Ink jet recording method and apparatus

An ink jet recording method for reciprocatingly moving, in forward and backward movements in a main scan direction, a recording head having a plurality of recording elements, each for ejecting ink, arrayed in a predetermined direction, different from the main scan direction, and causing the recording head to eject ink during each of the forward and backward movements of said recording head, thereby recording an image on a recording medium, said method comprising:

• a first step of recording a first thinned image on a predetermined area of said recording medium during the forward movement of said recording head, in accordance with a first mask pattern, using a first group of the recording elements of said recording head;
• a second step of feeding said recording medium in a sub-scan direction relative to said recording head by a distance corresponding to the predetermined area of said recording medium, after the first thinned image has been recorded in said first step, said distance corresponding to the predetermined area being shorter than a length recordable by the plurality of recording elements of said recording head;
• a third step of recording a second thinned image on the predetermined area of said recording medium during the backward movement of said recording head, in accordance with a second mask pattern, using a second group of the recording elements of said recording head;
• a fourth step of feeding said recording medium in the sub-scan direction relative to said recording head by a distance corresponding to the predetermined area of said recording medium after the second thinned image has been recorded in said third step;
• a fifth step of recording a third thinned image on the predetermined area of said recording medium during the forward movement of said recording head, in accordance with a third mask pattern, using a third group of the recording elements of said recording head;
• a sixth step of feeding the recording medium in a sub-scan direction relative to the recording head by a distance corresponding to the predetermined area, after the third thinned image has been recorded in said fifth step, the distance corresponding to the predetermined area being shorter than a length recordable by the plurality of recording elements of the recording head;
• and
• a seventh step of recording a fourth thinned image on the predetermined area of the recording medium during the backward movement of the recording head, in accordance with a fourth mask pattern, using a fourth group of the recording elements of the recording head,
• wherein each of the first, second, third and fourth mask patterns has a pixel array including pixel groups each composed of m (where m is an integer and m.gtoreq.2) pixels in the main scan direction, arrayed in accordance with a predetermined array rule, the pixel groups not being adjacent to each other and not overlapping each other, pixels recorded in accordance with the first mask pattern and pixels recorded in accordance with the third mask pattern are adjacent to each other in the main scan direction, and pixels recorded in accordance with the second mask pattern and pixels recorded in accordance with the fourth mask pattern are adjacent to each other in the main scan direction.

An ink jet recording apparatus for reciprocatingly moving, in forward and backward movements in a main scan direction, a recording head having a plurality of recording elements, each for ejecting ink, arrayed in a predetermined direction different from the main scan direction, and causing said recording head to eject ink during each of the forward and backward movements of said recording head, thereby recording an image on a recording medium, said apparatus comprising:

• scan means for reciprocatingly moving said recording head in the main scan direction to perform a recording scan;
• feeding means for feeding said recording medium in a sub-scan direction relative to said recording head after an image has been recorded by performing the recording scan;
• and
• control means for controlling driving of said recording head so as to record images on said recording medium during the forward and backward movements of said recording head by said scan means using first and second mask patterns, respectively,
• wherein said control means controls the driving of said recording head so as to record a first thinned image on a predetermined area of said recording medium during the forward movement of said recording head, in accordance with a first mask pattern, using a first group of the recording elements of said recording head, and further controls the driving of said recording head, after feeding said recording medium by a distance corresponding to the predetermined area of said recording medium, to record a second thinned image on the predetermined area of said recording medium during the backward movement of said recording head, in accordance with a second mask pattern, using a second group of the recording elements of said recording head,
• wherein each of the first and second mask patterns has a pixel array including pixel groups each composed of m pixels in the main scan direction and n (where m and n are integers and n<m) pixels in the sub-scan direction, arrayed in accordance with a predetermined array rule, said pixel groups being adjacent to each other with continuous p (where p is an integer and n<p<m) pixels in the sub-scan direction, said pixel groups partially overlapping each other in the main scan direction, and
• wherein the first and second mask patterns have respective pixel arrays not overlapping each other.

An ink jet recording method for reciprocatingly moving, in forward and backward movements in a main scan direction, a recording head having a plurality of recording elements, each for ejecting ink, arrayed in a predetermined direction different from the main scan direction, and causing said recording head to eject ink during each of the forward and backward movements of said recording head, thereby recording an image on a recording medium, said method comprising:

• a first step of recording a first thinned image on a predetermined area of said recording medium during the forward movement of said recording head, in accordance with a first mask pattern, using a first group of the recording elements of said recording head;
• a second step of feeding said recording medium in a sub-scan direction relative to said recording head by a distance corresponding to the predetermined area of said recording medium, after the first thinned image has been recorded in said first step, said distance corresponding to the predetermined area being shorter than a length recordable by the plurality of recording elements of said recording head;
• a third step of recording a second thinned image on the predetermined area of said recording medium during the backward movement of said recording head, in accordance with a second mask pattern, using a second group of the recording elements of said recording head;
• wherein each of the first and second mask patterns has a pixel array including pixel groups each composed of m pixels in the main scan direction and n (where m and n are integers and n<m) pixels in the sub-scan direction, arrayed in accordance with a predetermined array rule, said pixel groups being adjacent to each other with continuous p (where D is an integer and n<p<m) pixels in the sub-scan direction, said pixel groups partially overlapping in the main scan direction, and
• wherein the first and second mask patterns have respective pixel arrays not overlapping each other.

A method for recording a printing position deviation adjusting pattern in an ink jet recording apparatus which reciprocatingly moves, in forward and backward movements in a main scan direction, and having a first recording head having a plurality of recording elements for ejecting a first color ink, arrayed in a predetermined direction, and a second recording head having a plurality of recording elements for ejecting a second color ink, arrayed in the predetermined direction, different from the main scan direction, and which also causes said first and second recording heads to eject the first color ink and the second color ink during each of the forward and backward movements of said recording head, thereby recording a color image on a recording medium, said method comprising:

• a first step of recording a part of said adjusting pattern on a predetermined area of said recording medium during the forward movement of each of said first and second recording heads, in accordance with a first mask pattern, using a portion of the recording elements of each of said first and second recording heads;
• a second step of feeding said recording medium in a sub scan direction relative to said recording heads by a distance corresponding to the predetermined area of said recording medium;
• and
• a third step of recording a remaining part of said adjusting pattern on the predetermined area of said recording medium during the backward movement of each of said first and second recording heads, in accordance with a second mask pattern, using a remaining portion of the recording elements of each of said first and second recording heads;
• wherein said adjusting pattern comprises a plurality of overlapping pixels of the first and second color inks, said plurality of pixels not being adjacent to each other in each of the main scan direction and the sub-scan direction.

An ink jet recording apparatus which reciprocatingly moves, in forward and backward movements in a main scan direction, a recording head having a plurality of recording elements, each for ejecting ink, arrayed in a predetermined direction different from the main scan direction, and said recording head is caused to eject ink in each of the forward and backward movements of said recording head, thereby recording an image on a recording medium, said apparatus comprising:

• scan means for reciprocatingly moving said recording head in the main scan direction to perform a recording scan;
• and
• control means for controlling driving of said recording head so as to record an image corresponding to a printing position deviation adjusting pattern on the recording medium during each of the forward and backward movements of said recording head, in accordance with a command for recording the adjusting pattern,
• wherein said control means controls the driving of said recording head so as to record a first test pattern having a length corresponding to plural pixels in the main scan direction in the forward movement of said recording head, leaving a space in the main scan direction, and to record a second test pattern having a length corresponding to the space in the main scan direction on the space in the backward movement of said recording head.

An ink jet recording method in which a recording head, having a plurality of ink jet elements, is reciprocated, relative to a recording medium so as to carry out plural cycles of recording scans for one area on the recording medium so as to complete recording in the one area, comprising the steps of:

• scanning the recording head in forward and backward directions of reciprocation;
• and
• successively recording images thinned at a predetermined thinning rate in the one area during even times of recording scans, said image being thinned using different mask patterns in respective recording scans, the images being thinned so as not to overlap each other with respect to pixels thereof,
• wherein each mask pattern has a pixel array including a plurality of pixel groups different in number of pixels from each other in the main scan direction, each of said pixel groups including a plurality of pixels, and the pixel groups are arranged according to a predetermined array rule in the pixel array, and
• wherein the thinning rate of an image recorded during a recording scan in one of the forward and backward directions of reciprocation of the plural cycles of recording scans is different from that of an image recorded during a recording scan in another one of the forward and backward directions.