Patent ID: 7518607

Claim:
A hidden-line removal method executed in an image processing apparatus, in which projection of lines obscured by polygons included in a three-dimensional model is avoided when projecting the three-dimensional model onto a two-dimensional plane, the image processing apparatus having a memory for storing data relating to the hidden-line removal and data relating to processes other than the hidden-line removal, wherein an upper limit value of capacity of the memory used for the hidden-line removal is set in advance, the method comprising: when the two-dimensional plane is divided into a plurality of areas, extracting portions of the polygons contained in each of the areas using the projected three-dimensional model; calculating memory consumption for each of the areas based on the extracted polygons; when the maximum of the calculated memory consumption for each of the areas is equal to or larger than the upper limit value, subdividing the two-dimensional plane to extract the polygons using the projected three-dimensional model contained in the subdivided areas and repeating the calculation of memory consumption based on the extracted polygons; and when the maximum of the calculated memory consumption for each of the areas is smaller than the upper limit value, executing hidden-line removal for the extracted polygons in each of the areas and, after generating hidden-line removal data for each of the areas, integrating the hidden-line removal data for the plurality of areas.