The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 02, 2008
Filed:
Aug. 24, 2005
Brad Grantham, San Jose, CA (US);
David Shreiner, Mountain View, CA (US);
Alan Commike, San Jose, CA (US);
Brad Grantham, San Jose, CA (US);
David Shreiner, Mountain View, CA (US);
Alan Commike, San Jose, CA (US);
Silicon Graphics, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Abstract
A system and method for distributing data (e.g., imaging data such as pixels, or 3D graphics data such as points, lines, or polygons) from a single or a small number of data sources to a plurality of graphical processing units (graphics processors) for processing and display is presented. The system and method provide a pipelined and multithreaded approach that prioritizes movement of the data through a high-speed multiprocessor system (or a high-speed system of networked computers), according to the system topology. Multiple threads running on multiple processors in shared memory move the data from a storage device (e.g., a disk array), through the high-speed multiprocessor system, to graphics processor memory for display and optional processing through fragment programming. The data can also be moved in the reverse direction, back through the high-speed multiprocessor system, for storage on the disk array.