Patent · US Expired

Diamond culling of small primitives

US7307628B1 · kind B1 · utility

43Cited by
9References
19Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateAug 6, 2004
Grant dateDec 11, 2007
Priority date
Expiry dateDec 8, 2025

Classification

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

Abstract

Graphics processing devices and methods are provided for culling small primitives that do not cover any pixels. A boundary (e.g., a diamond) is defined around a pixel center, with pixel coverage being determined for some types of primitives based on whether the boundary is crossed. The boundaries divide the raster into internal regions and external regions. Each region is assigned a unique canonical identifier. Each vertex of a primitive is assigned the canonical identifier corresponding to the region that contains that vertex. The canonical coordinates of the vertices are used to cull primitives that do not satisfy the boundary crossing coverage rules for any pixels.

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