Christopher B Tanner

US Patent:

6417860, Jul 9, 2002

Filed:

May 5, 1998

Appl. No.:

09/072050

Inventors:

Christopher Joseph Migdal - Mt. View CA
James L. Foran - Milpitas CA
Michael Timothy Jones - Los Altos CA
Christopher Clark Tanner - San Jose CA

Assignee:

Microsoft Corporation - Redmond WA

International Classification:

G06T 1140

US Classification:

345582, 345428, 345426, 345427, 345587, 345620

Abstract:

An apparatus and method for quickly and efficiently providing texel data relevant for displaying a textured-image. A large amount of texture source data, such as photographic terrain texture, is stored as a two-dimensional or three-dimensional texture MIP-map on one or more mass storage devices. Only a relatively small clip-map representing selected portions of the complete texture MIP-map is loaded into faster, more expensive memory. These selected texture MIP-map portions forming the clip-map consist of tiles which contain those texel values at each respective level of detail that are most likely to be mapped to pixels being rendered for display based upon the viewers eyepoint and field of view. To efficiently update the clip-map in real-time, texel data is loaded and discarded from the edges of tiles. Attempts to access a texel lying outside of a particular clip-map tile are accommodated by utilizing a substitute texel value obtained from the next coarser resolution clip-map tile which encompasses the sought texel.

US Patent:

6618053, Sep 9, 2003

Filed:

Oct 6, 2000

Appl. No.:

09/684315

Inventors:

Christopher C. Tanner - Cupertino CA

Assignee:

Vicarious Visions, Inc. - Troy NY

International Classification:

G06T 1140

US Classification:

345552, 345557, 345582

Abstract:

A texture loading pipeline loads textures for use in rendering an object. A source texture has one or more levels of detail. Each level of detail (LOD) contains texture tiles for a particular area of a global coordinate space at a particular resolution. There are no mandatory relationships between the areas represented by, or the resolutions of, different levels of detail. An instance of the texture loading pipeline exists for each LOD in the source texture. The texture tiles of a LOD are stored in a texture storage, which can be local or remote from the texture loading pipeline. An asynchronous request queue (ARQ) retrieves texture tiles in a region of interest from the texture storage and stores the tiles in a tile cache. Toroidal roaming is used to page textures in the region of interest from the tile cache to a texture cache. The toroidal roaming performs the best possible update of the texture cache given a limited update time.

US Patent:

7103873, Sep 5, 2006

Filed:

Feb 9, 2001

Appl. No.:

09/779453

Inventors:

Christopher C. Tanner - Cupertino CA, US
Remi Simon Vincent Amaud - San Jose CA, US
Michael T. Jones - San Jose CA, US
Richard D. Webb - Redwood City CA, US
Brian McClendon - Portola Valley CA, US

Assignee:

Activision Publishing, Inc. - Santa Monica CA

International Classification:

G06F 9/44
G06F 9/46

US Classification:

717109, 717116, 718102

Abstract:

A method for supporting development of content independent of a run time platform is provided. A method includes storing processing blocks and storing an application graph that expresses the identity of the stored processing blocks and data connectivity therebetween. The application graph can be traversed by a graphical application platform at run time to execute appropriate blocks. A game development and run time system includes a graphical application platform that enables a game application to run on any of multiple hardware platforms. The graphical application platform has an application real time kernel, a plurality of standard features implemented as executable blocks of logic, and connections between blocks that implement data flow between the blocks. Capabilities of the game application and any of the hardware platforms can be implemented modularly by adding additional corresponding blocks and connections.

US Patent:

20070234284, Oct 4, 2007

Filed:

Sep 5, 2006

Appl. No.:

11/516176

Inventors:

Christopher Tanner - Cupertino CA, US
Remi Vincent Arnaud - San Jose CA, US
Michael Jones - San Jose CA, US
Richard Webb - Redwood City CA, US
Brian McClendon - Portola Valley CA, US

International Classification:

G06F 9/44
G06F 9/45

US Classification:

717109000

Abstract:

A system and method is presented that leverages independent innovation in entertainment content and graphics hardware. In this system and method, the current image generation run-time application is replaced with a new framework defining the connectivity, features, and behavior necessary to implement a graphics system. All this takes place in the context of a software platform utilizing a late-integration mechanism that dynamically integrates the various real-time components in a run-time application. Ultimately displacing hardware as the central focus of development efforts, this software platform functionally is the graphics application, at least as viewed by the simulation host computer, database developers, and those responsible for visual system procurement and maintenance. An innovative software architecture, the Graphical Application Platform (GAP) is presented. The GAP builds on image generator, workstation, and scene graph success by extending the concepts of platform and framework into the real-time graphics domain—bridging the gap between image generation concerns and contemporary hardware and software realities by decoupling content, hardware and applications. This new approach also provides technology to address emerging concerns related to the selection and acquisition processes in the context of new low-cost, high-performance graphics hardware.

US Patent:

20110185354, Jul 28, 2011

Filed:

Jan 26, 2011

Appl. No.:

13/014161

Inventors:

Christopher Clark Tanner - San Jose CA, US
Rory W. Mather - St. Helena CA, US

International Classification:

G06F 9/445

US Classification:

717178

Abstract:

A computer implemented method and system is provided for managing delivery of mobile applications to a user's mobile device. A distribution server in communication with a transaction management server via a network is provided. The distribution server acquires identification information of the user's mobile device and one or more mobile applications. The distribution server determines the mobile device's network service information and characteristic information based on the identification information. The transaction management server initiates a mobile application delivery transaction based on the network service information and the characteristic information for generating a reference pointer for each of the mobile applications. The distribution server delivers the reference pointer to the mobile device based on the network service information and/or characteristic information. The reference pointer enables the user to perform actions associated with the mobile applications, which are tracked and analyzed for initiating marketing by a partner server via a marketing server.

US Patent:

20110231819, Sep 22, 2011

Filed:

Mar 19, 2011

Appl. No.:

13/052057

Inventors:

Christopher Clark Tanner - San Jose CA, US
Rory W. Mather - St Helena CA, US

International Classification:

G06F 9/44

US Classification:

717123

Abstract:

A computer implemented method and system is provided for determining availability of one or more content objects and acquiring them for a user. A content management server is provided in communication with a transaction management server via a network. A software component in communication with the content management server is provided on the user's computing device. The software component monitors characteristic information of the user. The software component and/or the content management server determine availability of the content objects for the user based on the characteristic information and context of the software component. The content management server generates a visual representation of the content objects for user access. The transaction management server initiates a delivery transaction that generates a reference pointer to each of the content objects based on the user's inputs. The user initiates actions associated with the content objects using the reference pointer for acquiring the content objects.

US Patent:

57607834, Jun 2, 1998

Filed:

Nov 6, 1995

Appl. No.:

8/554047

Inventors:

Christopher Joseph Migdal - Mt. View CA
James L. Foran - Milpitas CA
Michael Timothy Jones - Los Altos CA
Christopher Clark Tanner - San Jose CA

Assignee:

Silicon Graphics, Inc. - Mountain View CA

International Classification:

G06T 1100

US Classification:

345430

Abstract:

An apparatus and method for quickly and efficiently providing texel data relevant for displaying a textured image. A large amount of texture source data, such as photographic terrain texture, is stored as a two-dimensional or three-dimensional texture MIP-map on one or more mass storage devices. Only a relatively small clip-map representing selected portions of the complete texture MIP-map is loaded into faster, more expensive memory. These selected texture MIP-map portions forming the clip-map consist of tiles which contain those texel values at each respective level of detail that are most likely to be mapped to pixels being rendered for display based upon the viewer's eyepoint and field of view. To efficiently update the clip-map in real-time, texel data is loaded and discarded from the edges of tiles. Attempts to access a texel lying outside of a particular clip-map tile are accommodated by utilizing a substitute texel value obtained from the next coarser resolution clip-map tile which encompasses the sought texel.