Information processing apparatus, information processing method, computer program product, and image forming apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10083380-B2
Application number	US-201615568160-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 21, 2016
Priority date	Apr 22, 2015
Publication date	Sep 25, 2018
Grant date	Sep 25, 2018

Abstract

A calculating unit calculates, as a reference number N of scans, a sum by adding 1 to a product M of the number m of scans in a main-scanning direction and the number n of scans in a sub-scanning direction. An assigning unit assigns, as a count of scans indicating a scan order, an integer 1 or more and the product M or more to each pixel of a unit image. A changing unit changes the count of scans of some pixels to which a first scan is assigned to an N-th scan. The generating unit generates print data, in which nozzle groups from a nozzle group arranged on a downstream end in the sub-scanning direction to a nozzle group arranged on an upstream end are sequentially assigned to pixels from the pixels to which the first scan is assigned to the pixels to which the N-th scan is assigned.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An information processing apparatus comprising:
an acquiring unit configured to acquire image data of an image to be formed by a recording device,
the recording device including:
a recording head including a plurality of nozzles that are arranged in a sub-scanning direction and that eject droplets to record dots;
a sub-scanning unit that causes the recording head to scan in the sub-scanning direction relative to a recording medium; and
a main-scanning unit that causes the recording head to scan in a reciprocating manner in a main-scanning direction crossing the sub-scanning direction,
the recording device alternately repeating a scan in the main-scanning direction and a scan in the sub-scanning direction when recording the dots;

a calculating unit configured to calculate, as a reference number N of scans in a recording area on the recording medium corresponding to a unit image that is obtained by dividing the image in the sub-scanning direction, a sum by adding 1 to a product M of a number m of scans in the main-scanning direction and a number n of scans in the sub-scanning direction that are needed to record the image with a recording target resolution, where N is an integer equal to or greater than 5, m is an integer equal to or greater than 2, and n is an integer equal to or greater than 2;
a dividing unit configured to divide the image data into a plurality of unit images in the sub-scanning direction such that each unit image includes a certain number of pixels whose number in the sub-scanning direction corresponds to the number of the nozzles that are arranged in the sub-scanning direction in each of nozzle groups, the nozzle groups being obtained by dividing a nozzle array of a plurality of the nozzles arranged in the sub-scanning direction by the reference number N of scans in the sub-scanning direction;
an assigning unit configured to assign, as a count of scans indicating a scan order for recording, an integer equal to or greater than 1 and equal to or smaller than the product M to each of pixels belonging to the unit image for each of the unit images;
a changing unit configured to change the count of scans of some of pixels to which a first scan is assigned as the count of scans to an N-th scan equal to the reference number of scans, for each of the unit images; and
a generating unit configured to generate print data, in which nozzle groups from a nozzle group arranged on an end of a downstream side in the sub-scanning direction of the recording head to a nozzle group arranged on an end of an upstream side in the sub-scanning direction are sequentially assigned, as the nozzle group for recording dots corresponding to each pixel, to pixels from the pixels to which the first scan is assigned as the count of scans to the pixels to which the N-th scan equal to the reference number of scans is assigned, for each of the unit images.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the nozzle group includes a plurality of nozzles.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein
the changing unit configured to change the count of scans such that a percentage at which the count of scans of the pixels to which the first scan is assigned as the count of scans is changed into the N-th scan equal to the reference number of scans is increased from the pixel array located on the upstream side in the sub-scanning direction to the pixel array located on the downstream side, with respect to each pixel array including a plurality of pixels arranged in the main-scanning direction in the unit image, for each of the unit images.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the changing unit changes the count of scans of some of pixels to which the first scan is assigned as the count of scans into the N-th scan equal to the reference number of scans for each of the unit images T such that a first pixel pattern of the pixels to which the first scan is assigned as the count of scans and a second pixel pattern of pixels to which the N-th scan equal to the reference number of scans is assigned as the count of scans have regular distribution characteristics or irregular distribution characteristics.

5. An information processing method comprising:
acquiring image data of an image to be formed by a recording device,
the recording device including:
a recording head including a plurality of nozzles that are arranged in a sub-scanning direction and that eject droplets to record dots;
a sub-scanning unit that causes the recording head to scan in the sub-scanning direction relative to a recording medium; and
a main-scanning unit that causes the recording head to scan in a reciprocating manner in a main-scanning direction crossing the sub-scanning direction, wherein
the recording device alternately repeating a scan in the main-scanning direction and a scan in the sub-scanning direction when recording the dots;

calculating, as a reference number N of scans in a recording area on the recording medium corresponding to a unit image that is obtained by dividing the image in the sub-scanning direction, a sum by adding 1 to a product M of a number m of scans in the main-scanning direction and a number n of scans in the sub-scanning direction that are needed to record the image with a recording target resolution, where N is an integer equal to or greater than 5, m is an integer equal to or greater than 2, and n is an integer equal to or greater than 2;
dividing the image data into a plurality of unit images in the sub-scanning direction such that each unit image includes a certain number of pixels whose number in the sub-scanning direction corresponds to the number of the nozzles that are arranged in the sub-scanning direction in each of nozzle groups, the nozzle groups being obtained by dividing a nozzle array of a plurality of the nozzles arranged in the sub-scanning direction by the reference number N of scans in the sub-scanning direction;
assigning, as a count of scans indicating a scan order for recording, an integer equal to or greater than 1 and equal to or smaller than the product M to each of pixels belonging to the unit image for each of the units images;
changing the count of scans of some of pixels to which a first scan is assigned as the count of scans to an N-th scan equal to the reference number of scans, for each of the unit images; and
generating print data, in which nozzle groups from a nozzle group arranged on an end of a downstream side in the sub-scanning direction of the recording head to a nozzle group arranged on an end of an upstream side in the sub-scanning direction are sequentially assigned, as the nozzle group for recording dots corresponding to each pixel, to pixels from the pixels to which the first scan is assigned as the count of scans to the pixels to which the N-th scan equal to the reference number of scans is assigned, for each of the unit images.

6. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium including an information processing program that causes a computer to execute:
acquiring image data of an image to be formed by a recording device,
the recording device including:
a recording head including a plurality of nozzles that are arranged in a sub-scanning direction and that eject droplets to record dots;
a sub-scanning unit that causes the recording head to scan in the sub-scanning direction relative to a recording medium; and
a main-scanning unit that causes the recording head to scan in a reciprocating manner in a main-scanning direction crossing the sub-scanning direction, wherein
the recording device alternately repeating a scan in the main-scanning direction and a scan in the sub-scanning direction when recording the dots;

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Assignees

• Hirano Masanori
• Kamei Toshihito
• Ricoh Co Ltd

Inventors

• Hirano Masanori
• Kamei Toshihito

Classifications

• G06K15/1823 Primary

  for evaluating the resources needed, e.g. rasterizing time, ink, paper stock · CPC title

• G06K15/1836

  Rasterization · CPC title

• G06K15/105

  Multipass or interlaced printing · CPC title

• G06K2215/101

  involving the use of ink jets · CPC title

• B41J2/2132 Primary

  Print quality control characterised by dot disposition, e.g. for reducing white stripes or banding (methods for local corrections by dot omission, image edge enhancement, or multi-pass mask selection G06K15/102; colour conversion H04N1/40) · CPC title