Abstract: A recording apparatus enabling printing with high image quality is to be provided. In a recording apparatus exerting recordation having a non-scanning recording head corresponding to the total width of the paper, a pressing member and a supporting member are disposed among plural recording head units, which are arranged in the width direction of the paper with a prescribed interval, and thus the paper continuously conveyed is pressed with the pressing member onto the supporting member, so as to uniformize the distance between the paper and the nozzle surface at the printing position. As a result, printing can be attained with high image quality on the paper continuously conveyed.

Abstract: A recording device for recording an image on a recording medium, the recording device comprising: a recording head having a liquid drop discharging surface for discharging liquid drops toward a recording medium; a liquid receptacle disposed at a position opposing a liquid drop discharging surface of the recording head, and able to accommodate the liquid drops; and a conveying device for conveying the recording medium between the recording head and the liquid receptacle, by a non-electrostatic attraction method.

Abstract: The present invention aims to execute effective compression even in the case where inputted image information has the bit number smaller than that of a pixel value, such as a tag, and besides in the case where the entropy increases if a prediction error obtained by subtraction of a value of a neighboring pixel from that of an object pixel is used for calculation of the entropy.According to the present invention, in an image encoding apparatus, the inputted image information is made to be packed image data of a fixed length and provided to a couple of predicting elements and a couple of prediction error calculating elements. The packed image data and prediction errors outputted from the couple of prediction error calculating elements are provided to a prediction error selecting element and one of the data and prediction errors having a smallest entropy is selected.

Abstract: In a coding system, when any of the prediction results of pixel value prediction sections 20 and 21 matches an object pixel, a coding section 50 codes an identifier of the pixel value prediction section whose prediction result matches the object pixel. When none of the results match the object pixel, the coding section 50 codes a prediction error of a prediction error calculation section 30. A decoding system decodes code to an identifier or prediction error and outputs pixel data from the corresponding pixel value prediction section based on the identifier or takes out pixel data from a prediction error addition section 31 based on the predication error.

Abstract: The present invention provides a variable-length code decoder for inputting a code data bit string having a predetermined number of code data bits in every decoding cycle and decoding it, which comprises storing means for storing a decoded symbol and a node in a code tree in the next decoding cycle corresponding to each combination of a value of the code data bit string and a node in the code tree, reading means for reading the decoded symbol and the node in the code tree in the next decoding cycle from the storing means in accordance with the code data bit string inputted in a current decoding cycle and the node in the code tree in the current decoding cycle, outputting means for outputting the decoded symbol read by the reading means, and providing means for providing the node in the code tree in the next decoding cycle read by the reading means to the reading means.

Abstract: A variable-length code decoder includes plural barrel shifters, each of which executes shift processing on inputted variable-length code data bit by bit from the 0 bit to (the bit number of a maximum length codeword -1). The barrel shifters, which are in number equal to the bit number of the maximum length codeword, are arranged in parallel connection. Plural storing devices are provided, each of which stores a pair of a decoded symbol and codeword length thereof corresponding to code data. Plural fetching devices are provided, each of which fetches the pair of the decoded symbol and the codeword length thereof in accordance with the code data outputted from each of the barrel shifters. Each of the fetching devices is connected to a respective barrel shifter and storing devices. A selecting device is provided for selecting a predetermined pair from plural pairs of the decoded symbol and the codeword length fetched by the plural fetching devices in an initial decoding process.

Abstract: A ring bus multiprocessor system whose processors are laid out and connected in such a manner that the system is enhanced in stability and performance, is easy to modify in scale, and is lowered in manufacturing cost. On a processor board, processors are serially connected by communication buses to form a processor group. Each processor board may have an even-numbered plurality of processor groups mounted thereon. A plurality of processor boards are laid out in parallel and are interconnected between adjacent boards by means of inter-processor communication buses. Each of the odd-numbered processor groups is connected from one board to the next up to the most downstream board where the connection is looped back to the adjacent even-numbered processor group. In turn, the even-numbered processor group is connected from one board to the next back to the most upstream board where the connection is again looped back to the adjacent odd-numbered processor group, and so on, whereby a ring bus arrangement is formed.