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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Group II in the reply filed on 11/7/2025 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that “the search areas for Groups I and II are so similar that the search and examination of the claims in both groups can be made without serious burden”. After more analysis, this is found persuasive and the previous restriction has been withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 9-13, 15-19 and 21-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wang et al. (WO 2019/203297, machine translation used for all citations).
(1) regarding claims 9 and 21:
Wang ‘297 discloses a three-dimensional data encoding device that encodes three-dimensional points (page 4, paragraph 11, 3D data encoding apparatus), the three-dimensional data encoding device comprising:
a processor (page 4, paragraph 11, data encoding apparatus including a processor); and
memory (page 4, paragraph 11, data encoding apparatus including a memory), wherein
using the memory, the processor:
determines a predicted value, based on geometry information of one or more candidate points among encoded three-dimensional points (page 116, paragraph 1-2, and 9-10, where a value is determined based on the geometric information of adjacent candidate points);
encodes a prediction residual which is a difference between the predicted value and geometry information of a current three-dimensional point to be encoded among the three- dimensional points (page 38, paragraph 1, where the prediction residual is encoded);
generates a bitstream including the prediction residual encoded (page 38, paragraph 1, where the bitstream includes the prediction residual); and
determines the one or more candidate points, for inter prediction of the current three-dimensional point, based on a referenced three-dimensional point encoded immediately before the current three-dimensional point (page 39, paragraph 1, where adjacent points are used to determine candidate points for the intra prediction), wherein
the three-dimensional points constitute a prediction tree (page 44, paragraph 3, where the octree containing 3D points is considered a prediction tree).
(2) regarding claim 10:
Wang ‘297 further discloses wherein the referenced three-dimensional point includes a three-dimensional point of a parent node of the current three-dimensional point (page 74, paragraph 7, where 3D data of a parent note is being referenced).
(3) regarding claim 11:
Wang ‘297 further discloses wherein an index value is allocated to each of the one or more candidate points (page 76, paragraph 2-3, and index table being created for the candidate points), and
the bitstream further includes the index value allocated to a candidate point to be used in the determining of the predicted value (page 76, paragraph 1-3, where the bitstream includes the index value).
(4) regarding claim 12:
Wang ‘297 further discloses wherein the referenced three-dimensional point includes an intra prediction point (page 39, paragraph 1, where adjacent points are used to determine candidate points for the intra prediction).
(5) regarding claims 13 and 22:
Wang ‘297 discloses a three-dimensional data encoding device (page 4, paragraph 11, 3D data encoding apparatus) comprising:
a processor (page 4, paragraph 11, data encoding apparatus including a processor); and
memory (page 4, paragraph 11, data encoding apparatus including a memory), wherein
using the memory, the processor:
calculates, by inter prediction, a predicted value of geometry information of a current three-dimensional point to be encoded, based on geometry information of a candidate point among candidate points based on one or more encoded three-dimensional points (page 39, paragraph 1, where adjacent points are used to determine candidate points for the intra prediction);
calculates a prediction residual which is a difference between the predicted value and the geometry information of the current three-dimensional point (page 38, paragraph 1, where the prediction residual is calculated); and
generates a bitstream including the prediction residual and an index value indicating the candidate point (page 38, paragraph 1, where the bitstream includes the prediction residual and page 76, paragraph 1-3, where the bitstream includes the index value).
(6) regarding claims 15 and 23:
Wang ‘297 discloses a three-dimensional data decoding device that decodes three-dimensional points (page 4, paragraph 11, 3D data encoding apparatus), the three-dimensional data decoding device comprising:
a processor (page 4, paragraph 11, data encoding apparatus including a processor); and
memory (page 4, paragraph 11, data encoding apparatus including a memory), wherein
using the memory, the processor:
obtains a bitstream including an encoded prediction residual (page 38, paragraph 1, where the prediction residual is encoded);
determines a candidate point, for inter prediction of a current three-dimensional point to be decoded, based on a referenced three-dimensional point decoded immediately before the current three-dimensional point (page 39, paragraph 1, where adjacent points are used to determine candidate points for the intra prediction);
calculates a predicted value of geometry information of the current three- dimensional point, based on geometry information of the candidate point determined (page 116, paragraph 1-2, and 9-10, where a value is determined based on the geometric information of adjacent candidate points), wherein
the three-dimensional points constitute a prediction tree (page 44, paragraph 3, where the octree containing 3D points is considered a prediction tree).
(7) regarding claim 16:
Wang ‘297 further discloses wherein the referenced three-dimensional point includes a three-dimensional point of a parent node of the current three-dimensional point (page 74, paragraph 7, where 3D data of a parent note is being referenced).
(8) regarding claim 17:
Wang ‘297 further discloses wherein an index value is allocated to the candidate point (page 76, paragraph 2-3, and index table being created for the candidate points), and
the bitstream further includes the index value allocated to the candidate point to be used in the determining of the predicted value (page 76, paragraph 1-3, where the bitstream includes the index value).
(9) regarding claim 18:
Wang ‘297 further discloses wherein the referenced three-dimensional point includes an intra prediction point (page 39, paragraph 1, where adjacent points are used to determine candidate points for the intra prediction).
(10) regarding claims 19 and 24:
Wang ‘297 discloses a three-dimensional data decoding device (page 4, paragraph 11, 3D data encoding apparatus) comprising:
a processor (page 4, paragraph 11, data encoding apparatus including a processor); and
memory (page 4, paragraph 11, data encoding apparatus including a memory), wherein
using the memory, the processor:
reads out three-dimensional points from a bitstream, the three-dimensional points constituting a prediction tree (page 76, paragraph 1-3, where the bitstream includes the index value and page 44, paragraph 3, where the octree containing 3D points is considered a prediction tree);
reads out an index value from the bitstream (page 76, paragraph 1-3, where the index value can be read from the bitstream);
identifies a candidate point indicated by the index value from candidate points based on one or more decoded three-dimensional points page 76, paragraph 1-3, where the bitstream includes the index value; and
calculates, by inter prediction, a predicted value of geometry information of a current three-dimensional point to be decoded, based on geometry information of the candidate point identified (page 39, paragraph 1, where adjacent points are used to determine candidate points for the intra prediction).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 14 and 20 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
A. Claims 14 and 20 disclose the unique and distinct limitations of “wherein in a predetermined inter prediction mode, (i) the bitstream does not include the index value, and (ii) the candidate point is determined by a predetermined method”, either alone or in combination, the applied prior art does not teach the claimed subject matter.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LENNIN R RODRIGUEZ whose telephone number is (571)270-1678. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 9:00am-7:00pm.
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/LENNIN R RODRIGUEZGONZALEZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2683