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 .
Status of the Claims
Currently, claims 1-15 are pending in the application.
Response to Arguments / Amendments
Applicant’s arguments have been fully considered, but they are not persuasive, see discussion below.
Rejections under 35 U.S.C. §102:
The applicant argued that Pellegrin does not teach, describe, or suggest "indication on the lossy compression that has been applied by the frame buffer assembly" in the output data set” set forth in claim 1.
As to the above argument, Pellegrin discloses providing a specific location that contains an indication on the lossy compression that has been applied by the frame buffer with packages several types of data into the encoded video stream 114 including the entropy coded sub-band frame data that the entropy coding module 107 provides such as entropy coded GCLI values, as well as encoding mode flags and quantization factors that the quantization module 106 has applied ([0053]).
Pellegrin also discloses indication on the lossy compression comprises an indication of a target amount of data to be obtained by the lossy compression of the decoded version of the previously encoded frame ([0050]-[0053]).
It should be further noted that Applicant has not presented any specific arguments with regards to the rejections of the dependent claims.
Accordingly, Examiner maintains the rejection with regards to above arguments.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a) (1) as being anticipated by Pellegrin et al. (EP3751852A1, hereinafter Pellegrin).
Regarding Claim 1, Pellegrin discloses a video encoder adapted to encode a sequence of frames so as to obtain an encoded sequence of frames, the video encoder comprising:
a frame buffer assembly adapted to provide, for a present frame to be encoded, a representation of a previously encoded frame by applying lossy compression involving quantization to a decoded version of the previously encoded frame to produce a compressed version of the decoded version of the previously encoded frame ([0023], FIG. 3, sub-band frames 301-307 , to encode a sub-band frame, reference frame buffer assembly 112 comprises a representation of a corresponding sub-band frame related to another frame in the video stream 113 that has previously been encoded. The representation of the corresponding sub-band frame related to frame that has previously been encoded will hereinafter be referred to as corresponding previous sub-band frame for the sake of convenience and conciseness. More generally, in order to encode a linearly transformed frame, the reference frame buffer assembly 112 may comprise a representation of another linearly transformed frame that has previously been encoded)
by storing the compressed version of the decoded version of the previously encoded frame, at least temporarily, and then by decompressing the compressed version of the decoded version of the previously encoded frame ( [0063], buffer memory 702 stores the compressed reconstructed version of the sub-band frame portion and stores compressed reconstructed sub-band frame portions that may jointly form a compressed reconstructed sub-band frame); and
an encoding assembly adapted to encode the present frame at least partially with reference to the representation of the previously encoded frame ([0022], FIG. 1, sub-band frames 301-307, encoding mode selection module 105, the quantization module 106, the de-quantization module 110, as well as the entropy coding module 107 may sequentially process the respective sub-band frames 301-307 independently Or the encoding assembly 102 may comprise multiple modules of the following type: encoding mode selection, quantization, de- quantization, and entropy coding. Namely, there may be one such module for each sub-band frame comprised in the linearly transformed frame ) ;
the video encoder being arranged to produce a data set constituting encoded video decodable by a video decoder, the data set comprising the encoded sequence of frames, the data set having a structure providing a specific location that contains an indication on the lossy compression that has been applied by the frame buffer assembly to provide the representation of the previously encoded frame, which has served, at least partially, as a reference for encoding the present frame ([0053], packages several types of data into the encoded video stream 114 including the entropy coded sub-band frame data that the entropy coding module 107 provides such as entropy coded GCLI values, as well as encoding mode flags and quantization factors that the quantization module 106 has applied).
Regarding Claims 2-8, Dependent claims 2-8 recite quite generic steps or processes in standards encoding steps such that Pellegrin discloses adapting and signaling a quantization step or target amount of data ( [0050]-[0053]).
Regarding Claim 2, Pellegrin discloses the video encoder according to claim 1, wherein the lossy compression is adaptable so that one portion of the decoded version of the previously encoded frame can be compressed to a greater extent than another portion of the decoded version of the previously encoded frame ([0050]-[0053]).
Regarding Claim 3, Pellegrin discloses the video encoder according to claim 1, wherein the indication on the lossy compression comprises an indication of a target amount of data to be obtained by the lossy compression of the decoded version of the previously encoded frame([0050]-[0053]).
Regarding Claim 4, Pellegrin discloses the video encoder according to claim 3, wherein the target amount of data relates to a fixed-sized portion of the representation of the previously encoded frame([0050]-[0053]).
Regarding Claim 5, Pellegrin discloses the video encoder according to claim 1, wherein the indication on the lossy compression comprises at least one parameter defining quantization of samples in the decoded version of the previously encoded frame([0050]-[0053]).
Regarding Claim 6, Pellegrin discloses the video encoder according to claim 5, wherein the indication on the lossy compression comprises a quantization step size([0050]-[0053]).
Regarding Claim 7, Pellegrin discloses the video encoder according to claim 6, wherein the indication on the lossy compression comprises respective quantization step sizes for respective portions in the decoded version of the previously encoded frame ([0050]-[0053]).
Regarding Claim 8, Pellegrin discloses the video encoder according to claim 5, wherein the quantization of the samples comprises a truncation of binary values, the indication on the lossy compression comprising a truncation level indicating a number of least significant bits that have been discarded in the truncation ([0050]-[0053]).
Regarding Claim 9, Pellegrin discloses the video encoder according to claim 1, wherein the encoding assembly comprises:
a linear transform module adapted to apply a linear transform to the present frame so as to provide the present frame in a transform domain ([0023], FIG. 3, in order to encode a linearly transformed frame, the reference frame buffer assembly 112 may comprise a representation of another linearly transformed frame that has previously been encoded; [0028], sub-band frame portion as present in the linearly transformed frame to the quantization module 106 illustrated in FIG. 1.)
an inter-mode application module adapted to provide a differential representation of a portion of the present frame in the transform domain, the differential representation corresponding with a difference between, on the one hand, the portion of the present frame in the transform domain and, on the other hand, a corresponding portion in the representation of the previously encoded frame in the transform domain ([0028], encode the sub-band frame portion either in an intra mode or in an inter mode. In the inter mode, the multiplexer 406 passes the differential representation of the sub-band frame portion to the quantizer. Accordingly, in the inter mode, the differential representation of the sub-band frame portion is encoded, which equally involves data compression by the quantization module 106 and the entropy coding module 107); and
a data compression module adapted to apply data compression to the differential representation of the portion of the present frame in the transform domain, the frame buffer assembly being adapted to apply the lossy compression to the decoded version of the previously encoded frame in the transform domain ([0028] FIG. 1, in the inter mode, the differential representation of the sub-band frame portion is encoded, which equally involves data compression by the quantization module 106 and the entropy coding module 107)
Regarding Claim 10, Pellegrin discloses the video encoder according to claim 9, the video encoder being arranged to encode another portion of the present frame in the transform domain by applying the data compression directly to the other portion of the present frame in the transform domain ([0031] The encoding mode selection module 105 decides to encode a sub-band frame portion in the intra mode or in the inter mode in the following manner. The inter-mode GCLI extractor 402 provides a set of eight GCLI values pertaining to eight groups of four samples comprised in the differential representation of the sub-band frame portion. These GCLI values will hereinafter be referred to as inter-mode GCLI values for the sake of convenience.
Regarding Claims 11, Method claim 11 of using the corresponding device claimed in claims 1, and the rejections of which are incorporated herein for the same reasons as used above.
Regarding Claims 12, Computer readable claim 12 of using the corresponding device claimed in claims 1, and the rejections of which are incorporated herein for the same reasons as used above.
Regarding Claims 13, Computer readable decoder claim 13 of using the corresponding device claimed in claims 12, and the rejections of which are incorporated herein for the same reasons as used above.
Regarding Claims 14, A video decoder claim 14 of using the corresponding device claimed in claims 13, and the rejections of which are incorporated herein for the same reasons as used above.
Regarding Claims 15, A video decoder claim 15 of using the corresponding device claimed in claims 3, and the rejections of which are incorporated herein for the same reasons as used above.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 Samuel D Fereja whose telephone number is (469)295-9243. The examiner can normally be reached 8AM-5PM.
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/SAMUEL D FEREJA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2487