IBM Patents Graphics Rendering on a Network On Chip

IBM was granted a patent that describes technology that integrates graphics rendering on a network on chip (NOC) device.

IBM filed the patent in February 2008 and got the confirmation after an unusually short time frame. The NOC claimed by IBM includes integrated processor (IP) blocks, routers, memory communications controllers, and a network interface controller. The IP blocks in the patent feature at least one geometry processor, a plurality of scan converters, and a multiple pixel processors.

The description of the graphics capability of the NOC is scarce, but IBM is referring to very basic graphics processing capability throughout the document. According to IBM, claims the rights to a: "method comprising: receiving, in the geometry processor, a representation of an object to be rendered; converting, by the geometry processor, the representation of the object to two dimensional primitives; sending, by the geometry processor, the primitives to the plurality of scan converters; converting, by the scan converters, the primitives to fragments, each fragment comprising one or more portions of a pixel; for each fragment: selecting, by the scan converter for the fragment in dependence upon sorting rules, a pixel processor to process the fragment; sending, by the scan converter to the pixel processor, the fragment; and processing, by the pixel processor, the fragment to produce pixels for an image."

Additional claims include software drivers.