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
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
In page 159 line 11, “FIG. 85” should read “FIG. 83”.
In page 161 line 3, “virtual plane 13840 to 13843 set in FIG. 84” should read “virtual plane 13850 to 13857 set in FIG. 84”.
In page 163 line 18, “13863” should read “13873”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., an abstract idea) without significantly more.
In regarding claims 1 and 19
Step 1:
Claims 1 and 19 are directed towards a process, machine, manufacture or composition of matter which is/are statutory subject matter.
Step 2A:
Claims 1 and 19 are directed to a method/system/manufacture executed by one or more processor to execute a three-dimensional data encoding method. The methods involve determining a first three-dimensional point that is encoded and has a position represented by a first polar coordinate system having a first position as a reference; and determining (i) a distance between the first position and a second position of a second three-dimensional point that is not yet encoded and has a position represented by a second polar coordinate system having the second position as a reference, (ii) a first angle between a first line connecting the first position and the second position and a second line connecting the first position and the first three-dimensional point, and (iii) a first distance between the first position and the first three-dimensional point, to calculate a prediction value of a second distance between the second position and the second three-dimensional point.
Prong 1:The limitations listed below covers performance of the limitation that could be carried out in mental processes.
determining a first three-dimensional point that is encoded and has a position represented by a first polar coordinate system having a first position as a reference:
Involves in acquiring coordinate data from an encoded three-dimensional point which is data gathering step that doesn’t add anything beyond the abstract idea of processing information.and determining (i) a distance between the first position and a second position of a second three-dimensional point that is not yet encoded and has a position represented by a second polar coordinate system having the second position as a reference, (ii) a first angle between a first line connecting the first position and the second position and a second line connecting the first position and the first three-dimensional point, and (iii) a first distance between the first position and the first three-dimensional point, to calculate a prediction value of a second distance between the second position and the second three-dimensional point:
This limitation could be performed mentally because a person could use mathematical relationships to calculate a prediction value of a second distance between the second position and the second three-dimensional point. Hence, this operation could be performed mentally, implying that the claim is directed to a mental process.
If a claim limitation, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitation by a mental process, then it falls within the “Mental process” grouping of abstract ideas. Accordingly, the claim recites an abstract idea.
Prong 2:
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application. In particular, the claims only recite additional elements – computer implemented method (claim 1), an apparatus (claim 19), are recited at a high-level of generality such that it amounts no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computing component / software application.
Accordingly, this additional element does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because it does not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. The claim(s) is directed to an abstract idea.
Step 2B:
The claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception such as improvements to another technology or technical field, or other meaningful limitations beyond generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment.
For a human, he/she can use mathematical relationships to calculate distance or angle. The recitation of use of memory and processor to execute instruction doesn’t disclose any inventive concept since it merely invokes the use of generic computer to perform tasks that could otherwise be performed mentally.
Thus, the recited generic additional hardware/software (e.g., processor, machine-readable medium) perform no more than their basic computer function. In the court of Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank Intl, the court cites a “data processing system” with a “communications controller” and “data storage unit,” for example, —is purely functional and generic (page 16). In the specification of instant application, processor, machine-readable medium are general computer components ([0023] in publication). Generic computer-implementation of a method is not a meaningful limitation that alone can amount to significantly more than an abstract idea. Moreover, when viewed as a whole with such additional element considered as an ordered combination, claims modified by adding a generic computer are nothing more than a purely conventional computerized implementation of an idea in the general field of computer processing and do not provide significantly more than an abstract idea.
Consequently, the identified additional elements taken into consideration individually or in combination fails to amount of significantly more than the abstract idea above.
Regarding claims 2-7 and 9, these are dependent claims that recite limitations that extend the mental processes of their respective base claim and therefore also fall under mental steps as explained in their base claim.
In regarding claims 10 and 20
Step 1:
Claims 10 and 20 are directed towards a process, machine, manufacture or composition of matter which is/are statutory subject matter.
Step 2A:
Claims 10 and 20 are directed to a method/system/manufacture executed by one or more processor to execute a three-dimensional data decoding method. The methods involve determining a first three-dimensional point that is decoded and has a position represented by a first polar coordinate system having a first position as a reference; and determining (i) a distance between the first position and a second position of a second three-dimensional point that is not yet decoded and has a position represented by a second polar coordinate system having the second position as a reference, (ii) a first angle between a first line connecting the first position and the second position and a second line connecting the first position and the first three-dimensional point, and (iii) a first distance between the first position and the first three-dimensional point, to calculate a prediction value of a second distance between the second position and the second three-dimensional point.
Prong 1:The limitations listed below covers performance of the limitation that could be carried out in mental processes.
determining a first three-dimensional point that is decoded and has a position represented by a first polar coordinate system having a first position as a reference:
Involves in acquiring coordinate data from a decoded three-dimensional point which is data gathering step that doesn’t add anything beyond the abstract idea of processing information.and determining (i) a distance between the first position and a second position of a second three-dimensional point that is not yet decoded and has a position represented by a second polar coordinate system having the second position as a reference, (ii) a first angle between a first line connecting the first position and the second position and a second line connecting the first position and the first three-dimensional point, and (iii) a first distance between the first position and the first three-dimensional point, to calculate a prediction value of a second distance between the second position and the second three-dimensional point:
This limitation could be performed mentally because a person could use mathematical relationships to calculate a prediction value of a second distance between the second position and the second three-dimensional point. Hence, this operation could be performed mentally, implying that the claim is directed to a mental process.
If a claim limitation, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitation by a mental process, then it falls within the “Mental process” grouping of abstract ideas. Accordingly, the claim recites an abstract idea.
Prong 2:
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application. In particular, the claims only recite additional elements – computer implemented method (claim 10), an apparatus (claim 20), are recited at a high-level of generality such that it amounts no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computing component / software application.
Accordingly, this additional element does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because it does not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. The claim(s) is directed to an abstract idea.
Step 2B:
The claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception such as improvements to another technology or technical field, or other meaningful limitations beyond generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment.
For a human, he/she can use mathematical relationships to calculate distance or angle. The recitation of use of memory and processor to execute instruction doesn’t disclose any inventive concept since it merely invokes the use of generic computer to perform tasks that could otherwise be performed mentally.
Thus, the recited generic additional hardware/software (e.g., processor, machine-readable medium) perform no more than their basic computer function. In the court of Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank Intl, the court cites a “data processing system” with a “communications controller” and “data storage unit,” for example, —is purely functional and generic (page 16). In the specification of instant application, processor, machine-readable medium are general computer components ([0023] in publication). Generic computer-implementation of a method is not a meaningful limitation that alone can amount to significantly more than an abstract idea. Moreover, when viewed as a whole with such additional element considered as an ordered combination, claims modified by adding a generic computer are nothing more than a purely conventional computerized implementation of an idea in the general field of computer processing and do not provide significantly more than an abstract idea.
Consequently, the identified additional elements taken into consideration individually or in combination fails to amount of significantly more than the abstract idea above.
Regarding claims 11-16 and 18, these are dependent claims that recite limitations that extend the mental processes of their respective base claim and therefore also fall under mental steps as explained in their base claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ramasubramonian (US Patent Pub. No.: US 2022/0207780 A1), hereinafter Ramasubramonian, in view of Mathematics (Express spherical coordinates with different centers in terms of each other, August, 2013, https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/458123/express-spherical-coordinates-with-different-centers-in-terms-of-each-other), hereinafter Mathematics.
Regarding claim 1, Ramasubramonian teaches a three-dimensional data (A point cloud contains a set of points in a 3D space. [0040]) encoding method (This disclosure relates to point cloud encoding and decoding. [0002]) comprising: determining a first three-dimensional point (FIG. 7 point 756A
PNG
media_image1.png
486
782
media_image1.png
Greyscale
) that is encoded (Reference frame 754 may be a frame that is encoded and/or reconstructed prior to current frame 750 being decoded and/or reconstructed (e.g., reference frame 754 may precede current frame 750 in a coding order). [0179]) and has a position represented by a first polar coordinate system (FIG 5A point M.
PNG
media_image2.png
360
462
media_image2.png
Greyscale
) having a first position as a reference (FIG. 5A origin of polar coordinate system 500 for the reference frame); to calculate a prediction value of a second distance (For instance, to predict the current point using inter prediction, the G-PCC coder may identify a reference point in a different frame than the current frame and predict one or more parameters (e.g., a radius r, an azimuth 4), and a laser index i) of the current point based on one or more parameters of the reference point. [0016]) between the second position (origin of polar coordinate system for the current frame)) and the second three-dimensional point (FIG. 7 point 752A).
Ramasubramonian does not expressly teach the following limitations as further recited, but Mathematics further teaches determining a first three-dimensional point (Consider a point P, with coordinates R1, φ1, θ1 in the first spherical coordinate system. Page 2 1st paragraph) and has a position represented by a first polar coordinate system (Consider a point P, with coordinates R1, φ1, θ1 in the first spherical coordinate system. Page 2 1st paragraph) having a first position as a reference (Let the origin of your spherical coordinates be the origin of the first Cartesian system being used. Page 1 3rd paragraph); and determining (i) a distance (It is common knowledge a distance between two points can be calculated.) between the first position (Let the origin of your spherical coordinates be the origin of the first Cartesian system being used, and the origin of your spherical coordinates be at X0, Y0, Z0 in the same Cartesian system. Page 1 3rd paragraph) and a second position (Let the origin of your spherical coordinates be the origin of the first Cartesian system being used, and the origin of your spherical coordinates be at X0, Y0, Z0 in the same Cartesian system. Page 1 3rd paragraph) of a second three-dimensional point and has a position (A person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize this can be a point with coordinates R2, φ2, θ2 in the second spherical coordinate system.) represented by a second polar coordinate system having the second position as a reference (Let the origin of your spherical coordinates be the origin of the first Cartesian system being used, and the origin of your spherical coordinates be at X0, Y0, Z0 in the same Cartesian system. Page 1 3rd paragraph), (ii) a first angle (It is common knowledge an angle between two lines can be calculated.) between a first line connecting the first position (Let the origin of your spherical coordinates be the origin of the first Cartesian system being used, and the origin of your spherical coordinates be at X0, Y0, Z0 in the same Cartesian system. Page 1 3rd paragraph) and the second position (Let the origin of your spherical coordinates be the origin of the first Cartesian system being used, and the origin of your spherical coordinates be at X0, Y0, Z0 in the same Cartesian system. Page 1 3rd paragraph) and a second line connecting the first position (Let the origin of your spherical coordinates be the origin of the first Cartesian system being used, and the origin of your spherical coordinates be at X0, Y0, Z0 in the same Cartesian system. Page 1 3rd paragraph) and the first three-dimensional point (Consider a point P, with coordinates R1, φ1, θ1 in the first spherical coordinate system. Page 2 1st paragraph), and (iii) a first distance (It is common knowledge a distance between two points can be calculated.) between the first position (Let the origin of your spherical coordinates be the origin of the first Cartesian system being used, and the origin of your spherical coordinates be at X0, Y0, Z0 in the same Cartesian system. Page 1 3rd paragraph) and the first three-dimensional point (Consider a point P, with coordinates R1, φ1, θ1 in the first spherical coordinate system. Page 2 1st paragraph), to calculate a prediction value of a second distance (It is common knowledge a distance between two points can be calculated.) between the second position (Let the origin of your spherical coordinates be the origin of the first Cartesian system being used, and the origin of your spherical coordinates be at X0, Y0, Z0 in the same Cartesian system. Page 1 3rd paragraph) and the second three-dimensional point (A person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize this can be a point with coordinates R2, φ2, θ2 in the second spherical coordinate system.).
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 Ramasubramonian to incorporate the teachings of Mathematics to use mathematical relationships to calculate a prediction value of a second distance between the second position and the second three-dimensional point based on geometry.
Regarding claim 2, Mathematics in the combination teaches the three-dimensional data encoding method according to claim 1, comprising: calculating at least one of (iv) a second angle between the first line and a third line connecting the second position and the first three-dimensional point or (v) a second distance (It is common knowledge that a distance between two points can be calculated.) between the second position (Let the origin of your spherical coordinates be the origin of the first Cartesian system being used, and the origin of your spherical coordinates be at X0, Y0, Z0 in the same Cartesian system. Page 1 3rd paragraph) and the first three-dimensional point (Consider a point P, with coordinates R1, φ1, θ1 in the first spherical coordinate system. Page 2 1st paragraph), using (i) the distance (It is common knowledge that a distance between two points can be calculated.) between the first position (Let the origin of your spherical coordinates be the origin of the first Cartesian system being used, and the origin of your spherical coordinates be at X0, Y0, Z0 in the same Cartesian system. Page 1 3rd paragraph) and the second position (Let the origin of your spherical coordinates be the origin of the first Cartesian system being used, and the origin of your spherical coordinates be at X0, Y0, Z0 in the same Cartesian system. Page 1 3rd paragraph), (ii) the first angle (It is common knowledge an angle between two lines can be calculated.), and (iii) the first distance (It is common knowledge that a distance between two points can be calculated.), to calculate a prediction value of a position of the second three-dimensional point in the second polar coordinate system (A person having ordinary skill in the art would be able to utilize mathematical relationships to obtain predictable solution for a position of the second three-dimensional point in the second polar coordinate system with a reasonable expectation of success.).
Regarding claim 3, Mathematics in the combination teaches the three-dimensional data encoding method according to claim 2, wherein in the calculating, when the first line matches a reference line of a horizontal angle in the first polar coordinate system, the second angle is calculated using the distance between the first position and the second position, the first distance, and a first horizontal angle as the first angle, and the first horizontal angle is a horizontal angle component of polar coordinate components representing the position of the first three-dimensional point (A person having ordinary skill in the art would be able to utilize mathematical relationships to obtain predictable solution with a reasonable expectation of success that when the first line matches a reference line of a horizontal angle in the first polar coordinate system, the second angle is calculated using the distance between the first position and the second position, the first distance, and a first horizontal angle as the first angle, and the first horizontal angle is a horizontal angle component of polar coordinate components representing the position of the first three-dimensional point.).
Regarding claim 4, Ramasubramonian in the combination teaches the three-dimensional data encoding method according to claim 1, wherein in the determining of the first three-dimensional point (FIG. 7 point 756A), the first three-dimensional point (FIG. 7 point 756A) is determined based on an other second three-dimensional point (FIG. 7 point 752B) that is encoded (As one example, the G-PCC coder may determine, in the current frame, a pivot point that precedes the current point in a coding order. [0181]) and has a position represented by the second polar coordinate system (For instance, the G-PCC coder may determine, in reference frame 754, a point having a same azimuth (or same azimuth and same laser ID) as pivot point 752B. In the example of FIG. 7, the G-PCC coder may determine that point 756B is the reference pivot point as point 756B has a same azimuth as pivot point 752B. [0182]).
Regarding claim 5, Ramasubramonian in the combination teaches the three-dimensional data encoding method according to claim 4, wherein the other second three-dimensional point (FIG. 7 point 752B) is a three-dimensional point used to calculate a prediction value of the second three-dimensional point (FIG. 7 point 752A) in the second polar coordinate system (The G-PCC coder may determine the reference point using any suitable technique. As one example, the G-PCC coder may determine, in the current frame, a pivot point that precedes the current point in a coding order. [0181]. For instance, the G-PCC coder may determine, in reference frame 754, a point having a same azimuth (or same azimuth and same laser ID) as pivot point 752B. In the example of FIG. 7, the G-PCC coder may determine that point 756B is the reference pivot point as point 756B has a same azimuth as pivot point 752B. [0182]).
Regarding claim 6, Ramasubramonian in the combination teaches the three-dimensional data encoding method according to claim 4, wherein the first three-dimensional point (FIG. 7 point 756A) is determined based on an angle component of polar coordinate components representing the position of the other second three-dimensional point (In this example of FIG. 7, point 756A may be the point in reference frame 754 that has the smallest azimuth that is larger than the azimuth of reference pivot point 765B. As such, the G-PCC coder may identify point 756A as the reference point for performing intra prediction of current point 752A. [0184]. For instance, the G-PCC coder may determine, in reference frame 754, a point having a same azimuth (or same azimuth and same laser ID) as pivot point 752B (i.e., the other second three-dimensional point). In the example of FIG. 7, the G-PCC coder may determine that point 756B is the reference pivot point as point 756B has a same azimuth as pivot point 752B. [0182]).
Regarding claim 7, Ramasubramonian in the combination teaches the three-dimensional data encoding method according to claim 6, wherein among first-three dimensional points (reference frame 754 may include a plurality of points 756A-756L ( collectively, "points 756"). [0179]) including an other first three-dimensional point (FIG. 7 point 756B) that is encoded (Reference frame 754 may be a frame that is encoded and/or reconstructed prior to current frame 750 being decoded and/or reconstructed (e.g., reference frame 754 may precede current frame 750 in a coding order). [0179]) and has a position represented by the first polar coordinate system (FIG. 5A), the first three-dimensional point (FIG. 7, point 756A) has an angle component after the first three-dimensional point is projected from the first polar coordinate system onto the second polar coordinate system, the angle component being similar to an angle component (In this example of FIG. 7, point 756A may be the point in reference frame 754 that has the smallest azimuth that is larger than the azimuth of reference pivot point 765B. As such, the G-PCC coder may identify point 756A as the reference point for performing intra prediction of current point 752A. [0184]) of the second three-dimensional point (As such, the G-PCC coder may identify point 756A as the reference point for performing intra prediction of current point 752A. [0184]).
Regarding claim 8, Ramasubramonian in the combination teaches the three-dimensional data encoding method according to claim 1, wherein first three-dimensional points are obtained by measuring distances from the first position to an object in respective first directions in a space on a reference plane (The techniques of this disclosure may be applicable to at least point clouds acquired using a spinning Lidar model. Here, the lidar 502 has N lasers (e.g., N=16, 32, 64) spinning around the Z axis according to an azimuth angle φ (see FIGS. 5A and 5B). Each laser may have different elevation θ(i)i=1 ... N and height ζ(i)i=1 ... N. The laser i hits a point M, with cartesian integer coordinates (x, y, z), defined according to coordinate system 500 described in FIG. 5A. [0068].
PNG
media_image3.png
392
576
media_image3.png
Greyscale
), second three-dimensional points are obtained by measuring distances from the second position to the object in respective second directions in the space on the reference plane (The techniques of this disclosure may be applicable to at least point clouds acquired using a spinning Lidar model. Here, the lidar 502 has N lasers (e.g., N=16, 32, 64) spinning around the Z axis according to an azimuth angle φ (see FIGS. 5A and 5B). Each laser may have different elevation θ(i)i=1 ... N and height ζ(i)i=1 ... N. The laser i hits a point M, with cartesian integer coordinates (x, y, z), defined according to coordinate system 500 described in FIG. 5A. [0068]), the first three-dimensional points include the first three-dimensional point (reference frame 754 may include a plurality of points 756A-756L ( collectively, "points 756"). Reference frame 754 may be a frame that is encoded and/or reconstructed prior to current frame 750 being decoded and/or reconstructed (e.g., reference frame 754 may precede current frame 750 in a coding order). [0179]) and each have a position represented by the first polar coordinate system (FIG. 5A), and the second three-dimensional points include the second three-dimensional point (As shown in FIG. 7, current frame 750 may include a plurality of points 752A-752L ( collectively, "points 752") and reference frame 754 may include a plurality of points 756A-756L ( collectively, "points 756"). Reference frame 754 may be a frame that is encoded and/or reconstructed prior to current frame 750 being decoded and/or reconstructed (e.g., reference frame 754 may precede current frame 750 in a coding order). [0179]) and each have a position represented by the second polar coordinate system (FIG. 5A).
Regarding claim 10, Ramasubramonian in the combination teaches a three-dimensional data (A point cloud contains a set of points in a 3D space. [0040]) decoding method (This disclosure relates to point cloud encoding and decoding. [0002]) comprising: determining a first three-dimensional point that is decoded (The G-PCC coder may choose a reference point in the reference frame that is associated with the reference pivot point. [0192]) and has a position represented by a first polar coordinate system (FIG 5A point M) having a first position as a reference (FIG. 5A origin of polar coordinate system 500); to calculate a prediction value of a second distance between the second position and the second three-dimensional point (The prediction may be derived by adding the components of the first residual to the respective components of the pivot point (e.g., the radius prediction may be obtained by adding the radius component of the first residual to the radius component of the pivot point (similarly for azimuth)). In some examples, the first prediction may be set equal to the reference point. [0194]).
Mathematics in the combination further teaches determining a first three-dimensional point (Consider a point P, with coordinates R1, φ1, θ1 in the first spherical coordinate system. Page 2 1st paragraph) and has a position represented by a first polar coordinate system (Consider a point P, with coordinates R1, φ1, θ1 in the first spherical coordinate system. Page 2 1st paragraph) having a first position as a reference (Let the origin of your spherical coordinates be the origin of the first Cartesian system being used. Page 1 3rd paragraph); and determining (i) a distance (It is common knowledge a distance between two points can be calculated.) between the first position (Let the origin of your spherical coordinates be the origin of the first Cartesian system being used, and the origin of your spherical coordinates be at X0, Y0, Z0 in the same Cartesian system. Page 1 3rd paragraph) and a second position (Let the origin of your spherical coordinates be the origin of the first Cartesian system being used, and the origin of your spherical coordinates be at X0, Y0, Z0 in the same Cartesian system. Page 1 3rd paragraph) of a second three-dimensional point and has a position (A person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize this can be a point with coordinates R2, φ2, θ2 in the second spherical coordinate system.) represented by a second polar coordinate system having the second position as a reference (Let the origin of your spherical coordinates be the origin of the first Cartesian system being used, and the origin of your spherical coordinates be at X0, Y0, Z0 in the same Cartesian system. Page 1 3rd paragraph), (ii) a first angle (It is common knowledge an angle between two lines can be calculated.) between a first line connecting the first position (Let the origin of your spherical coordinates be the origin of the first Cartesian system being used, and the origin of your spherical coordinates be at X0, Y0, Z0 in the same Cartesian system. Page 1 3rd paragraph) and the second position (Let the origin of your spherical coordinates be the origin of the first Cartesian system being used, and the origin of your spherical coordinates be at X0, Y0, Z0 in the same Cartesian system. Page 1 3rd paragraph) and a second line connecting the first position (Let the origin of your spherical coordinates be the origin of the first Cartesian system being used, and the origin of your spherical coordinates be at X0, Y0, Z0 in the same Cartesian system. Page 1 3rd paragraph) and the first three-dimensional point (Consider a point P, with coordinates R1, φ1, θ1 in the first spherical coordinate system. Page 2 1st paragraph), and (iii) a first distance (It is common knowledge a distance between two points can be calculated.) between the first position (Let the origin of your spherical coordinates be the origin of the first Cartesian system being used, and the origin of your spherical coordinates be at X0, Y0, Z0 in the same Cartesian system. Page 1 3rd paragraph) and the first three-dimensional point (Consider a point P, with coordinates R1, φ1, θ1 in the first spherical coordinate system. Page 2 1st paragraph), to calculate a prediction value of a second distance (It is common knowledge a distance between two points can be calculated.) between the second position (Let the origin of your spherical coordinates be the origin of the first Cartesian system being used, and the origin of your spherical coordinates be at X0, Y0, Z0 in the same Cartesian system. Page 1 3rd paragraph) and the second three-dimensional point (A person having ordinary skill in the art would recognize this can be a point with coordinates R2, φ2, θ2 in the second spherical coordinate system.).
Regarding claim 11, Mathematics in the combination teaches the three-dimensional data decoding method according to claim 10, comprising: calculating (iv) a second angle (It is common knowledge an angle between two lines can be calculated.) between the first line and a third line connecting the second position (Let the origin of your spherical coordinates be the origin of the first Cartesian system being used, and the origin of your spherical coordinates be at X0, Y0, Z0 in the same Cartesian system. Page 1 3rd paragraph) and the first three-dimensional point (Consider a point P, with coordinates R1, φ1, θ1 in the first spherical coordinate system. Page 2 1st paragraph) and (v) a second distance (It is common knowledge that a distance between two points can be calculated.) between the second position (Let the origin of your spherical coordinates be the origin of the first Cartesian system being used, and the origin of your spherical coordinates be at X0, Y0, Z0 in the same Cartesian system. Page 1 3rd paragraph) and the first three-dimensional point (Consider a point P, with coordinates R1, φ1, θ1 in the first spherical coordinate system. Page 2 1st paragraph) in the second polar coordinate system (Let the origin of your spherical coordinates be the origin of the first Cartesian system being used, and the origin of your spherical coordinates be at X0, Y0, Z0 in the same Cartesian system. Page 1 3rd paragraph)), using (i) the distance (It is common knowledge that a distance between two points can be calculated.) between the first position (Let the origin of your spherical coordinates be the origin of the first Cartesian system being used, and the origin of your spherical coordinates be at X0, Y0, Z0 in the same Cartesian system. Page 1 3rd paragraph) and the second position (Let the origin of your spherical coordinates be the origin of the first Cartesian system being used, and the origin of your spherical coordinates be at X0, Y0, Z0 in the same Cartesian system. Page 1 3rd paragraph), (ii) the first angle (It is common knowledge an angle between two lines can be calculated.), and (iii) the first distance (It is common knowledge that a distance between two points can be calculated.), to calculate a prediction value of a position of the second three-dimensional point in the second polar coordinate system (A person having ordinary skill in the art would be able to utilize mathematical relationships to obtain predictable solution for a position of the second three-dimensional point in the second polar coordinate system with a reasonable expectation of success.).
Regarding claim 12, Mathematics in the combination teaches the three-dimensional data decoding method according to claim 11, wherein in the calculating, when the first line matches a reference line of a horizontal angle in the first polar coordinate system, the second angle is calculated using the first distance and a first horizontal angle as the first angle, and the first horizontal angle is a horizontal angle component of polar coordinate components representing the position of the first three-dimensional point (A person having ordinary skill in the art would be able to utilize mathematical relationships to obtain predictable solution with a reasonable expectation of success that when the first line matches a reference line of a horizontal angle in the first polar coordinate system, the second angle is calculated using the first distance and a first horizontal angle as the first angle, and the first horizontal angle is a horizontal angle component of polar coordinate components representing the position of the first three-dimensional point.).
Regarding claim 13, Ramasubramonian in the combination teaches the three-dimensional data decoding method according to claim 10, wherein in the determining of the first three-dimensional point (The G-PCC coder may choose a reference point in the reference frame that is associated with the reference pivot point. [0192]), the first three-dimensional point (The G-PCC coder may choose a reference point in the reference frame that is associated with the reference pivot point. [0192]) is determined based on an other second three-dimensional point (The G-PCC coder may choose a point in reference frame, reference pivot point, that is associated with the pivot point. [0191]) that is decoded (For a current point in the current frame, the G-PCC coder may choose a pivot point in the current frame that is preceding the first point in decoding order. [0190]) and has a position represented by the second polar coordinate system (The reference pivot point may be chosen as a point in the reference frame that has the same azimuth and laser ID as the pivot point. [0191]).
Regarding claim 14, Ramasubramonian in the combination teaches the three-dimensional data decoding method according to claim 13, wherein the other second three-dimensional point (The G-PCC coder may choose a point in reference frame, reference pivot point, that is associated with the pivot point. [0191]) is a three-dimensional point used to calculate a prediction value of a three-dimensional point to be decoded in the second polar coordinate system (For a current point in the current frame, the G-PCC coder may choose a pivot point in the current frame that is preceding the first point in decoding order. [0190]).
Regarding claim 15, Ramasubramonian in the combination teaches the three-dimensional data decoding method according to claim 13, wherein the first three-dimensional point (The G-PCC coder may choose a reference point in the reference frame that is associated with the reference pivot point. [0192]) is determined based on an angle component of polar coordinate components representing the position of the other second three-dimensional point (The G-PCC coder may choose a point in reference frame, reference pivot point, that is associated with the pivot point. The reference pivot point may be chosen as a point in the reference frame that has the same azimuth and laser ID as the pivot point. [0191]).
Regarding claim 16, Ramasubramonian in the combination teaches the three-dimensional data decoding method according to claim 15, wherein among first-three dimensional points (In some examples, points with other laser ID values may also be candidates for reference pivot point ( e.g., the reference pivot point may be chosen as the point in the reference frame that has the same azimuth as the pivot point and laser ID in the range of [LaserID-M, LaserID+M], where LaserID is the laser ID of the pivot point and M is a fixed value ( e.g., 1) or chosen based on distance of the pivot point from the origin, or derived as function of LaserID ( e.g., for smaller values of LaserID, M may be smaller and for larger values of LaserID, M may be larger)). [0191]) including an other first three-dimensional point (The G-PCC coder may choose a point in reference frame, reference pivot point, that is associated with the pivot point. [0191]) that is decoded (For a current point in the current frame, the G-PCC coder may choose a pivot point in the current frame that is preceding the first point in decoding order. [0190]) and has a position represented by the first polar coordinate system (FIG. 5A), the first three-dimensional point (The G-PCC coder may choose a reference point in the reference frame that is associated with the reference pivot point. [0192]) has an angle component after the first three-dimensional point is projected from the first polar coordinate system onto the second polar coordinate system, the angle component being similar to an angle component (The reference pivot point may be chosen as a point in the reference frame that has the same azimuth and laser ID as the pivot point. [0191]) of the second three-dimensional point (For a current point in the current frame, the G-PCC coder may choose a pivot point in the current frame that is preceding the first point in decoding order. [0190]).
Regarding claim 17, Ramasubramonian in the combination teaches the three-dimensional data decoding method according to claim 10, wherein first three-dimensional points are obtained by measuring distances from the first position to an object in respective first directions in a space on a reference plane (The techniques of this disclosure may be applicable to at least point clouds acquired using a spinning Lidar model. Here, the lidar 502 has N lasers (e.g., N=16, 32, 64) spinning around the Z axis according to an azimuth angle φ (see FIGS. 5A and 5B). Each laser may have different elevation θ(i)i=1 ... N and height ζ(i)i=1 ... N. The laser i hits a point M, with cartesian integer coordinates (x, y, z), defined according to coordinate system 500 described in FIG. 5A. [0068]), second three-dimensional points are obtained by measuring distances from the second position to the object in respective second directions in the space on the reference plane (The techniques of this disclosure may be applicable to at least point clouds acquired using a spinning Lidar model. Here, the lidar 502 has N lasers (e.g., N=16, 32, 64) spinning around the Z axis according to an azimuth angle φ (see FIGS. 5A and 5B). Each laser may have different elevation θ(i)i=1 ... N and height ζ(i)i=1 ... N. The laser i hits a point M, with cartesian integer coordinates (x, y, z), defined according to coordinate system 500 described in FIG. 5A. [0068]), the first three-dimensional points include the first three-dimensional point (In some examples, points with other laser ID values may also be candidates for reference pivot point ( e.g., the reference pivot point may be chosen as the point in the reference frame that has the same azimuth as the pivot point and laser ID in the range of [LaserID-M, LaserID+M], where LaserID is the laser ID of the pivot point and M is a fixed value ( e.g., 1) or chosen based on distance of the pivot point from the origin, or derived as function of LaserID ( e.g., for smaller values of LaserID, M may be smaller and for larger values of LaserID, M may be larger)). [0191]) and each have a position represented by the first polar coordinate system (FIG. 5A), and the second three-dimensional points include the second three-dimensional point (In some examples, the pivot point is the preceding point in the current frame in the decoding order. In some examples, the pivot point is the second preceding point in the current frame in the decoding order. [0190]) and each have a position represented by the second polar coordinate system (FIG. 5A).
Apparatus claim 19 is drawn to the apparatus corresponding to the method of using same as claimed in claim 1. Therefore apparatus claim 19 corresponds to method claim 1, and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used above.
Apparatus claim 20 is drawn to the apparatus corresponding to the method of using same as claimed in claim 10. Therefore apparatus claim 20 corresponds to method claim 10, and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used above.
Examiner’s Note
Claims 9 and 18 recite limitations which would otherwise be allowable contingent upon overcoming the aforementioned 101 SME rejection;
and 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:
The closest prior arts of record teach the three-dimensional data encoding method according to claim 8. However, none of them alone or in any combination teaches wherein a first determination method for determining a prediction value used to prediction encode three-dimensional points on a first plane perpendicular to the reference plane is different from a second determination method for determining a prediction value used to prediction encode three-dimensional points on a second plane perpendicular to the reference plane, the first plane facing the first position and the second position in a third direction, the second plane facing the first position and the second position in a fourth direction, the third direction is different from the fourth direction, one or more of the three-dimensional points on the first plane are included in the first three-dimensional points, one or more of the three-dimensional points on the first plane are included in the second three-dimensional points, one or more of the three-dimensional points on the second plane are included in the first three-dimensional points, and one or more of the three-dimensional points on the second plane are included in the second three-dimensional points as specified in claim 9.
The closest prior arts of record teach the three-dimensional data decoding method according to claim 17. However, none of them alone or in any combination teaches wherein a first determination method for determining a prediction value to prediction decode three-dimensional points on a first plane perpendicular to the reference plane is different from a second determination method for determining a prediction value used to prediction decode three-dimensional points on a second plane perpendicular to the reference plane, the first plane facing the first position and the second position in a third direction, the second plane facing the first position and the second position in a fourth direction, the third direction is different from the fourth direction, one or more of the three-dimensional points on the first plane are included in the first three-dimensional points, one or more of the three-dimensional points on the first plane are included in the second three-dimensional points, one or more of the three-dimensional points on the second plane are included in the first three-dimensional points, and one or more of the three-dimensional points on the second plane are included in the second three-dimensional points as specified in claim 18.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LEI ZHAO whose telephone number is (703)756-1922. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 5:00 pm.
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, VU LE can be reached at (571)272-7332. 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.
/LEI ZHAO/Examiner, Art Unit 2668
/VU LE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2668