Logic circuitry

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10940693-B1
Application number	US-201916728207-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Dec 27, 2019
Priority date	Dec 3, 2018
Publication date	Mar 9, 2021
Grant date	Mar 9, 2021

Abstract

Disclosed herein are sensor circuits for a replaceable print material container, the sensor circuit to communicate with a printer logic circuit. An example sensor circuit includes a first sensor to detect at least one of a pneumatic stimulus or a pressurization applied by a printer, a second sensor, and an interface to communicate with at least one of a voltage source or a data source of the printer logic circuit. The example sensor circuit also includes logic circuitry, responsive to a class parameter, to: (a) output a first signal based on at least one of the pneumatic stimulus or the pressurization sensed by the first sensor when the class parameter is a first class parameter; and (b) output a second signal based on at least one of an output of the second sensor, different data, or a different algorithm when the class parameter is a second class parameter.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A sensor circuit for a replaceable print material container, the sensor circuit to communicate with a printer logic circuit, the sensor circuit comprising:
a first sensor to detect at least one of a pneumatic stimulus or a pressurization applied by a printer;
a second sensor;
an interface to communicate with at least one of a voltage source or a data source of the printer logic circuit; and
a logic circuitry, responsive to a class parameter, to:
(a) output a first signal based on at least one of the pneumatic stimulus or the pressurization sensed by the first sensor when the class parameter is a first class parameter; and
(b) output a second signal based on at least one of an output of the second sensor, different data, or a different algorithm when the class parameter is a second class parameter.

2. The sensor circuit of claim 1 , wherein the first sensor is to detect air impulse applied to the print material container.

3. The sensor circuit of claim 1 , wherein the second sensor is a print material sensor.

4. The sensor circuit of claim 3 , wherein the second sensor is to detect a print level depletion, and the second signal is associated with a print material depletion.

5. The sensor circuit of claim 1 , wherein the print material is print liquid and the first sensor is to detect an increase of pressure in a print material reservoir to push-prime print liquid out of the reservoir towards the printer.

6. The sensor circuit of claim 1 , wherein the first sensor includes at least one cell to output a voltage based on a deflection.

7. The sensor circuit of claim 1 , wherein the second sensor includes an array of sensor cells, and the logic circuitry is to:
identify sub-class parameters;
select between the first sensor and the array of sensor cells based on the sub-class parameters.

8. The sensor circuit of claim 1 , wherein the logic circuitry is to:
identify, from an input command stream, an offset parameter and an amplifier parameter; and
respond to the offset parameter by changing the output by an amount that is a function of the amplifier parameter.

9. The sensor circuit of claim 1 , wherein the logic circuitry is to:
output a digital count value in a range of count values; and
at least one of clip a count value beyond a highest count value of the range to the highest count value, or clip a count value beyond a lowest count value of the range to the lowest count value.

10. The sensor circuit of claim 9 , wherein the lowest count value of the range is a binary representation of 0, and the highest count value is a binary representation of a maximum number of values that can be represented by a natural number of bytes, minus 1.

11. A sensor circuit for a replaceable print material, the sensor circuit to be communicatively coupled to a printer logic circuit, the sensor circuit comprising:
a sensor having a plurality of cells, the sensor to detect at least one of a pneumatic stimulus or a pressurization applied by a printer;
an interface to couple to at least one of a voltage source or a data source of the printer logic circuit; and
a logic circuitry to:
output at least one signal based on the pneumatic stimulus or the pressurization via the interface, the at least one signal further based on:
one sensor cell irrespective of sub-class parameters, or
a respective one of the plurality of cells of the sensor corresponding to a respective one of the sub-class parameters;

upon receiving a first class parameter of a plurality of class parameters and a corresponding sub-class parameter at different points in time during a pneumatic stimulus cycle, the logic circuitry to output different ones of the at least one output signal at respective points in time corresponding to the different points in time, the different points in time associated with a first point in time where the pneumatic stimulus or the pressurization is applied and a second point in time where no pneumatic stimulus or pressurization is applied, the different ones of the at least one output signal corresponding to different reservoir pressures.

12. The sensor circuit of claim 11 , wherein the logic circuitry is to, in response to a first class parameter corresponding to the first sensor, output:
at least one relatively low count value when the sensor detects the effect of at least one of an external pneumatic stimulus or pressurization, and
at least one relatively high count value when no effect of the external pneumatic stimulus or pressurization is detected.

13. The sensor circuit of claim 11 , wherein the logic circuitry is to, upon obtaining a second class parameter of the plurality of class parameters, provide different output signals than for the first class parameter.

14. The sensor circuit of claim 13 , further including a temperature sensor to sense ambient temperature, the second class parameter associated with the temperature sensor, and the logic circuitry to output a value based on the ambient temperature.

15. The sensor circuit of claim 13 , further including a crack detector, the logic circuitry to output a value based on detection by the crack detector of at least one of a crack or a deformation.

16. A sensor circuit for a replaceable print material, the sensor circuit to exchange data with a printer logic circuit, the sensor circuit comprising:
a sensor to detect at least one of a pneumatic stimulus or a pressurization applied by a printer;
an interface to communicate with at least one of a voltage source or a data source of the printer logic circuit; and
a logic circuitry to:
generate an output based on at least one of the pneumatic stimulus or the pressurization via interface;
in response to an offset parameter, change the output by an amount based on the amplifier parameter; and
output at least one of (1) different in-range count values in response to different operational calibration values for the same class parameters, or (2) different in-range count values in response to different operational calibration values for the same sub-class parameters.

17. The sensor circuit of claim 16 , wherein the logic circuitry is to base the output on calibration parameter values differently for respective ones of a plurality of calibration parameter functions.

18. The sensor circuit of claim 16 , wherein the logic circuitry is to, for respective ones of a plurality of class parameters, output:
count values in a count value range;
a highest or lowest output count value of the range for a first subset of the calibration parameters; and
in-range count values between, and having at least one count distance from, the highest and lowest output count value for a second subset of the calibration parameters, the second subset of the calibration parameters including operational calibration parameters.

19. The sensor circuit of claim 16 , wherein the logic circuitry is to:
receive communications via a first communications address; and
in response to a command to the first communications address to enable a second communications address, respond to commands to the second communications address.

20. The sensor circuit of claim 16 , wherein the logic circuitry is to, upon receiving:
(a) a command including a time period via a first communications address, and
(b) a third communications address via a second communications address,
respond to commands directed to the third communications address until the end of a duration based on the time period.

21. The sensor circuit of

Assignees

• Hewlett Packard Development Co

Inventors

• Gardner James Michael
• Linn Scott A
• Panshin Stephen D
• Ward Jefferson P
• Roethig David Owen
• Olsen David N
• Studer Anthony D
• Cumbie Michael W
• Lu Sirena Chi

Classifications

• G06F13/4282

  on a serial bus, e.g. I2C bus, SPI bus (on daisy chain buses G06F13/4247) · CPC title

• H04L9/0819

  Key transport or distribution, i.e. key establishment techniques where one party creates or otherwise obtains a secret value, and securely transfers it to the other(s) (network architectures or network communication protocols for key distribution in a packet data network H04L63/062) · CPC title

• B41J2202/20

  Modules · CPC title

• G06F9/30105

  Register structure · CPC title

• G06F21/62

  Protecting access to data via a platform, e.g. using keys or access control rules · CPC title