Multipurpose memory system for use in a graphics system

• US 6,906,720 B2
• Filed: 03/12/2002
• Issued: 06/14/2005
• 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.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chauhan, Ulka J.
• Application Number:
  US10/096,065
• Publication Number:
  US 20030174136A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,190 Days
• Field of Search: 345/501, 345/503, 345/531, 345/533, 345/536, 345/541, 345/543, 345/545, 345/552, 345/564
• 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;

a multipurpose memory;

a memory controller configured to allocate a texture buffer for storing texture data in the multipurpose memory, to allocate an image buffer for storing image data in the multipurpose memory, to allocate an accumulation buffer for storing accumulation buffer data in the multipurpose memory, wherein the multipurpose memory is configured to have data stored in the image buffer, the texture buffer, and the accumulation buffer at the same time, and wherein at least two of the image buffer, the texture buffer and the accumulation buffer are accessed with different interleaving patterns; and

a processing device coupled to the frame buffer and the multipurpose memory, wherein the processing device is configured to read texture data, image data, and accumulation buffer data from the texture buffer, image buffer, and accumulation buffer respectively, and to perform texturing operations, image processing operations, and accumulation operations using the texture data, image data, and accumulation buffer data respectively.

2. The graphics system of claim 1, wherein a device driver executing on a host computer is configured to direct the allocation of the image buffer, the texture buffer mid the accumulation buffer with respective sizes as requested by one or more software processes executing on the host computer.

3. The graphics system of claim 1, wherein a device driver executing on a host computer is configured to direct a relocation of buffers including the image buffer, the texture buffer and the accumulation buffer within the address space of the multipurpose memory to reduce memory fragmentation.

4. The graphics system of claim 1, wherein at least two of the image buffer, the texture buffer and the accumulation buffer are configured with different data resolutions.

5. The graphics system of claim 1, wherein at least two of the image buffer, the texture buffer and the accumulation buffer are accessed with different address scrambling techniques.

6. The graphics system of claim 1, wherein the processing device is configured to receive graphics primitives, to apply the texel data from the texture buffer to the graphics primitives, and to store results of said texture application into the frame buffer.

7. The graphics system of claim 6, wherein the processing device is configured to store results of said image processing operations in the image buffer or in the frame buffer.

8. The graphics system of claim 6, wherein the processing device is configured to store results of said accumulation operations in the accumulation buffer or in the frame buffer.

9. The graphics system of claim 1 further comprising a video output processor, wherein the processing device is configured to store pixels in the frame buffer, wherein the video output processor is configured to read said pixels from the frame buffer and generate a video output from said pixels.

10. A graphics system comprising:

a frame buffer;

a multipurpose memory;

a memory controller configured to allocate a texture buffer for storing texture data in the multipurpose memory, to allocate an image buffer for storing image data in the multipurpose memory, to allocate an accumulation buffer for storing accumulation buffer data in the multipurpose memory, wherein the multipurpose memory is configured to have data stored in the image buffer, the texture buffer, and the accumulation buffer at the same time, and wherein at least two of the image buffer, the texture buffer and the accumulation buffer are accessed with different address scrambling techniques; and

a processing device coupled to the frame buffer and the multipurpose memory, wherein the processing device is configured to read texture data, image data, and accumulation buffer data from the texture buffer, image buffer, and accumulation buffer respectively, and to perform texturing operations, image processing operations, and accumulation operations using the texture data, image data, and accumulation buffer data respectively.

11. The graphics system of claim 10, wherein a device driver executing on a host computer is configured to direct the allocation of the image buffer, the texture buffer and the accumulation buffer with respective sizes as requested by one or more software processes executing on the host computer.

12. The graphics system of claim 10, wherein a device driver executing on a host computer is configured to direct a relocation of buffers including the image buffer, the texture buffer and the accumulation buffer within the address space of the multipurpose memory to reduce memory fragmentation.

13. The graphics system of claim 10, wherein at least two of the image buffer, the texture buffer and the accumulation buffer are configured with different data resolutions.

14. The graphics system of claim 10, wherein the processing device is configured to receive graphics primitives, to apply the texel data from the texture buffer to the graphics primitives, and to store results of said texture application into the frame buffer.

15. The graphics system of claim 14, wherein the processing device is configured to store results of said image processing operations in the image buffer or in the frame buffer.

16. The graphics system of claim 14, wherein the processing device is configured to store results of said accumulation operations in the accumulation buffer or in the frame buffer.

17. The graphics system of claim 10, further comprising a video output processor, wherein the processing device is configured to store pixels in the frame buffer, wherein the video output processor is configured to read said pixels from the frame buffet and generate a video output from said pixels.