Graphics system configured to perform parallel sample to pixel calculation

• US 6,496,187 B1
• Filed: 12/27/1999
• Issued: 12/17/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Oracle America, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sun Microsystems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Deering, Michael F., Naegle, Nathaniel David, Nelson, Scott R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Zimmerman, Mark
• Assistant Examiner(s): Santiago, Enrique L
• Application Number:
  US09/472,940
• Time in Patent Office: 1,086 Days
• Field of Search: 345/419, 345/420, 345/426, 345/427, 345/428, 345/581, 345/589, 345/611, 345/629, 345/612, 345/613, 345/614, 345/615, 345/473
• US Class Current: 345/419
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/001 Texturing; Colouring; Generation of texture or colour inpainting G06T5/77
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/40 Filling a planar surface by adding surface attributes, e.g. colour or texture
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/503 Blending, e.g. for anti-aliasing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/20 using local operators

Abstract

A graphics system that is configured to utilize a sample buffer and a plurality of parallel sample-to-pixel calculation units, wherein the sample-pixel calculation units are configured to access different portions of the sample buffer in parallel. The graphics system may include a graphics processor, a sample buffer, and a plurality of sample-to-pixel calculation units. The graphics processor is configured to receive a set of three-dimensional graphics data and render a plurality of samples based on the graphics data. The sample buffer is configured to store the plurality of samples for the sample-to-pixel calculation units, which are configured to receive and filter samples from the sample buffer to create output pixels. Each of the sample-to-pixel calculation units are configured to generate pixels corresponding to a different region of the image. The region may be a vertical or horizontal stripe of the image, or a rectangular portion of the image. Each region may overlap the other regions of the image to prevent visual aberrations.

Claims

1. A graphics system comprising:

one or more processors configured to receive a set of three-dimensional graphics data and render a plurality of samples based on the graphics data;

a sample buffer configured to store the plurality of samples; and

a plurality of sample-to-pixel calculation unit, wherein the sample-to-pixel calculation units are configured to receive and filter samples from the sample buffer to create output pixels, wherein the output pixels are usable to form an image on a display device, wherein each of the plurality of sample-to-pixel calculation units are configured to generate pixels corresponding to a different one of a plurality of regions of the image.

2. The graphics system as recited in claim 1, wherein the processors are configured to receive the three-dimensional graphics data in a compressed form, and wherein the processors are configured to decompress the three-dimensional graphics data before rendering the samples.

3. The graphics system as recited in claim 1, wherein each region corresponds to a different vertical stripe of the image.

4. The graphics system as recited in claim 1, wherein each region comprises portions of the image that correspond to one or more odd or even scan lines.

5. The graphics system as recited in claim 1, wherein each region comprises a different quadrant of the image.

6. The graphics system as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of regions overlap.

7. The graphics system as recited in claim 1, wherein the display device comprises a plurality of individual display devices, and wherein each region corresponds to a single one of the plurality of individual display devices.

8. The graphics system as recited in claim 1, wherein the display device comprises a plurality of individual display devices, and wherein each region corresponds to a different one of the plurality of individual display devices.

9. The graphics system as recited in claim 1, wherein the regions vary in dimension on a frame-by-frame basis.

10. The graphics system as recited in claim 1, wherein the regions of the image vary in dimension on a frame-by-frame basis to balance the number of samples filtered by each of the sample-to-pixel calculation units.

11. The graphics system as recited in claim 1, wherein each region is a different horizontal stripe of the image.

12. The graphics system as recited in claim 1, wherein each region is a different rectangular portion of the image.

13. The graphics system as recited in claim 1, wherein each sample comprises color components, and wherein the sample-to-pixel calculation units are configured to:

determine which samples are within a predetermined filter envelope;

multiply the samples within the predetermined filter envelope by one or more un-normalized weighting factors, wherein the weighting factors vary in relation to the sample'"'"'s position relative to the center of the filter envelope; and

normalize the resulting output pixels.

14. The graphics system as recited in claim 1, wherein each sample comprises color components, and wherein the sample-to-pixel calculation units are configured to determine which samples are within a predetermined filter envelope, and multiply the samples within the predetermined filter envelope by one or more normalized weighting factors, wherein the weighting factors vary in relation to the sample'"'"'s position relative to the center of the filter envelope.

15. The graphics system as recited in claim 1, wherein each sample comprises an alpha component.

16. The graphics system as recited in claim 1, wherein each sample comprises a blur component.

17. The graphics system as recited in claim 1, wherein each sample comprises a transparency component.

18. The graphics system as recited in claim 1, wherein each sample comprises a z-component.

19. The graphics system as recited in claim 1, wherein the samples stored in the sample buffer are double buffered.

20. The graphics system as recited in claim 1, wherein the samples stored in the sample buffer are stored in bins.

21. The graphics system as recited in claim 1, further comprising the display device.

22. A method for rendering a set of three-dimensional graphics data, the method comprising:

receiving the three-dimensional graphics data;

generating one or more samples based on the graphics data;

storing the samples;

dividing the samples into a plurality of regions;

selecting stored samples from the plurality of regions; and

filtering the selected samples to form a plurality of output pixels in parallel, wherein the output pixels are usable to form an image on a display device.

23. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein the plurality of regions comprise portions of one or more odd or even scan lines of the image.

24. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein each region comprises a quadrant of the image.

25. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein each region comprises a vertical stripe of the image.

26. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein each region corresponds to a horizontal stripe of the image.

27. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein the display device comprises a plurality of individual display devices, and wherein each region corresponds to a single one of the plurality of individual display devices.

28. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein the display device comprises a plurality of individual display devices, and wherein each region corresponds to a different one of the plurality of individual display devices.

29. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein each region comprises a vertical stripe of the image.

30. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein the regions of the image overlap.

31. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein the boundaries of the regions change over time to balance the number of samples in each vertical column.

32. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein the number of samples filtered per pixel varies across the image.

33. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein the boundaries of the regions change over time to equalized the number of samples in each region.

34. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein the three-dimensional graphics data is received in compressed form, and wherein the method further comprises:

decompressing the compressed three-dimensional graphics data.

35. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein each sample comprises color components, and wherein said filtering comprises:

determining which samples are within a predetermined filter envelope;

multiplying the samples within the predetermined filter envelope by one or more un-normalized weighting factors, wherein said weighting factors vary in relation to the sample'"'"'s position relative to the center of the filter envelope;

summing the weighted samples to form an output pixel; and

normalizing the output pixel.

36. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein each sample comprises color components, and wherein said filtering comprises:

determining which samples are within a predetermined filter envelope;

multiplying the samples within the predetermined filter envelope by one or more normalized weighting factors, wherein the weighting factors vary in relation to the sample'"'"'s position relative to the center of the filter envelope; and

summing the weighted samples to form an output pixel.

37. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein the samples are stored in bins.

38. A computer system comprising:

a means for receiving a set of three-dimensional graphics data;

a means for rendering a plurality of samples based on the set of three-dimensional graphics data;

a means for storing the rendered samples; and

a plurality of filtering means configured to filter stored samples to create output pixels, wherein the output pixels are usable to form an image on a display device, and wherein each of the plurality of filtering means are configured to generate pixels corresponding to one of a plurality of different regions of the image.

39. The computer system as recited in claim 38, wherein each region corresponds to a different vertical stripe of the image.

40. The computer system as recited in claim 38, wherein the regions overlap.

41. The computer system as recited in claim 38, wherein the regions vary in size over time.

42. The computer system as recited in claim 38, wherein each region varies in size on a frame-by-frame basis to balance the number of samples filtered by each of the filtering means.

43. The computer system as recited in claim 38, wherein each region corresponds to a different horizontal stripe of the image.

44. The computer system as recited in claim 38, wherein each region corresponds to a different rectangular portion of the image.

45. The computer system as recited in claim 38, wherein each region corresponds to a different quadrant of the image.

46. The method as recited in claim 38, wherein one or more of the plurality of regions comprises portions of the image corresponding to one or more odd scan lines of the image, and wherein one or more of the plurality of regions comprises portions of the image corresponding to one or more even scan lines of the image.

47. The computer system as recited in claim 38, wherein the size of each portion of the image varies on a frame-by-frame basis to balance the number of samples filtered by each of the filtering means.

48. The computer system as recited in claim 38, wherein each sample comprises color components, and wherein the filtering means are configured to determine which samples are within a predetermined filter envelope, multiply the samples within the predetermined filter envelope by one or more un-normalized weighting factors, wherein the weighting factors varies in relation to the sample'"'"'s position relative to the center of the filter envelope, and normalize the resulting output pixels.

49. The computer system as recited in claim 38, wherein each sample comprises color components, and wherein the filtering means are configured to determine which samples are within a predetermined filter envelope, multiply the samples within the predetermined filter envelope by one or more normalized weighting factors to form one or more output pixels.

50. The computer system as recited in claim 38, wherein each sample further comprises an alpha component.

51. The computer system as recited in claim 38, wherein the samples stored in the sample buffer are double buffered.

52. The computer system as recited in claim 38, wherein the samples stored in the sample buffer are stored in bins.