Multipurpose memory system for use in a graphics system

• US 20030174136A1
• Filed: 03/12/2002
• Published: 09/18/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle America, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sun Microsystems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Lavelle, Michael G., Emberling, Brian D.
• Granted Patent: US 6,906,720 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/531
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/60 Memory management
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/40 Filling a planar surface by adding surface attributes, e.g. colour or texture
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/12 Frame memory handling
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/363 Graphics controllers
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/39 Control of the bit-mapped memory

Abstract

A graphics system may include a frame buffer, a processing device coupled to output data, a multipurpose memory device that includes a plurality of storage locations and is coupled to store data output from the processing device, and a multipurpose memory controller coupled to the multipurpose memory device. The multipurpose memory controller may be configured to allocate a first plurality of the storage locations to a first image buffer configured to store image data, a second plurality of the storage locations to a first texture buffer configured to store texture data, and a third plurality of the storage locations to a first accumulation buffer configured to store accumulation buffer data. The multipurpose memory device may be configured to include a first image buffer, a first texture buffer, and a first accumulation buffer at the same time.

Claims

1. A graphics system comprising:

a frame buffer configured to store data; and

a processing device coupled to output data;

a multipurpose memory device coupled to store data output from the processing device, wherein the multipurpose memory device includes a plurality of storage locations;

a multipurpose memory controller coupled to the multipurpose memory device and configured to allocate a first plurality of the storage locations to a first image buffer configured to store image data, a second plurality of the storage locations to a first texture buffer configured to store texture data, and a third plurality of the storage locations to a first accumulation buffer configured to store accumulation buffer data;

wherein the multipurpose memory device is configured to include a first image buffer, a first texture buffer, and a first accumulation buffer at the same time.

2. A graphics system comprising:

a frame buffer configured to store data; and

a processing device coupled to the frame buffer;

a multipurpose memory coupled to store data output from the processing device; and

a memory controller coupled to the multipurpose memory and configured to dynamically allocate a plurality of types of buffers within the multipurpose memory, wherein the memory controller is configured to dynamically vary an amount of the multipurpose memory allocated to each type of buffer, wherein the plurality of types of buffers includes a texture buffer.

3. A graphics system comprising:

a frame buffer;

a multipurpose memory device coupled to provide data to and to receive data from the frame buffer; and

a memory controller coupled to the multipurpose memory device and configured to allocate a plurality of types of buffers in the multipurpose memory device, wherein the memory controller is configured to allocate a first type of buffer configured to store accumulation buffer data, wherein the memory controller is configured to allocate a second type of buffer to store texture data in tiles, wherein addresses in the second type of buffer are generated so that neighboring tiles are stored in different sets of banks in the multipurpose memory device;

wherein the multipurpose memory device is configured to include the first type of buffer and the second type of buffer the same time.

4. A graphics system comprising:

means for storing image data, texture data, and accumulation buffer data, wherein the means for storing are dynamically allocable between the image data, the texture data;

means for processing the image data, texture data, and accumulation buffer data, wherein the means for processing include means for outputting processed data; and

a frame buffer coupled to the means for processing and configured to store the processed data.

5. A method of operating a graphics system, the method comprising:

receiving a first request for a first buffer to store image data;

allocating the first buffer of the first requested size in a first memory device, wherein the first buffer is configured to store the first type of data indicated in the request;

returning an indication identifying the first buffer to the software process;

repeating said receiving, said allocating, and said returning for a second buffer allocated in the first memory device and configured to store texture data;

wherein the first buffer and the second buffer are allocated in the first memory device at the same time, and wherein the first memory device is not a frame buffer.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first request indicates a size of the first buffer.