Triangle processor for 3-D graphics display system
First Claim
1. An image processing system comprising:
- a plurality of polygon processors coupled in series, each polygon process includingmeans for storing a representation of a single polygon, said polygon representing a portion of a three-dimensional object;
means for comparing said representation to an input representation of a pixel to determine whether said pixel is within said polygon;
means for comparing a Z position of said pixel to a Z position of said polygon; and
means for providing to an output of said polygon processor, which is coupled to an input of a next polygon processor in said series, except for a last polygon processor, a material property and Z position of said pixel in said polygon if said polygon has a Z position for said pixel in front of a received z position associated with said pixel.
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Abstract
A process which stores a representation of a polygon forming a portion of a three-dimensional object and compares the polygon to pixels from a scan line as they are passed by. The processor stores a representation of a polygon and compares each pixel passed by the processor to the polygon to determine whether the pixel is within the polygon. If the pixel is within the polygon, its Z position (depth) is compared to the Z position of a corresponding position in the polygon. If the Z position of the polygon position is in front of the Z position of the pixel so that the polygon would obscure the previous pixel description, the Z position and an associates material value (e.g., color) of the polygon is substituted for the Z position of the pixel. The three-dimensional object is preferably represented with triangles and each polygon processor is preferably a triangle processor, with a series of triangle processors arranged in a pipeline. Two pipelines may be provided in parallel. Several triangle processors can be placed on a single semiconductor chip with input and output buffers for performing multiplexing, delaying and skewing. An X counter on the chip rederives the pixel X position, eliminating the need for this input.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. An image processing system comprising:
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a plurality of polygon processors coupled in series, each polygon process including means for storing a representation of a single polygon, said polygon representing a portion of a three-dimensional object; means for comparing said representation to an input representation of a pixel to determine whether said pixel is within said polygon; means for comparing a Z position of said pixel to a Z position of said polygon; and means for providing to an output of said polygon processor, which is coupled to an input of a next polygon processor in said series, except for a last polygon processor, a material property and Z position of said pixel in said polygon if said polygon has a Z position for said pixel in front of a received z position associated with said pixel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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6. A pipeline as set forth in claim 6 wherein said polygons are triangles and further comprising:
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a second pipeline of triangle processors coupled in parallel with said first-mentioned pipeline; means for loading said pipelines with triangle descriptions; means for alternating providing pixel processing instructions to alternate ones of said triangle processor pipelines; and means, coupled to an output of each said triangle processor pipelines, for multiplexing signals from said outputs of said triangle processor pipelines. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8)
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20. A semiconductor chip comprising:
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a plurality of polygon processors coupled in series, each polygon processor including means for storing a representation of a polygon, said polygon representing a portion of a three-dimensional object, means for comparing said representation to a pixel to determine whether said pixel is within said polygon, means for comparing a Z position of said pixel to a Z position of said polygon, and means for providing to an output a material property and Z position of said pixel in said polygon if said polygon has a Z position for said pixel in front of a Z position associated with said pixel; counting means for providing an X position of a plurality of pixels to each of said polygon processors; input buffer means for coupling a plurality of input pins to said X counter means and a first one of said polygon processors; and output buffer means for coupling a last one of said polygon processors to a plurality of output pins. - View Dependent Claims (21)
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22. An image processing system comprising:
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a plurality of triangle processors, each triangle processor being a special purpose processor including; X unit means for comparing a representation of a triangle to a pixel to determine whether said pixel is within said triangle; Z unit means for comparing a Z position of said pixel to a Z position of said triangle; material unit means for storing a material property of said triangle; and control unit means for providing said material property to an output along with the Z position in said triangle if said triangle has a Z position for said pixel in front of a Z position associated with said pixel. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25)
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Specification