Apparatus for assembling data for supply to a scanning output device

An integrated circuit for assembling image data words for supply to a raster printer under control of a processor that generates control words, image data words being stored in a source memory accessible in response to source addresses and image data words being assembled in an assembly memory accessible in response to assembly addresses, the control words including a code indicating one of a plurality of modes of operation, a code identifying a source address of an image block including one or more image data words and a code indicating a destination address of a memory storage location in the assembly memory at which the source image block is to be stored, the control words further including a code indicating a source address of a texture image block including one or more data words, said integrated circuit comprising:

• a control interface means, adapted for communication with the processor, for receiving the control words;
• storage means, in communication with the control interface means, for storing and outputting the control words;
• control means, in communication with the control interface means and the storage means, for generating transaction control signals in response to the control words;
• address generating means, in communication with the storage means and the control means, for generating the source addresses and the assembly addresses in response to the transaction control signals and the codes indicating the source address of the image data block and the destination address of the memory storage location in the assembly memory in which the image block is to be stored;
• image data interface means, adapted for communication with the source memory and assembly memory and coupled to the control means and the address generating means, for reading and writing image data words in the source memory and the assembly memory in response to the transaction control signals and the source addresses and assembly addresses;
• printer interface means, adapted for communication with the printer and coupled to the image data interface means, for supplying data words from the assembly memory through the image data interface means to the printer;
• and
• combining means, in communication with the control means and the image data interface means, for combining image data words and texture data words to generate textured data words, and wherein
• the control means is responsive to the control words in at least one of the plurality of modes to generate transaction control signals so that the image data interface means reads the image data word and the texture data word in the respective source addresses and transfers the image data word and texture data word to the combining means, the combining means combines the image data word and the texture data word to generate a textured data word, and the image data interface means stores the textured data word in the assembly address supplied by the address generating means.

An apparatus for assembling image data words for supply to a two-dimensional scanning device under control of a processor that generates control words, comprising:

• a source memory storing image data words in locations accessible in response to source addresses;
• an assembly memory having locations accessible in response to assembly addresses, and including a buffer address space including a first band and a second band;
• a control interface means, adapted for communication with the processor, for receiving the control words;
• storage means, in communication with the control interface means, for storing and outputting the control words;
• control means, in communication with the control interface means and the storage means, for generating transaction control signals in response to the control words;
• address generating means, in communication with the storage means and the control means, for generating the source addresses and the assembly addresses in response to the transaction control signals and the control words;
• image data interface means, adapted for communication with the source memory and the assembly memory and coupled to the control means and address generating means, for reading and writing image data words in the source memory and the assembly memory in response to transaction control signals, source addresses and assembly addresses;
• and
• scanner interface means, adapted for communication with the scanning device and coupled to the image data interface means, for supplying image data words from the assembly memory to the scanning device;
• wherein the control means further includes
• band control means, in communication with the image data interface means, for coordinating access to the first band and the second band so that one band may be accessed by the image data interface means for supply of data to the scanner interface means while the other band is accessed by the image data interface means for writing data from the image data interface means;
• and wherein
• a location in the assembly memory identified by the control words is addressable by a number of assembly addresses that correspond to the size of a source image block, and wherein the first one of said plurality of assembly addresses resides in one of the first and second bands and the remaining ones of the plurality of assembly addresses reside in the other of the first and second bands, and wherein the control means further includes:
• means, in communication with the control interface means and the address generating means, for generating an interrupt when an assembly address is generated by the address generating means that resides outside the one band in which the first assembly address of the plurality resided.

An apparatus for assembling image data words for supply to a two-dimensional scanning device under control of a processor that generates control words, image data words being stored in a source memory accessible in response to source addresses and image data words being assembled in an assembly memory accessible in response to assembly addresses, comprising:

• a control interface means, adapted for communication with the processor, for receiving the control words;
• storage means, in communication with the control interface means, for storing and outputting the control words;
• control means, in communication with the control interface means and the storage means, for generating transaction control signals in response to the control words;
• address generating means, in communication with the storage means and the control means, for generating the source addresses and the assembly addresses in response to the transaction control signals and the control words;
• image data interface means, adapted for communication with the source memory and the assembly memory and coupled to the control means and address generating means, for reading and writing image data words in the source memory and the assembly memory in response to transaction control signals, source addresses and assembly addresses;
• and
• scanner interface means, adapted for communication with the scanning device and coupled to the image data interface means, for supplying image data words from the assembly memory to the scanning device;
• wherein the control words in the graphics load mode include
• a control command word indicating one of a plurality of modes of operation, one of the plurality of modes of operation graphics load mode,
• a destination command word including a destination address of a graphics memory storage location for a graphics image block, a graphics memory storage location including data locations addressable by assembly addresses, and
• a source command word that includes data indicating the number of image data words per line in the graphics image block;
• and wherein:
• the address generating means generates a plurality of assembly addresses in the graphics load mode in response to the destination address and the number of image data words per line in the graphics image block;
• and
• the control means is responsive to the control command word to generate transaction control signals in the graphics load mode so that the control interface means accepts an image data word from the processor and transfers the image data word to the image data interface means, and the image data interface means writes the image data word to the assembly address.

An apparatus for assembling image data words for supply to a two-dimensional scanning device under control of a processor that generates control words, image data words being stored in a source memory accessible in response to source addresses and image data words being assembled in an assembly memory accessible in response to assembly addresses, comprising:

• a control interface means, adapted for communication with the processor, for receiving the control words;
• storage means, in communication with the control interface means, for storing and outputting the control words;
• control means, in communication with the control interface means and the storage means, for generating transaction control signals in response to the control words;
• address generating means, in communication with the storage means and the control means, for generating the source addresses and the assembly addresses in response to the transaction control signals and the control words;
• image data interface means, adapted for communication with the source memory and the assembly memory and coupled to the control means and address generating means, for reading and writing image data words in the source memory and the assembly memory in response to transaction control signals, source addresses and assembly addresses;
• and
• scanner interface means, adapted for communication with the scanning device and coupled to the image data interface means, for supplying image data words from the assembly memory to the scanning device;
• wherein the control words include a control command word indicating one of a plurality of modes of operation, one of the plurality of modes of operation being a dispatch mode, and the control words include a source command word including a source address of a source image block, a texture command word including a source address of a texture image block, and a destination command word including a destination address of a memory storage location, a source image block including one or more image data words, a texture image block including one or more texture data words, and a memory storage location including data locations addressable by one or more assembly addresses, the apparatus further including:
• combining means, in communication with the control means, and the image data interface means, for combining image data words and texture data words to generate textured data words;
• and wherein
• the control means is responsive to the control command word to generate transaction control signals in the dispatch mode so that the image data interface means reads the image data word and the texture data word in the respective source addresses and transfers the image data word and texture data word to the combining means, the combining means combines the image data word and the texture data word to generate a textured data word, and the image data interface means stores the textured data word in the assembly address.