U.S. patent application number 13/494231 was filed with the patent office on 2012-10-04 for floating point computer system with per-fragment operations.
This patent application is currently assigned to GRAPHICS PROPERTIES HOLDINGS, INC.. Invention is credited to John M. Airey, David L. Dignam, Robert A. Drebin, Danny D. Loh, Christopher J. Migdal, John Montrym, Mark S. Peercy.
Application Number | 20120249548 13/494231 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 29418296 |
Filed Date | 2012-10-04 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120249548 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Airey; John M. ; et
al. |
October 4, 2012 |
FLOATING POINT COMPUTER SYSTEM WITH PER-FRAGMENT OPERATIONS
Abstract
A floating point rasterization and frame buffer in a computer
system graphics program. The rasterization, fog, lighting,
texturing, blending, and antialiasing processes operate on floating
point values. In one embodiment, a 16-bit floating point format
consisting of one sign bit, ten mantissa bits, and five exponent
bits (s10e5), is used to optimize the range and precision afforded
by the 16 available bits of information. In other embodiments, the
floating point format can be defined in the manner preferred in
order to achieve a desired range and precision of the data stored
in the frame buffer. The final floating point values corresponding
to pixel attributes are stored in a frame buffer and eventually
read and drawn for display. The graphics program can operate
directly on the data in the frame buffer without losing any of the
desired range and precision of the data.
Inventors: |
Airey; John M.; (Mountain
View, CA) ; Peercy; Mark S.; (Cupertino, CA) ;
Drebin; Robert A.; (Palo Alto, CA) ; Montrym;
John; (Los Altos Hills, CA) ; Dignam; David L.;
(Belmont, CA) ; Migdal; Christopher J.;
(Cupertino, CA) ; Loh; Danny D.; (Menlo Park,
CA) |
Assignee: |
GRAPHICS PROPERTIES HOLDINGS,
INC.
New Rochelle
NY
|
Family ID: |
29418296 |
Appl. No.: |
13/494231 |
Filed: |
June 12, 2012 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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13397830 |
Feb 16, 2012 |
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13494231 |
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13004650 |
Jan 11, 2011 |
8144158 |
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13397830 |
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12632262 |
Dec 7, 2009 |
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13004650 |
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12168578 |
Jul 7, 2008 |
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12632262 |
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09614363 |
Jul 12, 2000 |
7518615 |
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12168578 |
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09098041 |
Jun 16, 1998 |
6650327 |
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09614363 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
345/419 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06T 15/405 20130101;
G06T 11/40 20130101; G06T 15/00 20130101; G06T 15/405 20130101;
G06T 19/00 20130101; G06T 19/00 20130101; G06T 17/00 20130101; G06T
15/00 20130101; G06T 1/20 20130101; G06T 17/00 20130101; G09G 5/393
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
345/419 |
International
Class: |
G06T 15/00 20110101
G06T015/00 |
Claims
1. A computer system, comprising: a processor for performing
geometric calculations on a plurality of vertices of a primitive; a
rasterization circuit coupled to the processor that rasterizes the
primitive according to a rasterization process which operates on a
floating point format; memory coupled to the rasterization circuit,
at least a portion of the memory being for storing color values
during or after rasterization; and logic that performs per-fragment
operations on floating point color values, the logic being coupled
to the rasterization circuit.
2. The computer system as defined by claim 1 further comprising a
display screen coupled to the memory for displaying an image
according to the color values stored in the memory.
3. The computer system as defined by claim 1 wherein the memory
comprises a frame buffer.
4. The computer system as defined by claim 1 further comprising a
texture circuit coupled to the rasterization circuit, the texture
circuit configured to apply a texture to the primitive, the texture
being specified by floating point values.
5. The computer system as defined by claim 1 further comprising a
texture memory coupled to the texture circuit, the texture memory
being for storing a plurality of textures in floating point
values.
6. The computer system as defined by claim 1 further comprising a
fog circuit coupled to the rasterization circuit for performing a
fog function, the fog function operating on floating point color
values.
7. The computer system as defined by claim 1 further wherein the
floating point format is comprised of a plurality of bits in s_e_m
format, where s represents the sign, e represents the exponent, and
M represents the mantissa in the formula n=M*2e.
8. The computer system as defined by claim 1 further comprising a
blender coupled to the rasterization circuit, the blender being
configured to blend floating point color values.
9. The computer system as defined by claim 1 wherein the
rasterization circuit performs scan conversion on vertices having
floating point color values.
10. The computer system as defined by claim 1 wherein the
processor, rasterization circuit, and memory are on a single
semiconductor chip.
11. The computer system as defined by claim 1 wherein the
rasterization circuit comprises an interconnection of electrical
hardware.
12. The computer system as defined by claim 1 wherein the
rasterization circuit is associated with the processor in such a
way that power or signal information may be transferred between the
rasterization circuit and the processor.
13. The computer system as defined by claim 1 wherein the
rasterization circuit is associated with the memory in such a way
that power or signal information may be transferred between the
rasterization circuit and the memory.
14. The computer system as defined by claim 1 wherein the
rasterization circuit is configured to rasterize on an entirely
floating point basis.
15. The computer system as defined by claim 1 wherein at least a
portion of the rasterization process is performed on a floating
point basis.
16. The computer system as defined by claim 1 wherein at least a
portion of the rasterization process is performed on a fixed point
basis.
17. The computer system as defined by claim 1 wherein the memory is
for storing floating point color values.
18. The computer system as defined by claim 1 wherein the memory is
for storing at least a portion of the color values in fixed point
format.
19. The computer system as defined by claim 1 wherein floating
point color values are read out from the memory in the floating
point format for display.
20. The computer system as defined by claim 1 wherein floating
point color values are read out from the memory in the floating
point format for further processing by the rasterization
circuit.
21. The computer system as defined by claim 1 wherein the
rasterization circuit performs scan conversion at least in part on
a floating point basis.
22. The computer system as defined by claim 1 wherein the
rasterization circuit performs scan conversion entirely on a
floating point basis.
23. A graphics processing method comprising: performing geometric
calculations on a plurality of vertices of a primitive; rasterizing
the primitive according to a rasterization process which operates
on a floating point format; storing color values in at least a
portion of a memory during or after rasterization; and performing
per-fragment operations on floating point color values.
24. The graphics processing method as defined by claim 23 further
comprising: displaying an image according to the color values
stored in the memory.
25. The graphics processing method as defined by claim 23 wherein
the memory comprises a frame buffer.
26. The graphics processing method as defined by claim 23 further
comprising applying a texture to the primitive, the texture being
specified by floating point values.
27. The graphics processing method as defined by claim 26 further
comprising a storing a plurality of textures in floating point
values in a texture memory.
28. The graphics processing method as defined by claim 27 wherein
the texture memory comprises a portion of the memory.
29. The graphics processing method as defined by claim 23 further
comprising performing scan conversion on vertices having floating
point color values.
30. The graphics processing method as defined by claim 23 wherein
the floating point format is comprised of a plurality of bits in
s_e_m format, where s represents the sign, e represents the
exponent, and M represents the mantissa in the formula n=M*2e.
31. The graphics processing method as defined by claim 23 further
comprising performing a fog function, wherein the fog function
operates on floating point color values.
32. The graphics processing method as defined by claim 23 further
comprising performing blending floating point color values.
33. The graphics processing method as defined by claim 23 wherein a
single semiconductor chip performs geometric calculations,
rasterizes the primitive, and stores color values.
34. The graphics processing method as defined by claim 23 wherein
rasterizing the primitive comprises rasterizing the primitive on an
entirely floating point basis.
35. The graphics processing method as defined by claim 23 wherein
at least a portion of the rasterization process is performed on a
floating point basis.
36. The graphics processing method as defined by claim 23 wherein
at least a portion of the rasterization process is performed on a
fixed point basis.
37. The graphics processing method as defined by claim 23 further
comprising storing floating point color values in the memory.
38. The graphics processing method as defined by claim 23 further
comprising storing, in the memory, at least a portion of the color
values in fixed point format.
39. The graphics processing method as defined by claim 23 further
comprising reading out from the memory floating point color values
in the floating point format for display.
40. The graphics processing method as defined by claim 23 further
comprising: reading out from the memory floating point color values
in the floating point format; and further rasterizing the read out
color values.
41. The graphics processing method as defined by claim 23 further
comprising performing scan conversion at least in part on a
floating point basis.
42. The graphics processing method as defined by claim 23 further
comprising performing scan conversion entirely on a floating point
basis.
43. The graphics processing method as defined by claim 23 wherein
performing per-fragment operations comprises performing
per-fragment operations substantially in real time.
Description
PRIORITY
[0001] This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 13/397,830, filed on Feb. 16, 2012, which is a
continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/004,650, filed
on Jan. 11, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,144,158, which is a
continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/632,262, filed
Dec. 7, 2009, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 12/168,578, filed Jul. 7, 2008, which is a continuation of
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/614,363, now U.S. Pat. No.
7,518,615, filed Jul. 12, 2000, which is a continuation of U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 09/098,041, now U.S. Pat. No.
6,650,327, filed Jun. 16, 1998, the disclosures of which are
incorporated herein, in their entireties, by reference.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0002] This patent application is related to the following
co-pending patent applications, each of which was filed on even
date herewith, naming the same inventors, and currently claiming
the same priority:
[0003] Attorney Docket Number 2839/133: Floating Point Computer
System and Texturing,
[0004] Attorney Docket Number 2839/134: Floating Point Computer
System with S_E_M formatting,
[0005] Attorney Docket Number 2839/135: Floating Point Computer
System with Fog,
[0006] Attorney Docket Number 2839/136: Floating Point Computer
System with Blending,
[0007] Attorney Docket Number 2839/138: Floating Point Computer
System with Components on a Single Chip,
[0008] Attorney Docket Number 2839/139: Floating Point Computer
System with Frame Buffer for Storing Color Values During or After
Rasterization, and
[0009] Attorney Docket Number 2839/140: Floating Point Computer
System with Floating Point Memory.
[0010] The disclosures of each of these above patent applications
are incorporated herein, in their entireties, by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0011] This invention relates to the field of computer graphics.
Specifically, the present invention pertains to an apparatus and
process relating to floating point rasterization and framebuffering
in a graphics display system.
BACKGROUND ART
[0012] Graphics software programs are well known in the art. A
graphics program consists of commands used to specify the
operations needed to produce interactive three-dimensional images.
It can be envisioned as a pipeline through which data pass, where
the data are used to define the image to be produced and displayed.
The user issues a command through the central processing unit of a
computer system, and the command is implemented by the graphics
program. At various points along the pipeline, various operations
specified by the user's commands are carried out, and the data are
modified accordingly. In the initial stages of the pipeline, the
desired image is framed using geometric shapes such as lines and
polygons (usually triangles), referred to in the art as
"primitives." The vertices of these primitives define a crude shell
of the objects in the scene to be rendered. The derivation and
manipulation of the multitudes of vertices in a given scene, entail
performing many geometric calculations.
[0013] In the next stages, a scan conversion process is performed
to specify which picture elements or "pixels" of the display
screen, belong to which of the primitives. Many times, portions or
"fragments" of a pixel fall into two or more different primitives.
Hence, the more sophisticated computer systems process pixels on a
per fragment basis. These fragments are assigned attributes such as
color, perspective (i.e., depth), and texture. In order to provide
even better quality images, effects such as lighting, fog, and
shading are added. Furthermore, anti-aliasing and blending
functions are used to give the picture a smoother and more
realistic appearance. The processes pertaining to scan converting,
assigning colors, depth buffering, texturing, lighting, and
anti-aliasing are collectively known as rasterization. Today's
computer systems often contain specially designed rasterization
hardware to accelerate 3-D graphics.
[0014] In the final stage, the pixel attributes are stored in a
frame buffer memory. Eventually, these pixel values are read from
the frame buffer and used to draw the three-dimensional images on
the computer screen. One prior art example of a computer
architecture which has been successfully used to build 3-D computer
imaging systems is the Open GL architecture invented by Silicon
Graphics, Inc. of Mountain View, Calif.
[0015] Currently, many of the less expensive computer systems use
its microprocessor to perform the geometric calculations. The
microprocessor contains a unit which performs simple arithmetic
functions, such as add and multiply. These arithmetic functions are
typically performed in a floating point notation. Basically, in a
floating point format, data is represented by the product of a
fraction, or mantissa, and a number raised to an exponent; in base
10, for example, the number "n" can be presented by
n=m.times.10.sup.e, where "m" is the mantissa and "e" is the
exponent. Hence, the decimal point is allowed to "float." Hence,
the unit within the microprocessor for performing arithmetic
functions is commonly referred to as the "floating point unit."
This same floating point unit can be used in executing normal
microprocessor instructions as well as in performing geometric
calculations in support of the rendering process. In order to
increase the speed and increase graphics generation capability,
some computer systems utilize a specialized geometry engine, which
is dedicated to performing nothing but geometric calculations.
These geometry engines have taken to handling its calculations on a
floating point basis.
[0016] Likewise, special hardware have evolved to accelerate the
rasterization process. However, the rasterization has been done in
a fixed point format rather than a floating point format. In a
fixed point format, the location of the decimal point within the
data field for a fixed point format is specified and fixed; there
is no exponent. The main reason why rasterization is performed on a
fixed point format is because it is much easier to implement fixed
point operations in hardware. For a given set of operations, a
fixed point format requires less logic and circuits to implement in
comparison to that of a floating point format. In short, the
floating point format permits greater flexibility and accuracy when
operating on the data in the pipeline, but requires greater
computational resources. Furthermore, fixed point calculations can
be executed much faster than an equivalent floating point
calculation. As such, the extra computational expenses and time
associated with having a floating point rasterization process has
been prohibitive when weighed against the advantages conferred.
[0017] In an effort to gain the advantages conferred by operating
on a floating point basis, some prior art systems have attempted to
perform floating point through software emulation, but on a fixed
point hardware platform. However, this approach is extremely slow,
due to the fact that the software emulation relies upon the use of
a general purpose CPU. Furthermore, the prior art software
emulation approach lacked a floating point frame buffer and could
not be scanned out. Hence, the final result must be converted back
to a fixed point format before being drawn for display. Some
examples of floating point software emulation on a fixed point
hardware platform include Pixar's RenderMan software and software
described in the following publications: Olano, Marc and Anselmo
Lastra, "A Shading Language on Graphics Hardware: The PixelFlow
Shading System," Proceedings of SIGGRAPH 98, Computer Graphics,
Annual Conference Series, ACM SIGGRAPH, 1998; and Anselmo Lastra,
Steve Molnar, Marc Olano, and Yulan Wang, "Real-Time Programmable
Shading," Proceedings of the 1995 Symposium of Interactive 3D
Graphics (Monterey, Calif., Apr. 9-12, 1995), ACM SIGGRAPH, New
York, 1995.
[0018] But as advances in semiconductor and computer technology
enable greater processing power and faster speeds; as prices drop;
and as graphical applications grow in sophistication and precision,
it has been discovered by the present inventors that it is now
practical to implement some portions or even the entire
rasterization process by hardware in a floating point format.
[0019] In addition, in the prior art, data is stored in the frame
buffer in a fixed point format. This practice was considered
acceptable because the accuracy provided by the fixed point format
was considered satisfactory for storage purposes. Other
considerations in the prior art were the cost of hardware (e.g.,
memory chips) and the amount of actual physical space available in
a computer system, both of which limited the number of chips that
could be used and thus, limited the memory available. Thus, in the
prior art, it was not cost beneficial to expand the memory needed
for the frame buffer because it was not necessary to increase the
accuracy of the data stored therein.
[0020] Yet, as memory chips become less expensive, the capability
of a computer system to store greater amounts of data increases
while remaining cost beneficial. Thus, as memory capacity increases
and becomes less expensive, software applications can grow in
complexity; and as the complexity of the software increases,
hardware and software designs are improved to increase the speed at
which the software programs can be run. Hence, due to the
improvements in processor speed and other improvements that make it
practical to operate on large amounts of data, it is now possible
and cost beneficial to utilize the valuable information that can be
provided by the frame buffer.
[0021] Also, it is preferable to operate directly on the data
stored in the frame buffer. Operating directly on the frame buffer
data is preferable because it allows changes to be made to the
frame buffer data without having to unnecessarily repeat some of
the preceding steps in the graphics pipeline. The information
stored in the frame buffer is a rich source of data that can be
used in subsequent graphics calculations. However, in the prior
art, some steps typically need to be repeated to restore the
accuracy of the data and allow it to be operated on before it is
read back into the frame buffer. In other words, data would need to
be read from the frame buffer and input into the graphics program
at or near the beginning of the program, so that the data could be
recalculated in the floating point format to restore the required
precision and range. Thus, a disadvantage to the prior art is that
additional steps are necessary to allow direct operation on the
frame buffer data, thus increasing the processing time. This in
turn can limit other applications of the graphics program; for
example, in an image processing application, an image operated on
by the graphics program and stored in the frame buffer could be
subsequently enhanced through direct operation on the frame buffer
data. However, in the prior art, the accuracy necessary to portray
the desired detail of the image is lost, or else the accuracy would
have to be regenerated by repeated passes through the graphics
pipeline.
[0022] Another drawback to the prior art is the limited ability to
take advantage of hardware design improvements that could be
otherwise employed, if direct operation on the frame buffer without
the disadvantages identified above was possible. For example, a
computer system could be designed with processors dedicated to
operating on the frame buffer, resulting in additional improvements
in the speed at which graphics calculations are performed.
[0023] Consequently, the use of fixed point formatting in the frame
buffer is a drawback in the prior art because of the limitations
imposed on the range and precision of the data stored in the frame
buffer. The range of data in the prior art is limited to 0 to 1,
and calculation results that are outside this range must be set
equal to either 0 or 1, referred to in the art as "clamping." Also,
the prior art does not permit small enough values to be stored,
resulting in a loss of precision because smaller values must be
rounded off to the smallest value that can be stored. Thus, the
accuracy of the data calculated in the graphics pipeline is lost
when it is stored in the frame buffer. Moreover, in the prior art,
the results that are calculated by operating directly on the data
in the frame buffer are not as accurate as they can and need to be.
Therefore, a drawback to the prior art is that the user cannot
exercise sufficient control over the quality of the frame buffer
data in subsequent operations.
[0024] Thus, there is a need for a graphical display system which
predominately uses floating point throughout the entire geometry,
rasterization, and frame buffering processes. The present invention
provides one such display system. Furthermore, the display system
of the present invention is designed to be compatible to a
practical extent with existing computer systems and graphics
subsystems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0025] The present invention provides a display system and process
whereby the geometry, rasterization, and frame buffer predominately
operate on a floating point format. Vertex information associated
with geometric calculations are specified in a floating point
format. Attributes associated with pixels and fragments are defined
in a floating point format. In particular, all color values exist
as floating point format. Furthermore, certain rasterization
processes are performed according to a floating point format.
Specifically, the scan conversion process is now handled entirely
on a floating point basis. Texturing, fog, and antialiasing all
operate on floating point numbers. The texture map stores floating
point texel values. The resulting data are read from, operated on,
written to and stored in the frame buffer using floating point
formats, thereby enabling subsequent graphics operations to be
performed directly on the frame buffer data without any loss of
accuracy.
[0026] Many different types of floating point formats exist and can
be used to practice the present invention. However, it has been
discovered that one floating point format, known as "s10e5," has
been found to be particularly optimal when applied to various
aspects of graphical computations. As such, it is used extensively
throughout the geometric, rasterization and frame buffer processes
of the present invention. To optimize the range and precision of
the data in the geometry, rasterization, and frame buffer
processes, this particular s10e5 floating point format imposes a
16-bit format which provides one sign bit, ten mantissa bits, and
five exponent bits. In another embodiment, a 17-bit floating point
format designated as "s11e5" is specified to maintain consistency
and ease of use with applications that uses 12 bits of mantissa.
Other formats may be used in accordance with the present invention
depending on the application and the desired range and
precision.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0027] FIG. 1 shows a computer graphics system upon which the
present invention may be practiced.
[0028] FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating the stages for
processing data in a graphics program in accordance with the
present invention.
[0029] FIG. 3 is a tabulation of the representative values for all
possible bit combinations used in the preferred embodiment of the
present invention.
[0030] FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of the currently preferred
embodiment of the display system.
[0031] FIGS. 5A-5C show a more detailed layout of a display system
for implementing the floating point present invention.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
[0032] Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred
embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in
the accompanying drawings. While the invention will be described in
conjunction with the preferred embodiments, it will be understood
that they are not intended to limit the invention to these
embodiments. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover
alternatives, modifications and equivalents, which may be included
within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the
appended claims. Furthermore, in the following detailed description
of the present invention, numerous specific details are set forth
in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present
invention. However, it will be obvious to one of ordinary skill in
the art that the present invention may be practiced without these
specific details. In other instances, well known methods,
procedures, components, and circuits have not been described in
detail as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the present
invention.
[0033] Some portions of the detailed descriptions which follow are
presented in terms of procedures, logic blocks, processing, and
other symbolic representations of operations on data bits within a
computer memory. These descriptions and representations are the
means used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most
effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in
the art. In the present application, a procedure, logic block,
process, or the like, is conceived to be a self-consistent sequence
of steps or instructions leading to a desired result. The steps are
those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities.
Usually, although not necessarily, these quantities take the form
of electrical, or magnetic signals capable of being stored,
transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated in a
computer system. It has proven convenient at times, principally for
reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values,
elements, symbols, characters, fragments, pixels, or the like.
[0034] It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and
similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical
quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these
quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from
the following discussions, it is appreciated that throughout the
present invention, discussions utilizing terms such as
"processing," "operating," "calculating," "determining,"
"displaying," or the like, refer to actions and processes of a
computer system or similar electronic computing device. The
computer system or similar electronic computing device manipulates
and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities
within the computer system memories, registers or other such
information storage, transmission or display devices. The present
invention is well suited to the use of other computer systems, such
as, for example, optical and mechanical computers.
[0035] Referring to FIG. 1, a computer graphics system upon which
the present invention may be practiced is shown as 100. System 100
can include any computer-controlled graphics systems for generating
complex or three-dimensional images. Computer system 100 comprises
a bus or other communication means 101 for communicating
information, and a processing means 102 coupled with bus 101 for
processing information. System 100 further comprises a random
access memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device 104 (referred
to as main memory), coupled to bus 101 for storing information and
instructions to be executed by processor 102. Main memory 104 also
may be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate
information during execution of instructions by processor 102. Data
storage device 107 is coupled to bus 101 for storing information
and instructions. Furthermore, an input/output (I/O) device 108 is
used to couple the computer system 100 onto a network.
[0036] Computer system 100 can also be coupled via bus 101 to an
alphanumeric input device 122, including alphanumeric and other
keys, that is typically coupled to bus 101 for communicating
information and command selections to processor 102. Another type
of user input device is cursor control 123, such as a mouse, a
trackball, or cursor direction keys for communicating direction
information and command selections to processor 102 and for
controlling cursor movement on, display 121. This input device
typically has two degrees of freedom in two axes, a first axis
(e.g., x) and a second axis (e.g., y), which allows the device to
specify positions in a plane.
[0037] Also coupled to bus 101 is a graphics subsystem 111.
Processor 102 provides the graphics subsystem 111 with graphics
data such as drawing commands, coordinate vertex data, and other
data related to an object's geometric position, color, and surface
parameters. The object data are processed by graphics subsystem 111
in the following four pipelined stages: geometry subsystem, scan
conversion subsystem, raster subsystem, and a display subsystem.
The geometry subsystem converts the graphical data from processor
102 into a screen coordinate system. The scan conversion subsystem
then generates pixel data based on the primitives (e.g., points,
lines, polygons, and meshes) from the geometry subsystem. The pixel
data are sent to the raster subsystem, whereupon z-buffering,
blending, texturing, and anti-aliasing functions are performed. The
resulting pixel values are stored in a frame buffer 140. The frame
buffer is element 140, as shown in FIG. 2 of the present
application. The display subsystem reads the frame buffer and
displays the image on display monitor 121.
[0038] With reference now to FIG. 2, a series of steps for
processing and operating on data in the graphics subsystem 111 of
FIG. 1 are shown. The graphics program 130, also referred to in the
art as a state machine or a rendering pipeline, provides a software
interface that enables the user to produce interactive
three-dimensional applications on different computer systems and
processors. The graphics program 130 is exemplified by a system
such as OpenGL by Silicon Graphics; however, it is appreciated that
the graphics program 130 is exemplary only, and that the present
invention can operate within a number of different graphics systems
or state machines other than OpenGL.
[0039] With reference still to FIG. 2, graphics program 130
operates on both vertex (or geometric) data 131 and pixel (or
image) data 132. The process steps within the graphics program 130
consist of the display list 133, evaluators 134, per-vertex
operations and primitive assembly 135, pixel operations 136,
texture assembly 137, rasterization 138, per-fragment operations
139, and the frame buffer 140.
[0040] Vertex data 131 and pixel data 132 are loaded from the
memory of central processor 102 and saved in a display list 133.
When the display list 133 is executed, the evaluators 134 derive
the coordinates, or vertices, that are used to describe points,
lines, polygons, and the like, referred to in the art as
"primitives." From this point in the process, vertex data and pixel
data follow a different route through the graphics program as shown
in FIG. 2.
[0041] In the per-vertex operations 135A, vertex data 131 are
converted into primitives that are assembled to represent the
surfaces to be graphically displayed. Depending on the programming,
advanced features such as lighting calculations may also be
performed at the per-vertex operations stage. The primitive
assembly 135B then eliminates unnecessary portions of the
primitives and adds characteristics such as perspective, texture,
color and depth.
[0042] In pixel operations 136, pixel data may be read from the
processor 102 or the frame buffer 140. A pixel map processes the
data from the processor to add scaling, for example, and the
results are then either written into texture assembly 137 or sent
to the rasterization step 138. Pixel data read from the frame
buffer 140 are similarly processed within pixel operations 136.
There are special pixel operations to copy data in the frame buffer
to other parts of the frame buffer or to texture memory. A single
pass is made through the pixel operations before the data are
written to the texture memory or back to the frame buffer.
Additional single passes may be subsequently made as needed to
operate on the data until the desired graphics display is
realized.
[0043] Texture assembly 137 applies texture images--for example,
wood grain to a table top--onto the surfaces that are to be
graphically displayed. Texture image data are specified from frame
buffer memory as well as from processor 102 memory.
[0044] Rasterization 138 is the conversion of vertex and pixel data
into "fragments." Each fragment corresponds to a single pixel and
typically includes data defining color, depth, and texture. Thus,
for a single fragment, there are typically multiple pieces of data
defining that fragment.
[0045] Per-fragment operations 139 consist of additional operations
that may be enabled to enhance the detail of the fragments. After
completion of these operations, the processing of the fragment is
complete and it is written as a pixel to the frame buffer 140.
Thus, there are typically multiple pieces of data defining each
pixel.
[0046] With reference still to FIG. 2, the present invention uses
floating point formats in the process steps 131 through 139 of
graphics program 130. In other words, the vertex data is given in
floating point. Likewise, the pixel data is also given in floating
point. The display list 133 and evaluators 134 both operate on
floating point values. All pixel operations in block 136 are
performed according to a floating point format. Similarly,
per-vertex operations and primitive assembly 135A are performed on
a floating point format. The rasterization 138 is performed
according to a floating point format. In addition, texturing 137 is
done on floating point basis, and the texture values are stored in
the texture memory as floating point. All per-fragment operations
are performed on a floating point basis. Lastly, the resulting
floating point values are stored in the frame buffer 140. Thereby,
the user can operate directly on the frame buffer data.
[0047] For example, the maximum value that can be used in the 8-bit
fixed point format is 127 (i.e., 2.sup.8-1), which is written as
01111111 in binary, where the first digit represents the sign
(positive or negative) and the remaining seven digits represent the
number 127 in binary. In the prior art, this value is clamped and
stored as 1.0 in the frame buffer. In an 8-bit floating point
format, a value "n" is represented by the format n=s_eee_mmmmm,
where "s" represents the sign, "e" represents the exponent, and "m"
represents the mantissa in the binary formula n=m.times.2.sup.e.
Thus, in a floating point format, the largest number that can be
written is 31.times.2.sup.7, also written in binary as 01111111. In
the present invention, the value is written to and stored in the
frame buffer without being clamped or otherwise changed. Thus, use
of the floating point format in the frame buffer permits greater
flexibility in how a number can be represented, and allows for a
larger range of values to be represented by virtue of the use a
portion of the data field to specify an exponent.
[0048] The present invention uses floating point formats in the
frame buffer to increase the range of the data. "Range" is used
herein to mean the distance between the most negative value and the
most positive value of the data that can be stored. The present
invention permits absolute values much greater than 1.0 to be
stored in the frame buffer, thereby enabling the user to generate a
greater variety of graphics images. Increased range is particularly
advantageous when the user performs operations such as addition,
multiplication, or other operations well known and practiced in the
art, directly on the data in the frame buffer. Such operations can
result in values greater than 1.0, and in the present invention
these values can be written to and stored in the frame buffer
without clamping. Thus, the present invention results in a
substantial increase in the range of data that can be stored in the
frame buffer, and preserves the range of data that was determined
in steps 131 through 139 of the graphics program illustrated in
FIG. 2.
[0049] With reference still to FIG. 2, the present invention
utilizes floating point formats in the frame buffer 140 to maintain
the precision of the data calculated in the preceding steps 131
through 139 of the graphics program 130. "Precision" is used herein
to mean the increment between any two consecutive stored values of
data. Precision is established by the smallest increment that can
be written in the format being used. Increased precision is an
important characteristic that permits the present invention to
store a greater number of gradations of data relative to the prior
art, thereby providing the user with a greater degree of control
over the graphics images to be displayed. This characteristic is
particularly advantageous when the user performs an operation such
as addition, multiplication, or other operations well known and
practiced in the art, on the data in the frame buffer. Such
operations can result in values that lie close to each other, i.e.,
data that are approximately but not equal to each other. In the
present invention; data typically can be stored without having to
be rounded to a value permitted by the precision of the frame
buffer. If rounding is needed, the present invention permits the
data to be rounded to a value very close to the calculated values.
Thus, the present invention results in a substantial increase in
the precision of the data that can be stored in the frame buffer
relative to the prior art, and preserves the precision of the data
that was determined in steps 131 through 139 of the graphics
program illustrated in FIG. 2.
[0050] In one embodiment of the present invention, a 16-bit
floating point format is utilized in the frame buffer. The 16 bits
available are applied so as to optimize the balance between range
and precision. The 16-bit floating point format utilized in one
embodiment of the present invention is designated using the
nomenclature "s10e5", where "s" specifies one (1) sign bit, "10"
specifies ten (10) mantissa bits, and "e5" specifies five (5)
exponent bits, with an exponent bias of 16. FIG. 3 defines the
represented values for all possible bit combinations for the s10e5
format. In this embodiment, the smallest representable number
(i.e., precision) is 1.0000.sub.--0000.sub.--00*2.sup.-16 and the
range is plus/minus 1.1111.sub.--1111.sub.--10*2.sup.15. (In base
10, the range corresponds to approximately plus/minus 65,000.) In
this embodiment, the range and precision provided by this
specification are sufficient for operating directly on the frame
buffer. The 16-bit format in this embodiment thus represents a
cost-effective alternative to the single precision 32-bit IEEE
floating point standard.
[0051] However, it is appreciated that different sizes other than
16-bit, such as 12-bit, 17-bit or 32-bit, can be used in accordance
with the present invention. In addition, other floating point
formats may be used in accordance with the present invention by
varying the number of bits assigned to the mantissa and to the
exponent (a sign bit is typically but not always needed). Thus a
floating point format can be-specified in accordance with the
present invention that results in the desired range and precision.
For example, if the format specified is "s9e6" (nine mantissa bits
and six exponent bits), then relative to the s10e5 format a greater
range of data is defined but the precision is reduced. Also, a
17-bit format designated as "s11e5" may be used in accordance with
the present invention to preserve 12 bits of information, for
consistency and ease of application with programs and users that
work with a 12-bit format.
[0052] In the present invention, the user can apply the same
operation to all of the data in the frame buffer, referred to in
the art as Single Instruction at Multiple Data (SIMD). For example,
with reference back to FIG. 2, the user may wish to add an image
that is coming down the rendering pipeline 130 to an image already
stored in the frame buffer 140. The image coming down the pipeline
is in floating point format, and thus in the present invention is
directly added to the data already stored in the frame buffer that
is also in floating point format. The present invention permits the
results determined by this operation to be stored in the frame
buffer without a loss of precision. Also, in the present invention
the permissible range is greater than 1.0, thereby permitting the
results from the operation to be stored without being clamped.
[0053] With continued reference to FIG. 2, in the present invention
the data in the frame buffer 140 are directly operated on within
the graphics program without having to pass back through the entire
graphics program to establish the required range and precision. For
example, it is often necessary to copy the data from the texture
memory 137 to the frame buffer 140, then back to the texture memory
and back to the frame buffer, and so on until the desired image is
reached. In the present invention, such an operation is completed
without losing data range and precision, and without the need to
pass the data through the entire graphics program 130.
[0054] For example, a graphics program in accordance with the
present invention can use multipass graphics algorithms such as
those that implement lighting or shading programs to modify the
frame buffer data that define the appearance of each pixel. The
algorithm approximates the degree of lighting or shading, and the
component of the data that specifies each of these characteristics
is adjusted accordingly. Multiple passes through the
shading/lighting program may be needed before the desired effect is
achieved. In the present invention, the results of each pass are
accumulated in the present invention frame buffer, and then used
for the basis for subsequent passes, without a loss of precision or
range. Such an operation requires the use of floating point formats
in the frame buffer to increase the speed and accuracy of the
calculations.
[0055] Also, in the present invention the user of the graphics
program is able to enhance a portion of data contained within the
frame buffer. For example, such an application will arise when the
data loaded into the frame buffer represent an image obtained by a
device capable of recording images that will not be visible to the
human eye when displayed, such as an image recorded by a video
camera in very low light, or an infrared image. The present
invention is capable of storing such data in the frame buffer
because of the range and precision permitted by the floating point
format. The user specifies a lower threshold for that component of
the data representing how bright the pixel will be displayed to the
viewer. Data falling below the specified threshold are then
operated on to enhance them; that is, for each piece of data below
the threshold, the component of the data representing brightness is
increased by addition, until the brightness is increased
sufficiently so that the displayed image can be seen by the human
eye. Such an operation is possible because of the precision of the
data stored in the frame buffer in the present invention. Other
operations involving the manipulation of the data in the frame
buffer are also possible using the present invention.
[0056] Therefore, in the present invention the data are read from
the frame buffer, operated on, then written back into the frame
buffer. The use of a floating point frame buffer permits operation
on the data stored in the frame buffer without a loss of range and
precision. The floating point format is specified to optimize the
range and precision required for the desired application. The
present invention also allows the data stored in the frame buffer
to be operated on and changed without the effort and time needed to
process the data through the graphics program 130 of FIG. 2. As
such, the present invention will increase the speed at which
operations can be performed, because it is not necessary to perform
all the steps of a graphics program to adequately modify the data
in the frame buffer. In addition, processing speed is further
improved by applying hardware such as processor chips and computer
hard drives to work directly on the frame buffer. Thus, application
of the present invention provides the foundation upon which related
hardware design improvements can be based, which could not be
otherwise utilized.
[0057] Referring now to FIG. 4, a block diagram of the currently
preferred embodiment of the display system 400 is shown. Display
system 400 operates on vertices, primitives, and fragments. It
includes an evaluator 401, which is used to provide a way to
specify points on a curve or surface (or part of a surface) using
only the control points. The curve or surface can then be rendered
at any precision. In addition, normal vectors can be calculated for
surfaces automatically. The points generated by an evaluator can be
used to draw dots where the surface would be, to draw a wireframe
version of the surface, or to draw a fully lighted, shaded, and
even textured version. The values and vectors associated with
evaluator and vertex arrays 401 are specified in a floating point
format. The vertex array contains a block of vertex data which are
stored in an array and then used to specify multiple geometric
primitives through the execution of a single command. The vertex
data, such as vertex coordinates, texture coordinates, surface
normals, RGBA colors, and color indices are processed and stored in
the vertex arrays in a floating point format. These values are then
converted and current values are provided by block 402. The texture
coordinates are generated in block 403. The lighting process which
computes the color of a vertex based on current lights, material
properties, and lighting-model modes is performed in block 404. In
the currently preferred embodiment, the lighting is done on a per
pixel basis, and the result is a floating point color value. The
various matrices are controlled by matrix control block 405.
[0058] Block 406 contains the clipping, perspective, and viewport
application. Clipping refers to the elimination of the portion of a
geometric primitive that is outside the half-space defined by a
clipping plane. The clipping algorithm operates on floating point
values. Perspective projection is used to perform foreshortening so
that he farther an object is from the viewport, the smaller it
appears in the final image. This occurs because the viewing volume
for a perspective projection is a frustum of a pyramid. The matrix
for a perspective-view frustum is defined by floating point
parameters. Selection and feedback modes are provided in block 407.
Selection is a mode of operation that automatically informs the
user which objects are drawn inside a specified region of a window.
This mechanism is used to determine which object within the region
a user is specifying or picking with the cursor. In feedback mode,
the graphics hardware is used to perform the usual rendering
calculations. Instead of using the calculated results to draw an
image on the screen, however, this drawing information is returned.
Both feedback and selection modes support the floating point
format.
[0059] The actual rasterization is performed in block 408.
Rasterization refers to converting a projected point, line, or
polygon, or the pixels of a bitmap or image, to fragments, each
corresponding to a pixel in the frame buffer 412. Note that all
primitives are rasterized. This rasterization process is performed
exclusively in a floating point format. Pixel information is stored
in block 409. A single pixel (x,y) refers to the bits at location
(x,y) of all the bitplanes in the frame buffer 412. The pixels are
all in floating point format. A single block 410 is used to
accomplish texturing, fog, and anti-aliasing. Texturing refers to
the process of applying an image (i.e., the texture) to a
primitive. Texture mapping, texels, texture values, texture matrix,
and texture transformation are all specified and performed in
floating point. The rendering technique known as fog, which is used
to simulate atmospheric effects (e.g., haze, fog, and smog), is
performed by fading object colors in floating point to a background
floating point color value(s) based on the distance from the
viewer. Antialiasing is a rendering technique that assigns floating
point pixel colors based on the fraction of the pixel's area that
is covered by the primitive being rendered. Antialiased rendering
reduces or eliminates the jaggies that result from aliased
rendering. In the currently preferred embodiment, blending is used
to reduce two floating point color components to one floating point
color component. This is accomplished by performing a linear
interpolation between the two floating point color components. The
resulting floating point values are stored in frame buffer 412. But
before the floating point values are actually stored into the frame
buffer 412, a series of operations are performed by per-fragment
operations block 411 that may alter or even throw out fragments.
All these operations can be enabled or disabled. It should be noted
that although many of these blocks are described above in terms of
floating point, one or several of these blocks can be performed in
fixed point without departing from the scope of the present
invention. The blocks of particular interest with respect to
floating point include the rasterization 408; pixels 409; texturing
fog, and antialiasing 410, per-fragment operations 411; and frame
buffer and frame buffer control 412 blocks.
[0060] FIG. 5 shows a more detailed layout of a display system for
implementing the floating point present invention. In the layout,
the process flows from left to right. Graphics commands, vertex
information, and pixel data generated by previous circuits are
input to the polygon rasterization 501, line segment rasterization
502, point rasterization 503, bitmap rasterization 504, and pixel
rasterization 505. Floating point format can be applied to any
and/or all of these five rasterization functions. In particular,
the polygons are rasterized according to floating point values. The
outputs from these five blocks 501-505 are all fed into the texel
generation block 506. In addition, texture data stored in texture
memory 507 is also input to texel generation block 506. The texture
data is stored in the texture memory 507 in a floating point
format. Texel values are specified in a floating point format. The
texel data is then applied to the texture application block 508.
Thereupon, fog effects are produced by fog block 509. Fog is
achieved by fading floating point object colors to a floating point
background color. A coverage application 510 is used to provide
antialiasing. The antialiasing algorithm operates on floating point
pixels colors. Next, several tests are executed. The pixel
ownership test 511 decides whether or not a pixel's stencil, depth,
index, and color values are to be cleared. The scissor test 512
determines whether a fragment lies within a specified rectangular
portion of a window. The alpha test 513 allows a fragment to be
accepted or rejected based on its alpha value. The stencil test 514
compares a reference value with the value stored at a pixel in the
stencil buffer. Depending on the result of the test, the value in
the stencil buffer is modified. A depth buffer test 515 is used to
determine whether an incoming depth value is in front of a
pre-existing depth value. If the depth test passes, the incoming
depth value replaces the depth value already in the depth buffer.
Optionally, masking operations 519 and 520 can be applied to data
before it is written into the enabled color, depth, or stencil
buffers. A bitwise logical AND function is performed with each mask
and the corresponding data to be written.
[0061] Blending 516 is performed on floating point RGBA values.
Color resolution can be improved at the expense of spatial
resolution by dithering 517 the color in the image. The final
operation on a fragment is the logical operation 518, such as an
OR, XOR, or INVERT, which is applied to the incoming fragment
values and/or those currently in the color buffer. The resulting
floating point values are stored in the frame buffer 522 under
control of 521. Eventually, these floating point values are read
out and drawn for display on monitor 523. Again, it should be noted
that one or more of the above blocks can be implemented in a fixed
point format without departing from the scope of the present
invention. However, the blocks of particular importance for
implementation in a floating point format include the polygon
rasterization 501, texel generation 506, texture memory 507, fog
509, blending 516, and frame buffer 522.
[0062] In the currently preferred embodiment, the processor for
performing geometric calculations, the rasterization circuit, and
the frame buffer all reside on a single semiconductor chip. The
processor for performing geometric calculations, the rasterization
circuit, and the frame buffer can all have the same substrate on
that chip. Furthermore, there may be other units and/or circuits
which can be incorporated onto this single chip. For instance,
portions or the entirety of the functional blocks shown in FIGS. 4
and 5 can be fabricated onto a single semiconductor chip. This
reduces pin count, increases bandwidth, consolidates the circuit
board area, reduces power consumption, minimizes wiring
requirements, and eases timing constraints. In general, the design
goal is to combine more components onto a single chip.
[0063] The preferred embodiment of the present invention, a
floating point frame buffer, is thus described. While the present
invention has been described in particular embodiments, it should
be appreciated that the present invention should not be construed
as limited by such embodiments, but rather construed according to
the following claims.
* * * * *