US5257348A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Apparatus for storing data both video and graphics signals in a single frame buffer
Assignee: Apple Inc
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Filing: 1992-09-17
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Granted: 1993-10-26
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Expires: 2012-09-17
Abstract
Abstract A computer subsystem for presenting both video and graphic information on a computer output display in a computer system having a central processing unit and a frame buffer including apparatus for providing a video input signal representing full frame of video interlaced data, apparatus for selecting a rectangular portion of the video data to be presented, apparatus for converting the selected portion of the video signal into a stream of digitized pixel signals, apparatus for designating each such pixel of video information which is to be written to the frame buffer, and apparatus for addressing each of such pixels for storage at selected points of the frame buffer.
Inventors
- 👤 Steven G. Roskowski
- 👤 Elizabeth A. Clough
- 👤 Anthony D. Masterson
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-26 13:40
CPC Classifications
G; G09; G09G; G09G5/00; G09G5/14; G09G1/00; G09G1/06; G09G1/14; G09G1/16; G09G2340/00; G09G2340/12; G09G2340/125
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 20
Claim 1
Independent Claim
228 words
A computer subsystem for a computer system having a central processing unit and a frame buffer capable of presenting both interlaced video and non-interlaced graphic information at a computer output device comprising means for providing video input signals representing a full frame of video data; means for selecting those video input signals representing a rectangular portion of the full frame of video input data; means for converting the video input signals representing the selected rectangular portion of the frame of video data into a stream of digitized pixels; and means for storing the stream of digitized pixels in a rectangular portion of the frame buffer, said means for storing including means for selecting said rectangular portion of the frame buffer, said rectangular portion being a selected rectangle of the frame buffer, and means for labelling each pixel position in the selected rectangle of the frame buffer as an area for storing pixels representing said video information and each pixel position outside of any selected rectangle of the frame buffer as an area for storing said graphics information; and means for presenting the data stored in the frame buffer on output displays handling either interlaced or non-interlaced frames, wherein each of said output displays receives the data stored in the frame buffer, such that both graphic and video information are capable of being displayed on each output display simultaneously.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
228 words
A computer subsystem for a computer system having a central processing unit and a frame buffer capable of presenting both interlaced video and non-interlaced graphic information at a computer output device comprising means for providing video input signals representing a full frame of video data; means for selecting those video input signals representing a rectangular portion of the full frame of video input data; means for converting the video input signals representing the selected rectangular portion of the frame of video data into a stream of digitized pixels; and means for storing the stream of digitized pixels in a rectangular portion of the frame buffer, said means for storing including means for selecting said rectangular portion of the frame buffer, said rectangular portion being a selected rectangle of the frame buffer, and means for labelling each pixel position in the selected rectangle of the frame buffer as an area for storing pixels representing said video information and each pixel position outside of any selected rectangle of the frame buffer as an area for storing said graphics information; and means for presenting the data stored in the frame buffer on output displays handling either interlaced or non-interlaced frames, wherein each of said output displays receives the data stored in the frame buffer, such that both graphic and video information are capable of being displayed on each output display simultaneously.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
60 words
A computer subsystem as claimed in claim 1 in which the means for labelling each pixel position in the selected rectangle of the frame buffer as an area for storing pixels representing video information comprises means for storing an attribute indication associated with each pixel in the frame buffer to indicate whether the pixel is video or computer graphics information.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
53 words
A computer subsystem as claimed in claim 2 in which the means for storing an attribute indication associated with each pixel in the frame buffer to indicate whether the pixel is video or computer graphics information includes means for storing an attribute bit in the frame buffer associated with each pixel stored therein.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
51 words
A computer subsystem as claimed in claim 3 in which means for storing an attribute bit in the frame buffer associated with each pixel stored therein includes a separately addressable portion of each line of the frame holding the attribute bits for the pixels of that line of the frame buffer.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
69 words
A computer subsystem as claimed in claim 4 in which the means for storing the stream of digitized pixels in an area representing a selected rectangle of the frame buffer further comprises means for using the attribute bit associated with each pixel in the frame buffer to indicate that the pixels of the stream of digitized pixels are to be stored in the selected rectangle of the frame buffer.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
102 words
A computer subsystem as claimed in claim 5 in which the means for using the attribute bit associated with each pixel stored in the selected rectangle of the frame buffer to indicate that the pixels of the stream of digitized pixels are to be stored in the selected rectangle of the frame buffer comprises means for storing the attribute bit related to each pixel of a scan line of the selected rectangle of the frame buffer, and means for associating the attribute bit associated with each pixel in the selected rectangle with one of the pixels of the stream of digitized pixels.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
74 words
A computer subsystem as claimed in claim 6 in which the means for storing the attribute bit related to each pixel of a scan line of the selected rectangle of the frame buffer comprises a register for holding a selected number of bits, and the means for associating the attribute bit associated with each pixel in the selected rectangle with one of the pixels of the stream of digitized pixels comprises a combining circuit.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
57 words
A computer subsystem as claimed in claim 3 in which the means for presenting the data stored in the frame buffer on output displays handling either interlaced or non-interlaced frames comprises means for utilizing the attribute bit applied to each pixel position in the frame buffer to determine whether the information represents video or computer graphics information.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
68 words
A computer subsystem as claimed in claim 8 in which means for utilizing the attribute bit applied to each pixel position in the frame buffer to determine whether the information represents video or computer graphics information comprises means for responsive to the attribute bit applied to each pixel position in the frame buffer and to the type of display for translating interlaced video pixels into non-interlaced computer data.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
68 words
A computer subsystem as claimed in claim 9 in which means for utilizing the attribute bit applied to each pixel position in the frame buffer to determine whether the information represents video or computer graphics information comprises means for responsive to the attribute bit applied to each pixel position in the frame buffer and to the type of display for translating translating non-interlaced computer data into interlaced data.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
121 words
A computer subsystem as claimed in claim 10 in which means for utilizing the attribute bit applied to each pixel position in the frame buffer to determine whether the information represents video or computer graphics information comprises means for responsive to the attribute bit applied to each pixel position in the frame buffer and to the type of display for translating interlaced video pixels into non-interlaced computer data and for translating non-interlaced computer data into interlaced data, means for attribute bit each pixel position in the selected rectangle of the frame buffer as an area for storing pixels representing video information and each pixel position outside of any selected rectangle of the frame buffer as an area for storing graphics information.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
68 words
A computer subsystem as claimed in claim 2 in which the means for storing the stream of digitized pixels in an-area representing a selected rectangle of the frame buffer further comprises means for using the attribute indication associated with each pixel in the frame buffer to indicate that the pixels of the stream of digitized pixels are to be stored in the selected rectangle of the frame buffer.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
102 words
A computer subsystem as claimed in claim 12 in which the means for using the attribute indication associated with each pixel stored in the selected rectangle of the frame buffer to indicate that the pixels of the stream of digitized pixels are to be stored in the selected rectangle of the frame buffer comprises means for storing the attribute indication related to each pixel of a scan line of the selected rectangle of the frame buffer, and means for associating the attribute indication associated with each pixel in the selected rectangle with one of the pixels of the stream of digitized pixels.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
73 words
A computer subsystem as claimed in claim 1 in which the means for storing the stream of digitized pixels in an area representing a selected rectangle of the frame buffer further comprises means for using the labelling associated with each pixel position in the selected rectangle of the frame buffer to indicate that the pixels of the stream of digitized pixels are to be stored in the selected rectangle of the frame buffer.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
99 words
A computer subsystem as claimed in claim 14 in which the means for using the labelling associated with each pixel position in the selected rectangle of the frame buffer to indicate that the pixels of the stream of digitized pixels are to be stored in the selected rectangle of the frame buffer comprises means for storing the labelling related to each pixel of a scan line of the selected rectangle of the frame buffer, and means for associating the labelling associated with each pixel in the selected rectangle with one of the pixels of the stream of digitized pixels.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
56 words
A computer subsystem as claimed in claim 1 in which the means for presenting the data stored in the frame buffer on output displays handling either interlaced or non-interlaced frames comprises means for utilizing the labelling applied to each pixel position in the frame buffer to determine whether the information represents video or computer graphics information.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
66 words
A computer subsystem as claimed in claim 16 in which means for utilizing the labelling applied to each pixel position in the frame buffer to determine whether the information represents video or computer graphics information comprises means for responsive to the labelling applied to each pixel position in the frame buffer and to the type of display for translating interlaced video pixels into non-interlaced computer data.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
66 words
A computer subsystem as claimed in claim 16 in which means for utilizing the labelling applied to each pixel position in the frame buffer to determine whether the information represents video or computer graphics information comprises means for responsive to the labelling applied to each pixel position in the frame buffer and to the type of display for translating translating non-interlaced computer data into interlaced data.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
118 words
A computer subsystem as claimed in claim 16 in which means for utilizing the labelling applied to each pixel position in the frame buffer to determine whether the information represents video or computer graphics information comprises means for responsive to the labelling applied to each pixel position in the frame buffer and to the type of display for translating interlaced video pixels into non-interlaced computer data and for translating non-interlaced computer data into interlaced data, means for labelling each pixel position in the selected rectangle of the frame buffer as an area for storing pixels representing video information and each pixel position outside of any selected rectangle of the frame buffer as an area for storing graphics information.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1996-10-25 | 1997-04-26 | 1997-10-26 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2000-10-25 | 2001-04-26 | 2001-10-26 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2004-10-25 | 2005-04-26 | 2005-10-26 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |