Patents by Inventor Steven E. Molnar

Steven E. Molnar 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: 5388206
    Abstract: A system for image generation comprising a plurality of renderers, each having a geometry processor and a rasterizer, that operate in parallel to compute pixel values for a set of primitive objects that comprise the image to be rendered. The geometry processor transforms graphics primitive objects from their native object coordinates to screen coordinates. The rasterizer consists of an array of enhanced memory devices having a processor and memory for each pixel in a region of a screen. The processors and their associated memories operate in SIMD fashion on screen space primitive descriptions to compute and store pixel values for an entire such region. The enhanced memory devices further comprise compositors for combining their pixel values, for example, based on a visibility test, with those from a corresponding memory device of another rasterizer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 1992
    Date of Patent: February 7, 1995
    Assignee: The University of North Carolina
    Inventors: John W. Poulton, Steven E. Molnar, John G. Eyles