Modified method and apparatus for improved occlusion culling in graphics systems
US6646639B1 · kind B1 · utility
142Cited by
6References
17Claims
0Family size
Assignee
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Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 19, 2001 |
| Grant date | Nov 11, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 19, 2021 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06T15/005
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A system, method and computer program product are provided for avoiding reading z-values in a graphics pipeline. Initially, near z-values are stored which are each representative of a near z-value on an object in a region. Such region is defined by a tile and a coverage mask therein. Thereafter, the stored near z-values are compared with far z-values computed for other objects in the region. Such comparison indicates whether an object is visible in the region. Based on the comparison, z-values previously stored for image samples in the region are conditionally read from memory.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.