Robert A Drebin

US Patent:

6639595, Oct 28, 2003

Filed:

Nov 28, 2000

Appl. No.:

09/726216

Inventors:

Robert A. Drebin - Palo Alto CA
Yoshitaka Yasumoto - Osaka, JP
Martin Hollis - Cambridge, GB
Eric Demers - Redwood City CA

Assignee:

Nintendo Co., Ltd. - Kyoto

International Classification:

G06T 1560

US Classification:

345426, 345582, 345589, 345520, 345420

Abstract:

A graphics system including a custom graphics and audio processor produces exciting 2D and 3D graphics and surround sound. The system includes a graphics and audio processor including a 3D graphics pipeline and an audio digital signal processor. Cartoon lighting and other non-photorealistic effects can be produced by using a lighting calculation to produce a parameter other than color or opacity for use in a later modification of a color or opacity value. In more detail, the example embodiment uses the lighting calculation to generate texture coordinates used in a texture mapping operation. The texture mapping operation allows lighting computation results to select between brush strokes for cartoon lighting and other effects. The resulting dynamic cartoon lighting animation can be performed on a low cost platform such as a home video game system or personal computer.

US Patent:

6650327, Nov 18, 2003

Filed:

Jun 16, 1998

Appl. No.:

09/098041

Inventors:

John M. Airey - Moutain View CA
Mark S. Peercy - Sunnyvale CA
Robert A. Drebin - Palo Alto CA
John Montrym - Los Altos CA
David L. Dignam - Belmont CA
Christopher J. Migdal - Mountain View CA
Danny D. Loh - Fremont CA

Assignee:

Silicon Graphics, Inc. - Mountain View CA

International Classification:

G06T 5391

US Classification:

345431, 345422, 36518905

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.

US Patent:

6664958, Dec 16, 2003

Filed:

Nov 28, 2000

Appl. No.:

09/722378

Inventors:

Mark M. Leather - Saratoga CA
Anthony P. DeLaurier - Sunnyvale CA
Patrick Y. Law - Milpitas CA
Robert A. Drebin - Palo Alto CA
Howard Cheng - Sammamish WA
Robert Moore - Heathrow FL

Assignee:

Nintendo Co., Ltd. - Kyoto

International Classification:

G06T 1540

US Classification:

345422, 345421, 345428, 345581, 345582, 345587

Abstract:

A graphics system including a custom graphics and audio processor produces exciting 2D and 3D graphics and surround sound. The system includes a graphics and audio processor including a 3D graphics pipeline and an audio digital signal processor. The same texture mapping hardware used for color texturing provides resampled z texturing for sprites with depth or other applications. A z blender performs a z blending operation in screen space to blend surface z values with z texel values to provide per-pixel mapping of resampled z textures onto sampled 3D surface locations. Z texels can represent absolute depths or depth displacements relative to primitive surface depth. The z texel values may add to or replace primitive surface z values, and a constant bias may be added if desired. The resulting depth values are used for occlusion testing. Z textures can be generated by copying out portions of an embedded z buffer and providing the copied depth values to the texture mapping hardware.

US Patent:

7002591, Feb 21, 2006

Filed:

Nov 28, 2000

Appl. No.:

09/722382

Inventors:

Mark M. Leather - Saratoga CA, US
Robert A. Drebin - Palo Alto CA, US
Timothy J. Van Hook - Atherton CA, US

Assignee:

Nintendo Co., Ltd. - Kyoto

International Classification:

G09G 5/00
G06T 17/00

US Classification:

345582, 345428, 345619

Abstract:

A graphics system including a custom graphics and audio processor produces exciting 2D and 3D graphics and surround sound. The system includes a graphics and audio processor including a 3D graphics pipeline and an audio digital signal processor. The graphics pipeline renders and prepares images for display at least in part in response to polygon vertex attribute data and texel color data stored as a texture images in an associated memory. An efficient texturing pipeline arrangement achieves a relatively low chip-footprint by utilizing a single texture coordinate/data processing unit that interleaves the processing of logical direct and indirect texture coordinate data and a texture lookup data feedback path for “recirculating” indirect texture lookup data retrieved from a single texture retrieval unit back to the texture coordinate/data processing unit. Versatile indirect texture referencing is achieved by using the same texture coordinate/data processing unit to transform the recirculated texture lookup data into offsets that may be added to the texture coordinates of a direct texture lookup. A generalized indirect texture API function is provided that supports defining at least four indirect texture referencing operations and allows for selectively associating one of at least eight different texture images with each indirect texture defined.

US Patent:

7034828, Apr 25, 2006

Filed:

Nov 28, 2000

Appl. No.:

09/722367

Inventors:

Robert A. Drebin - Palo Alto CA, US
Timothy J. Van Hook - Atherton CA, US
Patrick Y. Law - Milpitas CA, US
Mark M. Leather - Saratoga CA, US
Matthew Komsthoeft - Santa Clara CA, US

Assignee:

Nintendo Co., Ltd. - Kyoto

International Classification:

G06T 15/60

US Classification:

345426, 345506, 345582, 345589, 345519, 345552

Abstract:

A hardware-accelerated recirculating programmable texture blender/shader arrangement circulates computed color and alpha data over multiple texture blending/shading cycles (stages) to provide multi-texturing and other effects. Up to sixteen independently programmable consecutive stages, forming a chain of blending operations, are supported for applying multiple textures to a single object in a single rendering pass.

US Patent:

7058218, Jun 6, 2006

Filed:

Sep 28, 1998

Appl. No.:

09/162244

Inventors:

Robert A. Drebin - Palo Alto CA, US
David Wang - Fremont CA, US
Christopher J. Migdal - Mountain View CA, US

Assignee:

Silicon Graphics, Inc. - Mountain View CA

International Classification:

G06K 9/00

US Classification:

382167, 382166, 358539

Abstract:

The present invention provides for a method of and apparatus for compressing and uncompressing image data. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the method of compressing a color cell comprises the steps of: defining at least four luminance levels of the color cell; generating a bitmask for the color cell, the bitmask having a plurality of entries each corresponding to a respective one of the pixels, each of the entries for storing data identifying one of the luminance levels associated with a corresponding one of the pixels; calculating a first average color of pixels associated with a first one of the luminance levels; calculating a second average color of pixels associated with a second one of the luminance levels; and storing the bitmask in association with the first average color and the second average color. In one embodiment, the color cell includes a matrix of 4x4 pixels, the bitmask includes 32-bits and each of the color values includes 16-bits such that a compression rate of 4-bits per pixel is achieved. The present invention is particularly applicable to compress texture data such that the texture data can be more efficiently cached and moved during texture mapping.

US Patent:

7176919, Feb 13, 2007

Filed:

Oct 4, 2005

Appl. No.:

11/242138

Inventors:

Robert A. Drebin - Palo Alto CA, US
Timothy J. Van Hook - Atherton CA, US
Patrick Y. Law - Milpitas CA, US
Mark M. Leather - Saratoga CA, US
Matthew Komsthoeft - Santa Clara CA, US

Assignee:

Nintendo Co., Ltd. - Kyoto

International Classification:

G06T 15/50

US Classification:

345426, 345419, 345423, 345422, 345506, 345519, 345522, 345552, 345582, 345584, 345589

Abstract:

A graphics system including a custom graphics and audio processor produces exciting 2D and 3D graphics and surround sound. A relatively low chip-footprint, versatile texture environment (TEV) processing subsystem is implemented in a pipelined graphics system circulates computed color and alpha data over multiple texture blending/shading cycles (stages). The texture-environment subsystem combines per-vertex lighting, textures and constant (rasterized) colors to form computed pixel color prior to fogging and final pixel blending. Blending operations for color (RGB) and alpha components are independently processed by a single sub-blend unit that is reused over multiple processing stages to combine multiple textures.

US Patent:

7307638, Dec 11, 2007

Filed:

Jun 15, 2005

Appl. No.:

11/152283

Inventors:

Mark M. Leather - Saratoga CA, US
Robert A. Drebin - Palo Alto CA, US
Timothy J. Van Hook - Atherton CA, US

Assignee:

Nintendo Co., Ltd. - Kyoto

International Classification:

G09G 5/00
G06T 11/40
G06T 17/00
A63F 9/24
G06K 9/56
G06T 15/20
G06K 9/36

US Classification:

345582, 345586, 345587, 345619, 345552, 463 31, 382305

Abstract:

A graphics system including a custom graphics and audio processor produces exciting 2D and 3D graphics and surround sound. The system includes a graphics and audio processor including a 3D graphics pipeline and an audio digital signal processor. The graphics pipeline renders and prepares images for display at least in part in response to polygon vertex attribute data and texel color data stored as a texture images in an associated memory. An efficient texturing pipeline arrangement achieves a relatively low chip-footprint by utilizing a single texture coordinate/data processing unit that interleaves the processing of logical direct and indirect texture coordinate data and a texture lookup data feedback path for “recirculating” indirect texture lookup data retrieved from a single texture retrieval unit back to the texture coordinate/data processing unit. Versatile indirect texture referencing is achieved by using the same texture coordinate/data processing unit to transform the recirculated texture lookup data into offsets that may be added to the texture coordinates of a direct texture lookup. A generalized indirect texture API function is provided that supports defining at least four indirect texture referencing operations and allows for selectively associating one of at least eight different texture images with each indirect texture defined.