(19)
(11) EP 0 617 400 A3

(12) EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION

(88) Date of publication A3:
26.04.1995 Bulletin 1995/17

(43) Date of publication A2:
28.09.1994 Bulletin 1994/39

(21) Application number: 94201808.6

(22) Date of filing: 27.07.1990
(51) International Patent Classification (IPC)5G09G 5/14
(84) Designated Contracting States:
DE FR GB

(30) Priority: 28.07.1989 US 387510

(62) Application number of the earlier application in accordance with Art. 76 EPC:
90308257.6 / 0410783

(71) Applicant: Hewlett-Packard Company
Palo Alto, California 94304 (US)

(72) Inventors:
  • Pinedo, David
    Fort Collins, CO 80525 (US)
  • Larson, Ronald D.
    Fort Collins, CO 80525 (US)
  • Emmot, Darel N.
    Fort Collins, CO 80526 (US)
  • Alcorn, Byron A.
    Fort Collins (US)
  • Rhoden, Desi
    Boulder, CO 80301 (US)

(74) Representative: Colgan, Stephen James et al
CARPMAELS & RANSFORD 43 Bloomsbury Square
London WC1A 2RA
London WC1A 2RA (GB)


(56) References cited: : 
   
     
    Remarks:
    This application was filed on 23 - 06 - 1994 as a divisional application to the application mentioned under INID code 60.
     


    (54) Methods and apparatus for accelerating windows in graphics systems


    (57) Graphics window systems which utilize graphics pipelines and graphics pipeline bypass buses. Hardware solutions for window relative rendering of graphics primitives, block moving of graphics primitives, transfer of large data blocks, and elimination of pipeline flushing are disclosed. The hardware implementations provided in accordance with the invention are interfaced along the pipeline bypass bus, thereby eliminating gross overhead processor time for the graphics pipeline and reducing pipeline latency. Methods and apparatus provided in accordance with the invention exhibit significant pipeline efficiency and reductions in time to render graphics primitives to the screen system.







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