Patent · US Expired

Volume rendering pipelines

US6243098A · kind A · utility

108Cited by
3References
10Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMay 25, 1999
Grant dateJun 5, 2001
Priority date
Expiry dateMay 25, 2019

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06T15/40
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

An apparatus renders a volume data set including a plurality of voxels stored in a voxel memory. The apparatus includes a plurality of pipelines operating in parallel. Each pipeline includes a buffer storing at least one block of at least two voxels of the volume data set. An interpolation stage reads the at least one block of at least two voxels from the buffer. A gradient estimation stage receives an output from the interpolation stage. A compositing stage receives an output from the gradient estimation stage. The apparatus also includes a plurality of interface devices, wherein each interface device couples a particular stage only to an adjacent identical stage in a neighboring pipeline so that identical stages of the pipelines are connected in a ring.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.