Another patent post..

[nAo]

Finally a patent filed Ned Greene@Nvidia on a culling subsystem.
(I know Mfa is already yawning in this very moment.. )
Abstract:

Z-buffer rendering of three-dimensional scenes is made more efficient through a method for occlusion culling by which occluded geometry is removed prior to rasterization. The method uses hierarchical z-buffering to reduce the quantity of image and depth information that needs to be accessed. A separate culling stage in the graphics pipeline culls occluded geometry and passes visible geometry on to a rendering stage. The culling stage maintains its own z-pyramid in which z-values are stored at low precision (e.g., in 8 bits). The efficiency of hierarchical z-buffering is obtained through hierarchical evaluation of line and plane equations.

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-...t00&s1=nvidia&OS=nvidia&RS=nvidia

 

[T2k]

ANd? What's the point? It's filed on July 22, 1998.

 

[nAo]

ANd? What's the point? It's filed on July 22, 1998.

The point is that this a forum dedicated to 3D hw and maybe someone may find it interesting.
Moreover I don't understand your point on this patent filing date.
I would prefer some post on the patent subject...

ciao,
Marco

 

[T2k]

ANd? What's the point? It's filed on July 22, 1998.

The point is that this a forum dedicated to 3D hw and maybe someone may find it interesting.
Moreover I don't understand your point on this patent filing date.
I would prefer some post on the patent subject...

ciao,
Marco

Cool. If you need, I can link all the few hundred or thousand patent filing from NV and ATI waiting for final decision...

PS: I'm just joking...

 

[Dave Baumann]

Newly granted patents are regularily discussed here.

Filing dates on patents are always well before they are granted, but once they are actually granted is the first time we are seeing them. Despite that, there's a good chance that given the time between filing and granting it often close to the time it takes to develop new architectures newly granted patents can play a part in recently released/soon to be released hardware (but not always).

 

[nAo]

Cool. If you need, I can link all the few hundred or thousand patent filing from NV and ATI waiting for final decision...
PS: I'm just joking...

I doubt you can link thousand patents from nVidia or ATI granted today
ciao,
Marco

 

[T2k]

OFF If so, hence the expression... as tricky as me...

ON

Yes, I know the patent administration but I don';t understand something: if a patent is pending, the filing company will not use this while it's not granted? Or they'll project the final day?

I thought they start use well before its granted...

 

[MfA]

They can describe and will usually use technology while their patents are pending. They cannot be sure if their patents will be the first to be granted on the technology however (since along with yours other simular patents might be pending, which you cannot know of due to them being confidential) so it would be safer to wait, but its not really an option usually.

 

[T2k]

Yes, this is what I expect... anyway, thanks for hte confirmation.