Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US6201542?dq=5,884,272
Timestamp: 2016-10-27 22:42:12
Document Index: 51801558

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 20', 'art 35', 'art 32', 'art 30', 'art 20', 'art 36', 'art 32', 'art 34', 'art 36', 'art 20', 'art 32', 'art 34']

Patent US6201542 - Three-dimensional polygon display apparatus using progressive polygon data - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inPatentsBased on the importance of object portions, a three-dimensional polygon display apparatus adjusts the extent to which the amount of polygon data is reduced by progressive polygon data reduction. An object is divided into object portions, which are magnified and adjusted depending on their importance...http://www.google.com/patents/US6201542?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US6201542 - Three-dimensional polygon display apparatus using progressive polygon dataAdvanced Patent SearchTry the new Google Patents, with machine-classified Google Scholar results, and Japanese and South Korean patents.Publication numberUS6201542 B1Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 09/213,258Publication dateMar 13, 2001Filing dateDec 17, 1998Priority dateMay 22, 1998Fee statusLapsedPublication number09213258, 213258, US 6201542 B1, US 6201542B1, US-B1-6201542, US6201542 B1, US6201542B1InventorsMasatoshi Arai, Ryosuke Miyata, Koichi MurakamiOriginal AssigneeFujitsu LimitedExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (3), Referenced by (9), Classifications (7), Legal Events (6) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetThree-dimensional polygon display apparatus using progressive polygon data
US 6201542 B1Abstract
In recent years, the ever higher performance of computer systems and the constant development of multimedia processing techniques have led to environments that can process high-level three-dimensional (abbreviated “3D” in the following) computer graphics (abbreviated “CG” in the following) even on personal computers. Dedicated accelerator boards for processing of three-dimensional CG are under constant development.
The progressive polygon mesh 201 has eight polygon vertices V0-V7. A portion of the polygon vertices is eliminated to reduce the data amount (referred to as “reduction” in the following). For example, a possible rule for the reduction is to reduce one of two adjacent polygon vertices when the distance between the two points is within a certain reference distance L. Then, the reference distance of a certain level is L1 and the reference distance of the next, more detailed level is L2. As is shown in FIG. 20, the distance LV0V1 between the vertices V0 and V1 in the progressive polygon mesh 201 is LV0V1<L1<L2, and the distance LV2V5 between the vertices V2 and V5 is L1<LV2V5<L2.
The progressive-polygon-data storage 60 stores the progressive polygon data for all objects. Here, “progressive polygon data” means, as described for the prior art, polygon data that has progression levels in accordance with the level of resolution and detail of the object display. The progressive polygon data comprises basic polygon data consisting of the coarsest level serving as a base, and detailed polygon data that is described in relation to the basic polygon data.
The present invention solves this problem with the following procedure. First of all, the object portion specifying part 20 divides the object into object portions (step S205). The divided object portions are treated as skeleton data. Here, “skeleton” is a concept for expressing the movement of an object connected by joints in a regular three-dimensional CG process.
A first method to set the magnification ratio is to specify object portions of the object as reference portions (for example the eyes), and to adjust the magnification ratio in a manner that the polygons of detailed object portions (for example the teeth) are of the same size as the polygons of the reference portion. The object portion including the eyes, which serves as the reference portion, for example, consists of a plurality of polygon groups. These polygons are sorted by their surface area, and the surface area (Se) of the polygon in the middle of the sorted array (referred to as the “median polygon” below) is determined. In other words, the surface area Se corresponds more or less to the average surface area of the polygons forming the eyes. Then, the polygon groups forming a detailed object portion, such as the teeth, are sorted and the surface area (Sd) of their median polygon is determined. The shape of the teeth is finer than the shape of the eyes, so that the surface area Sd of their median polygon is smaller than the surface area Se of the median polygon of the eyes. The size of the polygons for the teeth is then expanded to the size of the polygons for the eyes. In other words, the magnification ratio A is set to A=Se/Sd.
Then, the polygon reduction ratio specifying part 35 specifies a polygon reduction ratio to each object portion in accordance with its conspicuity and importance (step S502). In this example, a polygon reduction ratio of “0” is assigned to the dinosaur's teeth, which means that no polygon reduction is performed on them. A polygon reduction ratio of “1” is assigned to the dinosaur's body, which means that a regular polygon reduction is performed. The specified polygon reduction ratios are passed on to the polygon reduction execution part 32.
Next, in accordance with the selected polygon reduction ratio, a number of polygons is thinned out from the extracted detailed polygon data (step S504). This thinning out is performed with priority for polygon data of a high (detailed) progression level. Because the polygon reduction ratio for the teeth is “0”, no thinning out of the corresponding progressive polygon data is performed, and because the polygon reduction ratio for the body is “1”, the extracted detailed polygon data is completely thinned out.
The three-dimensional polygon display apparatus according to the third embodiment can not only perform polygon reduction processing for portions on the outer surface of the object, but also for object portions hidden inside the object (referred to as “internal object portions” below). This solves the problem that polygon reduction processing could only be performed for the outer surface of the object, and not for internal object portions. The processing method of the third embodiment is to divide the object into object portions, and perform polygon reduction processing after the internal object portions have been brought to the surface. In the following example, a dinosaur is the displayed object, and the dinosaur's teeth are the internal object portions.
The polygon reduction adjusting/processing part 30 b comprises an object portion specifying part 20, an object portion shifting/adjusting part 36, a polygon reduction execution part 32, and an object composition part 34. The object portion shifting/adjusting part 36 adjusts and rearranges the relative positions of the object portions specified by the object portion specifying part 20 in a manner that they do not overlap, and brings objects that are enclosed inside the object (referred to as “enclosed objects” below) to the outside. In other words, it brings out the teeth through the body, as shown in FIG. 9b. The polygon reduction execution part 32 performs polygon reduction processing for each object portion. The object composition part 34 stores the divided object portions after the polygon reduction processing in their original locations of the object before the division, and thus recomposes the object.
P 1={right arrow over (V 0 V 1+L )}�{right arrow over (V0 V 2+L )}
P 1′={right arrow over (V 0 ′V 1+L )}�{right arrow over (V0 ′V 2+L )} (Eq. 4) Because P1>0 and P1′<0, the polygon surface M1 is determined to be a front face, and M1 is subjected to texture mapping, while M1′ is discarded.
Patent CitationsCited PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS5598516 *Jun 21, 1994Jan 28, 1997Namco Ltd.Image synthesizing system and video game apparatus using the sameUS6014472 *Nov 14, 1996Jan 11, 2000Sony CorporationSpecial effect device, image processing method, and shadow generating methodJPH07160898A Title not available* Cited by examinerReferenced byCiting PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS6456286 *Nov 19, 1999Sep 24, 2002Fujitsu LimitedApparatus and method for displaying three-dimensional polygonsUS6573895 *Apr 17, 2000Jun 3, 2003Unigraphics Solutions Inc.Clustered backface cullingUS7603631Oct 13, 2009University Of Utah Research FoundationMethod and apparatus for monitoring dynamic systems using n-dimensional representations of critical functionsUS7654966Oct 11, 2002Feb 2, 2010University Of Utah Research FoundationMethod and apparatus for monitoring dynamic cardiovascular function using n-dimensional representatives of critical functionsUS9001123 *Nov 6, 2012Apr 7, 2015Lockheed Martin CorporationForming a polygon mesh without shifting vertex positionsUS20020032744 *Jun 6, 2001Mar 14, 2002Hidetaka MagoshiEntertainment apparatus having image and sound controlling systemUS20030227472 *Oct 11, 2002Dec 11, 2003University Of UtahMethod and apparatus for monitoring dynamic cardiovascular function using n-dimensional representations of critical functionsUS20040210850 *May 7, 2004Oct 21, 2004University Of UtahMethod and apparatus for monitoring dynamic systems using n-dimensional representations of critical functionsUS20080303817 *Jun 10, 2008Dec 11, 2008Hitachi LtdAnalyzing mesh generating apparatus* Cited by examinerClassifications U.S. Classification345/419International ClassificationG06T15/00, G06T19/00, A63F13/00, G06T17/20Cooperative ClassificationG06T17/20European ClassificationG06T17/20Legal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionDec 17, 1998ASAssignmentOwner name: FUJITSU LIMITED, JAPANFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:ARAI, MASATOSHI;MIYATA, RYOSUKE;MURAKAMI KOICHI;REEL/FRAME:009683/0711Effective date: 19981214Aug 11, 2004FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 4Sep 3, 2008FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 8Oct 22, 2012REMIMaintenance fee reminder mailedMar 13, 2013LAPSLapse for failure to pay maintenance feesApr 30, 2013FPExpired due to failure to pay maintenance feeEffective date: 20130313RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services