Patent · US Expired

Token-based buffer system and method for a geometry pipeline in three-dimensional graphics

US6476808B1 · kind B1 · utility

53Cited by
3References
26Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateOct 14, 1999
Grant dateNov 5, 2002
Priority date
Expiry dateOct 14, 2019

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06T15/005
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A token-based buffer system for a geometry pipeline in three-dimensional graphics comprises: a buffer control initialization (BCI) unit, a new token or index module, a geometry control pipeline, a vertex buffer, and a processing engine. The token-based buffer system provides a shared resource environment in which tokens are assigned for blocks of data. Each block of data includes that data necessary for each unit or stage in the geometry pipeline to perform its computation. The use of tokens is advantageous because it optimizes the storage efficiency for storing the blocks of data and ensures the correctness of the data as it is passed between stages.

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