Patent ID: 6386668
Filing Date: 2002-05-14
Classification: B41J,G06K

Abstract:
An ink jet recording apparatus comprising:an ink jet head formed from a plurality of head units each having a large number of ink nozzles arranged in a line, the head units being arranged such that they are substantially parallel to one another in the direction of arrangement of their ink nozzles and, in the direction in which a recording medium moves, every two adjacent head units overlap with each other by a number Q of ink nozzles including a number P (Q>P>1) of ending ink nozzles that may cause a change in printing density; and drive means responsive to an input image signal for driving the ink jet head to cause selectively the ink nozzles to eject ink onto the recording medium for printing while moving the recording medium in a direction perpendicular to the line direction in which the ink nozzles of the respective head units are arranged; wherein the driving means controls the ink jet head so that one dot is formed by ink ejection from each ink nozzle of one head unit in the overlapping zone of the adjacent head units and the corresponding one of the other head unit and the ratio in the amount of ejected ink of one to the other of overlapping ink nozzles is made variable so that the average printing density in the overlapping zone of the head units varies at a fixed rate; and wherein the amount of ejected ink from the one of the overlapping ink nozzles is smaller as it is closer to the end of its corresponding head unit.