Patents by Inventor Alan D Ward

Alan D Ward has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 6917362
    Abstract: The present invention is generally directed to a system and method for managing context information in a graphics system having multiple displays configured as a single logical screen (SLS). In accordance with one embodiment a system is provided comprising a single device driver coupled to directly communicate with display hardware of at least two displays, a graphics API (application program interface) for communicating graphics information to the single device driver, a memory configured to store context information, the memory in communication with the single device driver, and a mechanism configured to direct context data from the memory to the display hardware of one of the displays.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2002
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2005
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: David Pinedo, Alan D Ward
  • Patent number: 6337689
    Abstract: A method of buffering graphics vertex commands adaptively. A minimally-formatted vertex values buffer is created. As vertex commands are received from application software, attribute values are stored in an attribute values buffer until a vertex coordinate command is received. Upon receipt of a vertex coordinate command, attribute values are copied from the attribute values buffer into the vertex values buffer. Whenever application software issues a vertex attribute command corresponding to an attribute type that is not currently reflected in the vertex values buffer format, the vertex values buffer is automatically reformatted to include the new attribute type. Thus, the vertex values buffer automatically adapts itself to the behavior of the application. Multiple primitives are buffered between flushes. First-call and subsequent-call versions of code are provided for vertex commands. At initialization, a dispatch table is populated with pointers to the first-call versions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2002
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company
    Inventors: Roland M Hochmuth, Samuel C Sands, Bradley Louis Saunders, Alan D Ward