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 .
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.
35 U.S.C. 101 requires that a claimed invention must fall within one of the four eligible categories of invention (i.e. process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter) and must not be directed to subject matter encompassing a judicially recognized exception as interpreted by the courts. The four eligible categories of invention include: (1) process which is an act, or a series of acts or steps, (2) machine which is an concrete thing, consisting of parts, or of certain devices and combination of devices, (3) manufacture which is an article produced from raw or prepared materials by giving to these materials new forms, qualities, properties, or combinations, whether by hand labor or by machinery, and (4) composition of matter which is all compositions of two or more substances and all composite articles, whether they be the results of chemical union, or of mechanical mixture, or whether they be gases, fluids, powders or solids.
Claims 12 & 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 as not falling within one of the four statutory categories of invention because the claimed invention is directed to computer program per se. A claim directed toward a non-transitory computer-readable medium having the program encoded thereon establishes a sufficient functional relationship between the program and a computer so as to remove it from the realm of “program per se”. Hence, adding the limitation of “stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium” would resolve this issue.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 8 & 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claims 8 & 19 recite the limitation: “… wherein the preceding occupied coarse point is the penultimate occupied coarse point (emphasis added to accentuate insufficient antecedent basis)”.
For the purposes of examination, the limitation is interpreted as the following:
“… wherein the preceding occupied coarse point is [[the]] a penultimate occupied coarse point.” (emphasis added to accentuate interpretation).
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 1-2, 8-10, 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oh et al., hereinafter referred to as Oh (US 2021/0005006 A1) in view of Mammou et al., hereinafter referred to as Mammou (US 2019/0087979 A1).
As per claim 1, Oh discloses a method of encoding, into a bitstream, point cloud geometry data (Oh: Para. [0119] discloses “The point cloud video encoder may encode the input point cloud video into one or more video streams [claimed method of encoding, into a bitstream, point cloud geometry data]”.) represented by ordered coarse points occupying some discrete positions of a set of discrete positions of a two-dimensional space (Oh: Para. [0140] discloses “dividing the points constituting a point cloud into patches and mapping the same to the 2D plane [claimed two-dimensional space] … The occupancy map may represent a 2D array [claimed ordered coarse points occupying some discrete positions of a set of discrete positions of a two-dimensional space]”),
wherein the method comprises obtaining at least one first binary data representative of an order index difference representative of a difference between order indices of two consecutive occupied coarse points and encoding each of said at least one first binary data by (Oh: Para. [0266] discloses “perform run-length coding on the occupied pixels [claimed occupied coarse points]” and Para. [0272] discloses “Encode lengths of the individual runs [claimed obtaining at least one first binary data representative of an order index difference representative of a difference between order indices of two consecutive occupied coarse points]”; [therefore, run-length coding the lengths of sequential occupied/unoccupied pixels determines the difference in order indices between consecutive occupied coarse points] and Oh: Para. [0264] discloses “The entropy compression may be performed through the following operations [claimed encoding each of said at least one first binary data by:]”):
obtaining coordinates of a current coarse point within the two-dimensional space (Oh: Para. [0198] discloses “Place a patch at a point (u, v) having a horizontal coordinate … and a vertical coordinate … in the occupancy map plane” and Para. [0199] discloses “Set a point (x, y) having a horizontal coordinate … and a vertical coordinate … in the patch plane as a current point [claimed obtaining coordinates of a current coarse point within the two-dimensional space]”; [therefore, identifying horizontal and vertical coordinates of a current point in a 2D patch and occupancy map satisfies obtaining coordinates of a current coarse point within the two-dimensional space].);
obtaining a series of at least one second binary data based on occupancy data of precedingly encoded coarse points belonging to a causal neighborhood of the current coarse point (Oh: Para. [0140] discloses “Occupancy map: this is a binary map indicating whether there is data at a corresponding position in a 2D plane, using a value of 0 or 1 [claimed second binary data based on occupancy data]”; Oh: Para. [0282] discloses “predict the current block with reference to the samples in the current picture. The samples may be positioned in the neighbor of … the current block” and Oh: Paras. [0286], [0312] disclose “The entropy encoder 15110 may employ various encoding techniques such as … context-adaptive binary arithmetic coding (CABAC)” and context models “may be determined based on … information about neighboring and decoding target blocks or information about a symbol/bin decoded in a previous step [claimed obtaining a series of at least one second binary data based on occupancy data of precedingly encoded coarse points belonging to a causal neighborhood of the current coarse point]”.);
entropy encoding, into the bitstream, the first binary data based on the series of at least one second binary data and (Oh: Para. [0263] discloses “entropy compression for lossless compression [claimed entropy encoding, into the bitstream, the first binary data based on the series of at least one second binary data]”.).
However, Oh does not explicitly disclose “… obtaining a coordinate difference between a first coordinate of the current coarse point and a first coordinate of a preceding occupied coarse point in the two-dimensional space, said current and preceding occupied coarse points having a same second coordinate in the two-dimensional space; and entropy encoding … the coordinate difference.”.
Further, Mammou is in the same field of endeavor and teaches obtaining a coordinate difference between a first coordinate of the current coarse point and a first coordinate of a preceding occupied coarse point in the two-dimensional space (Mammou: Para. [0475] discloses “occupancy map [claimed two-dimensional space]”, Mammou: Para. [0206] discloses “Continuous runs of 0s and 1s are detected [claimed a preceding occupied coarse point … the current coarse point]” and Mammou: Para. [0208] discloses “The length of each run … is then encoded [claimed obtaining a coordinate difference between a first coordinate]”; [i.e., since the length of a run of empty spaces directly measures the spatial distance between two occupied blocks, determining the length of the run mathematically includes obtaining the coordinate difference between the first coordinate of the current point and the first coordinate of the preceding occupied point].), said current and preceding occupied coarse points having a same second coordinate in the two-dimensional space (Mammou: Fig. 12B & Para. [0202] disclose “Different traversal orders are defined for the sub-blocks [claimed having a same second coordinate in the two-dimensional space]” and Mammou: Para. [0206] discloses “while following the traversal order [claimed said current and preceding occupied coarse points]”; [therefore, evaluating points by following a predefined 1D linear traversal order across the 2D occupancy map axiomatically corresponds to sequentially evaluated current and preceding points that share the exact same row/column index, which will have the claimed same second coordinate].); and
entropy encoding the coordinate difference (Mammou: Para. [0208], [0242] disclose entropy encoding “the length of each run [claimed coordinate difference]”.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, and having the teachings of Oh and Mammou before him or her, to modify the point cloud entropy encoding operations of Oh to include the coordinate difference between current and occupied points along a shared axis feature as described in Mammou. The motivation for doing so would have been to improve compression efficiency by providing techniques that minimize the bit size.
As per claim 2, Oh discloses a method of decoding, from a bitstream, point cloud geometry data represented by ordered coarse points occupying some discrete positions of a set of discrete positions of a two-dimensional space (Oh: Abstract; Paras. [0119], [0140].), wherein the method comprises obtaining an order index difference representative of a difference between order indices of two consecutive occupied coarse points from at least one decoded first binary data, wherein each of said at least one first binary data is decoded by (Oh: Para. [0312] discloses “a context model may be determined based on decoding target syntax element information and decoding information”.):
obtaining coordinates of a current coarse point within the two-dimensional space (Oh: Para. [0198]-[0199] discloses mapping coordinates in the 2D patch plane [claimed obtaining coordinates of a current coarse point within the two-dimensional space].);
obtaining a series of at least one second binary data based on occupancy data of precedingly decoded coarse points belonging to a causal neighborhood of the current coarse point (Oh: Para. [0312] discloses context models “determined based on … information about neighboring and decoding target blocks or information about a symbol/bin decoded in a previous step [claimed obtaining a series of at least one second binary data based on occupancy data of precedingly decoded coarse points belonging to a causal neighborhood of the current coarse point]”.);
entropy decoding, from the bitstream, the first binary data based on the series of at least one second binary data (Oh: Para. [0312] discloses entropy decoding using CABAC [claimed entropy decoding, from the bitstream, the first binary data based on the series of at least one second binary data].).
However, Oh does not explicitly disclose “… obtaining a coordinate difference between a first coordinate of the current coarse point and a first coordinate of a preceding occupied coarse point in the two-dimensional space, said current and preceding occupied coarse points having a same second coordinate in the two-dimensional space; and entropy decoding … the coordinate difference.”.
Further, Mammou is in the same field of endeavor and teaches obtaining a coordinate difference between a first coordinate of the current coarse point and a first coordinate of a preceding occupied coarse point in the two-dimensional space, said current and preceding occupied coarse points having a same second coordinate in the two-dimensional space (Mammou: Para. [0202] discloses “The traversal orders are predetermined and known to both the encoder and decoder [claimed said current and preceding occupied coarse points having a same second coordinate in the two-dimensional space]” and Mammou: Para. [0208] discloses decoding “The length of each run [claimed obtaining a coordinate difference between a first coordinate]”.); and
decoding the coordinate difference (Mammou: Paras. [0202], [0208] disclose decoding “the length of each run [claimed coordinate difference]”.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, and having the teachings of Oh and Mammou before him or her, to modify the point cloud entropy decoding operations of Oh to include the coordinate difference between current and occupied points along a shared axis feature as described in Mammou. The motivation for doing so would have been to improve compression efficiency by providing techniques that minimize the bit size.
As per claim 8, Oh-Mammou disclose the method of claim 2, wherein the preceding occupied coarse point is the penultimate occupied coarse point (Mammou: Para. [0206] discloses “Continuous runs of 0s and 1s are detected [claimed wherein the preceding occupied coarse point is the penultimate occupied coarse point]”; [i.e., counting a continuous run of zeros between sequential ones axiomatically measures from the immediately preceding one, which acts as a penultimate occupied point relative to the current point in the sequence].).
As per claim 9, Oh-Mammou disclose the method of claim 8, wherein entropy encoding or decoding the first binary data comprises selecting a context among a set of contexts based on at least the series of at least one second binary data or a second index (Oh: Para. [0312] discloses “a context model may be determined based on [claimed wherein entropy encoding or decoding the first binary data comprises selecting a context among a set of contexts based on at least] … information about a symbol/bin decoded in a previous step [claimed the series of at least one second binary data]”.).
As per claim 10, the claim(s) recites analogous limitations to claim(s) 1 above, and is/are therefore rejected on the same premise.
As per claim 11, Oh-Mammou disclose an apparatus of decoding, from a bitstream, point cloud geometry data represented by ordered coarse points occupying some discrete positions of a set of discrete positions of a two-dimensional space, wherein the apparatus comprises at least one processor configured to implement the method of claim 2 (Oh: Paras. [0125], [0140], [1010] disclose a decoding apparatus comprising a processor and dividing the points constituting a point cloud into patches and mapping the same to the 2D plane [claimed two-dimensional space], wherein the occupancy map represents a 2D array [claimed ordered coarse points occupying some discrete positions of a set of discrete positions of a two-dimensional space]).
As per claim 12, Oh-Mammou disclose a computer program product including instructions which, when the program is executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to carry out the method of claim 1 (Oh: Para. [1018] discloses “Executable instructions for performing the method/operations of the device in accordance with some embodiments may be stored in a non-transitory CRM or other computer program products configured to be executed by one or more processors, or may be stored in a transitory CRM or other computer program products configured to be executed by one or more processors.”)..
As per claim 13, Oh-Mammou disclose a non-transitory storage medium carrying instructions of program code for executing the method of claim 1 (Oh: Para. [1018] discloses “Executable instructions for performing the method/operations of the device in accordance with some embodiments may be stored in a non-transitory CRM or other computer program products configured to be executed by one or more processors, or may be stored in a transitory CRM or other computer program products configured to be executed by one or more processors.”).
As per claim 14, Oh-Mammou disclose a computer program product including instructions which, when the program is executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to carry out the method of claim 2 (Oh: Para. [1018] discloses “Executable instructions for performing the method/operations of the device in accordance with some embodiments may be stored in a non-transitory CRM or other computer program products configured to be executed by one or more processors, or may be stored in a transitory CRM or other computer program products configured to be executed by one or more processors.”)..
As per claim 15, Oh-Mammou disclose a non-transitory storage medium carrying instructions of program code for executing the method of claim 2 (Oh: Para. [1018] discloses “Executable instructions for performing the method/operations of the device in accordance with some embodiments may be stored in a non-transitory CRM or other computer program products configured to be executed by one or more processors, or may be stored in a transitory CRM or other computer program products configured to be executed by one or more processors.”).
As per claim 19, the claim(s) recites analogous limitations to claim(s) 1 above, and is/are therefore rejected on the same premise.
As per claim 20, the claim(s) recites analogous limitations to claim(s) 8 above, and is/are therefore rejected on the same premise.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-7 & 16-18 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 provided that the rejections pertinent to 35 U.S.C. 101 and 35 U.S.C. 112(b) are overcome.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure and can be viewed in the list of references.
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/PEET DHILLON/Primary Examiner
Art Unit: 2488
Date: 06-23-2026
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