DETAILED ACTION
This is the First Action on the Merits for U.S. Patent Application No. 18/989,464, filed 20 December 2024, which is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/CN2023/106305, filed 7 July 2023, and claims foreign priority to Chinese Application No. CN 202211008936.X, filed 22 August 2022.
Claims 1–20 are pending.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Objections
Claims 4 and 14 are objected to because of the following informality: in the final indentation, “belonging” should be “belongs”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claims 6 and 16 are objected to because of the following informality: in the third indentation, “belonging” should be “belongs”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claims 2 and 12 are objected to for want of conformity to 37 C.F.R. § 1.75(i), which requires each element or step in a claim to be separated by a line indentation. Appropriate correction is required. Specifically, the third indentation contains two distinct limitations.
Claims 9 and 19 are objected to for want of conformity to 37 C.F.R. § 1.75(i), which requires each element or step in a claim to be separated by a line indentation. Appropriate correction is required. Specifically, the second indentation contains two distinct limitations.
A series of singular dependent claims is permissible in which a dependent claim refers to a preceding claim which, in turn, refers to another preceding claim.
A claim which depends from a dependent claim should not be separated by any claim which does not also depend from said dependent claim. It should be kept in mind that a dependent claim may refer to any preceding independent claim. In general, applicant's sequence will not be changed. See M.P.E.P. § 608.01(n). This is informative only; Applicant need not renumber claims at this time.
Claim Rejections - 35 U.S.C. § 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.
Claims 1–5, 8, 11–15, 18, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2021/0029187 A1 (“Oh”).
Oh, directed to point cloud data transmission in a bitstream, teaches with respect to claim 1 an immersive media data processing method, performed by a computer device, comprising:
obtaining a media file resource of immersive media (Fig. 1, ¶ 0111–113; receiver 10005 receives bitstream containing encapsulated point cloud video data);
decapsulating the media file resource to obtain a point cloud bitstream (¶ 0113, receiver 10005 performs decapsulation operation) comprising a plurality of point cloud frames (¶¶ 0109, 0123; point cloud video having one or more frames) and slice information indicating one or more point cloud slices in a point cloud frame (¶ 0234, slice data in the bitstream); and
decoding the point cloud bitstream based on the slice information (¶¶ 0112, 0114; point cloud video decoder 10006 decodes the point cloud video data bitstream).
Regarding claim 2, Oh teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the slice information comprises a first frame identification field (Fig. 33, frame_idx), a multi-slice identification field (id., gps_implicit_geom_partition_flag), and a slice number field (id., gsh_slice_id),
wherein the first frame identification field, the multi-slice identification field, and the slice number field are included in a geometry header corresponding to the point cloud frame (id., geometry slice header containing frame_idx, gps_implicit_geom_partition_flag and gs_slice_id)
wherein the first frame identification field indicates a first identifier of the point cloud frame (id., frame_idx), and
the multi-slice identification field indicates whether the point cloud frame comprises a plurality of point cloud slices (id., ¶ 0401; gps_implicit_geom_partition_flag indicates if the slice is partitioned),
wherein, based on a first value of the multi-slice identification field being a first flag value, the point cloud frame comprises the plurality of point cloud slices (id.), and
a difference between a number of the plurality of point cloud slices and a field value of the slice number field is a non-negative integer (id., at least two slices if gps_implicit_geom_partition_flag is equal to 1), and
wherein, based on the first value being a second flag value, the point cloud frame comprises one point cloud slice (id., partitioning disabled if gps_implicit_geom_partition_flag equals 0).
Regarding claim 3, Oh teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the slice information comprises a second frame identification field (¶ 0368, known_attribute_layer = 2 indicates that i-th attribute is a frame index; Fig. 58, ¶ 0737, attribute slice), and
wherein the second frame identification field is included in an attribute header corresponding to the point cloud frame (Fig. 36, ¶ 0490; assh_attr_sps_idx field), and
the second identification frame identification field includes a first identifier of the point cloud frame (¶ 0368, known_attribute_layer = 2 indicates that i-th attribute is frame index).
Regarding claim 4, Oh teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the slice information comprises a third frame identification field (Fig. 33, frame_idx in geometry slice header),
wherein the third frame identification field is included in a geometry slice header related to the point cloud frame (id.), and
the third frame identification field identifies a first identifier of the point cloud frame to which a target point cloud slice corresponding to the geometry slice header belongs (id.), and
wherein the target point cloud slice belonging [sic] to the one or more point cloud slices (id., gsh_slice_id).
Regarding claim 5, Oh teaches the method according to claim 4, wherein the geometry slice header comprises a first slice identification field indicating the target point cloud slice (Fig. 33, gsh_slice_id in geometry slice header),
wherein, based on the geometry slice header being added in geometry data bitstream information related to the target point cloud slice, the geometry slice header is associated with geometry data corresponding to the target point cloud slice (id., syntax of geometry slice header as a whole), and
wherein, based on the first slice identification field indicating the target point cloud slice exists in the geometry data, the geometry slice header is associated with the geometry data (id., gsh_slice_id and other geometry data in geometry slice header).
Regarding claim 8, Oh teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the one or more point cloud slices in the point cloud frame are encapsulated in T slice tracks, T being a first positive integer (Fig. 58, ¶ 0736; geometry, attribute, and metadata slice tracks),
wherein the T slice tracks comprise a slice track Ti, i being a second positive integer less than or equal to T (id., tracks 1 to N), and
wherein the media file resource comprises a slice track entry corresponding to the slice track Ti, and the slice track sample entry indicates slice encapsulation information on the Slice track Ti (id.,, ¶ 0576, moov box).
Regarding claim 11, Oh teaches an immersive media data processing apparatus, comprising:
at least one memory configured to store computer program code (¶ 0218, decoder implemented by processor executing software programs or instructions stored in memory); and
at least one processor configured to read the program code and operate as instructed by the program code (id.), the program code comprising:
[the claim 1 method] (claim 1 rejection supra).
Regarding claim 12, Oh teaches the apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the slice information comprises a first frame identification field (Fig. 33, frame_idx), a multi-slice identification field (id., gps_implicit_geom_partition_flag), and a slice number field (id., gsh_slice_id),
wherein the first frame identification field, the multi-slice identification field, and the slice number field are included in a geometry header corresponding to the point cloud frame (id., geometry slice header containing frame_idx, gps_implicit_geom_partition_flag and gs_slice_id)
wherein the first frame identification field indicates a first identifier of the point cloud frame (id., frame_idx), and
the multi-slice identification field indicates whether the point cloud frame comprises a plurality of point cloud slices (id., ¶ 0401; gps_implicit_geom_partition_flag indicates if the slice is partitioned),
wherein, based on a first value of the multi-slice identification field being a first flag value, the point cloud frame comprises the plurality of point cloud slices (id.), and
a difference between a number of the plurality of point cloud slices and a field value of the slice number field is a non-negative integer (id., at least two slices if gps_implicit_geom_partition_flag is equal to 1), and
wherein, based on the first value being a second flag value, the point cloud frame comprises one point cloud slice (id., partitioning disabled if gps_implicit_geom_partition_flag equals 0).
Regarding claim 13, Oh teaches the apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the slice information comprises a third frame identification field (Fig. 33, frame_idx in geometry slice header),
wherein the third frame identification field is included in a geometry slice header related to the point cloud frame (id.), and
the third frame identification field identifies a first identifier of the point cloud frame to which a target point cloud slice corresponding to the geometry slice header belongs (id.), and
wherein the target point cloud slice belonging [sic] to the one or more point cloud slices (id., gsh_slice_id).
Regarding claim 14, Oh teaches the apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the slice information comprises a third frame identification field (Fig. 33, frame_idx in geometry slice header),
wherein the third frame identification field is included in a geometry slice header related to the point cloud frame (id.), and
the third frame identification field identifies a first identifier of the point cloud frame to which a target point cloud slice corresponding to the geometry slice header belongs (id.), and
wherein the target point cloud slice belonging [sic] to the one or more point cloud slices (id., gsh_slice_id).
Regarding claim 15, Oh teaches the apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the geometry slice header comprises a first slice identification field indicating the target point cloud slice (Fig. 33, gsh_slice_id in geometry slice header),
wherein, based on the geometry slice header being added in geometry data bitstream information related to the target point cloud slice, the geometry slice header is associated with geometry data corresponding to the target point cloud slice (id., syntax of geometry slice header as a whole), and
wherein, based on the first slice identification field indicating the target point cloud slice exists in the geometry data, the geometry slice header is associated with the geometry data (id., gsh_slice_id and other geometry data in geometry slice header).
Regarding claim 18, Oh teaches the apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the one or more point cloud slices in the point cloud frame are encapsulated in T slice tracks, T being a first positive integer (Fig. 58, ¶ 0736; geometry, attribute, and metadata slice tracks),
wherein the T slice tracks comprise a slice track Ti, i being a second positive integer less than or equal to T (id., tracks 1 to N), and
wherein the media file resource comprises a slice track entry corresponding to the slice track Ti, and the slice track sample entry indicates slice encapsulation information on the Slice track Ti (id.,, ¶ 0576, moov box).
Regarding claim 20, Oh teaches a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, storing computer code, which, when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to (¶ 0218, decoder implemented by processor executing software programs or instructions stored in memory) at least:
[perform the claim 1 method] (claim 1 rejection supra).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6, 9, 16, and 19 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome objections for informalities set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 7, 10, and 17 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
With respect to claims 6 and 16, closest prior art Oh does not teach if the claim 2 first value is the first flag value (that is, indicating a plurality of point cloud slices), the attribute slice header includes a “reflectance attribute quantization parameter offset”. Oh teaches an attribute slice header attribute region quantization parameter delta dependent on an attribute slice header region quantization parameter delta present flag (Fig. 33), an attribute parameter set attribute chroma quantization parameter offset field in an attribute parameter set (Fig. 28), and geometric slice quantization parameter offset syntax in the geometry slice header dependent on a geometric scaling enabled flag (Fig. 33), but not a reflectance attribute quantization parameter offset specifically, or dependent on the slice being partitioned or a plurality of point cloud slices as signalled in a geometry header. Closest prior art US 2021/0209811 A1 teaches a reflectance attribute for point cloud coding, but not this specific syntax. Claims 7 and 17 are dependent respectively on claims 6 and 16.
With respect to claims 9 and 19, the claims require a slice track sample entry comprising a dynamic slice field indicating a change status of the slice encapsulation information, a slice maximum number field, and a third slice identification field. Oh teaches different slice tracks with different functions, not one slice track with this complete syntax.
The conclusory statements in the First Office Action for corresponding application CN 202011030289.3 that the various dependent claims all are directed to “conventional choices that can be made by a person skilled in the art as needed” do not meet American standards for claim analysis. CN 115396647 A1, cited as an ‘X’ reference for corresponding application PCT/CN2023/106305, is itself the corresponding Chinese application and is not prior art nor creates disclaimer of right under United States law. CN 114257816 B, cited as an ‘X’ reference for the corresponding PCT application, claims listed inventor Hu Ying as its sole inventor and was first published on 29 March 2022, within one year of the present application’s effective filing date of 22 August 2022, and so does not qualify as prior art in the United States under the 35 U.S.C. § 102(b)(1)(A) exemption.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29/WG 7 document N00314: “G-PCC 2nd Edition codec description” (21 June 2022)
ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29/WG 7 document N00721: “G-PCC codec description v12” (12 April 2022)
The following prior art was found using a so-called “Super Intelligence”1 assisted search using an internal tool that uses the classification of the application under the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) system, as well as from the specification, including the claims and abstract, of the application as contextual information. The documents are ranked from most to least relevant. Where possible, English-language equivalents are given, and redundant results within the same patent families are eliminated. See “New Artificial Intelligence Functionality in PE2E Search”, 1504 OG 359 (15 November 2022), “Automated Search Pilot Program”, 90 Fed. Reg. 48,161 (8 October 2025).
US 2022/0329840 A1
US 2023/0036189 A1
US 2022/0408104 A1
US 2014/0086306 A1
US 2005/0053158 A1
US 2022/0394302 A1
US 2022/0408093 A1
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to David N Werner whose telephone number is (571)272-9662. The examiner can normally be reached M--F 7:30--4:00 Central.
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/David N Werner/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2487
1 Exec. Order No. 14434, 91 Fed. Reg. 63,129 (29 Sept. 2026).
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