Hewlett-packard Development Company, L.p.

Laura Edwards Mendyke

Joel James McCormack

Robert Stephen McNamara

Todd Aldridge Dutton

A method and apparatus for visiting all productive stamp positions for a two-dimensional convex polygonal object. The object is visited with a stamp that has a stamp rectangle, and one or more discrete sample points. A productive location is one for which the object contains at least one of the stamp's sample points when the stamp is placed at that location. An unproductive location is one for which the object contains none of the stamp's sample points when the stamp is placed at that location. Stamp locations are discrete points that are separated vertically by the stamp rectangle's height, and horizontally by the stamp rectangle's width. The stamp may move to a nearby position, or to a previously saved position, as it traverses the object. The stamp moves in such a way as to visit all productive locations for an object while avoiding most of the unproductive locations.

Efficient movement of fragment stamp

A method and apparatus for visiting all stamps that are relevant to a two-dimensional convex polygonal object. The object is visited with a rectangular stamp, which contains one or more discrete sample points. A relevant location is one for which the object contains at least one of the stamp's sample points when the stamp is placed at that location. Stamp locations are discrete points that are separated vertically by the stamp's height, and horizontally by the stamp's width. The stamp may move to a nearby position, or to a previously saved position, as it traverses the object. The plane in which the object lies is partitioned into rectangular tiles, which are at least as wide and high as the stamp. The invention visits stamp locations in an order that respects tile boundaries&mdash;that is, it visits all locations within one tile before visiting any locations within another tile. The invention may also be used with further partitioning of the plane (metatiles), so that it will visit all locations within a metatile before visiting any locations within another metatile, and further visit all locations within a portion of a tile within the current metatile before visiting any locations within a portion of a different tile within the current metatile.

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Calabasas, CA, United States of America

Laura Edwards Mendyke