Method and apparatus for lookahead generation in cached computer graphics system
US6654022B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 30, 1999 |
| Grant date | Nov 25, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 30, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06T1/60
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and apparatus for generation of pixel lookahead information in a cached computer graphics system is provided. For each pixel-based memory operation, several data items may be generated, such as numerical values representing a coordinate point in an image coordinate space or display coordinate space and characteristic data representing a color value or depth value for the pixel. In addition, lookahead data correlated with the coordinate data is generated. The pixel operation is then issued with the characteristic data, the coordinate data, and the lookahead data. The lookahead data may contain a lookahead vector, which specifies a lookahead vector direction and a lookahead vector length, and a lookahead valid flag, which indicates whether associated lookahead data is valid for the pixel operation. The lookahead direction may be computed based on the coordinate data of the pixel operation and coordinate data for a pixel operation to be performed within a threshold number of pixels operations from the pixel operation. By providing lookahead information based on the rendering state of the graphics subsystem, pixel operation intentions may be indicated prior to the issuance of …
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.