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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 11/18/2024 and 10/02/2025 are being considered by the examiner. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. PC/IB2021/059162, filed on 10/06/2021.
Claim Objections
Claims 3 and 4 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In Claim 3, line 2, “all the at least two directions” should read “the at least two directions.”
In Claim 3, line 3, “all the at least two directions” should read “the at least two directions.”
In Claim 3, lines 4-5, “the the at least two directions” should read “the at least two directions.”
In Claim 4, line 2, “all the at least two directions” should read “the at least two directions.”
In Claim 13, line 2, “all the at least two directions” should read “the at least two directions.”
In Claim 13, line 3, “all the at least two directions” should read “the at least two directions.”
In Claim 14, line 2, “all the at least two directions” should read “the at least two directions.”
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-2, 9-12, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Martin-Cocher et al. (U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2022/0351423 A1, hereafter referred to as Martin-Cocher) in view of Van der Auwera et al. (EU Patent Pub. No. EP 4168990 B1, hereafter referred to as Van der Auwera).
Regarding Claim 1, Martin-Cocher teaches a method for encoding a point cloud to generate a bitstream of compressed point cloud data (Paragraph [0038], Martin-Cocher teaches a method of encoding a point cloud to generate a bitstream of compressed point cloud data.), wherein the point cloud's geometry is represented by an octree-based structure with a plurality of nodes having parent-child relationships by recursively splitting a volumetric space containing the point cloud into sub-volumes each associated with a node of the octree-based structure (Paragraphs [0052], [0091], Fig. 2, Martin-Cocher teaches the geometry of the point cloud may be defined in a tree structure having a plurality of nodes having parent-child relationships and representing a 3D location of an object. The point cloud may be located within a volumetric space recursively split into sub-volumes and containing points of the point cloud. The tree structure is octree-based.), the method comprising: determining eligibility of planar mode for a present node to be encoded for at least two directions (Paragraph [0122], [0119], Fig. 5, Martin-Cocher teaches, for a volume, assessing whether the volume is eligible for planar coding mode. Planar mode may be signaled for the horizontal plane (z-axis), or vertical planes (x-axis or y-axis), or any two or all three. The Examiner interprets a volume to be a node.); and entropy encoding occupancy of the present node based on the determined planar context information to produce encoded data for the bitstream (Paragraph [0045], Martin-Cocher teaches entropy encoding in the bitstream a planar mode flag to signal whether the volume is planar. Entropy encoding includes determining the context for coding the planar flag based on occupancy.).
Martin-Cocher does not explicitly disclose in the case of eligibility of planar mode in at least two directions of the present node, determining one planar flag indicating planar context information for the at least two directions.
Van der Auwera is in the same field of art of geometric point cloud compression (GPCC) using planar coding mode. Further, Van der Auwera discloses in the case of eligibility of planar mode in at least two directions of the present node, determining one planar flag indicating planar context information for the at least two directions (Paragraph [0069], Van Der Auwera teaches determining the variable two_planar_flag indicating if a node is planar in at least two directions. The Examiner interprets the variable “two_planar_flag” to be one planar flag indicating if the node is planar in at least two directions.).
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Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Martin-Cocher by determining one planar flag indicating if a node is planar in at least two directions, that is taught by Van der Auwera to make the invention that more efficiently and effectively compresses data for point clouds and saves in storage or memory requirements (Martin-Cocher, Paragraph [0004]); thus, one having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine the references to decrease hardware implementation costs and/or accelerate processes for encoding and decoding point cloud data (Van der Auwer, Paragraph [0007]).
Thus, the claimed subject matter would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
In regards to Claim 2, Martin-Cocher teaches a method for decoding a bitstream of compressed point cloud data to generate a reconstructed point cloud (Paragraphs [0039], [0046], Martin-Cocher teaches a method of decoding a bitstream of compressed point cloud data to produce a reconstructed point cloud.), wherein the point cloud's geometry is represented by an octree-based structure with a plurality of nodes having parent-child relationships by recursively splitting a volumetric space containing the point cloud into sub-volumes each associated with a node of the octree-bases structure (Paragraphs [0053], [0091], Martin-Cocher teaches the geometry of the point cloud defined by a tree structure having a plurality of nodes having parent-child relationships and representing a 3D location of an object. The point cloud may be located within a volumetric space recursively split into sub-volumes and containing points of the point cloud. The tree structure is an octree.), the method comprising: determining eligibility of planar mode for a present node to be decoded for at least two directions and preferably for three directions (Paragraphs [0125], [0119], Martin-Cocher teaches for a current volume, the decoder determines whether the volume is eligible for planar mode. The eligibility assessment is the same assessment as was carried out by the encoder. Planar mode may be signaled for the horizontal plane (z-axis), or vertical planes (x-axis or y-axis), or for any two or all three.); and entropy decoding the bitstream based on the determined planar context information of the present node to reconstruct occupancy of the present node (Paragraph [0046], Fig. 2, Martin-Cocher teaches entropy decoding from the bitstream a planar mode flag that indicates whether the volume is planar, by reconstructing the occupancy bits. Entropy decoding includes determining context for decoding the planar mode flag based on occupancy.).
Martin-Cocher does not explicitly disclose in the case of eligibility of planar mode in at least two directions of the present node, decoding one planar flag indicating planar context information for the at least two directions.
Van Der Auwera is in the same field of art of geometric point cloud compression (GPCC). Further, Van Der Auwera discloses in the case of eligibility of planar mode in at least two directions of the present node, decoding one planar flag indicating planar context information for the at least two directions (Paragraphs [0069], [0084], Van Der Auwera teaches determining the variable two_planar_flag indicating if a node is planar in at least two directions. G-PCC decoder may perform arithmetic decoding on certain syntax elements, such as a planar mode flag. As part of performing arithmetic coding, G-PCC decoder may determine a context. The Examiner interprets the variable “two_planar_flag” to be one planar flag indicating if the node is planar in at least two directions.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Martin-Cocher by decoding one planar flag indicating if a node is planar in at least two directions, that is taught by Van der Auwera to make the invention that more efficiently and effectively compresses point cloud data and saves in storage or memory requirements (Martin-Cocher, Paragraph [0004]); thus, one having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine the references to decrease hardware implementation costs and/or accelerate processes for encoding and decoding point cloud data (Van der Auwer, Paragraph [0007]).
Thus, the claimed subject matter would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
In regards to Claim 9, Martin-Cocher in view of Van der Auwera discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the bitstream is an MPEG G-PCC compliant bitstream (Fig. 2, Van der Auwera teaches a G-PCC encoder that generates a bitstream of compressed point cloud data.).
In regards to Claim 10, Martin-Cocher in view of Van der Auwera discloses an encoder for encoding a point cloud to generate a bitstream of compressed point cloud data (Fig. 1, Fig. 30, Paragraphs [0091], [0093], Martin-Cocher teaches an encoder for receiving point cloud data and producing a compressed bitstream.), wherein the point cloud's geometry is represented by an octree-based structure with a plurality of nodes having parent-child relationships by recursively splitting a volumetric space containing the point cloud into sub-volumes each associated with a node of the octree-based structure (Paragraph [0092], Martin-Cocher teaches producing an octree representing the geometry of the volumetric space containing the point cloud. In the octree structure, each node may be represented by a sequence of occupancy bits, where each occupancy bit corresponds to one of the sub-volumes in the node and signals whether the sub-volume contains at least one point or not. Occupied sub-volumes are recursively split.), the encoder comprising: a processor and a memory storage device (Fig. 30, reference characters 3002, 3004, Paragraph [0332], Martin-Cocher teaches an encoder with a processor and a memory.), wherein in the memory storage device instructions executable by the processor are stored that, when executed, cause the processor to (Paragraph [0332], Martin-Cocher teaches a memory containing instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform operations by the encoding application.): determine eligibility of planar mode for a present node to be encoded for at least two directions (Paragraphs [0107], [0119], Martin-Cocher teaches planarity may be signaled with respect to a volume through a planar mode flag. If multiple planar modes are possible with respect to the z-axis, y-axis, and x-axis, there may be multiple flags, such as two or three.); and entropy encode occupancy of the present node based on the determined planar context information to produce encoded data for the bitstream (Paragraph [0045], Martin-Cocher teaches entropy encoding in the bitstream a planar mode flag to signal whether the volume is planar. Entropy encoding includes determining the context for coding the planar flag based on occupancy.).
Martin-Cocher does not explicitly disclose in the case of eligibility of planar mode in at least two directions of the present node, determine one planar flag indicating planar context information for the at least two directions.
Van der Auwera is in the same field of art of geometric point cloud compression (GPCC). Further, Van der Auwera discloses in the case of eligibility of planar mode in at least two directions of the present node, determine one planar flag indicating planar context information for the at least two directions (Paragraph [0069], Van Der Auwera teaches determining the variable two_planar_flag indicating if a node is planar in at least two directions. The Examiner interprets the variable “two_planar_flag” to be one planar flag indicating if the node is planar in at least two directions.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Martin-Cocher by determining one planar flag indicating a node is planar in at least two directions, that is taught by Van der Auwera to make the invention that encodes a point cloud to create a bitstream of compressed point cloud data more efficiently and effectively, and saves in memory or storage requirements (Martin-Cocher, Paragraph [0004]); thus, one having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine the references to decrease hardware implementation costs and accelerate processes for encoding point cloud data (Van der Auwer, Paragraph [0007]).
Thus, the claimed subject matter would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
In regards to Claim 11, Martin-Cocher discloses a decoder for decoding a bitstream of compressed point cloud data to generate a reconstructed point cloud (Fig. 2, Fig. 31, Paragraph [0096], Martin-Cocher teaches a decoder for receiving an input bitstream of compressed data and decoding the data to produce an output sequence of decompressed bits which is converted into reconstructed point cloud data.), wherein the point cloud's geometry is represented by an octree-based structure with a plurality of nodes having parent-child relationships by recursively splitting a volumetric space containing the point cloud into sub-volumes each associated with a node of the octree-bases structure (Paragraphs [0053], [0091], Martin-Cocher teaches the geometry of the point cloud defined by a tree structure having a plurality of nodes having parent-child relationships and representing a 3D location of an object. The point cloud may be located within a volumetric space recursively split into sub-volumes and containing points of the point cloud. The tree structure is an octree.), the decoder comprising: a processor and a memory storage device (Fig. 31, reference characters 3102 and 3104, Paragraph [0333], Martin-Cocher teaches a decoder with a processor and a memory.).
Martin-Cocher does not explicitly disclose wherein in the memory storage device instructions executable by the processor are stored that, when executed, cause the processor to perform the method according to claim 2.
Van der Auwera is in the same field of art of geometric point cloud compression (GPCC).
Further, the combination of Martin-Cocher and Van der Auwera discloses the method according to claim 2. Martin-Cocher discloses wherein in the memory storage device instructions executable by the processor are stored that, when executed, cause the processor to perform the method according to claim 2 (Paragraph [0333], Fig. 2, Martin-Cocher teaches a decoding application stored in memory and containing instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform decoding.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Martin-Cocher by causing the processor to perform the method of decoding a bitstream of compressed point cloud data to generate a reconstructed point cloud that in the case of eligibility of planar mode in at least two directions for a present volume, decoding one planar flag for at least two directions, that is taught by Van der Auwera to make the invention that causes the processor to decode a bitstream of point cloud data; thus, one having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine the references to decrease hardware implementation costs and accelerate processes for decoding point cloud data (Van der Auwera, Paragraph [0007]).
Thus, the claimed subject matter would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
In regards to Claim 12, Martin Cocher in view of Van der Auwera disclose a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing processor-executed instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the method according to claim 1 (Paragraph [0075], Martin Cocher teaches a non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executable program instructions, which, when executed cause a processor to perform the methods of encoding.).
In regards to Claim 19, Martin-Cocher in view of Van der Auwera disclose the method of claim 2, wherein the bitstream is an MPEG G-PCC compliant bitstream (Fig. 3, Van Der Auwera teaches a Geometry Point Cloud Compression (G-PCC) decoder.).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-8 and 13-18 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 and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding Claim 3, No prior art teaches wherein in the case of eligibility of planar mode in all the at least two directions and child nodes of the present node forming planes in all the at least two directions, one planar flag is encoded indicating planar context information for the the at least two directions.
Regarding Claim 4 and dependents, No prior art teaches wherein in the case of eligibility of planar mode in all the at least two directions, wherein child nodes of the present node form planes in two or less directions, at least two additional unitary direction planar flags are encoded, wherein each unitary direction planar flag indicates presence of a plane in one direction.
Regarding Claim 6, No prior art teaches wherein in the case of eligibility of planar mode in two directions and child nodes of the present node forming planes in the respective two directions, one planar flag is encoded indicating planar context information for the two directions.
Regarding Claim 7 and dependents, No prior art teaches wherein in the case of eligibility of planar mode in two directions, wherein child nodes of the present node form a plane in a first direction of the two directions, at least one additional unitary direction planar flag is encoded, wherein each unitary direction planar flag indicates presence of a plane in one direction.
Regarding Claim 13, No prior art teaches wherein in the case of eligibility of planar mode in all the at least two directions and child nodes of the present node forming planes in all the at least two directions, one planar flag is decoded indicating planar context information for the at least two directions.
Regarding Claim 14 and dependents, No prior art teaches wherein in the case of eligibility of planar mode in all the at least two directions, wherein child nodes of the present node form planes in two or less directions, at least two additional unitary direction planar flags are decoded, wherein each unitary direction planar flag indicates presence of a plane in one direction.
Regarding Claim 16, No prior art teaches wherein in the case of eligibility of planar mode in two directions and child nodes of the present node forming planes in the respective two directions, one planar flag is decoded indicating planar context information for the two directions.
Regarding Claim 17 and dependents, No prior art teaches wherein in the case of eligibility of planar mode in two directions, wherein child nodes of the present node form a plane in a first direction of the two directions, at least one additional unitary direction planar flag is decoded, wherein each unitary direction planar flag indicates presence of a plane in one direction.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SYDNEY L BLACKSTEN whose telephone number is (571)272-7651. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Oneal Mistry can be reached at 313-446-4912. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SYDNEY L BLACKSTEN/Examiner, Art Unit 2674
/ONEAL R MISTRY/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2674