed by projection of the two adjacent LED light sources3may be minimized as far as possible on the premise that there is no aphotic gap. Accordingly, the loss may be reduced, and the service life may be prolonged.

In some embodiments, with a shielding mode, an objective of greatly minimizing the overlapping area between the round light spots may be achieved by projection of the two adjacent LED light sources3through the screen1, the light source assembly2, arranged on the back side of the screen1and including the multiple LED light sources3independent of each other, the shielding plate4, arranged between the screen1and the light source assembly2and provided with the multiple light holes6with the same number as that of the LED light sources3thereon, the multiple light holes6corresponding to the multiple LED light sources3one by one, and the controller5, electrically connected with the multiple LED light sources3independent of each other and configured to control the at least one LED light source3to emit light on the premise that there is no aphotic gap. This way, the technical effect of reducing the loss and prolonging the service life may be achieved, and accordingly, the technical problem that the loss is great and the service life is short may be solved.

Optionally, the light source assembly2may be in the form of a rectangle, a rhombus, a circle, or a triangle including the multiple LED light sources3independent of each other. By referring to the above design of the shielding plate4, the multiple LED light sources3independent of each other may be arranged in different shapes, for example, the rectangle, the rhombus, the circle, or the triangle.

Optionally, the at least one LED light source3emits light. Such a process may include the following steps: a content to be displayed is received; an area of the screen to be exposed is determined according to the content to be displayed; a control instruction is determined by referring to the area to be exposed; and the at least one LED light source3is controlled to emit light according to the control instruction.

As for processing of the overlapping area, a zone control method may be taken to process. When there are two overlapping light spots, as shown inFIG.6, assuming that non-overlapping parts are A and B respectively and an overlapping part is C. A, B and C are mutually disjoint (A∩B=0, A∩c=0, and B∩C=0). A light spot D is defined as A+C, which corresponds to a light source D. A light spot E is defined as B+C, which corresponds to a light source E.

When an exposed area is positioned in the area A, the light source D emits light.

When the exposed area is positioned in the area B, the light source E emits light.

When the exposed area is positioned in the area A and the area B, the light source D and the light source E emit light synchronously.

When the exposed area is positioned in the area A and the area C, the light source D emits light.

When the exposed area is positioned in the area B, and the area C, the light source E emits light.

When the exposed area is positioned in the area C, only one of the light source D and the light source E emits light.

When the exposed area is positioned in the area A, the area B, and the area C, the light source D and the light source E emit light synchronously, and the screen1may be in a semi-opened semi-closed gray status. The gray status has different modes of implementation on the different screens1and may be implemented by controlling a liquid crystal status or implementing time division multiplexing.

The content to be displayed may include displayed point location information. By referring to the point location information, the area of the screen1to be exposed may be converted, and by referring to the area to be exposed, the control instruction may be determined (the control instruction may be determined by referring to the above situation). The above controlled lighting is controlled by the controller5according to the control instruction. Each LED light source3may be independently controlled with a programmable logic device or a dedicated control device5(the controller5). The LED light sources3may be arranged in the form of a matrix, a rhombus, a circle, a triangle, and other shapes according to the actual need of a 3D printer. Because the screen1is presented as the rectangle so far, the LED light sources3are arranged in the form of the rectangle. The different light sources may be controlled according to the need of exposing an image. As shown inFIG.2, the independent light source may be arranged in the form of the matrix by the LED light sources3. When a brown V-like shape shown inFIG.3needs to be exposed, only the LEDs of a corresponding part under the V-like shape need to emit light, while other LEDs are kept in an OFF status. Not all LEDs are required to light up compared with the previous solutions. This way, fewer LEDs emit light, and less energy may be consumed. There is no light for irradiating the other parts on the screen1as well, and no heat will be generated by these parts. As a result, the temperature of the screen1may be reduced, the service life of the screen1may be prolonged, and the power consumption may be effectively reduced.

Optionally, the light source assembly2is in the form of a rectangle including 22 LED light sources3independent of each other.

The screen1is rectangle, but the light spot is round. The round light spot fits the rectangle screen1, thereby increasing some losses. As shown inFIG.7, there are 5 lines of light sources and 4-5 light sources in each line, namely, 22 light spots in total. The radius of the light spot is R, the total area of a light spot part is

(1⁢73⁢π+4⁢9⁢32)⁢R2,
a maximum rectangle is 7R×4√{square root over (3)}R=28√{square root over (3)}R2, thus the effective rate of fitting is

2⁢8⁢3⁢R2(1⁢73⁢π+49⁢32)⁢R2=8⁢0.5⁢1⁢%.
Along with different fitting of the round light spot and the screen1in the form of the matrix, the fitting efficiency may be further adjusted.

Assuming that an average exposed area of each layer is 30% of a total area of the screen1, without considering the difference between a central part and an edge part, and assuming that the illumination of the 30° area of the center is 60% of the light from the LED light source3. On the basis of the consistent light source power consumption, the energy saved compared with previous modes may be: 1−30%÷80.51%÷60%=37.90%.

As shown inFIG.8, the disclosure further illustrates zone-controllable control methods. In an embodiment, the zone-controllable control method may include the following steps.

S101: a content to be displayed is received.

S102: an area of a screen1to be exposed is determined according to the content to be displayed.

S103: a control instruction is determined by referring to the area to be exposed.

S104: at least one LED light source3that is arranged independently in a display is controlled to emit light according to the control instruction.

As for processing of the overlapping area, a zone control method may be taken to process. When there are two overlapping light spots, as shown inFIG.6, assuming that non-overlapping parts are A and B respectively and an overlapping part is C. A, B, and C are mutually disjoint (A∩B=0, A∩C=0, and B∩C=0). A light spot D is defined as A+C, which corresponds to a light source D. A light spot E is defined as B+C, which corresponds to a light source E.

When an exposed area is positioned in the area A, the light source D emits light.

When the exposed area is positioned in the area B, the light source E emits light.

When the exposed area is positioned in the area A and the area B, the light source D and the light source E emit light synchronously.

When the exposed area is positioned in the area A and the area C, the light source D emits light.

When the exposed area is positioned in the area B, and the area C, the light source E emits light.

When the exposed area is positioned in the area C, only one of the light source D and the light source E emits light.

When the exposed area is positioned in the area A, the area B, and the area C, the light source D and the light source E emit light synchronously, and the screen1may be in a semi-opened semi-closed gray status. The gray status has different modes of implementation on the different screens1and may be implemented by controlling a liquid crystal status or implementing time division multiplexing.

The content to be displayed may include displayed point location information. By referring to the point location information, the area of the screen1to be exposed may be converted, and by referring to the area to be exposed, the control instruction may be determined (the control instruction may be determined by referring to the above situation). The above controlled lighting may be controlled by a controller5according to the control instruction. Each LED light source3may be independently controlled with a programmable logic device or a dedicated control device5(the controller5). The LED light sources3may be arranged in the form of a matrix, a rhombus, a circle, a triangle, and other shapes according to the actual need of a 3D printer. Because the screen1is presented as the rectangle so far, the LED light sources3are arranged in the form of the rectangle. The different light sources may be controlled according to the need of exposing an image. As shown inFIG.2, the independent light source may be arranged in the form of the matrix by the LED light sources3. When a brown V-like shape as shown inFIG.3needs to be exposed, only the LEDs of a corresponding part under the V-like shape need to emit light, while other LEDs are kept in an OFF status. Not all LEDs are required to light up compared with the previous solutions. This way, fewer LEDs emit light, and less energy may be consumed. There is no light irradiating the other parts on the screen1as well, and no heat will be generated by these parts. As a result, the temperature of the screen1may be reduced, the service life of the screen1may be prolonged, and the power consumption may be effectively reduced.

As shown inFIG.9, the application further relates to a zone-controllable control device, which may include a receiving module100, an area determination module200, an instruction determination module300, and a control module400.

The receiving module100may be configured to receive a content to be displayed.

The area determination module200may be configured to determine an area to be exposed of a screen1according to the content to be displayed.

The instruction determination module300may be configured to determine a control instruction by referring to the area to be exposed.

The control module400may be configured to control at least one LED light source3that is independently arranged in a display to emit light according to the control instruction.

As for processing of the overlapping area, a zone control method may be taken to process. When there are two overlapping light spots, as shown inFIG.6, assuming that non-overlapping parts are A and B respectively and an overlapping part is C. A, B and C are mutually disjoint (A∩B=0, A∩C=0, and B∩C=0). A light spot D is defined as A+C, which corresponds to a light source D. A light spot E is defined as B+C, which corresponds to a light source E.

When an exposed area is positioned in the area A, the light source D emits light.

When the exposed area is positioned in the area B, the light source E emits light.

When the exposed area is positioned in the area A and the area B, the light source D and the light source E emit light synchronously.

When the exposed area is positioned in the area A and the area C, the light source D emits light.

When the exposed area is positioned in the area B, and the area C, the light source E emits light.

When the exposed area is positioned in the area C, only one of the light source D and the light source E emits light.

When the exposed area is positioned in the area A, the area B, and the area C, the light source D and the light source E emit light synchronously, and the screen1may be in a semi-opened semi-closed gray status. The gray status has different modes of implementation on the different screens1and may be implemented by controlling a liquid crystal status or implementing time division multiplexing.

The content to be displayed may include displayed point location information. By referring to the point location information, the area of the screen1to be exposed may be converted, and by referring to the area to be exposed, the control instruction may be determined (the control instruction may be determined by referring to the above situation). The above controlled lighting may be controlled by a controller5according to the control instruction. Each LED light source3may be independently controlled with a programmable logic device or a dedicated control device5(the controller5). The LED light sources3may be arranged in the form of a matrix, a rhombus, a circle, a triangle, and other shapes according to the actual need of a 3D printer. Because the screen1is presented as the rectangle so far, the LED light sources3are arranged in the form of the rectangle. The different light sources may be controlled according to the need of exposing an image. As shown inFIG.2, the independent light source is arranged in the form of the matrix by the LED light sources3. When a brown V-like shape shown inFIG.3needs to be exposed, only the LEDs of a corresponding part under the V-like shape need to emit light, while other LEDs are kept in an OFF status. Not all LEDs are required to light up compared with the previous solutions. This way, fewer LEDs emit light, and less energy may be consumed. There is no light irradiating the other parts on the screen1as well, and no heat will be generated by these parts. As a result, the temperature of the screen1may be reduced, the service life of the screen1may be prolonged, and the power consumption may be effectively reduced.

The above are only the preferred embodiments of the application and are not intended to limit the application. For those skilled in the art, the application may have various modifications and variations. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements and the like made within the spirit and principle of the application shall fall within the scope of protection of the application

Various embodiment of the disclosure may have one or more of the following effects. In some embodiments, the disclosure may provide a light-curing printer display device, a 3D printer, a control method and device, and an electronic device, which may help to solve the problem that the exposure quality is poor. In other embodiments, the disclosure may help to solve technical problems in 3D printing technologies (e.g., stereolithography, digital light processing, selective laser sintering, additive manufacturing, fused filament fabrication, fused deposition modeling, etc.) such as the exposure quality being poor, the loss being great, and the service life being short.