Patent · US Active

Graphics primitives and positions through memory buffers

US12169896B2 · kind B2 · utility

0Cited by
3References
20Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateSep 29, 2021
Grant dateDec 17, 2024
Priority date
Expiry dateSep 29, 2041

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06T15/005
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

Systems, apparatuses, and methods for preemptively reserving buffer space for primitives and positions in a graphics pipeline are disclosed. A system includes a graphics pipeline frontend with any number of geometry engines coupled to corresponding shader engines. Each geometry engine launches shader wavefronts to execute on a corresponding shader engine. The geometry engine preemptively reserves buffer space for each wavefront prior to the wavefront being launched on the shader engine. When the shader engine executes a wavefront, the shader engine exports primitive and position data to the reserved buffer space. Multiple scan converters will consume the primitive and position data, with each scan converter consuming primitive and position data based on the screen coverage of the scan converter. After consuming the primitive and position data, the scan converters mark the buffer space as freed so that the geometry engine can then allocate the freed buffer space to subsequent shader wavefronts.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.