Abstract: The geometry processor includes mutually independent first and second external interface ports connected to a host processor, and a rendering processor, respectively, and a geometry calculation core which processes a geometry calculation applied through the first external interface port from the host processor. The geometry calculation core includes a plurality of SIMD type floating point calculating units, a floating point power computing unit, an integer calculating unit, a controller responsive to an instruction from the host processor which controls the plurality of floating point calculating units, the floating point power computing unit and the integer calculating unit to process data from the host processor, and an output controller which outputs the processed data to the rendering processor through the second external interface port.

Abstract: The geometry processor includes mutually independent first and second external interface ports connected to a host processor, and a rendering processor, respectively, and a geometry calculation core which processes a geometry calculation applied through the first external interface port from the host processor. The geometry calculation core includes a plurality of SIMD type floating point calculating units, a floating point power computing unit, an integer calculating unit, a controller responsive to an instruction from the host processor which controls the plurality of floating point calculating units, the floating point power computing unit and the integer calculating unit to process data from the host processor, and an output controller which outputs the processed data to the rendering processor through the second external interface port.

Abstract: An input section inputs vertex data from a host CPU or a geometry process section to a rendering main process section. The rendering main process section performs a rendering process in accordance with the vertex data inputted into the input section. Therefore, the host CPU can directly write the vertex data, which does not require a geometry process, to a rendering process apparatus and a processing speed of an overall graphics system can be thereby improved.

Abstract: In a floating point adder adding received two floating point data together and subtracting one such data from the other, before their exponent parts are matched in digit by a digit match unit the two data have their exponent parts compared and also their fraction parts compared, and a result of each comparison and a sign of each data are used to code a relationship in magnitude between data corresponding to a clipping coordinate and the other data fed. A clip code generated depending on the previously obtained comparison results from exponent part and fraction part compare units, rather than depending on a zero flag according to a result of an addition or a subtraction and a sign of the result of the addition or the subtraction, can rapidly be generated without the circuit increased in scale.

Abstract: A power operation device comprises a bit operation unit or performing a bit shift operation on a logarithmic base bit string from a logarithm operation unit according to an input exponent bit string Y, and for furnishing the shifted logarithmic base bit string as a multiplication bit string. An exponent checking unit checks whether or not the input exponent bit string Y is the ith power of a base 2 where i is an integer, and, if so, furnishes a selection signal to direct selection of the multiplication bit string from the bit operation unit. A multiplication bit string selection unit selects and furnishes the multiplication bit string when it receives the selection signal from the exponent checking unit. In contrast, the multiplication bit string selection unit selects and furnishes another multiplication bit string from a multiplier otherwise. An exponential operation unit performs a base-2 exponential operation on the selected multiplication bit string from the multiplication bit string selection unit, i.e.

Abstract: An output FIFO data transfer control device can comprise a geometric arithmetic core including one integer processing unit or IPU and a plurality of floating-point processing units or FPUs. Each processing unit includes an intermediate buffer or data output buffer for storing a data on an arithmetic result. When an instruction of data transfer from at least one of the plurality of processing units to one output FIFO is issued, a write/read pointer generating unit generates a write pointer identifying a specific location where data on an arithmetic result associated with the instruction is to be stored in the intermediate buffer of at least one of the plurality of processing units. The write/read pointer generating unit also generates a read pointer identifying a specific location where data is to be read out of the intermediate buffer of at least one of the plurality of processing units.

Abstract: The method of routing configuration accesses applied from the primary port to a plurality of secondary ports includes the steps of: distributing a plurality of configuration accesses received from the primary bus to the plurality of secondary ports in accordance with a predetermined algorithm, such that each of the devices on the secondary ports receives and responds to exactly a single access; and terminating configuration cycles after distributing the plurality of configuration accesses.

Abstract: A logarithmic arithmetic unit includes first logarithmic operation part multiplying an exponent part of floating-point data by a prescribed value, a logarithmic table memory outputting a logarithmic value corresponding to bit data expressing a digit higher than a prescribed digit of a fixed-point part of the floating-point data, divisional precision decision part deciding divisional precision on the basis of the exponent part, division part performing division on a dividend obtained by subtracting the bit data from the fixed-point part and a divisor of the bit data and obtaining a result of division of a number of digits set on the basis of the divisional precision, second logarithmic operation part obtaining the logarithmic value of a value obtained by dividing the fixed-point part by the bit data and sum operation part adding outputs from the first and second logarithmic operation parts and the logarithmic table memory to each other.

Abstract: A determining unit determines which area in an SDRAM is the area in which image data is stored. According to the determination of the determining unit, a control unit activates a power-down mode only for an area in the SDRAM, the image data being stored in the area. In order to determine whether or not the data stored in the SDRAM is image data, a code is previously added to the relevant data. Whether or not the relevant data stored in the SDRAM is image data is determined by the determining unit using the added code. A minimum of only one bit does well as the code for determining whether or not the data stored in the SDRAM is image data. Instead of previously adding a code to relevant data, it is also possible, for the same purpose, to store a code in an internal register of the SDRAM, the code indicating contents of data stored in the SDRAM.

Abstract: An FIFO data transfer control device includes an instruction analyzing portion for analyzing an instruction for data transfer to an FIFO storage device including a plurality of banks, and calculating an amount of data to be transferred; a data count portion for calculating, from the data amount calculated by the instruction analyzing portion, an amount of the data written in the bank being in an outputting state, and issuing a determination flag indicating whether the free space of the bank being in the outputting state satisfies predetermined conditions or not; and a full check portion for inhibiting processing of a next instruction until the determination flag sent from the data count portion or the full flag issued from the FIFO storage device is reset.

Abstract: A square root extraction circuit and a floating-point square root extraction device which simplify a circuit structure and improve an operation speed are provided. Portions for generating square root partial data (q3 to q8) include carry output prediction circuits (3 to 8), respectively. The carry output prediction circuit (i) (i equals any one of 3 to 8) receives condition flags (AHin, ALin), the most significant addition result (SUM), and square root partial data (q(i-1)) from the preceding square root partial data generating portion, and also receives a carry input (Cin) to output condition flags (AHout, ALout) for the next square root partial data generating portion, and square root partial data (q(i)). The condition flags (AHout, ALout) serve as the condition flags (AHin, ALin) for the carry output prediction circuit (i+1), respectively.

Abstract: The apparatus comprises an input memory 102 for storing data necessary for geometrical operations, such as coordinate transformation, luminance calculation, and clipping operation of graphics; a global bus connected to the input memory; a plurality of floating process memories connected to the global bus, for receiving data necessary for geometrical operations; a sequencer for transmitting data necessary for geometrical operations, stored in the input memory, to the plurality of floating process memories; and a plurality of floating processing units each connected to a respective one of the plurality of floating process memories, for independently executing geometrical operations, using data transmitted from the floating process memories.

Abstract: It is judged that a vertex exists within a view volume when values stored in registers (231 to 236) are all "1". In other words, whether the vertex exists within or beyond the view volume can be judged by whether the values stored in the registers (231 to 236) are all "1" or not. To meet this requirement, a clip code generation/judgment unit (20) comprises a 6-input AND gate (24) which obtains a logical product of the values stored in the registers (231 to 236) to output a judgment signal (M1). With this configuration, a first step for clipping, i.e., the judgment on whether a primitive exists within or beyond a view volume is implemented in hardware, and thereby the operating speed is improved.

Abstract: An execution processor that can carry out power calculation at high speed includes a base data register, an exponent data register, a multiplier, a multiplication input selector for selecting an input to the multiplier, first and second registers for storing a calculation result of the multiplier, a square root calculation unit, a square root calculation input selector for selecting an input to the square root calculation unit, a third register for storing a calculation result of the square root calculation unit, and a power calculation controller.

Abstract: A determining unit determines which area in an SDRAM is the area in which image data is stored. According to the determination of the determining unit, a control unit activates a power-down mode only for an area in the SDRAM, the image data being stored in the area. In order to determine whether or not the data stored in the SDRAM is image data, a code is previously added to the relevant data. Whether or not the relevant data stored in the SDRAM is image data is determined by the determining unit using the added code. A minimum of only one bit does well as the code for determining whether or not the data stored in the SDRAM is image data. Instead of previously adding a code to relevant data, it is also possible, for the same purpose, to store a code in an internal register of the SDRAM, the code indicating contents of data stored in the SDRAM.

Abstract: Three local buses and three composite operation buses are provided in each processing element. An arithmetic logic unit, a multiplier, a bit operator, and an accumulator are connected to respective local buses and the composite operation buses. As a result, each operation unit can transfer data efficiently using a plurality of buses of different functions.

Abstract: There is disclosed a high-speed programmable image processing LSI circuit adaptable to image preprocessing, feature extraction, and matching, which includes a DMA transfer control portion (4) for DMA transfer which reads input data from an external memory to transfer the input data to data memories in the LSI circuit; a sequence control portion (8), an instruction memory (7), and an address generating portion (3) which control writing to and reading from the data memories in response to an instruction code; the DMA transfer control portion (4) accommodating a wait time caused during external data transfer to prevent the wait time from affecting instruction code control in the LSI circuit; SIMD type processing units arranged in parallel and connected to output lines of the data memories for completing the process steps of image processing in cooperation with a postprocessing portion which in turn provides an output signal (54) to the exterior and accommodates a wait time at this time.

Abstract: A frame buffer memory includes a main memory of a DRAM, a cache memory of a SRAM, a first transfer bus for transferring data of 256 bits, for example, between the main memory and the cache memory, a pixel processing unit for carrying out a predetermined operational process according to data provided from the cache memory and externally applied data, a compare unit for comparing the data provided from the cache memory with externally applied data, a transfer bus for transferring data from the cache memory to the pixel processing unit and the compare unit, a transfer bus for transferring resultant data from the pixel processing unit to the cache memory, and a serial access memory for storing data read out from the main memory and providing the stored data serially to an outside world. According to the structure, an .alpha.-blend process, a raster operation, a Z compare process and the like required for graphics can be carried out at high speed with flexibility.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a program control unit which enables a program control to achieve an efficient loop processing which does not immediately follow a loop instruction and which contains a start address and end address. In the program control unit, the start address and end address of a loop processing are stored in a register (start) (7) and a register (end) (8), respectively, in synchronization with a clock t1. The stored data "start" of the register (7) and the stored data "end" of the register (8) are inputted to a comparator (12) and a comparator (11), respectively. The comparator (12) compares the output from a delay program counter (18) with the data "start", and sets a flag f start when the comparison result indicates agreement and otherwise resets it. The comparator (11) compares the output from a delay program counter (18) with the data "end", and sets a flag f end when the comparison result indicates agreement and otherwise resets it.

Abstract: When a leading end of a run on an upper row in a binary mask which performs raster scan over a binary image is detected, a run label which was assigned to the same run when scanning a row preceding the current row by one row is read out, and label diversion destination data is read from a concatenation table using the read run label as an address. A temporary label is determined by comparing a concatenated label, which indicates the minimum label value of the runs prior to the run on the upper row of which leading end is detected and adjacent to the run existing on the run on the lower row of the binary mask, with the diversion destination data read from the concatenation table. If one of them is 0, the other label data is issued as the temporary label. If both of them are 0, a new label is issued as the temporary label. If the compared label values are different from each and are not 0, the smaller label value is written into the concatenation table using the larger label value as the address.