Patent ID: 7445303

Claim:
An image recording apparatus, comprising: a recording head that includes a plurality of ink emitting nozzles for emitting ink onto a recording medium, wherein said plurality of ink emitting nozzles are aligned in a linear direction intersecting a plane orthogonal to a conveying direction of said recording medium with a predetermined angle; a plurality of storing sections to store ink emitting data for every unit ink emitting action, wherein said ink emitting data represent an ink emitting action conducted by each of said plurality of ink emitting nozzles corresponding to a specific printing pattern; a controller to selectively designate a specific storing section from said plurality of storing sections corresponding to a current progress status of ink emitting actions conducted by said plurality of ink emitting nozzles, and to sequentially read out said ink emitting data from said specific storing section for every unit ink emitting action, in order to depict said specific printing pattern; a shift register to sequentially store said ink emitting data, read by said controller, for every unit ink omitting action; and a head driving section to sequentially drive said recording head for every unit ink emitting action, based on said ink emitting data, wherein said ink emitting data includes at beast two of ink-emitting initial data, ink-emitting final data and ink-emitting intermediate data; and wherein said ink-emitting initial data represent ink emitting actions to be conducted from a time when a leading ink-emitting nozzle, located at a leading edge portion of said recording head, is positioned on an image recording start line of said recording medium to a time when a trailing ink-emitting nozzle, located at a trailing edge portion of said recording head, is positioned on said image recording start line; said ink-emitting final data represent ink emitting actions to be conducted front a time when said leading ink-emitting nozzle is positioned on an image recording stop line of said recording medium to a time when said trailing ink-emitting nozzle is positioned on said image recording stop line; and said ink-emitting intermediate data represent ink emitting actions to be conducted during an intermediate time interval from a completion of said ink-emitting initial data to a start of said ink-emitting final data.