EP0372185A2
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EP
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Method and apparatus for the storage and manipulation of three-dimensional data arrays
Assignee: Pixar
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Filing: 1989-09-28
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2009-09-28
Abstract
Abstract A memory system for storage and manipulation of three dimensional images is described. In the present invention, blocks of data, each representing an nxnxn cube of elements are stored in n memories. N elements may be simultaneously accessed adjacent in the X, Y or Z directions. Memory elements are written and accessed by using a rotation equal to f(X, Y, Z). In an alternate scheme, a square array of nxn elements adjacent in the XY, XZ, or YZ planes is simultaneously accessed. In this alternate embodiment, n² memories are provided with each memory representing a nominal XY array. The number of rotations required is a function of an access mode and starting coordinates.
Inventors
- 👤 J. Lane Molpus
- 👤 Loren Carpenter
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-28 22:02
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F13/00; G06F13/14; G06F13/16; G06F12/00; G06F12/02; G06F12/0207
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 14
Claim 1
Independent Claim
138 words
A method for storage and manipulation of a block of data representing an nxnxn array of data elements defined by an X, Y and Z coordinate system comprising the steps of: assigning addresses to elements of said data array corresponding to a location in said X Y Z coordinate system; storing said elements in n memories, each memory storing n² elements of said data; rotating said data elements in a first direction when writing data to said memories such that each address value of X, Y and Z is found in only a single of said memories, wherein n adjacent data elements in one of an X Y and Z direction may be accessed simultaneously; rotating said data elements in a second direction when reading data from said memories, said second direction being opposite to said first direction.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
138 words
A method for storage and manipulation of a block of data representing an nxnxn array of data elements defined by an X, Y and Z coordinate system comprising the steps of: assigning addresses to elements of said data array corresponding to a location in said X Y Z coordinate system; storing said elements in n memories, each memory storing n² elements of said data; rotating said data elements in a first direction when writing data to said memories such that each address value of X, Y and Z is found in only a single of said memories, wherein n adjacent data elements in one of an X Y and Z direction may be accessed simultaneously; rotating said data elements in a second direction when reading data from said memories, said second direction being opposite to said first direction.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said memories are defined as being nominally coincident with the X axis of said X Y Z coordinate system.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
60 words
The method of claim 2 wherein said data elements are rotated when writing to said memories as follows: for X access: rotate = ((Y + Z) modulo n) in said first direction for Y access: rotate = ((X + Z) modulo n) in said first direction for Z access: rotate = ((X + Y) modulo n) in said first direction.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
59 words
The method of claim 3 wherein said data elements are rotated when reading from said memories as follows: for X access: rotate = ((Y + Z) modulo n) in said second direction for Y access: rotate =((X + Z) modulo n) in said second direction for Z access: rotate = ((X + 1) modulo n) in said second direction.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
11 words
The method of claim 4 wherein said first direction is right.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
70 words
The method of claim 4 further including the step of calculating an address A M for each memory as follows: for X access: A M = Y + (Z) (n). for Y access: A M = (M + (n - X) + (n - Z)) modulo n + (Z) (n). for Z access: A M = Y + (((M + (n - X) + (n - Y)) modulo n) (n))
Claim 8
Independent Claim
155 words
A method for storage and manipulation of a block of data representing an nxnxn array of elements defined by an X, Y and Z coordinate system comprising the steps of: assigning an address to each of said elements of said data array corresponding to a location in said X Y Z coordinate system; storing said elements in n² memories, each memory storing n elements of said data; rotating said data elements in a first and second direction when writing data to said memories such that each address value of X, Y and Z is found in only a single of said memories, wherein n² adjacent data elements in one of an XY, YZ and XZ plane may be accessed simultaneously; rotating said data elements in a third and fourth direction when reading data from said memories, said third direction being opposite to said first direction, and said fourth direction being opposite to said second direction.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
155 words
A method for storage and manipulation of a block of data representing an nxnxn array of elements defined by an X, Y and Z coordinate system comprising the steps of: assigning an address to each of said elements of said data array corresponding to a location in said X Y Z coordinate system; storing said elements in n² memories, each memory storing n elements of said data; rotating said data elements in a first and second direction when writing data to said memories such that each address value of X, Y and Z is found in only a single of said memories, wherein n² adjacent data elements in one of an XY, YZ and XZ plane may be accessed simultaneously; rotating said data elements in a third and fourth direction when reading data from said memories, said third direction being opposite to said first direction, and said fourth direction being opposite to said second direction.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 7 wherein said memories are defined as being nominally coincident with an XY plane of said X Y Z coordinate system.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
50 words
The method of claim 8 wherein said data elements are rotated when writing to said memories by first rotating each column J in said first direction and then rotating each row K in said second direction, where J represents a nominal X position and K represents a nominal Y position.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method of claim 9 wherein said data elements are rotated when reading from said memories by first rotating each column J in said third direction and then rotating each row K in said fourth direction.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
50 words
The method of claim 10 further including the step of calculating an address A J,K for each memory as follows: for XY access:' A J,K =Z for XZ access: A J,K =(K + (n - Y)) modulo n for YZ access: A J,K =(J + (n - X)) modulo n.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 11 wherein said first direction is down and said second direction is right.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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