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Graphics rendering systems

  • US 5,459,835 A
  • Filed: 12/28/1992
  • Issued: 10/17/1995
  • Est. Priority Date: 06/26/1990
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A graphics rendering system, comprising:

  • a framestore providing an array of pixel locations;

    means for supplying a set of rendering instructions, each related to a graphical shape to be rendered in the framestore and each comprising an opcode indicative of a type of rendering operations, parameters to be used in that rendering operation, and an ordering code;

    a plurality of processors operating in parallel to receive such rendering instructions and to write pixels in the framestore to render the related graphical shape; and

    an ordering buffer having an array of memory cells each corresponding to a respective pixel location in the framestore;

    wherein each processor, when determining whether to write a pixel at a pixel location in the framestore, is configured to write that respective pixel if and only if the ordering code of the graphical shape being rendered is more significant than the content of the memory cell in the buffer corresponding to that pixel, and when writing said pixel, to update that memory cell with the ordering code of the graphical shape being rendered.

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