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 Arguments
Applicant’s amendment filed 06/29/2026 has been entered and made of record. Claims 1, 3-5, 8, 10-12, 14 and 16-18 are amended. New Claim 18 is added. Claims 2, 6, 9, 13 and 15 are cancelled. Claims 1, 3-5, 7-8, 10-12, 14 and 16-18 are pending.
Applicant’s remarks in view of the newly presented amendments have been considered but are not found to be persuasive for at least the following reasons:
Regarding the Double Patenting Rejection, the Examiner will maintain the rejection as the claims still invoke a non-statutory double patenting and a terminal disclaimer has yet been filed to obviate any double patenting rejection.
In view of the applicant’s arguments in regards to the claim rejections under 35 USC § 112(b), the claim amendments to claim 5 and 11 do overcome this rejection, thus the rejection is now withdrawn.
The applicant argues on page 9-10 of the remarks filed the cited prior art of Kuma et al. US PG-Pub(US 20210358176 A1) in view of Joshi et al. ("[V-PCC] Improvements to enhanced delta depth coding for V-PCC") do not appear to disclose the newly amended limitation of “wherein the depth image is a single depth image storing depth values of 3D samples that are nearest from the projection plane.”. The Examiner finds the arguments persuasive as the cited art fails to account for this limitation. However, after further search and consideration the newly discovered art of Tourapis et al. US PG-Pub(US 20200111237 A1) would disclose wherein the depth image is a single depth image storing depth values of 3D samples that are nearest from the projection plane as ¶[0114] appears to disclose the depth values are recorded for points nearest from the projection plane and ¶[0125] discloses the depth image is a single depth image. Please see updated claim rejection under 35 USC § 103 below.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1, 3-5, 7-8, 10-12, 14 and 16-18 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 4-6 and 9 of U.S. Patent No. 12136243. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because
Instant Application
U.S. Patent No. 12136243
Claim 1
Claim 4
decoding a pixel value of an occupancy map indicating that a depth value of at least one 3D sample of a point cloud frame projected along a projection line is a pixel value of a depth image,
decode a pixel value of an occupancy map, the pixel value indicating whether or not a pixel of a first depth image representative of a projection of a first 3D sample of a point cloud onto a projection plane along a projection line is occupied,
and said pixel value indicating whether a codeword representing at least one depth value of at least one other 3D sample projected along said projection line, is stored in said occupancy map by said pixel value,
and the pixel value comprising a codeword that concatenates bits indicating whether positions along the projection line laying in-between a first depth value of the pixel obtained from the first depth image and a second depth value are occupied or not,
wherein depth values of 3D samples of the point cloud frame are coded using a single depth image;
decode a second information indicating a length of the codeword, the second depth value being obtained from the first depth value and the length of the codeword, otherwise the second depth value is obtained from a second depth image,
and reconstructing said at least one 3D sample based on said pixel value of the occupancy map.
reconstruct at least one other 3D sample for at least one position along the projection line indicated as occupied by one bit of the codeword.
All limitations of claim 1 in the instant application are anticipated by claim 4 of U.S. Patent No. 12136243
Claim 8
Claim 4
An apparatus comprising one or more processors configured to:
An apparatus comprising one or more processors configured to
decoding a pixel value of an occupancy map indicating that a depth value of at least one 3D sample of a point cloud frame projected along a projection line is a pixel value of a depth image,
decode a pixel value of an occupancy map, the pixel value indicating whether or not a pixel of a first depth image representative of a projection of a first 3D sample of a point cloud onto a projection plane along a projection line is occupied
and said pixel value indicating whether a codeword representing at least one depth value of at least one other 3D sample projected along said projection line, is stored in said occupancy map by said pixel value,
and the pixel value comprising a codeword that concatenates bits indicating whether positions along the projection line laying in-between a first depth value of the pixel obtained from the first depth image and a second depth value are occupied or not,
wherein depth values of 3D samples of the point cloud frame are coded using a single depth image;
decode a second information indicating a length of the codeword, the second depth value being obtained from the first depth value and the length of the codeword, otherwise the second depth value is obtained from a second depth image
and reconstructing said at least one 3D sample based on said pixel value of the occupancy map.
reconstruct at least one other 3D sample for at least one position along the projection line indicated as occupied by one bit of the codeword.
All limitations of claim 8 in the instant application are anticipated by claim 4 of U.S. Patent No. 12136243
Claim 12
Claim 9
A method comprising:
A non-transitory computer-readable medium including instructions for causing one or more processors to perform:
encoding a pixel value of an occupancy image indicating that a depth value of at least one 3D sample of a point cloud frame projected along a projection line is encoded as a pixel value of a depth image,
encoding a pixel value of an occupancy map, the pixel value indicating whether or not a pixel of a first depth image representative of a projection of a first 3D sample of a point cloud onto a projection plane along a projection line is occupied,
and said pixel value indicating whether a codeword representing at least one depth value of at least one other 3D sample projected along said projection line, is stored in said occupancy image by said pixel value,
and the pixel value comprising a codeword that concatenates bits indicating whether positions along the projection line laying in-between a first depth value of the pixel obtained from the first depth image and a second depth value are occupied or not,
wherein depth values of 3D samples of the point cloud frame are coded using a single depth image and encoding said depth value of said at least one 3D sample.
encoding a first information indicating whether or not the codeword has a fixed-length, encoding the first depth image, if the first information indicates that the codeword has a fixed-length, encoding a second information indicating a length of the codeword, the second depth value being obtained from the first depth value and the length of the codeword, otherwise encoding a second depth image, the second depth value being obtained from the second depth image, the length of the codeword being obtained as a difference between the second depth value and the first depth value.
All limitations of claim 12 in the instant application are anticipated by claim 9 of U.S. Patent No. 12136243
Claim 17
Claim 6
An apparatus comprising one or more processors configured to
An apparatus comprising one or more processors configured to
encoding a pixel value of an occupancy image indicating that a depth value of at least one 3D sample of a point cloud frame projected along a projection line is encoded as a pixel value of a depth image,
encoding a pixel value of an occupancy map, the pixel value indicating whether or not a pixel of a first depth image representative of a projection of a first 3D sample of a point cloud onto a projection plane along a projection line is occupied,
and said pixel value indicating whether a codeword representing at least one depth value of at least one other 3D sample projected along said projection line, is stored in said occupancy image by said pixel value,
and the pixel value comprising a codeword that concatenates bits indicating whether positions along the projection line laying in-between a first depth value of the pixel obtained from the first depth image and a second depth value are occupied or not,
wherein depth values of 3D samples of the point cloud frame are coded using a single depth image and encoding said depth value of said at least one 3D sample.
encoding a first information indicating whether or not the codeword has a fixed-length, encoding the first depth image, if the first information indicates that the codeword has a fixed-length, encoding a second information indicating a length of the codeword, the second depth value being obtained from the first depth value and the length of the codeword, otherwise encoding a second depth image, the second depth value being obtained from the second depth image, the length of the codeword being obtained as a difference between the second depth value and the first depth value.
All limitations of claim 12 in the instant application are anticipated by claim 6 of U.S. Patent No. 12136243
Regarding claim 3 of the instant application, the claim is anticipated by claim 4 of the U.S. Patent No. 12136243 respectively.
Regarding claim 4 of the instant application, the claim is anticipated by claim 5 of the U.S. Patent No. 12136243 respectively.
Regarding claim 5 of the instant application, the claim is anticipated by claim 4 of the U.S. Patent No. 12136243 respectively.
Regarding claim 7 of the instant application, the claim is anticipated by claim 4 of the U.S. Patent No. 12136243 respectively.
Regarding claim 10-11 of the instant application, the claim is anticipated by claim 4 of the U.S. Patent No. 12136243 respectively.
Regarding claim 13, 14 and 16 of the instant application, the claim is anticipated by claim 9 of the U.S. Patent No. 12136243 respectively.
Regarding claim 18 of the instant application, the claim is anticipated by claim 4 of the U.S. Patent No. 12136243 respectively.
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, 6-8, 12 and 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kuma et al. US PG-Pub(US 20210358176 A1) in view of Joshi et al. ("[V-PCC] Improvements to enhanced delta depth coding for V-PCC", as cited by applicant in the IDS filed on 09/21/2021 of parent application 17439707 ) in view of Tourapis et al. US PG-Pub(US 20200111237 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Kuma teaches a method comprising: decoding a pixel value of an occupancy map indicating that a depth value (¶[0011] “According to another aspect of the present technology, there is provided an image processing apparatus including a decoding unit configured to decode encoded data on geometry data that is a frame image having arranged thereon a projected image obtained by projecting 3D data representing a three-dimensional structure on a two-dimensional plane and includes a special value indicating occupancy map information in a range.”, ¶[0011] discloses 3d data is projected onto a 2d plane and decoding data of an occupancy map and ¶[0062] discloses the depth value is a pixel value and the decoder is decoding the pixel value in the depth image.),and reconstructing said at least one 3D sample based on said pixel value of the occupancy map. (¶[0195], “A decoding apparatus 400 illustrated in FIG. 19 is an apparatus configured to decode, by a two-dimensional image decoding method, encoded data obtained by projecting 3D data such as a point cloud on a two-dimensional plane to encode the 3D data, to thereby reconstruct the 3D data (a decoding apparatus to which the video-based approach has been applied). The decoding apparatus 400 is a decoding apparatus corresponding to the encoding apparatus 300 of FIG. 13 and can decode bitstreams generated by the encoding apparatus 300 to reconstruct 3D data.”, as disclosed in ¶[0195], the prior art discloses reconstructing the 3d data of the occupancy map by first encoding the 3d data and using a decoder to decode the bitstream to generate the reconstructed 3d data.).
Kuma does not explicitly teach at least one 3D sample of a point cloud frame projected on a projection plane along a projection line is a pixel value of a depth image and said pixel value indicating whether a fixed-length codeword representing at least one depth value of at least one other 3D sample projected and is stored in said occupancy map by said pixel value
PNG
media_image1.png
152
574
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Joshi teaches at least one 3D sample of a point cloud frame projected on a projection plane along a projection line is a pixel value of a depth image (Figure 6 shows the pixel values D0 and D1 of the 3d point cloud is projected along a projection line) and said pixel value indicating whether a fixed-length codeword representing at least one depth value of at least one other 3D sample projected and is stored in said occupancy map by said pixel value (Page 2, 2nd Paragraph, Third Bullet Point discloses if a condition is met then a PCM code/codeword is used to specify the occupied depth positions between the pixel values D0 and D1 and Table 1 shows the PCM code/codeword is stored with the associated occupancy map value/pixel value.)
PNG
media_image2.png
154
396
media_image2.png
Greyscale
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the claimed invention as taught by Kuma with Joshi in order to project points of the point cloud on a projection line and link the pixel values to a codeword and store the codeword for encoding. One skilled in the art would have been motivated to modify Kuma in this manner in order use a technique known as enhanced delta depth coding (EDD) for lossless coding. (Joshi, Page 1, Abstract)
However, Kuma and Joshi do not explicitly teach wherein the depth image is a single depth image storing depth values of 3D samples that are nearest from the projection plane.
Tourapis teaches wherein the depth image is a single depth image(¶[0125], “a depth/geometry image is generated, a minimum depth value for each patch may be evaluated. When pixel values (e.g. color values) are determined for the points (e.g. pixels) included in the depth/geometry image, the minimum depth value may be subtracted from the depth values of the points (wherein the depths are depths in a direction normal to the projection plane).”, discloses a depth image stores depth values of points) storing depth values of 3D samples that are nearest from the projection plane (¶[0114], “Respective connected component CC(m) inherits the orientation D(m) of the cluster it belongs to. The points of CC(m) are then projected on a projection plane having as normal the orientation D(m), while updating a depth map, which records for every pixel the depth of the nearest point to the projection plane”, discloses determining with depth values are closest to the projection plane.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the claimed invention as taught by Kuma and Joshi with Tourapis in order to have a single depth image and store values that are closest to the projection plane. One skilled in the art would have been motivated to modify Kuma and Joshi in this manner in order to compress and decompress of point clouds comprising a plurality of points, each having associated spatial information and attribute information. (Tourapis, ¶[0002])
Regarding Claim 6, the combination of Kuma and Joshi teach the limitation of claim 1, where Kuma further teaches a computer program including instructions which, when the program is executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to carry out a method according to claim 1. ([0242] “Note that the processing units of the encoding apparatus 300 illustrated in FIG. 22 have any configuration. For example, each processing unit may include a logic circuit configured to achieve the above-mentioned processing. Further, each processing unit may include, for example, a CPU, a ROM, or a RAM and execute a program using those portions”, ¶[0242] discloses a CPU coupled to a memory that executes a computer program)
Regarding Claim 7, the combination of Kuma and Joshi teach the limitation of claim 1, where Kuma further teaches a non-transitory computer-readable medium including instructions for causing one or more processors to perform the method according to claim 1. (¶[0291], “In the RAM 903, data necessary for the CPU 901 to execute various types of processing is further stored as appropriate.”
[0292] “The program that is executed by the computer can be recorded on the removable medium 921 which is a package medium or the like, to be applied, for example. In this case, the program can be installed on the storage unit 913 through the input/output interface 910 with the removable medium 921 mounted on the drive 915.”, ¶[0291]-¶[0292] discloses a CPU executing a program that is stored in a recording medium.)
Regarding Claim 8, Kuma teaches an apparatus comprising one or more processors([0242] “Note that the processing units of the encoding apparatus 300 illustrated in FIG. 22 have any configuration. For example, each processing unit may include a logic circuit configured to achieve the above-mentioned processing. Further, each processing unit may include, for example, a CPU, a ROM, or a RAM and execute a program using those portions”, ¶[0242] discloses a CPU coupled to a memory that executes a computer program) configured to: decoding a pixel value of an occupancy map indicating that a depth value (¶[0011] “According to another aspect of the present technology, there is provided an image processing apparatus including a decoding unit configured to decode encoded data on geometry data that is a frame image having arranged thereon a projected image obtained by projecting 3D data representing a three-dimensional structure on a two-dimensional plane and includes a special value indicating occupancy map information in a range.”, ¶[0011] discloses 3d data is projected onto a 2d plane and decoding data of an occupancy map and ¶[0062] discloses the depth value is a pixel value and the decoder is decoding the pixel value in the depth image.),and reconstructing said at least one 3D sample based on said pixel value of the occupancy map. (¶[0195], “A decoding apparatus 400 illustrated in FIG. 19 is an apparatus configured to decode, by a two-dimensional image decoding method, encoded data obtained by projecting 3D data such as a point cloud on a two-dimensional plane to encode the 3D data, to thereby reconstruct the 3D data (a decoding apparatus to which the video-based approach has been applied). The decoding apparatus 400 is a decoding apparatus corresponding to the encoding apparatus 300 of FIG. 13 and can decode bitstreams generated by the encoding apparatus 300 to reconstruct 3D data.”, as disclosed in ¶[0195], the prior art discloses reconstructing the 3d data of the occupancy map by first encoding the 3d data and using a decoder to decode the bitstream to generate the reconstructed 3d data.).
Kuma does not explicitly teach at least one 3D sample of a point cloud frame projected along a projection line is a pixel value of a depth image and said pixel value indicating whether a fixed codeword representing at least one depth value of at least one other 3D sample projected and is stored in said occupancy map by said pixel value
Joshi teaches at least one 3D sample of a point cloud frame projected along a projection line is a pixel value of a depth image (Figure 6 shows the pixel values D0 and D1 of the 3d point cloud is projected along a projection line) and said pixel value indicating whether a fixed codeword representing at least one depth value of at least one other 3D sample projected and is stored in said occupancy map by said pixel value (Page 2, 2nd Paragraph, Third Bullet Point discloses if a condition is met then a PCM code/codeword is used to specify the occupied depth positions between the pixel values D0 and D1 and Table 1 shows the PCM code/codeword is stored with the associated occupancy map value/pixel value.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the claimed invention as taught by Kuma with Joshi in order to project points of the point cloud on a projection line and link the pixel values to a codeword and store the codeword for encoding. One skilled in the art would have been motivated to modify Kuma in this manner in order use a technique known as enhanced delta depth coding (EDD) for lossless coding. (Joshi, Page 1, Abstract)
However, Kuma and Joshi do not explicitly teach wherein the depth image is a single depth image storing depth values of 3D samples that are nearest from the projection plane.
Tourapis teaches wherein the depth image is a single depth image(¶[0125], “a depth/geometry image is generated, a minimum depth value for each patch may be evaluated. When pixel values (e.g. color values) are determined for the points (e.g. pixels) included in the depth/geometry image, the minimum depth value may be subtracted from the depth values of the points (wherein the depths are depths in a direction normal to the projection plane).”, discloses a depth image stores depth values of points) storing depth values of 3D samples that are nearest from the projection plane (¶[0114], “Respective connected component CC(m) inherits the orientation D(m) of the cluster it belongs to. The points of CC(m) are then projected on a projection plane having as normal the orientation D(m), while updating a depth map, which records for every pixel the depth of the nearest point to the projection plane”, discloses determining with depth values are closest to the projection plane.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the claimed invention as taught by Kuma and Joshi with Tourapis in order to have a single depth image and store values that are closest to the projection plane. One skilled in the art would have been motivated to modify Kuma and Joshi in this manner in order to compress and decompress of point clouds comprising a plurality of points, each having associated spatial information and attribute information. (Tourapis, ¶[0002])
Regarding Claim 12, Kuma teaches a method comprising: encoding a pixel value of an occupancy image indicating that a depth value (([0122] “FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an encoding apparatus that is an aspect of an image processing apparatus to which the present technology has been applied. An encoding apparatus 300 illustrated in FIG. 13 is an apparatus configured to project 3D data such as a point cloud on a two-dimensional plane to encode the 3D data by a two-dimensional image encoding method (an encoding apparatus employing the video-based approach). Further, as described above in <1. High Resolution Occupancy Map>, the encoding apparatus 300 generates geometry data including a special value indicating occupancy map information in the range, encodes the geometry data, and transmits the encoded geometry data to the decoding side.”, ¶[0122] discloses using an encoder to encoding 3d point cloud data and generating geometry data including special/pixel values in the occupancy map))wherein depth values of 3D samples of the point cloud frame are coded using a single depth image(¶[0060]”In the video-based approach, an input point cloud is divided into a plurality of segmentations (also referred to as “regions”), and the points are projected on a two-dimensional plane in units of the segmentations. Since the point cloud includes position information (Geometry) and attribute information (Texture) regarding each point, the points are projected on the two-dimensional plane in terms of the position information and the attribute information.[0061] Then, the segmentations projected on the two-dimensional plane (also referred to as “patches”) are arranged on frame images (two-dimensional images). That is, a frame image having arranged thereon the patches of the position information (also referred to as a “geometry video frame”), and a frame image having arranged thereon the patches of the attribute information (also referred to as a “color video frame”) are generated.” ¶[0060] discloses taking the input 3d point cloud and dividing it into a plurality of segmentations and ¶[0061] discloses projecting the segmentations to generate a frame image having 3d positional data referred to as a “geometry video frame”); and encoding said depth value of said at least one 3D sample.(¶[0075] “The special value can be set as described above, so that the encoder can set the special value on the basis of the geometry data (the range indicating depth values (Depth) thereof (the range indicated by the double-sided arrow 24)). The range indicating depth values depends on 3D data, and is not constant. However, the special value can be set as described above, so that the encoder can set the special value 22 to a value outside the range indicated by the double-sided arrow 24 as in FIG. 2, for example. Thus, the encoder can set the special value identifiable from depth values.”, ¶[0075] discloses the encoder can set a special value for the depth values to be easily identified by the decoder )
Kuma does not explicitly teach at least one 3D sample of a point cloud frame projected on a projection plane along a projection line is encoded as a pixel value of a depth image, and said pixel value indicating whether a codeword representing at least one depth value of at least one other 3D sample projected along said projection line, is stored in said occupancy image by said pixel value,
Joshi teaches at least one 3D sample of a point cloud frame projected along a projection line is encoded as a pixel value of a depth image (Figure 6 shows the pixel values D0 and D1 of the 3d point cloud is projected along a projection line) and said pixel value indicating whether a codeword representing at least one depth value of at least one other 3D sample projected along said projection line, is stored in said occupancy image by said pixel value (Page 2, 2nd Paragraph, Third Bullet Point discloses if a condition is met then a PCM code/codeword is used to specify the occupied depth positions between the pixel values D0 and D1 and Table 1 shows the PCM code/codeword is stored with the associated occupancy map value/pixel value.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the claimed invention as taught by Kuma with Joshi in order to project points of the point cloud on a projection line and link the pixel values to a codeword and store the codeword for encoding. One skilled in the art would have been motivated to modify Kuma in this manner in order use a technique known as enhanced delta depth coding (EDD) for lossless coding. (Joshi, Page 1, Abstract)
However, Kuma and Joshi do not explicitly teach wherein the depth image is a single depth image storing depth values of 3D samples that are nearest from the projection plane.
Tourapis teaches wherein the depth image is a single depth image(¶[0125], “a depth/geometry image is generated, a minimum depth value for each patch may be evaluated. When pixel values (e.g. color values) are determined for the points (e.g. pixels) included in the depth/geometry image, the minimum depth value may be subtracted from the depth values of the points (wherein the depths are depths in a direction normal to the projection plane).”, discloses a depth image stores depth values of points) storing depth values of 3D samples that are nearest from the projection plane (¶[0114], “Respective connected component CC(m) inherits the orientation D(m) of the cluster it belongs to. The points of CC(m) are then projected on a projection plane having as normal the orientation D(m), while updating a depth map, which records for every pixel the depth of the nearest point to the projection plane”, discloses determining with depth values are closest to the projection plane.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the claimed invention as taught by Kuma and Joshi with Tourapis in order to have a single depth image and store values that are closest to the projection plane. One skilled in the art would have been motivated to modify Kuma and Joshi in this manner in order to compress and decompress of point clouds comprising a plurality of points, each having associated spatial information and attribute information. (Tourapis, ¶[0002])
Regarding Claim 15, the combination of Kuma and Joshi teach the limitation of claim 10, where Kuma further teaches a computer program including instructions which, when the program is executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to carry out a method according to claim 10. ([0242] “Note that the processing units of the encoding apparatus 300 illustrated in FIG. 22 have any configuration. For example, each processing unit may include a logic circuit configured to achieve the above-mentioned processing. Further, each processing unit may include, for example, a CPU, a ROM, or a RAM and execute a program using those portions”, ¶[0242] discloses a CPU coupled to a memory that executes a computer program)
Regarding Claim 16, the combination of Kuma and Joshi teach the limitation of claim 10, where Kuma further teaches a non-transitory computer-readable medium including instructions for causing one or more processors to perform the method according to claim 12. (¶[0291], “In the RAM 903, data necessary for the CPU 901 to execute various types of processing is further stored as appropriate.”
[0292] “The program that is executed by the computer can be recorded on the removable medium 921 which is a package medium or the like, to be applied, for example. In this case, the program can be installed on the storage unit 913 through the input/output interface 910 with the removable medium 921 mounted on the drive 915.”, ¶[0291]-¶[0292] discloses a CPU executing a program that is stored in a recording medium.)
Regarding Claim 17, Kuma teaches an apparatus comprising one or more processors ([0242] “Note that the processing units of the encoding apparatus 300 illustrated in FIG. 22 have any configuration. For example, each processing unit may include a logic circuit configured to achieve the above-mentioned processing. Further, each processing unit may include, for example, a CPU, a ROM, or a RAM and execute a program using those portions”, ¶[0242] discloses a CPU coupled to a memory that executes a computer program) configured to:
encoding a pixel value of an occupancy image indicating that a depth value (([0122] “FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an encoding apparatus that is an aspect of an image processing apparatus to which the present technology has been applied. An encoding apparatus 300 illustrated in FIG. 13 is an apparatus configured to project 3D data such as a point cloud on a two-dimensional plane to encode the 3D data by a two-dimensional image encoding method (an encoding apparatus employing the video-based approach). Further, as described above in <1. High Resolution Occupancy Map>, the encoding apparatus 300 generates geometry data including a special value indicating occupancy map information in the range, encodes the geometry data, and transmits the encoded geometry data to the decoding side.”, ¶[0122] discloses using an encoder to encoding 3d point cloud data and generating geometry data including special/pixel values in the occupancy map))and encoding said depth value of said at least one 3D sample.(¶[0075] “The special value can be set as described above, so that the encoder can set the special value on the basis of the geometry data (the range indicating depth values (Depth) thereof (the range indicated by the double-sided arrow 24)). The range indicating depth values depends on 3D data, and is not constant. However, the special value can be set as described above, so that the encoder can set the special value 22 to a value outside the range indicated by the double-sided arrow 24 as in FIG. 2, for example. Thus, the encoder can set the special value identifiable from depth values.”, ¶[0075] discloses the encoder can set a special value for the depth values to be easily identified by the decoder )
Kuma does not explicitly teach at least one 3D sample of a point cloud frame projected on a projection plane along a projection line is encoded as a pixel value of a depth image, and said pixel value indicating whether a fixed codeword representing at least one depth value of at least one other 3D sample projected along said projection line, is stored in said occupancy image by said pixel value,
Joshi teaches at least one 3D sample of a point cloud frame projected on a projection plane along a projection line is encoded as a pixel value of a depth image (Figure 6 shows the pixel values D0 and D1 of the 3d point cloud is projected along a projection line) and said pixel value indicating whether a fixed codeword representing at least one depth value of at least one other 3D sample projected along said projection line, is stored in said occupancy image by said pixel value (Page 2, 2nd Paragraph, Third Bullet Point discloses if a condition is met then a PCM code/codeword is used to specify the occupied depth positions between the pixel values D0 and D1 and Table 1 shows the PCM code/codeword is stored with the associated occupancy map value/pixel value.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the claimed invention as taught by Kuma with Joshi in order to project points of the point cloud on a projection line and link the pixel values to a codeword and store the codeword for encoding. One skilled in the art would have been motivated to modify Kuma in this manner in order use a technique known as enhanced delta depth coding (EDD) for lossless coding. (Joshi, Page 1, Abstract)
However, Kuma and Joshi do not explicitly teach wherein the depth image is a single depth image storing depth values of 3D samples that are nearest from the projection plane.
Tourapis teaches wherein the depth image is a single depth image(¶[0125], “a depth/geometry image is generated, a minimum depth value for each patch may be evaluated. When pixel values (e.g. color values) are determined for the points (e.g. pixels) included in the depth/geometry image, the minimum depth value may be subtracted from the depth values of the points (wherein the depths are depths in a direction normal to the projection plane).”, discloses a depth image stores depth values of points) storing depth values of 3D samples that are nearest from the projection plane (¶[0114], “Respective connected component CC(m) inherits the orientation D(m) of the cluster it belongs to. The points of CC(m) are then projected on a projection plane having as normal the orientation D(m), while updating a depth map, which records for every pixel the depth of the nearest point to the projection plane”, discloses determining with depth values are closest to the projection plane.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the claimed invention as taught by Kuma and Joshi with Tourapis in order to have a single depth image and store values that are closest to the projection plane. One skilled in the art would have been motivated to modify Kuma and Joshi in this manner in order to compress and decompress of point clouds comprising a plurality of points, each having associated spatial information and attribute information. (Tourapis, ¶[0002])
Claims 3, 10, 14 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kuma et al. US PG-Pub(US 20210358176 A1) in view of Joshi et al. ("[V-PCC] Improvements to enhanced delta depth coding for V-PCC", as cited by applicant in the IDS filed on 09/21/2021 of parent application 17439707 ) in view of Tourapis et al. US PG-Pub(US 20200111237 A1) in view of Onno et al. US PG-Pub(US 20180342083 A1).
Regarding Claim 3, while the combination of Kuma, Joshi and Tourapis teach the method of claim 1, they do not explicitly teach further comprising receiving an information representative of a length of the codeword.
Onno teaches receiving an information representative of a length of the codeword. ([0157] “The flags may also be used to indicate whether or not signaling information (e.g. number of items, minimum and maximum values) are provided for each separate input parameter to allow the decoder to infer the length of the code words used.”, ¶[0157] a flag is used to signal information to the decoder to determine the length of the code word used.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the claimed invention as taught by Kuma, Joshi and Tourapis with Onno in order to determine the length of the codeword. One skilled in the art would have been motivated to modify Kuma, Joshi and Tourapis in this manner in order to improve the accuracy of the prediction. (Onno, ¶[0097])
Regarding Claim 4, the combination of Kuma, Joshi, Tourapis and Onno teach the method of claim 3, where Kuma further teaches wherein said first and/or second information is signaled for a sequence of point cloud frames, on per frame basis or on per patch basis(¶[0206], “Further, the unpacking unit 416 acquires high resolution occupancy map (Occupancy map (1×1)) and geometry video frame (Geometry video frame(s)) supplied from the extraction unit 414. Moreover, the unpacking unit 416 acquires a color video frame (Color video frame(s)) supplied from the video decoding unit 415.”, ¶[0206] discloses using a unpacking unit to process the point cloud frames acquired from the video decoding unit. ), a patch being a set of 2D samples representing the projection of 3D samples of the point cloud frame. ([0061] “Then, the segmentations projected on the two-dimensional plane (also referred to as “patches”) are arranged on frame images (two-dimensional images). That is, a frame image having arranged thereon the patches of the position information (also referred to as a “geometry video frame”), and a frame image having arranged thereon the patches of the attribute information (also referred to as a “color video frame”) are generated.”, ¶[0061] discloses 2D images are generated based on the projection of the 3d image data from the point cloud.)
Regarding Claim 10, while the combination of Kuma, Joshi and Tourapis teach the apparatus of claim 8, they do not explicitly teach wherein the one or more processors are further configured for receiving a second information representative of a length of the codeword.
Onno teaches wherein the one or more processors are further configured for receiving an information representative of a length of the codeword. ([0157] “The flags may also be used to indicate whether or not signaling information (e.g. number of items, minimum and maximum values) are provided for each separate input parameter to allow the decoder to infer the length of the code words used.”, ¶[0157] a flag is used to signal information to the decoder to determine the length of the code word used.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the claimed invention as taught by Kuma, Joshi and Tourapis with Onno in order to determine the length of the codeword. One skilled in the art would have been motivated to modify Kuma, Joshi and Tourapis in this manner in order to improve the accuracy of the prediction. (Onno, ¶[0097])
Regarding Claim 14, while the combination of Kuma, Joshi and Tourapis teach the method of claim 12, they do not explicitly teach further comprising transmitting an information representative of a length of the codeword.
Onno teaches further comprising transmitting an information representative of a length of the codeword. ([0157] “The flags may also be used to indicate whether or not signaling information (e.g. number of items, minimum and maximum values) are provided for each separate input parameter to allow the decoder to infer the length of the code words used.”, ¶[0157] a flag is used to signal information to the decoder to determine the length of the code word used.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the claimed invention as taught by Kuma, Joshi and Tourapis with Onno in order to determine the length of the codeword. One skilled in the art would have been motivated to modify Kuma, Joshi and Tourapis in this manner in order to improve the accuracy of the prediction. (Onno, ¶[0097])
Regarding Claim 18, while the combination of Kuma, Joshi and Tourapis teach the apparatus of claim 17, they do not explicitly teach wherein the one or more processors are further configured to transmit an information representative of a length of the codeword.
Onno teaches wherein the one or more processors are further configured to transmit an information representative of a length of the codeword. ([0157] “The flags may also be used to indicate whether or not signaling information (e.g. number of items, minimum and maximum values) are provided for each separate input parameter to allow the decoder to infer the length of the code words used.”, ¶[0157] a flag is used to signal information to the decoder to determine the length of the code word used.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the claimed invention as taught by Kuma, Joshi and Tourapis with Onno in order to determine the length of the codeword. One skilled in the art would have been motivated to modify Kuma, Joshi and Tourapis in this manner in order to improve the accuracy of the prediction. (Onno, ¶[0097])
Claims 5 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kuma et al. US PG-Pub(US 20210358176 A1) in view of Joshi et al. ("[V-PCC] Improvements to enhanced delta depth coding for V-PCC", as cited by applicant in the IDS filed on 09/21/2021 of parent application 17439707 ) in view of Tourapis et al. US PG-Pub(US 20200111237 A1) in view of Onno et al. US PG-Pub(US 20180342083 A1) in view of Hsieh et al. US PG-Pub(US 20190098325 A1).
Regarding Claim 5, while the combination of Kuma, Joshi, Tourapis and Onno teach the method of claim 3, they do not explicitly teach further comprising reconstructing said at least one other 3D sample based on said length of the codeword.
Hsieh teaches further comprising reconstructing said at least one other 3D sample based on said length of the codeword. (¶[0029], “The processing unit may then determine the index values from the codewords, and the residual values from the index values. Then, the processing unit may reconstruct the pixel values by adding the predicted pixel values to the residual values.
[0030] More particularly, in some examples, to code the bit length values representing the number of bits for each of the bflc_len values, the techniques of this disclosure may include coding a minimum length of the codewords for a tile or sub-tile, and representing the number of bits needed for codewords of each block of index values as a difference relative to the minimum length. The minimum length may be referred to as “min_bflc_len,” and the differences relative to the minimum length may be referred to as “bflc_len_diff.””, ¶[0029] discloses reconstructing the pixel values in the image by determining the length/number of bits needed for codewords)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the claimed invention as taught by Kuma, Joshi, Tourapis and Onno with Hsieh in order to determine a length/number of bits for a codeword to reconstruct the image data. One skilled in the art would have been motivated to modify Kuma, Joshi, Tourapis and Onno in this manner in order to address the bandwidth issue for storage and retrieval of raw image data. (Hsieh, ¶[0006])
Regarding Claim 11, while the combination of Kuma, Joshi, Tourapis and Onno teach the apparatus of claim 10, they do not explicitly teach wherein the one or more processors are further configured for reconstructing said at least one other 3D sample based on said length of the codeword.
Hsieh teaches wherein the one or more processors are further configured for reconstructing said at least one other 3D sample based on said length of the codeword. (¶[0029], “The processing unit may then determine the index values from the codewords, and the residual values from the index values. Then, the processing unit may reconstruct the pixel values by adding the predicted pixel values to the residual values.
[0030] More particularly, in some examples, to code the bit length values representing the number of bits for each of the bflc_len values, the techniques of this disclosure may include coding a minimum length of the codewords for a tile or sub-tile, and representing the number of bits needed for codewords of each block of index values as a difference relative to the minimum length. The minimum length may be referred to as “min_bflc_len,” and the differences relative to the minimum length may be referred to as “bflc_len_diff.””, ¶[0029] discloses reconstructing the pixel values in the image by determining the length/number of bits needed for codewords)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the claimed invention as taught by Kuma, Joshi, Tourapis and Onno with Hsieh in order to determine a length/number of bits for a codeword to reconstruct the image data. One skilled in the art would have been motivated to modify Kuma, Joshi, Tourapis and Onno in this manner in order to address the bandwidth issue for storage and retrieval of raw image data. (Hsieh, ¶[0006])
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new grounds of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 HAN D HOANG whose telephone number is (571)272-4344. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8-5.
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, JOHN M VILLECCO can be reached at 571-272-7319. 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.
/HAN HOANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2661
Prosecution Insights