DETAILED ACTION
1. The Office Action is in response to Application 18918422 filed on 10/17/2024. Claims 1-12 are pending.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
2. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Information Disclosure Statement
3. The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 10/17/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in Application 18918422 filed on 10/17/2024.
Priority # Filling Data Country
23204444.6 2023-10-18 EP
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
5. 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.
6. Claim 1 and its dependent claims 2-8 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
For claim 1, it recites limitations of “motion vectors” in “a second video frame being an inter-frame referencing the first video frame and including motion vectors for upscaling of the one or more ROIs to a resolution higher than a resolution of the one or more ROIs in the first video frame” However, it is not clear if the motion vectors are between the second video frame and the this first frame, or the motion vectors are between the second video frame and the third video frame? Since, the second frame is an inter-frame referencing the first frame and the third frame is an inter-frame referencing the second frame, hence, it is possible motion vectors can be between the second video frame and the this first frame, or between the second video frame and the third video frame.
Thus the scope of the claim and its dependent claim 2-8 are unclear.
7. Claim 9 and its dependent claims 10-11 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
For claim 9, it recites limitations of “motion vectors” in “a second video frame being an inter-frame referencing the first video frame and including motion vectors for upscaling of the one or more ROIs to a resolution higher than a resolution of the one or more ROIs in the first video frame” However, it is not clear if the motion vectors are between the second video frame and the this first frame, or the motion vectors are between the second video frame and the third video frame? Since, the second frame is an inter-frame referencing the first frame and the third frame is an inter-frame referencing the second frame, hence, it is possible motion vectors can be between the second video frame and the this first frame, or between the second video frame and the third video frame
Thus the scope of the claim and its dependent claims 10-11 are unclear.
8. Claim 12 is 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
For claim 12, it recites limitations of “motion vectors” in “second video frame being an inter-frame referencing the first video frame and including motion vectors for upscaling of the one or more ROIs to a resolution higher than a resolution of the one or more ROIs in the first video frame” However, it is not clear if the motion vectors are between the second video frame and the this first frame, or the motion vectors are between the second video frame and the third video frame? Since, the second frame is an inter-frame referencing the first frame and the third frame is an inter-frame referencing the second frame, hence, it is possible motion vectors can be between the second video frame and the this first frame, or between the second video frame and the third video frame.
Thus the scope of the claim is unclear.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
9. 35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
35 U.S.C. 101 requires that a claimed invention must fall within one of the four eligible categories of invention (i.e. process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter) and must not be directed to subject matter encompassing a judicially recognized exception as interpreted by the courts. The four eligible categories of invention include: (1) process which is an act, or a series of acts or steps, (2) machine which is an concrete thing, consisting of parts, or of certain devices and combination of devices, (3) manufacture which is an article produced from raw or prepared materials by giving to these materials new forms, qualities, properties, or combinations, whether by hand labor or by machinery, and (4) composition of matter which is all compositions of two or more substances and all composite articles, whether they be the results of chemical union, or of mechanical mixture, or whether they be gases, fluids, powders or solids.
10. Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 as not falling within one of the four statutory categories of invention because the claimed invention is directed to computer program per se.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
11. 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.
12. Claim 1, 3, 6-9, 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a) (2) as being anticipated by Edpalm et al. (US 20190116371).
Regarding claim 1, Edpalm teaches a method of encoding a video stream (fig. 2), comprising:
obtaining one or more subsequent images of a scene captured by at least one camera (fig. 1, camera 104 and images 106), and for each of the one or more images:
identifying one or more regions of interest (ROIs) in the image (fig. 3, 302/114);
adding a set of video frames to an encoded video stream (fig. 2, 106a-106c), the set comprising at least three separate video frames comprising:
a first video frame (fig. 2, 110a(1)) encoding at least part of the scene in the image at a lower resolution than a resolution of the at least part of the scene in the image (fig. 5, step S504; paragraph 0061, … scaling down S504 the third image data 106c to achieved third scaled down image data 116), wherein the at least part of the scene includes the one or more ROIs (fig. 3, 302/114) ;
and a third video frame (fig. 2, 110c(5) encoding the one or more ROIs at a higher resolution than a resolution of the one or more ROIs encoded in the first video frame (fig. 5, S508; paragraph 0061, … The encoder then determines S508 third motion vectors (in FIG. 2 schematically illustrated by the arrows in a third frame 112c) corresponding to an upscaling of the third scaled down image data 116 in the image data of the third auxiliary frame 110c to the intended resolution), wherein, for the purpose of creating a reference video frame for encoding of the third video frame, the set of video frames further comprises:
a second video frame being an inter-frame referencing the first video frame (fig. 2, 110b (3)) and including motion vectors for upscaling of the one or more ROIs to a resolution higher than a resolution of the one or more ROIs in the first video frame (paragraph 0061, … determines S508 third motion vectors (in FIG. 2 schematically illustrated by the arrows in a third frame 112c) corresponding to an upscaling of the third scaled down image data 116 in the image data of the third auxiliary frame 110c to the intended resolution 116x*116y.), wherein the second video frame is marked as a no-display frame (i.e., auxiliary frame, paragraph 0010, The auxiliary frame may as be referred to as auxiliary image, auxiliary image item, non-displayed frame …), and wherein the third video frame is an inter-frame referencing the second video frame (fig. 5, S510; paragraph 0061, … the encoder 108 can encode S510 the third frame 112c as an inter frame referencing the third auxiliary frame 110c, wherein motion vectors of the third frame corresponds to the third motion vectors).
Regarding claim 9, Edpalm teaches a device for encoding a video stream (fig. 2, 108), comprising:
a processor, and a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the device to: (paragraph 0069, … The encoder typically comprises one or several processing units (e.g., a CPU) for encoding the received image data as described above. The CPU may for example be adapted to run software, installed from a computer-readable storage medium, with instructions adapted to carry out the encoding method of any of the above described embodiments when executed by the CPU),
obtaining one or more subsequent images of a scene captured by at least one camera (fig. 1, camera 104 and images 106), and for each of the one or more images:
identifying one or more regions of interest (ROIs) in the image (fig. 3, 302/114);
adding a set of video frames to an encoded video stream (fig. 2, 106a-106c), the set comprising at least three separate video frames comprising:
a first video frame (fig. 2, 110a(1)) encoding at least part of the scene in the image at a lower resolution than a resolution of the at least part of the scene in the image (fig. 5, step S504; paragraph 0061, … scaling down S504 the third image data 106c to achieved third scaled down image data 116), wherein the at least part of the scene includes the one or more ROIs (fig. 3, 302/114) ;
and a third video frame (fig. 2, 110c(5) encoding the one or more ROIs at a higher resolution than a resolution of the one or more ROIs encoded in the first video frame (fig. 5, S508; paragraph 0061, … The encoder then determines S508 third motion vectors (in FIG. 2 schematically illustrated by the arrows in a third frame 112c) corresponding to an upscaling of the third scaled down image data 116 in the image data of the third auxiliary frame 110c to the intended resolution), wherein, for the purpose of creating a reference video frame for encoding of the third video frame, the set of video frames further comprises:
a second video frame being an inter-frame referencing the first video frame (fig. 2, 110b (3)) and including motion vectors for upscaling of the one or more ROIs to a resolution higher than a resolution of the one or more ROIs in the first video frame (paragraph 0061, … determines S508 third motion vectors (in FIG. 2 schematically illustrated by the arrows in a third frame 112c) corresponding to an upscaling of the third scaled down image data 116 in the image data of the third auxiliary frame 110c to the intended resolution 116x*116y.), wherein the second video frame is marked as a no-display frame (i.e., auxiliary frame, paragraph 0010, The auxiliary frame may as be referred to as auxiliary image, auxiliary image item, non-displayed frame …), and wherein the third video frame is an inter-frame referencing the second video frame (fig. 5, S510; paragraph 0061, … the encoder 108 can encode S510 the third frame 112c as an inter frame referencing the third auxiliary frame 110c, wherein motion vectors of the third frame corresponds to the third motion vectors).
Regarding claim 12, Edpalm teaches a computer program for encoding a video stream, configured to, when executed by a processor of a device, cause the device to: (paragraph 0069, … The encoder typically comprises one or several processing units (e.g., a CPU) for encoding the received image data as described above. The CPU may for example be adapted to run software, installed from a computer-readable storage medium, with instructions adapted to carry out the encoding method of any of the above described embodiments when executed by the CPU),
obtaining one or more subsequent images of a scene captured by at least one camera (fig. 1, camera 104 and images 106), and for each of the one or more images:
identifying one or more regions of interest (ROIs) in the image (fig. 3, 302/114);
adding a set of video frames to an encoded video stream (fig. 2, 106a-106c), the set comprising at least three separate video frames comprising:
a first video frame (fig. 2, 110a(1)) encoding at least part of the scene in the image at a lower resolution than a resolution of the at least part of the scene in the image (fig. 5, step S504; paragraph 0061, … scaling down S504 the third image data 106c to achieved third scaled down image data 116), wherein the at least part of the scene includes the one or more ROIs (fig. 3, 302/114) ;
and a third video frame (fig. 2, 110c(5) encoding the one or more ROIs at a higher resolution than a resolution of the one or more ROIs encoded in the first video frame (fig. 5, S508; paragraph 0061, … The encoder then determines S508 third motion vectors (in FIG. 2 schematically illustrated by the arrows in a third frame 112c) corresponding to an upscaling of the third scaled down image data 116 in the image data of the third auxiliary frame 110c to the intended resolution), wherein, for the purpose of creating a reference video frame for encoding of the third video frame, the set of video frames further comprises:
a second video frame being an inter-frame referencing the first video frame (fig. 2, 110b (3)) and including motion vectors for upscaling of the one or more ROIs to a resolution higher than a resolution of the one or more ROIs in the first video frame (paragraph 0061, … determines S508 third motion vectors (in FIG. 2 schematically illustrated by the arrows in a third frame 112c) corresponding to an upscaling of the third scaled down image data 116 in the image data of the third auxiliary frame 110c to the intended resolution 116x*116y.), wherein the second video frame is marked as a no-display frame (i.e., auxiliary frame, paragraph 0010, The auxiliary frame may as be referred to as auxiliary image, auxiliary image item, non-displayed frame …), and wherein the third video frame is an inter-frame referencing the second video frame (fig. 5, S510; paragraph 0061, … the encoder 108 can encode S510 the third frame 112c as an inter frame referencing the third auxiliary frame 110c, wherein motion vectors of the third frame corresponds to the third motion vectors).
Regarding claim 3, Edpalm teaches the limitations recited in claim 1 as discussed above. In addition, Edpalm further discloses that the resolution of the one or more ROIs encoded in the third video frame of the set equals a resolution of the one or more ROIs in the image (fig. 5, S508, scale up the scaled down image to the intended resolution (i.e., after up-down, it equals to the resolution of the one or more ROIs in the image)).
Regarding claim 6, Edpalm teaches the limitations recited in claim 1 as discussed above. In addition, Edpalm further discloses that for at least one set, the first video frame is an inter-frame referencing the first video frame of a previous set (as shown in fig. 5, S514 and S516; if it is the end of GOP, it goes repeat the procedure, such that the first video frame is an inter-frame referencing the first video frame of a previous set).
Regarding claim 7, Edpalm teaches the limitations recited in claim 1 as discussed above. In addition, Edpalm further discloses that for at least one set, the third video frame further references the third video frame of a previous set (as shown in fig. 5, S514 and S516; if it is the end of GOP, it goes repeat the procedure, such that third video frame further references the third video frame of a previous set).
Regarding claim 8, Edpalm teaches the limitations recited in claim 1 as discussed above. In addition, Edpalm further discloses that the method being performed by a same camera used to capture the one or more images of the scene (fig. 1, same camera 104 is used).
Regarding claim 11, Edpalm teaches the limitations recited in claim 9 as discussed above. In addition, Edpalm further discloses that the device is a camera for capturing the one or more images of the scene (fig. 1, camera 104 is used for capturing the one or more images of the scene).
13. Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See form 892.
14. Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZAIHAN JIANG whose telephone number is (571)272-1399. The examiner can normally be reached on flexible.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sath Perungavoor can be reached on (571)272-7455. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-270-0655.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/ZAIHAN JIANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2488
Prosecution Insights