Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi Microcomputer System, Ltd.

Mitsuru Soga

Ryo Fujita

Kazuyoshi Koga

Kazuhisa Takami

Yuichi Abe

Koyo Katsura

Katsunori Suzuki

Yasushi Fukunaga

Koji Ozawa

Takehiko Nishida

Kazunori Oniki

Hideki Fujii

Takaharu Morishige

Yasuhiro Nakatsuka

Yiuchi Abe

A graphics processor comprises: a light source table holding light source data; a conversion unit for converting the light source data to be set in the light source table from a float type (single-precision floating point real number type) into an int type (integer type); an inner product calculation unit for calculating the inner products of normal directions, light source directions and sight line directions at the vertices based on the light source data; and a color calculation unit for performing light source computations based on the calculated inner products to determine the colors of the vertices.

Graphics processor and system for determining colors of the vertices of a figure

Graphics processor and system for determining colors of the vertices of

Semiconductor memory having an arithmetic function and a terminal

A novel graphic display apparatus in which the pixel information for a multiplicity of layers arranged according to Z value including the color, the proportion in which the figure occupies the pixel and the Z value are held for each layer in a pixel memory. The Z value is compared between the pixel information of a newly-plotted figure and the multi-tiered pixel information held in the pixel information memory. In order to reduce the amount of memory space required, the pixel information stored in the bottom layer of the pixel memory is a combination of information synthesized from the color information having the Z value of the bottom layer and from at least one other layer having a Z value lower than the Z value associated with said bottom layer. In the case where the Z values are substantially equal to each other, the mask values included in each pixel information are summed and the pixel information to be written in the pixel information memory is determined by a pixel information computing section.

Three-dimensional graphic display apparatus with improved high-speed

The present invention relates to a three-dimensional graphic display apparatus for performing a hidden surface removal and color blending, and particularly to a configuration of a special purpose memory for graphics and a configuration of a graphic display apparatus using the special purpose memory. The special purpose memory for graphics according to the present invention comprises a memory cell for holding intensity information (RGB) and window information about each pixel therein, an XY coordinate converter for converting XY coordinates of a pixel to be written to a memory address, an intensity blending processor, and hidden-surface removal and window comparators, all of which are formed on the same chip.

Special purpose memory for graphics and display apparatus using the same

A graphics display system includes a host processor calculating graphic data and providing the graphic data to a graphics processor, and frame memories which store the graphic pixel data and supply display data to display devices. The graphics display system also includes a first register group which stores the graphics data, a second register group which converts and/or stores the data in the first register group, a pixel generator which generates pixels according to the graphic data in the second register group, and a plotter which writes the pixel data generated in the pixel generator in the frame memories. The second register group fetches the data from the first register group when the host processor issues a command for plotting, holds the data previously written by the host processor. At the same time, when the host processor issues a command for plotting, the specified graphic type is written in the graphic processor as well as data calculated based on the first and second register groups.

Graphics display system including parallel graphics processors executing

A three-dimensional graphic display apparatus performs hidden surface removal and color blending. Particularly, the graphic display apparatus includes a configuration of a special purpose memory for graphics, thereby forming a configuration of a graphic display apparatus using the special purpose memory. The special purpose memory for graphics includes a memory cell holding intensity information (RGB) and window information about each pixel, an XY coordinate converter converting XY coordinates of a pixel to be written to a memory address, an intensity blending processor, and hidden-surface removal and window comparators, all of which are formed on the same chip.

Special purpose memory for graphics and display apparatus using the

A graphics display system includes a host processor calculating graphic data and providing the graphic data to a graphics processor, and frame memories which store the graphic pixel data and supply display data to display devices. The graphics display system also includes a first register group which stores the graphics data, a second register group which converts and/or stores the data in the first register group, a pixel generator which generates pixels according to the graphic data in the second register group, and a plotter which writes the pixel data generated in the pixel generator in the frame memories. The second register group fetches the data from the first register group when the host processor issues a command for plotting, holds the data previously written by the host processor. At the same time, when the host processor issues a command for plotting, the specified graphic type is written in the graphic processor as sell as data calculated based on the first and second register groups.

Graphics display system including graphics processor having a register

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Hitachi, Japan

Mitsuru Soga