Patents by Inventor Ashton Mason

Ashton Mason 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).

  • Publication number: 20240144597
    Abstract: A method, device, and computer-readable storage medium for retrieving a stored triangulation of a polygonal mesh. The method includes: receiving an input polygonal mesh that is a computer representation of a three-dimensional (3D) object; identifying one or more faces of the input polygonal mesh that have more than three edges; retrieving for each face of the one or more faces, integer counts of a number of triangles that are incident to each vertex of the face stored in face-vertex properties of the face, wherein a specific triangulation of the face is represented by the number of triangles that are incident to each vertex of the face; and generating a triangulated polygonal mesh corresponding to the input polygonal mesh by triangulating, for each face of the one or more faces, the face based on the integer counts of the number of triangles that are incident to each vertex of the face.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 31, 2022
    Publication date: May 2, 2024
    Inventor: Ashton Mason
  • Publication number: 20220327782
    Abstract: A method, device, and computer-readable storage medium for generating a proxy mesh. The method includes: receiving an input polygonal mesh that includes multiple sub-meshes, each of which is a polygonal mesh, where the input polygonal mesh is a computer representation of a three-dimensional (3D) object; generating a voxel volume representing the input polygonal mesh, wherein the voxel volume comprises voxels that approximates a shape of the 3D object, wherein a first set of voxels of the voxel volume includes voxels that are identified as boundary voxels that correspond to positions of polygons of the multiple sub-meshes of the input polygonal mesh; determining a grouping of two or more sub-meshes that together enclose one or more voxels of the voxel volume other than the voxels in the first set of voxels; and generating a proxy mesh corresponding to the input polygonal mesh based on the grouping of two or more sub-meshes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 3, 2022
    Publication date: October 13, 2022
    Inventor: Ashton Mason
  • Patent number: 11354861
    Abstract: A method, device, and computer-readable storage medium for generating a proxy mesh. The method includes: receiving an input polygonal mesh that includes multiple sub-meshes, each of which is a polygonal mesh, where the input polygonal mesh is a computer representation of a three-dimensional (3D) object; generating a voxel volume representing the input polygonal mesh, wherein the voxel volume comprises voxels that approximates a shape of the 3D object, wherein a first set of voxels of the voxel volume includes voxels that are identified as boundary voxels that correspond to positions of polygons of the multiple sub-meshes of the input polygonal mesh; determining a grouping of two or more sub-meshes that together enclose one or more voxels of the voxel volume other than the voxels in the first set of voxels; and generating a proxy mesh corresponding to the input polygonal mesh based on the grouping of two or more sub-meshes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2022
    Assignee: Electronic Arts Inc.
    Inventor: Ashton Mason
  • Patent number: 11263802
    Abstract: Apparatuses and methods pertaining to computer handling of three-dimensional volumes are disclosed. One such method comprises obtaining data representing an input set of one or more three-dimensional volumes; selecting a first three-dimensional volume from among the input set of three-dimensional volumes; identifying a concavity in the first three-dimensional volume, the concavity having a region of deepest concavity; splitting the first three-dimensional volume along a split plane or intersection loop contacting or intersecting the region of deepest concavity, such as to provide plural three-dimensional volumes; and providing data representing an output set of two or more three-dimensional volumes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2022
    Assignee: ELECTRONIC ARTS INC.
    Inventor: Ashton Mason
  • Patent number: 11217016
    Abstract: A method, device, and computer-readable storage medium for generating a proxy mesh are disclosed. The method includes: receiving a reference mesh comprising a polygonal mesh that is a computer representation of a three-dimensional object; receiving a smoothed mesh corresponding to the reference mesh; selecting a given vertex in the smoothed mesh; identifying neighbor vertices of the given vertex in the smoothed mesh; for each neighbor vertex of the given vertex, determining a nearest location on the reference mesh overlaid on the smoothed mesh; determining an average position of the nearest locations on the reference mesh for the neighbor vertices of the given vertex; setting a new location of a vertex in a smoothed output polygonal mesh corresponding to the given vertex to the average position; and outputting the smoothed output polygonal mesh as a proxy mesh for the reference mesh.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2022
    Assignee: Electronic Arts Inc.
    Inventor: Ashton Mason
  • Publication number: 20210074056
    Abstract: Apparatuses and methods pertaining to computer handling of three-dimensional volumes are disclosed. One such method comprises obtaining data representing an input set of one or more three-dimensional volumes; selecting a first three-dimensional volume from among the input set of three-dimensional volumes; identifying a concavity in the first three-dimensional volume, the concavity having a region of deepest concavity; splitting the first three-dimensional volume along a split plane or intersection loop contacting or intersecting the region of deepest concavity, such as to provide plural three-dimensional volumes; and providing data representing an output set of two or more three-dimensional volumes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 18, 2020
    Publication date: March 11, 2021
    Inventor: Ashton Mason
  • Patent number: 10846910
    Abstract: Apparatuses and methods pertaining to computer handling of three dimensional volumes are disclosed. One such method comprises obtaining data representing an input set of one or more three-dimensional volumes; selecting a first three-dimensional volume from among the input set of three-dimensional volumes; identifying a concavity in the first three-dimensional volume, the concavity having a region of deepest concavity; splitting the first three-dimensional volume along a split plane or intersection loop contacting or intersecting the region of deepest concavity, such as to provide plural three-dimensional volumes; and providing data representing an output set of two or more three-dimensional volumes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2020
    Assignee: ELECTRONIC ARTS INC.
    Inventor: Ashton Mason
  • Publication number: 20200327719
    Abstract: Apparatuses and methods pertaining to computer handling of three dimensional volumes are disclosed. One such method comprises obtaining data representing an input set of one or more three-dimensional volumes; selecting a first three-dimensional volume from among the input set of three-dimensional volumes; identifying a concavity in the first three-dimensional volume, the concavity having a region of deepest concavity; splitting the first three-dimensional volume along a split plane or intersection loop contacting or intersecting the region of deepest concavity, such as to provide plural three-dimensional volumes; and providing data representing an output set of two or more three-dimensional volumes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 10, 2019
    Publication date: October 15, 2020
    Inventor: Ashton Mason
  • Patent number: 10521958
    Abstract: A computer implemented method for determining a silhouette volume of a 3D object, e.g. for mesh simplification, comprises: receiving a computer representation of a 3D object; determining a silhouette volume of the object, wherein the silhouette volume is the maximal volume of space having a silhouette from every viewing direction which is identical to the silhouette of the object from the same viewing direction, and wherein points of the object which lie on the boundary of the silhouette volume also lie on the boundary of the object's projected silhouette from at least one viewing direction; determining, based on the silhouette volume, the extent to which features of the object are silhouette features; determining, for a plurality of planes and for a plurality of different axes, at least one intersection loop, wherein each intersection loop corresponds to a planar cross-section of the boundary of the object in its respective plane; and determining the convex hull of each intersection loop.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2019
    Assignee: ELECTRONIC ARTS INC.
    Inventor: Ashton Mason
  • Patent number: 10445908
    Abstract: A computer implemented method of handling polygons is disclosed, including polygons which are complex and include degeneracies. The method includes receiving an input polygon with at least one boundary, the at least one boundary having at least one vertex joining edges of the polygon boundary; determining an edge direction for each of the edges; determining a signed exterior or interior angle of each vertex angle wherein, if the exterior angle between the edges is ?pi or pi to within a predetermined threshold, determining the signed angle of the vertex angle including assigning a sign based on the winding of the edges of the polygon boundary, a sequence of angles of polygon vertices which can be directly computed or retrieved from a memory, the geometrical property that all exterior angles of the polygon sum to ?2pi or 2pi, and the known sign of the polygon area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2019
    Assignee: ELECTRONIC ARTS INC
    Inventor: Ashton Mason
  • Publication number: 20190295297
    Abstract: A computer implemented method of handling polygons is disclosed, including polygons which are complex and include degeneracies. The method includes receiving an input polygon with at least one boundary, the at least one boundary having at least one vertex joining edges of the polygon boundary; determining an edge direction for each of the edges; determining a signed exterior or interior angle of each vertex angle wherein, if the exterior angle between the edges is pi or pi to within a predetermined threshold, determining the signed angle of the vertex angle including assigning a sign based on the winding of the edges of the polygon boundary, a sequence of angles of polygon vertices which can be directly computed or retrieved from a memory, the geometrical property that all exterior angles of the polygon sum to ?2 pi or 2 pi, and the known sign of the polygon area.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 20, 2018
    Publication date: September 26, 2019
    Inventor: Ashton Mason
  • Publication number: 20190221034
    Abstract: A computer implemented method for determining a silhouette volume of a 3D object, e.g. for mesh simplification, comprises: receiving a computer representation of a 3D object; determining a silhouette volume of the object, wherein the silhouette volume is the maximal volume of space having a silhouette from every viewing direction which is identical to the silhouette of the object from the same viewing direction, and wherein points of the object which lie on the boundary of the silhouette volume also lie on the boundary of the object's projected silhouette from at least one viewing direction; determining, based on the silhouette volume, the extent to which features of the object are silhouette features; determining, for a plurality of planes and for a plurality of different axes, at least one intersection loop, wherein each intersection loop corresponds to a planar cross-section of the boundary of the object in its respective plane; and determining the convex hull of each intersection loop.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 16, 2018
    Publication date: July 18, 2019
    Inventor: Ashton Mason
  • Patent number: 10043310
    Abstract: A mesh that includes a polychord with edges may be received. A first mesh simplification operation may be performed with the mesh to remove the edges of the polychord and to generate a first simplified mesh. Guide planes may be generated based on the first simplified mesh. Furthermore, a second mesh simplification operation may be performed with a combination of the mesh with the guide planes to remove the edges of the polychord based on the guide planes and to generate a second simplified mesh.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2018
    Assignee: Electronic Arts Inc.
    Inventor: Ashton Mason
  • Patent number: 9881418
    Abstract: A polygonal mesh is received and the edges and vertices of the polygonal mesh are analyzed. A positive (e.g., convex or protruding) feature may be identified where the positive feature is bound by a non-concave edge (e.g., a convex edge or a planar edge). A negative (e.g., concave or receding) feature may also be identified where the negative feature is bound by a non-convex edge (e.g., a concave edge or a planar edge).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2018
    Assignee: ELECTRONIC ARTS INC.
    Inventor: Ashton Mason
  • Patent number: 9858715
    Abstract: An example method of transforming polygonal meshes by sub-polychord collapse may include identifying, among a plurality of sub-polychords of a given size, a seed sub-polychord having an optimal value of a metric associated with collapsing the respective sub-polychord. The example method may further include identifying a first test value of the metric for a first test sub-polychord comprising the seed sub-polychord and a first adjacent edge, and further identifying a second test value of the metric for a second test sub-polychord comprising the seed sub-polychord and a second adjacent edge. The example method may further include, responsive to determining a minimum of the first test value of the metric and the second test value of the metrics is less than a base value of the metric for the seed sub-polychord, transforming the seed sub-polychord by adding an adjacent edge that produces a test sub-polychord having the minimum test value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2018
    Assignee: Electronic Arts Inc.
    Inventor: Ashton Mason
  • Publication number: 20170046874
    Abstract: An example method of transforming polygonal meshes by sub-polychord collapse may include identifying, among a plurality of sub-polychords of a given size, a seed sub-polychord having an optimal value of a metric associated with collapsing the respective sub-polychord. The example method may further include identifying a first test value of the metric for a first test sub-polychord comprising the seed sub-polychord and a first adjacent edge, and further identifying a second test value of the metric for a second test sub-polychord comprising the seed sub-polychord and a second adjacent edge. The example method may further include, responsive to determining a minimum of the first test value of the metric and the second test value of the metrics is less than a base value of the metric for the seed sub-polychord, transforming the seed sub-polychord by adding an adjacent edge that produces a test sub-polychord having the minimum test value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 11, 2015
    Publication date: February 16, 2017
    Inventor: Ashton Mason
  • Publication number: 20160292916
    Abstract: A mesh that includes a polychord with edges may be received. A first mesh simplification operation may be performed with the mesh to remove the edges of the polychord and to generate a first simplified mesh. Guide planes may be generated based on the first simplified mesh. Furthermore, a second mesh simplification operation may be performed with a combination of the mesh with the guide planes to remove the edges of the polychord based on the guide planes and to generate a second simplified mesh.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 18, 2016
    Publication date: October 6, 2016
    Inventor: Ashton Mason
  • Publication number: 20160180588
    Abstract: A polygonal mesh is received and the edges and vertices of the polygonal mesh are analyzed. A positive (e.g., convex or protruding) feature may be identified where the positive feature is bound by a non-concave edge (e.g., a convex edge or a planar edge). A negative (e.g., concave or receding) feature may also be identified where the negative feature is bound by a non-convex edge (e.g., a concave edge or a planar edge).
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 2, 2016
    Publication date: June 23, 2016
    Inventor: Ashton Mason
  • Patent number: 9305396
    Abstract: A polygonal mesh is received and the edges and vertices of the polygonal mesh are analyzed. A positive (e.g., convex or protruding) feature may be identified where the positive feature is bound by a non-concave edge (e.g., a convex edge or a planar edge). A negative (e.g., concave or receding) feature may also be identified where the negative feature is bound by a non-convex edge (e.g., a concave edge or a planar edge).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2016
    Assignee: Electronic Arts Inc.
    Inventor: Ashton Mason
  • Publication number: 20150015577
    Abstract: A polygonal mesh is received and the edges and vertices of the polygonal mesh are analyzed. A positive (e.g., convex or protruding) feature may be identified where the positive feature is bound by a non-concave edge (e.g., a convex edge or a planar edge). A negative (e.g., concave or receding) feature may also be identified where the negative feature is bound by a non-convex edge (e.g., a concave edge or a planar edge).
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 12, 2013
    Publication date: January 15, 2015
    Inventor: Ashton Mason