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 .
Response to Amendment
It is noted that claims 17-19, 22-23 and 26-31 were cancelled in a preliminary amendment.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/30/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 4-13, 16, 20-21 and 24-25 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Chen et al., (US 2024/0022732 A1) hereinafter referred to as CHEN hereafter.
Regarding claim 1, BASEREF shows a prediction method applied to a video decoder, comprising:
decoding an intra prediction mode from a bitstream (Paragraph [0030] discloses decoding a mode that determines multiple line prediction (or not).); and
performing an intra fusion prediction of a current block to obtain a prediction block (Paragraph [0030] clearly describes a reference line fusion operation as desired.),
wherein the intra fusion prediction comprises predicting the current block based on a plurality of reference sample lines and the intra prediction mode (Paragraph [0030] discloses weighting multiple reference lines and their various combinations and subsequently fusing them to obtain a predicted sample block.).
Regarding claim 4, BASEREF shows the limitations of claim 1 as applied above, and further shows wherein predicting the current block based on the plurality of reference sample lines and the intra prediction mode further comprises:
determining a plurality of prediction blocks by performing prediction based on a plurality of reference sample lines, respectively, such that each prediction block is determined based on each reference sample line, wherein the plurality of reference sample lines are spatially adjacent to each other (FIGs. 15-16 show both the orientation of the multiple reference lines in relation to the current block to be predicted as well as each of the samples within the reference lines to be used. See also paragraphs [0153]-[0156] for a general description of the procedure.); and
fusing the plurality of prediction blocks into the current block (Paragraphs [0153]-[0154] show the fusion operation.).
Regarding claim 5, BASEREF shows the limitations of claim 4 as applied above, and further shows wherein the plurality of reference sample lines comprises a first reference sample line and a second reference sample line, the method further comprises decoding first information from the bitstream, wherein the first information indicates an index of the first reference sample line (Paragraph [0136] discloses the construct of a reference line index. FIG. 13 also displays indexed lines.).
Regarding claim 6, BASEREF shows the limitations of claim 5 as applied above, and further shows wherein if the index is equal to 0, the second reference sample line is a reference sample spatially adjacent to the first reference sample line away from the current block (Paragraph [0144] describes this.).
Regarding claim 7, BASEREF shows the limitations of claim 5 as applied above, and further shows wherein if the index is greater than 0, the second reference sample line is a reference sample spatially adjacent to the first reference sample line near the current block (Paragraph [0144] describes this.).
Regarding claim 8, BASEREF shows the limitations of claim 1 as applied above, and further shows wherein predicting the current block based on the plurality of reference sample lines and the intra prediction mode further comprises:
fusing the plurality of reference sample lines into a fused reference sample line (Paragraphs [0175]-[0181] describe fusion.); and
predicting the current block based on the fused reference sample line (Paragraph [0186]).
Regarding claim 9, BASEREF shows the limitations of claim 1 as applied above, and further shows decoding second information from the bitstream; and enabling intra fusion prediction for decoding luma component and/or chroma component of the current block based on the second information (Paragraph [0214] shows signaling indicating multiple reference line prediction is taking place.).
Regarding claim 10, BASEREF shows the limitations of claim 9 as applied above, and further shows wherein enabling intra fusion prediction for decoding luma component and/or chroma component of the current block is at at least one level (Paragraph [0173] discloses the levels used for signaling such information for decoding purposes.).
Regarding claim 12, BASEREF shows the limitations of claim 1 as applied above, and further shows wherein the current block comprises a chroma block and/or at least one luma block (Paragraph [0150]).
Regarding claim 13, BASEREF shows a prediction method applied to a video encoder, comprising:
performing an intra fusion prediction of a current block to obtain a prediction block,
wherein the intra fusion prediction includes predicting the current block based on a plurality of reference sample lines and an intra prediction mode (FIG. 17 describes the encoder-side prediction process.); and
encoding the intra prediction mode into a bitstream (FIG. 19 describes an encoding process. Of note, the entire disclosed invention and art in general is centered around an encoding/decoding relationship and therefore is implicitly anticipated regardless of the explicit teachings, which are there as well.).
Regarding claim 16, BASEREF shows the limitations of claim 13 as applied above, and further shows wherein predicting the current block based on the plurality of reference sample lines and the intra prediction mode further comprises: determining a plurality of prediction blocks by performing prediction based on a plurality of reference sample lines, respectively, such that each prediction block is determined based on each reference sample line, wherein the plurality of reference sample lines are spatially adjacent to each other (FIGs. 15-16 show both the orientation of the multiple reference lines in relation to the current block to be predicted as well as each of the samples within the reference lines to be used. See also paragraphs [0153]-[0156] for a general description of the procedure.); and fusing the plurality of prediction blocks into the current block (Paragraphs [0153]-[0154] show the fusion operation.).
Regarding claim 20, BASEREF shows the limitations of claim 13 as applied above, and further shows wherein predicting the current block based on the plurality of reference sample lines and the intra prediction mode further comprises:
fusing the plurality of reference sample lines into a fused reference sample line (Paragraphs [0175]-[0181] describe fusion.); and
predicting the current block based on the fused reference sample line (Paragraph [0186]).
Regarding claim 21, BASEREF shows the limitations of claim 13 as applied above, and further shows setting information to indicate enabling of the intra fusion when intra fusion prediction is used (Paragraph [0214] shows signaling indicating multiple reference line prediction is taking place.); and
encoding the information into the bitstream (Paragraphs [0170]-[0175] discuss signaling and placement of signals.);
wherein the information is encoded at at least one level (Paragraph [0173]).
Regarding claim 24, BASEREF shows the limitations of claim 13 as applied above, and further shows wherein the current block comprises a chroma block and/or at least one luma block (Paragraph [0150]).
Regarding claim 25, BASEREF shows a video decoding device (FIG. 5; FIG. 21), comprising:
a memory (FIG. 21, 2147);
a transceiver (FIG. 5, RECEIVER 531); and
a processor (FIG. 21, pick between 2141-2144) coupled to the memory and the transceiver; wherein the processor is configured to perform;
decoding an intra prediction mode from a bitstream (Paragraph [0030] discloses decoding a mode that determines multiple line prediction (or not).); and
performing an intra fusion prediction of a current block to obtain a prediction block (Paragraph [0030] clearly describes a reference line fusion operation as desired.),
wherein the intra fusion prediction comprises predicting the current block based on a plurality of reference sample lines and the intra prediction mode (Paragraph [0030] discloses weighting multiple reference lines and their various combinations and subsequently fusing them to obtain a predicted sample block.).
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.
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 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CHEN in view of Cao et al., (USPN 11,997,258 B2) referred to as CAO hereinafter.
Regarding claim 11, BASEREF shows the limitations of claim 10 as applied above, however failing to but CAO further shows wherein the at least one level comprises a sequence parameter set (SPS) level, a picture header (PH) level, a picture parameter set (PPS) level, and/or a slice header (SH) level (Column 14, lines 4-10 disclose encoding signaling information related to multiple reference lines in headers or SPS.).
Both CHEN and CAO are analogous art to the claimed invention in that they all lie in the field of improving multiple reference line mode in video compression.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one possessing ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify CHEN in the spirit of CAO as these various coding levels are fundamental parts of the various layers in modern coding techniques.
It would have been obvious to implement the fusion specific signal of CHEN into the various layers discussed in CAO because according to the various standards relevant to this timeframe in the industry, this is the standard means for transporting signaling information from the encoder to the decoder. Therefore, this technique would be capable of predictable and unquestionable results without any undue experimentation.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-3 and 14-15 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.
Conclusion
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JUSTIN W. RIDER
Primary Patent Examiner
Art Unit 2486
/Justin W Rider/Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2486