Patent ID: 8162426

Claim:
A recording apparatus comprising: a recording head provided with a plurality of ejection openings each ejecting a liquid droplet; a movement mechanism which moves a recording medium relative to the recording head; a storage which stores drive data indicating an amount of liquid to be ejected in each recording cycle through each of the ejection openings; a first ejection signal generator which generates, based on the drive data stored in the storage, first ejection signals each having a first frequency; a calculator which calculates, assuming that first ejection signals are supplied to the recording head, variations in total amount of liquid to be ejected through the ejection openings, for respective constant periods of time; a predictor which predicts, based on one or more variations calculated by the calculator, whether a pressure difference between the atmosphere and liquid sandwiching a meniscus falls below a threshold value during recording on a recording medium by the recording head to which the first ejection signals are supplied, the meniscus being formed in one of the ejection openings; a second ejection signal generator which generates, based on the drive data stored in the storage, second ejection signals each having a second frequency lower than the first frequency; a head controller which controls signal supply to the recording head, so that the first ejection signals are supplied to the recording head when the predictor predicts that the pressure difference does not fall below the threshold value, and the second ejection signals are supplied to the recording head when the predictor predicts that the pressure difference falls below the threshold value; and a movement controller which controls the movement mechanism so that a recording medium moves relative to the recording head at a speed corresponding to a frequency supplied to the recording head out of the first and the second frequencies.