Apparatus for parallel image generation

• Main Authors: MAENOBU, KIYOSHI, ABE, MINOBU, MINEHISA, JIRO, NAKA, TOSHIYA, NISHIMURA, KENJI, KOBAYASHI, TADASHI, NISHIMURA, AKIO, HIRAI, MAKOTO, WAKAYAMA, YORIHIKO, SEGAWA, KAZU
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 31.10.2001
• Edition: 5
• Subjects: CALCULATING; COMPUTING; COUNTING; IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL; PHYSICS

An apparatus for parallel image generation has four geometric data buffers (11a, 11b, 11c, 11d) for storing four partial geometric data, respectively, and four image generators (12a, 12b, 12c, 12d) connected respectively to the four geometric data buffers. Each image generator generates a partial image data for every pixel in a frame. Further provided are four image mergers (14a, 14b, 14c, 14d) connected respectively to the four image generators. The four image mergers are also connected in series. An initial image generator (15) for generating a background image is connected to the first image merger (14a) for merging the background image data and the partial image data from the first image generator (12a). Each of the second to fourth image merger (14b, 14c, 14d) merges an output merged data from the previous image merger and the partial image data from the corresponding image generator (12b, 12c, 12d). A timing control (23) is connected to the four image mergers (14a, 14b, 14c, 14d) for controlling the merging timing in such a manner that the image merger carries out the merging operation of a pixel after the previous image merger has carried out the merging operation of the same pixel.