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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 05/04/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see the remarks filed 05/05/2026, with respect to the amended claim(s) 1, 9, and 15 have been fully considered and moot in view of new grounds of rejection by relying on the teachings of Novotny et al. (US 20050216815 A1) in view of Guillame (US 5991632 A), and Novotny et al. (US 20050216815 A1) in view of Francois et al. (US 20260099953 A1).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5, 8-9, 11-13, 15-17, and 19-23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Novotny et al. (US 20050216815 A1) in view of Guillame (US 5991632 A).
Regarding claim 1, Novotny teaches a method comprising:
encoding, by a graphics processing unit (GPU) (100 and 122 of fig. 1, [0017] an encoder system or circuit), a frame of a video (106 ORIG of fig. 1, 140 of fig. 3; [0026] a unit of information is a picture, frame, field, sub-picture, block, macroblock or other spatial and/or temporal areas, [0038] and [0041] the process, 140 of fig. 2, may be repeated for each groups of pictures, picture, frame or field in the signal ORIG);
determining, by the GPU (128 of fig. 1, for determining the reference checksum), a reference checksum the encoded frame (122 and COMPT of fig.1, for the encoded frame; [0026] the checksum calculation circuit 128 calculates checksum values for units of information within the signal RECON, each checksum value may be presented in the signal CS1T, one value for each unit of information present within the signal RECON simultaneously, and a unit of information may be a picture, frame, field, sub-picture, block, macroblock or other spatial and/or temporal areas; [0049] Each checksum value may be presented in the signal CS2, 206 of fig. 3 of the decoder; [0061-0065] generation of the checksum values may be accomplished by a variety of methods) by processing pixel values of a reconstructed frame (128 of fig.1 for the processing pixel values of the reconstructed frame from the reconstructed video 126 of fig.1; [0061]-[0065] implementation of the example checksum generation method may be provided in both the checksum calculation circuit 128 operating on the reconstructed signal RECON and the checksum calculation circuit 206 operating on the decompressed signal DECOMP, the example checksum generation method using a unit of information (e.g., predetermined number of consecutive data samples) being processed; wherein the data samples of the unit information would obviously be treated as pixel values of the reconstructed or decompressed frame, RECON of fig. 1) to generate the reference checksum value (CS1T of fig.1, the single reference checksum value, [0026] the checksum calculation circuit 128 calculates checksum values for units of information within the signal RECON, each checksum value may be presented in the signal CS1T, one value for each unit of information present within the signal RECON simultaneously, and a unit of information may be a picture, frame, field, sub-picture, block, macroblock or other spatial and/or temporal areas; [0061-0065] implementation of the example checksum generation method may be provided in both the checksum calculation circuit 128 operating on the reconstructed signal RECON and the checksum calculation circuit 206 operating on the decompressed signal DECOMP); and
adding, by the GPU, the reference checksum to supplemental metadata associated with the encoded frame (124 of fig. 1, [0024] to generate the signal OUT to include the compressed information in the signal COMPT, error detection information in the signal CS1T and quality information in the signal QUAL1T, [0026] Each checksum value may be presented in the signal CS1T); and
transmitting, to a decoding device (fig. 3, a decoder system, [0037]), the encoded frame and the supplemental metadata (OUT of fig. 1, IN of fig. 3; [0041] The user data insertion circuit 124 may generate the signal OUT from the signals COMPT, CS1T and QUAL1T (e.g., step 160). The signal OUT may be transmitted/written to the transmission/storage medium 102 (e.g., step 162));
wherein the decoding device (180 of fig.3, [0037] the decoder system may execute a duplicate reconstruction process verification on decoded data and compare the results with the checksums received in the encoded bitstream. If the checksums calculated locally by the decoder system and the checksums in the signal OUT are the same, the decoder system may be producing reconstructed video data the same as the encoder system 100)
computes a checksum of decoded frame data at runtime ([0059] 248 of fig. 4, a checksum of the reconstructed video data may be calculated by the checksum calculation circuit 206 (e.g., step 248). If another block and/or another channel of the video data is available (e.g., the YES branch of step 250), the checksum calculation circuit 206 may generate additional checksums (e.g., step 248), [0060] the method 240 may be repeated for each group of pictures, picture, frame or field in the signal IN, and [0076] the function performed by the flow diagrams of FIGS. 2 and 4 may be implemented using a conventional general purpose digital computer programmed according to the teachings of the present specification, as will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art(s), this disclosure would obviously suggest runtime),
compares the computed checksum against the reference checksum at runtime ([0060] The compare circuit 208 may compare the checksum values in the signal CS2 to the checksum values received in the signal CS1R to determine a state (e.g., match or non-match) for the signal RESULTS (e.g., step 254). If multiple results exist for a single picture, the compare circuit 208 may further combine the multiple results into a single result (e.g., step 256). The output circuit 210 may transfer the decompressed video data, results and/or quality information to the receiving user 184 (e.g., step 258), and the method 240 may be repeated for each group of pictures, picture, frame or field in the signal IN; [0076] the function performed by the flow diagrams of FIGS. 2 and 4 may be implemented using a conventional general purpose digital computer programmed according to the teachings of the present specification, as will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art(s), this disclosure would obviously suggest runtime), and a mismatch between the computed checksum and the reference checksum ([0060] the compare circuit 208 may compare the checksum values in the signal CS2 to the checksum values received in the signal CS1R to determine a state (e.g., match or non-match) for the signal RESULTS (e.g., step 254)); and
the computing and comparing are performed by the decoding device without a read from memory operation or a write to memory operation (248 and 254 of fig. 4, [0058] and [0060], the computing and comparing are performed by the decoder; [0037] the decoder system may execute a duplicate reconstruction process verification on decoded data and compare the results with the checksums received in the encoded bitstream. If the checksums calculated locally by the decoder system and the checksums in the signal OUT are the same, the decoder system may be producing reconstructed video data the same as the encoder system 100).
It is noted that Novotney does not teach terminates decoding upon detecting the mismatch between the computed checksum and the reference checksum and the terminating is performed by the decoding device without a read from memory operation or a write to memory operation.
Guillame teaches terminates decoding upon detecting the mismatch between the computed checksum and the reference checksum (116 of fig. 4, the value of the handset checksum accumulator, 56 of fig. 3, is compared to the value of the checksum, 10 of fig. 1; if the values are not equal (NO in Step 116), the method terminates (END) decoding); and the terminating is performed by the decoding device without a read from memory operation or a write to memory operation (NO in Step 116 of fig. 4, END is considered the terminating without a read from memory operation or a write to memory operation).
Taking the teachings of Novotny and Guillame together as a whole, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings checksum mismatch and termination of decoding of Guillame into the decoder of Novotny to reduce computation time based on the checksum value so that the decoder enables to improve the reconstructed pictures.
Regarding claim 2, Novotny and Guillame teach the method of claim 1, Novotny further teaches wherein determining the reference checksum of the frame comprises: decoding the encoded frame to obtain a decoded frame (RECON of fig. 1, [0026] the decoded/decompressed data may also be used to generate the signal RECON); and computing the reference checksum of the decoded frame (202, 206, and 208 of fig. 3, [0049]).
Regarding claim 3, Novotny and Guillame teach the method of claim 1, Novotny further teaches wherein the reference checksum of the frame is determined using a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) algorithm ([0055] a CRC method or a parity method may be implemented in the checksum calculation circuits 128 and 206).
Regarding claim 5, Novotny and Guillame teach the method of claim 1, Novotny further teaches receiving, at the recipient, the encoded frame and the supplemental metadata comprising the reference checksum (IN 183 of fig. 3); decoding the encoded frame (202 of fig. 3); computing a checksum of the decoded frame (206 of fig. 3); comparing the computed checksum with the reference checksum included in the supplemental metadata (208 of fig. 3); and verifying an integrity of the decoded frame based on a result of the comparing ([0057], [0065], and [0075]).
Regarding claim 7, Novotny and Guillame teach the method of claim 5, Novotny further teaches determining that the computed checksum is equivalent to the reference checksum; and responsive to determining the computed checksum is equivalent to the reference checksum, continuing to decode subsequent encoded frames of the video (240, 250, and YES of fig. 4, [0060]).
Regarding claim 8, Novotny and Guillame teach the method of claim 5, Novotny further teaches decoding the supplemental metadata to obtain decoded supplemental metadata (fig. 5); and extracting the reference checksum from the decoded supplemental metadata (fig. 5).
Regarding claim 9, Novotny further teaches a method comprising:
receiving, by a graphics processing unit (GPU) (a decoder system of figure 3 and its process of figure 4), an encoded bitstream comprising a plurality of encoded frames of a video and associated supplemental metadata (IN 186 of fig. 3, [0043]);
decoding, by the GPU, a frame of the encoded bitstream to obtain a decoded frame (202 of fig. 3, [0045] and [0047]);
computing, by the GPU, a checksum of the decoded frame at runtime ([0026] the checksum calculation circuit 128 calculates checksum values for units of information within the signal RECON, each checksum value may be presented in the signal CS1T, one value for each unit of information present within the signal RECON simultaneously, and a unit of information may be a picture, frame, field, sub-picture, block, macroblock or other spatial and/or temporal areas and [0049] The circuit 208 may be referred to as a checksum calculation circuit. Implementation of the checksum calculation circuit 208 may be optional. The checksum calculation circuit 208 may be operational to calculate checksum values for units of information within the signal DECOMP. Each checksum value may be presented in the signal CS2. Presentation of checksum data may include multiple checksum values substantially simultaneously, one value for each unit of information present within the signal DECOMP simultaneously. Presentation of the checksum data may also be sequential as new units of information are received via the signal DECOMP. The decoder checksum calculation process implemented by the checksum calculation circuit 206 should match the encoder checksum calculation process implemented by the checksum calculation circuit 128; [0061-0065] generation of the checksum values may be accomplished by a variety of methods; the decoded frame. It is noted that, [0060], the method 240 may be repeated for each group of pictures, picture, frame or field in the signal IN, and, [0076], the function performed by the flow diagrams of FIGS. 2 and 4 may be implemented using a conventional general purpose digital computer programmed according to the teachings of the present specification, as will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art(s), this disclosure would obviously suggest runtime)
comparing, by the GPU, the computed checksum with a single reference checksum included in the supplemental metadata associated with the decoded frame at runtime (208 of fig. 3, comparing a single reference checksum, CS1R of fig. 3, to the computed checksum, CS2 of fig. 3, [0060] The compare circuit 208 may compare the checksum values in the signal CS2 to the checksum values received in the signal CS1R to determine a state (e.g., match or non-match) for the signal RESULTS (e.g., step 254). If multiple results exist for a single picture, the compare circuit 208 may further combine the multiple results into a single result (e.g., step 256) . It is noted that, [0060], the method 240 may be repeated for each group of pictures, picture, frame or field in the signal IN, and, [0076], the function performed by the flow diagrams of FIGS. 2 and 4 may be implemented using a conventional general purpose digital computer programmed according to the teachings of the present specification, as will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art(s), this disclosure would obviously suggest runtime) without performing a read from memory operation or a write to memory operation for the comparing (208 of fig. 3 and 254 of fig. 4, there is no read from or write to memory operation in the compare circuit 208 of figure 3 and the step 254 of figure 4); and
verifying an integrity of the decoded frame based on a result of the comparing ([0057], [0065], and [0075]).
It is noted that Novotny does not teach responsive to determining the computed checksum is not equivalent to the reference checksum, terminating decoding of subsequent encoded frames of the encoded bitstream, wherein the terminating is performed without a read from memory operation or a write to memory operation.
Guillame teaches responsive to determining the computed checksum is not equivalent to the reference checksum, terminating decoding of subsequent encoded frames of the encoded bitstream (116 of fig. 4, the value of the handset checksum accumulator, 56 of fig. 3, is compared to the value of the checksum, 10 of fig. 1; NO in Step 116 and END of fig. 4); wherein the terminating is performed without a read from memory operation or a write to memory operation (NO in Step 116 and END of fig. 4, for the terminating without a read from memory operation or a write to memory operation).
Taking the teachings of Novotny and Guillame together as a whole, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings checksum inequivalent and termination of decoding of Guillame into the decoder of Novotny to reduce the likelihood of a transmission/reception error.
Regarding claims 11-12, see analysis in claims 7-8.
Regarding claim 13, see analysis in claim 3.
Regarding 15, Novotny further teaches a system, comprising:
a graphics processing unit (GPU) (fig. 1) comprising a first logic ([0078]) to:
encode a frame of a video (106, ORIG, and 122 of fig.1, the process 140 of fig. 3; [0026] a unit of information is a picture, frame, field, sub-picture, block, macroblock or other spatial and/or temporal areas, [0038] and [0041] the process, 140 of fig. 2, may be repeated for each groups of pictures, picture, frame or field in the signal ORIG));
determine a reference checksum of the frame (122 and COMPT of fig. 1, for the frame; 128 of fig. 1, for determining the reference checksum; [0026] the checksum calculation circuit 128 calculates checksum values for units of information within the signal RECON, each checksum value may be presented in the signal CS1T, one value for each unit of information present within the signal RECON simultaneously, and a unit of information may be a picture, frame, field, sub-picture, block, macroblock or other spatial and/or temporal areas; [0049] Each checksum value may be presented in the signal CS2, 206 of fig. 3 of the decoder; [0061-0065] generation of the checksum values may be accomplished by a variety of methods) by processing pixel values of a reconstructed frame ([0026] the unit information is a picture, frame, field, sub-picture, block, macroblock; 126 of fig. 1, for generating a reconstructed frame as RECON; 128 of fig.1 for the processing pixel values of the reconstructed frame from the reconstructed video 126 of fig.1; [0061]-[0065] implementation of the example checksum generation method may be provided in both the checksum calculation circuit 128 operating on the reconstructed signal RECON and the checksum calculation circuit 206 operating on the decompressed signal DECOMP, the example checksum generation method using a unit of information (e.g., predetermined number of consecutive data samples) being processed; wherein the data samples of the unit information would obviously be treated as pixel values of the reconstructed or decompressed frame) to generate the reference checksum value (CS1T of fig.1, the single reference checksum value, [0026] the checksum calculation circuit 128 calculates checksum values for units of information within the signal RECON, each checksum value may be presented in the signal CS1T, one value for each unit of information present within the signal RECON simultaneously, and a unit of information may be a picture, frame, field, sub-picture, block, macroblock or other spatial and/or temporal areas; [0061-0065] implementation of the example checksum generation method may be provided in both the checksum calculation circuit 128 operating on the reconstructed signal RECON and the checksum calculation circuit 206 operating on the decompressed signal DECOMP);
add the reference checksum to supplemental metadata associated with the encoded frame of the video (124 of fig. 1, [0024] to generate the signal OUT to include the compressed information in the signal COMPT, error detection information in the signal CS1T and quality information in the signal QUAL1T, [0026] Each checksum value may be presented in the signal CS1T); and
transmit the encoded frame and the supplemental metadata to a decoding device (a decoder system of fig. 3, [0037], OUT of fig. 1, IN of fig. 3; [0041] The user data insertion circuit 124 may generate the signal OUT from the signals COMPT, CS1T and QUAL1T (e.g., step 160). The signal OUT may be transmitted/written to the transmission/storage medium 102 (e.g., step 162)),
wherein the decoding device (180 of fig. 2, [0037] the decoder system may execute a duplicate reconstruction process verification on decoded data and compare the results with the checksums received in the encoded bitstream. If the checksums calculated locally by the decoder system and the checksums in the signal OUT are the same, the decoder system may be producing reconstructed video data the same as the encoder system 100)
computes a checksum of decoded frame data at runtime ([0059] 248 of fig. 4, a checksum of the reconstructed video data may be calculated by the checksum calculation circuit 206 (e.g., step 248). If another block and/or another channel of the video data is available (e.g., the YES branch of step 250), the checksum calculation circuit 206 may generate additional checksums (e.g., step 248), [0060] the method 240 may be repeated for each group of pictures, picture, frame or field in the signal IN, and [0076] the function performed by the flow diagrams of FIGS. 2 and 4 may be implemented using a conventional general purpose digital computer programmed according to the teachings of the present specification, as will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art(s), this disclosure would obviously suggest runtime),
compares the computed checksum against the reference checksum at runtime ([0060] The compare circuit 208 may compare the checksum values in the signal CS2 to the checksum values received in the signal CS1R to determine a state (e.g., match or non-match) for the signal RESULTS (e.g., step 254). If multiple results exist for a single picture, the compare circuit 208 may further combine the multiple results into a single result (e.g., step 256). The output circuit 210 may transfer the decompressed video data, results and/or quality information to the receiving user 184 (e.g., step 258), and the method 240 may be repeated for each group of pictures, picture, frame or field in the signal IN; [0076] the function performed by the flow diagrams of FIGS. 2 and 4 may be implemented using a conventional general purpose digital computer programmed according to the teachings of the present specification, as will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art(s), this disclosure would obviously suggest runtime), and
wherein the computing and comparing are performed by the decoding device without a read from memory operation or a write to memory operation (248 and 254 of fig. 4, [0037] the decoder system may execute a duplicate reconstruction process verification on decoded data and compare the results with the checksums received in the encoded bitstream. If the checksums calculated locally by the decoder system and the checksums in the signal OUT are the same, the decoder system may be producing reconstructed video data the same as the encoder system 100; [0058] and [0060]).
It is noted that Novotney does not teach terminates decoding upon detecting the mismatch between the computed checksum and the reference checksum, and the terminating is performed by the decoding device without a read from memory operation or a write to memory operation.
Guillame teaches terminates decoding upon detecting the mismatch between the computed checksum and the reference checksum (116 of fig. 4, the value of the handset checksum accumulator, 56 of fig. 3, is compared to the value of the checksum, 10 of fig. 1; if the values are not equal (NO in Step 116), the method terminates (END) decoding); the terminating is performed by the decoding device without a read from memory operation or a write to memory operation (NO in Step 116 of fig. 4, END is considered the terminating without a read from memory operation or a write to memory operation).
Taking the teachings of Novotny and Guillame together as a whole, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings checksum mismatch and termination of decoding of Guillame into the decoder of Novotny to reduce computation time based on the checksum value so that the decoder enables to improve the reconstructed pictures.
Regarding claim 16, Novotny and Guillame teach the system of claim 15, Novotney further teaches wherein the first logic comprises at least one of a hardware encoder or a software encoder (figs. 1and 2, encoder system, [0078]).
Regarding claim 17, see analysis in claim 5.
Regarding claim 19 see analysis in claim 3.
Regarding claim 20, Novotny and Guillame teach the system of claim 17, Novotny further teaches wherein the second logic comprises at least one of a hardware decoder or a software decoder (figs. 3 and 4, [0078]).
Regarding claim 21, Novotny and Guillame teach the method of claim 1, Novotny further teaches wherein: responsive to determining the computed checksum is equivalent to the reference checksum ([0037] the decoder system may execute a duplicate reconstruction process verification on decoded data and compare the results with the checksums received in the encoded bitstream. If the checksums calculated locally by the decoder system and the checksums in the signal OUT are the same, the decoder system may be producing reconstructed video data the same as the encoder system 100. Guillame also teaches this feature, see YES in Step 116 of fig. 4), the decoding device continues to decode a next encoded frame of the video ([0037] the decoder system may execute a duplicate reconstruction process verification on decoded data and compare the results with the checksums received in the encoded bitstream. If the checksums calculated locally by the decoder system and the checksums in the signal OUT are the same, the decoder system may be producing reconstructed video data the same as the encoder system 100. Guillame also teaches this feature, see 118 of fig. 7, Decode data sequence, 8 of fig. 1).
Guillame further teaches such that the decoding device ceases decoding of all subsequent encoded frames of the video upon detecting the mismatch such that no subsequent encoded frame of the video is decoded after the detecting (NO in Step 116 and END of fig. 4, for ending the decoding), thereby reducing a compliance test duration relative to decoding all encoded frames of the video prior to determining compliance of the decoded frame (Col. 9, lines 56-Col. 10, line 7, for decreasing the amount of time).
Regarding claims 22 and 23, see analysis in claim 21.
Claim(s) 4 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Novotny et al. (US 20050216815 A1) in view of Guillame (US 5991632 A) as applied to claim 1 and 9, and further in view of Wang (US 20220217411 A1).
Regarding claims 4 and 14, Novotny and Guillame disclose the method of claims 1 and 9. Novotny and Guillame are silent about wherein the supplemental metadata comprises a supplemental enhancement information (SEI) message included within a payload of a Network Abstraction Layer (NAL) unit associated with a video coding standard.
Wang teaches wherein the supplemental metadata comprises a supplemental enhancement information (SEI) message included within a payload of a Network Abstraction Layer (NAL) unit associated with a video coding standard (bitstream of fig. 7, [0047] A payload type (payloadType) is a syntax element that indicates the type of data contained in a SEI message and hence indicates the type of SEI message that is contained in a SEI NAL unit, [0115] describes SEI within payload of NAL unit with the video coding standard).
Taking the teachings of Novotny, Guillame, and Wang together as a whole, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the SEI within payload of NAL of Wang into the bitstream of Novotny in view of Guillame for improvements in signaling parameters to support coding of multi-layer bitstreams ([0002] of Wang).
Claim(s) 1-3, 5, 7-9, 11-13, and 15-17, and 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Novotny et al. (US 20050216815 A1) in view of Francois et al. (US 20260099953 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Novotny teaches a method comprising:
encoding, by a graphics processing unit (GPU) (100 and 122 of fig. 1, [0017] an encoder system or circuit), a frame of a video (106 ORIG of fig. 1, 140 of fig. 3; [0026] a unit of information is a picture, frame, field, sub-picture, block, macroblock or other spatial and/or temporal areas, [0038] and [0041] the process, 140 of fig. 2, may be repeated for each groups of pictures, picture, frame or field in the signal ORIG);
determining, by the GPU (128 of fig. 1, for determining the reference checksum), a reference checksum the encoded frame (122 and COMPT of fig.1, for the encoded frame; [0026] the checksum calculation circuit 128 calculates checksum values for units of information within the signal RECON, each checksum value may be presented in the signal CS1T, one value for each unit of information present within the signal RECON simultaneously, and a unit of information may be a picture, frame, field, sub-picture, block, macroblock or other spatial and/or temporal areas; [0049] Each checksum value may be presented in the signal CS2, 206 of fig. 3 of the decoder; [0061-0065] generation of the checksum values may be accomplished by a variety of methods) by processing pixel values of a reconstructed frame (128 of fig.1 for the processing pixel values of the reconstructed frame from the reconstructed video 126 of fig.1; [0061]-[0065] implementation of the example checksum generation method may be provided in both the checksum calculation circuit 128 operating on the reconstructed signal RECON and the checksum calculation circuit 206 operating on the decompressed signal DECOMP, the example checksum generation method using a unit of information (e.g., predetermined number of consecutive data samples) being processed; wherein the data samples of the unit information would obviously be treated as pixel values of the reconstructed or decompressed frame, RECON of fig. 1) to generate the reference checksum value (CS1T of fig.1, the single reference checksum value, [0026] the checksum calculation circuit 128 calculates checksum values for units of information within the signal RECON, each checksum value may be presented in the signal CS1T, one value for each unit of information present within the signal RECON simultaneously, and a unit of information may be a picture, frame, field, sub-picture, block, macroblock or other spatial and/or temporal areas; [0061-0065] implementation of the example checksum generation method may be provided in both the checksum calculation circuit 128 operating on the reconstructed signal RECON and the checksum calculation circuit 206 operating on the decompressed signal DECOMP); and
adding, by the GPU, the reference checksum to supplemental metadata associated with the encoded frame (124 of fig. 1, [0024] to generate the signal OUT to include the compressed information in the signal COMPT, error detection information in the signal CS1T and quality information in the signal QUAL1T, [0026] Each checksum value may be presented in the signal CS1T); and
transmitting, to a decoding device (fig. 3, a decoder system), the encoded frame and the supplemental metadata (OUT of fig. 1, IN of fig. 3; [0041] The user data insertion circuit 124 may generate the signal OUT from the signals COMPT, CS1T and QUAL1T (e.g., step 160). The signal OUT may be transmitted/written to the transmission/storage medium 102 (e.g., step 162).);
wherein: the decoding device (180 of fig. 2, [0037] the decoder system may execute a duplicate reconstruction process verification on decoded data and compare the results with the checksums received in the encoded bitstream. If the checksums calculated locally by the decoder system and the checksums in the signal OUT are the same, the decoder system may be producing reconstructed video data the same as the encoder system 100)
computes a checksum of decoded frame data at runtime ([0059] 248 of fig. 4, a checksum of the reconstructed video data may be calculated by the checksum calculation circuit 206 (e.g., step 248). If another block and/or another channel of the video data is available (e.g., the YES branch of step 250), the checksum calculation circuit 206 may generate additional checksums (e.g., step 248), [0060] the method 240 may be repeated for each group of pictures, picture, frame or field in the signal IN, and [0076] the function performed by the flow diagrams of FIGS. 2 and 4 may be implemented using a conventional general purpose digital computer programmed according to the teachings of the present specification, as will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art(s), this disclosure would obviously suggest runtime),
compares the computed checksum against the reference checksum at runtime ([0060] The compare circuit 208 may compare the checksum values in the signal CS2 to the checksum values received in the signal CS1R to determine a state (e.g., match or non-match) for the signal RESULTS (e.g., step 254). If multiple results exist for a single picture, the compare circuit 208 may further combine the multiple results into a single result (e.g., step 256). The output circuit 210 may transfer the decompressed video data, results and/or quality information to the receiving user 184 (e.g., step 258), and the method 240 may be repeated for each group of pictures, picture, frame or field in the signal IN; [0076] the function performed by the flow diagrams of FIGS. 2 and 4 may be implemented using a conventional general purpose digital computer programmed according to the teachings of the present specification, as will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art(s), this disclosure would obviously suggest runtime), and
wherein the computing, comparing,
It is noted that Novotney does not teach terminates decoding upon detecting the mismatch between the computed checksum and the reference checksum, and the terminating is performed by the decoding device without a read from memory operation or a write to memory operation.
Francois teaches terminates decoding upon detecting the mismatch between the computed checksum and the reference checksum (6122, 6123, 6124, and NO of fig. 7, for the mismatch checksum; and 6124, NO, 6126, 6127, and NO of fig. 7, for the process of terminating of decoding); the terminating is performed by the decoding device without a read from memory operation or a write to memory operation (6124, NO, 6126, 6127, and NO of fig. 7, for the process of terminating of decoding is executed by the processing module without a read from memory operation or a write to memory operation).
Taking the teachings of Novotny and Francois together as a whole, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings checksum mismatch and termination of decoding of Francois into the decoder of Novotny to reduce computation time based on the checksum value so that the decoder enables to improve the reconstructed pictures.
Regarding claim 2, Novotny and Francois teach the method of claim 1, Novotny further teaches wherein determining the reference checksum of the frame comprises: decoding the encoded frame to obtain a decoded frame (RECON of fig. 1, [0026] the decoded/decompressed data may also be used to generate the signal RECON); and computing the reference checksum of the decoded frame (202, 206, and 208 of fig. 3, [0049]).
Regarding claim 3, Novotny and Francois teach the method of claim 1, Novotny further teaches wherein the reference checksum of the frame is determined using a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) algorithm ([0055] a CRC method or a parity method may be implemented in the checksum calculation circuits 128 and 206).
Regarding claim 5, Novotny and Francois teach the method of claim 1, Novotny further teaches receiving, at the recipient, the encoded frame and the supplemental metadata comprising the reference checksum (IN 183 of fig. 3); decoding the encoded frame (202 of fig. 3); computing a checksum of the decoded frame (206 of fig. 3); comparing the computed checksum with the reference checksum included in the supplemental metadata (208 of fig. 3); and verifying an integrity of the decoded frame based on a result of the comparing ([0057], [0065], and [0075]).
Regarding claim 7, Novotny and Francois teach the method of claim 5, Novotny further teaches determining that the computed checksum is equivalent to the reference checksum; and responsive to determining the computed checksum is equivalent to the reference checksum, continuing to decode subsequent encoded frames of the video (240, 250, and YES of fig. 4, [0060]).
Regarding claim 8, Novotny and Francois teach the method of claim 5, Novotny further teaches decoding the supplemental metadata to obtain decoded supplemental metadata (fig. 5); and extracting the reference checksum from the decoded supplemental metadata (fig. 5).
Regarding claim 9, Novotny teaches a method comprising:
receiving, by a graphics processing unit (GPU) (a decoder system of figure 3 and its process of figure 4), an encoded bitstream comprising a plurality of encoded frames of a video and associated supplemental metadata (IN 186 of fig. 3, [0043]);
decoding, by the GPU, a frame of the encoded bitstream to obtain a decoded frame (202 of fig. 3, [0045] and [0047]);
computing, by the GPU, a checksum of the decoded frame at runtime ([0026] the checksum calculation circuit 128 calculates checksum values for units of information within the signal RECON, each checksum value may be presented in the signal CS1T, one value for each unit of information present within the signal RECON simultaneously, and a unit of information may be a picture, frame, field, sub-picture, block, macroblock or other spatial and/or temporal areas and [0049] The circuit 208 may be referred to as a checksum calculation circuit. Implementation of the checksum calculation circuit 208 may be optional. The checksum calculation circuit 208 may be operational to calculate checksum values for units of information within the signal DECOMP. Each checksum value may be presented in the signal CS2. Presentation of checksum data may include multiple checksum values substantially simultaneously, one value for each unit of information present within the signal DECOMP simultaneously. Presentation of the checksum data may also be sequential as new units of information are received via the signal DECOMP. The decoder checksum calculation process implemented by the checksum calculation circuit 206 should match the encoder checksum calculation process implemented by the checksum calculation circuit 128; [0061-0065] generation of the checksum values may be accomplished by a variety of methods; the decoded frame);
comparing, by the GPU, the computed checksum with a single reference checksum included in the supplemental metadata associated with the decoded frame at runtime (208 of fig. 3, comparing a single reference checksum, CS1R of fig. 3, to the computed checksum, CS2 of fig. 3, [0060] The compare circuit 208 may compare the checksum values in the signal CS2 to the checksum values received in the signal CS1R to determine a state (e.g., match or non-match) for the signal RESULTS (e.g., step 254). If multiple results exist for a single picture, the compare circuit 208 may further combine the multiple results into a single result (e.g., step 256). It is noted that, [0060], the method 240 may be repeated for each group of pictures, picture, frame or field in the signal IN, and, [0076], the function performed by the flow diagrams of FIGS. 2 and 4 may be implemented using a conventional general purpose digital computer programmed according to the teachings of the present specification, as will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art(s), this disclosure would obviously suggest runtime) without performing a read from memory operation or a write to memory operation for the comparing (208 of fig. 3 and 254 of fig. 4, there is no read from or write to memory operation in the compare circuit 208 of figure 3 and the step 254 of figure 4; 248 and 254 of fig. 4, [0037] the decoder system may execute a duplicate reconstruction process verification on decoded data and compare the results with the checksums received in the encoded bitstream. If the checksums calculated locally by the decoder system and the checksums in the signal OUT are the same, the decoder system may be producing reconstructed video data the same as the encoder system 100; [0058] and [0060]); and
verifying an integrity of the decoded frame based on a result of the comparing ([0057], [0065], and [0075]).
It is noted that Novotny does not teach responsive to determining the computed checksum is not equivalent to the reference checksum, terminating decoding of subsequent encoded frames of the encoded bitstream, wherein the terminating is performed without a read from memory operation or a write to memory operation.
Francois teaches responsive to determining the computed checksum is not equivalent to the reference checksum, terminating decoding of subsequent encoded frames of the encoded bitstream (6122, 6123, 6124, and NO of fig. 7, for not the same checksum; and 6124, NO, 6126, 6127, and NO of fig. 7, the process of terminating of decoding of subsequent encoded frames of the encoded bitstream); and wherein the terminating is performed without a read from memory operation or a write to memory operation (6124, NO, 6126, 6127, and NO of fig. 7, the process of terminating of decoding is executed by the processing module without a read from memory operation or a write to memory operation).
Taking the teachings of Novotny and Francois together as a whole, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings checksum inequivalent and termination of decoding of Francois into the decoder of Novotny to reduce computation time based on the checksum value so that the decoder enables to improve the reconstructed pictures.
Regarding claims 11-12, see analysis in claims 7-8.
Regarding claim 13, see analysis in claim 3.
Regarding 15, Novotny teaches a system, comprising:
a graphics processing unit (GPU) (fig. 1) comprising a first logic ([0078]) to:
encode a frame of a video (106, ORIG, and 122 of fig.1, the process 140 of fig. 3; [0026] a unit of information is a picture, frame, field, sub-picture, block, macroblock or other spatial and/or temporal areas, [0038] and [0041] the process, 140 of fig. 2, may be repeated for each groups of pictures, picture, frame or field in the signal ORIG));
determine a reference checksum of the frame (122 and COMPT of fig. 1, for the frame; 128 of fig. 1, for determining the reference checksum; [0026] the checksum calculation circuit 128 calculates checksum values for units of information within the signal RECON, each checksum value may be presented in the signal CS1T, one value for each unit of information present within the signal RECON simultaneously, and a unit of information may be a picture, frame, field, sub-picture, block, macroblock or other spatial and/or temporal areas; [0049] Each checksum value may be presented in the signal CS2, 206 of fig. 3 of the decoder; [0061-0065] generation of the checksum values may be accomplished by a variety of methods)by processing pixel values of a reconstructed frame ([0026] the unit information is a picture, frame, field, sub-picture, block, macroblock; 126 of fig. 1, for generating a reconstructed frame as RECON; 128 of fig.1 for the processing pixel values of the reconstructed frame from the reconstructed video 126 of fig.1; [0061]-[0065] implementation of the example checksum generation method may be provided in both the checksum calculation circuit 128 operating on the reconstructed signal RECON and the checksum calculation circuit 206 operating on the decompressed signal DECOMP, the example checksum generation method using a unit of information (e.g., predetermined number of consecutive data samples) being processed; wherein the data samples of the unit information would obviously be treated as pixel values of the reconstructed or decompressed frame) to generate the reference checksum value (CS1T of fig.1, the single reference checksum value, [0026] the checksum calculation circuit 128 calculates checksum values for units of information within the signal RECON, each checksum value may be presented in the signal CS1T, one value for each unit of information present within the signal RECON simultaneously, and a unit of information may be a picture, frame, field, sub-picture, block, macroblock or other spatial and/or temporal areas; [0061-0065] implementation of the example checksum generation method may be provided in both the checksum calculation circuit 128 operating on the reconstructed signal RECON and the checksum calculation circuit 206 operating on the decompressed signal DECOMP);
add the reference checksum to supplemental metadata associated with the encoded frame of the video (124 of fig. 1, [0024] to generate the signal OUT to include the compressed information in the signal COMPT, error detection information in the signal CS1T and quality information in the signal QUAL1T, [0026] Each checksum value may be presented in the signal CS1T); and
transmit the encoded frame and the supplemental metadata to a decoder (a decoder system of fig. 3, OUT of fig. 1, IN of fig. 3; [0041] The user data insertion circuit 124 may generate the signal OUT from the signals COMPT, CS1T and QUAL1T (e.g., step 160). The signal OUT may be transmitted/written to the transmission/storage medium 102 (e.g., step 162).)),
wherein the decoding device (180 of fig. 2, [0037] the decoder system may execute a duplicate reconstruction process verification on decoded data and compare the results with the checksums received in the encoded bitstream. If the checksums calculated locally by the decoder system and the checksums in the signal OUT are the same, the decoder system may be producing reconstructed video data the same as the encoder system 100)
computes a checksum of decoded frame data at runtime ([0059] 248 of fig. 4, a checksum of the reconstructed video data may be calculated by the checksum calculation circuit 206 (e.g., step 248). If another block and/or another channel of the video data is available (e.g., the YES branch of step 250), the checksum calculation circuit 206 may generate additional checksums (e.g., step 248), [0060] the method 240 may be repeated for each group of pictures, picture, frame or field in the signal IN, and [0076] the function performed by the flow diagrams of FIGS. 2 and 4 may be implemented using a conventional general purpose digital computer programmed according to the teachings of the present specification, as will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art(s), this disclosure would obviously suggest runtime),
compares the computed checksum against the reference checksum at runtime ([0060] The compare circuit 208 may compare the checksum values in the signal CS2 to the checksum values received in the signal CS1R to determine a state (e.g., match or non-match) for the signal RESULTS (e.g., step 254). If multiple results exist for a single picture, the compare circuit 208 may further combine the multiple results into a single result (e.g., step 256). The output circuit 210 may transfer the decompressed video data, results and/or quality information to the receiving user 184 (e.g., step 258), and the method 240 may be repeated for each group of pictures, picture, frame or field in the signal IN; [0076] the function performed by the flow diagrams of FIGS. 2 and 4 may be implemented using a conventional general purpose digital computer programmed according to the teachings of the present specification, as will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art(s), this disclosure would obviously suggest runtime), and compare circuit 208 may compare the checksum values in the signal CS2 to the checksum values received in the signal CS1R to determine a state (e.g., match or non-match) for the signal RESULTS (e.g., step 254)); and
wherein the computing, comparing,
It is noted that Novotney does not teach terminates decoding upon detecting the mismatch between the computed checksum and the reference checksum, and the terminating is performed by the decoding device without a read from memory operation or a write to memory operation.
Francois teaches terminates decoding upon detecting the mismatch between the computed checksum and the reference checksum (6122, 6123, 6124, and NO of fig. 7, for the mismatch checksum; and 6124, NO, 6126, 6127, and NO of fig. 7, for the process of terminating of decoding); the terminating is performed by the decoding device without a read from memory operation or a write to memory operation (6124, NO, 6126, 6127, and NO of fig. 7, for the process of terminating of decoding is executed by the processing module without a read from memory operation or a write to memory operation).
Taking the teachings of Novotny and Francois together as a whole, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings checksum mismatch and termination of decoding of Francois into the decoder of Novotny to reduce computation time based on the checksum value so that the decoder enables to improve the reconstructed pictures.
Regarding claim 16, Novotny and Francois teach the system of claim 15, Novotny further teaches wherein the first logic comprises at least one of a hardware encoder or a software encoder (figs. 1and 2, encoder system, [0078]).
Regarding claim 17, see analysis in claim 5.
Regarding claim 19 see analysis in claim 3.
Regarding claim 20, Novotny and Francois teach the system of claim 17, Novotny further teaches wherein the second logic comprises at least one of a hardware decoder or a software decoder (figs. 3 and 4, [0078]).
Claim(s) 4 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Novotny et al. (US 20050216815 A1) in view of Francois et al. (US 20260099953 A1) as applied to claim 1 and 9, and further in view of Wang (US 20220217411 A1).
Regarding claims 4 and 14, Novotny and Francois disclose the method of claims 1 and 9. Novotny and Francois are silent about wherein the supplemental metadata comprises a supplemental enhancement information (SEI) message included within a payload of a Network Abstraction Layer (NAL) unit associated with a video coding standard.
Wang teaches wherein the supplemental metadata comprises a supplemental enhancement information (SEI) message included within a payload of a Network Abstraction Layer (NAL) unit associated with a video coding standard (bitstream of fig. 7, [0047] A payload type (payloadType) is a syntax element that indicates the type of data contained in a SEI message and hence indicates the type of SEI message that is contained in a SEI NAL unit, [0115] describes SEI within payload of NAL unit with the video coding standard).
Taking the teachings of Novotny, Francois and Wang together as a whole, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the SEI within payload of NAL of Wang into the bitstream of Novotny in view of Francois for improvements in signaling parameters to support coding of multi-layer bitstreams ([0002] of Wang).
Claim(s) 21-23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Novotny et al. (US 20050216815 A1) in view of Francois et al. (US 20260099953 A1) as applied to claims 1, 9, and 15, and further in view of Watanabe (US 20180152207 A1).
Regarding claims 21-23, Novotny and Francois teach the method of claims 1, 9, and 15.
Novotny further teaches wherein responsive to determining the computed checksum is equivalent to the reference checksum ([0037] of Novotny. Francois also teaches this feature, 6124 of fig. 7, Same checksum is YES), the decoding device continues to decode a next encoded frame of the video ([0037] of Novotny. Francois also teaches this feature, 6125 of fig. 7).
Francois further teaches such that the decoding device (fig. 4) ceases decoding of all subsequent encoded frames of the video upon detecting the mismatch such that no subsequent encoded frame of the video is decoded after the detecting (6124 of fig. 5, NO in same checksum; 6126 and 6127 of fig. 7, NO in iteration counter > threshold, ending the decoding of all subsequent encoded frames).
It is noted that Novotny and Francois are silent about thereby reducing a compliance test duration relative to decoding all encoded frames of the video prior to determining compliance of the decoded frame.
Watanabe teaches thereby reducing a compliance test duration relative to decoding all encoded frames of the video prior to determining compliance of the decoded frame ([0091], [0092], and [0101] by performing the bounded distance decoding using a more likely test pattern in an earlier stage, it is possible to determine termination at an earlier time at Step S509 in FIG. 9. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the time required for the decoding process).
Taking the teachings of Novotny, Francois, and Watanabe together as a whole, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the reduced compliance time duration of Watanabe into the decoding process of Novotny in view of Watanabe to efficiently perform decoding without increasing a calculation amount.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Puri et al. (US 20050031219 A1) discloses a checksum is computed on the decoded codeword. This is compared with the checksum that is provided in the syntax by the encoder. The checksum provided by the encoder corresponds to the target codeword. A successful checksum match indicates that the target codeword has been identified. The candidate cues are tried successively until a successful checksum match occurs at which point the matching is declared to be successful.
Zhang et al. (US 20190097654 A1) discloses the terminating of the LDPC decoding 710 may be performed, if it is determined that the generated CRC parity bits match with the CRC bits included in the data and the LDPC checksum is less than a predetermined threshold. Furthermore, the terminating of the LDPC decoding 710 may include outputting hard decision values in accordance with the LDPC decoding.
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TUNG T. VO
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2425
/TUNG T VO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2425
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