Patent · US Expired

3-dimensional animation generating apparatus and a method for generating a 3-dimensional animation

US5577175A · kind A · utility

29Cited by
8References
20Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateAug 4, 1994
Grant dateNov 19, 1996
Priority date
Expiry dateAug 4, 2014

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06T13/20
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A 3-dimensional animation generating apparatus includes an image data storing section, a view point information input section, an image supervising section, an image data selecting section, a view point coordinate transforming section, an output image drawing section, a motion addressing section, a shadow area detecting section, and a shadow area supervising section. The image data storing section stores part image data and background image data in association with 3-dimensional coordinates of vertexes included in the image. The image data selecting section searches the image data by a unit of part. The apparatus further comprises a mechanism which, when information related to an observing view point is provided, determines which part image data exists in the visible area, transforms the visible part image data from the observing view point by view point coordinate transformation, and draws the resultant image data in a common drawing area. In addition, the apparatus further searches and supervises the part which can provide a shadow as a shadow area and the position of the light source related with the specific shadow area. When a new view point is selected, the shadow area transf…

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