Abstract: In accordance with the present invention, a detection device capable of being coupled to a person for remotely monitoring heart and respiratory functions includes a processor, a photo cell coupled to the processor for determining blood oxygen content of the person and a temperature sensor coupled to the processor for determining a temperature of the person. The processor compares the determined blood oxygen content and the temperature to desired values. A transmitter is included for transmitting a warning signal if one of the determined blood oxygen content and the temperature are other than the desired values.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for a computer graphics rendering system which slices the traditional geometry pipeline into two phases to improve overall graphics system utilization is described. The graphics system consists of a host processor and a graphics adapter. The host creates work items and feeds them to the graphics adapter. In the two phase method, the first phase computes the clipping status and immediately returns this status information, before completion of the actual clipping, to the application running on the host processor to minimize stalling the host processor and hence the application. The second phase performs the rest of the work necessary to draw the objects on the screen. The advantage of two phase method is that the host processor minimizes its wait (but only for model/view transformation and clipping status determination) for a return status from the graphics adapter for the current work item and gets to create the next work item from the application sooner.

Abstract: A method and system is disclosed for scheduling data download, such as web pages, databases or softwares, over a network such as the internet.

Abstract: In a multiprocessor system, such as a graphics data processing system, a method is disclosed for processing input data in a data processor pipeline. The method includes steps of operating a main thread to store input data in an input buffer until the input buffer is full or the input data ends. If a child thread does not exist, the method creates a child thread and assigns the input buffer to the child thread for processing. If a child thread already exists, the method determines if the child thread can be assigned the input buffer and, if so, then assigns the input buffer to the child thread for processing. If the child thread cannot be assigned the input buffer for processing, the main thread assigns the input buffer to itself for processing in parallel with processing being performed by the child thread. The steps of assigning and determining employ local variables that are accessible to both the main thread and the child thread, and that do not require an operating system call to change and/or test.

Abstract: While executing the standard graphics processing steps, problem polygons (i.e., those outside of a defined clip volume) are buffered for later processing, while the standard graphics processing continues, without the need for periodically reformatting data and performing clipping. After either a predefined number of polygons have been stored at the buffer location, or at such time as a change in the rendering state occurs, the buffered polygons are clipped.

Abstract: In a multiprocessor system, such as a graphics data processing system, a method is disclosed for synchronizing the operations of two threads so as to execute a graphics data computation task with only one of the two threads. The method includes the steps of providing a set of local variables that are accessible, only through an atomic operation, by both of the threads. Before accessing a graphics data work buffer with one of the threads, testing a plurality of the local variables to ensure that the other thread has not already accessed the work buffer and, if it has not, setting one of the local variables to deny the other thread access to the work buffer. The method further includes the steps of accessing the work buffer and executing the graphics data computation task using the contents of the work buffer.

Abstract: Graphics systems manipulate data embodying one or more objects for display. The objects are typically represented by a plurality of faces. In order to rasterize an object for display utilizing a plurality of rasterization engines, the present invention partitions at least one face of the object into a plurality of sub-faces according to a first cost function representing cost of rasterizing the face, and assigns the sub-faces to the plurality of rasterization engines for rasterization. The rasterization engines rasterize the sub-faces to generate pixel data representing the object for display. The partitioning of the face of the object into the plurality of sub-faces may be based upon a second cost function representing cost of rasterizing at least one of the sub-faces. Preferably, each of the sub-faces has equal rasterization cost and each of the sub-faces do not overlap one another.