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 § 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 1-12 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Independent claim 1 recites the limitation “the multiple attribute parameter sets” in line 7 without clear antecedent basis. The Examiner cannot determine whether this citation refer to “multiple attribute parameter sets” introduced in line 4 or to “multiple attribute parameter sets” in line 6.
Independent claim 7 recites the limitation “the multiple attribute parameter sets” in line 10 without clear antecedent basis. The Examiner cannot determine whether this citation refer to “multiple attribute parameter sets” introduced in line 7 or to “multiple attribute parameter sets” in lines 8-9.
Dependent claims 2-6 and 8-12 are also rejected based on their dependency of the defected parent claims 1 and 7 above.
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.
Claim(s) 1-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oh, US 2021/0319571 in view of Unno et al., US 2023/0091030.
Regarding claim 1, Oh discloses a method for decoding a point cloud (para 0948; a method for decoding a point cloud), the method comprising:
parsing, by at least one processor (para 0200; one or more processors), a bitstream to obtain a first syntax element indicative of an enablement of multiple attribute parameter sets for the point cloud (para 0323; the signaling processor 61002 May parse and process, from the input signaling bitstream, signaling information, for example, information contained in the SPS, GPS, APS, tile inventory (also referred to as TPS);
determining, by the at least one processor, whether the first syntax element indicates that multiple attribute parameter sets are enabled for the point cloud (para 0380; (para 0380-0381; The sps_bypass_stream_enabled_flag field equal to 1 may specify that the bypass coding mode is used on reading the bitstream. The sps_extension_flag field indicates whether the sps_extension_data syntax structure is present in the corresponding SPS syntax structure. For example, when the sps_extension_present_flag field is equal to 1, it indicates that the sps_extension_data syntax structure is present in the SPS syntax structure); and
in response to determining that the multiple attribute parameter sets are enabled for the point cloud, decompressing, by the at least one processor, the point cloud based on the multiple attribute parameter sets (para 0326; The attribute decoder 61004 of the point cloud video decoder may restore the attribute by performing the reverse process of the operation of the attribute encoder 51004 of FIG. 18 on the input attribute bitstream based on signaling information (e.g., attribute related parameters) and the reconstructed geometry).
Oh discloses claim 1 as enumerated above, but Oh does not explicitly disclose the point cloud being represented in a one-dimension (1D) array comprising a set of points as claimed.
However, Unno discloses a point-cloud decoding device including: a geometry information reconfiguration unit configured to cause position information of each point to be one-dimensional arrayed data, and, output the arrayed data in a state in which data of the points belonging to the same parent node is arranged to be adjacent to each other, as the order of the arrayed data (para 0007 and 0134-0135).
Therefore, taking the combined disclosures of Oh and Unno as a whole, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate a point-cloud decoding device including: a geometry information reconfiguration unit configured to cause position information of each point to be one-dimensional arrayed data, and, output the arrayed data in a state in which data of the points belonging to the same parent node is arranged to be adjacent to each other, as the order of the arrayed data as taught by Unno into the invention of Oh for the benefit of defining restrictions on the size of an initial node (Unno: para 0004).
Regarding claim 2, the method of claim 1, Oh discloses further comprising:
in response to determining that the multiple attribute parameter sets are not enabled for the point cloud, decompressing, by the at least one processor, the point cloud based on a single attribute parameter set (para 0326, 0354-0358, and 0380-0381).
Regarding claim 3, the method of claim 1, Oh discloses further comprising:
in response to the first syntax element indicating that the multiple attribute parameter sets are enabled for the point cloud, parsing, by the at least one processor, the bitstream to obtain a second syntax element indicative of multiple parameter sets for an attribute (para 0326 and 0380-0381); and
determining, by the at least one processor, whether the second syntax element indicates the attribute has multiple parameter sets (para 0326 and 0380-0381).
Regarding claim 4, the method of claim 3, Oh discloses further comprising:
in response to the second syntax element indicating the attribute has multiple parameter sets, parsing, by the at least one processor, the bitstream to obtain a third syntax element indicative of a number of parameter sets associated with the attribute (para 0326, 0351-0353, and 0380-0381); and
identifying, by the at least one processor, the number of parameter sets associated with the attribute based on the third syntax element (para 0326, 0351-0353, and 0380-0381).
Regarding claim 5, the method of claim 4, Oh discloses further comprising:
in response to the second syntax element indicating the attribute does not have multiple parameter sets, determining, by the at least one processor, the attribute has a single parameter set associated therewith (para 0326, 0354-0358, and 0380-0381).
Regarding claim 6, the method of claim 4, Oh discloses wherein:
the first syntax element includes an sps multi data set flag (para 0326 and 0347-0350),
the second syntax element includes a multi data set flag (para 0326 and 0347-0350),
the third syntax element includes an attribute_num_data_set_minus1[attrIdx] syntax element (para 0151-0154, 0326, 0347-0350, and 0361-0367), and
the value of the attribute_num_data_set_minus1[attrIdx] syntax element plus 1 coded in the bitstream is indicative of the number of allowed multiple attribute parameter sets for the attribute (para 0151-0154, 0326, 0347-0350, and 0361-0367).
Regarding claim 7, this claim recites substantially the same limitations that are performed by claim 1 above, and it is rejected for the same reasons.
Regarding claim 8, this claim recites substantially the same limitations that are performed by claim 2 above, and it is rejected for the same reasons.
Regarding claim 9, this claim recites substantially the same limitations that are performed by claim 3 above, and it is rejected for the same reasons.
Regarding claim 10, this claim recites substantially the same limitations that are performed by claim 4 above, and it is rejected for the same reasons.
Regarding claim 11, this claim recites substantially the same limitations that are performed by claim 5 above, and it is rejected for the same reasons.
Regarding claim 12, this claim recites substantially the same limitations that are performed by claim 6 above, and it is rejected for the same reasons.
Regarding claim 13, Oh discloses a method for encoding a point cloud (para 0922-0924; a method for encoding a point cloud), the method comprising:
generating, by at least one processor (para 0200; one or more processors), a first syntax element indicative of multiple attribute parameter sets for the point cloud (para 0089, 0291, and 0296; The bitstream may contain not only the encoded point cloud video data, but also signaling information related to encoding of the point cloud video data; the signaling information for spatial partitioning is entropy-encoded by the signaling processor 51002 and then output to the transmission processor 51005 in the form of a bitstream; a slice may represent a series of syntax elements representing a part or the entirety of the coded point cloud frame);
inputting, by the at least one processor, the first syntax element into a bitstream (para 0089 and 0291; The bitstream may contain not only the encoded point cloud video data, but also signaling information related to encoding of the point cloud video data; the signaling information for spatial partitioning is entropy-encoded by the signaling processor 51002 and then output to the transmission processor 51005 in the form of a bitstream); and
in response to the multiple attribute parameter sets being enabled for the point cloud, compressing, by the at least one processor, the point cloud based on the multiple attribute parameter sets (para 0342; When the point cloud data is partitioned into regions and compressed, the transmission device and the reception device according to the embodiments may transmit and receive a bitstream in a high-level syntax structure for selective transmission of attribute information in the partitioned regions).
Oh discloses claim 13 as enumerated above, but Oh does not explicitly disclose the point cloud being represented in a one-dimension (1D) array comprising a set of points as claimed.
However, Unno discloses a point-cloud decoding device including: a geometry information reconfiguration unit configured to cause position information of each point to be one-dimensional arrayed data, and, output the arrayed data in a state in which data of the points belonging to the same parent node is arranged to be adjacent to each other, as the order of the arrayed data (para 0007 and 0134-0135).
Therefore, taking the combined disclosures of Oh and Unno as a whole, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate a point-cloud decoding device including: a geometry information reconfiguration unit configured to cause position information of each point to be one-dimensional arrayed data, and, output the arrayed data in a state in which data of the points belonging to the same parent node is arranged to be adjacent to each other, as the order of the arrayed data as taught by Unno into the invention of Oh for the benefit of defining restrictions on the size of an initial node (Unno: para 0004).
Regarding claim 14, the method of claim 13, Oh discloses further comprising:
in response to the multiple attribute parameter sets not being enabled for the point cloud, compressing, by the at least one processor, the point cloud based on a single attribute parameter set (para 0159, 0254, 0342, and 0354-0358).
Regarding claim 15, the method of claim 13, Oh discloses further comprising:
in response to the first syntax element indicating that the multiple attribute parameter sets are enabled for the point cloud, generating, by the at least one processor, a second syntax element indicative of multiple parameter sets for an attribute (para 0089, 0159, 0254, 0291, and 0342); and
inputting, by the at least one processor, the second syntax element indicative of multiple parameter sets for the attribute into the bitstream (para 0089, 0159, 0254, 0291, and 0342).
Regarding claim 16, the method of claim 15, Oh discloses further comprising:
in response to the second syntax element indicating the attribute has multiple parameter sets, generating, by the at least one processor, a third syntax element indicative of a number of parameter sets associated with the attribute (para 0089, 0159, 0254, 0291, and 0342); and
inputting, by the at least one processor, the third syntax element indicative of the number of parameter sets associated with the attribute into the bitstream (para 0089, 0159, 0254, 0291, and 0342).
Regarding claim 17, the method of claim 16, Oh discloses further comprising:
in response to the second syntax element indicating the attribute does not have multiple parameter sets, omitting, by the at least one processor, a generation of the third syntax element (para 0089, 0291, and 0354-0358).
Regarding claim 18, the method of claim 16, Oh discloses wherein:
the first syntax element includes an sps multi data set flag (para 0089, 0159, 0254, 0291, and 0342),
the second syntax element includes a multi data set flag (para 0089, 0159, 0254, 0291, and 0342), and
the third syntax element includes an attribute_num_data_set_minus1[attrIdx] syntax element (para 0089, 0159, 0254, 0291, 0342-0350, and 0361-0367), and
the value of the attribute_num_data_set_minus1[attrIdx] syntax element coded in the bitstream is indicative of the number of allowed multiple attribute parameter sets for the attribute which is sum of the attribute_num_data_set_minus1[attrIdx] and 1 (para 0089, 0159, 0254, 0291, 0342-0350, and 0361-0367).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Ramasubramonian et al., US 2021/0407144 discloses method of encoding a point cloud includes determining one or more attribute parameters of an attribute of a point in the point cloud of a frame.
Wang et al., US 2025/0039446 discloses provide a solution for point cloud coding.
Ray et al., US 2021/0211734 discloses point cloud encoding and decoding.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VAN D HUYNH whose telephone number is (571)270-1937. The examiner can normally be reached 8AM-6PM.
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.
/VAN D HUYNH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2665
Prosecution Insights