Advanced graphics driver architecture with extension capability
US5745761A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 15, 1994 |
| Grant date | Apr 28, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 15, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F3/14
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Disclosed is a support architecture that facilitates use of display device drivers containing a minimum of hardware-specific software code. A driver need support only a relatively few common functions, which act as building blocks for the larger, more complex operations typically requested by graphics engines. In order to mediate between the limited-instruction-set device driver and the various higher-level graphics engines, the invention includes a series of translation modules that simplify engine-originated instructions into simpler graphic components. A video manager supervises routing of instructions to the specific drivers they designate, and serializes access to hardware components so that graphic commands execute atomically (i.e., without interruption). The invention also includes a graphics library containing device-level instruction sets, as well as the on-board capability to execute those commands, for a broad range of graphic operations; and allows driver capability to be expanded by means of add-on extension modules, which relieve the designers of the need to fully rewrite a driver to test or implement an expanded function set.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.