Patent ID: 7034834
Filing Date: 2006-04-25
Classification: G06F,G06T

Abstract:
1. An animation rendering system, comprising: a high-level animation subsystem that handles interaction functions for the system; a low-level animation subsystem that handles display functions for the system; at least one high-level clock that is referenced by high-level animation operations; at least one low-level clock that is referenced by low-level animation operations; a communications channel for sending messages between the high-level animation subsystem and the low-level animation subsystem according to a communications protocol; wherein the communication protocol further comprises at least one message sent from the low-level animation subsystem to the high-level animation subsystem to handle synchronization between the high-level animation subsystem and the low-level animation subsystem, the one message comprising a “synchronize with media slip” message tat identifies a target clock associated with an animation and an amount that the target clock must slip to synchronize the high-level animation subsystem with the animation being run by the low-level animation subsystem; and wherein the communications protocol includes information provided to the low-level animation subsystem by the high-level animation subsystem that designates an animation and specifies how the animation is to change over a specified period of time, thereby ensuring that the low-level animation system has information to process several frames of the animation.