Patent ID: 9132659
Filing Date: 2015-09-15
Classification: B41J

Abstract:
1. An image recording apparatus comprising: a recording control unit configured to record an image on a recording medium by a recording head having a plurality of recording elements while relatively moving the recording head and the recording medium; a first storage unit configured to preliminarily store unevenness correcting information for correcting unevenness in the image, the unevenness correcting information indicating a correction value of an output for each of the recording elements; a defective recording element detection unit configured to detect a defective recording element out of the recording elements and store defective recording element information indicating the defective recording element in a second storage unit; a defective recording element information acquisition unit configured to acquire defective recording element information at a previous timing of updating the unevenness correcting information and latest defective recording element information from the second storage unit when a timing of updating the unevenness correcting information arrives; a flattening processing unit configured to compare the previous defective recording element information and the latest defective recording element information acquired by the defective recording element information acquisition unit, the flattening processing unit configured to perform, when a new defective recording element is detected in the latest defective recording element information, a flattening processing to suppress variations in correction values corresponding to a plurality of surrounding recording elements located around the defective recording element on the unevenness correcting information read out from the first storage unit; a first output correction unit configured to perform a correction of outputs of the respective recording elements based on the unevenness correcting information obtained after the flattening processing when the flattening processing is performed by the flattening processing unit; a second output correction unit configured to suspend an output of the defective recording element and increase an output of a recording element at least adjacent to the defective recording element after the correction by the first output correction unit; a property information acquisition unit configured to acquire property information indicating a recording property of each of the recording elements, the outputs of which are corrected by the first output correction unit and second output correction unit; and an unevenness correcting information generation unit configured to generate new unevenness correcting information corresponding to the property information acquired by the property information acquisition unit, and update the unevenness correcting information in the first storage unit.