Image forming apparatus and image forming method

摘要

An image forming apparatus includes: a recording head including first and second head modules, each of the first and second head modules having recording elements arranged to perform a recording operation onto a recording medium, the first head module being arranged in a first orientation on the recording head, the second head module being arranged in a second orientation on the recording head, the second orientation being rotated from the first orientation; a signal processing device configured to select, from print data for one page, print data to be used in one recording operation respectively for the recording elements, and to arrange the selected print data in a prescribed recording element sequence for each of the first and second head modules regardless of the first and second orientations; and a data transfer device configured to transfer the arranged print data for each of the first and second head modules.

主权项

1. An image forming apparatus, comprising:
a recording head including a first head module and a second head module, each of the first and second head modules having a plurality of recording elements arranged to perform a recording operation with respect to a recording medium, the first head module being arranged in a first orientation on the recording head, the second head module being arranged in a second orientation on the recording head, the second orientation being rotated from the first orientation; a scanning device configured to move the recording head and the recording medium relatively to each other to scan the recording medium with the recording head; a signal processing device configured to select, from print data for one page, print data to be used in one recording operation respectively for the recording elements, and to arrange the selected print data in a prescribed recording element sequence for each of the first and second head modules regardless of the first and second orientations of the first and second head modules; a data transfer device configured to transfer the arranged print data for each of the first and second head modules; and a recording operation control device configured to control the recording operation of the recording elements in accordance with the transferred print data, wherein the recording elements are arranged in a two-dimensional matrix arrangement on the recording head; the scanning device is configured to move the recording head and the recording medium relatively to each other to scan the recording medium with the recording head in a sub-scanning direction; the signal processing device includes:
a first line memory configured to store, of the print data for the one page, the print data for one line along a main scanning direction perpendicular to the sub-scanning direction;a rearrangement device configured to change an alignment sequence of the print data for the one line stored in the first line memory to rearrange the print data in such a manner that the print data for pixels corresponding to the recording elements which are adjacently aligned on a straight line along the main scanning direction in the recording head are arranged in a same word or in words adjacent to each other;an image buffer memory configured to store the rearranged print data, the image buffer memory having a storage capacity for storing at least the rearranged print data for an image region corresponding to a surface area occupied by the two-dimensional matrix arrangement of the recording elements in the recording head; anda second line memory configured to read out the print data to be used in the one recording operation respectively for the recording elements from the image buffer memory, and to store the read print data; and the data transfer device is configured to transfer the print data stored in the second line memory for each of the first and second head modules; wherein the second line memory is configured to read out, of the print data for the one page, the print data in a data region corresponding to the first head module from the image buffer memory in a first read-out direction, and the print data in a data region corresponding to the second head module from the image buffer memory in a second read-out direction reverse to the first read-out direction.