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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 .
Status of the Application
Claims 1-12 are currently pending in this application.
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The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 02/03/2025 was filed. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 02/03/2025 was filed. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 04/08/2025 was filed. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 04/08/2025 was filed. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 04/08/2025 was filed. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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).
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Claims 1-12 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-4 and 6-11 of U.S. Patent No. 11,677,940 in view of Chen et al. (Hereafter, “Chen”) [US 2015/0195559 A1] in further view of JANG et al. (Hereafter, “Jang”) [US 2021/0021840 A1]. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they cover mutually associated subject matter. Thus, a terminal disclaimer is required. An analysis of the claims can be seen in Table 1 below.
Table 1: Instant Application No. 19/043,765 vs. U.S. Patent No. 11,677,940
Instant Application No. 19/043,765 Claims (Difference Emphasis Added)
U.S. Patent No. 11,677,940 Claims (Difference Emphasis Added)
1. An image decoding method comprising: splitting a coding tree unit (CTU) into at least one coding unit (CU) according to a block splitting structure; and performing CU-based decoding, wherein the block splitting structure is configured such that at least one of binary tree splitting and ternary tree splitting is performed after quadtree splitting is performed, wherein the block splitting structure is configured such that: when a size of the coding unit is larger than 64, an implicit quadtree splitting is performed, and when the size of the coding unit is equal to or smaller than 64, an explicit quadtree splitting is performed based on division information signaled from a bitstream, and wherein the block splitting structure is configured such that when the coding unit crosses both a bottom boundary and a right boundary of a picture and the coding unit is larger than a minimum size of a quadtree leaf node, quadtree splitting is implicitly performed, wherein the CU-based decoding is performed based on a prediction mode of the coding unit, and wherein the prediction mode is determined based on a coding parameter obtained from the bitstream.
1. An image decoding method comprising: splitting a coding tree unit (CTU) into at least one coding unit (CU) according to a block splitting structure; and performing CU-based decoding, and wherein the block splitting structure is configured such that: at least one of binary tree splitting and ternary tree splitting is performed after quadtree splitting is performed, when a size of the coding unit is larger than a predefined size, an implicit quadtree splitting is performed, and when the size of the coding unit is equal to or smaller than the predefined size, an explicit splitting is performed, wherein the explicit splitting is performed based on signaled information, wherein the block splitting structure is configured such that, when the coding unit crosses both a lower boundary and a right boundary of a picture and the coding unit is larger than a minimum size of a quadtree leaf node, quadtree splitting is implicitly performed.
2. The image decoding method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined size is 64.
2. The image decoding method according to claim 1, wherein the block splitting structure is configured such that, after performing ternary tree splitting, binary tree splitting in the same direction as the ternary tree splitting for a center block among the blocks, which are divided by the ternary tree splitting, is not allowed.
3. The image decoding method according to claim 1, wherein the block splitting structure is configured such that, after performing ternary tree splitting, binary tree splitting in the same direction as the ternary tree splitting for a center block among the blocks, which are divided by the ternary tree splitting, is not allowed.
3. The image decoding method according to claim 1, wherein the block splitting structure is determined on the basis of at least one of a first flag indicating whether or not quadtree splitting needs to be performed, a second flag indicating whether or not binary/ternary tree splitting needs to be performed, a third flag indicating either a vertical split or a horizontal split, and a fourth flag indicating either the binary tree splitting or the ternary tree splitting.
4. The image decoding method according to claim 1, wherein the block splitting structure is determined on the basis of at least one of the first flag, a second flag indicating whether or not binary/ternary tree splitting needs to be performed, a third flag indicating either a vertical split or a horizontal split, and a fourth flag indicating either the binary tree splitting or the ternary tree splitting.
4. The image decoding method according to claim 1, wherein the block splitting structure is configured such that, when the height of the coding unit is greater than 64 and the width of the coding unit is same as 64, vertical binary tree splitting is not allowed.
6. The image decoding method according to claim 1, wherein the block splitting structure is configured such that, when the height of the coding unit is greater than a predetermined size and the width of the coding unit is same as the predefined size, vertical binary tree splitting is not allowed.
2. The image decoding method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined size is 64.
5. The image decoding method according to claim 1, wherein the block splitting structure is configured such that, when the width of the coding unit is greater than 64 and the height of the coding unit is same as 64, horizontal binary tree splitting is not allowed.
7. The image decoding method according to claim 1, wherein the block splitting structure is configured such that, when the width of the coding unit is greater than a predetermined size and the height of the coding unit is same as the predefined size, horizontal binary tree splitting is not allowed.
2. The image decoding method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined size is 64.
6. The image decoding method according to claim 1, wherein when the coding tree unit is included in an intra slice, the block splitting structure of a luma signal of the coding tree unit and the block splitting structure of a chroma signal of the coding tree unit are independently determined of each other.
8. The image decoding method according to claim 1, wherein when the coding tree unit is included in an intra slice, the block splitting structure of a luma signal of the coding tree unit and the block splitting structure of a chroma signal of the coding tree unit are independently determined of each other.
7. The image decoding method according to claim 1, wherein the division information includes minimum size information of a quadtree leaf node.
8. The image decoding method according to claim 7, wherein the minimum size information of the quadtree leaf node is obtained for each of a luma signal and a chroma signal.
Claim 9 is the same as claim 1 in encoding form.
Claim 9 is the same as claim 1 in encoding form.
Claim 10 is the same as claim 3 in encoding form.
Claim 10 is the same as claim 4 in encoding form.
Claim 11 is the same as claim 6 in encoding form.
Claim 11 is the same as claim 8 in encoding form.
12. A method of transmitting a bitstream generated by an encoding method, the method comprising: splitting a coding tree unit (CTU) into at least one coding unit (CU) according to a block splitting structure; and performing CU-based encoding, wherein the block splitting structure is configured such that at least one of binary tree splitting and ternary tree splitting is performed after quadtree splitting is performed, wherein the block splitting structure is configured such that: when a size of the coding unit is larger than 64, an implicit quadtree splitting is performed and division information for the implicit quadtree splitting is not encoded into the bitstream, and when the size of the coding unit is equal to or smaller than 64, an explicit quadtree splitting is performed and division information for the explicit quadtree splitting is encoded into the bitstream, wherein the block splitting structure is configured such that when the coding unit crosses both a bottom boundary and a right boundary of a picture and the coding unit is larger than a minimum size of a quadtree leaf node, quadtree splitting is implicitly performed, wherein the CU-based encoding is performed based on a prediction mode of the coding unit, and wherein a coding parameter indicating the prediction mode is encoded into the bitstream.
1. An image decoding method comprising: splitting a coding tree unit (CTU) into at least one coding unit (CU) according to a block splitting structure; and performing CU-based decoding, and wherein the block splitting structure is configured such that: at least one of binary tree splitting and ternary tree splitting is performed after quadtree splitting is performed, when a size of the coding unit is larger than a predefined size, an implicit quadtree splitting is performed, and when the size of the coding unit is equal to or smaller than the predefined size, an explicit splitting is performed, wherein the explicit splitting is performed based on signaled information, wherein the block splitting structure is configured such that, when the coding unit crosses both a lower boundary and a right boundary of a picture and the coding unit is larger than a minimum size of a quadtree leaf node, quadtree splitting is implicitly performed.
2. The image decoding method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined size is 64.
In regards to claim 12 of the instant application and claim 1 of the U.S. Patent, they are obvious variants of each other because encoding is the opposite of decoding and vice versa. In fact, neither can work without the other.
The U.S. Patent discloses a lower boundary which is interchangeable in definition with the instant application’s bottom boundary.
The U.S. Patent fails to explicitly disclose wherein the block splitting structure is configured such that: an explicit quadtree splitting is performed based on division information signaled from a bitstream, and wherein the CU-based decoding is performed based on a prediction mode of the coding unit, and wherein the prediction mode is determined based on a coding parameter obtained from the bitstream; wherein the block splitting structure is determined on the basis of at least one of a first flag indicating whether or not quadtree splitting needs to be performed; wherein the division information includes minimum size information of a quadtree leaf node; wherein the minimum size information of the quadtree leaf node is obtained for each of a luma signal and a chroma signal; a method of transmitting a bitstream generated by an encoding method, the method comprising: wherein the CU-based encoding is performed based on a prediction mode of the coding unit, and wherein a coding parameter indicating the prediction mode is encoded into the bitstream.
Chen discloses wherein the block splitting structure is configured such that: an explicit quadtree splitting is performed based on division information signaled from a bitstream ([0062] Each node of the quadtree data structure may provide syntax data for the corresponding CU. For example, a node in the quadtree may include a split flag, indicating whether the CU corresponding to the node is split into sub-CUs. [0064] Syntax data associated with a CU may also describe, for example, partitioning of the CU into one or more TUs according to a quadtree.), and wherein the CU-based decoding is performed based on a prediction mode of the coding unit, and wherein the prediction mode is determined based on a coding parameter obtained from the bitstream ([0191] During the decoding process, video decoder 30 receives an encoded video bitstream that represents video blocks of an encoded video slice and associated syntax elements from video encoder. [0192] Entropy decoding unit 380 forwards the vectors and other syntax elements to prediction processing unit 381. Video decoder 30 may receive the syntax elements at the sequence level, the picture level, the video slice level and/or the video block level. [0193] When the video slice is coded as an intra-coded (I) slice, intra prediction processing unit 384 of prediction processing unit 381 may generate prediction data for a video block of the current video slice based on a signaled intra prediction mode and data from previously decoded blocks of the current frame or picture.); wherein the block splitting structure is determined on the basis of at least one of a first flag indicating whether or not quadtree splitting needs to be performed ([0062] Each node of the quadtree data structure may provide syntax data for the corresponding CU. For example, a node in the quadtree may include a split flag, indicating whether the CU corresponding to the node is split into sub-CUs. [0064] Syntax data associated with a CU may also describe, for example, partitioning of the CU into one or more TUs according to a quadtree.); wherein the division information includes minimum size information of a quadtree leaf node ([0062] If a CU is not split further, it is referred as a leaf-CU. Syntax data associated with a coded bitstream may define a maximum number of times a treeblock may be split, referred to as a maximum CU depth, and may also define a minimum size of the coding nodes.); a method of transmitting a bitstream generated by an encoding method ([0183] the encoded video bitstream may be transmitted to video decoder 30), the method comprising: wherein the CU-based encoding is performed based on a prediction mode of the coding unit, and wherein a coding parameter indicating the prediction mode is encoded into the bitstream ([0116] In some examples, video encoder 20 may encode a flag, e.g., an IntraMC_flag or IntraBC_flag, to indicate to video decoder 30 whether a video block, e.g., CU, is encoded using the mode for predicting current video blocks based on predictive video blocks in the same picture, which may be referred to as the IntraMC or IntraBC mode. The flag may be a 1-bit flag whose value indicates whether or not one or more CUs, or other blocks or units, are encoded using the IntraMC or IntraBC mode, e.g., as described herein.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention with the signaling of split flag and prediction mode in the coded bitstream as taught by Chen in order to improve the encoding, prediction, reconstruction, and decoding accuracy of the system [See Chen].
Jang discloses wherein the minimum size information of the quadtree leaf node is obtained for each of a luma signal and a chroma signal ([0130] In order to determine the split of a quadtree in the QTBT structure, the encoder signals a split flag to the decoder. In this case, the quadtree split may be adjusted (or limited) by a MinQTLumalSLice, MinQTChromaISlice or MinQTNonISlice value. In this case, MinQTLumalSLice indicates a minimum size of a quadtree leaf node of a luma component in an I-slice, MinQTLumaChromaISlice indicates a minimum size of a quadtree leaf node of a chroma component in the I-slice, and MinQTNonISlice indicates a minimum size of a quadtree leaf node in a non I-slice.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention with the signaling of the minimum size of a quadtree leaf node of a luma component and a chroma component as taught by Jang in order to determine the split of a quadtree in the QTBT structure [See Jang].
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/KAITLIN A RETALLICK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2482