JP5328247B2 - Image forming apparatus, control method therefor, image processing apparatus, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a high-quality recorded image by suppressing the occurrence of a joining stripe while maintaining a high speed printing by using a recording head elongated by a joining construction. <P>SOLUTION: The recording head IJH consists of a plurality of recording chips 41 to 46 which each have a plurality of discharge port arrays for discharging one color per array (A, B, C, and D arrays), and which are joined substantially in parallel in a discharge port array direction. In this case, a recording chip and another one joined to it are staggered in a direction substantially orthogonal to the discharge port array direction, and are constructed such that the discharge port arrays partially overlap in the discharge port array direction. In the joining portion of the recording chips, between the discharge port arrays discharging the same color ink, an exclusive relation of binary discharge data is strengthened as a distance between the arrays in a main scanning direction decreases, and an exclusive relation of pattern of binary discharge data is weakened as the distance between the arrays in the main scanning direction increases. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

The present invention is, for the same area on the recording medium, an image forming apparatus including a first ejection outlet array and the recording head having a second ejection outlet arrays which are arranged substantially parallel to the formation of the same color image, The present invention relates to a control method , a program, and an image processing apparatus .

  A recording device used as an output device such as a printer, a copying machine, or a composite electronic device including a computer or a word processor, or a workstation, has an image (including characters and symbols) on a recording medium such as paper based on the recorded information. Is configured to record. Such a recording apparatus is classified into an ink jet type, a wire dot type, a thermal type, a laser beam type, and the like according to a recording method.

  Among the recording apparatuses of each type, an ink jet recording apparatus (ink jet recording apparatus) uses an ink jet recording head (hereinafter referred to as a recording head) as a recording unit, and ejects ink from a discharge port of the recording head toward a recording medium. And recording. Such an ink jet recording apparatus is easy to downsize the recording head, can form high-definition images at high speed, can record on so-called plain paper without requiring special processing, and has low running cost. It has the advantage of being. In addition, since it is a non-impact method, noise is low, it is easy to adopt a configuration for forming a color image using multi-color ink, and a configuration corresponding to recording on a large recording medium It has the advantage that it is easy to.

  In a so-called serial type inkjet recording apparatus that performs recording while scanning in the main scanning direction that intersects the conveyance direction (sub-scanning direction) of the recording medium, an image is recorded using a recording head that moves along the recording medium. That is, every time the recording operation for one main scan is completed by the recording head, the recording medium is conveyed by a predetermined amount, thereby performing recording on the entire recording medium.

  On the other hand, in a so-called full-line type ink jet recording apparatus in which the recording head has a recording width corresponding to the width of the recording medium and involves only movement in the conveying direction of the recording medium, the recording medium is set at a predetermined position, and the recording medium is Recording is performed on the entire recording medium by continuously performing a recording operation for one line while being conveyed. Such a full-line type ink jet recording apparatus is capable of further increasing the speed of image formation, and has recently attracted attention as a recording apparatus for on-demand recording, for which demand is increasing (for example, Patent Documents). 1).

  In such a full-line type recording apparatus for on-demand recording, for mono-color recording such as text, for example, 30 pages or more per minute on an A3 size recording medium with a resolution of 600 × 600 dpi (dots / inch) or more. Recording is required. For recording a full-color image such as a photograph, it is required to record at a high resolution of, for example, 1200 × 1200 dpi on an A3 size recording medium at 30 pages or more per minute.

  By the way, in a recording head used in a full-line type recording apparatus, it is possible to process all of the ink jet recording elements positioned over the entire width of the recording area of the recording medium, in particular, all the ejection openings forming part of the ink jet recording elements without any defects. Currently difficult. For example, in a full-line type recording apparatus, in order to perform recording at a resolution of 1200 dpi on A3 size paper, it is necessary to form about 14,000 discharge ports (recording width about 280 mm) in the recording head. It becomes. Processing all of such a large number of discharge ports without one defect is difficult in terms of the manufacturing process. Even if such a recording head can be manufactured, the yield rate is low and the manufacturing cost is high.

  For the reasons described above, a so-called long connecting head has been proposed as a full-line type recording head. The connecting head is a recording head formed by connecting, in the direction of the discharge port array, a plurality of recording chips in which a plurality of discharge port arrays in which a plurality of recording elements are arranged are arranged substantially in parallel. In other words, a longer length is realized by arranging these chips with high accuracy so that a plurality of relatively inexpensive short-chip-type recording heads used in the serial type are connected in the direction of the discharge port array. Recording head.

  Although the connection head configuration as a full-line type recording head has been described here, a so-called serial type recording head can also be made longer by the connection head configuration.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-292859 R. Floyd et al., "An adaptive algorithm for spatial gray scale", SID International Symposium Digest of Technical Papers, vol4.3, 1975, pp.36-37

  However, the connection head has a problem that a so-called connection streak is likely to occur due to its configuration. The connecting stripe is a deterioration in image quality at a portion where the end portions of the ejection port array are adjacent to each other between the recording chips. This is caused by variations in the conveyance of the recording medium of the recording apparatus (so-called conveyance meandering) and an inclination that occurs in the relative positional relationship between the full-line type recording head and the recording medium. Because of these effects, the discharge port pitch formed by the discharge ports of the adjacent recording elements in the connection portion is not the same as the other discharge port pitch, and corresponds to the connection portion of the recording chip on the recorded image. May occur.

  Due to the structure of the connection head, the distance between the discharge port arrays used for recording at the connection portion in the discharge port array direction is often larger than the discharge port array used for recording at the non-connection portion. For this reason, it is considered that one of the reasons is that the connecting portion is easily influenced by the above-described meandering and tilting.

  In addition, it has been confirmed that as the above-described inter-column distance is increased, the connecting streaks are more prominently generated accordingly. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the magnitude of the inter-column distance in the connecting portion and the degree of occurrence of connecting stripes. FIGS. 7A and 7B respectively show a case where the distance between the columns of the connecting portion is small and a case where the distance is large. FIG. 7A shows a case where there is no inclination (relationship between the recording head and the recording medium). If there is no inclination, the landing position deviation that causes the connecting stripe does not occur due to the effect of the inter-column distance. On the other hand, FIG. 7B shows a case where there is an inclination (relationship between the recording head and the recording medium). As the inter-column distance of the connecting portion is larger, the displacement of the connecting portion becomes larger due to the same degree of inclination. I understand that. That is, the shift of the connecting portion increases in proportion to the distance between the rows of the connecting portion. FIG. 7B shows an example of the slope when the recording density of the joint portion is low, but the stripe when the recording density of the joint portion is high when the opposite slope occurs is shown. Even in such a case, it goes without saying that the shift of the connecting portion increases in proportion to the inter-column distance.

  In order to solve this problem, it is considered that if the above-described inter-column distance is made as small as possible, the generation of connecting stripes can be suppressed accordingly. However, the distance between the columns at the connecting portion is reduced from the viewpoint of the arrangement of the ejection openings, the wiring layout of the recording element including the ejection openings, and the securing of the space portion where the recording head and the cap protecting the recording head come into contact. Is difficult.

  As disclosed in Patent Document 1, several improvement measures have been proposed for the connecting stripe generated by such a connecting head. For example, there is a method of reducing the deviation of the discharge port pitch by using an arrangement method or an arrangement apparatus for performing chip arrangement of connecting portions with high accuracy.

  Further, as another countermeasure, in the connecting portion of the chips, the discharge ports at the respective chip ends are not arranged so as to be adjacent to each other in the discharge row direction, and a predetermined number of the discharge ports at the respective chip ends are conveyed. There is a method of arranging in an overlapping manner in the direction. In this case, at the time of recording, ink is ejected from both ejection ports that overlap each other, thereby making the connecting stripe inconspicuous. Specifically, the ejection data patterns to be recorded in the overlapping portion are allocated to both ejection ports that overlap each other so that they are mutually exclusive. Such allocation can be realized by performing processing such as data allocation masking.

  There is also a method of making the connecting stripes inconspicuous by making corrections by appropriately increasing or decreasing the number of dots to be recorded by each ejection port array constituting the connecting portion.

  However, none of these measures can be said to be sufficient with respect to the connecting stripes generated when recording a photographic tone.

  As a result of intensive studies by the inventor of the present application, by devising the relationship between the dot arrangements of the recording patterns responsible for recording in each of the overlapping discharge port arrays in the connecting portion, when a shift occurs in the connecting portion It has become clear that the connecting stripes can be made inconspicuous. It is common for the recording patterns that make up the joints to be in an exclusive relationship, but this relationship was broken, and some dots were recorded at the same position, and there was a shift in the recording position between the recording patterns. However, it was found that fluctuations in image quality at the joint could be reduced. In addition, if the dot arrangement relationship between the recording patterns is changed to change the strength against fluctuations according to the distance between the rows of the joint portion, the connecting stripe is generated even if the distance between the rows of the joint portion is separated. It was found that the degree of can be relaxed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and while maintaining a high-speed recording using a recording head that is elongated by a connection configuration, the occurrence of connection stripes is suppressed and the recorded image is recorded. The purpose is to achieve high image quality.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention, for the same area on the recording medium, a first outlet row and the recording head having a second ejection outlet arrays which are arranged substantially parallel to the formation of the same color image, the An image forming apparatus for forming an image by relatively moving on a recording medium in a direction substantially perpendicular to a discharge port array direction, and binary discharge corresponding to each of the discharge port arrays based on image data The generating unit generates data, and the generating unit corresponds to the first discharge port array as the distance between the first discharge port row and the second discharge port row is smaller. Generating binary ejection data corresponding to each of the ejection port arrays so that an exclusive relationship between the ejection data of the value and the binary ejection data corresponding to the second ejection port array is strengthened. To do.
Method of controlling an image forming apparatus of the present invention, a recording head having on the same area on the recording medium, a first outlet row and the second ejection outlet arrays which are arranged substantially parallel to the formation of the same color image and a said ejection opening row direction and control method for substantially the image forming apparatus Ru to form an image by relatively moving over the recording medium in a direction perpendicular to, on the basis of the image data, the discharge port array, respectively A generating step for generating binary discharge data corresponding to the first discharge port row, the smaller the inter-column distance between the first discharge port row and the second discharge port row, the lower the first step. Binary ejection data corresponding to each of the ejection port arrays so that an exclusive relationship between the binary ejection data corresponding to the ejection port array and the binary ejection data corresponding to the second ejection port array becomes stronger. Is generated .
Program of the present invention, for the same area on the recording medium, a first outlet row and the recording head having a second ejection outlet arrays which are arranged substantially parallel to the formation of the same color image, the discharge port a program for controlling an image forming apparatus which Ru is formed an image by relatively moving over the recording medium in a direction perpendicular to the column direction and substantially, based on the image data, corresponding to each of the ejection opening array The computer executes a generation process for generating binary discharge data to be performed. In the generation process, as the inter-column distance between the first discharge port array and the second discharge port array is smaller, the first process is performed. Binary ejection data corresponding to each of the ejection port arrays so that an exclusive relationship between the binary ejection data corresponding to the ejection port array and the binary ejection data corresponding to the second ejection port array becomes stronger. Is generated.
The image processing apparatus of the present invention includes a recording head having a first ejection port array and a second ejection port array arranged substantially in parallel to form an image of the same color with respect to the same area on a recording medium. An image processing apparatus for an image forming apparatus that forms an image by relatively moving on a recording medium in a direction substantially perpendicular to a discharge port array direction, and each of the discharge port arrays based on image data A generating unit configured to generate corresponding binary discharge data, wherein the generating unit reduces the first discharge port as the inter-column distance between the first discharge port column and the second discharge port column decreases. The binary discharge data corresponding to each of the discharge port arrays is set so that the exclusive relationship between the binary discharge data corresponding to the outlet array and the binary discharge data corresponding to the second discharge port array becomes stronger. It is characterized by generating.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to achieve high image quality of a recorded image by suppressing the generation of connecting stripes while maintaining high-speed recording using a recording head that is elongated by a connecting configuration.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
(First embodiment)
<Basic Configuration of Inkjet Recording Apparatus (FIG. 1)>
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a configuration of a main part of an ink jet printer (ink jet recording apparatus) IJRA according to an embodiment to which the present invention is applied. As shown in FIG. 1, the inkjet printer according to the present embodiment has a configuration in which a full-line recording head IJH that discharges ink is disposed over the entire width of a recording medium P (here, a foldable continuous sheet). It has become. Ink is ejected toward the recording medium P from the ejection port of the recording head chip IT of the recording head IJH at a predetermined timing.

  The recording head IJH thus configured is moved relative to the recording medium P to perform recording. In the present embodiment, the recording paper P is conveyed in the VS direction shown in FIG. 1 (main scanning direction in the full-line type) by driving the conveyance motor under the control of the control circuit described below. An image is recorded. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 5018 denotes a conveyance roller. A discharge roller 5019 holds the recording medium P at the recording position together with the conveying roller 5018, and conveys the recording medium P in the direction of the arrow VS in conjunction with the conveying roller 5018 driven by a drive motor (not shown). To do.

  An ink supply tube (not shown) is connected to the recording head IJH, and ink is ejected from the ink jet recording element. In the ink jet recording element of this example, a heating element (electric / thermal energy converter) that generates thermal energy used for ink ejection is provided in the interior (liquid path) communicating with the ink ejection port.

  When the recording head IJH does not perform recording, the ink discharge port surface is sealed by a cap portion (not shown) of the capping unit, so that the ink sticks due to evaporation of the ink solvent or the adhering foreign matter such as dust. Clogging due to such as is prevented. Further, the cap portion of the capping means is a cap portion for discharging ink that does not contribute to image recording from the ink discharge port (preliminary discharge) for eliminating discharge defects and clogging of the ink discharge port that is not frequently used. It can be used for discharging toward the water. Further, a negative pressure generated by a pump (not shown) is introduced into the cap portion in the capping state, and ink that does not contribute to image recording is sucked and discharged into the cap portion from the ink discharge port of the recording head IJH. It is also possible to recover the ink ejection port that caused the ejection failure. Further, by disposing a blade (wiping member) (not shown) at a position adjacent to the cap portion, it is possible to clean (wipe) the formation surface of the ink discharge port in the recording head IJH.

  In FIG. 1, a foldable continuous sheet is illustrated as the recording medium P, but there is no problem even if it is a cut sheet. In addition, although a configuration including one full line recording head IJH is illustrated, a configuration in which, for example, two full line recording heads having the same configuration are provided for high-quality recording and high-speed recording.

<Basic configuration of recording head (FIG. 2)>
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a configuration example of a main part of the above-described recording head IJH. The recording head IJH includes a heater board 23 that is a substrate on which a plurality of heaters (heating elements) 22 for heating ink are formed, and a top plate 24 that covers the heater board 23 as main elements. Is done. A plurality of discharge ports 25 are formed in the top plate 24, and a tunnel-like liquid path 26 communicating with each discharge port 25 is formed behind each discharge port 25. Each liquid path 26 is commonly connected to one ink liquid chamber at the rear thereof. Then, ink is supplied to the ink liquid chamber via an ink supply port, and this ink is supplied from the ink liquid chamber to each liquid path 26. The discharge port 25 forms a discharge port capable of discharging ink.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the heater board 23 and the top plate 24 are assembled so that each heater 22 is positioned at a position corresponding to each liquid passage 26. In FIG. 2, four discharge ports 25, heaters 22, and liquid paths 26 are representatively shown, and one heater 22 is arranged corresponding to each liquid path 26. In the recording head IJH assembled as shown in FIG. 2, when a predetermined drive pulse is supplied to the heater 22, the ink on the heater 22 boils to form bubbles, and the volume expansion of the bubbles. As a result, the ink is pushed out from the ejection port 25 and ejected.

  The ink jet recording system to which the present invention can be applied is not limited to the bubble jet (registered trademark) system using a heating element (heater) as shown in FIG. For example, the present invention can be applied to an ink jet system that ejects ink using mechanical pressure by a piezoelectric element. For example, in the case of a continuous type in which ink droplets are continuously ejected into particles, there are a charge control type and a divergence control type. Further, in the case of an on-demand type that ejects ink droplets as necessary, it can also be applied to a pressure control system that ejects ink droplets from an orifice by mechanical vibration of a piezoelectric vibration element. As described above, the present invention is applicable to a recording head including various ink jet recording elements.

<Control Configuration of Inkjet Recording Apparatus (FIG. 3)>
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a control system in the ink jet printer according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 3, 31 is an image data input unit, 32 is an operation unit, 33 is a CPU unit for performing various processes, and 34 is a storage medium for storing various data. The print information storage memory of the storage medium 34 stores information 34a mainly relating to the type of the recording medium, information 34b relating to ink used for printing, and information 34c relating to the environment such as temperature and humidity during recording. The storage medium 34 stores various control program groups 34d. Furthermore, 35 is a RAM, 36 is an image data processing unit, 37 is an image recording unit for outputting an image, and 38 is a bus unit for transferring various data.

  More specifically, the image data input unit 31 inputs multi-value image data from an image input device such as a scanner or a digital camera, or multi-value image data stored in a hard disk of a personal computer. The operation unit 32 includes various keys for instructing various parameter settings and recording start.

  The CPU 33 controls the entire printer according to various programs in the storage medium. The storage medium 34 stores a program for operating the printer in accordance with a control program and an error processing program. All operations in this example are operations according to this program. As the storage medium 34 for storing such a program, ROM, FD, CD-ROM, HD, memory card, magneto-optical disk, or the like can be used. The RAM 35 is used as a work area for various programs in the storage medium 34, a temporary save area for error processing, and a work area for image processing. The RAM 35 can also copy various tables in the storage medium 34, change the contents of the tables, and proceed with image processing while referring to the changed tables.

  The image data processing unit 36 applies various image processing such as color matching processing, color separation processing, output γ correction, resolution conversion, and the like to the data input by the image data input unit 31 and then inputs the multivalue The image data is quantized into N-value image data for each pixel. Next, a dot arrangement pattern corresponding to the gradation value is selected based on the gradation value “N” indicated by each quantized pixel. Since this dot arrangement pattern is a binary pattern indicating whether or not dots are recorded, binary ejection data can be obtained by selecting the dot arrangement pattern.

  As described above, the image data processing unit 36 performs N-ary processing on the input multi-value image data, and then creates binary ejection data based on the N-value image data. For example, when multi-value image data expressed in 8 bits (256 gradations) is input to the image data input unit 31, the image data processing unit 36 quantizes the gradation value of the output image data to 25 values. Next, the image data processing unit 36 assigns a dot arrangement pattern to the 25-value image data, thereby generating binary ejection data indicating ink ejection / non-ejection. Thereafter, binary ejection data is distributed to a plurality of ejection port arrays, and binary ejection data corresponding to the ejection ports of each ejection port array is determined. In this example, the multilevel error diffusion method is used for the N-value processing of the input gradation image data. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an arbitrary halftone processing method such as an average density storage method or a dither matrix method is used. be able to. The image data processing unit 36 only needs to be able to finally create binary ejection data from multi-value image data, and it is not essential to interpose the N-value conversion process as described above. For example, a binarization process may be performed in which multi-value image data input to the image data processing unit 36 is directly converted into binary ejection data.

  The image recording unit 37 ejects ink from the corresponding ejection port 25 based on the binary ejection data created by the image data processing unit 36 to form a dot image on the recording medium. The bus line 38 transmits address signals, data, control signals, and the like in the apparatus.

<Head configuration (FIGS. 4 to 6)>
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the recording head IJH, and shows a plurality of recording head chips arranged in the recording head IJH and an ejection port array of each recording head chip. The recording head IJH of the present embodiment includes chip-shaped components (hereinafter referred to as recording chips) 41 to 46 having a relatively short length in the ejection port array direction.

  The recording head IJH has recording chips 41 to 46 in which a plurality of ejection port rows (A row, B row, C row, D row) for ejecting ink of one color per row are arranged substantially in parallel in the ejection port row direction. Multiple connected. Each discharge port array has a discharge port arranged on a straight line. In the drawing, for example, the recording chip 41 is described as 41A, 41B, 41C, 41D.

  In the present embodiment, the long recording head IJH is formed by arranging the recording chips 41 to 46 in a staggered manner in the discharge port array direction. That is, the recording chip and the recording chip connected to the recording chip are arranged so as to be shifted in a direction substantially orthogonal to the ejection port array direction (main scanning direction), and the ejection port arrays partially overlap in the ejection port array direction. ing.

  Since the configuration of the ejection port arrays of the respective recording chips 41 to 46 is the same, the configuration will be described using the recording chip 41 as an example. As described above, the recording chip 41 has four rows of ejection openings (41A, 41B, 41C, 41D), and each row has a plurality of ejection openings arranged at a resolution of 1200 dpi.

  Further, the A, B, C, and D columns, which are the ejection port arrays provided in the respective recording chips 41 to 46, have the same color (type) for each ejection port array in the recording head IJH. Ink is ejected. Here, in each of the recording chips 41 to 46, the A column is recorded with yellow (Y), the B column with magenta (M), the C column with cyan (C), and the D column with black (Bk). It is configured.

  In the present embodiment, each recording chip is composed of four ejection port arrays and recording is performed with four colors of ink. However, the number of ejection port arrays and the number of inks in each recording chip are arbitrary. It can be. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, adjacent recording chips 51 and recording chips 52 are each composed of six ejection port arrays, and C, M, Y, Bk, LC (light cyan), and LM (light magenta). A configuration in which recording is performed with these six colors of ink may be used. In addition, special colors such as red, blue, green, and light gray may be included.

  In the above example, the description has been given of the case of the head configuration in which the ejection port arrays are nested according to the color of the ink. However, the configuration may include a relationship in which the distance between the ejection port arrays in the joint portion is different. For example, it is not necessary to be in a nested state, and the present invention can be applied. Furthermore, the ejection port arrays constituting the connecting portion may be in the same recording head or may be non-identical recording heads. In addition, the number of recording chips in one recording head, that is, the number of portions corresponding to the connecting portion may be arbitrary.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing in detail the state of the ejection port arrays of the adjacent recording chip 41 and recording chip 42. The recording chip 41 and the recording chip 42 are arranged such that predetermined ejection ports overlap in the ejection port array direction. This overlapping portion is referred to as a connecting portion. On the other hand, a portion other than the connecting portion is referred to as a non-connecting portion.

  By arranging in this way, white stripes on the recording medium corresponding to the position of the joint between the recording chips are prevented when recording is performed. In the present embodiment, the recording chip 41 and the recording chip 42 are configured such that 32 ejection ports overlap each other in the ejection port array direction from the ejection ports located at the end in the ejection port array direction ( (Part of the illustration is omitted.)

  In the illustrated example, the case has been described in which the discharge ports of the overlapping portions in the connecting portion are on the same recording line, but this configuration is not necessarily required. For example, even in a configuration in which the recording resolution of the joint portion is doubled by shifting each half pitch, or a special configuration in which the resolution of the discharge port of the joint portion changes depending on the position, The present invention can be applied without any problem as long as it is included in the category.

<Image Data Processing Method (FIG. 8)>
FIG. 8 is a block diagram for explaining image data processing for the connecting portion in the present embodiment. According to the flow of this image data processing, the recording data (binary discharge data) of each discharge port array in the connecting portion is determined. Note that the image data processing here is executed in the image data processing unit 36 under the control of the CPU 33.

  First, in step S101, data distribution to the discharge port array of the joint portion is applied to the multivalued data after color separation of the input color image into each ink color. The color separation processing is performed with reference to a separately provided color separation lookup table (LUT). Here, the multi-value data is distributed into two: multi-value data after data distribution (connecting portion X) and multi-value data after data distribution (connecting portion Y). As a combination of the connecting portion X and the connecting portion Y, for example, a set constituting a connecting portion that is responsible for discharging the same color ink, such as the discharge port arrays 41A and 42A, 41B and 42B, 41C and 42C, and 41D and 42D. This represents a discharge port array. The same applies to the other ejection row groups.

In step S102, filter processing is performed on the multi-valued data (joint portion X) A after data distribution using a predetermined filter F_m, and Af is calculated as in the following equation (1).
Af = A * F_m (1)
: Convolution

In the present embodiment, a filter coefficient is set using a two-dimensional Gaussian filter such as the following expression (2) as the filter F_m. In Expression (2), (σ _x , σ _y ) is a standard deviation of a two-dimensional normal distribution, and ρ is a correlation coefficient of x and y.

In the present embodiment, the filter coefficient is set according to the distance between the discharge port arrays constituting the connecting portion. Specifically, the recording chips 41 and 42 in the connecting head will be described below as an example. In each of the discharge port arrays 41A and 42A, 41B and 42B, 41C and 42C, and 41D and 42D constituting the connecting portion, the standard deviation (σ is greater as the inter-row distance between the discharge port arrays is larger (the distance is larger). _x and σ _y ) are set to be large values. For example, the following set values can be used. The filter size at this time is 5 × 5.
41A and 42A: σ _x = σ _y = 0.5
41B and 42B: σ _x = σ _y = 0.5
41C and 42C: σ _x = σ _y = 1.5
41D and 42D: σ _x = σ _y = 1.5
The filter coefficients at this time are shown in FIGS.

  In step S103, binarization processing is applied to the multi-valued data after data distribution (connecting portion X). The binarization method is not particularly limited. Specifically, for example, an error diffusion method by R. Floyd or the like is used (see Non-Patent Document 1).

  Thereafter, in step S104, low-pass filter processing is applied to the binary data obtained in step S103. The output here is used when binary data is obtained from multi-value data after data distribution (connecting portion Y), which will be described later, and the dot arrangement of multi-value data after data distribution (connecting portion Y). This is information about whether or not dots are likely to be hit.

Specifically, in step S104, the binary data B obtained in step S103 is filtered by a predetermined low-pass filter LPF_b, and Bf is calculated as in the following equation (3).
Bf = A * LPF_b (3)

  The coefficient of LPF_b in the present embodiment is also set according to the distance between the ejection port arrays constituting the connecting portion, as in the case of F_m described above. In this embodiment, F_m and LPF_b are the same, but different coefficients may be used.

Here, the effect on the magnitude of the standard deviation (σ _x , σ _y ) specified by the filter will be described below. As the standard deviation (σ _x , σ _y ) increases, the strength of the Gaussian filter increases. Placement relationship is not exclusive (exclusion relationship is weak). That is, the two dots overlap. For these reasons, by increasing the standard deviation (σ _x , σ _y ) for the discharge port arrays where the distance between the discharge port arrays at the connection part is large and the streak lines are likely to occur, the printer Robustness against fluctuation can be increased.

On the other hand, the smaller the standard deviation (σ _x , σ _y ), the lower the strength of the Gaussian filter. As an effect, multi-value data after data distribution (connecting portion X) and multi-value data after data distribution (connecting portion Y) The dot arrangement relationship is exclusive (the exclusive relationship is strong). That is, the two dots do not overlap. This means that dots are mutually exclusive like a general joint mask. For this reason, by reducing the standard deviation (σ _x , σ _y ) for the discharge port arrays where the distance between the discharge port arrays at the connection portion is small and the connection streak is difficult to occur, the printer Rather than emphasizing robustness against fluctuations, it is possible to increase the image quality at the joint.

  Note that the shape of the filter is not square but may be rectangular. An anisotropic shape may be used depending on the degree of occurrence of misalignment of the joint portion.

  In step S105, the input data of the joint Y is corrected. Specifically, it is obtained by adding the binary data Af obtained in step S102 and subtracting the binary data Bf obtained in step S104 to the post-data distribution multi-value data (connecting portion Y). It is done.

  In step S106, a binarization process is applied to the multi-value data obtained in step S105 to obtain binary data (joint portion Y).

  As soon as the binary data constituting the connecting portion is obtained by the procedure as described above, the data is transferred to the recording head and recording is performed.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a binary pattern of a connecting portion and a cross spectrum between the binary patterns in the present embodiment. In the figure, (a) is the discharge port arrays 41A and 41B, (b) is the discharge port arrays 42A and 42B, (c) is the discharge port array 41C, (d) is the discharge port array 42C, (E) represents an example of a binary pattern in the ejection port array 41D, and (f) in the drawing represents an example of a binary pattern in the ejection port array 42D. Note that FIG. 12 is schematically illustrated and is not strictly reproduced.

  At this time, by changing the standard deviation as described above, the patterns are completely exclusive (high frequency exclusive, low frequency exclusive) in the diagrams (a) and (b), and robust in the diagrams (e) and (f). It is a pattern relationship (high frequency random, low frequency exclusive) that emphasizes the nature. In the figure, (c) and (d) are intermediate pattern relationships between them.

  The graph shown in the lower part of FIG. 12 is a graph showing the radial frequency and the phase difference when the cross spectrum is calculated. The graph on the right indicates that the phase difference on the high frequency side is lower, that is, the exclusive relationship between patterns becomes weaker, and the patterns emphasize the robustness against mechanical misalignment.

  In the above description, the image data processing method in the connecting portion, which is a characteristic part of the present invention, has been described as a representative of the connecting portion between the recording chip 41 and the recording chip 42, but also between other chips. Similar processing can be applied. In addition, the image data processing method other than the joint portion may be processed in the same manner as in the prior art.

<Example>
Specific examples will be described below. For recording, a printer having the same configuration as that of FIG. 1 described above was used, and the recording head IJH shown in FIG. 4 was provided. The recording head was driven so that the amount of ejection from one ejection port was 2.8 pl. As an ink containing a coloring material, a commercially available ink BCI-7 for an inkjet printer PIXUS iP7100 (manufactured by Canon Inc.) was used. As described above, the relationship between the ejection port arrays and the ink colors is as follows. In each of the recording chips 41 to 46, the A column is yellow (Y), the B column is magenta (M), and the C column is cyan (C). , D row was filled with ink so as to record black (Bk) ink. As the recording medium P5, an inkjet-dedicated photo glossy paper (Pro Photo Paper, PR-101: manufactured by Canon Inc.) was prepared.

  More specifically, the ink droplet ejection drive frequency was 8 kHz, and the recording resolution was 1200 dpi in the main scanning direction (printing medium conveyance direction) and 1200 dpi in the sub-scanning direction (ejection port array direction). Also, as test image data, gradation patch image data (recording 0 to 255 divided into 17 gradations) with a recording duty was prepared. Also, photographic image data including various duties other than the above 17 types of duty were prepared. At this time, the duty is the same for each ink color in a certain gradation.

  Under the set conditions as described above, the prepared patch image data was recorded by one relative movement (main scanning) between the recording head and the recording medium. At that time, the binarization processing and data distribution processing of the patch image data were executed according to the flow of FIG. 8, and ink was ejected to record the patch image.

  As a result, in any gradation, the connecting streak between the recording chips was hardly visually recognized, and a satisfactory image quality image with no image quality degradation could be recorded. FIG. 13 shows a schematic view of a print image for one gradation of halftones in a patch image obtained by this recording, together with a head configuration diagram. As can be seen from FIG. 13, according to the above-described recording method, it is possible to suppress the generation of connecting stripes between the recording chips.

  Next, photographic image data including various duties other than the 17 types of duty was recorded. Also at that time, the binarization processing and data distribution processing of the image data were executed according to the flow of FIG. Even in this case, as in the case of recording the patch image, the connecting stripes between the recording chips were hardly visually recognized, and an image with satisfactory image quality with little image quality deterioration could be recorded.

<Comparative example>
The comparative example for comparing with the Example of this invention is demonstrated. In this comparative example, a recording head similar to that shown in FIG. 4 is used. However, the standard deviation value used in the filter processing of the above-described equations (1) and (3) is the discharge constituting the connecting portion. In any of the exit rows 41A and 42A, 41B and 42B, 41C and 42C, and 41D and 42D, σ _x = σ _y = 0.5. The filter size at this time is 5 × 5, and the filter coefficients are as shown in FIG.

  A specific comparative example is shown below. Various conditions for recording are the same as those in the example except for the contents described above. That is, the printer having the same configuration as that of FIG. 1 described above was used, and the recording head IJH shown in FIG. 4 was provided. The recording head was driven so that the amount of ejection from one ejection port was 2.8 pl. As an ink containing a coloring material, a commercially available ink BCI-7 for an inkjet printer PIXUS iP7100 (manufactured by Canon Inc.) was used. As the recording medium P, ink-dedicated photo glossy paper (Pro Photo Paper, PR-101: manufactured by Canon Inc.) was prepared.

  More specifically, the ink droplet ejection drive frequency was 8 kHz, and the recording resolution was 1200 dpi in the main scanning direction (printing medium conveyance direction) and 1200 dpi in the sub-scanning direction (ejection port array direction). Also, as test image data, gradation patch image data (recording 0 to 255 divided into 17 gradations) with a recording duty was prepared. At this time, the duty is the same for each ink color in a certain gradation. Also, photographic image data including various duties other than the above 17 types of duty were prepared.

  Under the set conditions as described above, the prepared patch image data was recorded by one relative movement (main scanning) between the recording head and the recording medium.

  As a result, from almost all gradations, particularly from the halftone to the high density portion, the connecting streaks between the recording chips in the recording head were visually recognized, resulting in an unsatisfactory image quality with degraded image quality. FIG. 14 shows a schematic view of a print image for one gradation of halftones in a patch image obtained by this recording, together with a head configuration diagram. As can be seen from FIG. 14, in this comparative example, the generation of connecting stripes between the recording chips is confirmed. In the drawings, the appearance of the connecting stripes is shown as a schematic diagram, and the actual appearance is not necessarily reproduced exactly.

  Next, photographic image data including various duties other than the 17 types of duty was recorded. In this case as well, as in the case of recording the patch image, a part of the connecting stripes between the recording chips in the main scanning direction was visually recognized, resulting in an unsatisfactory image quality with degraded image quality.

  As described above, as the connecting portion where the distance between the ejection port arrays in the main scanning direction becomes larger, the exclusivity of the arrangement relationship between the patterns printed at the connecting portion is broken, and the pattern is determined so as to recognize the overlap of dots. I made it. As a result, it was possible to suppress the generation of connecting stripes that are likely to occur due to the influence of mechanical fluctuations, and to obtain high-quality records. Needless to say, the displacement state of the recording apparatus and the distance between the ejection port arrays in the connecting head configuration vary depending on the printer configuration and the environment, and an optimal configuration may be appropriately set according to the variation.

  On the other hand, at the connecting part where the distance between the ejection port arrays in the main scanning direction is small, a connecting line is hardly generated due to the influence of mechanical fluctuations. Thus, the image quality at the connecting portion may be improved.

  In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the connecting portion is configured by the ejection port array for each row has been described. However, the same configuration is applied to an embodiment in which the connecting portion is configured by a plurality of rows for the purpose of improving image quality. Can take. For example, in the case where the connecting portion is composed of three rows, for example, when determining the pattern of the third row, it is only necessary to control the exclusive relationship with the dots placed on the first and second discharge port rows. .

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which there is no gradation mask at the joint portion has been described. However, the multiline data output by the data distribution processing in FIG. 8 is generally used in a full line head. There is no problem even if the processing in the present embodiment is applied after applying a mask at the joint portion, for example, a so-called gradation-like mask in which the amount of implantation is reduced toward the end portion.

(Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment, the form of the recording head having a head configuration in which the position of the connecting portion of the ejection port array is the same in the direction of the ejection port array in any ink color is shown. The present invention can be applied even to a recording head having a different head configuration for each ink color.

  FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of a head configuration in which the position of the connecting portion is different for each ink color, that is, for each of the ejection port arrays 131A to 131D and 132A to 132D. The configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment except that the configuration of the head is different.

  Further, the head configuration of the ejection port array itself is connected in the same manner as in FIG. 15 by appropriately limiting the ejection ports to be used in the configuration in which the ends of the ejection port arrays are arranged in the sub-scanning direction as shown in FIG. Even if the positions of the portions are different for each ink color, there is no problem. By taking this method, there is an advantage that a general-purpose recording chip can be diverted.

  If the recording position of the connecting part is shifted, the head configuration becomes larger.For example, the connecting line is less noticeable, and the connecting part of some colors is the same, for example, yellow and magenta have the same connecting position. In some cases. Even in this case, it is within the scope of the present invention, and there is no problem with other configurations.

(Third embodiment)
In the above embodiment, data distribution is performed on the multi-value data after color separation of the image data into each ink color to the discharge port array of the connecting portion, and the distributed multi-value data is in an exclusive relationship. Although an example in which binary discharge data is used while being controlled has been described, multi-value data after color separation of image data into ink colors is set as binary discharge data and is exclusive to the binary discharge data. It is also possible to perform data distribution to the discharge port array of the connecting portion while controlling the above. That is, in the above embodiment, the multi-value data is allocated to each joint portion and binarization is applied. However, the exclusive relationship between the dot patterns of the joint portion is implemented as the data distribution mask of the joint portion. It can also take a form.

  Hereinafter, also in the present embodiment, the head configuration shown in FIG. Here, as a representative, a description will be given at a connecting portion between the recording chip 41 and the recording chip 42. The same applies to the processing for other connecting portions.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart of image data processing for the connecting portion in the present embodiment. In step S301, binarization processing is applied to the multivalued data after color separation. The binarization method is not particularly limited, such as an error diffusion method or an INDEX expansion method, but here, the multi-value data is quantized into N-value data by the error diffusion method, and a dot arrangement pattern is assigned to the N-value data. To binarize.

  Next, in step S302, a joint data distribution mask process is applied. Specifically, at the connecting portions of the discharge port arrays 41A and 42A, 41B and 42B, 41C and 42C, 41D and 42D, the connecting portion data distribution mask prepared in advance is used to distribute the connecting portion data. Do.

  The connecting portion data distribution mask is a mask that is specified in advance by the recording device that is stored in the memory or set by the recording device or the PC in accordance with the procedure described in the first embodiment. .

  Here, the same connection portion data distribution mask as that described in FIG. 12 is used. That is, (a) is a discharge port array 41A and 41B, (b) is a discharge port array 42A and 42B, (c) is a discharge port array 41C, (d) is a discharge port array 42C, In the figure, (e) represents an example of the discharge port array 41D, and (f) in the figure represents an example of a joint portion data distribution mask in the discharge port array 42D. At this time, the total number of dots for recording the joint portion corresponds to a duty of 100%.

As in the first embodiment, in each of the discharge port arrays 41A and 42A, 41B and 42B, 41C and 42C, and 41D and 42D constituting the connecting portion, the standard deviation increases as the distance between the discharge port arrays increases. It is set so that (σ _x , σ _y ) becomes a large value. For example, the following set values can be used. The filter size at this time is 5 × 5.
41A and 42A: σ _x = σ _y = 0.5
41B and 42B: σ _x = σ _y = 0.5
41C and 42C: σ _x = σ _y = 1.5
41D and 42D: σ _x = σ _y = 1.5

(Fourth embodiment)
In the first to third embodiments, the connection head configuration in the recording head of the full-line type inkjet recording apparatus has been described. The present invention can also be applied to a case where a connection head configuration is adopted in a recording head of a serial type ink jet recording apparatus that discharges a recording medium while scanning the carriage in the main scanning direction.

  FIG. 17 is a schematic view showing one configuration of a serial type ink jet recording apparatus. The serial type recording head 1501 performs recording by reciprocating in the main scanning direction while the carriage 1502 is supported by the shaft 1503.

  The recording head 1501 of the present embodiment includes chip-shaped components (hereinafter referred to as recording chips) 151 and 152 having a relatively short length in the ejection port array direction.

  The recording head 1501 includes recording chips 151 and 152 in which a plurality of ejection port rows (A row, B row, C row, and D row) that eject ink of one color per row are arranged substantially in parallel in the ejection port row direction. Connected. Each of the ejection port arrays is formed by arranging ejection ports on a straight line. In the drawing, for example, the recording chip 151 is described as 151A, 151B, 151C, 151D.

  In the present embodiment, the recording chip 151 and the recording chip 152 are arranged so as to be shifted in a direction (main scanning direction) substantially orthogonal to the ejection port array direction, and the ejection port arrays partially overlap in the ejection port array direction. It is configured.

  Since the configuration of the ejection port arrays of the recording chips 151 and 152 is the same, the configuration will be described by taking the recording chip 151 as an example. As described above, the recording chip 151 has four discharge port arrays (151A, 151B, 151C, and 151D), and each of the columns has a plurality of discharge ports arranged at a resolution of 1200 dpi.

  In addition, the A, B, C, and D rows, which are ejection port arrays provided in the respective recording chips 151 and 152, have the same color (type) for each ejection port array in the recording head 1501. Ink is ejected. Here, in each of the recording chips 151 and 152, the A column is recorded with yellow (Y), the B column with magenta (M), the C column with cyan (C), and the D column with black (Bk). It is configured.

  In the present embodiment, each recording chip is composed of four ejection port arrays and recording is performed with four colors of ink. However, the number of ejection port arrays and the number of inks in each recording chip are arbitrary. It can be. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, adjacent recording chips 51 and recording chips 52 are each composed of six ejection port arrays, and C, M, Y, Bk, LC (light cyan), and LM (light magenta). A configuration in which recording is performed with these six colors of ink may be used. In addition, special colors such as red, blue, green, and light gray may be included.

  In the above example, the description has been given of the case of the head configuration in which the ejection port arrays are nested according to the color of the ink. However, the configuration may include a relationship in which the distance between the ejection port arrays in the joint portion is different. For example, it is not necessary to be in a nested state, and the present invention can be applied. Furthermore, the ejection port arrays constituting the connecting portion may be in the same recording head or may be non-identical recording heads. In addition, the number of recording chips in one recording head, that is, the number of portions corresponding to the connecting portion may be arbitrary.

  FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram showing in detail the state of the ejection port arrays of the adjacent recording chip 151 and recording chip 152. The recording chip 151 and the recording chip 152 are arranged so that predetermined ejection ports overlap in the ejection port array direction. This overlapping portion is referred to as a connecting portion. On the other hand, a portion other than the connecting portion is referred to as a non-connecting portion.

  By arranging in this way, white stripes on the recording medium corresponding to the position of the joint between the recording chips are prevented when recording is performed. In the present embodiment, the recording chip 151 and the recording chip 152 are configured such that 32 ejection ports in the ejection port array direction overlap each other from the ejection ports located at the end in the ejection port array direction ( (Part of the illustration is omitted.)

  In the illustrated example, the case has been described in which the discharge ports of the overlapping portions in the connecting portion are on the same recording line, but this configuration is not necessarily required. For example, even in a configuration in which the recording resolution of the joint portion is doubled by shifting each half pitch, or a special configuration in which the resolution of the discharge port of the joint portion changes depending on the position, The present invention can be applied without any problem as long as it is included in the category.

<Image Data Processing Method (FIG. 19)>
FIG. 19 is a block diagram for explaining the image data processing for the connecting portion in the present embodiment. According to the flow of this image data processing, the recording data (binary discharge data) of each discharge port array in the connecting portion is determined. Basically, it is the same as the image data processing described in the first embodiment, but a pass decomposition process in multi-pass printing unique to a serial type printing apparatus is added.

  First, in step S400, path separation is applied to multi-value data after color separation of an input color image into ink colors. The color separation processing is performed with reference to a separately provided color separation lookup table (LUT).

  In step S401, data distribution to the discharge port array of the joint portion is applied to the multivalued data after the pass decomposition obtained in step S400. Here, the multi-value data is distributed into two: multi-value data after data distribution (connecting portion X) and multi-value data after data distribution (connecting portion Y). As a combination of the connecting portion X and the connecting portion Y, for example, a set constituting a connecting portion that is responsible for discharging the same color of ink, such as the ejection port arrays 151A and 152A, 151B and 152B, 151C and 152C, and 151D and 152D. This represents a discharge port array. The same applies to the other ejection row groups.

  In step S402, post-data distribution multi-valued data (connecting portion X) A is subjected to filter processing with a predetermined filter F_m, and Af is calculated as in Expression (1) described in the first embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, the filter coefficient is set using a two-dimensional Gaussian filter such as Expression (2) described in the first embodiment as the filter F_m.

In the present embodiment, the filter coefficient is set according to the distance between the discharge port arrays constituting the connecting portion. Specifically, the recording chips 151 and 152 in the connection head will be described below as an example. In each of the discharge port arrays 151A and 152A, 151B and 152B, 151C and 152C, and 151D and 152D constituting the connecting portion, the standard deviation (σ _x , σ _y ) is set to a large value. For example, the following set values can be used. The filter size at this time is 5 × 5.
151A and 152A: σ _x = σ _y = 0.5
151B and 152B: σ _x = σ _y = 0.5
151C and 152C: σ _x = σ _y = 1.5
151D and 152D: σ _x = σ _y = 1.5

  In step S403, binarization processing is applied to the multi-valued data after data distribution (connecting portion X). The binarization method is not particularly limited. Specifically, for example, an error diffusion method by R. Floyd or the like is used (see Non-Patent Document 1).

  Thereafter, in step S404, low-pass filter processing is applied to the binary data obtained in step S403. The output here is used when binary data is obtained from multi-value data after data distribution (connecting portion Y), which will be described later, and the dot arrangement of multi-value data after data distribution (connecting portion Y). This is information about whether or not dots are likely to be hit.

  Specifically, in step S404, the binary data B obtained in step S403 is filtered by a predetermined low-pass filter LPF_b, and Bf is expressed as in equation (3) described in the first embodiment. calculate. The coefficient of LPF_b in the present embodiment is also set according to the distance between the ejection port arrays constituting the connecting portion, as in the case of F_m described above. In this embodiment, F_m and LPF_b are the same, but different coefficients may be used.

Here, the effect on the magnitude of the standard deviation (σ _x , σ _y ) specified by the filter will be described below. As the standard deviation (σ _x , σ _y ) increases, the strength of the Gaussian filter increases. As an effect, the dots of the multi-value data after data distribution (connecting portion X) and the multi-value data after data distribution (connecting portion Y) are effective. Placement relationship is not exclusive (exclusion relationship is weak). That is, the two dots overlap. For these reasons, by increasing the standard deviation (σ _x , σ _y ) for the discharge port arrays where the distance between the discharge port arrays at the connection part is large and the streak lines are likely to occur, the printer Robustness against fluctuation can be increased.

On the other hand, the smaller the standard deviation (σ _x , σ _y ), the lower the strength of the Gaussian filter. As an effect, multi-value data after data distribution (connecting portion X) and multi-value data after data distribution (connecting portion Y) The dot arrangement relationship is exclusive (the exclusive relationship is strong). That is, the two dots do not overlap. This means that dots are mutually exclusive like a general joint mask. For this reason, by reducing the standard deviation (σ _x , σ _y ) for the discharge port arrays where the distance between the discharge port arrays at the connection portion is small and the connection streak is difficult to occur, the printer Rather than emphasizing robustness against fluctuations, it is possible to increase the image quality at the joint.

  Note that the shape of the filter is not square but may be rectangular. An anisotropic shape may be used depending on the degree of occurrence of misalignment of the joint portion.

  In step S405, the input data of the joint Y is corrected. Specifically, it is obtained by adding the binary data Af obtained in step S402 and subtracting the binary data Bf obtained in step S404 to the tooth and post-distribution multi-value data (joint portion Y). It is done.

  In step S406, a binarization process is applied to the multivalued data obtained in step S405 to obtain binary data (connecting portion Y).

  As soon as the binary data constituting the connecting portion is obtained by the procedure as described above, the data is transferred to the recording head and recording is performed.

  Also in the fourth embodiment, as in the above-described embodiment, as the distance between the discharge port arrays in the connecting portion increases, the robustness of printer fluctuation (displacement) is emphasized, and the exclusive relationship between the patterns is weakened. As the distance between the discharge port arrays of the part becomes smaller, the exclusive relationship between the patterns is strengthened, so that it is possible to make the image quality deterioration due to the connecting stripe less noticeable when the printer fluctuation (deviation) occurs.

<Other embodiments>
Each embodiment described above is an example, and different embodiments may be used without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  The present invention can be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, interface device, reader, printer, etc.) or to an apparatus composed of a single device (for example, a copying machine, a facsimile machine). Good. Further, the image data processing is not limited to being executed in the recording apparatus as described above, and may be executed in an external device (computer) for controlling the recording apparatus. In this case, the processing up to the binary data determination process of each ejection port array is executed in the external device, and these binary data are transferred to the recording device, and the recording device performs recording based on the transfer data. Therefore, when the characteristic image data processing described above is performed by a recording apparatus, the recording apparatus constitutes the image processing apparatus of the present invention. When the characteristic image data processing is performed by an external apparatus, the external apparatus is The image processing apparatus of the invention is configured.

  Further, the present invention is also implemented by supplying software program code for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiment to an external device (for example, a computer) connected to the recording device, and controlling the recording device by the external device according to the program. Included in the category. In this case, the software program code itself realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the program code itself and means for supplying the program code to an external device (computer) (for example, a storage medium storing the program code) Constitutes the present invention. As a storage medium for storing the program code, for example, a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.

  The computer is not limited to the case where the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by executing the supplied program code. In other words, the program code is included in the embodiment of the present invention even when the function of the above-described embodiment is realized in cooperation with the OS running on the computer or other application software. Needless to say.

  Further, after the supplied program code is stored in a memory provided in a function expansion board of a computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the CPU or the like provided in the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs an actual process. You may do part or all. That is, it is needless to say that the present invention includes the case where the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized by the processing by the CPU or the like.

  In this specification, “recording (printing)” not only forms significant information such as characters and figures, but also forms images, patterns, patterns, etc. on a wide range of recording media, regardless of significance. Or it shall represent also when processing a medium. It does not matter whether it has been made obvious so that humans can perceive it visually.

  “Recording medium” is not only paper used in general recording apparatuses, but also widely represents cloth, plastic film, metal plate, glass, ceramics, wood, leather, etc. that can accept ink. Shall.

  Further, the term “ink” should be interpreted broadly in the same way as the definition of “recording (printing)” above, and when applied to a recording medium, it forms an image, a pattern, a pattern, etc., or processes the recording medium. Or a liquid that can be subjected to ink processing. Examples of the ink that can be used for the ink treatment include solidification or insolubilization of the colorant in the ink applied to the recording medium.

1 is an external perspective view illustrating a configuration of a main part of an ink jet printer according to a first embodiment. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a configuration example of a main part of the recording head according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a control system in the ink jet printer according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a recording head according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating another configuration example of a recording head. It is a schematic diagram showing in detail the state of the ejection port arrays of adjacent recording chips. It is explanatory drawing showing the magnitude | size of the generation | occurrence | production of the magnitude | size of the distance between rows | lines in a connection part, and a connection stripe. It is a block diagram explaining the flow of the image data process in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of a filter coefficient. It is a figure which shows an example of a filter coefficient. It is a figure which shows an example of a filter coefficient. It is the figure which showed an example of the binary pattern of the connection part in 1st Embodiment, and the cross spectrum between these binary patterns. It is a figure for demonstrating an Example. It is a figure for demonstrating a comparative example. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the recording head of 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart of the image data process in 3rd Embodiment. It is an external appearance perspective view which shows the structure of the principal part of the ink jet type printer which concerns on 4th Embodiment. It is a schematic diagram showing in detail the state of the ejection port arrays of adjacent recording chips. It is a flowchart of the image data process in 4th Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

IJH recording head 31 Image data input unit 32 Operation unit 33 CPU
34 Storage medium 34a Recording medium information 34b Ink information 34c Environmental information 34d Control program group 35 RAM
36 Image Data Processing Unit 37 Image Recording Unit 38 Data Bus 5018 Transport Roller 5019 Ejection Roller P Recording Medium 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46 Recording Chip 1501 Recording Head 151, 152 Recording Chip

Claims (9)

A recording head having a first ejection port array and a second ejection port array that are arranged substantially in parallel to form an image of the same color with respect to the same area on the recording medium is substantially perpendicular to the ejection port array direction. An image forming apparatus for forming an image by relatively moving on a recording medium in a direction,
Generating means for generating binary discharge data corresponding to each of the discharge port arrays based on image data;
The generation unit may generate binary discharge data corresponding to the first discharge port row and the second discharge port as the inter-column distance between the first discharge port row and the second discharge port row is smaller. An image forming apparatus , wherein binary discharge data corresponding to each of the discharge port arrays is generated so that an exclusive relationship with binary discharge data corresponding to an outlet array becomes strong . The generating means includes
And distribution means for performing data distribution of the image data to the two outlet rows,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that Ru and a binarizing means for the binary ejection data while controlling the exclusive relationship multivalued data distributed by said distributing means. The generating means includes
Binarization means for converting the image data into binary ejection data,
Claims, characterized in that Ru and a distributing means for performing data distribution of the by the binarization means to binarized binary said two outlet rows while controlling the exclusive relationship with respect to ejection data Item 2. The image forming apparatus according to Item 1. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first discharge port array and the second discharge port array are configured to partially overlap in the discharge port array direction . 5. The image forming apparatus described. 5. The image formation according to claim 1, wherein the first ejection port array and the second ejection port array are arranged on different recording chips in the recording head. 6. apparatus. A recording head having a first ejection port array and a second ejection port array that are arranged substantially in parallel to form an image of the same color with respect to the same area on the recording medium is substantially perpendicular to the ejection port array direction. a method of controlling an image forming apparatus Ru to form an image by relatively moving over the recording medium in the direction,
A generation step of generating binary discharge data corresponding to each of the discharge port arrays based on image data;
In the generating step, as the inter-column distance between the first discharge port array and the second discharge port array is smaller, the binary discharge data corresponding to the first discharge port array and the second discharge data are reduced. A control method for an image forming apparatus, characterized in that binary discharge data corresponding to each of the discharge port arrays is generated so that an exclusive relationship with binary discharge data corresponding to an outlet array becomes stronger . A recording head having a first ejection port array and a second ejection port array that are arranged substantially in parallel to form an image of the same color with respect to the same area on the recording medium is substantially perpendicular to the ejection port array direction. a program for controlling an image forming apparatus which Ru is formed an image by relatively moving over the recording medium in the direction,
Based on the image data, let the computer execute a generation process for generating binary discharge data corresponding to each of the discharge port arrays ,
In the generation process, as the inter-column distance between the first ejection port array and the second ejection port array is smaller, the binary ejection data corresponding to the first ejection port array and the second ejection data are reduced. A program for generating binary ejection data corresponding to each of the ejection port arrays so that an exclusive relationship with the binary ejection data corresponding to the outlet array is strengthened . A recording head having a first ejection port array and a second ejection port array that are arranged substantially in parallel to form an image of the same color with respect to the same area on the recording medium is substantially perpendicular to the ejection port array direction. An image processing apparatus for an image forming apparatus that forms an image by relatively moving on a recording medium in a direction,
Generating means for generating binary discharge data corresponding to each of the discharge port arrays based on image data;
The generation unit may generate binary discharge data corresponding to the first discharge port row and the second discharge port as the inter-column distance between the first discharge port row and the second discharge port row is smaller. An image processing apparatus that generates binary ejection data corresponding to each of the ejection port arrays so that an exclusive relationship with binary ejection data corresponding to an outlet array becomes stronger. The generating means includes
Distributing means for generating multi-value data corresponding to the first ejection port array and multi-value data corresponding to the second ejection port array by distributing the image data for each pixel;
First binarizing means for binarizing multi-value data corresponding to the first ejection port array;
First filter processing means for performing a filtering process using a low-pass filter for multi-value data corresponding to the first ejection port array;
Second filter processing means for performing a filtering process using a low-pass filter on binary discharge data corresponding to the first discharge port array output from the first binarization means;
Correction means for correcting multi-value data corresponding to the second ejection port array based on the results of the first filter processing means and the second filter processing means;
Second binarizing means for binarizing the multi-value data corresponding to the second ejection port array corrected by the correcting means;
The low-pass filter used in the first filter processing unit and the second filter processing unit is set according to a distance between the first discharge port row and the second discharge port row. Item 9. The image processing apparatus according to Item 8.

Images