Clamping system and method for clamping floating point color values from a geometry accelerator in a computer graphics system
US5856831A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 12, 1996 |
| Grant date | Jan 5, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 12, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F7/49921
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A clamping system is designed to clamp floating point values from a geometry accelerator in a computer graphics system. The clamping system includes a register configured to receive the floating point value from a connection from the geometry accelerator in the graphics system. Logic associated with the register is configured to determine when the value is less than or equal to a first threshold value (preferably, 0), greater than or equal to a second threshold value (preferably, 1), and between the first and second threshold values. An output mechanism is controlled by the logic. In the preferred embodiment, the output mechanism is a multiplexer interconnected with a tristate driver. The output mechanism is configured to output onto the connection the first threshold value when the color value is less than or equal to the first threshold value, to output onto the connection the second threshold value when the color value is greater than or equal to the second threshold value, and to output onto the connection the originally received floating point value when the floating point value is between the first and second threshold values. An absolute value logic mechanism is associated w…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.