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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 5-8 and 15-16 in the reply filed on 2/27/26 is acknowledged. Claims 1-4 and 9-14 are canceled by amendment.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/10/24 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 8 is objected to because of the following informalities: for clarity purposes, in line 2, delete “(405)”, “(410)”, in line 9, delete “(415, 420)”, and in line 11, delete “(425)”. 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.
Claims 5 and 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (US 2024/0031560, known as Chen ‘560) in view of Chen (US 2021/0160520, known as Chen ‘520).
Regarding claim 5, Chen ‘560 discloses a method for signaling intra prediction modes (paragraph [67], Chen ‘560 discloses signaling intra prediction modes for encoding image data in H.265/VVC (versatile video coding) video encoding standard) in geometric partitioning mode when both partitions are marked as intra (paragraph [75], Chen ‘560 discloses that each geometric partition within the CU (coding unit) is intra-predicted utilizing its own intra mode, and that sub-partitions of the CU utilizes implicit or explicit signaled intra prediction mode for signaling an all intra coding unit partitions, and paragraph [102], Chen ‘560 discloses that cu_sbp_mode is a bitstream syntax parameter that is signaled into the bitstream for informing the decoder of the particular partition and the corresponding intra prediction mode relative to the particular partition, and paragraph [171], Chen ‘560 discloses that signaling of the parameters can be performed via explicit signaling process by transmitting the particular parameters for directly informing the decoder to use the same parameters as the encoder, and also Chen ‘560 discloses implicit signaling process for permitting the decoder to know the parameter without transmitting; paragraph [73], Chen ‘560 discloses performing intra geometric partitioning of CU (coding unit) for image data, and paragraph [74], Chen ‘560 discloses splitting or partitioning an intra-predicted CU into two or more sub-partitions by a geometrically located straight line that includes diagonal splitting; paragraph [32], fig.25, Chen ‘560 discloses ascertaining a split boundary of a coding unit with intra prediction mode is signaled for the intra geometric partition), the method comprising:
signaling an all intra coding unit partitions are enabled for partitioning (paragraph [75], Chen ‘560 discloses that each geometric partition within the CU (coding unit) is intra-predicted utilizing its own intra mode, and that sub-partitions of the CU utilizes implicit or explicit signaled intra prediction mode for signaling an all intra coding unit partitions, and paragraph [102], Chen ‘560 discloses that cu_sbp_mode is a bitstream syntax parameter that is signaled into the bitstream for informing the decoder of the particular partition and the corresponding intra prediction mode relative to the particular partition, and paragraph [171], Chen ‘560 discloses that signaling of the parameters can be performed via explicit signaling process by transmitting the particular parameters for directly informing the decoder to use the same parameters as the encoder, and also Chen ‘560 discloses implicit signaling process for permitting the decoder to know the parameter without transmitting; paragraph [56], Chen ‘560 discloses the coding unit prediction mode flag is enabled for signaling the blocks of the image to be encoded are intra predicted when it is determined by the element 205 that intra mode is applied to the current image, and that element 202 performs the partitioning of the image into units of CUs (coding units) and includes partitioning information to be sent over to the entropy coding unit 245, and paragraph [57], Chen ‘560 discloses that entropy coding unit 245 outputs a bitstream to be sent to a decoder with the signaled data as determined when the blocks of the image are intra predicted by intra prediction unit 260 and decided by element 205); and
if the signaling all intra coding unit partitions are enabled for partitioning is set to enable (paragraph [75], Chen ‘560 discloses that each geometric partition within the CU (coding unit) is intra-predicted utilizing its own intra mode, and that sub-partitions of the CU utilizes implicit or explicit signaled intra prediction mode for signaling an all intra coding unit partitions, and paragraph [102], Chen ‘560 discloses that cu_sbp_mode is a bitstream syntax parameter that is signaled into the bitstream for informing the decoder of the particular partition and the corresponding intra prediction mode relative to the particular partition, and paragraph [171], Chen ‘560 discloses that signaling of the parameters can be performed via explicit signaling process by transmitting the particular parameters for directly informing the decoder to use the same parameters as the encoder, and also Chen ‘560 discloses implicit signaling process for permitting the decoder to know the parameter without transmitting; paragraph [56], Chen ‘560 discloses the coding unit prediction mode flag is enabled for signaling the blocks of the image to be encoded are intra predicted when it is determined by the element 205 that intra mode is applied to the current image, and that element 202 performs the partitioning of the image into units of CUs (coding units) and includes partitioning information to be sent over to the entropy coding unit 245, and paragraph [57], Chen ‘560 discloses that entropy coding unit 245 outputs a bitstream to be sent to a decoder with the signaled data as determined when the blocks of the image are intra predicted by intra prediction unit 260 and decided by element 205), then signaling intra-level syntax elements for each partition (paragraph [81], Chen ‘560 discloses utilizing signaling intra-level syntax elements for each partition in that sub-partition flag cu_sbp_flag is signaled for an intra CU (coding unit), and if cu_sbp_flag is set to 1, then diagonal partition is further applied to the intra CU for processing the partitions, also paragraph [84], fig.14, Chen ‘560 discloses partition flag cu_sbp_pos signals the specific child partition of the intra CU partition in that there are two partitions P0 and P1).
Chen ‘560 does not disclose “all intra GPM enabled flag”. However, Chen ‘520 discloses implementing a GPM enabled flag (paragraph [244], Chen discloses syntax element is received from compressed video bitstream, wherein the current coding block is partitioned into a first part and a second part based on a geometric partitioning mode (GPM), and that syntax element implements a CU level GPM enable flag to indicate the GPM is enabled for the current coding block, a GPM index for indicating a partitioning mode (ie. partition angel index and distance offset index), and two GPM merge indices that corresponds to the first and second parts of the current coding block, thus Chen's disclosure of a GPM index for indicating a partitioning mode in that partition angel index and distance offset index are data needed for aiding in the notification of how the partition is processed). Since Chen ‘560 discloses “…signaling an all intra coding unit partitions are enabled for partitioning”, and Chen ‘520 discloses “a GPM enabled flag”, therefore, by simple substitution, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Chen ‘560 and Chen ‘520 together as a whole for ascertaining the limitations of “signaling an all intra GPM enabled flag” and “if the signaling all intra GPM enabled flag is set to enable” in order to compress video data at an appropriate coding speed and optimizing compression based on a system design (Chen ‘520 paragraph [67]).
Regarding claim 15, Chen ‘520 discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions for executing with one or more processors a method in accordance with claim 5 (paragraph [6], Chen ‘560 discloses implementing a computer readable storage medium for storing computer program instructions to be executed by a processor).
Regarding claim 16, Chen ‘520 discloses an apparatus comprising a processor and configured to perform the method recited in claim 5 (paragraph [6], Chen ‘560 discloses implementing a computer readable storage medium for storing computer program instructions to be executed by a processor).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (US 2024/0031560, known as Chen ‘560) and Chen (US 2021/0160520, known as Chen ‘520) in view of Bossen (US 2022/0014753).
Regarding claim 6, Chen ‘560 and Chen ‘520 do not disclose wherein one signals a gpm_part_type_idx but not signals related to IPM modes. However, Bossen discloses wherein one signals a gpm_part_type_idx but not signals related to IPM modes (paragraph [97], Bossen discloses implementation of merge_gpm_partition_idx[x0][y0] for specifying the partition shape of the geometric partitioning merge mode (ie. not IPM or intra prediction modes), and thus, Bossen discloses similar concept of identifying gpm partition shape with positioning of partition shape in a similar manner as Applicant's gpm_part_type_idx as disclosed in lines 7-9 on page 9 of Applicant's specification where Applicant discloses "gpm_part_type_idx [x0][y0]" specifies the partitioning shape of the geometric partitioning mode along with indices to specify the location of the luma sample of the considered coding block, and thus Bossen's "merge_gpm_partition_idx[x0][y0]" is similar or comparable to Applicant's concept of "gpm_part_type_idx", and thus, Bossen discloses wherein one signals a gpm_part_type_idx but not signals related to IPM modes). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Chen ‘560, Chen ‘520 and Bossen together as a whole for permitting the convenience of distributing digital media content to a plurality of computing devices that include desktops, laptops, tablets, gaming consoles, smartphones, cell phones, and personal gaming devices (Bossen’s paragraph [337]).
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (US 2024/0031560, known as Chen ‘560), Chen (US 2021/0160520, known as Chen ‘520) and Bossen (US 2022/0014753) in view of Lee (US 2021/0281838).
Regarding claim 7, Chen ‘560, Chen ‘520 and Bossen do not disclose wherein the IPM modes are decided based on template matching. However, Lee teaches wherein the IPM modes are decided based on template matching (paragraph [307], Lee discloses that the derivation of intra prediction mode (IPM) modes is performed based on spatial and/or temporal template matching process, and paragraph [308], Lee discloses that intra prediction modes is derived through template matching and utilizes an indicator for indicating whether template matching is performed for compression/decompression). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Chen ‘560, Chen ‘520, Bossen and Lee together as a whole for providing improved encoding and decoding efficiency (Lee’s paragraph [11]).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang (US 2024/0205425) in view of Chen (US 2024/0031560, known as Chen ‘560).
Regarding claim 8, Zhang discloses a method to combine GPM lists (paragraph [288], Zhang discloses the merge candidate list is constructed), the method comprising:
generating a GPM Inter candidate list (paragraph [451], Zhang discloses the GPM merge candidate list, and paragraph [161], Zhang discloses generating a geometric partitioning mode for inter prediction for generating inter prediction candidates, and paragraph [198], Zhang discloses subblock based temporal motion vector prediction (SbTMVP) is performed, and paragraph [203], Zhang discloses that subblock based merge candidates are generated based on subblock based temporal motion vector prediction (SbTMVP)),
compute inter template costs (paragraph [459], Zhang discloses computing template costs) based on the generated GPM Inter candidate list (paragraph [451], Zhang discloses the GPM merge candidate list, and paragraph [161], Zhang discloses generating a geometric partitioning mode for inter prediction for generating inter prediction candidates, and paragraph [198], Zhang discloses subblock based temporal motion vector prediction (SbTMVP) is performed, and paragraph [203], Zhang discloses that subblock based merge candidates are generated based on subblock based temporal motion vector prediction (SbTMVP));
assigning based on the computed inter template costs to the lower GPM merge indices and inter candidate indices to the higher indices (paragraph [451], Zhang discloses the GPM merge candidate list, and paragraph [161], Zhang discloses generating a geometric partitioning mode for inter prediction for generating inter prediction candidates, and paragraph [198], Zhang discloses subblock based temporal motion vector prediction (SbTMVP) is performed, and paragraph [203], Zhang discloses that subblock based merge candidates are generated based on subblock based temporal motion vector prediction (SbTMVP), and paragraph [163], Zhang discloses GPM merge indices, and paragraph [166], Zhang discloses the indices for angle and offset of a geometric partition for representing lower GPM merge indices to the higher indices);
applying the computed inter template costs (paragraph [459], Zhang discloses computing template costs, wherein paragraph [451], Zhang discloses the GPM merge candidate list, and paragraph [161], Zhang discloses generating a geometric partitioning mode for inter prediction for generating inter prediction candidates from an inter prediction processing, and paragraph [198], Zhang discloses subblock based temporal motion vector prediction (SbTMVP) is performed, wherein subblock based temporal motion vector prediction is considered an inter prediction processing for accumulating inter prediction candidates for motion vector prediction, and paragraph [203], Zhang discloses that subblock based merge candidates are generated based on subblock based temporal motion vector prediction (SbTMVP), and paragraph [163], Zhang discloses GPM merge indices, and paragraph [166], Zhang discloses the indices for angle and offset of a geometric partition for representing lower GPM merge indices to the higher indices), and based on these costs (paragraph [459], Zhang discloses computing template costs, wherein paragraph [451], Zhang discloses the GPM merge candidate list, and paragraph [161], Zhang discloses generating a geometric partitioning mode for inter prediction for generating inter prediction candidates from an inter prediction processing, and paragraph [198], Zhang discloses subblock based temporal motion vector prediction (SbTMVP) is performed, wherein subblock based temporal motion vector prediction is considered an inter prediction processing for accumulating inter prediction candidates for motion vector prediction, and paragraph [203], Zhang discloses that subblock based merge candidates are generated based on subblock based temporal motion vector prediction (SbTMVP)) assign GPM merge indices and inter candidate indices to the higher indices (paragraph [451], Zhang discloses the GPM merge candidate list, and paragraph [161], Zhang discloses generating a geometric partitioning mode for inter prediction for generating inter prediction candidates, and paragraph [198], Zhang discloses subblock based temporal motion vector prediction (SbTMVP) is performed, and paragraph [203], Zhang discloses that subblock based merge candidates are generated based on subblock based temporal motion vector prediction (SbTMVP), and paragraph [163], Zhang discloses GPM merge indices, and paragraph [166], Zhang discloses the indices for angle and offset of a geometric partition for representing lower GPM merge indices to the higher indices), or vice versa (paragraph [451], Zhang discloses the GPM merge candidate list, and paragraph [161], Zhang discloses generating a geometric partitioning mode for inter prediction for generating inter prediction candidates, and paragraph [198], Zhang discloses subblock based temporal motion vector prediction (SbTMVP) is performed, and paragraph [203], Zhang discloses that subblock based merge candidates are generated based on subblock based temporal motion vector prediction (SbTMVP), and paragraph [163], Zhang discloses GPM merge indices, and paragraph [166], Zhang discloses the indices for angle and offset of a geometric partition for representing lower GPM merge indices to the higher indices);
jointly re-ordering GPM inter candidates (paragraph [601], Zhang discloses reordering the list of merge candidates that include GPM (geometric partitioning mode) merge candidates, subblock based temporal merge candidates, affine adaptive motion vector prediction candidates, affine merge candidates, template matching refinement merge candidates).
Zhang does not disclose a method to combine GPM and IPM lists, GPM intra modes list, compute intra template costs based on the generated GPM intra modes list, and intra template costs IPM indices, applying the computed inter template costs and the intra template costs to and intra template costs, and based on these costs assign IPM indices to the lower GPM merge indices and inter candidate indices to the higher indices, or vice versa; and jointly re-ordering both the GPM inter candidate and the IPM lists.
However, Chen ‘560 discloses generating IPM lists (paragraph [67], Chen ‘560 discloses signaling intra prediction modes for encoding image data in H.265/VVC (versatile video coding) video encoding standard, wherein paragraph [81], Chen ‘560 discloses a most probable mode candidate list is generated to generate all potential intra prediction modes), and generate a GPM intra modes list (paragraph [67], Chen ‘560 discloses signaling intra prediction modes for encoding image data in H.265/VVC (versatile video coding) video encoding standard, wherein paragraph [81], Chen ‘560 discloses a most probable mode candidate list is generated to generate all potential intra prediction modes, and paragraph [73], Chen ‘560 discloses performing intra geometric partitioning of CU (coding unit) for image data, and paragraph [74], Chen ‘560 discloses splitting or partitioning an intra-predicted CU into two or more sub-partitions by a geometrically located straight line that includes diagonal splitting; paragraph [32], fig.25, Chen ‘560 discloses ascertaining a split boundary of a coding unit with intra prediction mode is signaled for the intra geometric partition), compute intra costs based on the generated GPM intra modes list (paragraph [82], Chen ‘560 discloses the RD cost is computed for each potential intra prediction mode for determining the intra costs, wherein paragraph [73], Chen ‘560 discloses performing intra geometric partitioning of CU (coding unit) for image data, and paragraph [74], Chen ‘560 discloses splitting or partitioning an intra-predicted CU into two or more sub-partitions by a geometrically located straight line that includes diagonal splitting; paragraph [32], fig.25, Chen ‘560 discloses ascertaining a split boundary of a coding unit with intra prediction mode is signaled for the intra geometric partition), and intra costs IPM indices (paragraph [82], Chen ‘560 discloses the RD cost is computed for each potential intra prediction mode for determining the intra costs, wherein paragraph [66], Chen ‘560 discloses implementing index values for representing individual intra prediction mode, thus generating IPM indices), applying the computed intra costs to (paragraph [82], Chen ‘560 discloses the RD cost is computed for each potential intra prediction mode for determining the intra costs, wherein paragraph [73], Chen ‘560 discloses performing intra geometric partitioning of CU (coding unit) for image data, and paragraph [74], Chen ‘560 discloses splitting or partitioning an intra-predicted CU into two or more sub-partitions by a geometrically located straight line that includes diagonal splitting; paragraph [32], fig.25, Chen ‘560 discloses ascertaining a split boundary of a coding unit with intra prediction mode is signaled for the intra geometric partition) and intra costs (paragraph [82], Chen ‘560 discloses the RD cost is computed for each potential intra prediction mode for determining the intra costs, wherein paragraph [73], Chen ‘560 discloses performing intra geometric partitioning of CU (coding unit) for image data, and paragraph [74], Chen ‘560 discloses splitting or partitioning an intra-predicted CU into two or more sub-partitions by a geometrically located straight line that includes diagonal splitting; paragraph [32], fig.25, Chen ‘560 discloses ascertaining a split boundary of a coding unit with intra prediction mode is signaled for the intra geometric partition), and based on these costs assign IPM indices to the lower GPM indices to the higher indices (paragraph [82], Chen ‘560 discloses the RD cost is computed for each potential intra prediction mode for determining the intra costs, wherein paragraph [66], Chen ‘560 discloses implementing index values for representing individual intra prediction mode, thus generating IPM indices), or vice versa (paragraph [82], Chen ‘560 discloses the RD cost is computed for each potential intra prediction mode for determining the intra costs, wherein paragraph [66], Chen ‘560 discloses implementing index values for representing individual intra prediction mode, thus generating IPM indices).
. Since Zhang discloses “a method to combine GPM lists”, "a method to combine GPM lists", "generating a GPM Inter candidate list", "compute inter template costs", "assigning based on the computed inter template costs to the lower GPM merge indices and inter candidate indices to the higher indices", "applying the computed inter template costs, and based on these costs assign GPM merge indices and inter candidate indices to the higher indices, or vice versa", and "jointly re-ordering GPM inter candidates", and Chen ‘560 discloses “generating IPM lists”, "generate a GPM intra modes list", "compute intra template costs based on the generated GPM intra modes list", "intra costs IPM indices", and "applying the computed intra template costs to and intra template costs, and based on these costs assign IPM indices to the lower GPM indices to the higher indices, or vice versa", therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Chen ‘560 and Zhang together as a whole for ascertaining “a method to combine GPM and IPM lists”, “generating a GPM Inter candidate list (405) and a GPM intra modes list”, “compute intra template costs based on the generated GPM intra modes list” and “assigning based on the computed inter template costs and the intra template costs IPM indices to the lower GPM merge indices and inter candidate indices to the higher indices”, “applying the computed inter template costs and the intra template costs to and intra template costs, and based on these costs assign IPM indices to the lower GPM merge indices and inter candidate indices to the higher indices, or vice versa; and jointly re-ordering (425) both the GPM inter candidate and the IPM lists” so as to provide a variety of candidates for evaluation in order to accurate compress and decompress video data while maintaining high image quality.
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/ALLEN C WONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2488