Printer with hardware symbol data accessing scheme
US5146546A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 29, 1991 |
| Grant date | Sep 8, 1992 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 29, 2011 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06K2215/0082
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A printer is shown for printing a large number of symbols from a standardized set of symbols wherein each symbol has an associated code word that identifies the symbol within the set. The pixel data for each symbol in the standardized set is stored in a memory at addresses that are different from the code word identifying the symbol. The printer includes a microprocessor control circuit that receives input data including a code word identifying a symbol to be printed from an input device. The microprocessor control circuit includes a direct memory access controller for controlling the transfer of data from the symbol memory to an output image buffer. Hardware is provided to generate the addresses to the symbol memory necessary to read pixel data for a given symbol out from the memory in response to an output code word thereby eliminating the need for a large look-up table.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.