Print engine controller for high volume pagewidth printing
First Claim
1. A print engine controller for a pagewidth printhead having at least one fixed printhead chip that spans an expansive print area of a page, the controller being connectable to a memory device, a micro-processor and the, or each, printhead chip, the controller comprising control circuitry for permitting external clients to read and write registers and to read and write to the memory device;
- a data bus that is connectable to the memory device;
a data interface that is connected to the data bus to be interposed between the data bus and the microprocessor, in use, so that the microprocessor can write data to the memory device;
a serial interface that is connected to the data bus to be interposed between the data bus and the micro-processor, in use, so that the micro-processor can access the registers of the control circuitry and registers of the memory device;
page expansion circuitry that is connected to the data bus and is configured to receive data representing compressed pages and to render that data into dot data representing dots;
formatting circuitry that is connected to the data bus for receiving the dot data and for formatting the dot data for printing; and
a printhead interface that is interposed between the formatting circuitry and the printhead chips, in use, to receive the dot data from the formatting circuitry and to communicate the dot data to the printhead chips for printing along the span of the expansive print area.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A print engine controller includes control circuitry for permitting external clients to read and write registers and to read and write to a memory device. A data bus is connected to the memory device. A data interface is connected to the data bus to be interposed between the data bus and a microprocessor so that the microprocessor can write data to the memory device. A serial interface is connected to the data bus to be interposed between the data bus and the microprocessor so that the microprocessor can access the registers of the control circuitry and registers of the memory device. Page expansion circuitry is connected to the data bus and is configured to receive data representing compressed pages and to render that data into dot data representing dots. Formatting circuitry is connected to the data bus for receiving the dot data and for formatting the dot data for printing. A printhead interface is interposed between the formatting circuitry and the printhead chips to receive the dot data from the formatting circuitry and to communicate the dot data to the printhead chips.
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Citations
7 Claims
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1. A print engine controller for a pagewidth printhead having at least one fixed printhead chip that spans an expansive print area of a page, the controller being connectable to a memory device, a micro-processor and the, or each, printhead chip, the controller comprising control circuitry for permitting external clients to read and write registers and to read and write to the memory device;
- a data bus that is connectable to the memory device;
a data interface that is connected to the data bus to be interposed between the data bus and the microprocessor, in use, so that the microprocessor can write data to the memory device;
a serial interface that is connected to the data bus to be interposed between the data bus and the micro-processor, in use, so that the micro-processor can access the registers of the control circuitry and registers of the memory device;
page expansion circuitry that is connected to the data bus and is configured to receive data representing compressed pages and to render that data into dot data representing dots;
formatting circuitry that is connected to the data bus for receiving the dot data and for formatting the dot data for printing; and
a printhead interface that is interposed between the formatting circuitry and the printhead chips, in use, to receive the dot data from the formatting circuitry and to communicate the dot data to the printhead chips for printing along the span of the expansive print area. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
- a data bus that is connectable to the memory device;
Specification
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- Resources
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Current AssigneeMemjet Technology Ltd. (Memjet Limited)
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Original AssigneeSilverbrook Research Pty Limited
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InventorsSilverbrook, Kia
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Primary Examiner(s)Do, An H.
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Application NumberUS10/713,094Publication NumberTime in Patent Office995 DaysField of Search347/3, 347/5, 347/15, 347/54, 358/1.18, 358/2.1US Class Current347/5CPC Class CodesB41J 2/14427 Structure of ink jet print ...B41J 2/145 Arrangement thereofB41J 2/155 for line printingB41J 2/1601 Production of bubble jet pr...B41J 2/1623 bonding and adhesionB41J 2/1626 etchingB41J 2/1628 dry etchingB41J 2/1629 wet etchingB41J 2/1631 photolithographyB41J 2/1632 machiningB41J 2/1635 dividing the wafer into ind...B41J 2/1637 moldingB41J 2/1639 sacrificial moldingB41J 2/1642 thin film formation by CVD ...B41J 2/1643 thin film formation by platingB41J 2/1645 thin film formation by spin...B41J 2/1646 thin film formation by sput...B41J 2/1648 Production of print heads w...B41J 2/16585 for paper-width or non-reci...B41J 2/17503 Ink cartridgesView All
