Handheld imaging device with system-on-chip microcontroller incorporating on shared wafer image processor and image sensor

1. A portable imaging device, comprising:

an image sensor configured for generating signals carrying data related to an image sensed by the image sensor;

a micro-controller provided on a wafer substrate; and

a memory external to the micro-controller and configured for storing the data related to the image sensed by the image sensor;

wherein the micro-controller comprises:

a plurality of processing units interconnected in parallel by a crossbar switch;

an image sensor interface for effecting data communication between the image sensor and the plurality of processing units; and

a data cache connected to the plurality of processing units via a plurality of buses;

wherein the crossbar switch is separate from the plurality of buses,

wherein each of the plurality of processing units includes two I/O address generators, and each I/O address generator is connected to a respective one of the plurality of buses, and

wherein the two I/O address generators of each of the plurality of processing units are configured for controlling a transfer of the data related to the image sensed by the image sensor from the image sensor interface to and from the memory.

2. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the micro-controller further comprises an input buffer provided on the wafer substrate and in communication with the crossbar switch, the input buffer for receiving data bound for the plurality of processing units and configured for sharing by each of the plurality of processing units.

3. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the micro-controller further comprises an output buffer provided on the wafer substrate and in communication with the crossbar switch, the output buffer for receiving data processed by the plurality of processing units and configured for sharing by each of the plurality of processing units.

4. The device according to claim 3 , wherein the micro-controller further comprises a print head interface, the print head interface for reading dither-formatted data from the output buffer and passing the dither-formatted data to a print head.

5. The device according to claim 1 , further comprising a scanner for scanning a pattern.

6. The device according to claim 5 , wherein the micro-controller further comprises a scanner interface for receiving from the scanner data indicative of the presence of the pattern, and decoding the pattern into an image processing script.

7. The device according to claim 6 , wherein the micro-controller further comprises a CPU for executing an image processing language interpreter on the image processing script, and providing instructions to the plurality of processing units to process the data related to the image sensed by the image sensor in accordance with the image processing script.

8. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the image sensor is a charge-coupled device (CCD), and the image sensor interface includes an analogue/digital converter for converting signals passing between the processor and the CCD.

9. The device according to claim 1 , further comprising a printer for printing out the sensed image.

10. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the micro-controller further comprises a print head interface for receiving print data from the plurality of processing units, and sending the print head to the printer.

11. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the image sensor interface is configured for converting the signals to a format readable by the plurality of processing units and providing control information from the micro-controller to the image sensor.

12. The processor of claim 11 , wherein the control information comprises a frame sync pulse and a pixel clock.

13. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the data cache is disposed between the memory and the plurality of processing units.

14. The device according to claim 13 , wherein the two I/O address generators of each of the plurality of processing units controls the transfer of data from the image sensor interface to and from the data cache.

15. The device according to claim 14 , wherein the micro-controller further comprises a memory interface separate from the image sensor interface and configured to provide an interface between the data cache and the memory, wherein the memory interface shares the wafer substrate with the micro-controller.