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 .
Priority
This application discloses and claims only subject matter disclosed in Application No. PCT/JP2023/014228, filed 04/06/2023 and 63/333,686, filed 04/22/2022, and names the inventor or at least one joint inventor named in the prior application.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/16/2024 was considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings were received on 10/16/2024. These drawings are acceptable.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
(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.
Claims 1, 2, 5, 8, 10-15, 18, 20, 22, and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Mishaev et al. US 2020/0043220 A1, hereafter Mishaev.
Regarding claim 1, Mishaev discloses a decoding method (decoding system 1820; method) [FIG. 18B; 0241] comprising:
receiving control information (compressed bitstream 1816; remaining voxels may be differentially encoded to express differences in voxel data (e.g, location, color, etc.)) [FIG. 18B; 0189]; and
decoding (decoders 1834A, 1834B, occupancy map decoder 1832, auxiliary patch-info decoder 1833, unpacking 1829) [FIG. 18B] first attribute information on a first attribute of a three-dimensional point, according to the control information received (one or more voxels may be fully encoded (i.e., with complete (x,y,z) location coordinates and complete (r,g,b) color attributes) while remaining voxels may be differentially encoded to express differences in voxel data (e.g, location, color, etc.)) [0189],
wherein the control information received indicates that the first attribute depends on a second attribute of the three-dimensional point (remaining voxels may be differentially encoded to express differences in voxel data (e.g, location, color, etc.)) [0189].
Regarding claim 2, Mishaev addresses all of the features with respect to claim 1 as outlined above.
Mishaev further discloses the control information indicates that the first attribute information is a difference between the first attribute and the second attribute (remaining voxels may be differentially encoded to express differences in voxel data (e.g, location, color, etc.)) [0189].
Regarding claim 5, Mishaev addresses all of the features with respect to claim 1 as outlined above.
Mishaev further discloses the first attribute information is contained in a first component different from a second component in which second attribute information on the second attribute is contained (remaining voxels) [0189].
Regarding claim 8, Mishaev addresses all of the features with respect to claim 1 as outlined above.
Mishaev further discloses the first attribute information and the second attribute information indicate a first color and a second color of the three-dimensional point (remaining voxels may be differentially encoded to express differences in voxel data (e.g, location, color, etc.)) [0189], respectively, and the first color and the second color are each represented by a plurality of dimensions ((x,y,z) location coordinates) [0189].
Regarding claim 10, Mishaev addresses all of the features with respect to claim 1 as outlined above.
Mishaev further discloses decoding (decoders 1834A, 1834B, occupancy map decoder 1832, auxiliary patch-info decoder 1833, unpacking 1829) [FIG. 18B] second attribute information on the second attribute (remaining voxels may be differentially encoded to express differences in voxel data (e.g, location, color, etc.)) [0189]; and
converting (decoders 1834A, 1834B, occupancy map decoder 1832, auxiliary patch-info decoder 1833, unpacking 1829) [FIG. 18B] the first attribute information decoded, based on the second attribute information decoded (remaining voxels may be differentially encoded to express differences in voxel data (e.g, location, color, etc.)) [0189].
Regarding claim 11, Mishaev addresses all of the features with respect to claim 10 as outlined above.
Mishaev further discloses the first attribute information is a difference between the first attribute and the second attribute, and in the converting, the first attribute is reconstructed from the first attribute information and the second attribute information (remaining voxels may be differentially encoded to express differences in voxel data (e.g, location, color, etc.)) [0189].
Regarding claim 12, Mishaev addresses all of the features with respect to claim 1 as outlined above.
Mishaev further discloses the first attribute and the second attribute are correlated (remaining voxels may be differentially encoded to express differences in voxel data (e.g, location, color, etc.)) [0189].
Regarding claim 13, Mishaev addresses all of the features with respect to claim 1 as outlined above.
Mishaev further discloses in the decoding of the first attribute information, the first attribute information is obtained by decoding encoded data (compressed bitstream 1816(decoders 1834A, 1834B, occupancy map decoder 1832, auxiliary patch-info decoder 1833, unpacking 1829) [FIG. 18B], and the encoded data is generated using the first attribute and the second attribute (remaining voxels may be differentially encoded to express differences in voxel data (e.g, location, color, etc.)) [0189].
Regarding claim 14, Mishaev discloses an encoding method (encoding system 1800; method) [FIG. 18A; 0241] comprising:
encoding first attribute information on a first attribute of a three-dimensional point (one or more voxels may be fully encoded (i.e., with complete (x,y,z) location coordinates and complete (r,g,b) color attributes) while remaining voxels may be differentially encoded to express differences in voxel data (e.g, location, color, etc.)) [0189]; and
transmitting the first attribute information encoded and control information (compressed bitstream 1816) [FIG. 18A],
wherein the control information indicates that the first attribute depends on a second attribute of the three-dimensional point (remaining voxels may be differentially encoded to express differences in voxel data (e.g, location, color, etc.)) [0189].
Regarding claim 15, Mishaev addresses all of the features with respect to claim 14 as outlined above.
Mishaev further discloses the control information indicates that the first attribute information is a difference between the first attribute and the second attribute (remaining voxels may be differentially encoded to express differences in voxel data (e.g, location, color, etc.)) [0189].
Regarding claim 18, Mishaev addresses all of the features with respect to claim 14 as outlined above.
Mishaev further discloses the first attribute information is contained in a first component different from a second component in which second attribute information on the second attribute is contained (remaining voxels) [0189].
Regarding claim 20, Mishaev addresses all of the features with respect to claim 14 as outlined above.
Mishaev further discloses the first attribute information and the second attribute information indicate a first color and a second color of the three-dimensional point (voxel data (e.g, location, color, etc.)) [0189], respectively, and the first color and the second color are each represented by a plurality of dimensions (complete (x,y,z) location coordinates and complete (r,g,b) color attributes) [0189].
Claim 22 is drawn to a decoding device adapted to implement the method of claim 1, and are therefore rejected in the same manner as above. However, the claims also recite a processor and a memory, which Mishaev also teaches (processor(s) 102, memory device 120) [FIG. 1].
Claim 23 is drawn to an encoding device adapted to implement the method of claim 14, and are therefore rejected in the same manner as above. However, the claims also recite a processor and a memory, which Mishaev also teaches (processor(s) 102, memory device 120) [FIG. 1].
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.
Claims 3 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mishaev in view of Sundberg et al. US 2014/0247264 A1, hereafter Sundberg.
Regarding claim 3, Mishaev addresses all of the features with respect to claim 2 as outlined above.
However, Mishaev fails to disclose or suggest the control information includes at least one of offset information or scales information to be applied to the difference.
Sundberg, in an analogous environment, discloses the control information includes at least one of offset information or scales information to be applied to the difference (scaling the calculated difference with the length of the ray or with said scaling factor) [0088].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include a scaling factor for a difference between attributes of a three dimensional point, as disclosed by Sundberg, with the invention disclosed by Mishaev, the motivation being efficiency [0009].
Regarding claim 16, Mishaev addresses all of the features with respect to claim 15 as outlined above.
However, Mishaev fails to disclose or suggest the control information includes at least one of offset information or scales information to be applied to the difference.
Sundberg, in an analogous environment, discloses the control information includes at least one of offset information or scales information to be applied to the difference (scaling the calculated difference with the length of the ray or with said scaling factor) [0088].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include a scaling factor for a difference between attributes of a three dimensional point, as disclosed by Sundberg, with the invention disclosed by Mishaev, the motivation being efficiency [0009].
Claims 9 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mishaev in view of Oh et al. US 2022/0417557 A1, hereafter Oh.
Regarding claim 9, Mishaev addresses all of the features with respect to claim 1 as outlined above.
Mishaev further discloses the first attribute information and the second attribute information indicate a color of the three-dimensional point.
However, Mishaev fails to disclose or suggest the first attribute information and the second attribute information indicate a reflectance of the three-dimensional point, respectively, and a first number of dimensions representing the color is three and a second number of dimensions representing the reflectance is one.
Oh, in an analogous environment, discloses a reflectance of the three-dimensional point, respectively, and a first number of dimensions representing the color is three and a second number of dimensions representing the reflectance is one (an attribute corresponding to color may have three color components (e.g., RGB). An attribute corresponding to reflectance may be a mono-dimensional attribute, and an attribute corresponding to color may be a three-dimensional attribute) [0345].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include three-dimensional color and one-dimensional reflectance as an attribute of a three-dimensional point, as disclosed by Oh, with the invention disclosed by Mishaev, the motivation being providing a high-quality point cloud service [0009].
Regarding claim 21, Mishaev addresses all of the features with respect to claim 14 as outlined above.
Mishaev further discloses the first attribute information and the second attribute information indicate a color of the three-dimensional point.
However, Mishaev fails to disclose or suggest the first attribute information and the second attribute information indicate a reflectance of the three-dimensional point, respectively, and a first number of dimensions representing the color is three and a second number of dimensions representing the reflectance is one.
Oh, in an analogous environment, discloses a reflectance of the three-dimensional point, respectively, and a first number of dimensions representing the color is three and a second number of dimensions representing the reflectance is one (an attribute corresponding to color may have three color components (e.g., RGB). An attribute corresponding to reflectance may be a mono-dimensional attribute, and an attribute corresponding to color may be a three-dimensional attribute) [0345].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include three-dimensional color and one-dimensional reflectance as an attribute of a three-dimensional point, as disclosed by Oh, with the invention disclosed by Mishaev, the motivation being providing a high-quality point cloud service [0009].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 4, 6, 7, 17, 19 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. The prior art fails to disclose or suggest, in combination with the presented prior art, providing offset/scale information separately for each attribute info, having different dimensions, and second component identifiers.
Citation of Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Abe US 2023/0358528 A1 discloses calculating differences in color information between two point cloud data points
Conclusion
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STEFAN GADOMSKI
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2485
/STEFAN GADOMSKI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2485