Method and apparatus for printhead control
View Patent ↗A method, apparatus, and computer program product are described herein for controlling a printing device. In an example embodiment, a print line is divided into frames and frame dot states are determined based on neighboring frame dot states. Maximum motor speeds of the printing device may be adjusted so that actual motor speeds change gradually during printing. The print engine may detect a printhead type by sending a signal to the printhead and receiving a response.
1. A method comprising:
accessing a plurality of print data lines in a memory device;
determining respective line strobe times and maximum motor speeds for the plurality of print data lines;
determining a maximum step in motor speed for printing one of the plurality of print data lines to printing an adjacent one of the plurality of print data lines; and
determining an actual motor speed for a selected print data line based on the maximum motor speed for the selected print data line, the maximum step in motor speed, and the respective line strobe times.
2. A method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
identifying a longest strobe time from the respective strobe times, wherein the determining the actual motor speed for the selected print data line is further based on the longest strobe time.
3. A method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
retrieving the selected print data line from a first-in first-out memory buffer.
4. A method according to claim 3 , wherein determining the maximum step in motor speed is based on at least a number of print data lines in the first-in first-out memory buffer.
5. A computer program product comprising at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable program code instructions stored therein, the computer-executable program code instructions comprising program code instructions to:
access a plurality of print data lines in a memory device;
determine respective line strobe times and maximum motor speeds for the print data lines;
determine a maximum step in motor speed from a printing of one line to a printing of an adjacent line; and
determine an actual motor speed for a selected print data line based on the maximum motor speed for the selected print data line, the maximum step in motor speed, and the respective line strobe times.
6. A computer program product according to claim 5 , wherein the computer-executable program code instructions further comprise program code instructions to:
identifying a longest strobe time from the respective strobe times, wherein the determining an actual motor speed for a selected print data line is further based on the longest strobe time.
7. A computer program product according to claim 5 , wherein the computer-executable program code instructions further comprise program code instructions to:
retrieving the selected print data line from a first-in first-out memory buffer.
8. A computer program product according to claim 7 , wherein determining the maximum step in motor speed is based on at least on a number of print data lines in the first-in first-out memory buffer.
9. A printing device comprising processing circuitry configured to:
access a plurality of print data lines in a memory device;
determine respective line strobe times and maximum motor speeds for the print data lines;
determine a maximum step in motor speed from a printing of one line to a printing of an adjacent line; and
determine an actual motor speed for a selected print data line based on the maximum motor speed for the selected print data line, the maximum step in motor speed, and the respective line strobe times.
10. A printing device according to claim 9 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
identify a longest strobe time from the respective strobe times, wherein the determining the actual motor speed for the selected print data line is further based on the longest strobe time.
11. A printing device according to claim 9 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
retrieve the selected print data line from a first-in first-out memory buffer.
12. A printing device according to claim 9 , wherein determining the maximum step in motor speed is based on at least on a number of print data lines in the first-in first-out memory buffer.