DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1, 5, 9, & 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mineta Naoki Et. Al. (Pat. Pub. JP-2023178519-A, herein after “Naoki”) in view of Yukio Sakagawa Et. Al. (pat. Pub. US-6930685-B1, herein after “Sakagawa”) and further in view of Ueda Mikio (Pat. Pub. JP-4995054-B2, herein after “Mikio”).
In regard to claims 1, 5, 9, & 13 Naoki teaches [o]ne or more non-transitory computer-readable media having stored therein instructions that, when executed, cause one or more processors of an information processing apparatus to execute information processing comprising:
regarding objects in a virtual space, performing rendering to a frame buffer or a G buffer “a frame buffer 603 used as a memory area dedicated to image processing. The frame buffer 603 can store a primary buffer 604, a back buffer 605, a depth buffer 606, a stencil buffer 607, and the like” (Naoki, Page 6) while performing a depth test using a depth buffer “the processor 21 executes depth test processing. In this processing, processing is performed to prevent pixels hidden in the shadows of other pixels from being drawn based on a depth value set for each pixel. In the depth test process, a process of writing the depth value of a pixel into the depth buffer 606 is performed to determine whether the pixel is hidden” (Naoki, Page 7) where rendering on a frame buffer may occur while a depth test is performed. “Rendering the virtual space to a frame buffer by orthogonal projection and depth testing” (Naoki, Page 10).
Naoki fails to explicitly teach regarding a plurality of first type of objects among the objects in the virtual space, for each first type of object,
setting a partial space that is a part of the virtual space and encloses the first type of object,
setting a virtual light source corresponding to the partial space, and generating a partial shadow map that is a shadow map for the first type of object in the partial space based on the virtual light source, and
regarding pixels corresponding to a range of the partial space, determining, for each pixel, a density of shadow of the first type of object, based on a depth in the depth buffer and a depth of the partial shadow map, and if the density of shadow of the pixel has a value indicating a denser shadow than a value stored in a shadow buffer that stores densities of shadows, overwriting and storing the density of shadow of the pixel in the shadow buffer; and
rendering a shadow in an image in the frame buffer, based on the frame buffer and the shadow buffer, or rendering an image with a shadow in the frame buffer, based on the G buffer and the shadow buffer.
Sakagawa teaches regarding a plurality of first type of objects among the objects in the virtual space, for each first type of object,
setting a partial space that is a part of the virtual space and encloses the first type of object “View dependent opacity can be acquired and warped onto any surface geometry (surface hull) that completely encloses the object, i.e., the surface is said to be watertight." For example, the surface hull can also be constructed from accurate geometry acquired from laser range scanning, or it can be acquired by constructing a bounding box geometry” (Sakagawa, ¶ [0084]) where a surface hull is read as a partial space that is a part of the virtual space and encloses the object,
setting a virtual light source corresponding to the partial space “The shape of the mapping plane can be computed if the geometric shape of the bounding box of a virtual object and the relative position of a light source are given” (Sakagawa, ¶ [0049], also see ¶ [0008]) where the light source can be set and can correspond to a given position, and generating a partial shadow map that is a shadow map for the first type of object in the partial space based on the virtual light source “the bounding box used to determine the mapping plane can be used to create a simple shadow image in some cases. For example, when light reflected by a ceiling or external light serves as a light source, a very simple shadow image like an ellipse 305 that inscribes the bounding box can be used, as shown in FIG. 28” (Sakagawa, ¶ [0050]) where mapping is performed based on the bounding box, or partial space, and is based on the light source, and
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Sakagawa, Fig. 28, depicting bounding box (item 300) underneath light source (above) casting a shadow map (below) with object shadow (item 305).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of rendering a virtual space with a depth buffer and frame buffer taught by Naoki with the method of setting a partial space corresponding to an object and lighting it to generate a partial shadow map taught by Sakagawa to have a virtual space rendered by a frame buffer and depth buffer with objects within a separate partial space that can be lit from a virtual light. The suggestion/motivation to do so would have been to create a virtual space that has depth and lighting effects which seem realistic.
Naoki in view of Sakagawa fail to explicitly teach regarding pixels corresponding to a range of the partial space, determining, for each pixel, a density of shadow of the first type of object, based on a depth in the depth buffer and a depth of the partial shadow map, and if the density of shadow of the pixel has a value indicating a denser shadow than a value stored in a shadow buffer that stores densities of shadows, overwriting and storing the density of shadow of the pixel in the shadow buffer; and
rendering a shadow in an image in the frame buffer, based on the frame buffer and the shadow buffer, or rendering an image with a shadow in the frame buffer, based on the G buffer and the shadow buffer.
Mikio teaches regarding pixels corresponding to a range of the partial space, determining, for each pixel, a density of shadow of the first type of object “it is determined whether or not the overlapping portion of the dynamic shadow color DS and the texture color SS is blacker than the predetermined color (whether it is dark)” (Mikio, Page 12) where the darkness of the shadow is read as the density of the shadow, based on a depth in the depth buffer and a depth of the partial shadow map “In the Z buffer method, a Z buffer (not shown) that has the same resolution as the frame buffer 72 and stores a numerical value of the depth from the viewpoint (hereinafter referred to as “Z value”) for each pixel of the frame buffer 72” (Mikio, Page 8) where a Z buffer handles depth information and is read as the depth buffer, additionally, “the light map is obtained by texturing luminance information (for example, luminance value) representing a static shadow drawn on the screen” (Mikio, Page 9) a light map handles luminance of the shadow coordinates and is read as a shadow map, and if the density of shadow of the pixel has a value indicating a denser shadow than a value stored in a shadow buffer that stores densities of shadows, overwriting and storing the density of shadow of the pixel in the shadow buffer “The RGB luminance value stored for each pixel in the frame buffer 72 is updated to the luminance value K ′ calculated by the shading process in the corresponding pixel” (Mikio, Page 9) where the luminance value, or density of shadow, can be dynamically updated as its exposure to light (or lack thereof) changes; and
rendering a shadow in an image in the frame buffer “In the rendering process, for example, image data of characters appearing in the game is also written in the frame buffer” (Mikio, Page 4) where the rendered data includes characters, buildings, and object shadows, based on the frame buffer and the shadow buffer “The dynamic shadow buffer has the same configuration as the frame buffer 72. The luminance value and the mixing ratio α of the dynamic shadow are stored in the dynamic shadow buffer area corresponding to the selected pixel of the frame buffer 72” (Mikio, Page 13) where information stored in the shadow buffer is rendered similarly to the frame buffer, or rendering an image with a shadow in the frame buffer, based on the G buffer and the shadow buffer.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the use of a frame budder, a depth buffer, and a partial virtual space corresponding to an object taught by Naoki in view of Sakagawa with the method of determining darkness for each pixel based on depth and a shadow map taught by Mikio to render a complete object shadow by utilizing a set of buffers to store and render information accurately. The suggestion/motivation to do so would have been to create a smooth shadow, with its own stored information “the boundary portion of the dynamic shadow is smoothed so as not to be a so-called jaggy (for example, jagged edges). For example, known near-percentage filtering (PCF) is used” (Mikio, Page 12).
In regards to claim 5, claim 1 is substantially similar to claim 5, hence the rejection analysis for claim 1 is also applied to claim 5. Naoki in view of Sakagawa and Mikio teach the additional limitations of [a]n information processing system comprising one or more processors that execute information processing comprising:
regarding objects in a virtual space, performing rendering to a frame buffer or a G buffer while performing a depth test using a depth buffer (Naoki, Page 6);
regarding a plurality of first type of objects among the objects in the virtual space, for each first type of object,
setting a partial space that is a part of the virtual space and encloses the first type of object (Sakagawa, ¶ [0084]),
setting a virtual light source corresponding to the partial space, and generating a partial shadow map that is a shadow map for the first type of object in the partial space based on the virtual light source (Sakagawa, ¶ [0050]), and
regarding pixels corresponding to a range of the partial space, determining, for each pixel, a density of shadow of the first type of object (Mikio, Page 12), based on a depth in the depth buffer and a depth of the partial shadow map (Mikio, Page 8), and if the density of shadow of the pixel has a value indicating a denser shadow than a value stored in a shadow buffer that stores densities of shadows, overwriting and storing the density of shadow of the pixel in the shadow buffer (Mikio, Page 9); and
rendering a shadow in an image in the frame buffer (Mikio, Page 4), based on the frame buffer and the shadow buffer (Mikio, Page 13), or rendering an image with a shadow in the frame buffer, based on the G buffer and the shadow buffer.
In regards to claim 9, claim 1 is substantially similar to claim 9, hence the rejection analysis for claim 1 is also applied to claim 9. Naoki in view of Sakagawa and Mikio teach the additional limitations of [a]n information processing apparatus including one or more processors executing information processing, the information processing comprising:
regarding objects in a virtual space, performing rendering to a frame buffer or a G buffer while performing a depth test using a depth buffer (Naoki, Page 6);
regarding a plurality of first type of objects among the objects in the virtual space, for each first type of object,
setting a partial space that is a part of the virtual space and encloses the first type of object (Sakagawa, ¶ [0084]),
setting a virtual light source corresponding to the partial space, and generating a partial shadow map that is a shadow map for the first type of object in the partial space based on the virtual light source (Sakagawa, ¶ [0050]), and
regarding pixels corresponding to a range of the partial space, determining, for each pixel, a density of shadow of the first type of object (Mikio, Page 12), based on a depth in the depth buffer and a depth of the partial shadow map (Mikio, Page 8), and if the density of shadow of the pixel has a value indicating a denser shadow than a value stored in a shadow buffer that stores densities of shadows, overwriting and storing the density of shadow of the pixel in the shadow buffer (Mikio, Page 9); and
rendering a shadow in an image in the frame buffer (Mikio, Page 4), based on the frame buffer and the shadow buffer (Mikio, Page 13), or rendering an image with a shadow in the frame buffer, based on the G buffer and the shadow buffer.
In regards to claim 13, claim 1 is substantially similar to claim 13, hence the rejection analysis for claim 1 is also applied to claim 13. Naoki in view of Sakagawa and Mikio teach the additional limitations of [a]n image processing method executed by an information processing system, the information processing system executing:
regarding objects in a virtual space, performing rendering to a frame buffer or a G buffer while performing a depth test using a depth buffer (Naoki, Page 6);
regarding a plurality of first type of objects among the objects in the virtual space, for each first type of object,
setting a partial space that is a part of the virtual space and encloses the first type of object (Sakagawa, ¶ [0084]),
setting a virtual light source corresponding to the partial space, and generating a partial shadow map that is a shadow map for the first type of object in the partial space based on the virtual light source (Sakagawa, ¶ [0050]), and
regarding pixels corresponding to a range of the partial space, determining, for each pixel, a density of shadow of the first type of object (Mikio, Page 12), based on a depth in the depth buffer and a depth of the partial shadow map (Mikio, Page 8), and if the density of shadow of the pixel has a value indicating a denser shadow than a value stored in a shadow buffer that stores densities of shadows, overwriting and storing the density of shadow of the pixel in the shadow buffer (Mikio, Page 9); and
rendering a shadow in an image in the frame buffer (Mikio, Page 4), based on the frame buffer and the shadow buffer (Mikio, Page 13), or rendering an image with a shadow in the frame buffer, based on the G buffer and the shadow buffer.
In regard to claims 2, 6, 10, & 14 Naoki in view of Sakagawa and Mikio teach [t]he one or more non-transitory computer-readable media according to claim 1, wherein
the information processing includes determining the density of shadow for each of the pixels “it is determined whether or not the overlapping portion of the dynamic shadow color DS and the texture color SS is blacker than the predetermined color (whether it is dark)” (Mikio, Page 12) where the darkness of the shadow is read as the density of the shadow the depth buffer and the depth of the partial shadow map “ In the generation of a shadow map, the distance from the light to the visible surface with the position of the light as the viewpoint using the Z buffer method, in other words, the distance from the light to the portion (for example, an object or the ground) where the light is applied Is acquired for each pixel as a Z value (hereinafter referred to as “depth value D2”)” (Mikio, Page 10), “the depth value D2 of the dynamic object (character C) corresponding to the point f1 is read from the shadow map” (Mikio, Page 11), finally “the VRAM 7 is provided with an area for storing a light map, a shadow map, a Z buffer, drawing data of each object, and the like” (Mikio, Page 7) where the depth value is obtained using the Z buffer method, which is read as a depth buffer, and is used to generate the shadow map, both the depth buffer and the shadow map are then used to generate the object shadow.
Mikio does not teach where the shadow is corresponding to the range of the partial space.
Sakagawa teaches where the shadow is corresponding to the range of the partial space “the bounding box used to determine the mapping plane can be used to create a simple shadow image in some cases. For example, when light reflected by a ceiling or external light serves as a light source, a very simple shadow image like an ellipse 305 that inscribes the bounding box can be used, as shown in FIG. 28” (Sakagawa, ¶ [0050]) where mapping is performed based on the bounding box, or partial space, and is based on the light source.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the use of a shadow map and depth buffer taught by Mikio with the method of a bounding box to represent the partial space of an object taught by Sakagawa to cast a shadow for each of the pixels within the partial area that corresponds to the object. The suggestion/motivation to do so would have been to break up the processing strain and cast a shadow for the object within the object boundary.
In regards to claim 6, claim 2 is substantially similar to claim 6, hence the rejection analysis for claim 2 is also applied to claim 6. teaches the additional limitations of [t]he information processing system according to claim 5, wherein
the information processing includes determining the density of shadow for each of the pixels corresponding to the range of the partial space, based on a method of variance shadow mapping using the depth in the depth buffer and the depth of the partial shadow map (Mikio, Page 7) & (Sakagawa, ¶ [0050]).
In regards to claim 10, claim 2 is substantially similar to claim 10, hence the rejection analysis for claim 2 is also applied to claim 10. teaches the additional limitations of [t]he information processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein
the information processing includes determining the density of shadow for each of the pixels corresponding to the range of the partial space, based on a method of variance shadow mapping using the depth in the depth buffer and the depth of the partial shadow map (Mikio, Page 7) & (Sakagawa, ¶ [0050]).
In regards to claim 14, claim 2 is substantially similar to claim 14, hence the rejection analysis for claim 2 is also applied to claim 14. teaches the additional limitations of [t]he information processing method according to claim 13, wherein
the information processing system determines the density of shadow for each of the pixels corresponding to the range of the partial space, based on a method of variance shadow mapping using the depth in the depth buffer and the depth of the partial shadow map (Mikio, Page 7) & (Sakagawa, ¶ [0050]).
In regard to claims 3, 7, 11, & 15 Naoki in view of Sakagawa and Mikio teach [t]he one or more non-transitory computer-readable media according to claim 2, wherein
the first type of object is a flat-shaped object “Note that FIG. 19 shows the result in which the offset to the above-mentioned sampling points is also added. This makes it possible to express shadows without any discomfort when considered as a 2D game” (Naoki, Page 5) where a 2D game would have 2D characters, and therefore 2D objects, which are read as flat.
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Naoki, Fig. 19, depicting 2D characters in a 2D game with a shadow and background.
In regards to claim 7, claim 3 is substantially similar to claim 7, hence the rejection analysis for claim 3 is also applied to claim 7. Naoki teaches the additional limitations of [t]he information processing system according to claim 6, wherein
the first type of object is a flat-shaped object (Naoki, Page 5).
In regards to claim 11, claim 3 is substantially similar to claim 11, hence the rejection analysis for claim 3 is also applied to claim 11. Naoki teaches the additional limitations of [t]he information processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein
the first type of object is a flat-shaped object (Naoki, Page 5).
In regards to claim 15, claim 3 is substantially similar to claim 15, hence the rejection analysis for claim 3 is also applied to claim 15. Naoki teaches the additional limitations of [t]he information processing method according to claim 14, wherein
the first type of object is a flat-shaped object (Naoki, Page 5).
Claims 4, 8, 12, & 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Naoki in view of Akisada Hirokazu Et. Al. (Pat. Pub. JP-2003115055-A, herein after “Hirokazu”)
In regard to claims 4, 8, 12, & 16 Naoki in view of Sakagawa and Mikio teach [t]he one or more non-transitory computer-readable media according to claim 1.
Naoki in view of Sakagawa and Mikio fail to teach wherein
the virtual light source is a parallel light source, and
the partial space has a rectangular parallelepiped shape having sides along a direction of light from the parallel light source.
Hirokazu teaches wherein
the virtual light source is a parallel light source “in this embodiment, a parallel light source (light source set to infinity) is considered” (Hirokazu, Page 10), and
the partial space has a rectangular parallelepiped shape having sides along a direction of light from the parallel light source “only a certain object of interest among a plurality of objects is rendered by high-quality clipping or shading, and for other objects, a rectangular parallelepiped indicating a wire frame or an occupied area is rendered” (Hirokazu, Page 6) where the occupied area is read as a partial space and includes a rectangular parallelepiped shape in parallel to the light source.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of lighting an object to cast a shadow taught by Naoki with the method of a parallel light source, which illuminates a partial space with parallelepiped sides along the light direction taught by Hirokazu to improve the rendering. The suggestion/motivation to do so would have been to more accurately illuminate the objects or represent their casted shadow with less computational strain.
In regards to claim 8, claim 4 is substantially similar to claim 8, hence the rejection analysis for claim 4 is also applied to claim 8. Hirokazu teaches the additional limitations of [t]he information processing system according to claim 5, wherein
the virtual light source is a parallel light source (Hirokazu, Page 10), and
the partial space has a rectangular parallelepiped shape having sides along a direction of light from the parallel light source (Hirokazu, Page 6).
In regards to claim 12, claim 4 is substantially similar to claim 12, hence the rejection analysis for claim 4 is also applied to claim 12. Hirokazu teaches the additional limitations of [t]he information processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein
the virtual light source is a parallel light source (Hirokazu, Page 10), and
the partial space has a rectangular parallelepiped shape having sides along a direction of light from the parallel light source (Hirokazu, Page 6).
In regards to claim 16, claim 4 is substantially similar to claim 16, hence the rejection analysis for claim 4 is also applied to claim 16. Hirokazu teaches the additional limitations of [t]he information processing method according to claim 13, wherein
the virtual light source is a parallel light source (Hirokazu, Page 10), and
the partial space has a rectangular parallelepiped shape having sides along a direction of light from the parallel light source (Hirokazu, Page 6).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Wojciech Matusik Et. Al. (Pat. Pub. US-6831641-B2) teaches of object lighting and rendering from various viewpoints.
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/C.A.U./Examiner, Art Unit 2611
/TAMMY GODDARD/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2611
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