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 .
Priority
This application discloses and claims only subject matter disclosed in prior application, and names the inventor or at least one joint inventor named in the prior application. Accordingly, this application may constitute a continuation or divisional. Should applicant desire to claim the benefit of the filing date of the prior application, attention is directed to 35 U.S.C. 120, 37 CFR 1.78, and MPEP § 211 et seq. The presentation of a benefit claim may result in an additional fee under 37 CFR 1.17(w)(1) or (2) being required, if the earliest filing date for which benefit is claimed under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) and 1.78(d) in the application is more than six years before the actual filing date of the application.
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS)s submitted on 12/22/2025 and 04/23/2025 are 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 § 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.
Claims 1-2, 6-12, 16-19 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Han et al. (US20200029098) (hereinafter Han) in view of Sun et al. (US5790196) (hereinafter Sun).
Regarding claim 1, Han discloses a decoding method, wherein the method is performed by a decoding device, and the method comprises: obtaining, based on a bitstream, at least one substream corresponding to a coding unit [Figs. 5-8, ABS, 0040-0050; video stream including bitstream data].
performing entropy decoding on the at least one substream to obtain a first number of bits [ABS, 0016-0020, 0061-0066, 0074-0080; entropy coding data from video stream utilizing bit data].
decoding the at least one substream based on the first number of bits to output a reconstructed image of the coding unit [0002-0004; process for reconstructing data using bit data during entropy coding].
Han discloses the limitations of the claim. However, Ha does not explicitly disclose wherein the first number of bits comprises a number of coded bits and a number of estimated bits, the number of coded bits indicates a number of bits occupied by data subject content comprised in the at least one substream, and the number of estimated bits indicates a substream header bit of each substream in the at least one substream.
Sun discloses wherein the first number of bits comprises a number of coded bits and a number of estimated bits, the number of coded bits indicates a number of bits occupied by data subject content comprised in the at least one substream, and the number of estimated bits indicates a substream header bit of each substream in the at least one substream [ABS, Col. 3 lines 12-29; estimated and target bit data calculated from video data stream relating to specified object].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to incorporate the teachings of Han with the teachings of Sun as stated above. By incorporating the teachings as such, improvements in bit rate control is achieved (see Sun Col. 3 lines 5-10).
Regarding claim 2, Han discloses wherein the performing entropy decoding on the at least one substream to obtain a first number of bits comprises: performing entropy decoding on the at least one substream to obtain the number of coded bits; for a substream segment corresponding to each substream in the at least one substream, estimating a substream header bit number of each substream; determining the number of estimated bits based on at least one substream header bit number corresponding to the at least one substream; and obtaining the first number of bits based on the number of coded bits and the number of estimated bits [ABS, 0016-0020, 0038, 0049, 0061-0066, 0074-0080; entropy coding data from video stream utilizing bit data including first and second precision bit stored in header information from the bitstream].
Regarding claim 6, Han discloses wherein the substream segment corresponding to each substream comprises a substream segment data subject and a substream index of the substream [0049-0053, 0060-0070; coded data stream information included in data header].
Regarding claim 7, Han discloses wherein the number of estimated bits is a sum of the at least one substream header bit number [0049-0053, 0060-0070; first and second precision bit data determined and stored in coding process].
Regarding claim 8, Han discloses the limitations of the claim. However, Han does not explicitly disclose wherein the substream segment corresponding to each substream in the at least one substream further comprises a preset flag bit, and the number of estimated bits further indicates the preset flag bit.
Sun discloses wherein the substream segment corresponding to each substream in the at least one substream further comprises a preset flag bit, and the number of estimated bits further indicates the preset flag bit [ABS, Col. 3 lines 12-29; estimated and target bit data calculated from video data stream relating to specified object].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to incorporate the teachings of Han with the teachings of Sun for the same reasons as stated above.
Regarding claim 9, Han discloses wherein the decoding the at least one substream based on the first number of bits to output a reconstructed image of the coding unit comprises: determining a quantization parameter (QP) value of the coding unit based on the first number of bits; and decoding the at least one substream based on the QP value to output the reconstructed image corresponding to the coding unit [ABS, 0016-0020, 0061-0066, 0074-0080; using precision bits to calculate quantized parameters during entropy coding].
Regarding claim 10, Han discloses wherein the outputting the reconstructed image corresponding to the coding unit comprises: displaying the reconstructed image corresponding to the coding unit [0002-0004; process for reconstructing data using bit data during entropy coding].
Regarding claim 11, Han discloses an encoding method, wherein the method is performed by an encoding device, and the method comprises: obtaining at least one substream of a coding unit of a to-be-encoded image [Figs. 5-8, ABS, 0040-0050; processing video stream including bitstream data].
performing entropy encoding on the at least one substream to obtain a first number of bits [ABS, 0016-0020, 0061-0066, 0074-0080; entropy coding data from video stream utilizing bit data].
encoding the at least one substream based on the first number of bits to output a bitstream of the coding unit [0002-0004, 0040-0050; using stream bit data during entropy coding].
Han discloses the limitations of the claim. However, Ha does not explicitly disclose wherein the first number of bits comprises a number of coded bits and a number of estimated bits, the number of coded bits indicates a number of bits occupied by data subject content comprised in the at least one substream, and the number of estimated bits indicates a substream header bit of each substream in the at least one substream.
Sun discloses wherein the first number of bits comprises a number of coded bits and a number of estimated bits, the number of coded bits indicates a number of bits occupied by data subject content comprised in the at least one substream, and the number of estimated bits indicates a substream header bit of each substream in the at least one substream [ABS, Col. 3 lines 12-29; estimated and target bit data calculated from video data stream relating to specified object].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to incorporate the teachings of Han with the teachings of Sun as stated above. By incorporating the teachings as such, improvements in bit rate control is achieved (see Sun Col. 3 lines 5-10).
Regarding claim 12, Han discloses wherein the performing entropy encoding on the at least one substream to obtain a first number of bits comprises: performing entropy encoding on the at least one substream to obtain the number of coded bits; for a substream segment corresponding to each substream in the at least one substream, estimating a substream header bit number of each substream; determining the number of estimated bits based on at least one substream header bit number corresponding to the at least one substream; andobtaining the first number of bits based on the number of coded bits and the number of estimated bits [ABS, 0016-0020, 0038, 0049, 0061-0066, 0074-0080; entropy coding data from video stream utilizing bit data including first and second precision bit stored in header information from the bitstream].
Regarding claim 16, Han discloses wherein the substream segment corresponding to each substream comprises a substream segment data subject and a substream index of the substream [0049-0053, 0060-0070; coded data stream information included in data header].
Regarding claim 17, Han discloses wherein the number of estimated bits is a sum of the at least one substream header bit number [0049-0053, 0060-0070; first and second precision bit data determined and stored in coding process].
Regarding claim 18, Han discloses the limitations of the claim. However, Han does not explicitly disclose wherein the substream segment corresponding to each substream in the at least one substream further comprises a preset flag bit, and the number of estimated bits further indicates the preset flag bit.
Sun discloses wherein the substream segment corresponding to each substream in the at least one substream further comprises a preset flag bit, and the number of estimated bits further indicates the preset flag bit [ABS, Col. 3 lines 12-29; estimated and target bit data calculated from video data stream relating to specified object].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to incorporate the teachings of Han with the teachings of Sun for the same reasons as stated above.
Regarding claim 19, Han discloses wherein the encoding the at least one substream based on the first number of bits to output a bitstream of the coding unit comprises: determining a quantization parameter (QP) value of the coding unit based on the first number of bits; and encoding the at least one substream based on the QP value to output the bitstream of the coding unit [ABS, 0016-0020, 0061-0066, 0074-0080; using precision bits to calculate quantized parameters during entropy coding].
Regarding claim 21, Han discloses a decoding apparatus, comprising: at leastone processor; and one or more memories coupled to the at least one processor and storing programming instructions for execution by the at least one processor to: obtain, based on a bitstream, at least one substream corresponding to a coding unit [Figs. 5-8, ABS, 0040-0050; CRM for processing video stream including bitstream data].
perform entropy decoding on the at least one substream to obtain a first number of bits [ABS, 0016-0020, 0061-0066, 0074-0080; entropy coding data from video stream utilizing bit data].
decode the at least one substream based on the first number of bits to output a reconstructed image of the coding unit [0002-0004; process for reconstructing data using bit data during entropy coding].
Han discloses the limitations of the claim. However, Ha does not explicitly disclose wherein the first number of bits comprises a number of coded bits and a number of estimated bits, the number of coded bits indicates a number of bits occupied by data subject content comprised in the at least one substream, and the number of estimated bits indicates a substream header bit of each substream in the at least one substream.
Sun discloses wherein the first number of bits comprises a number of coded bits and a number of estimated bits, the number of coded bits indicates a number of bits occupied by data subject content comprised in the at least one substream, and the number of estimated bits indicates a substream header bit of each substream in the at least one substream [ABS, Col. 3 lines 12-29; estimated and target bit data calculated from video data stream relating to specified object].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to incorporate the teachings of Han with the teachings of Sun as stated above. By incorporating the teachings as such, improvements in bit rate control is achieved (see Sun Col. 3 lines 5-10).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-5 and 13-15 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 prior arts of record individually nor in combination do not explicitly disclose btaining a second number based on a number of coded bits of the first substream, wherein the second number indicates a second number of encoded substream segments corresponding to the first substream, obtaining a difference between the second number and the first number and updating the substream header bit number of the first substream based on the difference and the substream index length of the substream segment corresponding to the first substream, when taken in the environment of the independent claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TALHA M NAWAZ whose telephone number is (571)270-5439. The examiner can normally be reached Flex, M-R 6:30am-3:30pm; F 8:30am-12:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joe G Ustaris can be reached at 571-272-7383. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TALHA M NAWAZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2483
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