| Class / Patent application number | Description | Number of patent applications / Date published |
|---|
| 345587000 | MIP map | 13 |
| 20080218527 | Method and Apparatus for Improving Hit Rates of a Cache Memory for Storing Texture Data During Graphics Rendering - A method for improving hit rates of a cache memory for storing texture data during graphics rendering is disclosed. In response to a request for a mipmap block from a first mipmap to render a texture, a determination is made whether or not the mipmap block from the first mipmap is already stored in a cache memory. If the mipmap block from the first mipmap is already in the cache memory, the mipmap block from the first mipmap already in the cache memory is utilized to render the texture. Otherwise, if the mipmap block from the first mipmap is not in a cache memory, another determination is made whether or not a bias value associated with the mipmap block from the first mipmap is set. If a bias value associated with the mipmap block from the first mipmap is not set, then the mipmap block is obtained from the first mipmap to render the texture. | 09-11-2008 |
| 20080303841 | EXTRAPOLATION OF NONRESIDENT MIPMAP DATA USING RESIDENT MIPMAP DATA - A multi-threaded graphics processor is configured to use to extrapolate low resolution mipmaps stored in physical memory to produce extrapolated texture values while high resolution nonresident mipmaps are retrieved from a high latency storage resource and converted into resident mipmaps. The extrapolated texture values provide an improved image that appears sharper compared with using the low resolution mipmap level texture data in place of the temporarily unavailable high resolution mipmap level texture data. An extrapolation threshold LOD is used to determine when extrapolated magnification or minification texture filtering is used. The extrapolation threshold LOD may be used to smoothly transition from using extrapolated filtering to using interpolated filtering when a nonresident mipmap is converted to a resident mipmap. | 12-11-2008 |
| 20090167778 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR SINGLE-PASS, GRADIENT-BASED MOTION COMPENSATED IMAGE RATE CONVERSION - A mipmap generator generates pairs of mipmaps that are each of a lower resolution that its respective source image. A single-pass, gradient-based motion vector generator generates an image motion vector map having values that represent the motion trajectories for pixels in the first and second source images. An image interpolator generates an interpolated image based on the source images and the image motion vector map. A motion detector generates a motion factor map based on a pair of mipmaps from those generated by the mipmap generator that represents a detected degree of motion between the first and second source images. The blending module generates a blended, upconverted new image using the motion factor map, the interpolated image and one of the first and second motion maps. | 07-02-2009 |
| 20100091028 | Texture Level Tracking, Feedback, and Clamping System for Graphics Processors - Embodiments include a texture mapping processor incorporating a dynamic level of detail map for use in a graphics processing system. Level of detail values are defined, with 0 being the finest and corresponding to the largest mipmap level. Each bound texture in a graphics object is assigned an identifier. This identifier is used as an index into a minimum-LOD value tracking table that is updated whenever a texel is fetched. A texture processing module controls when the tracking table is initialized and read back, and which identifiers are tracked. The minimum-LOD values in the tracking table are accompanied by a coarse region access mask to associate a minimum LOD value with a specific region of the image or object. A clamping table contains LOD clamp values for each region and a region code that specifies the coarseness of the LOD associated with each region of the texture. | 04-15-2010 |
| 20100321399 | Maps from Sparse Geospatial Data Tiles - Existing map solutions using tiled maps with geographic data in vector format typically has such a volume of data that not all geographic data can be stored in memory. A primary bottleneck for map rendering speed in such solutions is the time needed to load all data necessary for replacing one rendered map with the next rendered map. Utilizing the structure and methods of the invention herein when loading geographic vector data, the average time to load all necessary geographic data needed for one rendered map to the next will be greatly reduced—the loading time reduction will be especially large when pan and zoom operations are the main transitions from one rendered map to the next. | 12-23-2010 |
| 20110001756 | System and method for filter kernel interpolation for seamless mipmap filtering - There is provided a system and method for filter kernel interpolation for seamless mipmap filtering. There is provided a method of implementing a filter kernel interpolation for seamless filtering of transitions within a plurality of mipmaps derived from a base-image texture filtered using a prefilter, the method comprising choosing a filter kernel, determining a filter width for the filter kernel, selecting a first mipmap and a second mipmap from the plurality of mipmaps, applying interpolation on the filter kernel based on the prefilter, the first mipmap, and the second mipmap to generate an interpolated filter kernel, and applying the interpolated filter kernel to the first mipmap to generate a seamless filtered texture. Two alternative methods of interpolation are introduced, including filter kernel value interpolation and filter kernel position interpolation with x-lerping. By avoiding access to the second mipmap, greater efficiency and image quality can be achieved versus conventional interpolation. | 01-06-2011 |
| 20120105465 | TECHNIQUES FOR EFFICIENT SAMPLING FOR IMAGE EFFECTS - Techniques to sample texels efficiently for an image effects are discussed. A technique may include determining a number of texels (kernel size) needed to compute a weighted average for an image effect on an image. The technique may further include selecting at least one mipmap generated by a graphics processing unit (GPU) according to a function of the determined kernel size. The function may also consider a threshold kernel size. The technique may further sampling texels, with the GPU, from the selected mipmap(s), and calculate the weighted average of the sampled texels to produce the image effect. Other embodiments are described and claimed. | 05-03-2012 |
| 20120133666 | Dynamically Configurable Bilinear Filtering System - Apparatus and methods for a bilinear filter system comprising a pre-formatter module, a bilinear module, an accumulator module, and a format module. The pre-formatter module is configured to receive texel data and convert it to a normalized fixed point format. The bilinear module is dynamically reconfigurable to perform an interpolation or an extended precision interpolation on the normalized fixed point texel data from the pre-formatter module and generate re-normalized floating point texel data. The interpolator analyzes the exponent range of fixed point texel data from the pre-formatter module to determine if an extended precision calculation is appropriate. The accumulator module is configured to accumulate floating point texel data from the bilinear module to achieve the desired level of bilinear, trilinear, and anisotropic filtering. The format module is configured to convert texel data from the accumulator module into a standard floating point representation. | 05-31-2012 |
| 20120147028 | Partially Resident Textures - A method, computer program product, and system are provided for processing a graphics operation. For instance, the method can include partitioning a texture and associated mipmaps into memory tiles, where the memory tiles are associated with a virtual memory system. The method can also include mapping a first subset of the memory tiles to respective address spaces in a physical memory system. Further, the method can include accessing the physical memory system during a rendering process of a graphics scene associated with the first subset of memory tiles. In the instance when the graphics scene requires one or more memory tiles outside of the first subset of memory tiles, the method can also include mapping a second subset of memory tiles to respective address spaces in the physical memory system. | 06-14-2012 |
| 20120281007 | Method Of And Apparatus For Encoding And Decoding Data - Each block of texture data elements is encoded as a block of texture data that includes: data indicating how to generate a set of data values to be used to generate data values for a set of the texture data elements that the block represents; data indicating a set of integer values to be used to generate the set of data values to be used to generate data values for a set of the texture data elements that the block represents; data indicating a set of index values indicating how to use the generated set of data values to generate data values for texture data elements of the set of texture data elements that the generated set of data values is to be used for; and data indicating the indexing scheme that has been used for the block. | 11-08-2012 |
| 20130321443 | METHOD, SYSTEM AND APPARATUS FOR RENDERING A MAP WITH ADAPTIVE TEXTURES FOR MAP FEATURES - Methods, systems and apparatus are described to render a map with adaptive textures for map features. Embodiments may for a portion of map data, such as a map tile, including a feature of a given feature type specify a level-of-detail texture. A level-of-detail texture may be one of a plurality of level-of-detail textures for a given feature type ordered according to level-of-detail. Embodiments may then provide the specified level-of-detail texture with a mipmap chain to a rendering unit to render the map data. At the lowest level of the mipmap chain may be the specified level-of-detail texture. At the next lowest level of the mipmap chain may be a portion of the level-of-detail texture adjacent to the specified level-of-detail texture in the ordered plurality of level-of-detail textures for the feature type. | 12-05-2013 |
| 20140210840 | METHODS OF AND APPARATUS FOR ENCODING AND DECODING DATA - When encoding an array of texture data elements to be used in a graphics processing system, the array of texture data elements is divided into a plurality of non-rectangular sub-sets of texture data elements, and each non-rectangular sub-set of texture data elements that the texture has been divided into is then encoded to generate an encoded texture data block representing that non-rectangular sub-set of the texture data elements, to thereby provide a set of encoded texture data blocks representing the texture. | 07-31-2014 |
| 20160078637 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR RENDERING - A rendering method includes generating mipmap images of some levels with respect to texture and storing the generated mipmap images in a storage, receiving a request for the texture, calculating a level of a mipmap requested for the texture, determining whether the stored mipmap images include the mipmap image of the calculated level, and performing rendering by using at least one of the stored mipmap images, based on a result of the determining. | 03-17-2016 |
