Mechanism for rendering scenes using an object drawing subsystem
US5986667A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 22, 1994 |
| Grant date | Nov 16, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 22, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06T2210/61
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A graphics rendering system allows retained-mode building and editing of a model, independently of the choice of renderer. Application program calls to the rendering system to draw an object specify not only the object to draw, but also the renderer to use to do so. In an embodiment, the renderer is specified as part of a more inclusive "view object" which is identified to the rendering system through the application program interface. In this manner, switching to a different renderer at any time during the building or editing of a model becomes a trivial task for the application program. More than one renderer can be active simultaneously. In an embodiment, this is accomplished by storing the current state of rendering for each renderer in the view object. The graphics rendering system is also extensible to support dynamically registered renderers. The system automatically determines when geometries are not supported by a chosen renderer, and decomposes them into a plurality of objects of simpler geometry. Such automatic decomposition may be performed recursively until objects are reached whose geometries are supported by the chosen renderer.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.