US 6,389,504 B1Granted

Updating texture mapping hardware local memory based on pixel information provided by a host computer

AssigneeHewlett-Packard Company

InventorsSteven P. Tucker, Byron A. Alcorn, Darel N. Emmot

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Abstract

A method and apparatus for managing blocks of data in a data processing system, the data processing system including a host computer and data processing hardware, the host computer having a main memory that stores blocks of data to be processed by the data processing hardware, the data processing hardware including a local memory that locally stores a subset of the blocks of data to be processed by the data processing hardware. When a portion of one of the blocks of data is to be processed by the data processing hardware, a determination is made as to whether the block of data is in the local memory. When the block of data is in the local memory, the portion of the block of data to be processed is read from the local memory. When the block of data is not in the local memory, it is downloaded from the host computer main memory to the data processing hardware. The data processing hardware may generate an interrupt to the host computer with a request to download data.

Claims18

Dependent claims

In a graphics system including a host computer and texture mapping hardware, the host computer having a processor and a memory that stores the blocks of texture data to be processed by the texture mapping hardware, the texture mapping hardware including a local memory that locally stores a subset of the blocks of texture data to be processed by the texture mapping hardware, a program storage device readable by the texture mapping hardware, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the texture mapping hardware to perform method steps for causing a transfer of a subset of the blocks of texture data from the host computer to the texture mapping hardware, the method steps comprising:

(a) receiving pixel information transferred from said host computer to said texture mapping hardware;
(b) determining which portion of which block of texture data is to be processed;
(c) when a portion of a first block of data is to be processed by said texture mapping hardware, determining whether said first block of texture data is in said local memory;
(d) when said first block of texture data is in the local memory, reading the portion of the first block of texture data to be processed from said local memory;
and
(e) when said first block of texture data is not in said local memory, requesting said processor to download said first block of texture data from said host computer memory to said texture mapping hardware.

3 more elements

In a graphics system including a host computer and texture mapping hardware, the host computer having a processor and a memory that stores blocks of texture data to be processed by the texture mapping hardware, the texture mapping hardware including a local memory that locally stores a subset of the blocks of texture data to be processed by the texture mapping hardware, a program storage device readable by the host processor, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the host processor to perform method steps for causing a transfer of a subset of the texture data blocks from the host computer to the texture mapping hardware, the method steps comprising:

(a) transferring pixel information from said host computer to said texture mapping hardware;
(b) receiving a request from the texture mapping hardware to download a first block of texture data including texture data associated with said pixel information from said host computer memory to said texture mapping hardware;
(c) identifying the least recently used block of texture data stored in the local memory;
and
(d) writing said first block of texture data into said local memory to replace said least recently used block of texture data stored in said local memory.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 09/661,094Filed 13 Sep 2000 · continuation
Priority: 6 Jun 1995
Granted: 14 May 2002
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification9 codes

G06T 1/60
General purpose image data processing: memory management
G06F 12/0875
Addressing of a memory level in which the access to the desired data or data block requires associative addressing means, e.g. caches: with…
G09G 5/363
Characterised by the display of a graphic pattern, e.g. using an all-points-addressable [APA] memory: graphics controllers
G09G 5/39
Characterised by the display of a graphic pattern, e.g. using an all-points-addressable [APA] memory: control of the bit-mapped memory