Printer CPU with VLIW processor

• US 7,629,999 B2
• Filed: 05/30/2006
• Issued: 12/08/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Limited
• Inventors: Silverbrook, Kia
• Primary Examiner(s): Chan, Jason
• Assistant Examiner(s): Giles, Nicholas G
• Application Number:
  US11/442,111
• Publication Number:
  US 20070046955A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,288 Days
• Field of Search: 348/207.2, 348/207.99, 348/373, 348/374, 358/19, 358/1.1
• US Class Current: 348/207.2
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/0005 Curl smoothing, i.e. smoothing down corrugated printing material, e.g. by pressing means acting on wrinkled printing material
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/005 Guides in the printing zone, e.g. guides for preventing contact of conveyed sheets with printhead
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/70 cutting perpendicular to the direction of paper feed
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 15/04 Supporting, feeding, or guiding devices; Mountings for web rolls or spindles
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/14314 Structure of ink jet print heads with electrostatically actuated membrane
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/14427 Structure of ink jet print heads with thermal bend detached actuators
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/16585 for paper-width or non-reciprocating print heads
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17513 Inner structure
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17596 Ink pumps, ink valves
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2002/041 Electromagnetic transducer
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2202/21 Line printing
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 3/445 Printers integrated in other types of apparatus, e.g. printers integrated in cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 30/00 Nanotechnology for materials or surface science, e.g. nanocomposites
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/00 Digital computers in general details G06F1/00 – G06F13/00; Data processing equipment in general
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/79 in semiconductor storage media, e.g. directly-addressable memories
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/86 Secure or tamper-resistant housings
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2129 Authenticate client device independently of the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 7/57 Arithmetic logic units [ALU], i.e. arrangements or devices for performing two or more of the operations covered by groups G06F7/483 – G06F7/556 or for performing logical operations G06F7/49, G06F7/491 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/226 Microinstruction function, e.g. input/output microinstruction; diagnostic microinstruction; microinstruction format
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/265 by address selection on input of storage
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/30094 : Condition code generation, e.g. Carry, Zero flag
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/30101 : Special purpose registers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/3885 : using a plurality of independent parallel functional units
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 1/121 : by printing code marks applying code marks to labels B65C9/46; marking or coding completed packages B65B61/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/00 : Arrangements for producing a permanent visual presentation of the output data , e.g. computer output printersprinting or plotting combined with another operation, e.g. with conveying, G06K17/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06037 : multi-dimensional coding
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/073 : Special arrangements for circuits, e.g. for protecting identification code in memory protection against unauthorised use of computer memory G06F12/14
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10762 : Relative movement
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/14 : using light without selection of wavelength, e.g. sensing reflected white light G06K7/10831 - G06K7/1097 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1417 : 2D bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 11/56 : using storage elements with more than two stable states represented by steps, e.g. of voltage, current, phase, frequency
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 23/576 : using active circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 : Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/0002 : Not covered by any one of groups H01L24/00, H01L24/00 and H01L2224/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00127 : Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00278 : with a printing apparatus, e.g. a laser beam printer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00326 : with a data reading, recognizing or recording apparatus, e.g. with a bar-code apparatus arrangements for the associated working of recording or reproducing apparatus with related apparatus G11B31/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0044 : for image preview or review, e.g. to help the user position a sheet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00965 : using a plug-in memory module, e.g. memory card, memory stick
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00968 : by scanning marks on a sheet mark-sheet input means H04N1/00355; sensing record carriers G06K7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2112 : using still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2154 : the still video camera incorporating a hardcopy reproducing device, e.g. a printer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32101 : Display, printing, storage or transmission of additional information, e.g. ID code, date and time or title
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32133 : on the same paper sheet, e.g. a facsimile page header
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32561 : using a programmed control device, e.g. a microprocessor
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32587 : Controller
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32593 : Using a plurality of controllers, e.g. for controlling different interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32603 : Multi-bus systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/46 : Colour picture communication systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2101/00 : Still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0008 : Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0084 : Digital still camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3222 : of processing required or performed, e.g. forwarding, urgent or confidential handling
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3261 : of multimedia information, e.g. a sound signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3264 : of sound signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3269 : of machine readable codes or marks, e.g. bar codes or glyphs
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3276 : of a customised additional information profile, e.g. a profile specific to a user ID
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/328 : Processing of the additional information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/00 : Cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors; Control thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/40 : Circuit details for pick-up tubes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/70 : Circuitry for compensating brightness variation in the scene
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/80 : Camera processing pipelines; Components thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/75 : Circuitry for providing, modifying or processing image signals from the pixel array
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/2628 : Alteration of picture size, shape, position or orientation, e.g. zooming, rotation, rolling, perspective, translation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 : Television signal recording

Abstract

A processor for controlling a printer, the processor comprising: an input interface for receiving input image data; and, a very long instruction word (VLIW) processor connected to the input interface for processing the input image data to generate output image data.

Claims

1. A processor for controlling a printer, the processor comprising:

an input interface for receiving input image data; and

,

a very long instruction word (VLIW) processor connected to the input interface for processing the input image data to generate output image data, the VLIW processor having four processing units each connected by a cross bar switch and each interconnected to their nearest neighbors to form a ring, each processing unit providing two inputs to, and taking two outputs from, the crossbar switch.

2. A processor according to claim 1 further comprising a printhead interface for transmitting the output image data from the VLIW processor to a printhead.

3. A processor according to claim 1 wherein the VLIW processor is a VLIW vector processor.

4. A processor according to claim 1 wherein each of the processing units has an arithmetic logic unit (ALU) acting under the control of a microcode store, wherein the microcode store includes a writeable control store.

5. A processor according to claim 4 wherein each of the processing units also have internal input and output FIFO (first in, first out) for storing image data used by the ALU.

6. A processor according to claim 5 wherein the crossbar switch is selectively configurable to pass data directly between each of the processing units.

7. A processor according to claim 6 further comprising data input FIFO and a data output FIFO, the data input FIFO connected between the input interface and the VLIW processor, and the data output FIFO connected between the VLIW processor and the printhead interface.

8. A processor according to claim 4 wherein each of the ALU'"'"'s has a series of inputs interconnected via an internal crossbar switch to a series of core processing units within the ALU.

9. A processor according to claim 8 wherein each of the core processing units include at least one of a multiplier, an adder and a barrel shifter.

10. A processor according to claim 9 wherein each of the ALUs includes a plurality of internal registers for the storage of temporary data.

11. A processor according to claim 10 wherein the processing units are further connected to a common data bus for the transfer of data to the processing elements.

12. A processor according to claim 11 wherein the data bus is interconnected to a data cache which acts as an intermediate cache between the processing elements and a memory store for storing image data.

13. A processor according to claim 1 wherein the VLIW processor processes the input image data by one or more of the following processing functions:

rotation of the image to a correct orientation;

color conversion to a color space specific to the printhead; and

,

dithering each color plane of the output image data.

14. A processor according to claim 13 wherein the printhead interface is configured to receive the output image data in dithered 8-bit format and transmit it directly to the printhead.

15. A processor according to claim 14 wherein the VLIW processor is further configured for one or more of the following processing functions:

warping;

artistic brushing;

complex synthetic illumination;

color transformations;

image filtering; and

,

compositing.

16. A processor according to claim 1 wherein each of the processing units has two input/output address generators for controlling data flow.

17. A processor according to claim 1 wherein the input image data is transmitted from an array of charge-coupled devices in a digital camera.