Ink jet recording method

Claim 2

A method according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of recording elements of said recording means are aligned in a direction substantially perpendicular to the predetermined direction, and the main scan is performed by reciprocally moving said recording means in the predetermined direction.

Claim 3

A method according to claim 2, wherein the main scans are respectively performed in forward and backward paths of the reciprocal movement.

Claim 4

A method according to claim 3, wherein patterns obtained by dividing all the pixels on the area into n patterns are used as the thinning arrangement patterns, the recording of the area is completed by performing n reciprocal movements of said recording medium and 2n sub-scans, and a sub-scan after a forward movement and a sub-scan after a backward movement have different sub-scan amounts.

Claim 5

A method according to claim 1, wherein patterns in each of which pixels are aligned at non-neighboring positions in a checker pattern are used as the thinning arrangement patterns, and the sub-scan is performed after each main scan alternately by a 1-pixel width and (the 1-pixel width + a width according to a total number of recording elements of said recording means) in opposite directions.

Claim 6

A method according to claim 1, wherein patterns in each of which an m × n pixel group is used as a unit group, and the pixel groups are aligned at non-neighboring positions in a checker pattern are used as the thinning arrangement patterns, and the sub-scan is performed after each main scan alternately by an n-pixel width and (the n-pixel width + a width according to a total number of recording elements of said recording means) in opposite directions.

Claim 7

A method according to claim 1, wherein said recording means comprises recording element arrays for ejecting inks in different colors in the predetermined direction.

Claim 8

A method according to claim 1, wherein each of said recording elements ejects an ink droplet by causing a change in state in the ink by generating heat energy.

Claim 9

An ink jet recording method for recording an image on a recording medium by performing a main scan in a predetermined main scan direction using recording means comprising a plurality of recording elements for ejecting an ink, and by performing a sub-scan by moving said recording means relative to said recording medium in a sub-scan direction different from the main scan direction after the end of the main scan, comprising: the first step of performing a first main scan using said recording means to record an image according to a first pixel thinning arrangement on a first record section on said recording medium; the second step of performing a second main scan in a first state wherein said recording means is located at an upstream side in the sub-scan direction with respect to the first record section after the end of the first main scan in the first step so as to record an image according to a second pixel thinning arrangement on a portion of the first record section, the second pixel thinning arrangement having a complementary relationship with the first pixel thinning arrangement; the third step of performing a third main scan using said recording means to record an image according to the first pixel thinning arrangement on a second record section adjacent to the first record section on said recording medium; and the fourth step of performing a fourth main scan in a second state wherein said recording means is located at an upstream position in the sub-scan direction with respect to the second record section after the end of the third main scan in the third step so as to record an image according to the second pixel thinning arrangement on a remaining portion of the first record section and a portion of the second record section.

Claim 10

A method according to claim 9, wherein said plurality of recording elements of said recording means are aligned in a direction different from the main scan direction, and the main scan is performed by reciprocally moving said recording means in the main scan direction.

Claim 11

A method according to claim 10, wherein the main scans are respectively performed in forward and backward paths of the reciprocal movement.

Claim 12

A method according to claim 9, wherein the first and second pixel thinning arrangements are patterns in each of which pixels are aligned at non-neighboring positions in a checker pattern.

Claim 13

A method according to claim 9, wherein the first and second pixel thinning arrangements are patterns in each of which an (m × n) pixel group is used as a unit group, and the pixel groups are aligned at non-neighboring positions in a checker pattern.

Claim 14

A method according to claim 9, wherein in the second and fourth steps, the first and second states are set by moving said recording means in a direction opposite to the sub-scan direction by a first predetermined amount.

Claim 15

A method according to claim 14, wherein in the third step, said recording means is moved in the sub-scan direction by a second predetermined amount before the third main scan.

Claim 16

A method according to claim 15, wherein the second predetermined amount is a distance obtained by adding the first predetermined amount and a recording width by said plurality of recording elements of said recording means.

Claim 19

Ink jet recording apparatus having means for moving a plurality of recording elements in a main scan and a sub-scan direction with respect to a recording medium, and means for thinning pixels recorded during each of a plurality of main scan and sub-scan movements.