Television – Stereoscopic
Reexamination Certificate
1998-06-05
2001-08-07
Britton, Howard (Department: 2613)
Television
Stereoscopic
C348S046000, C348S051000, C348S169000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06271875
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a three-dimensional image processing apparatus which generates a two-dimensional image with reality from the three-dimensional information set as the numerical data in the apparatus.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Recently, the computer graphics have been drawing attention as the backbone technology for the virtual reality, multi-media and the like. In the computer graphics, a polyhedral model obtained by approximating a complicated surface of an object with small polygons is utilized. A natural three-dimensional image close to the reality is then generated by attaching a texture on the surface thereof. There are various types of the image processing apparatus for generating such a three-dimensional image, which will be described in detail below.
[First conventional example]
FIG. 1
is a block diagram showing the first conventional example of the image processing apparatus. This apparatus comprises a main memory
100
for storing the polygon data and the texture data, a CPU
101
, a texture memory
102
for storing the pattern data on the polygon surface, a polygon mapping processing device
103
, a frame memory
104
for one screen, a display controller
105
, and a display
106
, and the content of the frame memory
104
is read out according to the screen coordinates value from the display controller
105
, and being output in sequence to the display
106
.
With this processing apparatus, the CPU
101
executes the modeling transformation, projective transformation and the like using a parameter defining the polygon stored in the main memory
100
, and an operation data obtained according to the application software and the operator's operation, to transform the parameter of the corresponding polygon so as to form a polygon image, and outputs the parameter to the polygon mapping processing device
103
in sequence.
The polygon mapping processing device
103
takes out the texture data corresponding to the polygon among the input parameters of polygon from the texture memory
102
, and while attaching the texture data to each polygon, subjects each polygon to the blinding processing, and outputs the results to the frame memory
104
. When the texture is not stored in the texture memory
102
, the corresponding texture is read out from the main memory
100
, under the instruction of the CPU
101
. The polygon image generated by the polygon mapping processing device
103
is written in the frame memory
104
as the frame picture, and repeatedly read out onto the display
106
at a required speed, and displayed as a static image.
Moreover, as shown in
FIG. 2
, there is an image processing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Hei 7 No. 254072. In this apparatus, the polygon mapping processing device
103
is divided into a coordinates transformation device
107
and a rendering device
108
. The coordinates transformation device
107
performs the processing up to the projection of a model from the three-dimensional coordinates space to the two-dimensional coordinates space, and the rendering device
108
generates the screen image, while attaching the texture data to each polygon.
[Second conventional example]
FIG. 3
is a block diagram showing the second conventional example of the image processing apparatus. This image processing apparatus generates the image which looks sharp to observers at a high speed, by making the resolution of the image high in the vicinity of a marked point, and low in a place away from the marked point. This is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Hei 5 No. 6402.
This image processing apparatus comprises marked point-detecting means
110
for detecting the marked point of the observer to output the information of the marked point, a pixel selector
111
for selecting the pixel more densely as it approaches the marked point based on the marked-point information being output by the marked point-detecting means
110
, and selecting the pixel more roughly as it is away from the marked point, a luminance calculator
112
for calculating and accurately determining the luminance value of the pixel selected by the pixel selector
111
, an interpolator
113
for determining the luminance value of the uncalculated pixel by the interpolation using the luminance value determined by the luminance calculator
112
, and display means
114
for displaying the generated image.
With this processing apparatus, first the marked point-detecting means
110
detects the marked point of the observer, and outputs the information of the detected marked point to the pixel selector
111
. The pixel selector
111
, based on the information of marked point received from the marked point-detecting means
110
, selects the pixel more densely as it approaches the marked point, while selects the pixel more roughly as it is away from the marked point, and outputs the coordinates of the selected pixel to the luminance calculator
112
. The luminance calculator
112
calculates and accurately determines the luminance value of the pixel on the coordinates being output from the pixel selector
111
, and outputs the luminance value together with the coordinates of the pixel whose luminance value has been determined to the interpolator
113
. The interpolator
113
determines the luminance value of the uncalculated pixel by means of the interpolation using the luminance value determined by the luminance calculator
112
, and outputs the determined luminance values of the whole pixels to the display means
114
. The display means
114
displays the image based on the luminance values of the whole pixels received from the interpolator
113
. This operation is repeated until the values of the whole pixels in the image are determined.
[Third conventional example]
FIG. 4
is a block diagram showing the third conventional image processing apparatus. This image processing apparatus is to reduce the pixel-generating processing, which was proposed by the present applicant.
This image processing apparatus comprises an modeling data memory
120
for storing the model data, a CPU
121
for controlling the whole apparatus, a coordinates transformation device
122
for transforming the coordinates of the vertex of a polygon and transmitting the vertex coordinates after the coordinates transformation and an identifier of the polygon (hereinafter referred to as “polygon code”) to a polygon code memory, the polygon code memory
123
for storing the polygon code in a position to draw the polygon, a polygon cache
124
for receiving the vertex coordinates after the coordinates transformation and a rendering parameter (such as a texture coordinates) and storing them in an address indicated by the polygon code, an internally divided value generator
125
for generating an internally divided value from the vertex coordinates and the screen coordinates, a rendering device
126
for receiving the internally divided value and the rendering parameter to generate color data, a display controller
127
for outputting the image signal according to the color data value, and a display
128
for displaying the image based on the image signal.
With this method, not the color data value but the polygon code is written in the polygon code memory
123
. Furthermore, synchronously with the horizontal and vertical signals of the display
128
, pixel processing such as mapping and rendering is performed. Therefore, the processing becomes very light.
[Fourth conventional example]
Furthermore, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Hei 5 No. 290145 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Hei 8 No. 87585, there can be considered a method for reducing the amount to be processed by utilizing the fact that when the observer who watches the virtual space and a model in the virtual space move relatively, even if the model is displayed with rougher accuracy as the relative speed increases, it cannot be perceived by a human being, to reduce the numbe
Mori Akihito
Oda Mamoru
Shimizu Hajime
Britton Howard
Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
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