Imagination Technologies Limited

Mark Edward Dunn

Simon James Fenney

Hossein Yassaie

Peter David Leaback

Ian James Overliese

A method and apparatus for shading and texturing 3-dimensional computer generated images deals with punch through textures by supplying data defining a group of surfaces representing each object in the image. For each elementary area of the display, a depth value is generated for each surface of each object in dependence on the distance of that surface from an image plane. Shading and texture data is applied to the surfaces. A determination is made as to whether or not any texture applied to a surface is fully opaque. The depth values are stored for opaque textures at the appropriate elementary areas. The depths of surfaces from subsequent objects are then compared with depth values for the opaque objects at elementary areas and, surfaces or subsequent objects for elementary areas which have a fully opaque surface closer to the image plane than the surface being considered are discarded.

Shading and texturing 3-dimensional computer generated images

An arithmetic division for implementation using hardware or software is performed by firstly storing the reciprocal of each nth value in a range 0 to X where n is greater than 1 and storing the differences between the reciprocals of the intervening n-1 values. A mantissa and an operand for an arithmetic division are received. one of the stored reciprocals is retrieved in response to the most significant part of the received mantissa and a set of differences is retrieved in response to a least significant part of the received mantissa. The differences and the reciprocal are summed and the result is multiplied by the received operand, other thereby giving the result of the arithmetic division.

Method and apparatus for performing arithmetic division with a machine

A three dimensional image is textured for display on a screen by firstly receiving data comprising the location of each elementary area (pixel) of the screen and associated image data for that pixel. Texture image data is retrieved from a memory means in dependence on the image data and an appropriate portion of that texture image data is mapped onto the pixel. The number of pixels which share the same associated image data is determined and an incremental change in the mapping of the texture data onto pixels corresponding to a one pixel increment is also determined. For each pixel sharing the same image data as an adjacent pixel the previously derived texture image data for that adjacent pixel is combined with the incremental change in texture image data to thereby derive texture image data for that pixel.

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Watford, United Kingdom

Mark Edward Dunn