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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-4 have been considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Claim(s) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (Zhang) (US 2017/0150186) in view of Zhou (US 2014/0086330), and further in view of Sjoberg et al. (Sjoberg) (US 2015/0117538).
Regarding claim 1, Zhang discloses a method of decoding a current image with a decoding apparatus, comprising:
receiving a bitstream in which the current image is encoded ([0007], the encoded bit stream is received at a decoder);
dividing the current image based on a plurality of division types pre-defined in the decoding apparatus (FIG. 9, division types 2NxhN; NxN, 2Nx2N, hNx2N); and
decoding the divided current image based on coding information extracted from the bitstream ([0084], syntax information is used for decoding), wherein the decoding the divided current image comprises:
obtaining a current block to which a same intra prediction mode is applied (FIG. 29, [0054], [0092], a same prediction mode is applied, [0125], short distance intra prediction);
dividing the current block into four sub-blocks having the same size with each other using three horizonal lines (FIG. 9, block 78) or three vertical lines (FIG. 9, hNx2N); and
predicting each of the four sub-blocks ([0124], each sub block is used as a unit for prediction),
wherein the current image is divided into the plurality of division units (FIG. 9, the image is partitioned).
Zhang is silent about wherein the current image is divided into the plurality of division units based on first division information extracted from the bitstream, and wherein the first division information includes information on a number of the division units belonging to the current image, information on positions of the division units, and information on a size of the division units, and wherein the information on a size of the division units includes a first syntax element indicating a width of each of the division units and a second syntax element indicating a height of each of the division units, and the information is signaled for each of the plurality of division units, the first syntax element and the second syntax elements being different.
Zhou from the same or similar field of endeavor discloses wherein the current image is divided into the plurality of division units based on first division information extracted from the bitstream ([0042], [0067], [0080], a number of tiles, tile sizes, and tile locations for a picture is signaled), and wherein the first division information includes information on a number of the division units belonging to the current image, information on positions of the division units, and information on a size of the division units ([0042], [0067], [0080], a number of tiles, tile sizes, and tile locations for a picture is signaled).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Zhou into the teachings of Zhang for more efficient image encoding/decoding.
Zhang in view of Zhou is silent about wherein the information on a size of the division units includes a first syntax element indicating a width of each of the division units and a second syntax element indicating a height of each of the division units, and the information is signaled for each of the plurality of division units, the first syntax element and the second syntax elements being different.
Sjoberg from the same or similar field of endeavor discloses wherein the information on a size of the division units includes a first syntax element indicating a width of each of the division units and a second syntax element indicating a height of each of the division units, and the information is signaled for each of the plurality of division units, the first syntax element and the second syntax elements being different ([0006], a frame is divided into tiles; [0008], Table 1, the height and width of each tile signaled separately using syntax column_width and row_height).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Sjoberg into the teachings of Zhang in view of Zhou for more flexible and efficient image encoding/decoding.
Regarding claim 2, Zhang discloses a method of encoding a current image with an encoding apparatus, comprising:
dividing the current image based on a plurality of division types pre-defined in the encoding apparatus (FIG. 9, division types 2NxhN; NxN, 2Nx2N, hNx2N);
encoding the divided current image to determine coding information of the current image ([0084], syntax information is encoded and used for decoding); and
generating a bitstream including the coding information ([0007], the encoded bitstream is generated),
wherein the encoding the divided current image comprises:
obtaining a current block to which a same intra prediction mode is applied (FIG. 29, [0054], [0092], a same prediction mode is applied, [0125], short distance intra prediction);
dividing the current block into four sub-blocks having the same size with each other using three horizonal lines (FIG. 9, block 78) or three vertical lines (FIG. 9, hNx2N); and
predicting each of the four sub-blocks ([0124], each sub block is used as a unit for prediction),
wherein the current image is divided into the plurality of division units (FIG. 9, the image is partitioned).
Zhang is silent about wherein the current image is divided into the plurality of division units based on first division information extracted from the bitstream, and wherein the first division information includes information on a number of the division units belonging to the current image, information on positions of the division units, and information on a size of the division units, and wherein the information on a size of the division units includes a first syntax element indicating a width of each of the division units and a second syntax element indicating a height of each of the division units, and the information is signaled for each of the plurality of division units, the first syntax element and the second syntax elements being different.
Zhou from the same or similar field of endeavor discloses wherein the current image is divided into the plurality of division units based on first division information extracted from the bitstream ([0042], [0067], [0080], a number of tiles, tile sizes, and tile locations for a picture is signaled), and wherein the first division information includes information on a number of the division units belonging to the current image, information on positions of the division units, and information on a size of the division units ([0042], [0067], [0080], a number of tiles, tile sizes, and tile locations for a picture is signaled).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Zhou into the teachings of Zhang for more efficient image encoding/decoding.
Zhang in view of Zhou is silent about wherein the information on a size of the division units includes a first syntax element indicating a width of each of the division units and a second syntax element indicating a height of each of the division units, and the information is signaled for each of the plurality of division units, the first syntax element and the second syntax elements being different.
Sjoberg from the same or similar field of endeavor discloses wherein the information on a size of the division units includes a first syntax element indicating a width of each of the division units and a second syntax element indicating a height of each of the division units, and the information is signaled for each of the plurality of division units, the first syntax element and the second syntax elements being different ([0006], a frame is divided into tiles; [0008], Table 1, the height and width of each tile signaled separately using syntax column_width and row_height).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Sjoberg into the teachings of Zhang in view of Zhou for more flexible and efficient image encoding/decoding.
Regarding claim 3, the limitations of claim 3 are rejected in the analysis of claim 2. Zhang further discloses a method of transmitting a bitstream, comprising: obtaining the bitstream generated by an image encoding method performed by an encoding apparatus (FIG. 1, encoded bitstream 16); and transmitting the bitstream to a decoding apparatus (FIG. 1, the bitstream 16 is transmitted to decoder 30).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JEFFERY A WILLIAMS whose telephone number is (571)270-7579. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-5:00.
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/JEFFERY A WILLIAMS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2488