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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 .
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.
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Claims 1-5 and 18-20 rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-4, 9, 13, 16, 17, 19, and 20 of U.S. Patent No. 12,293,448. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the pending claims are a variation of the patented claims. Claims 1-5 and 18-20 of the instant application are anticipated by patent claims 1-4, 9, 13, 16, 17, 19, and 20, in that claims 1-4, 9, 13, 16, 17, 19, and 20 of the patent contains all the limitations of claims 1-5 and 18-20 of the instant application. Claims 1-5 and 18-20 of the instant application therefore are not patently distinct from the earlier patent claims and as such are unpatentable for anticipatory-type double patenting.
Instant Application 19/199,490
U.S. Patent 12,293,448
1. A method for rendering a plurality of items of geometry within a plurality of first regions of a rendering space, each of the first regions being subdivided into a plurality of second regions, the plurality of items of geometry being stored in data blocks having a respective block ID, the method comprising: rendering the plurality of items of geometry within a second region of the plurality of second regions using:
a first control list for the first region of which the second region is a part, and
a second control list for the second region, each control list comprising a plurality of entries associated with respective items of geometry of the plurality of items of geometry, each of the plurality of entries comprising a block ID associated with a data block;
1. A method of rendering an item of geometry within a plurality of first regions of a rendering space, each of the first regions being subdivided into a plurality of second regions, the method comprising: for each first region of the plurality of first regions, based on a coverage of the item of geometry within the first region, selecting whether to add the item of geometry to a first control list for the first region or to one or more second control lists for a respective one or more second regions of the plurality of second regions; and rendering the item of geometry using the first control list or the respective one or more second control lists.
13. A method of rendering a plurality of items of geometry comprising performing the method of claim 1 for each item of geometry in the plurality of items of geometry.
16. The method of claim 13, wherein the plurality of items of geometry are stored in data blocks in accordance with a submission order of the items of geometry, wherein each data block is associated with a block ID, and wherein entries in the control lists include a block ID with a geometry indication to identify a data block and to indicate one or more items of geometry from the identified data block.
wherein rendering the plurality of items of geometry within the second region comprises: choosing from the first control list and the second list, the entry comprising the lowest block ID which has not previously been chosen, and
17. The method of claim 16, wherein rendering the plurality of items of geometry within a second region comprises: choosing, from the first control list for the first region of which the second region is a part and the second control list for the second region, the lowest block ID which has not been previously chosen;
fetching one or more items of geometry from the data block associated with the block ID of the chosen entry.
17. and fetching one or more items of geometry from the data block with the chosen block ID in accordance with the geometry indication for said data block with the chosen block ID.
The above table illustrates a comparative mapping between the limitations of claim 1 of the instant application and the limitations of claim 1, 13, 16, and 17 of U.S. Patent 12,293,448. The following is a complete listing of the correspondence between the claims of the instant application to U.S. Patent 12,293,448.
Claims on Instant Application
1
2
3
4
5
18
19
20
Claims of U.S. Patent 12,293,448
1, 13, 16, 17
2, 3, 9
16
16, 17
1
1, 4, 7
19, 1, 13, 16, 17
20, 1, 13, 16, 17
Claims 1-5 and 18-20 rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 5, 8, 12, 13, 19, and 20 of U.S. Patent No. 11,741,656. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the pending claims are a variation of the patented claims. Claims 1-5 and 18-20 of the instant application are anticipated by patent claims 1, 5, 8, 12, 13, 19, and 20, in that claims 1, 5, 8, 12, 13, 19, and 20 of the patent contains all the limitations of claims 1-5 and 18-20 of the instant application. Claims 1-5 and 18-20 of the instant application therefore are not patently distinct from the earlier patent claims and as such are unpatentable for anticipatory-type double patenting.
Instant Application 19/199,490
U.S. Patent 11,741,656
1. A method for rendering a plurality of items of geometry within a plurality of first regions of a rendering space, each of the first regions being subdivided into a plurality of second regions, the plurality of items of geometry being stored in data blocks having a respective block ID, the method comprising: rendering the plurality of items of geometry within a second region of the plurality of second regions using:
a first control list for the first region of which the second region is a part, and
a second control list for the second region, each control list comprising a plurality of entries associated with respective items of geometry of the plurality of items of geometry, each of the plurality of entries comprising a block ID associated with a data block;
1. A method of rendering items of geometry in a graphics processing system, wherein the graphics processing system is configured to use a rendering space which is sub-divided into a plurality of first regions, each of the first regions being sub-divided into a plurality of second regions within the rendering space, wherein the method comprises: processing a plurality of items of geometry, wherein each of the plurality of items of geometry is processed by: for each first region the item of geometry is identified as being present within, independently: determining an indication of the spatial coverage, within the identified first region, of the item of geometry, and using the determined indication of the spatial coverage within the identified first region to determine whether to add the item of geometry to a first control list for the identified first region or to add the item of geometry to one or more second control lists for a respective one or more of the second regions within the identified first region; and rendering items of geometry within a second region using: (i) the first control list for the first region of which the second region is a part, and (ii) the second control list for the second region.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein the items of geometry are stored in data blocks in accordance with a submission order of the items of geometry, wherein each data block is associated with a block ID, and wherein entries in the control lists include a block ID with a geometry indication to identify a data block and to indicate one or more items of geometry from the identified data block.
wherein rendering the plurality of items of geometry within the second region comprises: choosing from the first control list and the second list, the entry comprising the lowest block ID which has not previously been chosen, and
13. The method of claim 12, wherein said rendering items of geometry within a second region comprises: choosing, from the first control list for the first region of which the second region is a part and the second control list for the second region, the lowest block ID which has not been previously chosen;
fetching one or more items of geometry from the data block associated with the block ID of the chosen entry.
13. and fetching one or more items of geometry from the data block with the chosen block ID in accordance with the geometry indication for said data block with the chosen block ID.
The above table illustrates a comparative mapping between the limitations of claim 1 of the instant application and the limitations of claim 1, 12, and 13 of U.S. Patent 11,741,656. The following is a complete listing of the correspondence between the claims of the instant application to U.S. Patent 11,741,656.
Claims on Instant Application
1
2
3
4
5
18
19
20
Claims of U.S. Patent 11,741,656
1, 12, 13
8
12
12, 13
1
1, 2, 5
19, 1, 12, 13
20, 1, 12, 13
Claims 1-5 and 18-20 rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 5, 8, 12, 13, 19, and 20 of U.S. Patent No. 11,481,951. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the pending claims are a variation of the patented claims. Claims 1-5 and 18-20 of the instant application are anticipated by patent claims 1, 5, 8, 12, 13, 19, and 20, in that claims 1, 5, 8, 12, 13, 19, and 20 of the patent contains all the limitations of claims 1-5 and 18-20 of the instant application. Claims 1-5 and 18-20 of the instant application therefore are not patently distinct from the earlier patent claims and as such are unpatentable for anticipatory-type double patenting.
Instant Application 19/199,490
U.S. Patent 11,481,951
1. A method for rendering a plurality of items of geometry within a plurality of first regions of a rendering space, each of the first regions being subdivided into a plurality of second regions, the plurality of items of geometry being stored in data blocks having a respective block ID, the method comprising: rendering the plurality of items of geometry within a second region of the plurality of second regions using:
a first control list for the first region of which the second region is a part, and
a second control list for the second region, each control list comprising a plurality of entries associated with respective items of geometry of the plurality of items of geometry, each of the plurality of entries comprising a block ID associated with a data block;
1. A method of rendering items of geometry in a graphics processing system, wherein the graphics processing system is configured to use a rendering space which is sub-divided into a plurality of first regions, each of the first regions being sub-divided into a plurality of second regions within the rendering space, wherein the method comprises: processing a plurality of items of geometry including at least one item of geometry which is present within two or more of the first regions, wherein each of the plurality of items of geometry is processed by: identifying which of the first regions the item of geometry is present within; and for each identified first region: determining an indication of the spatial coverage, within the identified first region, of the item of geometry; and using the determined indication of the spatial coverage within the identified first region to determine whether to add the item of geometry to a first control list for the identified first region or to add the item of geometry to one or more second control lists for a respective one or more of the second regions within the identified first region; and rendering items of geometry within a second region using: (i) the first control list for the first region of which the second region is a part, and (ii) the second control list for the second region.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein the items of geometry are stored in data blocks in accordance with a submission order of the items of geometry, wherein each data block is associated with a block ID, and wherein entries in the control lists include a block ID with a geometry indication to identify a data block and to indicate one or more items of geometry from the identified data block.
wherein rendering the plurality of items of geometry within the second region comprises: choosing from the first control list and the second list, the entry comprising the lowest block ID which has not previously been chosen, and
13. The method of claim 12, wherein said rendering items of geometry within a second region comprises: choosing, from the first control list for the first region of which the second region is a part and the second control list for the second region, the lowest block ID which has not been previously chosen; and
fetching one or more items of geometry from the data block associated with the block ID of the chosen entry.
13. fetching one or more items of geometry from the data block with the chosen block ID in accordance with the geometry indication for said data block with the chosen block ID.
The above table illustrates a comparative mapping between the limitations of claim 1 of the instant application and the limitations of claim 1, 12, and 13 of U.S. Patent 11,481,951. The following is a complete listing of the correspondence between the claims of the instant application to U.S. Patent 11,741,656.
Claims on Instant Application
1
2
3
4
5
18
19
20
Claims of U.S. Patent 11,481,951
1, 12, 13
8
12
12, 13
1
1, 2, 5
19, 1, 12, 13
20, 1, 12, 13
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-17 are objected to 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.
Regarding claim 6, the prior art does not clearly disclose the method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises, after processing the fetched one or more items of geometry to render the items of geometry, determining whether there are any remaining entries in either the first control list or the second control list.
Regarding claim 9, the prior art does not clearly disclose the method of claim 1, the method further comprising: maintaining a pointer in each control list indicating the current entry of the control list being processed, wherein the current entry is the entry having the lowest block ID that has not been previously chosen; and after fetching the one or more items of geometry from the data block associated with the block ID of the chosen entry, updating the position of the pointer so as to indicate the entry in the control list having the next lowest block ID that has not been previously chosen.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Nellutla et al. (US 2019/0220411 A1) discloses dividing regions of an image to bins and rendering the bins separately.
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/PHI HOANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2619
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