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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 8, 15 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 8-9 and 15-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hemmer et al. (US2020/0265611) in view of Jiang et al. (US2014/0320492) and Coon et al. (US2013/0335416).
To claim 1, Hemmer teach a method performed by at least one processor of an encoder, the method comprising:
performing, on a mesh, decimation process based on one or more properties of the mesh to generate a decimated mesh (324=>360 of Fig. 3, reduced LOD; paragraphs 0081-0084);
performing UV reparameterization on the decimated mesh to generate a UV reparameterized mesh (362=>366=>318=>328 of Fig. 3, return to encoding, such as UV quantization; paragraph 0063; paragraphs 0069, 0079, 0096, progressive encoding operations may be repeated, which results an obvious scenario);
performing a geometry reparameterization on the UV reparameterized mesh based on one or more properties of the of the UV reparameterized mesh to generate geometric information for encoding the mesh (362=>366=>318=>328 of Fig. 3, return to encoding, such as UV quantization; paragraph 0063; paragraphs 0069, 0079, 0096, progressive encoding operations may be repeated, which results another obvious scenario); and
encoding the mesh based on the generated geometric information (370 of Fig. 3).
But, Hemmer do not expressly disclose in which decimation is performed on a first side of a mesh and predicted on a second side of the mesh; and said one or more properties being symmetrical properties.
Jiang teach 3D model compression, wherein encoders and decoders utilize principles of reflective symmetry to effectively match symmetrical points in an image so that the symmetrical points can be characterized by a rotation and translation matrix, thereby reducing the requirement of coding and decoding all of the points in 3D image and increasing computational efficiency (abstract, paragraphs 0014-0015).
Coon teach generating a 3D model with UV coordinates (paragraph 0043), in which decimation is performed on a first side of a mesh and predicted on a second side of the mesh (paragraph 0005-0006, 0048-0049, decimated side of mesh may be mirrored onto a second side of the mesh).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to incorporate teaching of Jiang and Coon into the method of Hemmer, in order to increase computational efficiency.
To claim 8, Hemmer, Jiang and Coon teach an encoder comprising: at least one memory configured to store program code; and at least one processor configured to read the program code and operate as instructed by the program code (as explained in response to claim 1 above).
To claim 15, Hemmer, Jiang and Coon teach a non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions stored therein, which when executed by a processor in an encoder cause the encoder to execute a method (as explained in response to claim 1 above).
To claims 2, 9 and 16, Hemmer, Jiang and Coon teach claims 1, 8 and 15.Hemmer, Jiang and Coon teach wherein the performing the decimation process further comprises: performing a symmetry estimation on the mesh to estimate a mirror symmetry plane that partitions the mesh into the first side and the second side to generate a partitioned mesh; performing symmetry extraction on the partitioned mesh to extract the first side of the partitioned mesh; performing decimation on the first side of the mesh; and performing symmetry prediction after the decimation is performed to predict the second side of the partitioned mesh to generate the decimated mesh (Coon, Fig. 13, paragraphs 0064, 0067-0068.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 10, 17 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZHIYU LU whose telephone number is (571)272-2837. The examiner can normally be reached Weekdays: 8:30AM - 5:00PM.
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, Stephen R Koziol can be reached at (408) 918-7630. 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.
ZHIYU . LU
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2669
/ZHIYU LU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2665 April 6, 2026
Prosecution Insights