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Title: US7400328: Complex-shaped video overlay using multi-bit row and column index registers
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Country: US United States of America

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15 pages

 
Inventor: Ye, Bo; Cupertino, CA, United States of America
Yang, Jimmy; Saratoga, CA, United States of America
Cheung, Edmund; Palo Alto, CA, United States of America

Assignee: NeoMagic Corp., Santa Clara, CA, United States of America
other patents from NEOMAGIC CORP. (719584) (approx. 58)
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Published / Filed: 2008-07-15 / 2005-02-18

Application Number: US2005000906409

IPC Code: Advanced: G06F 13/00; G09G 5/00;
Core: more...

ECLA Code: G09G5/14; G09G5/397; S09G212/02;

U.S. Class: 345/537; 345/558; 345/559; 345/531; 345/589; 345/629;

Field of Search: 345/537,545,558,559,531,589,629

Priority Number:
2005-02-18  US2005000906409

Abstract:     A graphics system reduces fetching from memory of color-key pixels when video pixels from a video-overlay window are displayed. A frame buffer is divided into multi-line, multi-pixel blocks that are arranged in block-rows and block-columns. Each block-row has primary and secondary row indicator bits and each block-column has two column indicator bits. When the primary row indicator bit is cleared, all pixels in the block-row are fetched from a frame-buffer memory. When the primary row indicator is set, a secondary row indicator bit selects either first or second column indicator bits for reading. When the selected column indicator bit for a block-column is set, fetching of pixels from the frame buffer memory is skipped. Instead, dummy color-key pixels are generated and inserted into the pixel stream. These dummy pixels match the color key and cause video pixels to be sent to the display. Memory fetching is reduced.

Attorney, Agent or Firm: gPatent LLC ; Auvinen, Stuart T. ;

Primary / Asst. Examiners: Tung, Kee M.; Lin, David

INPADOC Legal Status: Show legal status actions

Family: None

First Claim:
Show all 20 claims
    1. A graphics system comprising:

a graphics first-in-first-out (FIFO) for storing graphics pixels that are computer-generated;

a memory fetch controller that reads graphics pixels from a frame-buffer memory and writes the graphics pixels to the graphics FIFO;

a video FIFO that buffers video pixels for display in a video-overlay window;

a multiplexer that sends graphics pixels from the graphics FIFO to a display in response to a mux signal in a first state and sends video pixels from the video FIFO to the display in response to the mux signal in a second state;

a comparator, receiving graphics pixels from the graphics FIFO, for activating the mux signal in the second state when a graphics pixel matches a predetermined color key;

a row index register having a plurality of row indicator bits, each row indicator bit for a group of M display lines of pixels;

a column index register having a plurality of column indicator bits, each column indicator bit for a group of N display columns of pixels; and

a fetch inhibitor that disables the memory fetch controller from reading graphics pixels from the frame-buffer memory for a block of N×M graphics pixels when a row indicator bit and a column indicator bit for the block both indicate that the block contains only graphics pixels that match the pre-determined color-key;

wherein M and N are whole numbers of at least 2,

whereby fetching of the frame-buffer memory is disabled in response to row and column indicator bits.



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U.S. References: Go to Result Set: All U.S. references   |  No patents reference this one   |   Backward references (15)   |   Citation Link

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Patent  Pub.Date  Inventor Assignee   Title
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Buy PDF- 12pp US6377282  2002-04 Champion  Sony Corporation Combining images and controlling a cursor when images are combined
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Buy PDF- 8pp US6784893  2004-08 Marino  International Business Machines Corporation Raster operation unit
       
Foreign References: None

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