DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Double Patenting
2. 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).
3. A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
4. The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
5. The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
6. Claims 2-19 of the instant application is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over patented claims 1-18 of U.S. Patent No. 12219160. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because, they claim the same scope of the invention, but using different variations, claims of the instant application are broader than the corresponding patented claims; see below;
19/045322
US 12,219,160
2. (New) Virtual reality equipment comprising a decoder device configured to: receive data useable to generate data for representing a data signal at a first level of quality; receive enhancement data useable to generate data for representing the data signal at a second level of quality based on the data for representing the data signal at the first level of quality, the second level of quality being higher than the first level of
quality; generate data for representing a target region of the data signal at a target level of quality using a selected portion of the received enhancement data, the selected portion of the received enhancement data being associated with the target region of the data signal, the target level of quality being higher than the first level of quality; and generate data for representing a further region of the data signal at a level of quality lower than the target level of quality, wherein the enhancement data is configured to correct differences between one
or more values of one or more elements in the data for representing the data signal at the
first level of quality and one or more corresponding values of one or more elements in
other data for representing the data signal at the first level of quality.
1. Virtual reality equipment comprising a decoder device configured to: receive data useable to generate first data for representing a data signal at a first level of quality; receive enhancement data useable to generate data for representing the data signal at a second level of quality based on the first data for representing the data signal at the first level of quality, the second level of quality being higher than the first level of quality; generate data for representing a target region of the data signal at a target level of quality using a selected portion of the received enhancement data, the selected portion of the received enhancement data being associated with the target region of the data signal, the target level of quality being higher than the first level of quality; and generate data for representing a further region of the data signal at a level of quality lower than the target level of quality, wherein the enhancement data is configured to correct differences between one or more values of one or more elements in the first data for representing the data signal at the first level of quality and one or more corresponding values of one or more elements in second data for representing the data signal at the first level of quality, wherein the decoder device is configured to operate in accordance with a hierarchical data signal processing arrangement, the hierarchical data signal processing arrangement comprising a first layer having a first set of sub-layers and a second layer having a set of sub-layers, each sub-layer being associated with a respective level of quality, and wherein the decoder device is configured to use enhancement data associated with at least one sub-layer of the first and second layers to generate the data for representing the target region of the data signal at the target level of quality in a third operating mode of the decoder device.
3. (New) The virtual reality equipment according to claim 2, wherein the target level of quality is the second level of quality, or wherein the target level of quality is between the first level of quality and the second level of quality.
2. The virtual reality equipment according to claim 1, wherein the target level of quality is the second level of quality, or wherein the target level of quality is between the first level of quality and the second level of quality.
4. (New) The virtual reality equipment according to claim 2, wherein the level of quality of the further region of the data signal is between the first level of quality and the target level of quality.
3. The virtual reality equipment according to claim 1, wherein the level of quality of the further region of the data signal is between the first level of quality and the target level of quality.
5. (New) The virtual reality equipment according to claim 2, wherein the decoder device is configured to generate the data for representing the further region of the data signal using a selected further portion of the enhancement data, the selected further portion of the enhancement data being associated with the further region of the data signal.
4. The virtual reality equipment according to claim 1, wherein the decoder device is configured to generate the data for representing the further region of the data signal using a selected further portion of the enhancement data, the selected further portion of the enhancement data being associated with the further region of the data signal.
6. (New) The virtual reality equipment according to claim 2, wherein the level of quality of the further region of the data signal is the first level of quality.
5. The virtual reality equipment according to claim 1, wherein the level of quality of the further region of the data signal is the first level of quality.
7. (New) The virtual reality equipment according to claim 2, wherein the decoder device is configured to select the target region of the data signal so as to be in a field of view, and wherein the decoder device is configured to select at least part of the further region of the data signal so as to be in the field of view.
6. The virtual reality equipment according to claim 1, wherein the decoder device is configured to select the target region of the data signal so as to be in a field of view, and wherein the decoder device is configured to select at least part of the further region of the data signal so as to be in the field of view.
8. (New) The virtual reality equipment according to claim 7, wherein the decoder device is configured to: monitor the field of view and/or one or more gaze positions at multiple points in time; and determine a position of a target region in a subsequent data signal dependent on the field of view and/or the one or more gaze positions at a point in time associated with the subsequent data signal, optionally wherein the target region of the data signal is associated with one or more data signal tiles and the further region of the data signal is associated with one or more data signal tiles, wherein at least one of the data signal tiles associated with the further region of the data signal is within the target region in the subsequent data signal.
7. The virtual reality equipment according to claim 6, wherein the decoder device is configured to: monitor the field of view and/or one or more gaze positions at multiple points in time; and determine a position of a target region in a subsequent data signal dependent on the field of view and/or the one or more gaze positions at a point in time associated with the subsequent data signal, optionally wherein the target region of the data signal is associated with one or more data signal tiles and the further region of the data signal is associated with one or more data signal tiles, wherein at least one of the data signal tiles associated with the further region of the data signal is within the target region in the subsequent data signal.
9. (New) The virtual reality equipment according to claim 2, wherein the decoder device is configured to: generate data for representing the target region of the data signal at the first level of
quality; and use the generated data for representing the target region of the data signal at the first level of quality to generate the data for representing the target region of the data signal at the target level of quality.
8. The virtual reality equipment according to claim 1, wherein the decoder device is configured to: generate data for representing the target region of the data signal at the first level of quality; and use the generated data for representing the target region of the data signal at the first level of quality to generate the data for representing the target region of the data signal at the target level of quality.
10. (New) The virtual reality equipment according to claim 2, wherein the decoder device is configured to operate in accordance with a hierarchical data signal processing arrangement, the hierarchical data signal processing arrangement comprising at least one layer having a set of sub- layers, each sub-layer being associated with a respective level of quality.
9. The virtual reality equipment according to claim 1, wherein the decoder device is configured to operate in accordance with a hierarchical data signal processing arrangement, the hierarchical data signal processing arrangement comprising at least one layer having a set of sub-layers, each sub-layer being associated with a respective level of quality.
11. (New) The virtual reality equipment according to claim 10, wherein the decoder device is configured not to use enhancement data associated with at least one of the sub- layers in a first operating mode of the decoder device, or wherein the decoder device is configured use enhancement data associated with all of the sub-layers to generate the data for representing the target region of the data signal at a target level of quality in a second operating mode of the decoder device.
10. The virtual reality equipment according to claim 9, wherein the decoder device is configured not to use enhancement data associated with at least one of the sub-layers in a first operating mode of the decoder device, or wherein the decoder device is configured use enhancement data associated with all of the sub-layers to generate the data for representing the target region of the data signal at a target level of quality in a second operating mode of the decoder device.
12. (New) The virtual reality equipment according to claim 10, wherein the first level of quality corresponds to a level of quality associated with the lowest sub-layer in the hierarchical data signal processing arrangement.
11. The virtual reality equipment according to claim 9, wherein the first level of quality corresponds to a level of quality associated with the lowest sub-layer in the hierarchical data signal processing arrangement.
13. (New) The virtual reality equipment according to claim 10, wherein the second level of quality corresponds to a level of quality associated with the highest sub-layer in the hierarchical data signal processing arrangement.
12. The virtual reality equipment according to claim 9, wherein the second level of quality corresponds to a level of quality associated with the highest sub-layer in the hierarchical data signal processing arrangement.
14. (New) The virtual reality equipment according to claim 10, wherein the target level of quality corresponds to a level of quality associated with a sub-layer between the highest sub-layer and the lowest sub-layer in the hierarchical data signal processing arrangement.
13. The virtual reality equipment according to claim 9, wherein the target level of quality corresponds to a level of quality associated with a sub-layer between the highest sub-layer and the lowest sub-layer in the hierarchical data signal processing arrangement.
15. (New) The virtual reality equipment according to claim 2, wherein the decoder device is configured to identify the target region of the data signal.
14. The virtual reality equipment according to claim 1, wherein the decoder device is configured to identify the target region of the data signal.
16. (New) The virtual reality equipment according to claim 2, wherein the decoder device is configured to select the portion of the enhancement data associated with the target region of the data signal.
15. The virtual reality equipment according to claim 1, wherein the decoder device is configured to select the portion of the enhancement data associated with the target region of the data signal.
17. (New) The virtual reality equipment according to claim 2, wherein the differences between the one or more values of the one or more elements in the data for representing the data signal at the first level of quality and the one or more corresponding values of the one or more elements in the other data for representing the data signal at the first level of quality result from down-sampling and up-sampling operations performed using the other data for representing the data signal at the first level of quality, the down-sampling and up-sampling operations having been performed to generate the data for representing the data signal at the first level of quality.
16. The virtual reality equipment according to claim 1, wherein the differences between the one or more values of the one or more elements in the first data for representing the data signal at the first level of quality and the one or more corresponding values of the one or more elements in the second data for representing the data signal at the first level of quality result from down-sampling and up-sampling operations performed using the second data for representing the data signal at the first level of quality, the down-sampling and up-sampling operations having been performed to generate the first data for representing the data signal at the first level of quality.
18. (New) A method comprising, at a decoder device: receiving data useable to generate data for representing a data signal at a first level of quality; receiving enhancement data usable to generate data for representing the data signal at a second level of quality based on data for representing the data signal at the first level of quality, the second level of quality being higher than the first level of quality; generating data for representing a target region of the data signal at a target level of quality using a selected portion of the received enhancement data, the selected portion of the received enhancement data being associated with the target region of the data signal, the target level of quality being higher than the first level of quality; and generating data for representing a further region of the data signal at a level of quality lower than the target level of quality, wherein the enhancement data is configured to correct differences between one or more values of one or more elements in the data for representing the data signal at the first level of quality and one or more corresponding values of one or more elements in other data for representing the data signal at the first level of quality.
17. A method comprising, at a decoder device: receiving data useable to generate first data for representing a data signal at a first level of quality; receiving enhancement data useable to generate data for representing the data signal at a second level of quality based on the first data for representing the data signal at the first level of quality, the second level of quality being higher than the first level of quality; generating data for representing a target region of the data signal at a target level of quality using a selected portion of the received enhancement data, the selected portion of the received enhancement data being associated with the target region of the data signal, the target level of quality being higher than the first level of quality; and generating data for representing a further region of the data signal at a level of quality lower than the target level of quality, wherein the enhancement data is configured to correct
differences between one or more values of one or more elements in the first data for representing the data signal at the first level of quality and one or more corresponding values of one or more elements in second data for representing the data signal at the first level of quality, wherein the decoder device is configured to operate in accordance with a hierarchical data signal processing arrangement, the hierarchical data signal processing arrangement comprising a first layer having a first set of sub-layers and a second layer having a set of sub-layers, each sub-layer being associated with a respective level of quality, and wherein the decoder device is configured to use enhancement data associated with at least one sub-layer of the first and second layers to generate the data for representing the target region of the data signal at the target level of quality in a third operating mode of the decoder device.
19. (New) A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer executable instructions that when executed by a processor cause the processor to perform the following operations: receive data useable to generate data for representing a data signal at a first level of quality; receive enhancement data useable to generate data for representing the data signal at a second level of quality based on the data for representing the data signal at the first level of quality, the second level of quality being higher than the first level of quality;
generate data for representing a target region of the data signal at a target level of quality using a selected portion of the received enhancement data, the selected portion of the received enhancement data being associated with the target region of the data signal, the target level of quality being higher than the first level of quality; and generate data for representing a further region of the data signal at a level of quality lower than the target level of quality, wherein the enhancement data is configured to correct differences between one or more values of one or more elements in the data for representing the data signal at the first level of quality and one or more corresponding values of one or more elements in other data for representing the data signal at the first level of quality.
18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer executable instructions that when executed by a processor cause the processor to perform the following operations: receive data useable to generate first data for representing a data signal at a first level of quality; receive enhancement data useable to generate data for representing the data signal at a second level of quality based on the first data for representing the data signal at the first level of quality, the second level of quality being higher than the first level of quality; generate data for representing a target region of the data signal at a target level of quality using a selected portion of the received enhancement data, the selected portion of the received enhancement data being associated with the target region of the data signal, the target level of quality being higher than the first level of quality; and generate data for representing a further region of the data signal at a level of quality lower than the target level of quality, wherein the enhancement data is configured to correct differences between one or more values of one or more elements in the first data for representing the data signal at the first level of quality and one or more corresponding values of one or more elements in second data for representing the data signal at the first level of quality, wherein the processor is configured to operate in accordance with a hierarchical data signal processing arrangement, the hierarchical data signal processing arrangement comprising a first layer having a first set of sub-layers and a second layer having a set of sub-layers, each sub-layer being associated with a respective level of quality, and wherein the processor is configured to use enhancement data associated with at least one sub-layer of the first and second layers to generate the data for representing the target region of the data signal at the target level of quality in a third operating mode of the decoder device.
In view of the above, allowing claims 2-19 of the instant application would result in an
unjustified or improper time-wise extension of the "right to exclude" granted by a patent. See In re
Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Feb. Cir. 1993).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. Claims 2-6 and 9-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Davies (US 2015/0373341) in view of Rossato et al. (WO 2013/011492).
Regarding claim 2, Davies teaches Virtual reality equipment comprising a decoder device configured to; receive data useable to generate data for representing a data signal at a first level of
Quality (e.g., fig. 1, base layer), receive enhancement data useable to generate data for representing the data signal at a second level of quality based on the data for representing the data signal at the first level of quality (e.g., fig. 1, enhancement layer data), the second level of quality being higher than the first level of quality (e.g., fig. 1, enhancement layer data), generate data for representing a target region of the data signal at a target level of quality using a selected portion of the received enhancement data (e.g., ROI selection data, as shown in fig. 1, paragraphs 0019-0020), the selected portion of the received enhancement data being associated with the target region of the data signal (e.g., ROI selection data, as shown in fig. 1, paragraphs 0019-0020), the target level of quality being higher than the first level of quality (e.g., fig. 1, enhancement layer data, paragraphs 0015-0016, 0019-0020, indication of, the enhancement layer may be at the same or higher resolution than the base layer, and the type of enhancement may be of improved resolution or improved quality or both), and generate data for representing a further region of the data signal at a level of quality lower than the target level of quality (e.g., further region other than the selected ROI in the base layer would have lower level of quality than the selected ROI, paragraphs 0015-0016, 0019-0020).
Davies teaches decoder to generate data for representing target/selected region/segments at a
target/higher level of quality: But is silent in regards to, the enhancement data is configured to correct
differences between one or more values of one or more elements in the data for representing the data
signal at the first level of quality and one or more corresponding values of one or more elements in
other data for representing the data signal at the first level of quality.
Rossato in the same field of endeavor teaches decoder for decoding first set of data to
represent the data at a first level of quality, and uses residual data, e.g., difference data, to modify the
data signal at the second level of quality, and repeats the processing for each of multiple levels of quality
in hierarchy manner, by taking the residual data/information, e.g., difference data, and applying the
differences to modify the data signal at the next higher level of quality (e.g., abstract, figs. 1,4 and 9-11, also entire disclosure), thus consider to be equivalent to the feature as claimed.
In view of the above, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed
invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the teaching of Rossato, into the scalable
video coding of Davies, in order to reconstructing a signal at successively higher levels of quality in a
hierarchy manner, as suggested by the reference.
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Davies and Rossato teach the virtual reality equipment
according to claim 2, wherein the target level of quality is the second level of quality, or wherein the
target level of quality is between the first level of quality and the second level of quality (e.g., scalable coding, also figs. 4-5, of Davies, also hierarchy decoding provide different qualities in Rossato).
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Davies and Rossato teach the virtual reality equipment according to claim 2, wherein the level of quality of the further region of the data signal is between the first level of quality and the target level of quality (Davies, base layer quality for the further/remaining region of the data signal, and target level of quality for selected/ROI data signal; also Rossato performs processing of the data signal in a hierarchical manner, fig. 4, generating multiple levels of quality for different regions, thus encompasses the claimed feature).
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Davies and Rossato teach wherein the decoder device is configured to generate the data for representing the further region of the data signal using a selected further portion of the enhancement data, the selected further portion of the enhancement data being associated with the further region of the data signal (e.g., processing of the data signal performed in a scalable manner using enhancement data, fig. 7, paragraphs 0015-0016, 0018-0020 of Davies, also fig. 4 of Rossato, also indication of processing of the data signal in a hierarchical manner for the selected portions).
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Davies and Rossato teach wherein the level of quality of
the further region of the data signal is the first level of quality (Davies, indication of base layer quality for the further/remaining region of the data signal, and target/enhance level of quality is for selected/ROI data signal, also fig. 4 of Rossato, also indication of processing of the data signal in a hierarchical manner).
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Davies and Rossato teach wherein the decoder device is configured to; generate data for representing the target region of the data signal at the first level of quality (e.g., base layer as shown in fig. 1 of Davies, also quality, multiple levels of quality in hierarchy manner, abstract, figs. 1,4 and 9-11, also entire disclosure of Rossato), and use the generated data for representing the target region of the data signal at the first level of quality to generate the data for representing the target region of the data signal at the target level of quality (e.g., region of interest selection as shown in fig. 1, paragraphs 0019-0020 in Davies, also selection portions and decoding first set of data to represent the data at a first level of quality, and modify the data signal at the second level of quality, and repeats the processing for each of multiple levels of quality in a hierarchical manner, abstract, figs. 1,4 and 9-11, also entire disclosure of Rossato).
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Davies and Rossato teach wherein the decoder device is configured to operate in accordance with a hierarchical data signal processing arrangement, the hierarchical data signal processing arrangement comprising at least one layer having a set of sub- layers, each sub-layer being associated with a respective level of quality (e.g., decoding set of data in a hierarchical manner, abstract, figs. 1,4 and 9-11, also entire disclosure of Rossato).
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Davies and Rossato teach wherein the decoder device is configured not to use enhancement data associated with at least one of the sub-layers in a first operating mode of the decoder device, or wherein the decoder device is configured use enhancement data associated with all of the sub-layers to generate the data for representing the target region of the data signal at a target level of quality in a second operating mode of the decoder device (e.g., paragraphs 0018-0021,0025 of Davies, also abstract, figs. 1,4 and 9-11, also entire disclosure of Rossato).
Regarding claim 12, the combination of Davies and Rossato teach wherein the first level of quality corresponds to a level of quality associated with the lowest sub-layer in the hierarchical data signal processing arrangement (e.g., multi-layer or scalable coding in paragraph 0015 of Davies; also, hierarchical coding of Rossato, encompasses the above claimed limitation).
Regarding claim 13, the combination of Davies and Rossato teach wherein the second level of quality corresponds to a level of quality associated with the highest sub-layer in the hierarchical data signal processing arrangement (e.g., multi-layer or scalable coding in paragraph 0015 of Davies; also, hierarchical coding of Rossato, encompasses the above claimed limitation).
Regarding claim 14, the combination of Davies and Rossato teach the virtual reality equipment according to claim 10, wherein the target level of quality corresponds to a level of quality associated with a sub-layer between the highest sub-layer and the lowest sub-layer in the hierarchical data signal processing arrangement (e.g., base layer quality for the further/remaining region of the data signal, and enhancement for target level of quality for selected/ROI data signal, scalable coding, paragraphs 0015, 0018-0021,0023,0025 of Davies, also hierarchical coding as shown in fig. 4, generating multiple levels of quality for different regions, thus encompasses the claimed feature of Rossato).
Regarding claim 15, the combination of Davies and Rossato teach the virtual reality equipment according to claim 2, wherein the decoder device is configured to identify the target region of the data signal (e.g., Davies, paragraphs 0027,0032, also detection of specific portion in Rossato).
Regarding claim 16, the combination of Davies and Rossato teach the virtual reality equipment according to claim 2, wherein the decoder device is configured to select the portion of the enhancement data associated with the target region of the data signal (please refer to claims 2 and 4 above).
Regarding claim 17, the combination of Davies and Rossato teach the virtual reality equipment
according to claim 2, wherein the differences between the one or more values of the one or more elements in the data for representing the data signal at the first level of quality and the one or more corresponding values of the one or more elements in the other data for representing the data signal at the first level of quality result from down-sampling and up-sampling operations performed using the
other data for representing the data signal at the first level of quality, the down-sampling and
up-sampling operations having been performed to generate the data for representing the data signal at
the first level of quality (e.g., scale down and up disclosed by Davies, paragraph 0015, also down-sampling and up-sampling in Rossato).
Regarding claims 18-19, the limitations claimed are substantially similar to claim 2 above, therefore the ground for rejecting claim 2 also applies here.
10. Claims 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Davies (US 2015/0373341) in view of Rossato et al. (WO 2013/011492) further in view of Soundararajan (US 2003/0072375).
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Davies and Rossato, as discussed in the above action, teach selecting of the desired region of interest/target region and enhance the selected region, and further tech identifying desired region of interest and employing gaze tracking (Davies, paragraph 0027).
The combination is silent to explicitly indicate, select the target region of the data signal so as to be in a field of view, and select at least part of the further region of the data signal so as to be in the field of view.
Soundararajan in the same field of endeavor teaches, selectively enhance one or more regions of the field of view of the camera (e.g., fig. 3, paragraphs 0034-0036) thus consider to be equivalent to the above claimed limitation.
In view of the above, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the teaching of Soundararajan, into the scalable video coding of Davies, in order to enhance one or more regions of the field of view of the camera.
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Davies, Rossato and Soundararajan, teach the virtual reality equipment according to claim 7, wherein the decoder device is configured to; monitor the field of view and/or one or more gaze positions at multiple points in time (e.g., gaze tracking, paragraph 0027 of Davies, also field of view, paragraphs 0034-0036 of 375), and determine a position of a target region in a subsequent data signal dependent on the field of view and/or the one or more gaze positions at a point in time associated with the subsequent data signal, optionally wherein the target region of the data signal is associated with one or more data signal tiles and the further region of the data signal is associated with one or more data signal tiles, wherein at least one of the data signal tiles associated with the further region of the data signal is within the target region in the subsequent data signal (e.g., paragraph 0020-0023,0033 of '341).
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11. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner
should be directed to Behrooz Senfi, whose telephone number is (571)272-7339. The examiner can
normally be reached on Monday-Friday 10:00-6:00.
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/BEHROOZ M SENFI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2482
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