| Vivante Corporation Patent applications |
| Patent application number | Title | Published |
| 20120044245 | EFFICIENT TILE-BASED RASTERIZATION - An apparatus and method for rasterizing a primitive in a graphics system is disclosed in one example of the invention as including scanning a first row of tiles, one tile at a time, starting from a first point and scanning in a first direction. Immediately after scanning the first row of tiles, the method includes moving from the first point to a second point in an orthogonal direction relative to the first row. Immediately after moving from the first point to the second point, the method includes scanning a second row of tiles, one tile at a time, starting from the second point and scanning in the first direction. By scanning rows in the same direction immediately prior to and after moving from one row to another, cache utilization is improved. | 02-23-2012 |
| 20110249901 | Anti-Aliasing System and Method - A system to reduce aliasing in a graphical image includes an edge detector configured to read image depth information from a depth buffer. The edge detector also applies edge detection procedures to detect an object edge within the image. An edge style detector is configured to identify a first edge end and a second edge end. The edge style detector also identifies an edge style associated with the detected edge based on the first edge end and the second edge end. The system also includes a restoration module configured to identify pixel data associated with the detected edge and a blending module configured to blend the pixel data associated with the detected edge. | 10-13-2011 |
| 20100271370 | METHOD FOR DISTRIBUTED CLIPPING OUTSIDE OF VIEW VOLUME - A distributed clipping scheme is provided, view frustum culling is distributed in several places in a graphics processing pipeline to simplify hardware implementation and improve performance. In general, many 3D objects are outside viewing frustum. In one embodiment, clipping is performed on these objects with a simple algorithm in the PA module, such as near Z clipping, trivial rejection and trivial acceptance. In one embodiment, the SE and RA modules perform the rest of clipping, such as X, Y and far Z clipping. In one embodiment, the SE module performs clipping by way of computing a initial point of rasterization. In one embodiment, the RA module performs clipping by way of conducting the rendering step of the rasterization process. This approach distributes the complexity in the graphics processing pipeline and makes the design simpler and faster, therefore design complexity, cost and performance may all be improved in hardware implementation. | 10-28-2010 |
| 20100131786 | Single Chip 3D and 2D Graphics Processor with Embedded Memory and Multiple Levels of Power Controls - An apparatus and method is provided for data processing where power is automatically controlled with a feed back loop with the host processor based on the internal work load characterized by performance counters. The host automatically adjusts internal frequencies or voltage level to match the work load. The feedback loop allows tuning of frequency or voltage controlling power dissipation. | 05-27-2010 |
| 20090122076 | THIN-LINE DETECTION APPARATUS AND METHOD - An apparatus and method for detecting and handling thin lines in a raster image includes reading depth values for each pixel of an n×m block of pixels surrounding a substantially central pixel. Differences are then calculated for selected depth values of the n×m block of pixels to yield multiple difference values. These difference values may then be compared with multiple pre-computed difference values associated with thin lines pre-determined to pass through the n×m block of pixels. If the difference values of the pixel block substantially match the difference values of one of the pre-determined thin lines, the pixel block may be deemed to describe a thin line. The apparatus and method may preclude application of an anti-aliasing filter to the substantially central pixel of the pixel block in the event it describes a thin line. | 05-14-2009 |
| 20090122068 | INTELLIGENT CONFIGURABLE GRAPHICS BANDWIDTH MODULATOR - An apparatus and method to dynamically regulate system bandwidth in a graphics system includes receiving vertex data from an application by way of an application programming interface. The rate that the vertex data is received from the application is then determined. In the event the rate is greater than a selected threshold, the graphics system is configured to operate in immediate mode, wherein vertex data is rendered immediately upon reception. In the event the rate is less than the selected threshold, the graphics system is configured to operate in retained mode, wherein vertex data is stored prior to being rendered. The apparatus and method switches between each of the modes on-the-fly in a manner that is transparent to the application. | 05-14-2009 |
| 20090122064 | EFFICIENT TILE-BASED RASTERIZATION - An apparatus and method for rasterizing a primitive in a graphics system is disclosed in one example of the invention as including scanning a first row of tiles, one tile at a time, starting from a first point and scanning in a first direction. Immediately after scanning the first row of tiles, the method includes moving from the first point to a second point in an orthogonal direction relative to the first row. Immediately after moving from the first point to the second point, the method includes scanning a second row of tiles, one tile at a time, starting from the second point and scanning in the first direction. By scanning rows in the same direction immediately prior to and after moving from one row to another, cache utilization is improved. | 05-14-2009 |