Abstract: A video graphics adapter is configured to provide both parallel and sequential color components to separate display monitors. When in a first state, the video graphics adapter provides individual color components to a video-output independent of each other color component, such that an entire frame of a red component will be provided to a video-out port for prior to, or subsequently after, an entire frame of the green component being provided to the video-out port. Each color component is provided to a common port. In response to a second configuration state, a traditional parallel red, green, blue (RGB) data port will be generated in order to provide data to a display device. In yet another configuration state, both the individual color components are provided at a common port, and the individual color components are provided in parallel to an RGB port.

Abstract: The present invention is drawn to a method for performing view volume clip-check. Until the present invention, view volume clip-check has been performed within the context of a clip space with its clip coordinates. However, the present invention performs view volume clip-check within an object space with its object coordinates. In one embodiment of the present invention, a frustum in a clip space is back projected into an object space as the back projected frustum. Within the object space, a regularized volume approximates the back projected frustum such that the regularized volume occupies the maximal volume possible within the back projected frustum. Within the object space, geometry of graphics objects is then clip-checked against this regularized volume. In the present embodiment, the above steps of back projection, approximation and clip-checking are performed by the CPU rather than by the graphics pipeline.

Abstract: An interactive metadata selection system includes a token tracker that identifies and determines a coordinate of a token included in input video data. A video mapper receives output video data and determines a display domain coordinate system therefrom. A coordinate mapper resolves the token's coordinates to the display domain. Based on the token's display-domain coordinates, an overlay module selects metadata to be output.

Abstract: A method of controlling an image forming apparatus in accordance with the invention can include the steps of: providing a system tone reproduction curve; representing a manually adjustable tone reproduction curve; modifying the manually adjustable tone reproduction curve to be consistent with the system tone reproduction curve; and cascading the manually adjustable tone reproduction curve with the system tone reproduction curve to provide a new adjusted tone reproduction curve. The method in accordance with the invention enables a user to achieve enhanced flexibility in determining how to adjust an output image. The method can also determine a new system tone reproduction curve, based upon the current settings of the manually adjustable tone reproduction curve, in real time, which reduces the amount of storage space required.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for selectively scaling portions of image data based on the intensity levels of historical image data. The selective scaling, or level expansion, provides improved images by increasing or decreasing the intensity of a portion of image pixels. Black level expansion reduces the intensity of dark pixels and is appropriate when a relatively large number of the image pixels have a high intensity level. White level expansion increases the intensity of bright pixels and is appropriate when a relatively large number of image pixels have a low intensity level. Level expansion is implemented by using histogram comparators 402 to compare the intensity of each pixel with a threshold, typically on a frame-by-frame basis. When an adequate number of pixels in each frame meet the threshold criteria, the level expansion is increased. Field accumulator 404 is used to determine whether and by how much the image data is scaled.

Abstract: A method for providing privately viewable data in a publically viewable display comprises the steps of: generating a sequencing pattern; generating a data signal having interspersed frames of private data among frames of masking data according to the sequencing pattern; providing the data signal to the publically viewable display; and, opening and closing shutters in a set of active glasses in accordance with the sequencing pattern. In one embodiment, the sequencing pattern can correspond to alternating displays of the private data and the masking data. In an alternative embodiment, the sequencing pattern can correspond to combined left eye/right eye images of the private data. In the preferred embodiment, the masking data can be a fill pattern, for example, random data or a screen saver image. However, in another embodiment, the masking data can be a derivation of the private data.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for determining attributes of an object-element using barycentric coordinates includes processing that begins by obtaining a barycentric coordinate for a vertex of an object-element. The object-element is clipped with respect to a clipping plane where a first component of the barycentric coordinate corresponds to a first original vertex of the object-element, a second component of the barycentric coordinate corresponds to a second original vertex of the object-element and a third component of the barycentric coordinate corresponds to a third vertex of the object-element. The processing continues by, for each non-zero component of the barycentric coordinate, determining whether at least one attribute of the corresponding vertex of the non-component is substantially similar. The processing continues by setting the at least one corresponding attribute of the vertex to substantially equal the attribute for the other vertex when the at least one attribute is substantially similar.

Abstract: A two-stage method for recording a quality enhanced image on a substrate has a preparation and a production stage. In the preparation stage, the digital image file is scanned for adjacent color pairs with different color values. This exhaustive list is processed according to predetermined criteria per type of output device, creating a sub-list of color pairs that might potentially create artifacts on the recorded image. Several such sub-lists may be created, each per potential output technology to be used. Each sub-list of color pairs is accompanied by modification parameters, indicating the action that needs to be taken in the recording stage, in order to avoid the artifacts and thereby enhance the recorded image quality. In the second, Production stage, this enhancement information, prepared for the actual output device to be used, is used to modify the imaging parameters such as screening parameters, taking into consideration production information such as enlargement.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for clipping an object element include processing that begins by ascribing barycentric coordinates to each original vertices of an object-element wherein each barycentric coordinate is a weighting factor with respect to a corresponding original vertex. The processing continues by obtaining clipping distances for each original vertex with respect to a clipping plane. For a new vertex of an object-element that represents an intersection of an edge of the object-element with the clipping plane, the process continues by determining a barycentric coordinate for the new vertex. The determination of the new vertex is based on the barycentric coordinates of the original vertices defining the edge and the clipping distances. Having determined the barycentric coordinates for the new vertices corresponding to a clipping plane, the process is repeated for each of a plurality of other clipping planes that intersect the object-element.

Abstract: A method for creating one or more footwear soles that will print out with each step on a malleable surface (such as sand) or an imprintable surface (such as a sidewalk) a pattern (which may include therein an image, text, and their combination), wherein the pattern to be printed is personalized to each sole's individual owner according to the owner's specification of the pattern.

Abstract: An image display device includes a main body having a display unit with a first display screen A and a display unit with a second display screen B and a link 56 for merging the two display screens to one. The two play units are opened and closed at the link so that display screens are folded over each other for carrying like a book, and they are opened in a use mode to permit the recognition of the display image.

Abstract: Apparatus and methods in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention convert RGB video to at least one video output of Lab video, YCbCr video, with or without gamma correction, and Srgb video, with or without gamma correction. This conversion increases the flexibility of image information communication by enabling RGB video to be provided to a device that can only handle one of Lab, Srgb and/or YCbCr video.

Abstract: Disclosed are methods, apparatus (1) and computer readable media for rendering at least one graphic object (80, 90) described by at least one edge (82-86, 92-98) into a raster pixel image (78) having a plurality of scan lines and a plurality of pixel locations on each scan line. For each scan line, coordinates of intersection of those edges of the objects that intersect the scan line are determined in a predetermined order. This is preferably achieved by processing edge records (418) using a number of buffers (402, 404,406, 412,420, 422) thereby enabling efficient sorting of edge intersections into order. For each adjacent pair of edge intersections, information (530) associated with the corresponding object is examined to determining a set of active objects (508, 510) for a span of pixel locations between the corresponding pair of edge intersections. For each span of pixel locations, the corresponding set of active objects is used to determine (600) a value for each of the locations within the span.

Abstract: An apparatus, method and computer readable medium containing a program are described for generating a line corresponding to a desired straight line, including identifying a plurality of segments between two endpoints of the desired straight line to be generated, and generating the line corresponding to the desired straight line comprising identifying, in parallel, pixels in each of more than one of the segments. By processing in parallel, processor time is reduced. Also, anti-aliasing techniques can be similarly performed in parallel to reduce processor time.

Abstract: A method and system compensates for the line width growth or shrinkage in an image rendering system that supports high-addressability. The amount of width adjustment can be a function of the line width. The method is applied after rendering, to the sub-pixel, bit patterns and is compatible with antialiasing and other sub-pixel rendering techniques such as half-bitting. The method and system also require less scan buffering for marker line width compensation than conventional methods. More specifically, the method and system require N+3 scans to detect and adjust widths up to N pixels for leading edges or trailing edges rather than the 2N+3 necessary conventionally. Moreover, the detection and adjustment of widths up to N pixels may be performed for both leading edges and trailing edges using a buffer that can handle 2N+3 scans.

Abstract: Initially, a graph is electronically displayed, the graph including a historical portion that includes historical values of the variable over time and also including a future portion. Then, a participant is permitted to designate a point on the future portion of the graph (e.g., by using an input device such as a mouse, a touch-sensitive display screen or the like) and the designated point is converted into a predicted value for the variable at a realization time.

Abstract: In a data processing system having a plurality of CAD systems, an associative topology bus facilitates the management of heterogeneous assemblies of geometric objects. The constituent geometric objects can be geometric primitives or they can be assemblies, both homogeneous and heterogeneous. The associative topology bus enables a user of a CAD system operating on a heterogeneous assembly to recognize the existence of a change in a constituent component of that assembly and to do so in real time. The associative topology bus performs this task by augmenting the representation of the heterogeneous assembly with translated image models corresponding to each of the constituent CAD systems of the data processing system. Each translated image model is generated by operating on a master geometry representation of the heterogeneous assembly with a mapping table corresponding to each of the constituent CAD systems of the data processing system.

Abstract: A method and system for editing function curves in a computer-based editing or animation environment. The method consists of defining a region having two dimensions. The region contains a number of selected keys associated with one or more function curves. Resizing or moving the region causes the selected keys to be resized or moved accordingly.

Abstract: A system and method for processing color objects provides optimal processing quality by supporting both a perceptual-based color space and a physical-based color space and utilizing both color spaces for color processing in an integrated manner transparent to the end user. The graphics engine of the system includes a module for converting a color object being processed between the perceptual-base color space and the physical-based color space. During color processing that may involve various perceptual-based and physical-based operations, the graphics engine automatically converts the color object from one of the perceptual-based and physical-based color spaces to the other depending on the color processing operation to be performed. The graphics engine may also perform conversions on input graphic data from an input device to one of the dual color spaces for processing and converting a processed class object into the color space of an output device for displaying or printing.

Abstract: A control mesh of polygonal approximations is generated from one of a variety of conventional object representation schemes. The control mesh is a uniform representation of the object to be rendered comprising edge information and reconstruction data for the polygons comprising the control mesh. Reconstruction data includes surface normal data, and surface hint data. Surface hint data includes information regarding whether a vertex is a sharp point, or whether an edge should be represented as a hard edge. Resolution levels are calculated for all of the vertices of all of the polygons in the control mesh. Resolution levels specify the appropriate level of resolution for a triangle or other polygon responsive to the topology of the object and the camera angle currently being used in the application. Responsive to calculating the resolution levels, the polygons are subdivided responsive to the resolution levels.