Method and apparatus for generating three dimensional effects in a two dimensional graphical user interface
US5864343A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 20, 1996 |
| Grant date | Jan 26, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 20, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06T15/10
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The graphics applications of a 2-D graphics computer system provide each object to be rendered on a 2-D raster display with a pair of rendering reference coordinates (x and y), and a relative depth value (z). Additionally, the computer system is provided with a library of predetermined 2-D images and sounds, and a number of graphics toolkit routines. As the user "moves", the graphics toolkit routines render selected ones of the predetermined images based on x/z and y/z values of recomputed x and y rendering coordinates and the relative depth value z of the objects, and actuate the sounds if applicable based on their predetermined manners of rendering. As a result, the objects that are further away from the user will move slower than the objects that are closer to the user, thereby introducing the effect of parallax and added realism to the 2-D graphics computer system at a substantially lower cost.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.