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 .
Claims 1-20 are pending for examination.
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 parent Application No. 16/768,035, filed on 05/28/2020.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 01/02/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(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 1-2, 13-14, are 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kondo (US 20130216150 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Kondo teaches a decoding method, comprising:
determining a prediction mode for a target block (The intra prediction unit 23 then determines the intra prediction mode with the smallest cost function value to be the optimum intra prediction mode. [0138]); and
performing a prediction for the target block using a reference pixel determined by the prediction block ([0230] In step S55, based on the number of reference pixels determined in step S54 and the position of the generation target predicted pixel in the reference image, the reference image read unit 41 reads the reference pixels to be used in generating the prediction-associated pixel among the reference pixels stored in step S52. The reference image read unit 41 then supplies the read reference pixels to the pixel sorter unit 42.).
Regarding claim 2, Kondo teaches the decoding method of claim 1, wherein the reference pixel comprises a first reference pixel and a second reference pixel, and
the first reference pixel and the second reference pixel are determined by a direction of the prediction mode ([0449] In step S314, the reference image read unit 220 determines two, three, four, five, or six to be the number of reference pixels to be used in generating a prediction-associated pixel, based on the position of the generation target predicted pixel in the predicted image, the motion vector, the size of the inter prediction block, and the predicting direction.).
Regarding claim 13, Kondo teaches a encoding method, comprising:
determining a prediction mode for a target block (The intra prediction unit 23 then determines the intra prediction mode with the smallest cost function value to be the optimum intra prediction mode. [0138]); and
performing a prediction for the target block using a reference pixel determined by the prediction block ([0230] In step S55, based on the number of reference pixels determined in step S54 and the position of the generation target predicted pixel in the reference image, the reference image read unit 41 reads the reference pixels to be used in generating the prediction-associated pixel among the reference pixels stored in step S52. The reference image read unit 41 then supplies the read reference pixels to the pixel sorter unit 42.).
Regarding claim 14, Kondo teaches the encoding method of claim 13, wherein the reference pixel comprises a first reference pixel and a second reference pixel, and
the first reference pixel and the second reference pixel are determined by a direction of the prediction mode ([0449] In step S314, the reference image read unit 220 determines two, three, four, five, or six to be the number of reference pixels to be used in generating a prediction-associated pixel, based on the position of the generation target predicted pixel in the predicted image, the motion vector, the size of the inter prediction block, and the predicting direction.).
Regarding claim 19, Kondo teaches a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a bitstream generated by the encoding method of claim 13 ([0758] The above described encoding operation and decoding operation can be performed with hardware, and can also be performed with software. Where encoding operations and decoding operations are performed with software, a program that forms the software is installed into a general-purpose computer or the like.).
Regarding claim 20, Kondo teaches a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a bitstream ([0758] The above described encoding operation and decoding operation can be performed with hardware, and can also be performed with software. Where encoding operations and decoding operations are performed with software, a program that forms the software is installed into a general-purpose computer or the like.), the bitstream comprising:
encoded information for a target block;
wherein a decoding for the target block is performed using the encoded information (The image signal processing unit 814 supplies the encoded data generated by encoding the image signal to a decoder 815. [0868]),
a prediction mode for the target block is determined ((The intra prediction unit 23 then determines the intra prediction mode with the smallest cost function value to be the optimum intra prediction mode. [0138]), and
a prediction for the target block using a reference pixel determined by the prediction block is performed ([0230] In step S55, based on the number of reference pixels determined in step S54 and the position of the generation target predicted pixel in the reference image, the reference image read unit 41 reads the reference pixels to be used in generating the prediction-associated pixel among the reference pixels stored in step S52. The reference image read unit 41 then supplies the read reference pixels to the pixel sorter unit 42.)
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.
Claims 3-8, 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kondo in view of Filippov (US 20190238838 A1).
Regarding claim 3, Kondo teaches the decoding method of claim 2. Kondo does not teach the following limitations, however, in an analogous art, Filippov teaches wherein the prediction is performed using a first weight value for a first reference value determined by the first reference pixel and a second weight value for a second reference value determined by the second reference pixel ([0056] In an embodiment, the intra prediction unit 103 is configured to intra predict the pixel value of the current pixel of the current video coding block on the basis of: a product of a first weight with the first reference pixel value, wherein the first weight is based on the distance between the current pixel and the first reference pixel and the distance between the current pixel and the second reference pixel, and a product of a second weight with the second reference pixel value, wherein the second weight is based on the distance between the current pixel and the first reference pixel and the distance between the current pixel and the second reference pixel.).
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to take the teachings of Filippov and apply them to Kondo. One would be motivated as such as an improved apparatus for video coding is provided, which allows increasing the coding efficiency for intra prediction.
Regarding claim 4, Kondo in view of Filippov teaches the decoding method of claim 3, Filippov teaches wherein the first weight value is determined based on a distance between a target pixel of the target block and the first reference pixel, and
the second weight value is determined based on a distance between the target pixel and the second reference pixel ([0056] In an embodiment, the intra prediction unit 103 is configured to intra predict the pixel value of the current pixel of the current video coding block on the basis of: a product of a first weight with the first reference pixel value, wherein the first weight is based on the distance between the current pixel and the first reference pixel and the distance between the current pixel and the second reference pixel, and a product of a second weight with the second reference pixel value, wherein the second weight is based on the distance between the current pixel and the first reference pixel and the distance between the current pixel and the second reference pixel.). The same motivation used to combine Kondo in view of Filippov in claim 3 is applicable.
Regarding claim 5, Kondo in view of Filippov teaches the decoding method of claim 4, Filippov teaches wherein the first weight value and the second weight value are determined based on the direction (the reference pixel unit is configured to adjust the weights w.sub.grad[k] and/or w.sub.int[k] depending on the direction). The same motivation used to combine Kondo in view of Filippov in claim 3 is applicable.
Regarding claim 6, Kondo teaches the decoding method of claim 2. Kondo does not teach the following limitations, however, in an analogous art, Filippov teaches wherein the direction is a diagonal direction (The reference pixel unit 101 according to embodiments of the invention uses a combination of two components, namely gradually interpolated pixel values or components and directionally predicted pixel values or components, i.e. pixels predicted on the basis of a directional prediction, as provided, for instance, by the 33 directional modes defined in the HEVC/H.265 standard. [0079]).
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to take the teachings of Filippov and apply them to Kondo. One would be motivated as such as an improved apparatus for video coding is provided, which allows increasing the coding efficiency for intra prediction.
Regarding claim 7, Kondo teaches the decoding method of claim 2. Kondo does not teach the following limitations, however, in an analogous art, Filippov teaches wherein the prediction is performed by a plurality of different prediction methods (The reference pixel unit 101 according to embodiments of the invention uses a combination of two components, namely gradually interpolated pixel values or components and directionally predicted pixel values or components, i.e. pixels predicted on the basis of a directional prediction, as provided, for instance, by the 33 directional modes defined in the HEVC/H.265 standard. [0079]).
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to take the teachings of Filippov and apply them to Kondo. One would be motivated as such as an improved apparatus for video coding is provided, which allows increasing the coding efficiency for intra prediction.
Regarding claim 8, Kondo teaches the decoding method of claim 1. Kondo does not teach the following limitations, however, in an analogous art, Filippov teaches wherein the reference pixel comprises a first reference pixel and a second reference pixel,
the first reference pixel and the second reference pixel are not adjacent to the target block,
a X coordinate of the first reference pixel and a X coordinate of the second reference pixel are different to each other, and
a Y coordinate of the first reference pixel and a Y coordinate of the second reference pixel are different to each other ([0088] In an embodiment, which is illustrated on the basis of the exemplary video coding block shown in FIG. 9, the reference pixel unit 101 of the apparatus 100 is configured to determine a corresponding secondary reference pixel for this average pixel value by projecting of the point located at the middle of the currently processed video coding block to the positions of the secondary reference pixels.).
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to take the teachings of Filippov and apply them to Kondo. One would be motivated as such as an improved apparatus for video coding is provided, which allows increasing the coding efficiency for intra prediction.
Regarding claim 15, Kondo teaches the encoding method of claim 14. Kondo does not teach the following limitations, however, in an analogous art, Filippov teaches wherein the prediction is performed using a first weight value for a first reference value determined by the first reference pixel and a second weight value for a second reference value determined by the second reference pixel ([0056] In an embodiment, the intra prediction unit 103 is configured to intra predict the pixel value of the current pixel of the current video coding block on the basis of: a product of a first weight with the first reference pixel value, wherein the first weight is based on the distance between the current pixel and the first reference pixel and the distance between the current pixel and the second reference pixel, and a product of a second weight with the second reference pixel value, wherein the second weight is based on the distance between the current pixel and the first reference pixel and the distance between the current pixel and the second reference pixel.)
the first weight value is determined based on a distance between a target pixel of the target block and the first reference pixel, and
the second weight value is determined based on a distance between the target pixel and the second reference pixel ([0056] In an embodiment, the intra prediction unit 103 is configured to intra predict the pixel value of the current pixel of the current video coding block on the basis of: a product of a first weight with the first reference pixel value, wherein the first weight is based on the distance between the current pixel and the first reference pixel and the distance between the current pixel and the second reference pixel, and a product of a second weight with the second reference pixel value, wherein the second weight is based on the distance between the current pixel and the first reference pixel and the distance between the current pixel and the second reference pixel.). The same motivation used to combine Kondo in view of Filippov in claim 3 is applicable.
Regarding claim 16, Kondo in view of Filippov teaches the encoding method of claim 13, Filippov teaches wherein the first weight value and the second weight value are determined based on the direction (the reference pixel unit is configured to adjust the weights w.sub.grad[k] and/or w.sub.int[k] depending on the direction). The same motivation used to combine Kondo in view of Filippov in claim 3 is applicable.
Regarding claim 17, Kondo teaches the encoding method of claim 13. Kondo does not teach the following limitations, however, in an analogous art, Filippov teaches wherein the reference pixel comprises a first reference pixel and a second reference pixel,
the first reference pixel and the second reference pixel are not adjacent to the target block,
a X coordinate of the first reference pixel and a X coordinate of the second reference pixel are different to each other, and
a Y coordinate of the first reference pixel and a Y coordinate of the second reference pixel are different to each other ([0088] In an embodiment, which is illustrated on the basis of the exemplary video coding block shown in FIG. 9, the reference pixel unit 101 of the apparatus 100 is configured to determine a corresponding secondary reference pixel for this average pixel value by projecting of the point located at the middle of the currently processed video coding block to the positions of the secondary reference pixels.).
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to take the teachings of Filippov and apply them to Kondo. One would be motivated as such as an improved apparatus for video coding is provided, which allows increasing the coding efficiency for intra prediction.
Claims 9-12, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kondo in view of Lee (US 20190116381 A1).
Regarding claim 9, Kondo teaches the decoding method of claim 1. Kondo does not teach the following limitations, however, in an analogous art, Lee teaches wherein it is determined whether at least one first prediction mode is used as intra prediction mode for the target block or not,
a list comprising one or more second prediction modes is used for the prediction for the target block in a case that it is determined that the at least one first prediction mode is not used for the target block, and
the at least one first prediction mode is not comprised in the list ([0245] An intra-prediction modes of one of top neighboring blocks and left neighboring blocks may be used when generating MPM candidates, while the other may not be available when generating MPM candidates).
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to take the teachings of Filippov and apply them to Kondo. One would be motivated as such as an efficient intra-prediction may be performed for an encoding/decoding target block.
Regarding claim 10, Kondo in view of Lee teaches the decoding method of claim 9. Lee teaches wherein the one or more second prediction modes in the list are derived based on a prediction mode of a neighbor block of the target block ([0245] An intra-prediction modes of one of top neighboring blocks and left neighboring blocks may be used when generating MPM candidates, while the other may not be available when generating MPM candidates).The same motivation used to combine Kondo in view of Lee in claim 9 is applicable.
Regarding claim 11, Kondo in view of Lee teaches the decoding method of claim 10. Lee teaches wherein it is determined whether to perform the prediction using a list including one or more Most Probable Modes (MPMs),
the prediction is performed using a selected remaining mode which a remaining mode indicator indicates among remaining modes in a case that the prediction is not performed using the list, the remaining modes don't includes the MPMs, and a value of the remaining mode indicator is binarized using a truncated binary coding method (For example, assuming that 67 intra-prediction modes are used and 6 MPM candidates are used, a remaining mode should be long enough to represent 61 intra-prediction modes. For example, when a remaining mode is assumed to be encoded as a fixed length, the remaining mode should have a length of at least 6 bits to represent the 61 intra-prediction modes. [0262]). The same motivation used to combine Kondo in view of Lee in claim 9 is applicable.
Regarding claim 12, Kondo in view of Lee teaches the decoding method of claim 11. Lee teaches wherein the number of the remaining modes are 61,
the remaining mode indicator is decoded from one of a plurality of truncated binaries,
the plurality of truncated binaries are used to indicate the 61 remaining modes, respectively, and
the plurality of truncated binaries for the 61 remaining modes are "00000", "00001 ' "00010", "000110", "000111", "001000", "001001 " "001010", "001011", "001100, "001101", "001110", "001111", "010000". "010001", "010010", "010011" "010100", "010101", "010110", "010111", "011000", "011001", "011010", "011011", "011100", "011101", "011110", "011111", "100000", "100001", "100010", "100011", "100100", "100101", "100110", "100111", "101000", "101001", "101010", "101011", "101100", "101101", "101110", "101111", "110000", "110001", "110010", "110011", "110100", "110101", "11110", "110111", "11100110", "111001", "111010". "111011" "111100", "111101", "111110" and "111111" ([0262] When an extended intra-prediction mode is used, as a number of intra-prediction modes increases, a number of bits used for encoding a remaining mode may also increase. For example, assuming that 67 intra-prediction modes are used and 6 MPM candidates are used, a remaining mode should be long enough to represent 61 intra-prediction modes. For example, when a remaining mode is assumed to be encoded as a fixed length, the remaining mode should have a length of at least 6 bits to represent the 61 intra-prediction modes.). The same motivation used to combine Kondo in view of Lee in claim 9 is applicable.
Regarding claim 18, Kondo teaches the encoding method of claim 13. Kondo does not teach the following limitations, however, in an analogous art, Lee teaches wherein it is determined whether at least one first prediction mode is used as intra prediction mode for the target block or not,
a list comprising one or more second prediction modes is used for the prediction for the target block in a case that it is determined that the at least one first prediction mode is not used for the target block, and
the at least one first prediction mode is not comprised in the list ([0245] An intra-prediction modes of one of top neighboring blocks and left neighboring blocks may be used when generating MPM candidates, while the other may not be available when generating MPM candidates).
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to take the teachings of Filippov and apply them to Kondo. One would be motivated as such as an efficient intra-prediction may be performed for an encoding/decoding target block.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HESHAM K ABOUZAHRA whose telephone number is (571)270-0425. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5.
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/HESHAM K ABOUZAHRA/ Examiner, Art Unit 2486