Rasterization system for converting polygonal pattern data into a bit-map

Abstract

A real-time rasterization system for converting plural polygonal pattern data into respective bits of a two-dimensional bit-map, wherein the respective bits of the bit-map and the locations thereof within the bit-map correspond to the shapes and locations of the polygons in a two-dimensional field and wherein the bit-map is divided into plural data stripes, each including plural scan lines having plural bits. The rasterization system converts the plural pattern data of a data stripe into plural linked data entries such that data entries which correspond to polygons intersecting the same scan line are sequentially linked, and includes a double buffer pattern data memory for storing the plural linked data entries; a processor for determining for each scan line the bits thereof intersected by each polygon represented by the respective linked data entries and for producing bit-map data corresponding to the determined bits; a double-buffer bit-map memory coupled to the processor for storing the bit-map data for each scan line of the data stripe; and a double-buffer output register for reading out sequentially the bit-map data stored in the bit-map memory.