Variable bit field color encoding

Details Variable bit field color encoding Variable bit field color encoding

2006-10-31

2006-10-31

Bella, Matthew C. (Department: 2676)

Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system

Computer graphics processing

Attributes

C345S582000, C345S605000

Reexamination Certificate

active

07129956

ABSTRACT:
A compact image element encoding format selectively allocates a bit field within the format to alternately encode either multi-bit alpha resolution or increased color resolution. This encoding technique may be advantageously used to allocate encoding bits to model semi-transparency while using those same bits for other purposes (e.g., higher color resolution) in instances where semi-transparency is not required (e.g., for opaque image elements). In one advantageous embodiment, the same encoding format can provide either RGB5 or RGB4A3, on an image-element-by-image-element basis. Applications include but are not limited to texture mapping in a 3D computer graphics system such as a home video game system or a personal computer.

REFERENCES:
patent: 4388620 (1983-06-01), Sherman
patent: 4425559 (1984-01-01), Sherman
patent: 4570233 (1986-02-01), Yan et al.
patent: 4658247 (1987-04-01), Gharachorloo
patent: 4725831 (1988-02-01), Coleman
patent: 4829295 (1989-05-01), Hiroyuki
patent: 4862392 (1989-08-01), Steiner
patent: 4866637 (1989-09-01), Gonzalez-Lopez et al.
patent: 4901064 (1990-02-01), Deering
patent: 4914729 (1990-04-01), Omori et al.
patent: 4918625 (1990-04-01), Yan
patent: 4945500 (1990-07-01), Deering
patent: 5136664 (1992-08-01), Bersack et al.
patent: 5170468 (1992-12-01), Shah et al.
patent: 5392385 (1995-02-01), Evangelisti et al.
patent: 5392393 (1995-02-01), Deering
patent: 5416606 (1995-05-01), Katayama et al.
patent: 5421028 (1995-05-01), Swanson
patent: 5457775 (1995-10-01), Johnson, Jr. et al.
patent: 5495563 (1996-02-01), Winser
patent: 5504917 (1996-04-01), Austin
patent: 5594854 (1997-01-01), Baldwin et al.
patent: 5606650 (1997-02-01), Kelley et al.
patent: 5608424 (1997-03-01), Takahashi et al.
patent: 5687357 (1997-11-01), Priem
patent: 5701444 (1997-12-01), Baldwin
patent: 5721947 (1998-02-01), Priem et al.
patent: 5727192 (1998-03-01), Baldwin
patent: 5758182 (1998-05-01), Rosenthal et al.
patent: 5764243 (1998-06-01), Baldwin
patent: 5767858 (1998-06-01), Kawase et al.
patent: 5768626 (1998-06-01), Munson et al.
patent: 5768629 (1998-06-01), Wise et al.
patent: 5774133 (1998-06-01), Neave et al.
patent: 5777629 (1998-07-01), Baldwin
patent: 5798770 (1998-08-01), Baldwin
patent: 5801706 (1998-09-01), Fujita et al.
patent: 5801716 (1998-09-01), Silverbrook
patent: 5805175 (1998-09-01), Priem
patent: 5805868 (1998-09-01), Murphy
patent: 5815166 (1998-09-01), Baldwin
patent: 5821949 (1998-10-01), Deering
patent: 5874969 (1999-02-01), Storm et al.
patent: 5880737 (1999-03-01), Griffen et al.
patent: 5886705 (1999-03-01), Lentz
patent: 5894300 (1999-04-01), Takizawa
patent: 5914725 (1999-06-01), MacInnis et al.
patent: 5917496 (1999-06-01), Fujita et al.
patent: 5920326 (1999-07-01), Rentschler et al.
patent: 5940086 (1999-08-01), Rentschler et al.
patent: 5949424 (1999-09-01), Cabral et al.
patent: 5949440 (1999-09-01), Krech, Jr. et al.
patent: 5969726 (1999-10-01), Rentschler et al.
patent: 5986663 (1999-11-01), Wilde
patent: 5999196 (1999-12-01), Storm et al.
patent: 6002409 (1999-12-01), Harkin
patent: 6002410 (1999-12-01), Battle
patent: 6005583 (1999-12-01), Morrison
patent: 6005584 (1999-12-01), Kitamura et al.
patent: 6016150 (2000-01-01), Lengyel et al.
patent: 6023738 (2000-02-01), Priem et al.
patent: 6025853 (2000-02-01), Baldwin
patent: 6028611 (2000-02-01), Anderson et al.
patent: 6037949 (2000-03-01), DeRose et al.
patent: 6054993 (2000-04-01), Devic et al.
patent: 6057852 (2000-05-01), Krech, Jr.
patent: 6092124 (2000-07-01), Priem et al.
patent: 6173367 (2001-01-01), Aleksic et al.
patent: 6181352 (2001-01-01), Kirk et al.
patent: 6198488 (2001-03-01), Lindholm et al.
patent: 6226012 (2001-05-01), Priem et al.
patent: 6339428 (2002-01-01), Fowler et al.
patent: 2070934 (1993-12-01), None
patent: 1 074 945 (2001-02-01), None
patent: 1 075 146 (2001-02-01), None
patent: 1 081 649 (2001-03-01), None
patent: 11053580 (1999-02-01), None
patent: 11076614 (1999-03-01), None
patent: 11161819 (1999-06-01), None
patent: 11203500 (1999-07-01), None
patent: 11226257 (1999-08-01), None
patent: 11259671 (1999-09-01), None
patent: 11259678 (1999-09-01), None
patent: 2000-66985 (2000-03-01), None
patent: 2000-92390 (2000-03-01), None
patent: 2000-132704 (2000-05-01), None
patent: 2000-132706 (2000-05-01), None
patent: 2000-149053 (2000-05-01), None
patent: 2000-156875 (2000-06-01), None
patent: 2000-182077 (2000-06-01), None
patent: 2000-207582 (2000-07-01), None
patent: 2000-215325 (2000-08-01), None
patent: WO 94/10641 (1994-05-01), None
Rogers, Doug, “Color Key in Direct3D,” White Papers, www.nvidia.com, posted Jan. 11, 2000.
Photograph of Sony PlayStation II System.
Photograph of Sega Dreamcast System.
Photograph of Nintendo 64 System.
Whitepaper: 3D Graphics Demystified, Nov. 11, 1999, www.nvidia.com.
Whitepaper: “Z Buffering, Interpolation and More W-Buffering”, Doug Rogers, Jan. 31, 2000, www.nvidia.com.
Whitepaper: Using GL—NV—vertex—array and GL—NV—fence, posted Aug. 1, 2000, www.nvidia.com.
Whitepaper: Anisotropic Texture Filtering in OpenGL, posted Jul. 17, 2000, www.nvidia.com.
Whitepaper: Mapping Texels to Pixels in D3D, posted Apr. 5, 2000, www.nvidia.com.
Whitepaper: Guard Band Clipping, posted Jan. 31, 2000, www.nvidia.com.
Whitepaper: Cube Environment Mapping, posted Jan. 14, 2000, www.nvidia.com.
Whitepaper: Color Key in D3D, posted Jan. 11, 2000, www.nvidia.com.
Whitepaper: Vertex Blending Under DX7 for the GeForce 256, Jan. 5, 2000, www.nvidia.com.
Whitepaper: Optimizing Direct3D for the GeForce 256, Jan. 3, 2000, www.nvidia.com.
Whitepaper: Dot Product Texture Blending, Dec. 3, 1999, www.nvidia.com.
Whitepaper: Technical Brief: AGP 4X with Fast Writes, Nov. 10, 1999, www.nvidia.com.
Technical Brief: Transform and Lighting, Nov. 10, 1999, www.nvidia.com.
Technical Brief: What's New With Microsoft DirectX7, posted Nov. 10, 1999, www.nvidia.com.
Mitchell et al., “Multitexturing in DirectX6”, Game Developer, Sep. 1998, www.gdmag.com.
VisionTek, “GeForce2 GS Graphics Processing Unit”, ©2000 www.visiontek.com.
Jim Bushnell et al. “Advanced Multitexture Effects With Direct3D and OpenGL”, Pyramid Peak Design & ATI Research, Inc., GameDevelopers Conference, ©1999.
Sony PlayStation II Instruction Manual, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., ©2000.
Stand and Be Judged, Next Generation, May 2000.
PlayStation II: Hardware Heaven or Hell?, Next Generation, Jan. 2000.
Chris Charla, “Play Station II: The Latest News”, Next Generation, Sep. 1999.
“First PlayStation II Gameplay Screens Revealed!”, Next Generation, Sep. 1999.
Game Enthusiast Online Highlights, Mar. 18, 1999.
Game Enthusiast Online Highlights, Mar. 19, 1999.
Game Enthusiast Online Highlights, Mar. 17, 1999.
Game Enthusiast Online Highlights, Oct. 20, 1999.
Joel Easley, “PlayStation II Revealed”, Game Week, Sep. 29, 1999.
Inside Sony's Next Generation Playstation, ©1999.
Press Releases, Mar. 18, 1999.
Chris Johnston, “PlayStation Part Deux”, Press Start, ©1999.
Nikkei Shimbun, “Sony Making SME, Chemical and SPT into Wholly-Owned Subsidiaries”, Mar. 9, 1999.
AM News: Japanese Developers Not All Sold on PS2, Next Generation, Mar. 16, 1999.
Sony To Turn PlayStation Maker into Wholly Owned Unit-Nikkei, Dow Jones News Service, Mar. 8, 1999.
Yumiko Ono, Sony Antes Up Its Chips In Bet On New Game System, Dow Jones News Service, Mar. 4, 1999.
MacWeek.Com Gets Inside Story on Connectix VGS for Windows; Controversial Emulator of Sony PlayStation Games Cureently Available for Macs Only, Business Wire, Mar. 12, 1999.
“DexDrive Bridges Gap”, The Tampa Tribune, Mar. 12, 1999.
A Microprocessor With a 128b CPU, 10 Floating-Point MAC's, 4 Floating-Point Dividers, and an MPEG2 Decoder, 1999 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference, Feb. 16, 1999.
Dreamcast Instruction Manual, Sega Enterprises, Ltd., ©1998.
“Sega To Launch Video Camera for Dreamcast”, Reuters Busine

Affiliated with

Also associated with

Rating

Variable bit field color encoding does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.

If you have personal experience with Variable bit field color encoding, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Variable bit field color encoding will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3690617