Prosecution Insights
Last updated: September 29, 2026
Application No. 19/022,671

Graphics Processing Using Directional Representations of Lighting at Probe Positions within a Scene

Non-Final OA §101§DP
Filed
Jan 15, 2025
Priority
Mar 03, 2015 — provisional 62/127,430 +5 more
Examiner
MCDOWELL, JR, MAURICE L
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Imagination Technologies Limited
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
87%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 2m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 87% — above average
87%
Career Allowance Rate
811 granted / 936 resolved
+26.6% vs TC avg
Moderate +13% lift
Without
With
+12.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
21 currently pending
Career history
949
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
17.6%
-22.4% vs TC avg
§103
50.3%
+10.3% vs TC avg
§102
10.6%
-29.4% vs TC avg
§112
8.0%
-32.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 936 resolved cases

Office Action

§101 §DP
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 . Specification Abstract The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because it isn’t relevant to the current set of claims. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b). Title of the Invention The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed. The following title is suggested: Graphics Processing Using Directional Representations of Lighting at Probe Positions for rendering a frame representing an image of Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101 35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows: Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title. Claims 1-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim(s) does/do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because claim 1 is directed to a machine-implemented method of graphics processing, comprising the steps of tracing, updating and using which are nothing more than software instructions. Software instructions are non-statutory under 35 U.S.C. 101. Claims 2-14 depend from claim 1 and comprise additional steps, for example claim 2 comprises the steps of transforming and combining, therefore claims 2-14 have the same problem as claim 1 and are rejected under the same rationale. Double Patenting 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). A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b). The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13. The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer. Claims 1-12 and 15-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-3, 5-16 and 18-20 of U.S. Patent No. 10,672,183 B2. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the instant claims are a broader version of the patent claims. Claims 1-9, 12-13, 15-17 and 20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-8, 11-15 and 20 of U.S. Patent No. 10,008,032 B2 in view of UNGER et. al., "Spatially varying image based lighting by light probe sequences: Capture, processing and rendering." The Visual Computer 23.7 (2007): 453-465 (from IDS of 1/15/25). Regarding claims 1, 15 and 20 the patent teaches using the updated directional representation of lighting for the probe position for determine lighting indications but doesn’t teach, however the analogous prior art UNGER teaches the light probes are used for rendering (UNGER: abstract see col. 1 line 19-col. 2 line 15). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the light probes are used for rendering as shown in UNGER with the patent for the benefit of fulfilling a need in the prior art for equipment and methods for sampling of spatially and temporally varying lighting situations with detailed measurements of lighting that can be used to achieve a higher level of realism in rendered images, in order to address a shortcoming in the prior art in that existing methods of image based lighting techniques are still based on images of static lighting at a single point in space, whereas most real world lighting conditions vary over both time and space [pg. 1, right col., 2nd par. line 1 – pg. 2, left col. line 3]. Claims of 19/022,671 Claims of 10,672,183 B2 1. A machine-implemented method of graphics processing, comprising: tracing one or more rays for a probe position within a scene to determine, for each of the one or more rays, a lighting contribution for the probe position from the direction of the ray; updating a directional representation of lighting for the probe position based on the determined lighting contribution for each of the one or more rays; and using the updated directional representation of lighting for the probe position for rendering a frame representing an image of the scene. 2. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein said updating the directional representation of lighting for the probe position comprises: transforming the one or more determined lighting contributions for the one or more rays into a set of component values associated with respective components of the directional representation of lighting for the probe position; and combining the component values for the one or more rays with existing component values of the directional representation of lighting for the probe position. 3. The machine-implemented method of claim 2, wherein said combining the component values for the one or more rays with existing component values of the directional representation of lighting for the probe position comprises maintaining a running average the component values of the directional representation of lighting for the probe position over a sequence of frames. 4. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising storing the updated directional representation of lighting for the probe position. 5. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein said tracing one or more rays for the probe position comprises selecting a respective one or more directions for the one or more rays. 6. The machine-implemented method of claim 5, wherein the selection of a direction for a ray is performed randomly or pseudo-randomly. 7. The machine-implemented method of claim 5, wherein the selection of a direction for a ray is based on a selection scheme wherein the directions are selected from a set of available ray directions, wherein at least: (i) the selection scheme is a round robin scheme; or (ii) the selection scheme is biased towards selecting directions which are towards regions of relatively high luminosity in the scene; or (iii) the direction for a ray is selected from the set of available ray directions based on the respective intervals since the available ray directions were most recently selected for the probe position; or (iv) the direction for a ray for the probe position is selected based on directions selected for nearby probe positions; or (v) the selection scheme is biased towards selecting directions which are known to be more significant based on changes to the scene; or (vi) the direction is computed by evaluating a low discrepancy sequence; or (vii) the direction is computed using a quasi-Monte-Carlo method; or (viii) the direction is chosen because of the position of a known lit scene element or light source. 8. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the directional representation of lighting is defined in terms of spherical harmonic components. 9. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein said rendering the frame representing the image of the scene comprises: using the updated directional representation of lighting for the probe position to determine a lighting indication for a visible surface of the scene for at least one pixel in the frame; and shading the at least one pixel in the frame in accordance with the determined lighting indication. 10. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein said updating the directional representation of lighting for the probe position comprises a form of averaging between existing probe lighting data and the determined lighting contribution for one or more of said rays. 11. The machine-implemented method of claim 10, wherein the rays are biased towards directions of increased importance and the averaging accounts for a change in probability. 12. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein said using the updated directional representation of lighting for the probe position comprises: determining local probe data at a local probe position within the scene based on the directional representation of lighting for the probe position; and using the local probe data of the local probe position to determine a lighting indication for a visible surface of the scene for at least one pixel in the frame. 15. A graphics processing unit configured to render a frame representing an image of a scene, the graphics processing unit comprising: processing logic configured to: trace one or more rays for a probe position within the scene to determine, for each of the one or more rays, a lighting contribution for the probe position from the direction of the ray; update a directional representation of lighting for the probe position based on the determined lighting contribution for each of the one or more rays; and use the updated directional representation of lighting for the probe position for rendering the frame representing the image of the scene. 16. The graphics processing unit of claim 15, wherein the processing logic is configured to update the directional representation of lighting for the probe position by: transforming the one or more determined lighting contributions for the one or more rays into a set of component values associated with respective components of the directional representation of lighting for the probe position; and combining the component values for the one or more rays with existing component values of the directional representation of lighting for the probe position. 17. The graphics processing unit of claim 16, wherein the processing logic is configured to combine the component values for the one or more rays with existing component values of the directional representation of lighting for the probe position by maintaining a running average the component values of the directional representation of lighting for the probe position over a sequence of frames. 18. The graphics processing unit of claim 15, wherein updating the directional representation of lighting for the probe position comprises a form of averaging between existing probe lighting data and the determined lighting contribution for one or more of said rays. 19. The graphics processing unit of claim 18, wherein the rays are biased towards directions of increased importance and the averaging accounts for a change in probability. 20. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon processor executable instructions that when executed cause at least one processor to: trace one or more rays for a probe position within a scene to determine, for each of the one or more rays, a lighting contribution for the probe position from the direction of the ray; update a directional representation of lighting for the probe position based on the determined lighting contribution for each of the one or more rays; and use the updated directional representation of lighting for the probe position for rendering a frame representing an image of the scene. 1. A machine-implemented method of graphics processing for rendering a sequence of frames, the method comprising: tracing one or more rays from the probe position to determine, for each of the one or more rays, a lighting contribution for the probe position from the direction of the ray; updating an existing directional representation of lighting for the probe position from a previous frame based on the determined lighting contribution for each of the one or more rays; using the directional representations of lighting for the probe positions for rendering a current frame representing an image of the scene. for each probe position of a plurality of probe positions within a scene, maintaining a directional representation of lighting over sequence of frames by. 7. The machine-implemented method of claim 1 wherein said updating an existing directional representation of lighting for a probe position comprises: transforming the one or more determined lighting contributions for the one or more rays into a set of component values associated with respective components of the directional representation of lighting for the probe position; and combining the component values for the one or more rays with existing component values of the directional representation of lighting for the probe position. 8. The machine-implemented method of claim 7 wherein said combining the component values for the one or more rays with existing component values of the directional representation of lighting for the probe position comprises maintaining a running average the component values of the directional representation of lighting for the probe position over the sequence of frames. 9. The machine-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising storing the directional representations of lighting for the probe positions. 10. The machine-implemented method of claim 1 wherein said tracing one or more rays for a probe position comprises selecting a respective one or more directions for the one or more rays… 10. wherein the selection of a direction for a ray is performed randomly or pseudo-randomly. 11. The machine-implemented method of claim 1 wherein said tracing one or more rays for a probe position comprises selecting a respective one or more directions for the one or more rays, wherein the selection of a direction for a ray is based on a selection scheme wherein the directions are selected from a set of available ray directions, wherein at least: (i) the selection scheme is a round robin scheme; or (ii) the selection scheme is biased towards selecting directions which are towards regions of relatively high luminosity in the scene; or (iii) the direction for a ray is selected from the set of available ray directions based on the respective intervals since the available ray directions were most recently selected for the probe position; or (iv) the direction for a ray for a particular probe position is selected based on directions selected for nearby probe positions; or (v) the selection scheme is biased towards selecting directions which are known to be more significant based on changes to the scene; or (vi) the direction is computed by evaluating a low discrepancy sequence; or (vii) the direction is computed using a quasi-monte-carlo method; or (viii) the direction is chosen because of the position of a known lit scene element or light source. 12. The machine-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the directional representations of lighting are defined in terms of spherical harmonic components. 5. The machine-implemented method of claim 4 wherein the directional representations of lighting for the probe positions are used to determine lighting indications for the determined visible surfaces of the scene for pixels in the frame. 6. The machine-implemented method of claim 5 further comprising shading the pixels in the frame in accordance with the determined lighting indications. 2. The machine-implemented method of claim 1 wherein said updating an existing directional representation of lighting for a probe position comprises a form of averaging between existing probe lighting data and the determined lighting contribution for one or more of said rays. 3. The machine-implemented method of claim 2 wherein the rays are biased towards directions of increased importance and the averaging accounts for a change in probability. 13. The machine-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising determining local probe data at local probe positions within the scene based on the directional representations of lighting for the probe positions. 19. The graphics processing unit of claim 14 wherein the processing logic is configured to determine a lighting indication for a determined visible surface of the scene for a pixel in the frame by: identifying a set of probe positions for the pixel; and implementing a distance-based weighting of the directional representations of lighting for the identified set of probe positions. 14. A graphics processing unit for rendering a sequence of frames, the graphics processing unit comprising processing logic configured to: tracing one or more rays from the probe position to determine, for each of the one or more rays, a lighting contribution for the probe position from the direction of the ray; updating an existing directional representation of lighting for the probe position from a previous frame based on the determined lighting contribution for each of the one or more rays; and use the directional representations of lighting for the probe positions for rendering a current frame representing an image of the scene maintain a directional representation of lighting over the sequence of frames for each probe position of a plurality of probe positions within a scene, by:. 18. The graphics processing unit of claim 14 wherein the processing logic is configured to update an existing directional representation of lighting for a probe position by: transforming the one or more determined lighting contributions for the one or more rays into a set of component values associated with respective components of the directional representation of lighting for the probe position; and combining the component values for the one or more rays with existing component values of the directional representation of lighting for the probe position by maintaining a running average the component values of the directional representation of lighting for the probe position over the sequence of frames. 18. combining the component values for the one or more rays with existing component values of the directional representation of lighting for the probe position by maintaining a running average the component values of the directional representation of lighting for the probe position over the sequence of frames. 15. The graphics processing unit of claim 14 wherein said updating an existing directional representation of lighting for a probe position comprises a form of averaging between existing probe lighting data and the determined lighting contribution for one or more of said rays. 16. The graphics processing unit of claim 15 wherein the rays are biased towards directions of increased importance and the averaging accounts for a change in probability. 20. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon processor executable instructions that when executed cause at least one processor to: tracing one or more rays from the probe position to determine, for each of the one or more rays, a lighting contribution for the probe position from the direction of the ray; updating an existing directional representation of lighting for the probe position from a previous frame based on the determined lighting contribution for each of the one or more rays; use the directional representations of lighting for the probe positions for rendering a current frame representing an image of the scene… Claims of 19/022,671 Claims of US 10,008,032 B2 1. A machine-implemented method of graphics processing, comprising: tracing one or more rays for a probe position within a scene to determine, for each of the one or more rays, a lighting contribution for the probe position from the direction of the ray; updating a directional representation of lighting for the probe position based on the determined lighting contribution for each of the one or more rays; and using the updated directional representation of lighting for the probe position for rendering a frame representing an image of the scene. 2. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein said updating the directional representation of lighting for the probe position comprises: transforming the one or more determined lighting contributions for the one or more rays into a set of component values associated with respective components of the directional representation of lighting for the probe position; and combining the component values for the one or more rays with existing component values of the directional representation of lighting for the probe position. 3. The machine-implemented method of claim 2, wherein said combining the component values for the one or more rays with existing component values of the directional representation of lighting for the probe position comprises maintaining a running average the component values of the directional representation of lighting for the probe position over a sequence of frames. 4. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising storing the updated directional representation of lighting for the probe position. 5. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein said tracing one or more rays for the probe position comprises selecting a respective one or more directions for the one or more rays. 6. The machine-implemented method of claim 5, wherein the selection of a direction for a ray is performed randomly or pseudo-randomly. 7. The machine-implemented method of claim 5, wherein the selection of a direction for a ray is based on a selection scheme wherein the directions are selected from a set of available ray directions, wherein at least: (i) the selection scheme is a round robin scheme; or (ii) the selection scheme is biased towards selecting directions which are towards regions of relatively high luminosity in the scene; or (iii) the direction for a ray is selected from the set of available ray directions based on the respective intervals since the available ray directions were most recently selected for the probe position; or (iv) the direction for a ray for the probe position is selected based on directions selected for nearby probe positions; or (v) the selection scheme is biased towards selecting directions which are known to be more significant based on changes to the scene; or (vi) the direction is computed by evaluating a low discrepancy sequence; or (vii) the direction is computed using a quasi-Monte-Carlo method; or (viii) the direction is chosen because of the position of a known lit scene element or light source. 8. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the directional representation of lighting is defined in terms of spherical harmonic components. 9. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein said rendering the frame representing the image of the scene comprises: using the updated directional representation of lighting for the probe position to determine a lighting indication for a visible surface of the scene for at least one pixel in the frame; and shading the at least one pixel in the frame in accordance with the determined lighting indication. 12. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein said using the updated directional representation of lighting for the probe position comprises: determining local probe data at a local probe position within the scene based on the directional representation of lighting for the probe position; and using the local probe data of the local probe position to determine a lighting indication for a visible surface of the scene for at least one pixel in the frame. 13. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein there are further probe positions within the scene for which rays are not traced, wherein the probe position for which one or more rays are traced are selected based on a visible surface of the scene. 15. A graphics processing unit configured to render a frame representing an image of a scene, the graphics processing unit comprising: processing logic configured to: trace one or more rays for a probe position within the scene to determine, for each of the one or more rays, a lighting contribution for the probe position from the direction of the ray; update a directional representation of lighting for the probe position based on the determined lighting contribution for each of the one or more rays; and use the updated directional representation of lighting for the probe position for rendering the frame representing the image of the scene. 16. The graphics processing unit of claim 15, wherein the processing logic is configured to update the directional representation of lighting for the probe position by: transforming the one or more determined lighting contributions for the one or more rays into a set of component values associated with respective components of the directional representation of lighting for the probe position; and combining the component values for the one or more rays with existing component values of the directional representation of lighting for the probe position. 17. The graphics processing unit of claim 16, wherein the processing logic is configured to combine the component values for the one or more rays with existing component values of the directional representation of lighting for the probe position by maintaining a running average the component values of the directional representation of lighting for the probe position over a sequence of frames. 20. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon processor executable instructions that when executed cause at least one processor to: trace one or more rays for a probe position within a scene to determine, for each of the one or more rays, a lighting contribution for the probe position from the direction of the ray; update a directional representation of lighting for the probe position based on the determined lighting contribution for each of the one or more rays; and use the updated directional representation of lighting for the probe position for rendering a frame representing an image of the scene. 1. A machine-implemented method of graphics processing, comprising: tracing one or more rays from the probe position to determine, for each of the one or more rays, a lighting contribution for the probe position from the direction of the ray; updating the directional representation of lighting for the probe position based on the determined lighting contribution for each of the one or more rays; using the directional representations of lighting for the probe positions to determine lighting indications for the determined visible surfaces of the scene for pixels in the frame… 2. The machine-implemented method of claim 1 wherein said updating the directional representation of lighting for a probe position comprises: transforming the one or more determined lighting contributions for the one or more rays into a set of component values associated with respective components of the directional representation of lighting for the probe position; and combining the component values for the one or more rays with existing component values of the directional representation of lighting for the probe position. 3. The machine-implemented method of claim 2 wherein said combining the component values for the one or more rays with existing component values of the directional representation of lighting for the probe position comprises maintaining a running average the component values of the directional representation of lighting for the probe position over the sequence of frames. 4. The machine-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising storing the directional representations of lighting for the probe positions. 5. The machine-implemented method of claim 1 wherein said tracing one or more rays for a probe position comprises selecting a respective one or more directions for the one or more rays. 6. The machine-implemented method of claim 5 wherein the selection of a direction for a ray is performed randomly or pseudo-randomly. 7. The machine-implemented method of claim 5 wherein the selection of a direction for a ray is based on a selection scheme wherein the directions are selected from a set of available ray directions, wherein at least: (i) the selection scheme is a round robin scheme; or (ii) the selection scheme is biased towards selecting directions which are towards regions of relatively high luminosity in the scene; or (iii) the direction for a ray is selected from the set of available ray directions based on the respective intervals since the available ray directions were most recently selected for the probe position; or (iv) the direction for a ray for a particular probe position is selected based on directions selected for nearby probe positions; or (v) the selection scheme is biased towards selecting directions which are known to be more significant based on changes to the scene; or (vi) the direction is computed by evaluating a low discrepancy sequence; or (vii) the direction is computed using a quasi-Monte-Carlo method; or (viii) the direction is chosen because of the position of a known lit scene element or light source. 8. The machine-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the directional representations of lighting are defined in terms of spherical harmonic components. 1. A machine-implemented method of graphics processing, comprising: using the directional representations of lighting for the probe positions to determine lighting indications for the determined visible surfaces of the scene for pixels in the frame; and shading the pixels in the frame in accordance with the determined lighting indications… 11. The machine-implemented method of claim 1 wherein said using the directional representations of lighting for the probe positions comprises: determining local probe data at local probe positions within the scene based on the directional representations of lighting for the probe positions; and using the local probe data of the local probe positions to determine the lighting indications for the determined visible surfaces of the scene for pixels in the frame. 12. The machine-implemented method of claim 1 wherein there are further probe positions within the scene for which rays are not traced, wherein the plurality of probe positions from which one or more rays are traced are selected based on the visible surfaces. 13. A graphics processing unit configured to render a sequence of frames, the graphics processing unit comprising: processing logic configured to: tracing one or more rays from the probe position to determine, for each of the one or more rays, a lighting contribution for the probe position from the direction of the ray; updating the directional representation of lighting for the probe position based on the determined lighting contribution for each of the one or more rays; use the directional representations of lighting for the probe positions to determine lighting indications for the determined visible surfaces of the scene for pixels in the frame… 14. The graphics processing unit of claim 13 wherein the processing logic is configured to update the directional representation of lighting for a probe position by: transforming the one or more determined lighting contributions for the one or more rays into a set of component values associated with respective components of the directional representation of lighting for the probe position; and combining the component values for the one or more rays with existing component values of the directional representation of lighting for the probe position. 15. The graphics processing unit of claim 14 wherein the processing logic is configured to combine the component values for the one or more rays with existing component values of the directional representation of lighting for the probe position by maintaining a running average the component values of the directional representation of lighting for the probe position over the sequence of frames. 20. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon processor executable instructions that when executed cause at least one processor to: tracing one or more rays from the probe position to determine, for each of the one or more rays, a lighting contribution for the probe position from the direction of the ray; updating the directional representation of lighting for the probe position based on the determined lighting contribution for each of the one or more rays; use the directional representations of lighting for the probe positions to determine lighting indications for the determined visible surfaces of the scene for pixels in the frame… Allowable Subject Matter Claim 14 would be objected to (except for the 101 rejection) as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Regarding claim 14, the prior art doesn’t teach: 14. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein said tracing one or more rays for the probe position within the scene comprises tracing one or more rays from the probe position within the scene. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MAURICE L MCDOWELL, JR whose telephone number is (571)270-3707. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri: 2pm-10pm. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Said A. Broome can be reached at 571-272-2931. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /MAURICE L. MCDOWELL, JR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2612
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Prosecution Timeline

Jan 15, 2025
Application Filed
Aug 28, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §101, §DP (current)

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
87%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+12.9%)
2y 11m (~1y 2m remaining)
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