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 .
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
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Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. 11,727,623. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the claimed invention of the US patent contains all features of the pending application.
Claims of the application
Claims of the patent 11727623
1.A machine-implemented method for rendering geometry of a 3-D scene using a rendering space which is sub-divided into a plurality of tiles, the method comprising:
maintaining a respective depth range for each tile of the plurality of tiles; determining a plurality of elements of geometry of the 3-D scene;
performing ray tracing operations for the plurality of elements of geometry, said ray tracing operations comprising producing a plurality of rays, the plurality of rays associated with at least two different samples, each of the plurality of rays being associated with a depth of a respective element of geometry of the plurality of elements of geometry for a respective sample, of the at least two different samples, with which that ray is associated; identifying a group of rays of the plurality of rays that contribute to one or more samples, of the at least two different samples, within a tile of the plurality of tiles;
and comparing the associated depth of each ray of the group of rays with the maintained depth range of the tile and, in response to determining that the associated depth of a ray of the group of rays is outside of the maintained depth range for the tile, discarding results of the ray tracing operations for that ray.
1.A machine-implemented method for rendering geometry of a 3-D scene using a rendering space which is sub-divided into a plurality of tiles, the method comprising:
processing geometry of the 3-D scene using rasterization operations to produce a depth range for a tile of the rendering space in which at least one currently visible element of geometry is located;
processing at least one ray within the 3-D scene using ray tracing operations, the at least one ray associated with a sample in the tile and a depth of said at least one currently visible element of geometry for said sample; updating the depth range for the tile based on results of the rasterization operations;
9. … wherein, when a plurality of rays contribute to the sample in the tile, the depth range for the tile is compared with the associated depths of more than one ray in the plurality of rays.
10. … wherein comparing the depth range for the tile with the associated depths of more than one ray in the plurality of rays comprises comparing a range of intersection distances for the plurality of rays with the depth range for the tile.
and comparing, for the at least one ray, the associated depth of that ray with the depth range of the tile in which the sample associated with the ray is located and, if the associated depth of the ray is outside of the depth range for the tile, discarding results of the ray tracing operations for the ray.
2. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein discarding results of the ray tracing operations for that ray comprises allowing said results to be overwritten in memory.
2. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein discarding results of the ray tracing operations for the ray comprises allowing said results to be overwritten in memory.
3. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein discarding results of the ray tracing operations for that ray comprises producing a rendering result for the 3-D scene without using said results of the ray tracing operations for that ray.
3. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein discarding results of the ray tracing operations for the ray comprises producing a rendering result for the 3-D scene without using said results of the ray tracing operations for the ray.
4. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, comprising discarding results of the ray tracing operations for that ray prior to completion of the processing of that ray using ray-tracing operations.
8. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, comprising discarding results of the ray tracing operations for the ray prior to completion of the processing of the ray using ray-tracing operations.
5. The machine-implemented method of claim 1 wherein rendering geometry of the 3-D scene is for a frame of pixels, wherein a value of each pixel is determined based on one or more samples for that pixel.
4. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein processing geometry of the 3-D scene … comprises determining the at least one currently visible element of geometry in the scene by processing at least one first element of geometry in the 3-D scene.
6. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the group of rays comprises rays that contribute to one or more samples, of the at least two different samples, within the same tile of the plurality of tiles.
5. The machine-implemented method of claim 4, wherein … processing at least one second element of geometry in the 3-D scene and updating the depth range for the tile based on the at least one second element of geometry.
7. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising maintaining the respective depth range for each tile of the plurality of tiles using hidden surface removal operations.
9. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein, when a plurality of rays contribute to the sample in the tile, the depth range for the tile is compared with the associated depths of more than one ray in the plurality of rays.
8. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising maintaining a respective depth value for each sample of the at least two different samples.
10. The machine-implemented method of claim 9, wherein comparing the depth range for the tile with the associated depths of more than one ray in the plurality of rays comprises comparing a range of intersection distances for the plurality of rays with the depth range for the tile.
9. The machine-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising, in response to determining that the associated depth of a further ray of the group of rays is inside of the depth range for the tile, comparing the associated depth of that further ray with the maintained depth value of the sample, of the at least two different samples, to which that further ray is associated and, in response to determining that the maintained depth value of that sample is closer than the associated depth of that further ray, discarding results of the ray tracing operations for that further ray.
11. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein, if the associated depth of the ray is inside of the depth range for the tile, the depth associated with the ray is compared with a depth value associated with the sample and, if the depth associated with the sample is closer than the depth associated with the ray, discarding results of the ray tracing operations for the ray.
10. The machine-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising, in response to determining that the associated depth of a further ray of the group of rays is inside of the depth range for the tile, comparing the associated depth of that further ray with the maintained depth value of the sample, of the at least two different samples, to which that further ray is associated and, in response to determining that the maintained depth value of that sample is not closer than the associated depth of that further ray, not discarding results of the ray tracing operations for that further ray.
12. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein, if the associated depth of the ray is inside of the depth range for the tile, the depth associated with the ray is compared with a depth value associated with the sample and, if the depth value associated with the sample is not closer than the depth associated with the ray, producing a rendering result for the 3-D scene using the results of the ray tracing operations for the ray.
11. The machine-implemented method of claim 10, further comprising producing a rendering result for the 3-D scene using the results of the ray tracing operations for that further ray.
12. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein, … if the depth value associated with the sample is not closer than the depth associated with the ray, producing a rendering result for the 3-D scene using the results of the ray tracing operations for the ray
12. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of elements of geometry of the 3-D scene are a plurality of currently visible elements of geometry when they are determined.
4. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein processing geometry of the 3-D scene … determining the at least one currently visible element of geometry in the scene by processing at least one first element of geometry in the 3-D scene.
13. The machine-implemented method of claim 12, wherein a currently visible element of geometry is an element of geometry that is not hidden by a previously processed element of geometry.
6. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the at least one currently visible element of geometry is an element of geometry that is not hidden by a previously processed element of geometry.
14. The machine-implemented method of claim 12, wherein maintaining the respective depth range for each tile of the plurality of tiles comprises: producing a respective depth range for each tile of the plurality of tiles; and subsequent to determining the plurality of currently visible elements of geometry of the 3-D scene, updating the respective depth range for at least one tile of the plurality of tiles.
4. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein processing geometry of the 3-D scene … to produce the depth range for the tile comprises determining the at least one currently visible element of geometry in the scene by processing at least one first element of geometry in the 3-D scene.
15. The machine-implemented method of claim 14, further comprising performing hidden surface removal operations for geometry of the 3-D scene, wherein the respective depth range for each tile of the plurality of tiles is produced as a byproduct of said hidden surface removal operations.
9. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein, when a plurality of rays contribute to the sample in the tile, the depth range for the tile is compared with the associated depths of more than one ray in the plurality of rays.
16. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein performing ray tracing operations for the plurality of elements of geometry comprises running shaders for the plurality of elements of geometry to emit the plurality of rays to be traced within the 3-D scene.
7. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein processing the at least one ray within the 3-D scene using ray tracing operations comprises initiating running of a shader for the at least one currently visible element of geometry to emit the at least one ray to be traced within the 3-D scene.
19. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein discarding results of the ray tracing operations for that ray comprises: allowing said results to be overwritten in memory; and/or producing a rendering result for the 3-D scene without using said results of the ray tracing operations for that ray.
2. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein discarding results of the ray tracing operations for the ray comprises allowing said results to be overwritten in memory.
3. … producing a rendering result for the 3-D scene without using said results of the ray tracing operations for the ray.
20. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising discarding results of the ray tracing operations for that ray prior to completion of the processing of that ray using ray-tracing operations.
8. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, comprising discarding results of the ray tracing operations for the ray prior to completion of the processing of the ray using ray-tracing operations.
Claims 17 and 18 claim an apparatus and a machine-implemented method based on the method of claims 1-16; therefore, they are rejected under a similar rationale.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PHU K NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-7645. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5pm.
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/PHU K NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2616
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