Dot Recording Apparatus Banding Reduction via Super Cell Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional dot recording apparatuses experience image quality deterioration due to banding issues along elongated boundary lines formed by rectangular pixel groups, leading to conspicuous image defects.
Innovation Solution
A dot recording apparatus with a recording head and mechanisms for multi-pass recording, where super cell regions have boundary lines not parallel to the main or sub-scanning directions, and the number of unit super cells varies along the recording head, reducing the visibility of banding and joint stripes by overlapping regions and adjusting dot recording ratios.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If rectangular pixel groups are used for dot recording, then the recording structure is simple and easy to implement, but elongated boundary lines are formed causing conspicuous banding and image quality deterioration
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the recording head into multiple unit super cells, each capable of independently controlling dot recording. This segmentation allows the boundary lines between super cell regions to be non-parallel, breaking the elongated boundary lines that cause banding while maintaining the simplicity of the recording structure through modular unit super cell design
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces asymmetric boundary line orientations by making at least one boundary line between adjacent super cell regions non-parallel to either the main scanning direction or the sub-scanning direction. This asymmetric arrangement prevents the formation of long parallel boundary lines that cause conspicuous banding, while the asymmetric unit super cell configuration maintains structural simplicity
2Device complexity
If the number of unit super cells is equal throughout the recording head, then the structure is uniform and simple to control, but joint stripes become conspicuous at the end portion
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies local quality by varying the number of unit super cells at different positions along the main scanning direction. Specifically, the number of unit super cells at the end portion is made smaller than at the center portion, which reduces joint stripe conspicuousness at the end while maintaining uniform control through the standardized unit super cell structure
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces dynamic adjustment of the number of unit super cells along the main scanning direction. The control unit dynamically determines the number of unit super cells to be recorded at each position, allowing the system to adapt to position-dependent requirements and reduce joint stripe effects at the end portion while maintaining overall control simplicity
3Object-affected harmful factors
If boundary lines are made non-parallel to reduce banding, then image quality improves, but the complexity of defining and controlling super cell regions increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention segments the recording head into standardized unit super cells, which simplifies the definition of super cell regions even when boundary lines are non-parallel. Each unit super cell is a discrete, controllable unit that can be independently managed by the control unit, reducing the complexity of handling irregular boundary configurations
Solution Approach 2:
The invention handles non-parallel boundary lines by introducing a super cell region level that encompasses multiple unit super cells. This dimensional approach allows the system to manage complex boundary geometries through hierarchical organization, where super cell regions can be defined in terms of unit super cell combinations, simplifying control while maintaining non-parallel boundaries for banding reduction
Data Source
AI summary
A dot recording apparatus forms dots on a recording medium while relatively moving a recording head that includes a plurality of nozzles and the recording medium in a main scanning direction. The dot recording apparatus performs multi-pass recording in which dot recording on a main scanning line is completed by a plurality of main scanning passes. In dot recording in each main scanning pass, the dot recording is performed with a super cell region as a unit, the super cell region including one or more unit super cells formed as a dot group of one mass by some of the plurality of nozzles. In the same main scanning pass, the number of unit super cells recorded by m nozzles at an end portion of the recording head is smaller than the number of unit super cells recorded by m nozzles at a center portion of the recording head.