Patent ID: 8127070

Claim:
A programmable I/O system configured to implement a communication interface between i) a laser printer controller and ii) a print mechanism, the programmable I/O system comprising: a memory configured to be loaded, during runtime of the laser printer controller and the print mechanism, with executable code for configuring the programmable I/O system to implement the communication interface; a microcontroller configured to execute, during the runtime of the laser printer controller and the print mechanism, the executable code loaded into the memory; and a register file in communication with the microcontroller, wherein the register file comprises a timer register, a shared register, an interrupt register, a first-in first-out (FIFO) register, an external input/output (I/O) interface register and an internal I/O interface register, wherein upon execution of the executable code, the communication interface implemented by the programmable I/O system between the laser printer controller and the print mechanism comprises one or more of a serial interface, a parallel interface, a serial peripheral interface (SPI), a Synchronous Serial Interface (SSI), a Micro Wire interface, an Inter Integrated Circuit (I2C) interface, a control area network (CAN) interface, a UART interface, an IEEE1284 interface, an LCD interface, a front panel interface, and a MODEM interface.