Method and system for merging pixel fragments in a graphics rendering system
US5990904A · kind A · utility
141Cited by
25References
23Claims
0Family size
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 27, 1996 |
| Grant date | Nov 23, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 27, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06T15/60
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method for merging pixel fragments to reduce memory usage in a graphics rendering system. In rendering a graphics scene, geometric primitives of objects in the scene are rasterized to create pixel data including pixel fragments representing partially covered pixels. Lists of pixel fragments having color, depth, and coverage data are stored in a fragment buffer. When a new fragment is generated, an attempt is made to merge the fragment with the last fragment stored for a corresponding pixel location. Fragments are merged if they are within predefined depth and color tolerances.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.