Method and apparatus for rapidly rendering and image in response to three-dimensional graphics data in a data rate limited environment

US6184888A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• Hewlett-Packard Company, L.P. · US

Inventors

• Kei Yuasa · Tokyo, JP
• Michael E. Goss · Boulder, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Jul 30, 1998
• Grant date: Feb 6, 2001
• Expiry date: Jul 30, 2018

Classification

• Technology area (CPC A): Human Necessities
• CPC primary: A61J7/0436
• WIPO field: Control
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

An image rendering apparatus that comprises an input path through which the rendering apparatus can receive three-dimensional graphics data, a pixel/depth buffer, a reference buffer and a rendering engine. The three-dimensional graphics data include polygon data and additionally include texture data defining a texture. The texture data include texture size data and sets of pattern data. The pattern data in each of the sets represent the texture with a different resolution. The pattern data constitute a majority of the texture data. The pixel/depth buffer and the reference buffer respectively include first memory cells and second memory cells that correspond to the pixels of a rendering screen. The rendering engine performs an initial rasterizing operation using only the polygon and texture size data to generate and to store in the reference buffer, for each of the pixels of the rendering screen, a texture identifier, a layer depth value indicating a texture resolution, and texture coordinates. The rendering engine also identifies, in response to the texture identifier, the layer depth and the texture coordinates stored in the reference buffer for each of the rendering screen pixels…