JPH0957953A - Ink jet recording device and recording method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate irregularities in an image and eliminate blur at an edge part by separating an outline part data of record image from a data other than the outline, thinning storage data of a first memory means for storing data other than of the outline section and of a second memory means for storing the outline data, outputting them, synthesizing both outputs, and driving recording elements according to the outputs. SOLUTION: An image data stored in a print buffer 7000 is stored, by an edge extract means 7004, in an edge data print buffer 7005 of edge data and in an out-of-edge data print buffer 7001 of out-of-edge data. It is recommended that the buffer 7001 has a data storing capacity for 128 rasters and the buffer 7005 has a data storing capacity for 32 rasters. The buffers 7001 and 7005 are renewed at 32 raster unit per scan. When a data conformed to a coarse mask pattern in multipath printing is converted into a serial data from a thinning mask register 7008 by a parallel/serial conversion circuit 7009, the data is controlled to 128 pieces.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an inkjet recording apparatus for recording by ejecting ink from a recording head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the widespread use of personal computers, word processors, facsimiles and the like in offices, printers of various recording systems have been developed as output devices of these devices. Among them, the inkjet recording type printer has low recording noise, is capable of high-quality printing on various recording media, and can be easily downsized. Therefore, it is suitable for so-called personal use in the office. It is suitable. Among such inkjet recording apparatuses, an ink tank for storing ink,
A recording cartridge in which an electric signal is converted into heat by an electrothermal conversion element, thereby causing film boiling in the ink, and using the pressure of bubbles generated by the boiling to eject the ink, an integrated recording head and a replaceable recording cartridge Configurations using are becoming mainstream.

By shortening the ink supply path from the ink tank to the recording head, this recording cartridge has advantages such as cost reduction and ink consumption at the time of suction recovery. Further, when the amount of ink used until the end of the life of the recording head is held in the ink tank, the user replaces the recording cartridge to simultaneously supply ink and maintain the recording head. There are advantages such as. Further, it is possible to exchange and use the cartridges for color recording and for monochrome recording according to the user's application, and such a recording device has been proposed.

The quality of the image to be recorded largely depends on the performance of the recording head alone, and slight differences that occur during the manufacturing process of the recording head, such as the shape of the discharge port of the recording head and the variation of the electrothermal converting element, are discharged. This affects the ejected amount of the ejected ink and the direction of the ejecting direction, and causes deterioration in the image quality as density unevenness of the finally formed image.

This specific example will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. In FIG. 11A, reference numeral 1101 denotes a multi-head (a head having a plurality of ink ejection ports), which has eight nozzles 1102 for simplicity. 11
Reference numeral 03 denotes an ink droplet ejected from the nozzle 1102, and normally, it is ideal that ink is ejected in a uniform direction with a uniform ejection amount as shown in this figure. If such ejection is performed, dots of a uniform size are landed on the paper surface as shown in FIG. 11A, and the density unevenness also occurs as a whole as shown in FIG. 11C. A uniform image that does not exist can be obtained. However, in reality, as described above, each nozzle has a variation, and if printing is performed as it is in the same manner as described above, as shown in FIG. The size and direction of the ejected ink droplets vary, and the ink droplets land on the paper surface as shown in FIG. According to this figure, there are periodically blank areas that cannot satisfy the area factor of 100% with respect to the head main scanning direction, and conversely dots are overlapped more than necessary, or they are seen in the center of this figure. Such white streaks are occurring. A collection of dots landed in such a state has a density distribution as shown in FIG. 12C in the nozzle arrangement direction,
As a result, these phenomena are usually perceived by human eyes as density unevenness.

Therefore, as a countermeasure against this density unevenness, for example, a method as disclosed in JP-A-60-107975 has been proposed.

The method will be described with reference to FIGS. 13 and 14. According to this method, the multi-head 2001 is scanned three times to complete the printing area shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, but the area of a half 4-pixel unit is completed in two passes. In this case, 8 nozzles of multi-head
The dots which are divided into a group of upper 4 nozzles and a group of lower 4 nozzles, and which are printed by one nozzle in one scan are the prescribed image data thinned to about half according to a predetermined image data array. Then, dots are embedded in the remaining half of the image data at the time of the second scan, and printing in a 4-pixel unit area is completed. The recording method as described above is hereinafter referred to as a multi-pass recording method.

When such a recording method is used, even if the same head as the multi-head shown in FIG. 12 is used, the influence on the print image peculiar to each nozzle is halved, so the printed image is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 12A, the black streak and the white streak as shown in FIG. 12A become less noticeable. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 13C, the density unevenness is considerably reduced as compared with the case of FIG.

When performing such recording, the first scan and the second scan
In the scan, the image data is divided in such a manner as to fill each other according to a certain array, and this image data array (thinning-out pattern) usually forms a staggered grid for each vertical and horizontal pixel as shown in FIG. It is most common to use something like this.

Therefore, in the unit printing area (here, in units of 4 pixels), printing is completed by the first scan for printing the zigzag lattice and the second scan for printing the inverse zigzag lattice.

[0011]

However, by forming an image by a plurality of scans, in a low-cost recording apparatus, the landing positions of dots are slightly shifted in each scan in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction. In addition, the edge of the recorded image (hereinafter referred to as the edge) is blurred.
In particular, when the recorded image is a character or the like, the vertical and horizontal lines of the edge are blurred as shown in FIG. 15, which leads to deterioration of character quality.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object thereof is to maintain an effect of eliminating unevenness of a recorded image in printing by multi-scan and eliminate blurring of an edge portion of the recorded image. An inkjet recording apparatus and a recording method are provided.

[0013]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention has a recording head having a plurality of ejecting portions for ejecting ink to a recording medium. In an inkjet recording apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium by scanning (n is an integer of 2 or more) times, a contour separation unit that separates contour data of recorded image data from data of a portion other than the contour,
First storage means for storing data other than the contour portion, second storage means for storing the contour data, and thinning output means for thinning and outputting the data stored in the first storage means. A composite output means for combining and outputting the output of the data stored in the second storage means and the output by the thinning output means, and a drive means for driving the recording element in accordance with the output from the composite output means. It is characterized by having and.

Further, in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention, in the synthesizing means, the output data portion which contributes to the driving of the recording element which scans the portion where the recording scan on the recording medium is not yet performed is the second one. An output data unit that outputs a theoretical sum of the output of the data stored in the storage unit and the output of the thinning-out output unit and contributes to the driving of the printing element that scans the portion where the printing scan is performed on the printing medium. Outputs the output from the thinning output means.

In the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention, the composite output means outputs the data stored in the second storage means only for one scan out of n scans and outputs the data other than the above scans. In (n-1) times of scanning, the theoretical sum of the blank (null) data and the output by the thinning output means is output.

Further, in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention, a recording head having a plurality of ejecting sections for ejecting ink is scanned n times (n is an integer of 2 or more) with respect to the recording medium to form an image on the recording medium. In an inkjet recording apparatus to be formed, first storage means for storing the image data, contour separation means for separating contour data of the recorded image data, second storage means for storing the contour data, and the first storage means. Thinning output means for thinning and outputting the data stored in the storage means, first output means for outputting the data stored in the second storage means, and n.
Second output means for outputting the output from the first output means only for one of the scans and outputting blank (null) data for the (n-1) th scan other than the scan; Synthetic output means for outputting a theoretical product of the inversion of the output of the first output means and the output by the thinning output means and the theoretical sum of the output by the second output means, and the recording element is driven according to the output by the synthetic means. It is characterized in that it is provided with a driving means for operating.

Further, in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention, the recording head ejects ink by using thermal energy.

Further, in the ink jet recording method according to the present invention, the recording head is made to scan the recording medium n (n is an integer of 2 or more) times to form an image on the recording medium. The outline portion is completed by one scan, and the recorded image other than the outline portion is completed by n scans.

Further, the ink jet recording method according to the present invention is further characterized in that the contour portion data of the recorded image and the data other than the contour portion are extracted.

According to the above structure, the edge portion of the recorded image can be completed by one scan, and the image other than the edge can be completed by a plurality of scans. The halftone image has no unevenness and the character portion has the edge. It is possible to provide a recording apparatus and a recording method that realize a clear and high-quality image.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION An ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 2 to 9 show preferred ink jet units IJU, ink jet heads IJH, ink tanks IT, ink jet cartridges IJC, ink jet recording apparatus main body IJRA, carriage HC, and their respective relationships, which are suitable for implementing or applying the present invention. It is an explanatory view for explaining. The configuration of each part will be described below with reference to these drawings.

(Schematic Description of Apparatus Main Body) FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing an example of an ink jet recording apparatus IJRA applied to the present invention. In FIG. 2, the driving force transmission gears 5011 and 5009 are interlocked with the forward and reverse rotations of the drive motor 5013.
Spiral groove 5 of the lead screw 5004 rotating through the
The carriage HC engaging with 005 has a pin (not shown) and is reciprocated in the directions of arrows a and b. The carriage HC has an ink jet cartridge IJC.
Is installed. A paper pressing plate 5002 presses the paper against the platen 5000 in the carriage movement direction. Reference numerals 5007 and 5008 denote photocouplers, which confirm the existence of the carriage lever 5006 in this area.
Home position detection means for switching the rotation direction of the motor 5013. Reference numeral 5016 is a member that supports a cap member 5022 that caps the front surface of the recording head. Reference numeral 5015 is a suction unit that suctions the inside of the cap to perform suction recovery of the recording head through the in-cap opening 5023. 5017 is a cleaning blade, 5019 is a member that allows the blade to move in the front-rear direction,
These are supported by the main body support plate 5018. It goes without saying that the blade is not limited to this form, and a well-known cleaning blade can be applied to this embodiment. Reference numeral 5024 is a temperature or humidity sensor, which can detect the temperature and humidity of the ink jet recording apparatus. It is also possible to predict the temperature of the inkjet recording head.
This may be attached to the inkjet cartridge IJC or may be directly attached to the inkjet unit IJU and detected.

Reference numeral 5021 is a lever for starting suction for suction recovery, and a cam 5020 for engaging with the carriage.
And the driving force from the drive motor is controlled by known transmission means such as clutch switching.

The capping, cleaning, and suction recovery are configured so that desired processing can be performed at their corresponding positions by the action of the lead screw 5005 when the carriage comes to the home position side area. As long as the desired operation is performed at the timing, any of the above can be applied to this example.

Inkjet cartridge IJ in this example
As can be seen from the perspective view of FIG. 3, C has a large ink storage ratio, and has a shape in which the tip of the inkjet unit IJU slightly projects from the front surface of the ink tank IT. The inkjet cartridge IJC is a positioning unit for the carriage HC, which will be described later, mounted on the inkjet recording apparatus main body IJRA.
And the electric contact, and is detachably attached to the carriage HC.

(Structure Description of Inkjet Unit IJU) The inkjet unit IJU is a unit of the type that records by using an electrothermal converter that generates heat energy for causing film boiling to ink in response to an electric signal. Is.

In FIG. 4, reference numeral 100 denotes an electrothermal converter (discharge heater) arranged in a plurality of rows on a Si substrate, and electric wiring such as aluminum for supplying electric power to the electrothermal converter, which is formed by a film forming technique. It is a heater board consisting of. Reference numeral 200 is a wiring board for the heater board 100.
It has a wire corresponding to the wire 00 (for example, is connected by wire bonding), and a pad 201 located at the end of the wire and receiving an electric signal from the main body device.

Reference numeral 1300 denotes a grooved top plate provided with a partition wall and a common liquid chamber for dividing a plurality of ink flow passages, respectively, and an ink receiving port 1500 for receiving the ink supplied from the ink tank and introducing it into the common liquid chamber. And an orifice plate 400 having a plurality of discharge ports are integrally molded. Polysulfone is preferred as these integrally molded materials,
Other molding resin materials may be used.

Reference numeral 300 denotes, for example, a metallic support member that supports the back surface of the wiring substrate 200 on a flat surface and serves as a bottom plate of the ink jet unit. Reference numeral 500 denotes a presser spring, which has an M-shape and presses the common liquid chamber at the center of the M-shape, and at the same time, the front portion 5
At 01, a part of the liquid passage is pressed by linear pressure. Heater board 10
0 and the top plate 1300 are pressed and the foot of the spring is supported by the support member 300.
By engaging the rear surface side of the support body 300 through the holes 3121 of the support body 300 and engaging them with each other in a sandwiched state, the pressing force of the presser spring 500 and the front slant portion 501 thereof causes the heater board 100. The top plate 1300 and the top plate 1300 are fixed by pressure. In addition, the support member 300 has the positioning holes 3 that engage with the two positioning protrusions 1012 and the positioning and heat-fusion-holding protrusions 1800 and 1801 of the ink tank IT.
In addition to having 12, 1900, 2000, the device main body IJR
A protrusion 250 for positioning the carriage A on the carriage HC
0,2600 on the back side. In addition, the support 30
Reference numeral 0 also has a hole 320 capable of penetrating an ink supply pipe 2200 (described later) that enables ink supply from the ink tank. The wiring board 200 is attached to the support 300 by adhering it with an adhesive or the like.

The recesses 2400, 240 of the support 300
1 is provided in the vicinity of the positioning projections 2500 and 2600, respectively, and in the assembled ink jet cartridge IJC (FIG. 3), a head tip region formed by a plurality of parallel grooves 3000 and 3001 on three sides of the periphery thereof. At the extension point of the
It is located so as not to reach 500, 2600. The lid member 800 in which the parallel groove 3000 is formed
As shown in FIG. 3, the outer wall of the ink jet cartridge IJC is formed and the space for accommodating the ink jet unit IJU is formed. Further, the ink supply member 600 in which the parallel groove 3001 is formed.
Forms an ink conduit 1600 that is continuous with the above-described ink supply pipe 2200 as a cantilever with the supply pipe 2200 side fixed, and the fixed side of the ink conduit and the ink supply pipe 2200
A sealing pin 602 is inserted to secure the capillarity with the. 601 is an ink tank IT and a supply pipe 22.
Numeral 700 designates a packing for connecting and sealing with 00, and 700 designates a filter provided at the end of the supply pipe on the tank side.

Since the ink supply member 600 is molded, the ink supply member 600 is inexpensive, has a high positional accuracy, and is free from a decrease in accuracy in forming and manufacturing. In addition, the cantilevered conduit 1600 can be used for mass production. The pressure contact state of 1600 with respect to the above-described ink receiving port 1500 can be stabilized. In this example, a complete communication state can be reliably obtained by pouring the sealing adhesive from the ink supply member side under this pressure contact state. The ink supply member 60
No. 0 is fixed to the support 300 by the hole 1 of the support 300
Pins (not shown) on the back side of the ink supply member 600 with respect to the holes 901 and 1901
This can be easily performed by projecting through the support member 2 and thermally bonding the portion of the support body 300 projecting to the rear surface side. It should be noted that the slightly projected area of the heat-sealed back surface portion is accommodated in the recess (not shown) in the side wall surface of the ink jet unit IJU mounting surface of the ink tank IT.
Is accurately obtained.

(Explanation of the structure of the ink tank IT) The ink tank is composed of the cartridge body 1000 and the ink absorber 9
00 and the ink absorber 900 to the cartridge main body 100
No. 0 is inserted from the side surface opposite to the unit IJU mounting surface, and then the lid member 1100 is formed to seal it. Reference numeral 900 denotes an absorber for impregnating the ink, and is arranged in the cartridge main body 1000. 120
Reference numeral 0 denotes a supply port for supplying ink to the unit IJU including the above-described units 100 to 600, and the unit is connected to the portion 1010 of the cartridge body 1000.
It is also an injection port for performing ink impregnation of the absorber 900 by injecting ink from the supply port 1200 in the process before being arranged.

In this example, the ink can be supplied to the atmosphere communication port and this supply port, but the rib 2300 in the main body 1000 and the lid member for favorably supplying the ink from the ink absorber. 1100 partial ribs 2301, 2
The air presence region in the tank formed by 302 and
The ink supply port 12 is continuously connected from the atmosphere communication port 1401 side.
Since the ink is formed over the farthest corner area from 00, it is important that the ink supply to the absorber is relatively good and uniform from the supply port 1200 side. This method is extremely effective in practice. The rib 2300 has a plurality of ribs parallel to the carriage movement direction on the rear surface of the main body 1000 of the ink tank, and prevents the absorber from adhering to the rear surface.
In addition, the partial ribs 2301 and 2302 are similar to the ribs 230.
It is provided on the inner surface of the lid member 1100 which is an extension corresponding to 0, but unlike the rib 2300, it is in a divided state and the air existing space is increased more than the former. In addition, the partial ribs 2301 and 2302 are the lid members 11
00 is dispersed on less than half of the total area. With these ribs, the ink in the corner region farthest from the tank supply port 1200 of the ink absorber could be more stably guided to the supply port 1200 side by capillary force. Reference numeral 1401 denotes an atmosphere communication port provided in the lid member for communicating the inside of the cartridge with the atmosphere. A liquid repellent material 1400 is disposed inside the atmosphere communication port 1401, and thus ink leakage from the atmosphere communication port 1401 is prevented.

The above-described arrangement of ribs is particularly effective because the ink storage space of the ink tank IT has a rectangular parallelepiped shape and has long sides on its side surfaces, but it is long in the moving direction of the carriage. In the case of having a side or a three-dimensional shape, it is possible to stabilize the ink supply from the ink absorber 900 by providing a rib on the entire lid member 1100.

Further, the above unit IJ of the ink tank IT
The configuration of the mounting surface of U is shown by FIG. Let L1 be a straight line that passes through substantially the center of the projecting opening of the orifice plate 400 and is parallel to the mounting reference plane of the bottom surface of the tank IT or the surface of the carriage. Two positioning protrusions that engage with the holes 312 of the support body 300. 1012 is on this straight line L1. The height of the protrusion 1012 is slightly lower than the thickness of the support 300, and the support 300 is positioned. In this drawing, a claw 2100 with which the 90 ° angle engaging surface 4002 of the carriage positioning hook 4001 is engaged is located on the extension of the straight line L1, and the positioning action force with respect to the carriage is the straight line L1. It is configured to operate in a plane region parallel to the reference plane including the above. As will be described later with reference to FIG. 6, these relations are effective because the positioning accuracy of only the ink tank is equivalent to the positioning accuracy of the ejection openings of the head.

The projections 1800 and 1801 of the ink tank corresponding to the fixing holes 1900 and 2000 on the side surface of the ink tank of the support 300 are longer than the above-mentioned protrusion 1012 and protrude through the support 300. This is for fixing the support 300 to the side surface by heat-sealing the portion. When the straight line passing through the protrusion 1800 perpendicular to the above line L1 is L3 and the straight line passing through the protrusion 1801 is L2, the center of the supply port 1200 is located on the straight line L3. This is a preferable configuration because it acts to stabilize the connection state with the supply pipe 2200, and the load on these connection states can be reduced even when dropped or impacted. Also, the straight lines L2 and L3 do not match, and the head IJH
Around the protrusion 1012 on the discharge port side of the protrusions 1800, 180
1 is present, the positioning effect of the head IJH with respect to the tank is further produced. The curve indicated by L4 is the outer wall position when the ink supply member 600 is bonded. Since the protrusions 1800 and 1801 are along the curve L4, sufficient strength and positional accuracy are given to the weight of the tip side structure of the head IJH. 2700
Is the front brim of the ink tank IT and the front plate 4 of the carriage.
It is inserted into the 000 hole and is provided for an abnormal case where the displacement of the ink tank becomes extremely bad. 210
Reference numeral 1 denotes an engaging portion that engages with a further positioning portion of the carriage HC.

The ink tank IT has a shape that encloses the unit IJU except the lower opening by covering the unit IJU with the lid 800 after the unit IJU is mounted. However, since the ink jet cartridge IJC is mounted on the carriage HC. Since the lower opening of is close to the carriage HC,
A substantial four-way surrounding space is formed. Therefore, although the heat generated from the head IJH in the enclosed space is effective as a heat retaining space in this space, the temperature rises slightly for long-term continuous use. Therefore, in this example, a slit 1700 having a width smaller than this space is provided on the upper surface of the cartridge IJC in order to help the support body to radiate heat naturally, so that the temperature distribution of the entire unit IJU is uniform while preventing the temperature rise. It was possible to make the conversion independent of the environment.

When assembled as an ink jet cartridge IJC, the ink is supplied from the inside of the cartridge to the inside of the supply / supply member 600 through the supply port 1200, the hole 320 provided in the support 300, and the introduction port provided on the inner / back surface side of the supply / supply member 600. Is supplied to the common liquid chamber through an appropriate supply pipe and an ink introduction port 1500 of the top plate 1300 after passing through the inside of the common liquid chamber. A packing made of, for example, silicone rubber or butyl rubber is provided at the connection portion for ink communication as described above, whereby sealing is performed to secure an ink supply path.

In this embodiment, the top plate 1300 is made of a resin such as polysulfone, polyethersulfone, polyphenylene oxide, polypropylene, etc., which has excellent ink resistance, and is integrally molded together with the orifice plate 400 in the mold. I am doing it.

As described above, since the integrally formed part is the ink supply member 600, the top plate / orifice plate integrated, and the ink tank main body 1000, not only the assembly accuracy becomes high, but also it is extremely effective for improving the quality of mass production. Is. Moreover, since the number of parts can be reduced as compared with the conventional one, excellent desired characteristics can be surely exhibited.

(Explanation of Attaching Inkjet Cartridge IJC to Carriage HC) 500 in FIG.
A platen roller 0 guides the recording medium P from the lower side to the upper side of the drawing. The carriage HC is a platen roller 500.
0, which moves along the front platen side of the carriage, and the front plate 4000 (thickness 2 mm) located on the front side of the inkjet cartridge IJC, and the cartridge IJ.
Pad 2 corresponding to pad 201 of wiring board 200 of C
The flexible sheet 4005 provided with 011 and a supporting plate 4003 for an electrical connection portion holding a rubber pad 4006 for generating an elastic force that presses the flexible sheet 4005 from the back surface side to each pad 2011, and an inkjet cartridge IJC are set to a recording position. A positioning hook 4001 for fixing is provided. The front plate 4000 has a positioning protrusion surface 4010 corresponding to the above-mentioned positioning protrusions 2500 and 2600 of the support 300 of the cartridge.
After the cartridge is mounted, it receives a vertical force toward the protruding surface 4010. For this reason, a plurality of reinforcing ribs are provided on the platen roller side of the front plate in the direction of the vertical force. This rib is used for the cartridge IJ
Slightly from the front position L5 when C is installed (about 0.1 mm
A degree) A head protection protrusion protruding toward the platen roller is also formed. Support plate 4003 for electrical connection
Has a plurality of reinforcing ribs 4004 in the vertical direction, not in the direction of the ribs, and the ratio of lateral projection from the platen side toward the hook 4001 side is reduced. This also serves to incline the position when the cartridge is mounted as shown in the figure. Further, the support plate 4003 stabilizes the electrical contact state, so that the positioning surface 4008 on the platen side is provided.
And a hook-side positioning surface 4007, a pad contact area is formed between them, and the deformation amount of the rubber sheet 4006 with a bottch corresponding to the pad 2011 is uniquely defined. When these positioning surfaces are fixed at positions where the cartridge IJC can record, they come into contact with the surface of the wiring board 300. In this example, the wiring board 30
Since the pads 201 of 0 are distributed symmetrically with respect to the line L1 described above, the deformation amounts of the respective bottches of the rubber sheet 4006 are made uniform to further stabilize the contact pressure of the pads 2011 and 201. The distribution of the pads 201 in this example is upper, lower two rows, and vertical two rows.

The hook 4001 has an elongated hole that engages with the fixed shaft 4009, and the platen roller 500 is rotated after rotating counterclockwise from the position shown in the drawing using the movement space of the elongated hole.
The inkjet cartridge IJC is positioned with respect to the carriage HC by moving to the left side along 0. Although any mechanism for moving the hook 4001 may be used, it is preferable to use a lever or the like. In any case, when the hook 4001 rotates, the cartridge IJC moves to the platen roller side and moves to a position where the positioning protrusions 2500 and 2600 can contact the positioning surface 4010 of the front plate, and the hook 4001 moves to the left side. While the 90 ° hook surface 4002 is in close contact with the 90 ° surface of the claw 2100 of the cartridge IJC, the cartridge IJC
The positioning surfaces 2500 and 4010 are rotated in the horizontal plane about the contact area between the pads 201 and 2011, and finally the contact between the pads 201 and 2011 starts. And the hook 4001 is in a predetermined position,
That is, when held in a fixed position, the pads 201, 20
11 Complete contact with each other and positioning surfaces 2500, 40
10 complete surface contact of the same person, 90 degree surface 4002 and 90 of the nail
Contact between the two surfaces, the wiring board 300 and the positioning surface 400
Surface contact with 7,4008 is formed at the same time, and the holding of the cartridge IJC with respect to the carriage is completed.

(Description of Heater Board) FIG. 7 is a schematic view of the heater board 100 of the head used in this embodiment. A temperature adjustment (sub) heater 8d for controlling the temperature of the head, an ejection portion array 8g provided with an ejection (main) heater 8c for ejecting ink, and a drive element 8
h is formed on the same substrate in the positional relationship shown in FIG. By arranging each element on the same substrate in this way, the head temperature can be detected and controlled efficiently, and the head can be made compact and the manufacturing process can be simplified. The figure also shows the positional relationship of the cross section 8f of the outer peripheral wall of the top plate, which is divided into a region where the heater board is filled with ink and a region where it is not. The discharge heater 8d side of the outer peripheral wall cross section 8f of the top plate functions as a common liquid chamber. In addition,
A liquid path is formed by the groove portion formed on the discharge portion row 8g having the outer peripheral wall cross section 8f of the top plate.

(Description of Control Configuration) Next, a control configuration for executing recording control of each unit of the above-described apparatus configuration will be described with reference to the block diagram shown in FIG. In the figure showing the control circuit, 10 is an interface for inputting a recording signal, 11 is an MPU, 12 is a program ROM for storing a control program executed by the MPU 11, 13
Is a dynamic RAM for storing various data (recording data, recording data supplied to the head, etc.), and can also store the number of print dots, the number of times the ink recording head is replaced, and the like. A gate array 14 controls supply of print data to the print head 18, and also controls data transfer between the interface 10, the MPU 11, and the RAM 13. Reference numeral 20 is a carrier motor for carrying the recording head 18, and 19 is a carrying motor for carrying the recording paper. Reference numeral 15 is a head driver for driving the head, and 16, 1
Reference numeral 7 is a motor driver for driving the carry motor 19 and the carrier motor 20, respectively.

FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram showing the details of each part of FIG. The gate array 14 has a data latch 141, a segment (SEG) shift register 142, a multiplexer (MPX) 143, a common (COM) timing generation circuit 144, and a decoder 145. Recording head 18
Has a diode matrix configuration, and a drive current flows through the ejection heaters (H1 to H64) where the common signal COM and the segment signal SEG match, thereby heating and ejecting the ink.

The decoder 145 decodes the timing generated by the common timing generation circuit 144 and selects any one of the common signals COM1 to COM8. The data latch 141 latches the recording data read from the RAM 13 in 8-bit units, and the multiplexer 143 stores the recording data in the segment shift register 1.
According to 42, it outputs as segment signals SEG1-8. The output from the multiplexer 143 can be variously changed according to the contents of the shift register 142, such as 1 bit unit, 2 bit unit, or all 8 bits as described later.

The operation of the above control structure will be described. When a recording signal is input to the interface 10, the recording signal is converted between the gate array 14 and the MPU 11 into recording data for printing. Then, the motor drivers 16 and 17 are driven, and the recording head is driven according to the recording data sent to the head driver 15 to perform printing.

Next, FIG. 10 shows a block diagram for explaining the flow of print data inside the printing apparatus. The print data sent from the host computer is stored in the receiving buffer inside the printing apparatus via the interface. The reception buffer has a capacity of several k to several tens of kbytes. After the command analysis is performed on the recording data stored in the receiving buffer, the data is sent to the text buffer. In the text buffer, the recorded data is held as an intermediate format for one line,
A process is performed in which the print position of each character, the type of modification, the size, the character (code), the address of the font, and the like are added. The capacity of the text buffer varies depending on each model,
A serial printer has a capacity of several lines, and a page printer has a capacity of one page. Further, the print data stored in the text buffer is expanded and stored in the print buffer in a binarized state, and a signal is sent to the print head as print data for printing. Depending on the type of recording device, there is also a device which does not have a text buffer and expands the recording data accumulated in the reception buffer simultaneously with command analysis and writes it in the print buffer.

(Edge Extraction Means) In the present embodiment, the specification is such that when a recording pixel exists within 2 pixels around the non-recording pixel, it is detected as an edge portion.

In the recording apparatus, the recording data for each color is expanded into bit drawing data of 1 or 0 which indicates whether or not recording is performed prior to recording (the expanded memory is referred to as a print buffer below).

Here, in order to detect whether or not a recording pixel exists within the two pixels around the non-recording pixel, the data in which the data in the print buffer for recording is inverted is expanded in the working buffer 1 and non-recording is performed. Create a pixel buffer. Next, a working buffer 2 is prepared, and the data of the buffer 1 is logically ORed by 2 bits on the left and right (X direction) and expanded into the unbuffered pixel data for 2 pixels in the X direction. Creates a bold pixel buffer. Further, a working buffer 3 is prepared, and data obtained by logically summing two bits before and after (Y direction) is developed in the buffer 3 to form a pixel buffer in which unrecorded pixel data for two pixels are bolded in the Y direction. create. As described above, the pixel data in which the unrecorded pixel data is expanded by two pixels in the front, rear, left, and right is obtained in the working buffer 3.

Next, the working buffer 4 is prepared, and the logical product of the buffer 3 which is the bold data of the non-recording pixels and the print buffer which is the recording pixel data is developed on the buffer 4.

At this time, the pixel data remaining on the buffer 4 becomes the edge portion where the recording pixel exists within the two pixels around the non-recording pixel.

Further, a working buffer 5 is prepared, and data obtained by taking a logical difference between the print pixel data, which is the recording pixel data, and the buffer 4, which is the data of the edge portion, is developed on the buffer 5.

In the above description, the case where five work buffers are used has been described in order to facilitate understanding of the method. However, it is of course possible to use a single buffer for processing all.

The vertical and horizontal dot size (bitmap size) which is one unit is the number of dots to be detected for boundary detection (in this embodiment, since there are two surrounding pixels, 5 ×).
There is no limitation as long as it is 5 pixels size or more, but it is often easy to set the horizontal size for one line of the recording size and the vertical size for the head nozzle.

Further, the logical sum and the logical product may be processed by the function of the CPU or by a hard logic. In the case of hardware processing, it is possible to expand both vertically and horizontally, and high speed processing can be achieved. Further, although bit-by-bit processing, byte-by-byte processing, or word-by-word processing may be performed, it goes without saying that processing by a large unit enables high-speed processing.

In the method of expanding the dots, for example, 2 on the left and right
In the above, as the means for expanding the dots, the logical sum of the left and right 2 dot pixels is taken, but the dot is expanded by 8 pixels in one direction, for example, in the right direction (giving logical sum of 8 pixels in the right direction from the target dot) If the expansion source buffer is a data area for n pixels in the X direction, the work buffer that is the expansion destination is a data area for n + 8 pixels, which is larger by 8 pixels to the right. By discarding the area for four pixels and extracting the data at the position of the (n + 4) th pixel from the position of the fifth pixel in the X direction, the same data as the logical sum of the left and right four pixels can be obtained. Depending on the software algorithm or the hardware logic configuration, it may be easier to limit the address to only the pre-reference or the post-reference rather than the forward-backward reference. In such a case, the means is effective.

Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below using such an apparatus.

(Embodiment 1) A first embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG.
And FIG. 19 are used for the explanation.

In this embodiment, the number of recording elements is 128,
The recording medium feed amount in the sub-scanning direction for each scan is set to 32 pixels, that is, the recording image is completed by 4 scans. In addition, hereinafter, a unit of data for one scan for a pixel is referred to as a raster.

As shown in FIG. 1, first, the image data stored in the print buffer 7000 is stored in the edge data print buffer 7005 by the edge extraction means 7004, and the data outside the edge is printed outside the edge data. It is stored in the buffer 7001. In the case of this embodiment, the outside-edge data print buffer 7001 has a capacity capable of storing data for 128 rasters, and the edge-data print buffer 7005 has a capacity of 32.
It suffices if it has a capacity to store data for raster. Further, both the buffers 7001 and 7005 described above are updated in units of 32 rasters for each scan.

Next, the data outside edge print buffer 70
128 pieces of print data from 01 are taken into the outside edge data register 7002, and the parallel / serial conversion circuit 70
Converted to serial data 1 by 03. At this time, the transfer counter 7010 manages 128 serial data 1.

Also, the edge data print buffer 700
32 pieces of print data are fetched from No. 5 and converted into serial data 2 by the parallel / serial conversion circuit 7007. At this time, the edge data is used for the first 32 counts of the transfer counter 7010, and blank (null) data is transferred as the serial data 2 for the remaining 96 counts.

Data corresponding to the thinning mask pattern in the multipass printing is thinned out in the thinning mask register 700.
8 is converted into serial data 3 by the parallel / serial conversion circuit 7009. At this time, the transfer counter 701
The data is managed to 128 by 0.

Next, the serial data obtained by taking the theoretical product 7011 of the serial data 1 and the serial data 3 and the theoretical sum 7012 of the serial data 2 are transferred to the recording head as transfer data.

A method of forming an image by transferring the above-mentioned recording data will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 19 illustrates the relationship between the print element position and the print image in each scan of rectangular print data.

In FIG. 19A, the image of A1 is composed of the edge portion and the image outside the edge thinned by the mask.
FIG. 19B shows an image printed by the next scan of FIG. 19A. The image of B1 is composed of the edge part and the image outside the edge thinned by the mask, and the image of A2 is A1. An image obtained by further thinning out an image outside the edge with a predetermined mask on the image of is overwritten and printed. FIG.
19C shows the next scan of FIG. 19B, and FIG.
19D shows the next scan of FIG. 19C. FIG.
The image of A in (d) completes a recorded image by scanning four times.

With the above structure, the leading 32 elements of the recording element can complete the edge of the recorded image, and the remaining pixels can be completed in 4 passes by using 128 elements.

As a result, it is possible to achieve both an image with uniform dot position accuracy in the edge part of the recorded image and an image without unevenness in which dot position accuracy and dot diameter variations are diffused in the gray scale part.

(Second Embodiment) A second embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG.
7 and FIG. 20.

In the present embodiment, as in the previous embodiment, the number of recording elements is 128, and the recording medium feed amount in the sub-scanning direction for each scan is 32 pixels, that is, the recording image is completed in 4 scans. Take

First, the image data stored in the print buffer 8000 is stored by the edge extracting means 8004 in the edge data print buffer 8005 and in the outside-edge data print buffer 80001. . In this embodiment, the outside-edge data print buffer 8001 has 128
The edge data print buffer 8005 may have a capacity capable of storing data for a raster, and the edge data print buffer 8005 may have a capacity capable of storing data for a 128 raster. Further, both the buffers 8001 and 8005 are updated in units of 32 rasters.

Next, data outside edge print buffer 80
128 pieces of print data from 01 are taken into the outside edge data register 8002, and the parallel / serial conversion circuit 80
Converted to serial data 1 by 03. At this time, the transfer counter 8011 manages 128 serial data.

The scan counter 8008 sets the edge data print buffer 800 once every four scans.
From 128, 128 print data are taken in and converted into serial data 2 by the parallel / serial conversion circuit 8006. At this time, the transfer counter 8011 manages 128 serial data 2. Further, the blank (null) data is output as the serial data 2 except for one scan every four scans.

Data corresponding to the thinning mask pattern in the multi-pass printing is thinned-out mask register 800.
9 is converted into serial data 3 by the parallel / serial conversion circuit 8010. At this time, the transfer counter 801
1 manages 128 data.

Next, serial data obtained by taking the theoretical product 8012 of serial data 1 and serial data 3 and the theoretical sum 8013 of serial data 2 are transferred to the print head as transfer data.

A method of forming an image by transferring the above-mentioned recording data will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 20 illustrates the relationship between the print element position and the print image in each scan of rectangular print data.

In FIG. 20A, the image of A1 is composed of the image outside the edge thinned by the mask. FIG.
FIG. 20B shows an image printed by the next scan of FIG. 20A, which is composed of the edge part image thinned by the mask, and the image of A2 is an image of the edge outside the image of A1. The image thinned by a predetermined mask is overwritten and printed. 20C shows the next scan of FIG. 20B, and FIG. 20D shows the next scan of FIG. 20C. In the images A4, B3, C2, and D1 in FIG. 20D, the edge portion of the recorded image is a completed image.

The A4 image completes a recorded image by scanning four times.

With the above structure, the leading 32 elements of the printing element can complete the edge of the printed image, and the remaining pixels can be completed in four passes using 128 elements.

As a result, it is possible to achieve both an image with uniform dot position accuracy in the edge portion of the recorded image and an image without unevenness in which dot position accuracy and dot diameter variations are diffused in the gray scale portion.

Further, according to this embodiment, since all the recording elements are used for the edge portion image, it is possible to prevent the concentration of recording elements to be used for the recording image with many edge portions.
It is more advantageous than the above embodiment with respect to the durability of the recording element.

(Third Embodiment) A third embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG.

In this embodiment, as in the previous embodiment, the number of recording elements is 128, and the recording medium feed amount in the sub-scanning direction for each scan is 32 pixels, that is, the recording image is completed in 4 scans. Take

First, the image data stored in the print buffer 9000 is stored in the edge data print buffer 9004 by the edge extraction means 9003. In the case of this embodiment, the edge data print buffer 9004 may have a capacity capable of storing data for 128 rasters. Further, the buffer 90
04 is updated in units of 32 rasters.

Next, 128 from the print buffer 9000.
The individual print data is taken into the data register 9001 and converted into serial data 1 by the parallel / serial conversion circuit 9002. At this time, the transfer counter 9011 manages 128 serial data 1.

On the other hand, 128 pieces of print data are transferred from the edge data buffer 9004 to the edge data register 9005.
And is converted into serial data 2 by the parallel / serial conversion circuit 9007. At this time, the transfer counter 9011 manages 128 serial data 2. Further, the serial data 2 is the null data processing circuit 90.
According to the count value of the scan counter 9008, the serial data 2 outputs the data obtained by the above processing as the data 4 only once every four scans, and outputs the blank (null) data as the data 4 in the scans other than the above. .

Data corresponding to the thinning mask pattern in multi-pass printing is thinned out in the thinning mask register 900.
9 is converted into serial data 3 by the parallel / serial conversion circuit 9010. At this time, the transfer counter 901
1 manages 128 data.

Next, a theoretical product 901 of inverted data of serial data 1, serial data 3 and serial data 2 is obtained.
The serial data of 2 and the theoretical sum 9013 of the serial data 4 are transferred to the print head as transfer data.

The method of forming an image by transferring the recording data described above is the same as in the second embodiment, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

As a result, the same effect as that of the second embodiment is realized. Further, in the present embodiment, the outside-edge data buffer that stores the outside-edge data can be deleted, which is advantageous in terms of recording capacity as compared with the previous embodiment.

(Other Embodiments) In the above-described embodiment, the recording apparatus performs the edge extraction of the recording image data. However, a system for transmitting the image data and the edge data to the recording apparatus is adopted on the host side which transmits the image data. Is possible.

In this case, the image data is expanded in the print buffer and the edge data is expanded directly in the edge data buffer.

With this configuration, it is possible to obtain the same recording method and effect as those of the above-described embodiment even if the recording apparatus main body does not use the edge extracting means.

The present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of one device. Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to a case where the present invention is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus. In this case, the storage medium storing the program according to the present invention constitutes the present invention. Then, by reading the program from the storage medium to the system or device, the system or device operates in a predetermined manner.

The present invention includes a means (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) for generating thermal energy as energy used for discharging ink, particularly in an ink jet recording system. The printing apparatus of the type that causes a change in the state of the ink has been described.
High definition can be achieved.

The typical configuration and principle are described in, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740.
What is done using the basic principles disclosed in 796 is preferred. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and continuous type, but especially in the case of the on-demand type, liquid (ink)
By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recorded information and providing a rapid temperature rise exceeding the film boiling to an electrothermal transducer arranged corresponding to the sheet or the liquid path in which Since thermal energy is generated in the electrothermal transducer and film boiling occurs on the heat-acting surface of the recording head, bubbles in the liquid (ink) corresponding to this drive signal on a one-to-one basis can be formed. It is valid. By discharging the liquid (ink) through the discharge opening by the growth and contraction of the bubble, at least one droplet is formed. When the drive signal is formed into a pulse shape, the growth and shrinkage of the bubble are performed immediately and appropriately, so that the ejection of the liquid (ink) having particularly excellent responsiveness can be achieved, which is more preferable.

As the pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. If the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 of the invention relating to the rate of temperature rise on the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the configuration of the recording head, in addition to the combination of the discharge port, the liquid path, and the electrothermal converter (linear liquid flow path or right-angle liquid flow path) as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications, A configuration using U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 or U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,600, which discloses a configuration in which a heat acting surface is arranged in a bent region, is also included in the present invention. In addition, for multiple electrothermal transducers,
JP-A-59-123670 which discloses a configuration in which a common slot is used as a discharge part of an electrothermal transducer, and JP-A-59-123670 which discloses a configuration in which an opening for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy corresponds to a discharge part. A configuration based on 138461 may be adopted.

Further, as a full-line type recording head having a length corresponding to the width of the maximum recording medium that can be recorded by the recording apparatus, the length is determined by a combination of a plurality of recording heads as disclosed in the above specification. This may be either a configuration satisfying the above requirements or a configuration as a single recording head formed integrally.

In addition, the print head is replaceable with a print head of a chip type which can be electrically connected to the main body of the apparatus or supplied with ink from the main body of the apparatus, or is integrated with the print head itself. Alternatively, a cartridge type recording head provided with an ink tank may be used.

It is preferable to add recovery means for the printhead, preliminary auxiliary means, and the like provided as components of the printing apparatus of the present invention since the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. . Specific examples thereof include capping means, cleaning means, pressurizing or suctioning means for the recording head, preheating means using an electrothermal converter or another heating element or a combination thereof, and recording. It is also effective to perform a stable recording by performing a preliminary discharge mode in which another discharge is performed.

Further, the recording mode of the recording apparatus is not limited to the recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but the recording head may be integrally formed or a plurality of combinations may be used. Alternatively, the device may be provided with at least one of full-color mixed colors.

In the embodiment of the present invention described above,
Although the ink is described as a liquid, an ink that solidifies at room temperature or lower, or one that softens or liquefies at room temperature may be used, or the ink itself may be 30 ° C. or more and 70 ° C. or more in the inkjet method. In general, the temperature is adjusted within the following range to control the temperature of the ink so that the viscosity of the ink is in the stable ejection range. Therefore, the ink may be in a liquid state when the use recording signal is applied.

In addition, in order to positively prevent the temperature rise due to thermal energy as energy for changing the state of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state, the temperature is positively prevented.
Alternatively, in order to prevent evaporation of the ink, an ink which solidifies in a standing state and liquefies by heating may be used. In any case, by applying thermal energy such as ink that is liquefied by applying thermal energy according to the recording signal and liquid ink is ejected, or that begins to solidify when it reaches the recording medium. The present invention can be applied to the case where an ink having a property of being liquefied for the first time is used. In such a case, as described in JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60-71260, the ink is held in a liquid state or a solid state in the concave portion or through hole of the porous sheet. It is good also as a form which opposes an electrothermal transducer. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

In addition, as a form of the recording apparatus according to the present invention, in addition to one provided integrally or separately as an image output terminal of information processing equipment such as a computer, a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, and further transmission / reception It may take the form of a facsimile machine having a function.

[0109]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to perform high-quality printing in which the edge portion of a character is clear in multi-scan printing for printing evenly on a grayscale image.

[0110]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of image data processing of an inkjet recording apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a suitable inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a replaceable cartridge.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a replaceable cartridge.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an engaging portion of an ink tank with a recording head.

FIG. 6 is a view showing a contact between a replaceable cartridge and a carrier.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram showing a heater board.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a control circuit.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a control configuration.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a flow of print data.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an ideal printing state of the inkjet recording apparatus.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a printing state of an inkjet recording apparatus having uneven density.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a printing state by multi-scan printing.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating multi-scan printing.

FIG. 15 is an enlarged view of a character edge by conventional multi-scan printing.

FIG. 16 is an enlarged view of a character edge by multi-scan printing according to the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of image data processing of the inkjet recording apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram of image data processing of the inkjet recording apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a view showing formation of a rectangular image by printing of the inkjet storage device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing formation of a rectangular image by printing by the inkjet storage device according to the second and third embodiments of the present invention.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Office reference number FI Technical indication location H04N 1/40 H04N 1/40 101Z (72) Inventor Kiichiro Takahashi 3-30 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo No. 2 Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Daigoro Kanematsu 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc.

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A recording head having a plurality of ejection portions for ejecting ink is n (n is an integer of 2 or more) with respect to a recording medium.
In an ink jet recording apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium by scanning once, a contour separating unit that separates contour data of recording image data from data of a portion other than the contour portion, and data of a portion other than the contour portion. First storage means for storing, second storage means for storing the contour data, thinning output means for thinning and outputting the data stored in the first storage means, and storage in the second storage means The output of the stored data and the output from the thinning-out output means are combined to output, and a driving means for driving the recording element according to the output from the combined output means. Inkjet recording device. 2. The output data section of the synthesizing means, which contributes to the driving of the printing element for scanning the portion where the printing scan on the printing medium is not yet performed, is the output data portion of the data stored in the second storage means. The output data portion that outputs the theoretical sum of the output and the output by the thinning output means and contributes to the driving of the printing element that scans the portion where the printing scan is performed on the printing medium is the output by the thinning output means. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inkjet recording apparatus outputs. 3. The composite output means outputs the data stored in the second storage means for only one of n scans and (n-1) scans other than the scan. 2. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the theoretical sum of the blank (null) data and the output by the thinning output means is output. 4. A recording head having a plurality of ejection portions for ejecting ink is n (n is an integer of 2 or more) with respect to a recording medium.
In an inkjet recording apparatus that scans once to form an image on a recording medium, a first storage unit that stores the image data, a contour separating unit that separates contour data of the recording image data, and the contour data is stored. A second storage means, a thinning output means for thinning and outputting the data stored in the first storage means, a first output means for outputting the data stored in the second storage means, n Second output means for outputting the output by the first output means only for one of the scans and outputting blank (null) data for the (n-1) th scan other than the scan; Synthesis output means for outputting a theoretical product of the inversion of the output of the first output means and the output of the thinning output means and the theoretical sum of the output of the second output means; and a recording element according to the output of the synthesis means. An ink jet recording apparatus characterized by comprising a driving means for driving the. 5. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the recording head ejects ink by using thermal energy. 6. An inkjet recording method for forming an image on a recording medium by scanning the recording medium n times (n is an integer of 2 or more) with respect to the recording medium, wherein the contour portion of the recorded image is completed by one scanning. The inkjet recording method is characterized in that the recorded image other than the contour portion is completed by scanning n times. 7. The ink jet recording method according to claim 6, further comprising extracting contour data of the recorded image and data other than the contour data.