Multi-pass recording system using random mask
AssigneeCanon Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsDaigoro Kanematsu, Yoshinori Nakajima
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Multi-pass recording is performed to record an input image by plural scans of a recording head over a recording medium in a main scan direction with at least one interposed sub-scan. A thinned image is provided in each scan. Recording data for the input image is produced by creating mask patterns having a resolution lower than the recording resolution in the main scan direction and/or the interposed sub-scan direction on the basis of a random number array. The created mask patterns or enlarged forms of the created mask patterns are combined with input image data to produce the thinned images. A logical AND of the mask patterns and the input image data may be computed for use as recording data.
Claims24
A recording apparatus in which a recording head having a plurality of recording elements is main-scanned plural times, with at least one sub-scan interposed between the main scans, over a predetermined area of a recording medium to record a thinned image for each scan in a complementary manner, thereby forming a whole image on said recording medium, comprising:
- reception means for receiving data,
- developing means for developing multi-value image data received by said reception means into gradation Patterns;
- random number generating means for generating a random number;
- mask creating means for creating, based on the random number generated by said random number generating means, mask patterns each having a resolution lower than a recording resolution in at least one of the main scan direction and the sub-scan direction corresponding to the plural main scans;
- and
- thinning means for producing said thinned images to be recorded in the plural main scans by using the mask patterns created by said mask creating means;
- wherein said thinning means produces said thinned images from the gradation patterns developed by said developing means and the mask patterns created by said mask creating means.
A recording apparatus in which a recording head having a plurality of recording elements is main-scanned plural times, with at least one sub-scan interposed between the main scans, over a predetermined area of a recording medium to record a thinned image for each scan in a complementary manner, thereby forming a whole image on said recording medium, comprising:
- reception means for receiving data:
- developing means for developing multi-value image data received by said reception means into gradation patterns;
- random number generating means for generating a random number;
- mask creating means for creating mask patterns each having a resolution equal to a recording resolution based on the random number generated by said random number generating means;
- mask enlarging means for enlarging each of the mask patterns created by said mask creating means in at least one of the main scan direction and the sub-scan direction;
- and
- thinning means for producing said thinned images by using the mask patterns enlarged by said mask enlarging means,
- wherein said thinning means produces said thinned images from the gradation patterns developed by said developing means and the mask patterns created by said mask creating means and enlarged by said enlarging means.
A recording method by which a recording head having a plurality of recording elements is main-scanned plural times, with at least one sub-scan interposed between the main scans, over a predetermined area of a recording medium to record a thinned image for each scan in a complementary manner, thereby forming a whole image on said recording medium, comprising the steps of:
- receiving multi-valued data;
- developing received multi-value image data into gradation patterns;
- generating a random number,
- creating, based on the generated random number, mask patterns each having a resolution lower than a recording resolution in at least one of the main scan direction and the sub-scan direction corresponding to the plural main scans;
- and
- producing said thinned images to be recorded in the plural main scans using the created mask patterns;
- wherein said thinning step produces said thinned images from the gradation patterns developed by said developing step and the mask patterns created by said mask creating step.
A data supply method for supplying image data to a recording apparatus in which a recording head having a plurality of recording elements is main-scanned plural times, with at least one sub-scan interposed between the main scans, over a predetermined area of a recording medium to record a thinned image for each scan in a complementary manner, thereby forming a whole image on said recording medium, comprising the steps of:
- receiving multi-valued data;
- developing received multi-value image data into gradation patterns;
- generating a random number;
- creating, based on the generated random number, mask patterns each having a resolution lower than a recording resolution in at least one of the main scan direction and the sub-scan direction corresponding to the plural main scans;
- and
- producing said thinned images to be recorded in the plural main scans using the created mask patterns,
- wherein said thinning step produces said thinned images from the gradation patterns developed by said developing step and the mask patterns created by said mask creating step.
A recording method by which a recording head having a plurality of recording elements is main-scanned plural times, with at least one sub-scan interposed between the main scans, over a predetermined area of a recording medium to record a thinned image for each scan in a complementary manner, thereby forming a whole image on said recording medium, comprising the steps of:
- receiving multi-valued data;
- developing received multi-value image data into gradation patterns;
- generating a random number;
- creating mask patterns each having a resolution equal to a recording resolution based on the generated random number;
- enlarging each of the created mask patterns in at least one of the main scan direction and the sub-scan direction ;
- and
- producing said thinned images using the enlarged mask patterns
- wherein said thinning step produces said thinned images from the gradation patterns developed by said developing step and the mask patterns created by said mask creating step and enlarged in the enlarging step.
A data supply method for supplying image data to a recording apparatus in which a recording head having a plurality of recording elements is main-scanned plural times, with at least one sub-scan interposed between the main scans, over a predetermined area of a recording medium to record a thinned image for each scan in a complementary manner, thereby forming a whole image on said recording medium, comprising the steps of:
- receiving multi-valued data;
- developing received multi-value image data into gradation patterns;
- generating a random number;
- creating mask patterns each having a resolution equal to a recording resolution based on the generated random number;
- enlarging each of the created mask patterns in at least one of the main scan direction and the sub-scan direction;
- and
- producing said thinned images using the enlarged mask patterns,
- wherein said thinning step Produces said thinned images from the gradation patterns developed by said developing step and the mask patterns created by said mask creating step and enlarged in the enlarging step.
A recording apparatus in which a recording head having a plurality of recording elements is main-scanned plural times, with at least one sub-scan interposed between the main scans, over a predetermined area of a recording medium to record a thinned image for each scan in a complementary manner, thereby forming a whole image on said recording medium, comprising:
- random number generating means for generating a random number;
- mask creating means for creating, based on the random number generated by said random number generating means, mask patterns each having a resolution lower than a recording resolution in the sub-scan direction corresponding to the plural main scans, each mask pattern for thinning every odd or even pixel of an image in the main scan direction;
- and
- thinning means for producing said thinned images to be recorded in the plural main scans by using the mask patterns for thinning every odd or even pixel created by said mask creating means.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.