Typewriting machines – Including control of format by programmed-control-system
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-09
2001-09-18
Hilten, John S. (Department: 2854)
Typewriting machines
Including control of format by programmed-control-system
C400S070000, C400S061000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06290406
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
The present invention relates to digital and print-on-demand printing systems; and more particularly, to a high-speed printer controller system which is configured to control a multitude of print engines simultaneously.
Similar to the computer industry, which has moved from awkward and incompatible machines and software to user friendly, cross-platform capable systems; the industrial and commercial printing industry is also moving toward software and systems which simplify the technical requirements for performing a print job. Conventional print engine controllers are unable to control a plurality of print engines, especially a plurality of print engines having different marking technologies. Furthermore, conventional print engine controllers rasterize bitmap data at the resolution (i.e., dots per inch “DPI” or dot pitch) of the particular print engine which the controller is designed to operate. Thus, such print engine controllers cannot simultaneously control a plurality of print engines with different resolutions.
Accordingly, there is a need in the digital print-on-demand industry for a printer controller system which can interface with and control a multitude of print engines simultaneously; especially a plurality of print engines which may respectively include a corresponding multitude of different marking technologies or a corresponding multitude of print engines having different resolutions. There is a need for an on-demand mechanism which allows the dispatching of bitmap data to any of the multitude of print engines in any order and at any time. Furthermore, there is a need for an on-demand mechanism which is flexible and allows the various print engines and/or marking technologies to be interchanged within the system without having to reconfigure the software of the controller or redesign hardware of the controller.
SUMMARY
The present invention provides a system and method for interfacing an on-demand type raster printer controller with a multitude of print engines, and which can dispatch the rasterized bitmap data to any of the print engines, in any order, and at any time. Furthermore, the present invention allows the mixing of various print engines and/or marking technologies which can be operated from the same controller. In one embodiment, the present invention provides a system for simultaneously controlling a multitude of print engines where the print engines are continuous-flow ink-jet print heads, or are even ink-jet print heads of different resolutions.
The present invention comprises a high-speed raster printer controller for operating a plurality of print engines. Each print engine includes a customized print engine communication device, hereinafter referred to as a “target adapter board” (“TAB”), which provides a direct interface between the print engine electronics and the controller. The controller and each TAB include a fiber optic input port and a fiber optic output port. Therefore, both the controller and the plurality of TABs have full duplex communications via fiber optics. The controller is attached to the plurality of TABs in a ring or daisy-chained fashion, such that the controller will transmit commands and data to the first TAB on the daisy-chain, and the commands and data will flow in the same direction along the daisy-chain to the rest of the TABs, and will eventually flow back to the controller. Furthermore, the controller is adapted to transmit rasterized bitmap image data to the TABs, and in turn to the print engines, in an on-demand manner.
The ring configuration allows all the TABs to see all of the data all of the time. This also provides a clean mechanism for the raster printer controller to receive print engine status from all of the print engines with minimal cabling requirements. Furthermore, use of fiber optics provides excellent electrical isolation and immunity from excessive high voltages associated with print engine electronics.
The raster printer controller has a multiplexed command/data-stream protocol structure at its fiber optic interface in which the controller transmits a command followed by the data associated with the command. The controller initiates all commands, and manages the allocation of fiber optic bandwidth to receive all print engine status. Each TAB is adapted to listen for commands addressed to it, and responds appropriately; and further, the TAB never responds unless commanded by the controller. Nevertheless, each TAB will retransmit the entire command/data-stream it receives on its fiber optic input port back to its fiber optic output port, and in turn, to the next TAB on the ring. This allows all of the TABs to see all of the controller commands and data, all of the time.
Each TAB includes a fiber optic receiver/decoder, a fiber optic encoder/transmitter, a standard discrete output bus, a standard discrete input bus, a bitmap data memory storage, and a high-speed fiber optic message processing circuit. The message processing circuit is adapted to manage the incoming and outgoing commands, to manage the TAB's hardware and to provide an interface to the print engine electronics. The message processing circuit monitors the fiber optic input and executes the commands transmitted by the raster printer controller if the commands are addressed to it. The message processing circuit also continuously retransmits the command/data-stream back to the fiber optic encoder/transmitter, supports the general purpose discrete output bus in response to the commands, reads the general purpose discrete input bus which can be translated into messages sent directly to the raster printer controller as status, and also manages the data update of the bitmap data memory storage when commanded by the raster printer controller.
The high-speed fiber optic message processing circuit also provides a standard interface to the TAB's optional CPU which can be used to manage higher level tasks as warranted by some types of print engines. Thus, the TAB's architecture is optimized by design to provide a clean and standard interface to a broad range of digital printers, and the general purpose discrete buses provide a possible means for the raster printer controller to easily interface to and support the general I/O requirements of a broad range of print engines.
In a preferred embodiment, each TAB is designed to be automatically addressable by the raster printer controller, which means that the plurality of TABs can be connected in any order and in any combination within the fiber optic ring, and that any number of TABs can be placed on the ring. The command/data-stream transmitted on the ring by the raster printer controller includes an address field, which specifies which TAB is to accept and execute the command embedded in the command/data-stream. Every TAB is set up with an identical predefined internal address, such as zero (e.g., address=0), and every TAB is configured to modify the address field (e.g., decrement the address field by one) of every command prior to retransmitting the command/data-stream back to the ring.
When the raster printer controller boots up, it does not know the number of TABs on the ring, nor the identities or the attributes of the print engines coupled to the TABs. Accordingly, on boot-up the raster printer controller will first transmit an initialization command on the ring. The address field of this initialization command will be modified by each of the TABs on the ring; and thus, upon receiving the initialization command back from the ring, the raster printer controller will be able to determine the number of TABs on the ring and will know how to address each of the TABs based upon the amount that the address field has been modified prior to receiving the initialization command back from the ring.
Immediately thereafter, the raster printer controller will send a configuration request command to the first TAB on the ring. This configuration request command is received by the first TAB because its internal address matches the address of the configuration request command. Thus
Gauthier Forrest P.
Jovic Dimitrije L.
Hilten John S.
Nolan, Jr. Charles H.
Thompson Hine LLP
Varis Corporation
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