Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Corporation

Satoshi Shigenaga

Tadashi Okamoto

Tetsu Fukue

Shigeaki Mido

Tomohiro Okada

An image processing device improves processing performance at low cost. The image processing device is provided with a memory controller that divides up and assigns banks accessed by a video inputter, a drawer, and a video outputter to multiple frame memories. The image processing device arbitrates access requests from master units, such as the video inputter, the drawer, and the video outputter, and controls data transmission so that the multiple master units can access both the frame memories in parallel.

Image processing device

A patterned polygon rendering apparatus has an edge dot attribute setting sectionthat assigns an attribute dot, which indicates an edge of a polygon, to respective dots located in an edge line of the polygon and stores the assigned attribute dots in work memoryon a per-dot basis, to thus perform edge processing; an internal attribute dot setting sectionthat assigns an attribute dot, which indicates the inside of the polygon, to respective dots located in an internal region of the polygon by reference to the work memoryand stores the assigned attribute dots into the work memory, to thus perform painting processing; and a pattern setting sectionthat sets edge color data to the dots assigned the attribute dots, which indicate the edges of the polygon, by reference to the work memory, sets pattern data to the dots assigned the attribute dots indicating the inside of the polygon, and renders the data stored in the work memoryto the frame memory, to thus perform pattern setting processing.

Patterned polygon rendering apparatus

When a plurality of coplanar shapes are rendered over one another by performing a hidden surface removal operation using the Z value, a reference plane is specified, and the Z value of each point of a shape to be rendered on the reference plane is uniquely calculated based on the Z value of the rendering start point, the Z value gradient dZdx for the X direction, and the Z value gradient dZdy for the Y direction. Thus, any coplanar shapes will have the same Z value for each point shared therebetween. Therefore, if the rendering process is performed under such a rule that a shape is overwritten when the Z value of the new shape is less than or equal to the current Z value, it is ensured that the previously-rendered shape is always overwritten with a later-rendered, coplanar shape. Thus, it is possible to prevent a phenomenon that some pixels of a later-rendered shape that are supposed to be displayed are not displayed.

Computer graphics rendering method and apparatus

An image processing apparatus carrying out a gamma correction for input data includes polygonal line approximating apparatus for carrying out the gamma correction by a polygonal line approximation, a look-up table partially storing gamma correction data corresponding to the input data, and a correction deciding portion and a selector which select the output of one of the polygonal line approximating apparatus and the look-up table corresponding to the input data.

Image processing apparatus and image processing method for performing gamma correction

A memory write sectionwrites texture data in a number capable of being transferred at a time and written in one address, in one of first through fourth texture memoriesthroughin common by single write operation. If the V coordinate of texture data to be written is an even number, the texture data is written in the first, second, third and fourth texture memoriesandin this order. If the V coordinate is an odd number, the data is written in the third, fourth, first and second texture memoriesandin this order.

Texture processor

By making it possible to freely change calculations of as well as variables that are input into the same calculation circuits, dedicated circuits corresponding to rendering functions become unnecessary, and in order to realize multi-functional rendering with circuitry of a small scale, a graphic image rendering apparatus includes a rendering information generation portion that generates rendering parameters corresponding to X and Y coordinates of pixels constituting a graphic image, a pixel calculation portion that, for each pixel, makes a selection as appropriate from the rendering parameters and a constant and performs a calculation, and a memory interface portion that writes a calculation result of the pixel calculation portion into a frame memory.

Graphic image rendering apparatus

To provide an apparatus for painting figures which is improved in painting capability better than the conventional art even when a path to an external memory section is narrow. In order to simultaneously write previously generated painting information and read data required for generating painting information later in the painting coordinate generating section and the painting information generating section on the painting apparatus, while painting information is generated, first and second buffers are provided as a buffer section for storing painting information generated in the painting information generating section, and address information storing sections corresponding to the first and second buffers are provided as an address generating section for generating an address for storing painting information, which is accumulated in the buffer section, in an external memory section. When reading and writing is carried out on the first buffer, the following operations are performed in parallel: outputting data, which is previously written to the second buffer, to the external memory section, reading data required for the next processing from the external memory section.

Apparatus for painting figure

A polygon drawing apparatus for drawing a polygon which is colored inside its outline by using outline data indicating the outline of the polygon, the apparatus comprising: an outline data generation unit for generating outline data indicating the outline of the polygon on the basis of coordinate data indicating the coordinates of points constituting the polygon; a mask data generation unit for performing, for a predetermined amount of the outline data, parallel exclusive-OR processes in units of amounts constituting the predetermined amount, thereby generating mask data which specifies &ldquo;coloring&rdquo; for the inside of the outline; and a segment generation unit for drawing the polygon by using the mask data generated by the mask data generation means. Therefore, this polygon drawing apparatus can provide a satisfactory result of display without using a bulk memory, and without increasing the processing load.

Polygon drawing method and polygon drawing apparatus

A vertex processing unit is provided for labeling each selected vertex dot as a vertical or horizontal attribute dot based on the direction of a side vector terminating at the vertex dot selected and that of a side vector originating from the vertex dot selected. A contour line segment processing unit is also provided for labeling each edge dot selected from a side as a vertical attribute dot if the y coordinate of the edge dot selected is different from that of a previous edge dot and that of a vertex dot located at the terminal point of the side, or otherwise, as a horizontal attribute dot. Contour color data are defined for the dots labeled as vertical or horizontal attribute dots. And inner color data are defined for the dots existing between an odd-numbered vertical attribute dot and an even-numbered vertical attribute dot, which is next to the former dot, on a selected scan line parallel to the axis of x coordinates, except for horizontal attribute dots.

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Kyoto, Japan

Satoshi Shigenaga