Depth write disable for rendering
US6954208B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 11, 2004 |
| Grant date | Oct 11, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 11, 2024 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06T15/405
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A depth write disable apparatus and method for controlling evictions, such as depth values, from a depth cache to a corresponding depth buffer in a zone rendering system. When the depth write disable circuitry is enabled, evictions from the depth cache (as which typically occur during the rendering of the next zone) to the depth buffer are prevented. In particular, once the depth buffer is initialized (i.e. cleared) to a constant value at the beginning of a scene, the depth buffer does not need to be read. The depth cache handles intermediate depth reads and writes within each zone. Since the memory resident depth buffer is not required after a scene is rendered, it never needs to be written. The final depth values for a zone can thus be discarded (i.e., rather than written to the depth buffer) after each zone is rendering.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.