Patents by Inventor Michael James Elliott Swift

Michael James Elliott Swift 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: 20140333636
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for notifying a display driver to update a display with a graphics frame including multiple graphics data rendered separately by multiple graphics processing units (GPUs) substantially concurrently are described. Graphics commands may be received to dispatch to each GPU for rendering corresponding graphics data. The display driver may be notified when each graphics data has been completely rendered respectively by the corresponding GPU.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 15, 2014
    Publication date: November 13, 2014
    Applicant: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Michael James Elliott Swift, Kenneth Christian Dyke, Richard Warren Schreyer
  • Patent number: 8736625
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for notifying a display driver to update a display with a graphics frame including multiple graphics data rendered separately by multiple graphics processing units (GPUs) substantially concurrently are described. Graphics commands may be received to dispatch to each GPU for rendering corresponding graphics data. The display driver may be notified when each graphics data has been completely rendered respectively by the corresponding GPU.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2014
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Michael James Elliott Swift, Kenneth Christian Dyke, Richard Warren Schreyer
  • Patent number: 8531470
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for maintaining separate information for graphics commands that have been sent to a graphics processing unit (GPU) and for graphics commands that have been processed by the GPU are described. The graphics commands may be associated with graphics resources. A manner to respond to a request for updating the graphics resources may be determined based on examining the separate information maintained for the graphics commands. The request may be received from a graphics API (application programming interface). Responding to the request may include at least one of notifying the graphics API regarding a status of the graphics resources and updating the graphics resources identified by the request.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2013
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Michael James Elliott Swift, Richard Schreyer
  • Patent number: 8525841
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for updating graphics resource usage according to a stream of graphics commands atomically submitted to a graphics processing unit (GPU) are described. The stream of graphics commands may be received from a plurality of graphics APIs (application programming interfaces) by a graphics driver. Availability of graphics resources of the GPU may be monitored by the graphics driver for submitting the stream of graphics commands. A single notification from the GPU may indicate that all graphics commands submitted to the GPU have been executed for updating a usage of graphics resources associated with the executed graphics commands.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2013
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Michael Jame Elliott Swift, Richard Schrever
  • Publication number: 20130027415
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for maintaining separate information for graphics commands that have been sent to a graphics processing unit (GPU) and for graphics commands that have been processed by the GPU are described. The graphics commands may be associated with graphics resources. A manner to respond to a request for updating the graphics resources may be determined based on examining the separate information maintained for the graphics commands. The request may be received from a graphics API (application programming interface). Responding to the request may include at least one of notifying the graphics API regarding a status of the graphics resources and updating the graphics resources identified by the request.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 26, 2012
    Publication date: January 31, 2013
    Inventors: Michael James Elliott Swift, Richard Schreyer
  • Patent number: 8350864
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for determining a dependency relationship between graphics commands based on availability of graphics hardware resources to perform graphics processing operations according to the dependency relationship are described. The graphics commands may be received from graphics APIs (application programming interfaces) for rendering a graphics object. A graphics driver may transmit a portion or all of the received graphics commands to a graphics processing unit (GPU) or a media processor based on the determined dependency relationship between the graphics commands.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2013
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Michael James Elliott Swift, Kenneth Christian Dyke, Richard Schreyer
  • Publication number: 20130002691
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for updating graphics resource usage according to a stream of graphics commands atomically submitted to a graphics processing unit (GPU) are described. The stream of graphics commands may be received from a plurality of graphics APIs (application programming interfaces) by a graphics driver. Availability of graphics resources of the GPU may be monitored by the graphics driver for submitting the stream of graphics commands. A single notification from the CPU may indicate that all graphics commands submitted to the GPU have been executed for updating a usage of graphics resources associated with the executed graphics commands.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 13, 2012
    Publication date: January 3, 2013
    Inventors: Michael James Elliott Swift, Richard Schrever
  • Patent number: 8310491
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for notifying a display driver to update a display with a graphics frame including multiple graphics data rendered separately by multiple graphics processing units (GPUs) substantially concurrently are described. Graphics commands may be received to dispatch to each GPU for rendering corresponding graphics data. The display driver may be notified when each graphics data has been completely rendered respectively by the corresponding GPU.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2012
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Michael James Elliott Swift, Kenneth Christian Dyke, Richard Schreyer
  • Patent number: 8289333
    Abstract: A method of managing multiple contexts for a single mode display includes receiving a plurality of tasks from one or more applications and determining respective contexts for each task, each context having a range of memory addresses. The method also includes selecting one context for output to the single mode display and loading the selected context into a graphics processor for the display.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2012
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Richard Schreyer, Michael James Elliott Swift
  • Patent number: 8269780
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for updating graphics resource usage according to a stream of graphics commands atomically submitted to a graphics processing unit (GPU) are described. The stream of graphics commands may be received from a plurality of graphics APIs (application programming interfaces) by a graphics driver. Availability of graphics resources of the GPU may be monitored by the graphics driver for submitting the stream of graphics commands. A single notification from the GPU may indicate that all graphics commands submitted to the GPU have been executed for updating a usage of graphics resources associated with the executed graphics commands.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2012
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Michael Jame Elliott Swift, Richard Schreyer
  • Patent number: 8237723
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for maintaining separate information for graphics commands that have been sent to a graphics processing unit (GPU) and for graphics commands that have been processed by the GPU are described. The graphics commands may be associated with graphics resources. A manner to respond to a request for updating the graphics resources may be determined based on examining the separate information maintained for the graphics commands. The request may be received from a graphics API (application programming interface). Responding to the request may include at least one of notifying the graphics API regarding a status of the graphics resources and updating the graphics resources identified by the request.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2012
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Michael James Elliott Swift, Richard Schreyer
  • Publication number: 20120127173
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for determining a dependency relationship between graphics commands based on availability of graphics hardware resources to perform graphics processing operations according to the dependency relationship are described. The graphics commands may be received from graphics APIs (application programming interfaces) for rendering a graphics object. A graphics driver may transmit a portion or all of the received graphics commands to a graphics processing unit (GPU) or a media processor based on the determined dependency relationship between the graphics commands.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 26, 2012
    Publication date: May 24, 2012
    Inventors: Michael James Elliott Swift, Kenneth Christian Dyke, Richard Schreyer
  • Patent number: 8115773
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for determining a dependency relationship between graphics commands based on availability of graphics hardware resources to perform graphics processing operations according to the dependency relationship are described. The graphics commands may be received from graphics APIs (application programming interfaces) for rendering a graphics object. A graphics driver may transmit a portion or all of the received graphics commands to a graphics processing unit (GPU) or a media processor based on the determined dependency relationship between the graphics commands.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2012
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Michael James Elliott Swift, Kenneth Christian Dyke, Richard Schreyer
  • Patent number: 8085280
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for determining an up scale factor and a down scale factor according to a scale factor received from a graphics application program interface (API) to scale a graphics data in a graphics processing unit (GPU) are described. The up scale factor and the down scale factor may be precisely stored in the GPU based on a fixed number of bits. An actual scale factor which can be precisely stored in the GPU corresponding to the scale factor may differ from the scale factor with a difference. Graphics commands may be sent to the GPU to scale the graphics data according to the up scale factor and the down scale factor separately. A combined scale factor corresponding to a combination of the up scale factor and the down scale factor may differ from the scale factor less then the difference between the actual scale factor and the scale factor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2011
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Loren Brichter, Alexander King-Chung Kan, Michael James Elliott Swift
  • Publication number: 20110134147
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for determining an up scale factor and a down scale factor according to a scale factor received from a graphics application program interface (API) to scale a graphics data in a graphics processing unit (GPU) are described. The up scale factor and the down scale factor may be precisely stored in the GPU based on a fixed number of bits. An actual scale factor which can be precisely stored in the GPU corresponding to the scale factor may differ from the scale factor with a difference. Graphics commands may be sent to the GPU to scale the graphics data according to the up scale factor and the down scale factor separately. A combined scale factor corresponding to a combination of the up scale factor and the down scale factor may differ from the scale factor less then the difference between the actual scale factor and the scale factor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 14, 2011
    Publication date: June 9, 2011
    Inventors: Loren Brichter, Alexander King-Chung Kan, Michael James Elliott Swift
  • Patent number: 7898554
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for determining an up scale factor and a down scale factor according to a scale factor received from a graphics application program interface (API) to scale a graphics data in a graphics processing unit (GPU) are described. The up scale factor and the down scale factor may be precisely stored in the GPU based on a fixed number of bits. An actual scale factor which can be precisely stored in the GPU corresponding to the scale factor may differ from the scale factor with a difference. Graphics commands may be sent to the GPU to scale the graphics data according to the up scale factor and the down scale factor separately.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2011
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Loren Brichter, Alexander King-Chung Kan, Michael James Elliott Swift
  • Publication number: 20090225089
    Abstract: A method of managing multiple contexts for a single mode display includes receiving a plurality of tasks from one or more applications and determining respective contexts for each task, each context having a range of memory addresses. The method also includes selecting one context for output to the single mode display and loading the selected context into a graphics processor for the display.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 3, 2009
    Publication date: September 10, 2009
    Inventors: RICHARD SCHREYER, Michael James Elliott Swift
  • Publication number: 20080303837
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for updating graphics resource usage according to a stream of graphics commands atomically submitted to a graphics processing unit (GPU) are described. The stream of graphics commands may be received from a plurality of graphics APIs (application programming interfaces) by a graphics driver. Availability of graphics resources of the GPU may be monitored by the graphics driver for submitting the stream of graphics commands. A single notification from the GPU may indicate that all graphics commands submitted to the GPU have been executed for updating a usage of graphics resources associated with the executed graphics commands.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 7, 2007
    Publication date: December 11, 2008
    Inventors: Michael Jame Elliott Swift, Richard Schreyer
  • Publication number: 20080303834
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for maintaining separate information for graphics commands that have been sent to a graphics processing unit (GPU) and for graphics commands that have been processed by the GPU are described. The graphics commands may be associated with graphics resources. A manner to respond to a request for updating the graphics resources may be determined based on examining the separate information maintained for the graphics commands. The request may be received from a graphics API (application programming interface). Responding to the request may include at least one of notifying the graphics API regarding a status of the graphics resources and updating the graphics resources identified by the request.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 7, 2007
    Publication date: December 11, 2008
    Inventors: Michael James Elliott Swift, Richard Schreyer
  • Publication number: 20080303833
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for notifying a display driver to update a display with a graphics frame including multiple graphics data rendered separately by multiple graphics processing units (GPUs) substantially concurrently are described. Graphics commands may be received to dispatch to each GPU for rendering corresponding graphics data. The display driver may be notified when each graphics data has been completely rendered respectively by the corresponding GPU.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 7, 2007
    Publication date: December 11, 2008
    Inventors: Michael James Elliott Swift, Kenneth Christian Dyke, Richard Schreyer