JP2000006471A - Image recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simplify the circuitry by providing means for altering allocation of an image data to drive elements depending on the fixing direction of a recording head thereby supplying the image data to each drive element regardless of the fixing direction of the recording head. SOLUTION: A DMAC 9 reading/writing various data including an image data to an RAM independently from the CPU in an image forming apparatus is provided with a counter 61 for counting clock signals and delivering the count, as a 6-bit count data, to a selector 64. The DMAC 9 is further provided with latch circuits 62, 63 outputting a 32 bit image data for ejecting ink selectively from respective nozzles in first and second groups while latching in synchronism with the clock signal. An image data of total 64 bit from the latch circuits 62, 63 is outputted serially bit by bit from the selector 64 based on the count data and a head direction flag from a register 65.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus having a recording head having a plurality of driving elements for forming pixels on recording paper, such as an ink jet printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A color ink jet printer uses a recording head having, for example, 64 nozzles for each color in two rows in a staggered manner. The 64 nozzles of each color are not arranged at the center of one surface of the recording head, but are arranged together near one side. Therefore, when the ink ejection position is considered as a reference, the position of the occupied space by the recording head differs depending on the mounting direction of the recording head. For example, if the print head is arranged such that the 64 nozzles of each color are located on the upper side, the space occupied by the print head is larger on the lower side than the ink discharge position, and conversely, the 64 nozzles of each color are located on the lower side When the print heads are arranged in such a manner, the space occupied by the print heads is larger above the ink discharge position. Needless to say, the position of the drive mechanism for reciprocating the recording head in the main scanning direction also differs accordingly. As a result, when designing a printer,
In order to reduce the size of the printer as much as possible, the mounting direction of the recording head is determined in relation to various mechanical design conditions such as a paper path.

However, if the mounting direction of the recording head is changed, it is necessary to change the allocation of image data to driving elements such as piezoelectric elements for ejecting ink from each nozzle in order to properly print an image. In other words, when the mounting direction of the recording head is changed, when the individual nozzles are focused on, the arrangement position changes,
Correspondence with the pixels on the recording paper also changes, and the image data must be properly supplied accordingly.

Therefore, in the conventional printer, the mounting direction of the recording head is determined in advance of the mechanical design, and a circuit for supplying image data to the recording head is designed accordingly. .

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional printer, since it is necessary to precede the mechanical design rather than the circuit design, the time required for the entire design becomes longer.
There was a problem that the development period of a new product was prolonged. In addition, as a result of a decrease in the degree of freedom of the design schedule, there is a problem that the cost required for the design increases and the product price increases. Furthermore, during the mechanical design,
When the mounting direction of the print head once determined is changed, it is necessary to redesign the circuit, and there is also a problem that time and cost are greatly lost.

The present invention has been proposed in view of the above points, and provides an image recording apparatus capable of appropriately supplying image data to each drive element regardless of a change in a mounting direction of a recording head. It is an object.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, an image recording apparatus according to the present invention comprises a recording head having a plurality of driving elements for forming pixels on recording paper. An image recording apparatus is provided with image data allocation changing means for changing allocation of image data to drive elements according to a mounting direction of a print head.

According to this image recording apparatus, since the image data allocation changing means changes the allocation of the image data to the driving elements in accordance with the mounting direction of the recording head, regardless of the change of the mounting direction of the recording head. Image data can be appropriately supplied to each drive element.

Therefore, the circuit can be designed before the mounting direction of the recording head is determined, and the degree of freedom in the design schedule is improved. As a result, the development period of a new product can be shortened and the development cost can be reduced. it can. In addition, the mounting direction of the recording head can be arbitrarily changed at any stage until the end of the design, so that there is no delay in circuit design and an increase in cost.

The driving element may be a piezoelectric element, but is not limited thereto, and may be a heating element. For example, in the case of an ink jet printer, a piezoelectric element or a heating element is selectively used according to an ink ejection method, and in the case of a thermal printer or a sublimation type printer, a heating element is used.

The image data allocation changing means can be realized by using a circuit such as a counter or a selector, but is not limited thereto, and a CPU (ce) operating based on a predetermined program is used.
ntral processing unit).

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image recording apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the recording head previously allocates serially input image data in accordance with the input order. An image data supply circuit for sequentially supplying the image data to the driving elements, wherein the image data allocation changing means converts the parallel image data read from the storage means into serial image data and outputs the serial image data to the image data supply circuit At that time, an image data order changing circuit for changing the order of the image data according to the mounting direction of the recording head is provided.

According to this image recording apparatus, in addition to the effect of the image recording apparatus according to the first aspect, the order of the image data is changed by the image data order changing circuit in accordance with the mounting direction of the recording head. Can be processed quickly without imposing a load on the system. In addition, since the order of the image data is changed when the parallel data is converted to the serial data, no memory is required and the circuit configuration can be simplified.

As a storage means, a RAM (random acces) is used.
s memory) can be used, but not limited thereto, and a flash memory or the like may be used.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image recording apparatus according to the second aspect, wherein the recording head is capable of reciprocating in a main scanning direction, and includes a plurality of driving elements. Can form two rows of pixels each consisting of a plurality of pixels arranged at predetermined intervals in the sub-scanning direction at regular intervals in the main scanning direction while the recording head is stationary. Replaces the image data corresponding to the two pixel rows according to the mounting direction of the recording head.

According to this image recording apparatus, in addition to the effect of the image recording apparatus according to the second aspect, the image data order changing circuit corresponds to two pixel columns according to the mounting direction of the recording head. Since the processing is completed only by exchanging the image data with each other, the circuit configuration can be further simplified, and the processing speed can be further increased.

An image recording apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the image recording apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the recording head is capable of color recording.
The plurality of drive elements and the image data allocation changing means are provided individually for each color.

According to this image recording apparatus, in addition to the effects of the image recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, a color image can be appropriately recorded.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a circuit block diagram of a facsimile apparatus equipped with an image recording apparatus according to the present invention.
Codec 8, DMAC 9, reading unit 11, recording unit 12,
An operation unit 13 and a display unit 14 are provided. CPU
1, NCU2, RAM3, modem 4, ROM5, EEP
ROM 6, gate array 7, codec 8, and DM
The ACs 9 are mutually connected by a bus line 15. The bus line 15 includes an address bus, a data bus, and a control signal line. The gate array 7 includes a reading unit 11,
The recording unit 12, the operation unit 13, and the display unit 14 are connected. A telephone line 16 is connected to the NCU 2.

The CPU 1 controls the entire facsimile machine.

An NCU (network control unit) 2 is connected to the telephone line 16 and performs network control.

The RAM 3 provides a work area to the CPU 1 and stores various data including read image data.

The modem 4 performs modulation of transmission data and demodulation of reception data.

A ROM (read only memory) 5 stores various programs and fixed data.

An EEPROM (electrically erasable an
d programmable read only memory) 6 stores various operation parameters, registration data, flags, and the like.

The gate array 7 functions as an input / output interface of the CPU 1 and performs various processes on the read image data.

The codec 8 encodes transmission facsimile data and decodes reception facsimile data.

DMAC 9 is independent of CPU 1
Write and read various data including read image data to and from the M3, and perform various processes on the recorded image data.

The reading unit 11 includes a light source, a line image sensor, a document feed motor, and the like, reads a document to be read, and outputs an analog read image signal.

The recording section 12 employs an ink jet system, and prints a received image or a read image on a recording sheet in color or monochrome.

The operation unit 13 is composed of a key switch group and the like, and outputs a signal according to a user's operation.

The display unit 14 is an LCD (liquid crystal d)
and various displays are controlled by the CPU 1.

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural view of a main part of the recording section 12, in which a recording head 31 is mounted on a carriage 32, and the carriage 32 is slidably fitted on a guide rod 33. And is fixed to an endless drive belt 34. Therefore, the pulley 35 is driven by the motor 23 such as a DC motor or a stepping motor.
The carriage 32 is moved in the main scanning direction (the direction from the left to the right in FIG. 2) by rotating the drive belt 34 via the. Of course, if the motor 23 is reversed, the carriage 32 moves in the direction opposite to the main scanning direction. The recording paper 36 is conveyed by conveyance rollers 37a and 37b in a direction opposite to the sub-scanning direction (a direction from above to below in FIG. 2). That is, if the recording paper 36 is moved in the direction opposite to the sub-scanning direction, the same result as when the carriage 32 is moved in the sub-scanning direction can be obtained. A photo sensor 22 that straddles a belt-shaped timing tape 38 is attached to the carriage 32.
Outputs a timing signal for controlling the rotation speed of the motor 23. That is, the timing tape 38
A large number of white bands and black bands having a predetermined width are alternately formed in the longitudinal direction, and the photo sensor 22 detects the difference in the light reflectance between the white band and the black band as the carriage 32 moves. Is output as a timing signal. The recording head 31 has four ink cartridges 39c, 39m, 39y, and 39k detachably attached thereto. The ink cartridge 39c stores cyan ink, the ink cartridge 39m stores magenta ink, and the ink cartridge 39y.
Stores the yellow ink, and the ink cartridge 3
9k stores black ink.

FIG. 3 is a schematic front view of the recording head 31. The recording head 31 has four piezoelectric element arrays 41c, 41m, 41 which are a set of piezoelectric elements as driving elements.
y, 41k are provided. Each of the piezoelectric element arrays 41c, 41m, 41y, and 41k has 64 nozzles (not shown in FIG. 3) opened, and each nozzle of the piezoelectric element array 41c ejects cyan ink. Each nozzle of the piezoelectric element array 41m ejects magenta ink, each nozzle of the piezoelectric element array 41y ejects yellow ink, and each nozzle of the piezoelectric element array 41k ejects black ink.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the piezoelectric element array 41k.
The piezoelectric element array 41k has four images in the sub-scanning direction.
32 nozzles arranged in a row with a prime pitch
Le N ₁~ N₃₂Nozzle group 51 composed of
32 lines arranged in a row with an interval of 4 pixel pitches
Nozzle N₃₃~ N₆₄And the second nozzle group 52 composed of
Are provided at intervals of 30 pixel pitch in the scanning direction.
You. Nozzle N of the first nozzle group 51₁~ N₃₂And the second nozzle
Nozzle 52 of group 52₃₃~ N₆₄Means two pixel pixels in the sub-scanning direction.
They are arranged in a zigzag pattern so as to be at intervals of the switches. other
Of the piezoelectric element arrays 41c, 41m, and 41y of FIG.
It is.

FIG. 5 is a circuit block diagram of a main part of the DMAC 9. The DMAC 9 includes a counter 61, latch circuits 62 and 63, a selector 64, and a register 65. These counter 61, latch circuits 62 and 63,
The selector 64 and the register 65 individually process cyan, magenta, yellow, and black image data, and are provided for each color.

The counter 61 repeats the operation of counting the clock signal and outputting the count value from 0 to 63 to the selector 64 in parallel as 6-bit count data.

The latch circuit 62 latches 32-bit image data for selectively ejecting ink from the nozzles N _{1 to} N ₃₂ of the first nozzle group 51 in synchronization with a clock signal, and parallelly selects the selector 64. Output to The image data is data read from the RAM 3 by the DMAC 9.

The latch circuit 63 latches 32-bit image data for selectively ejecting ink from the nozzles N _{33 to} N ₆₄ of the second nozzle group 52 in synchronization with a clock signal, and selects the selector 64 in parallel. Output to The image data is data read from the RAM 3 by the DMAC 9.

The selector 64 serially outputs 64-bit image data from the latch circuits 62 and 63 one bit at a time based on the count data from the counter 61 and the head direction flag from the register 65.
That is, which bit of the 64-bit image data is output is determined in advance by the count data from the counter 61 and the head direction flag from the register 65.

The register 65 outputs the 1-bit head direction flag written by the CPU 1 to the selector 64. This head direction flag is a flag indicating the mounting direction of the recording head 31. When the recording head 31 is mounted in the direction shown in FIG. 3, the head direction flag is set before the facsimile apparatus is shipped from the factory. “1” is written in the EEPROM 6 as the direction flag. When the power of the facsimile apparatus is turned on, the data is read from the EEPROM 6 by the CPU 1 and written into the register 65.

FIG. 6 is a circuit block diagram of a main part of the recording head 31. The recording head 31 includes a serial / parallel conversion circuit 71 and a latch circuit 72. The serial / parallel conversion circuit 71 and the latch circuit 72 individually process cyan, magenta, yellow, and black image data, and are provided for each color. FIG. 6 shows a circuit for processing black image data, but the same applies to other colors.

The serial / parallel conversion circuit 71
The 64-bit image data serially supplied from the selector 64 of the AC 9 via the gate array 7 is converted into parallel data, and the latch circuit 7 is synchronized with the clock signal.
Output to 2.

The latch circuit 72 latches the parallel image data from the serial / parallel conversion circuit 71 in synchronization with the clock signal, and outputs the latched image data to the piezoelectric element array 41k.

The piezoelectric element array 41k includes a latch circuit 72
Nozzle N according to the image data from₁~ N₆₄Choose from
Ink is ejected. At this time, the gate array 7
First and second drive enable signals supplied through the
In synchronization with the nozzle N of the first nozzle group 51₁~ N₃₂To
The corresponding piezoelectric element and the nozzle N of the second nozzle group 52₃₃~ N ₆₄
Is driven with a predetermined time difference
It is. This is the sum of the driving currents of the piezoelectric elements flowing simultaneously.
This is for suppressing the power supply capacity and the like. Ma
In addition, the serial input to the serial / parallel conversion circuit 71 is
Image data in the order of the input, the nozzle N₁~ N
₆₄Is supplied to the corresponding piezoelectric element. For example, 64
Of serial image data first
The image data input to the conversion circuit 71₁To
And the second serial / parallel
The image data input to the nozzle conversion circuit 71_Two
The image data is supplied to the piezoelectric element corresponding to
Input order and nozzle N₁~ N₆₄Is determined in advance.
Is being used. This is the serial / parallel conversion circuit 7
Unless the operation of 1 and the circuit wiring are changed,
It will growl. That is, the selector 6 of the DMAC 9
4 is a 64-bit image so that the correct image can be obtained.
Select the data in an appropriate order and output it serially.

Next, the essential points of the operation of the facsimile apparatus thus configured will be described. At the time of color recording, the pulley 35 and the drive belt 34 are driven by the motor 23.
The carriage 32 is moved from the left direction to the right direction in FIG. 2, and the recording head 31 moves in the main scanning direction. At this time, the photo sensor 22 detects a white band and a black band of the timing tape 38 and outputs a timing signal, whereby the rotation of the motor 23 is controlled. Image data is read from the RAM 3 by the DMAC 9, image data of each color is serially supplied to the recording head 31 via the gate array 7, and based on the image data, the piezoelectric element arrays 41 c, 41 m, 41 y, 4.
When 1k is driven, ink is ejected from the nozzles N _{1 to} N ₆₄ of each color toward the recording paper 36, and a color image for one band is recorded on the recording paper 36. Note that one band refers to an area recorded by one main scan of the recording head 31.

When the carriage 32 moves to the end in the main scanning direction, the motor 23 rotates in the reverse direction, and the carriage 32 moves in the reverse direction to return to the original position.
The recording paper 36 is conveyed by one pixel in the direction opposite to the sub-scanning direction by a and 37b, and the image data for the next one band is supplied to the recording head 31. When the color image based on the image data for one band is printed, the recording paper 36 is conveyed by one band in the direction opposite to the sub-scanning direction, and the color image based on the image data for one band is printed. Thereafter, by the same operation, a color image is recorded for one band for each one main scan of the recording head 31, and a predetermined image is recorded on the entire surface of the recording paper 36 by a predetermined number of main scans. Of course, recording head 3
The recording may be performed at the time of the backward movement of the recording head 31, or may be performed at the time of the forward movement and the backward movement of the recording head 31.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 7, when the recording head 31 is installed upside down, as shown in FIG. 8, when the individual nozzles N _{1 to} N ₆₄ are focused, the arrangement positions are changed. This is obvious from a comparison between FIG. 8 and FIG. Therefore, in the case of FIG.
The image data supplied to the piezoelectric elements corresponding to the nozzles N _{1 to} N ₃₂ is supplied to the piezoelectric elements corresponding to the nozzles N _{33 to} N ₆₄ of the second nozzle group 52 in FIG. In the case of FIG. 8, the image data supplied to the piezoelectric elements corresponding to the nozzles N _{33 to} N ₆₄ of the second nozzle group 52 is changed to the first image data in the case of FIG.
It is necessary to supply to the piezoelectric element corresponding to the nozzle N ₁ to N ₃₂ of the nozzle group 51. The recording head 3 as shown in FIG.
In the case of the arrangement 1, the carriage 32 is positioned above the recording head 31, and assumes a posture in which the recording head 31 is hanging from the carriage 32.

Therefore, the selector 64 of the DMAC 9 changes the output order of the image data according to the contents of the head direction flag from the register 65. That is, in the arrangement of the recording heads 31 as shown in FIG. 3, when the head direction flag is “1”, the recording heads 31 correspond to the nozzles N _{1 to} N ₃₂ of the first nozzle group 51 input from the latch circuit 62 first. The image data to be supplied to the corresponding piezoelectric elements is sequentially output, and thereafter, the image data to be supplied to the piezoelectric elements corresponding to the nozzles N _{33 to} N ₆₄ of the second nozzle group 52 input from the latch circuit 63 is sequentially output. When the print head 31 is arranged as shown in FIG. 7 and the head direction flag is “0”, the nozzles N _{33 to} N ₆₄ of the second nozzle group 52 input from the latch circuit 63 first. the image data supplied to the piezoelectric elements corresponding to sequentially output to supply thereafter, the piezoelectric elements corresponding to the nozzles N ₁ to N ₃₂ of the first nozzle group 51 being input from the latch circuit 62 Sequentially outputs image data. However, the second nozzle group 52
Supplied to the piezoelectric element corresponding to the nozzle N ₃₃ to N ₆₄ of 32
The order of the bit image data and the order of the 32-bit image data supplied to the piezoelectric elements corresponding to the nozzles N _{1 to} N ₃₂ of the first nozzle group 51 are not changed. This is shown in FIG.
Considering the arrangement of the recording heads 31 as shown in FIG.
Image data is supplied sequentially from top to bottom for the nozzles N _{1 to} N ₃₂ of the nozzle group 51, and image data is supplied sequentially from bottom to top for the nozzles N _{33 to} N ₆₄ of the second nozzle group 52. As described above, since the directions are opposite to each other, as is apparent from a comparison between FIG. 4 and FIG.
This is because there is no need to replace the head and tail of the image data.

FIG. 9 shows a DMAC 9 according to another embodiment.
The DMAC 9 includes latch circuits 81 and 82, a register 83, and selectors 84 and 8.
5. It includes parallel / serial conversion circuits 86 and 87 and an inverter 88. These latch circuits 81, 8
2, the register 83, the selectors 84 and 85, the parallel / serial conversion circuits 86 and 87, and the inverter 88
Cyan, magenta, yellow, and black image data are individually processed, and are provided for each color.

The latch circuit 81 latches 32-bit image data for selectively ejecting ink from the nozzles N _{1 to} N ₃₂ of the first nozzle group 51 in synchronization with a clock signal, and the selector 84 in parallel. Output to The image data is data read from the RAM 3 by the DMAC 9.

The latch circuit 82 latches 32-bit image data for selectively discharging ink from the nozzles N _{33 to} N ₆₄ of the second nozzle group 52 in synchronization with a clock signal, and the selector 85 in parallel. Output to The image data is data read from the RAM 3 by the DMAC 9.

The register 83 outputs the head direction flag written by the CPU 1 to the selector 84 and the inverter 88.

The selector 84 converts the image data from the latch circuit 81 into a parallel / serial conversion circuit 86 in parallel according to the contents of the head direction flag from the register 83.
And a state in which the image data from the latch circuit 82 is output to the parallel / serial conversion circuit 86 in parallel.

The selector 85 outputs the image data from the latch circuit 82 to the parallel / serial conversion circuit 87 in parallel according to the content of the signal from the inverter 88, and outputs the image data from the latch circuit 81 in parallel. The state is switched to a state of outputting to the parallel / serial conversion circuit 87.

The parallel / serial conversion circuit 86 converts the parallel image data input through the selector 84 into
The data is serially output to a parallel / serial conversion circuit 87.

The parallel / serial conversion circuit 87 outputs the image data input serially from the parallel / serial conversion circuit 86 in the same order, and after that,
The parallel image data input via the selector 85 is output serially.

The inverter 88 inverts the head direction flag from the register 83 and outputs it to the selector 85.

If the recording head 31 is attached as shown in FIG. 3 and the head direction flag written in the register 83 is "1", the selector 8
4 supplies the image data from the latch circuit 81 to the parallel / serial conversion circuit 86. Also, the selector 85
Supplies the image data from the latch circuit 82 to the parallel / serial conversion circuit 87. As a result, the parallel / serial conversion circuit 87 first causes the parallel / serial conversion circuit 86 to perform a 32-bit image for selectively ejecting ink from the nozzles N _{1 to} N ₃₂ of the first nozzle group 51 that has been subjected to the parallel / serial conversion. Data is sequentially output, and then 32-bit image data for selectively ejecting ink from the nozzles N _{33 to} N ₆₄ of the second nozzle group 52 input via the selector 85 is serially output.

Conversely, if the recording head 31 is attached as shown in FIG. 7 and the head direction flag written in the register 83 is "0", the selector 8
4 supplies the image data from the latch circuit 82 to the parallel / serial conversion circuit 86. Also, the selector 85
Supplies the image data from the latch circuit 81 to the parallel / serial conversion circuit 87. 32-bit image to thereby parallel / serial conversion circuit 87 causes first ejected selectively ink from the nozzles N ₃₃ to N ₆₄ of the second nozzle group 52 which is parallel / serial converted by the parallel / serial conversion circuit 86 Data is sequentially output, and then 32-bit image data for selectively discharging ink from the nozzles N _{1 to} N ₃₂ of the first nozzle group 51 input via the selector 85 is serially output.

As described above, the circuit shown in FIG.
Operation similar to that of the circuit illustrated in FIG. 5 can be performed.

[0063]

As described above, according to the image recording apparatus of the first aspect, the image data allocation changing unit changes the allocation of the image data to the driving elements according to the mounting direction of the recording head. Accordingly, image data can be appropriately supplied to each drive element regardless of a change in the mounting direction of the recording head.

According to the image recording apparatus of the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the image recording apparatus of the first aspect, the image data sequence changing circuit allows the image data to be changed according to the mounting direction of the recording head. Since the order of data is changed, processing can be performed quickly without imposing a load on the CPU. In addition, since the order of the image data is changed when the parallel data is converted to the serial data, no memory is required and the circuit configuration can be simplified.

Further, according to the image recording apparatus of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the image recording apparatus of the second aspect, the image data order changing circuit can change the image data order changing circuit in accordance with the mounting direction of the recording head. Since the processing is completed only by exchanging the image data corresponding to the two pixel rows, the circuit configuration can be further simplified and the processing speed can be further increased.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image recording apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the recording head is capable of color recording, Are individually provided for each color.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit block diagram of a facsimile apparatus provided with an image recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a main part of a recording unit provided in the facsimile apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic front view of a recording head provided in the facsimile apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a piezoelectric element array provided in the recording head shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 shows a DM provided in the facsimile apparatus shown in FIG.
It is a circuit block diagram of the principal part of AC.

6 is a circuit block diagram of a main part of a recording head provided in the facsimile apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a schematic front view of a state where the recording head is installed upside down.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the piezoelectric element array when the recording head is installed upside down.

FIG. 9 is a circuit block diagram of a main part of a DMAC according to another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 CPU 7 Gate array 9 DMAC 12 Recording unit 31 Recording head 41c, 41m, 41y, 41k Piezoelectric element array 51 First nozzle group 52 Second nozzle group 61 Counter 62 Latch circuit 63 Latch circuit 64 Selector 65 Register 71 Serial / parallel conversion Circuit 72 Latch circuit 81 Latch circuit 82 Latch circuit 83 Register 84 Selector 85 Selector 86 Parallel / serial conversion circuit 87 Parallel / serial conversion circuit 88 Inverter

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An image recording apparatus comprising a recording head having a plurality of driving elements for forming pixels on recording paper, wherein image data is transmitted to the driving elements in accordance with a mounting direction of the recording head. An image recording apparatus comprising an image data allocation changing means for changing allocation. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording head includes an image data supply circuit that sequentially supplies image data input serially to driving elements that are allocated in advance according to the input order. An image in which the parallel image data read from the storage means is converted into serial image data and output to the image data supply circuit, and at that time, the order of the image data is changed according to the mounting direction of the recording head The image recording device according to claim 1, further comprising a data order changing circuit. 3. The recording head is capable of reciprocating in a main scanning direction, and the plurality of driving elements are formed by a plurality of pixels arranged at predetermined intervals in a sub-scanning direction while the recording head is stationary. Pixel rows can be formed in two rows at regular intervals in the main scanning direction, and the image data order changing circuit, according to the mounting direction of the recording head, corresponds to the image rows corresponding to the two rows of pixel rows. The image recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein data is exchanged with each other. 4. The printhead according to claim 1, wherein the printhead is capable of color printing, and the plurality of driving elements and the image data allocation changing unit are individually provided for each color. The image recording apparatus as described in the above.