US6177944B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Two phase rendering for computer graphics
Assignee: Nvidia Corp
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Filing: 1998-09-18
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Granted: 2001-01-23
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Expires: 2018-09-18
Abstract
Abstract A method and apparatus for a computer graphics rendering system which slices the traditional geometry pipeline into two phases to improve overall graphics system utilization is described. The graphics system consists of a host processor and a graphics adapter. The host creates work items and feeds them to the graphics adapter. In the two phase method, the first phase computes the clipping status and immediately returns this status information, before completion of the actual clipping, to the application running on the host processor to minimize stalling the host processor and hence the application. The second phase performs the rest of the work necessary to draw the objects on the screen. The advantage of two phase method is that the host processor minimizes its wait (but only for model/view transformation and clipping status determination) for a return status from the graphics adapter for the current work item and gets to create the next work item from the application sooner.
Inventors
- 👤 Mark Christopher Fowler
- 👤 Kirk Steffen Haskell
- 👤 Robert Spencer Horton
- 👤 Thomas Yu-Kiu Kwok
- 👤 Steve Mastrianni
- 👤 Chandrasekhar Narayanaswami
- 👤 Bengt-Olaf Schneider
- 👤 Mark Van Horn
- 👤 James Lewis van Welzen
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 15:02
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06T; G06T15/00; G06T15/005
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 17
Claim 1
Independent Claim
107 words
In a computer system having a display device, a method of minimizing waits between a master and slave subsystem of said computer system for displaying a number of objects on said display device, said method comprising: a. receiving objects by said slave subsystem; b. transforming said objects from model to normalized device coordinates by said slave subsystem; c. determining status information on which of said objects have said viewing device coordinates which fall outside of a selected viewing area in said display device; and d. processing said status information by said slave subsystem for final display on said display device while said master subsystem performs other processes.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
107 words
In a computer system having a display device, a method of minimizing waits between a master and slave subsystem of said computer system for displaying a number of objects on said display device, said method comprising: a. receiving objects by said slave subsystem; b. transforming said objects from model to normalized device coordinates by said slave subsystem; c. determining status information on which of said objects have said viewing device coordinates which fall outside of a selected viewing area in said display device; and d. processing said status information by said slave subsystem for final display on said display device while said master subsystem performs other processes.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
21 words
A method as recited in claim 1 , wherein one of said other processes comprises fetching said objects from system memory.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
24 words
A method as recited in claim 1 , wherein one of said other processes comprises determining of properties for a set of said objects.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
19 words
A method as recited in claim 3 , wherein said properties comprise material properties which comprise shininess and shading.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
16 words
A method as recited in claim 4 , wherein said slave subsystem is a graphics adapter.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
17 words
A method as recited in claim 3 , wherein said slave subsystem determines lighting from said properties.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
17 words
A method as recited in claim 3 , wherein said properties are transmitted to said slave subsystem.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
26 words
A method as recited in claim 1 , wherein said status determination is used to determine whether to accept, reject or clip each of said objects.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
18 words
A method as recited in claim 1 , wherein processing said status information comprises clipping, lighting and projection.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
16 words
A method as recited in claim 9 , wherein said projection comprises perspective transformation and division.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
22 words
A method as recited in claim 1 , further comprising: a. storing said objects in a buffer before processing said status information.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
20 words
A method as recited in claim 11 , wherein said objects are retrieved from said buffer on a FIFO basis.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
18 words
A method as recited in claim 1 , wherein said computer system comprises a plurality of slave subsystems.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
48 words
A method as recited in claim 13 , wherein one of said slave subsystems performs model and viewing transformations and clipping status determination, while another of said subsystems performs clipping, lighting, perspective transformation, and projection, and while said host processor determines material properties of a set of objects.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
121 words
A program storage device readable by a computer system, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by said computer system to perform method steps for minimizing waits between a master and slave subsystem of said computer system for displaying a number of objects on a display device, said method comprising: a. receiving objects by said slave subsystem; b. transforming said objects from model to normalized device coordinates by said slave system; c. determining status information on which of said objects have said viewing device coordinates which fall outside of a selected viewing area in said display device; and d. processing said status information by said slave subsystem for final display on said display device while said master subsystem performs other processes.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
121 words
A program storage device readable by a computer system, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by said computer system to perform method steps for minimizing waits between a master and slave subsystem of said computer system for displaying a number of objects on a display device, said method comprising: a. receiving objects by said slave subsystem; b. transforming said objects from model to normalized device coordinates by said slave system; c. determining status information on which of said objects have said viewing device coordinates which fall outside of a selected viewing area in said display device; and d. processing said status information by said slave subsystem for final display on said display device while said master subsystem performs other processes.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US5652880A
Cited
US5862508A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2004-01-23 | 2004-07-24 | 2005-01-23 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2008-01-23 | 2008-07-24 | 2009-01-23 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2012-01-23 | 2012-07-24 | 2013-01-23 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |