COMPACT COLOR PRINTER MODULE

Abstract: A printer module for a compact printer system comprises a stationary printhead, an ink reservoir, a motive means and an image storing means, all housed within an elongate body. The motive means carries a printable media past the printhead which prints a full width image in a single pass. A power supply is also preferably housed within the elongate body. The body is preferably cylindrical and approximately the size of a large pen. The printhead is suitably a monolithic drop-on-demand inkjet printer.

Description: COMPACT COLOR PRINTER MODULE FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a compact pπnter system able to pnnt full-color, business card size documents from a device about the size of a pen The system includes vanous hot-connectable modules that provide a range of functions In particular the invention relates to a compact color pnnter that provides a pnnt function for the compact pnnter system Reference may be had to co-pending applications claiming pπonty from Australian Provisional Patent Application number PQ0560 dated 25 May 1999 The co-pending applications descnbe related modules and methods for implementing the compact pπnter system The co-pending applications are as follows BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Microelectronic manufacturing techniques have led to the rmmatuπzation of numerous devices Mobile phones, personal digital assistant devices, and digital cameras are very common examples of the miniaturization trend One device that has not seen the advantage of microelectronic manufactuπng techniques is the pπnter Commercially available pπnters are large compared to many of the devices they could support. For instance, it is impractical to carry a color pπnter for the purpose of instantly pπntmg photographs taken with known compact digital cameras. A compact pnnthead has been descπbed m co-pendmg Patent Cooperation Treaty applications filed simultaneously to the present application and hereby incorporated by cross reference- SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In one form, the mvention resides in a pπnter module for a compact pπnter system compπsing an elongate body; a stationary pπnthead housed within said body, means for moving a pnntable media past said stationary pπnthead, an ink reservoir within said body and communicating with said pπnthead, means within said body for stoπng an image to be pnnted by said pnnthead, and means for transferring said image to said pnnthead said pπnthead pπntmg said image on substantially the full width of said pnntable media in a single pass Further features of the invention will be evident from the following descnption BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order to assist with descπbmg preferred embodiments of the invention, reference will be made to the following figures in which FIG 1 is a pπnter module, FIG 2 is a camera module, FIG 3 is a memory module, FIG 4 is a communication module, FIG 5 is a flash module, FIG 6 is a timer module, FIG 7 is a laser module, FIG 8 is an effects module, FIG 9 is a characters module, FIG 10 is an adaptor module, FIG 11 is a pen module, FIG 12 is a dispenser module, FIG 13 is a first compact pπnter configuration, FIG 14 is a second compact pπnter configuration, FIG 15 is a third compact pπnter configuration, FIG 16 is a fourth compact pnnter configuration, FIG 17 is an exploded view of the Pπnter Module of FIG 1 , FIG 18 is a top view of the Pπnter Module with ink cartndge removed, FIG 19 is a cross-sectional view through AA in FIG 18, and FIG 20 is a block circuit diagram of a controller for the pπnter module DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referπng to FIGs 1 to 12, there are shown vaπous modules that together form a compact pπnter system Individual modules can be attached and detached from the compact pπnter configuration to allow a user-definable solution to busmess-card sized pnnting Images can also be transferred from one compact pπnter to another without the use of a secondary computer system Modules have a minimal user-interface to allow straightforward interaction A compact pπnter system configuration consists of a number of compact pπnter modules connected together Each compact pπnter module has a function that contπbutes to the overall functionality of the particular compact pπnter configuration Each compact pπnter module is typically shaped like part of a pen, physically connecting with other compact pπnter modules to form the complete pen-shaped device The length of the compact pnnter device depends on the number and type of compact pπnter modules connected The functionality of a compact pnnter configuration depends on the compact pπnter modules in the given configuration The compact pπnter modules connect both physically and logically The physical connection allows modules to be connected in any order, and the logical connection is taken care of by the compact pnnter Senal Bus - a bus that provides power, allows the modules to self configure and provides for the transfer of data In terms of physical connection, most compact pnnter modules consist of a central body, a male connector at one end, and a female connector at the other Since most modules have both a male and female connector, the modules can typically be connected in any order Certain modules only have a male or a female connector, but this is determined by the function of the module Adaptor modules allow these single-connector modules to be connected at either end of a given compact pπnter configuration A four wire physical connection between all the compact pnnter modules provides the logical connection between them in the form of the compact pπnter Senal Bus The compact pnnter Senal Bus provides power to each module, and provides the means by which data is transferred between modules Importantly, the compact pnnter Senal Bus and accompanying protocol provides the means by which the compact pnnter system auto-configures, reducing the user-interface burden on the end-user Compact pπnter modules can be grouped into three types • image processing modules including a Pnnter Module (FIG 1), a Camera Module (FIG 2), and a Memory Module (FIG 3) Image processing modules are pπmanly what sets the compact pnnter system apart from other pen-like devices Image processing modules capture, pnnt, store or manipulate photographic images, • housekeeping modules including an Adapter Module (FIG 10), an Effects Module (FIG 8), a Communications Module (FIG 4), and a Timer Module (FIG 6) Housekeeping modules provide services to other modules or extended functionality to other modules, and • isolated modules including a Pen Module (FIG 11) and a Laser Module (FIG 7) Isolated modules are those that attach to the compact pnnter system but are completely independent of any other module They do not necessaπly require power, and may even provide their own power Isolated Modules are defined because the functionality they provide is typically incorporated into other pen-like devices Although housekeeping modules and isolated modules are useful components m a compact pπnter system, they are extras in a system dedicated to image processing and photographic manipulation Life size (1 1) illustrations of the compact pπnter modules are shown in FIGs 1 to 12, and example configurations produced by connecting vaπous modules together are shown in FIGs 13 to 16 FIG 1 shows a pπnter module that incorporates a compact pπnthead descnbed in co-pending United States Patent Applications listed in the Background section of this application, incorporated herewith by reference, and referred to herewith as a Memjet pπnthead The Memjet pπnthead is a drop-on-demand 1600 dpi mkjet pπnter that produces bi- level dots in up to 4 colors to produce a pnnted page of a particular width Since the pnnthead pπnts dots at 1600 dpi, each dot is approximately 22 5μm in diameter, and spaced 15 875μm apart Because the pπntmg is bi-level, the input image should be dithered or error-diffused for best results Typically a Memjet pπnthead for a particular application is page- width This enables the pnnthead to be stationary and allows the paper to move past the pπnthead A Memjet pπnthead is composed of a number of identical 1/2 inch Memjet segments The pπnter module 10 compnses a body 11 housing the Memjet pπnthead Power is supplied by a three volt battery housed in battery compartment 12 The pπnthead is activated to commence pπnting when a business card (or similar sized pnntable media) is inserted into slot 13 Male connector 14 and female connector 15 facilitate connection of other modules to the pπnter module 10 FIG 2 shows a camera module 20 The camera module provides a pomt-and-shoot camera component to the compact pπnter system as a means of captunng images T e camera module compnses a body 21 having a female connector 22 A lens 23 directs an image to an image sensor and specialized image processing chip withm the camera 24 A conventional view finder 25 is provided as well as a lens cap 26 An image is captured when the Take button 27 is pushed Captured images are transfeπed to the Pnnter Module 10 for subsequent pπnting manipulation or storage The Camera Module also contains a self-timer mode similar to that found on regular cameras FIG 3 shows a Memory Module 30 compnsing a body 31 LCD 32 IN button 33 OUT button 34 and SELECT button 35 The Memory Module 30 is a standard module used for stonng photographic images captured by the Camera 20 The memory module stores 48 images, each of which can be accessed either at full resolution or at thumbnail resolution Full resolution provides read and wπte access to individual images and thumbnail resolution provides read access to 16 images at once in thumbnail form The Memory Module 30 attaches to other modules via a female connector 36 or male connector 37 The male and female connectors allow the module to be connected at either end of a configuration Power is provided from the Pnnter Module 10 via the Senal Bus A Communications Module 40 is shown m FIG 4 The communications module 40 consists of a connector 41 and a cable 42 that terminates in an appropnate connector for a computer port such as a USB port, RS232 senal port or parallel port The Communications Module 40 allows the compact pπnter system to be connected to a computer When so connected, images can be transferred between the computer and the vaπous modules of the compact pπnter system The communications module allows captured images to be downloaded to the computer, and new images for pπnting to be uploaded mto the pnnter module 10 A Flash Module 50 is shown in FIG 5 The Flash Module 50 is used to generate a flash with flash cell 51 when taking photographs with the Camera Module 20 The Flash Module attaches to other modules via female connector 52 and male connector 53 It contains its own power source The Flash Module is automatically selected by the Camera Module when required A simple switch allows the Flash Module to be explicitly turned off to maximize battery life FIG 6 shows a Timer Module 60 that is used to automate the taking of multiple photos with the Camera Module 20, each photo separated by a specific time interval The captured photos are stored in Memory Module 30 Any flash requirements are handled by the Camera Module 20, and can therefore be ignored by the Timer Module The Timer Module 60 consists of a body 61 housing a LCD 62, START/STOP button 63 and UNITS button 64 A SELECT button 65 allows the user to select time units and the number of units are set by UNITS button 64 The Timer Module 60 includes a male connector 66 and female connector 67 The Timer Module takes its power from the Pπnter Module 10 via the Senal Bus A Laser Module 70 is shown in FIG 7 The Laser Module 70 consists of a body 71 containing a conventional laser pointer operated by button 72 As the Laser Module is a terminal module it only has one connector, which in the example is a male connector 73 The Laser Module is an isolated module, in that it does not perform any image capture, storage, or processing It exists as a functional addition to the compact pnnter system It is provided because laser pointer services are typically incorporated into other pen-like devices The Laser Module contains its own power supply and does not appear as a device on the Senal Bus The Effects Module shown in FIG 8 is an image processing module It allows a user to select a number of effects and applies them to the current image stored in the Pnnter Module 10 The effects include borders, clip-art, captions, warps, color changes, and painting styles The Effects Module compnses a body 81 housing custom electronics and a LCD 82 A CHOOSE button 83 allows a user to choose between a number of different types of effects A SELECT button 84 allows the user to select one effect from the number of effects of the chosen type Pressing the APPLY button 85 applies the effect to image stored in the Pπnter Module 10 The Effects Module obtains power from the Senal Bus Male connector 86 and female connector 87 allow the Effects Module to be connected to other compact pnnter system modules FIG 9 shows a Character Module 90 that is a special type of Effects Module (descπbed above) that only contains character clip-art effects of a given topic or genre Examples include The Simpsons ® , Star Wars ® , Batman ® , and Dilbert ® as well as company specific modules for McDonalds ® etc As such it is an image processing module It consists of a body 91 housing custom electronics and a LCD 92 SELECT button 93 allows the user to choose the effect that is to be applied with APPLY button 94 The Character Module obtains power from the Senal Bus through male connector 95 and female connector 96 The Adaptor Module 100, shown in FIG 10 is a female/female connector that allows connection between two modules that terminate in male connectors A male/male connector (not shown) allows connection between two modules that terminate in female connectors The Adaptor Module is a housekeeping module, in that it facilitates the use of other modules, and does not perform any specific processing of its own All "through" modules have a male connector at one end, and a female connector at the other end The modules can therefore be chained together, with each module connected at either end of the chain However some modules, such as the Laser Module 70, are terminating modules, and therefore have either a male or female connector only Such single- connector modules can only be connected at one end of the chain If two such modules are to be connected at the one time, an Adaptor Module 100 is required FIG 1 1 shows a Pen Module 110 which is a pen in a module form It is an isolated module that it attaches to the compact pnnter system but is completely independent of any other module It does not consume or require any power The Pen Module is defined because it is a convenient extension of a pen shaped, pen sized device It may also come with a cap 111 The cap may be used to keep terminating connectors clean in the case where the chain ends with a connector rather than a terminating module To assist with accurately feeding a business card sized pnnt media mto slot 13 of the pnnter module 10, a dispenser module 120 is provided as shown in FIG12 The dispenser module 120 compnses a body 121 that holds a store of business card sized pnnt media A Pπnter Module 10 locates mto socket 122 on the dispenser module 120 When coπectly aligned, a card dispensed from the dispenser module by slider 123 enters slot 13 and is pnnted In the sense that a minimum configuration compact pπnter system must be able to pnnt out photos, a minimum compact pnnter configuration contains at least a Pnnter Module 10 The Pnnter Module holds a single photographic image that can be pnnted out via its Memjet pπnter It also contains the 3V battery required to power the compact pπnter system In this minimum configuration, the user is only able to pnnt out photos Each time a user inserts a business card 130 into the slot m the Pπnter Module, the image in the Pπnter Module is pnnted onto the card The same image is pnnted each time a business card is inserted into the pπnter In this minimum configuration there is no way for a user to change the image that is pnnted The dispenser module 120 can be used to feed cards 130 into the Pπnter Module with a minimum of fuss, as shown in FIG 13 By connecting a Camera Module 20 to the minimum configuration compact pπnter system the user now has an instant pnnting digital camera in a pen, as shown in FIG 14 The Camera Module 20 provides the mechanism for captunng images and the Pnnter Module 10 provides the mechanism for pnnting them out The battery m the Pπnter Module provides power for both the camera and the pπnter When the user presses the "Take" button 27 on the Camera Module 20, the image is captured by the camera 24 and transferred to the Pπnter Module 10 Each time a business card is inserted into the pπnter the captured image is pnnted out If the user presses "Take" on the Camera Module again, the old image m the Pπnter Module is replaced by the new image If the Camera Module is subsequently detached from the compact pnnter system, the captured image remains in the Pπnter Module, and can be pnnted out as many times as desired The Camera Module is simply there to capture images to be placed in the Pπnter Module FIG 15 shows a further configuration in which a Memory Module 30 is connected to the configuration of FIG 14 In the embodiment of FIG 15, the user has the ability to transfer images between the Pπnter Module 10 and a storage area contained in the Memory Module 30 The user selects the image number on the Memory Module, and then either RECTIFED SHEET (RULE 91) sends that image to the Pπnter Module (replacing whatever image was already stored there ) or bnngs the cuπent image from the Pπnter Module to the specified image number in the Memory Module The Memoπ. Module also provides a way of sending sets of thumbnail images to the Pπnter Module Multiple Memory Modules can be included in a given system extending the number of images that can be stored A given Memory Module can be disconnected from one compact pnnter system and connected to another for subsequent image pnnting With the Camera Module 20 attached to a Memory Module/Pnnter Module compact pπnter system, as shown in FIG 15, the user can "Take ' an image with the Camera Module, then transfer it to the specified image number in the Memory Module The captured images can then be pnnted out in any order By connecting a Communications Module 40 to the minimum configuration compact pnnter system, the user gams the ability to transfer images between a PC and the compact pnnter system FIG 16 shows the configuration of FIG 15 with the addition of a Communications Module 40 The Communications Module makes the Pnnter Module 10 and any Memory Modules 30 visible to an external computer system This allows the download or uploading of images The communications module also allows computer control of any connected compact pnnter modules, such as the Camera Module 20 In the general case, the Pnnter Module holds the "cuπent" image, and the other modules function with respect to this central repository of the current image The Pπnter Module is therefore the central location for image interchange in the compact pπnter system, and the Pπnter Module provides a service to other modules as specified by user interaction A given module may act as an image source It therefore has the ability to transfer an image to the Pπnter Module A different module may act as an image store It therefore has the ability to read the image from the Pπnter Module Some modules act as both image store and image source These modules can both read images from and wnte images to the Pπnter Module's current image The standard image type has a single conceptual definition The image definition is denved from the physical attπbutes of the pπnthead used in the Pnnter Module The pπnthead is 2 inches wide and pnnts at 1600dpi in cyan, magenta and yellow bi-level dots Consequently a pnnted image from the compact pnnter system is 3200 bi-level dots wide The compact pnnter system pπnts on business card sized pages (85mm x 55mm) Since the pπnthead is 2 inches wide, the business cards are pnnted such that 1 line of dots is 2 inches 2 inches is 508mm, leaving a 2mm edge on a standard business-card sized page The length of the image is denved from the same card size with a 2mm edge Consequently the pnnted image length is 81mm, which equals 5100 1600dpi dots The pnnted area of a page is therefore 81mm x 51mm, or 5100 x 3200 dots To obtain an integral contone to bi-level ratio a contone resolution of 267 ppi (pixels per inch) is chosen This yields a contone CMY page size of 850 x 534, and a contone to bi-level ratio of 1 6 in each dimension This ratio of 1 6 provides no perceived loss of quality since the output image is bi-level The pnnthead pnnts dots m cyan, magenta, and yellow mk The final output to the pnnted page must therefore be in the gamut of the pπnthead and take the attπbutes of the inks mto account It would at first seem reasonable to use the CMY color space to represent images However, the pπnter' s CMY color space does not have a linear response This is definitely true of pigmented inks, and partially true for dye-based inks The individual color profile of a particular device (input and output) can vary considerably Image capture devices (such as digital cameras) typically work in RGB (red green blue) color space, and each sensor will have its own color response characteπstics Consequently, to allow for accurate conversion, as well as to allow for future image sensors, inks, and pπnters, the CIE L*a*b* color model [CIE, 1986, CIE 15 2 Coloπmetry Technical Report (2 nd Edition), Commission Internationale De I'Eclairage] is used for the compact pπnter system L*a*b* is well defined, perceptually linear, and is a superset of other traditional color spaces (such as CMY, RGB, and HSV) The Pπnter Module must therefore be capable of converting L*a*b* images to the particular pecuhanties of its CMY color space However, since the compact pπnter system allows for connectivity to PCs, it is quite reasonable to also allow highly accurate color matching between screen and pπnter to be performed on the PC However the pnnter dπver or PC program must output L*a*b* Each pixel of a compact pπnter image is therefore represented by 24 bits 8 bits each of L*, a*, and b* The total image size is therefore 1,361 ,700 bytes (850 x 534 x 3) Each image processing module is able to access the image stored in the Pnnter Module The access is either to read the image from the Pπnter Module, or to wrπte a new image to the Pnnter Module The communications protocol for image access to the Pπnter Module provides a choice of internal image organization Images can be accessed either as 850 x 534 or as 534 x 850 They can also be accessed in interleaved or planar format When accessed as interleaved, each pixel in the image is read or wntten as 24 bits 8 bits each of L*, a*, b* When accessed as planar, each of the color planes can be read or wntten independently The entire image of L* pixels, a* pixels or b* pixels can be read or wntten at a time Detailed views of the Pπnter Module 10 are shown in FIGs 17, 18 and 1 The Pπnter Module 10 is the central module in the compact pnnter system It contains a 2-inch Memjet pnnthead 16, a Cyan/Magenta/Yellow mk cartndge 17, the current image stored in flash memory on the pπnthead, and a power source in the form of a 3V battery 12a in the battery compartment 12 With regards to processing the Pπnter Module 10 contains a controller chip (or chips) 101 that controls pπnting of the stored image in high quality The Pπnter Module 10 can be used as a stand-alone pπnter of a single image (such as business cards), or can be used in conjunction with other modules to pnnt a vaπety of images Looking in detail at FIG 17, the body 11 of the pπnter module is in three parts being a lid 1 la, base 1 lb and chassis l ie Pnnthead 16 with filter 16a fits into the chassis 1 lc Powered rollers 18a are dnven by motor and gearbox 103 Neutral rollers 18b fit mto ink cartπdge 17 and guide a card past the pπnthead 16 Spnngs 18c (FIG 19) urge the neutral rollers 18b towards the powered rollers 18a The ink cartπdge 17 is located beyond the rollers 18 so that the card passes between the pπnthead 16 and the mk cartridge 17 Ink inlets 105 provide communication between the ink cartπdge 17 and the pπnthead 16 Micro-moulded channels 106 m the chassis l ie distπbute the ink from the ink inlets 105 to the length of the pπnthead 16 Senal bus 104 provides power and data between the pnnter module 10 and other modules connected to male connector 14 and female connector 15 The senal bus 104 picks up power from the battery 12a and signals from the controller 101 Looking at FIG 19, to pnnt an image, a user simply inserts a business card into the input slot 13 of the Pnnter Module Sensor 102 detects the insertion and a small motor 103a and gearbox 103b activates rollers 18 to carry the card through the module A tab film 107 provides signal connection from the sensor 102 to the controller 101 and hence to the motor and gearbox 103 A wedge 108 holds the tab film 107 in place to make a signal connection The pnnted card is ejected from the output slot 13a of the module over a time penod of 1 second There is no on/off switch - the act of inserting the card is the effective "on" switch for the duration of a pnnt To reduce the chance of ink drying in the pπnthead 16 a capping mechanism 19 is provided to cap the ink nozzles in the pπnthead The capping mechanism 19 compnses a capping arm 191 supporting a blotter 192 with adjacent elastomeπc seals 193 A clutch 194 is operatively associated with one of the powered rollers 18a to move the capping arm 191 out of the path of the card for pπnting The volume of ink present in an ink cartπdge is 450 ml (2mm x 3mm x 75mm), enough to produce 450 million dots of a given color The exact number of images that can be pnnted before replacement will depend on the color composition of those images 450 ml represents • 25 full black cards (black requires all three colors to be used) • 50 full sized photos at 50% CMY coverage • 11 1 typical photo/text cards at 22 5% CMY coverage 166 cards of black (CMY) text at 15% coverage A QA chip in the k cartridge keeps track of how much ink has been used Sensors in the ink cartndge provide signals to the QA chip that are transferred to the controller 101 via contacts 109 If there is insufficient ink of any color to pnnt a given image, the card will pass through the pnnter module but nothing will be pnnted It is a simple matter to replace the old ink cartndge 17 by sliding latch 171 removing lid 1 la unchpping the old cartndge and clipping on a new one A schematic of a suitable controller 101 is shown in FIG 20 The controller may be embodied in a single application specific integrated circuit or ina number of discrete elements The controller 101 includes a simple micro- controller CPU core 201 with associated program ROM 202 and program RAM 203 The CPU 201 communicates with the other units within the controller via memory-mapped I O supported by a Memory Decoder 204 The Decoder 204 translates data addresses into internal controller register accesses over the internal low speed bus 205, and therefore allows for memory mapped I O of controller registers The bus 205 includes address lines 205a and data or control lines 205b An optional Senal Bus interface 206, is connected to the internal chip low-speed bus 205 and connects to the Senal Bus for communication with other modules A parallel interface 207 provides communication to the motor and gearbox 103 m the pnnter module 10 It can also receiv e signals from buttons, such as a paper sensor 102 There are two optional low-speed senal interfaces 208, 209 connected to the internal low-speed bus 205 A first interface 208 connects to the QA chip 220 in the ink cartπdge of the pπnter module 10 The second interface connects to a QA chip 221 on the pnnt module 10 The reason for having two interfaces is to connect to both the on-module QA Chip 221 and to the ink cartndge QA Chip 220 using separate lines to improve secunty If only a single line is used, a clone mk cartπdge manufacturer could usurp the authentication mechanism and provide a non-propπetary cartπdge The total amount of memory required for the interleaved linear CMY/L*a*b* image is 1,361,700 bytes (approximately 1 3 MB) The image is wntten to Image Storage Memory 211 by the Image Access Unit 212, and read by both the Image Access Unit 212 and the Pnnthead Interface (PHI) 210 The CPU does not have direct random access to this image memory It must access the image pixels via the Image Access Unit 212 The Pπnthead Interface 210 is the means by which the controller loads the pπnthead 16 with the dots to be pnnted, and controls the actual dot pπnting process The controller 101 may also include a clock phase-locked loop 213 that provides timing signals to the controller The clock 213 draws a base signal from crystal oscillator 214 Some CPU include a clock so the clock and crystal would not be required A standard JTAG (Joint Test Action Group) Interface 215 is included in the controller for testing purposes Due to the complexity of the controller, a vaπety of testing techniques are required, including BIST (Built In Self Test) and functional block isolation An overhead of 10% in chip area is assumed for overall chip testing circuitry The battery used to power the compact pπnter system is a CR1/3N cell The battery contains enough power to pnnt 133 photos The characteπstics of the battery are listed in the following table Throughout the specification the aim has been to descnbe the prefeπed embodiments of the invention without limiting the invention to any one embodiment or specific collection of features Persons skilled in the relevant art may realize vanations from the specific embodiments that will nonetheless fall within the scope of the invention

Claims: CLAIMS 1 A pπnter module for a compact pnnter system compnsmg an elongate body, a stationary pπnthead housed within said body, means for moving a pnntable media past said stationary pnnthead, an ink reservoir withm said body and communicating ith said pnnthead, means within said body for stonng an image to be pnnted by said pnnthead, and means for transferπng said image to said pπnthead said pnnthead pnnting said image on substantially the full width of said pnntable media in a single pass 2 The pnnter module of claim 1 further compnsmg a controller, said controller controlling operation of said pπnter module 3 The pnnter module of claim 2 wherein said means for stonng said image is flash memory associated with said controller 4 The pπnter module of claim 2 wherein said controller includes said means for transferπng said image to said pπnthead 5 The pπnter module of claim 1 further compnsmg a sensor means detecting said pnnting media and activating said means for moving said pπnting media in response to said detection 6 The pπnter module of claim 1 further compnsmg a power source within said housing 7 The pnnter module of claim 1 further compnsmg at least one connector at an end of said body for connecting one or more further modules to said pπnter module and a bus providing power and data between said pπnter module and said one or more further modules 8 The pπnter module of claim 1 wherem the elongate body is substantially cylmdπcal 9 The pnnter module of claim 1 wherein the pnnthead is a monolithic drop-on-demand Inkjet pnnter 10 The pnnter module of claim 1 where the means for moving pnntable media compnses a motive means dnvmg one or more powered rollers adjacent one or more neutral rollers 11 The pπnter module of claim 10 wherein the motive means is an electπc motor and gearbox 12 The pπnter module of claim 2 wherein said controller incorporates image processing and quality assurance integrated circuits

Inventors: SILVERBROOK KIA, WALMSLEY SIMON ROBERT, SILVERBROOK, KIA, WALMSLEY, SIMON, ROBERT
Applicants: SILVERBROOK KIA, SILVERBROOK RES PTY LTD, WALMSLEY SIMON ROBERT, SILVERBROOK RESEARCH PTY LTD, SILVERBROOK, KIA, WALMSLEY, SIMON, ROBERT
Application year: 2000
Main classification: B41J2
IPC codes: B41J2, B41J3, B41J13, B41J23, B41J29, H04N1, H04N5