Fluidic Die Address Drivers Using Segmented Circuitry

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Solution Overview

Problem

Address driver circuitry in fluidic dies consumes a large amount of silicon area, leading to increased size and cost of the die.

Innovation Solution

Divide the address driver circuitry into multiple portions, with each portion driving a different portion of the address onto the address bus, thereby reducing the silicon area required.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a single address driver circuit is used to drive the address bus, then the address driving capability is maintained, but the silicon area consumed increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaddress driving capabilityVSAvoidsilicon area

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSArea of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The address driver circuit is divided into multiple separate address driver circuits, where each circuit drives a specific portion of the address bus. This segmentation allows the total address driving capability to be maintained while reducing the area consumed by each individual driver circuit, as they can be optimized for smaller signal requirements.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Area of stationary object

If multiple address driver circuits are used to drive different portions of the address bus, then the silicon area is reduced, but the device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesilicon areaVSAvoidcircuit structure

Core Design Contradiction:

Area of stationary objectVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The address driver is segmented into multiple independent circuits that can be implemented using standard CMOS logic. Each driver circuit is simplified to handle only a portion of the address bus, reducing the overall complexity compared to a single full-featured driver while maintaining the functional capability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Multiple address driver circuits are merged into a unified address driving system that shares common control logic and signal routing. This merging approach allows the individual driver circuits to work together seamlessly, distributing the addressing function across multiple smaller circuits rather than requiring one large complex circuit.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentUS12240231B2Integrated circuit with address drivers for fluidic die

Publication Date: 2025.03.04 HEWLETT PACKARD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LP

AI summary

A fluidic die including an array of fluid actuating devices addressable by a set of addresses, and an array of memory elements including a first portion to receive a first set of address bits representative of a first portion of an address of the set of addresses, and a second portion to receive a second set of address bits representative of a second portion of the address of the set of addresses. A first address driver is to provide a first portion of the address of the set of addresses based on the first set of address bits received by the first portion of memory elements, and a second address driver is to provide a remaining portion of the address of the set of addresses based on a second set of address bits received by the second portion of memory elements.