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 .
Response to Amendment and Argument
Applicant’s amendment and argument with respect to pending claims 1-12 filed on 07/22/2026 have been fully considered. Examiners response to the applicant’s argument follows below.
Double Patenting Rejection:
Summary of Arguments:
Regarding claims 1-12, applicant requests the withdrawal of the claims on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Summary of Arguments:
Regarding claim 1, applicant argues that Xu ‘814 does not teach the feature of “without encoding the second motion vector difference into the bitstream”, as recited in claim 1.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
Regarding claims 10-12, applicant requests the withdrawal of the rejection of the claims under 35 USC § 102 of the claims.
Examiner’s Response:
Regarding claim 1, Xu ‘814 at paragraphs [0012], [0015] and [0135] discloses the following:
[0012] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry decodes the index for a motion vector difference, and derives the affine model based on a predicted motion vector and the motion vector difference. In an example, the processing circuitry decodes a first index for a direction of the motion vector difference and a second index for a pixel distance of the motion vector difference. In another example, the processing circuitry decodes the index for both a direction and a pixel distance of the motion vector difference.
[0015] In an embodiment, the processing circuitry decodes a first index for a first motion vector difference for a first control point and predicts a second motion vector difference for a second control point based on the first motion vector difference….
[0135] Similarly to the above mapping examples, a set of pre-defined delta values are used to represent the MV difference. In one embodiment, a usage flag is signaled first, to indicate whether the MVD (motion vector difference) is zero or is signaled according to the present disclosure. In an example, when the MVD is signaled according to the present disclosure, MV difference is assumed to be x direction or y direction, but not both. In this case, for each MVD, a combination of direction and distance indices can be used to represent this MVD…
As noted above, the decoder does not require receiving the motion vector difference (MVD) directly. Instead, it receives coded indices (direction and distance indices) from which the MVD is derived. Thus, Xu ‘814 teaches the feature of “encoding the index value of the length of the first motion vector difference and the index value of the direction of the first motion vector difference into a bitstream, without encoding the second motion vector difference into the bitstream,” as recited in claim 1.
Accordingly, the rejection of the claims 1-9 is maintained. The nonstatutory double patenting rejection the pending claims over U.S. Patent No. 12309386 in view of Xu et al. (US 20200021814 A1) and U.S. Patent No. 11956444 in view of Xu et al. (US 20200021814 A1) is maintained due to the reasons set forth above.
Regarding claims 10-12, in view of the amendment of the independent claim 10, the rejection under 35 USC § 102 of the claim 10 and the dependent claims 11-12 is withdrawn. However, applicant's amendment necessitated a new ground(s) of rejection of the claims 10-12 presented in this Office action.
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).
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).
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.
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.
Claims 1-12 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 12309386 in view of Xu et al. (US 20200021814 A1).
Regarding the current claim 1, claim 1 of pat. No. ‘386 teaches all of the limitations of claim 1 except the limitation “obtaining an index value of a length of the first motion vector difference and an index value of a direction of the first motion vector difference; and encoding the index value of the length of the first motion vector difference and the index value of the direction of the first motion vector difference into a bitstream” as recited in claim 1.
However, Xu ‘814 teaches obtaining an index value of a length of the first motion vector difference and an index value of a direction of the first motion vector difference (direction IDXs, distance IDXs); and encoding the index value of the length of the first motion vector difference and the index value of the direction of the first motion vector difference into a bitstream, without encoding the second motion vector difference into the bitstream (¶0083: encoding information into a bitstream. ¶0012-0015, 0135: when the MVD is signaled according to the present disclosure, MV difference is assumed to be x direction or y direction, but not both. In this case, for each MVD, a combination of direction and distance indices can be used to represent this MVD. Table 6 shows a mapping example of direction indexes (direction IDXs) to directions, and Table 7 shows a mapping example of distance indexes (distance IDXs) to distances in term of pixels). Note that the decoder does not require receiving the MVD directly. Instead, it receives coded indices (direction and distance indices) from which the MVD is derived.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified claim 1 of pat. No. ‘386 by incorporating the teaching of Xu’ 814 as noted above, in order to improve the efficiency of the encoding method (Xu ‘814: ¶0117).
Regarding the current claim 4, claim 1 of pat. No. ‘386 teaches all of the limitations of claim 1 except the limitation “obtaining an index value of a length of a first motion vector difference of a current picture block and an index value of a direction of the first motion vector difference from a bitstream…obtaining the first motion vector difference based on the index value of the length of the first motion vector difference and the index value of the direction of the first motion vector difference” as recited in claim 4.
However, Xu ‘814 teaches obtaining an index value of a length of a first motion vector difference of a current picture block and an index value of a direction of the first motion vector difference from a bitstream (direction IDXs, distance IDXs. ¶0122: the decoder can decode the index from the coded video stream); obtaining the first motion vector difference based on the index value of the length of the first motion vector difference and the index value of the direction of the first motion vector difference (¶0122: At the decoder side, the decoder can decode the index from the coded video stream, and determine the corresponding offset value to the decoded index according to the mapping...¶0135: when the MVD is signaled according to the present disclosure, MV difference is assumed to be x direction or y direction, but not both. In this case, for each MVD, a combination of direction and distance indices can be used to represent this MVD. Table 6 shows a mapping example of direction indexes (direction IDXs) to directions, and Table 7 shows a mapping example of distance indexes (distance IDXs) to distances in term of pixels).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified claim 4 of pat. No. ‘386 by incorporating the teaching of Xu’ 814 as noted above, in order to improve the efficiency of the encoding method (Xu ‘814: ¶0117).
Independent claim 7 recite the limitation analogous to claim 4, and is rejected due to the same reason set forth above with respect to claim 4.
Dependent claims 2-3, 5-6 and 8-9 are rejected based on their dependency from the rejected claims 1, 4 and 7.
Regarding claims 10-12, the claims recite the limitation analogous to claims 1-3, and are rejected due to a similar reason set forth above with respect to claims 1-3.
Table 1 below shows the comparison between the current claims and the claim of the cited pat. No. ‘386.
Table 1
Current claims
Pat. No. US 12309386 B2 claim
1. An encoding method for an encoder, comprising: obtaining a first motion vector predictor of a current picture block and a second motion vector predictor of the current picture block, wherein the first motion vector predictor corresponds to a first reference frame, and the second motion vector predictor corresponds to a second reference frame; obtaining a first motion vector difference of the current picture block that indicates a difference between the first motion vector predictor and a first motion vector target value of the current picture block, wherein the first motion vector target value and the first motion vector predictor correspond to a same reference frame, and the first motion vector difference is used to determine a second motion vector difference of the current picture block that indicates a difference between the second motion vector predictor and a second motion vector target value of the current picture block, the second motion vector target value and the second motion vector predictor correspond to a same reference frame, and when a direction of the first reference frame relative to a current frame in which the current picture block is located is the same as a direction of the second reference frame relative to the current frame, the second motion vector difference is the first motion vector difference, or when the direction of the first reference frame relative to the current frame in which the current picture block is located is opposite to the direction of the second reference frame relative to the current frame, a plus or minus sign of the second motion vector difference is opposite to a plus or minus sign of the first motion vector difference, and an absolute value of the second motion vector difference is same as an absolute value of the first motion vector difference;
1. An encoding method for a video encoder, comprising: obtaining a first motion vector predictor of a current picture block and a second motion vector predictor of the current picture block, wherein the first motion vector predictor corresponds to a first reference frame, and the second motion vector predictor corresponds to a second reference frame; obtaining a first motion vector difference of the current picture block, wherein the first motion vector difference of the current picture block is used to indicate a difference between the first motion vector predictor and a first motion vector target value of the current picture block, and the first motion vector target value and the first motion vector predictor correspond to a same reference frame, and the first motion vector difference is further used to determine a second motion vector difference of the current picture block, wherein the second motion vector difference of the current picture block is used to indicate a difference between the second motion vector predictor and a second motion vector target value of the current picture block, the second motion vector target value and the second motion vector predictor correspond to a same reference frame, and when a direction of the first reference frame relative to a current frame in which the current picture block is located is same as a direction of the second reference frame relative to the current frame, the second motion vector difference is the first motion vector difference, or when the direction of the first reference frame relative to the current frame in which the current picture block is located is opposite to the direction of the second reference frame relative to the current frame, a plus or minus sign of the second motion vector difference is opposite to a plus or minus sign of the first motion vector difference, and an absolute value of the second motion vector difference is same as an absolute value of the first motion vector difference; obtaining a prediction block of the current picture block based on the first motion vector target value and the second motion vector target value; and encoding the first motion vector difference into a bitstream.
4. A decoding method for a decoder, comprising: predictor corresponds to a second reference frame; motion vector difference and the second motion vector predictor; and obtaining a prediction block of the current picture block based on the first motion vector target value and the second motion vector target value.
1. An encoding method for a video encoder, comprising: obtaining a first motion vector predictor of a current picture block and a second motion vector predictor of the current picture block, wherein the first motion vector predictor corresponds to a first reference frame, and the second motion vector predictor corresponds to a second reference frame; obtaining a first motion vector difference of the current picture block, wherein the first motion vector difference of the current picture block is used to indicate a difference between the first motion vector predictor and a first motion vector target value of the current picture block, and the first motion vector target value and the first motion vector predictor correspond to a same reference frame, and the first motion vector difference is further used to determine a second motion vector difference of the current picture block, wherein the second motion vector difference of the current picture block is used to indicate a difference between the second motion vector predictor and a second motion vector target value of the current picture block, the second motion vector target value and the second motion vector predictor correspond to a same reference frame, and when a direction of the first reference frame relative to a current frame in which the current picture block is located is same as a direction of the second reference frame relative to the current frame, the second motion vector difference is the first motion vector difference, or when the direction of the first reference frame relative to the current frame in which the current picture block is located is opposite to the direction of the second reference frame relative to the current frame, a plus or minus sign of the second motion vector difference is opposite to a plus or minus sign of the first motion vector difference, and an absolute value of the second motion vector difference is same as an absolute value of the first motion vector difference; obtaining a prediction block of the current picture block based on the first motion vector target value and the second motion vector target value; and encoding the first motion vector difference into a bitstream.
Claims 1-12 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 9 of U.S. Patent No. 11956444 in view of Xu et al. (US 20200021814 A1).
Regarding the current claim 1, claim 9 of pat. No. ‘444 teaches all of the limitations of claim 1 except the limitation “obtaining an index value of a length of the first motion vector difference and an index value of a direction of the first motion vector difference; and encoding the index value of the length of the first motion vector difference and the index value of the direction of the first motion vector difference into a bitstream” as recited in claim 1.
However, Xu ‘814 teaches obtaining an index value of a length of the first motion vector difference and an index value of a direction of the first motion vector difference (direction IDXs, distance IDXs); and encoding the index value of the length of the first motion vector difference and the index value of the direction of the first motion vector difference into a bitstream, without encoding the second motion vector difference into the bitstream (¶0083: encoding information into a bitstream. ¶0012-0015, 0135: when the MVD is signaled according to the present disclosure, MV difference is assumed to be x direction or y direction, but not both. In this case, for each MVD, a combination of direction and distance indices can be used to represent this MVD. Table 6 shows a mapping example of direction indexes (direction IDXs) to directions, and Table 7 shows a mapping example of distance indexes (distance IDXs) to distances in term of pixels). Note that the decoder does not require receiving the MVD directly. Instead, it receives coded indices (direction and distance indices) from which the MVD is derived.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified claim 9 of pat. No. ‘444 by incorporating the teaching of Xu’ 814 as noted above, in order to improve the efficiency of the encoding method (Xu ‘814: ¶0117).
Regarding the current claim 4, claim 9 of pat. No. ‘444 teaches all of the limitations of claim 1 except the limitation “obtaining an index value of a length of a first motion vector difference of a current picture block and an index value of a direction of the first motion vector difference from a bitstream…obtaining the first motion vector difference based on the index value of the length of the first motion vector difference and the index value of the direction of the first motion vector difference” as recited in claim 4.
However, Xu ‘814 teaches obtaining an index value of a length of a first motion vector difference of a current picture block and an index value of a direction of the first motion vector difference from a bitstream (direction IDXs, distance IDXs. ¶0122: the decoder can decode the index from the coded video stream); obtaining the first motion vector difference based on the index value of the length of the first motion vector difference and the index value of the direction of the first motion vector difference (0122: At the decoder side, the decoder can decode the index from the coded video stream, and determine the corresponding offset value to the decoded index according to the mapping...¶0135: when the MVD is signaled according to the present disclosure, MV difference is assumed to be x direction or y direction, but not both. In this case, for each MVD, a combination of direction and distance indices can be used to represent this MVD. Table 6 shows a mapping example of direction indexes (direction IDXs) to directions, and Table 7 shows a mapping example of distance indexes (distance IDXs) to distances in term of pixels).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified claim 9 of pat. No. ‘444 by incorporating the teaching of Xu’ 814 as noted above, in order to improve the efficiency of the encoding method (Xu ‘814: ¶0117).
Independent claim 7 recite the limitation analogous to claim 4, and is rejected due to the same reason set forth above with respect to claim 4.
Dependent claims 2-3, 5-6 and 8-9 are rejected based on their dependency from the rejected claims 1, 4 and 7.
Regarding claims 10-12, the claims recite the limitation analogous to claims 1-3, and are rejected due to a similar reason set forth above with respect to claims 1-3.
Table 2 below shows the comparison between the current claims and the claim of the cited pat. No. ‘444.
Table 2
Current claims
Pat. No. US 11956444 B2 claim
1. An encoding method for an encoder, comprising: obtaining a first motion vector predictor of a current picture block and a second motion vector predictor of the current picture block, wherein the first motion vector predictor corresponds to a first reference frame, and the second motion vector predictor corresponds to a second reference frame; obtaining a first motion vector difference of the current picture block that indicates a difference between the first motion vector predictor and a first motion vector target value of the current picture block, wherein the first motion vector target value and the first motion vector predictor correspond to a same reference frame, and the first motion vector difference is used to determine a second motion vector difference of the current picture block that indicates a difference between the second motion vector predictor and a second motion vector target value of the current picture block, the second motion vector target value and the second motion vector predictor correspond to a same reference frame, and when a direction of the first reference frame relative to a current frame in which the current picture block is located is the same as a direction of the second reference frame relative to the current frame, the second motion vector difference is the first motion vector difference, or when the direction of the first reference frame relative to the current frame in which the current picture block is located is opposite to the direction of the second reference frame relative to the current frame, a plus or minus sign of the second motion vector difference is opposite to a plus or minus sign of the first motion vector difference, and an absolute value of the second motion vector difference is same as an absolute value of the first motion vector difference;
9. An inter prediction method, comprising: obtaining a first motion vector predictor of a current picture block and a second motion vector predictor of the current picture block, wherein the first motion vector predictor corresponds to a first reference frame, and the second motion vector predictor corresponds to a second reference frame; obtaining a first motion vector difference of the current picture block, wherein the first motion vector difference of the current picture block is used to indicate a difference between the first motion vector predictor and a first motion vector target value of the current picture block, and the first motion vector target value and the first motion vector predictor correspond to a same reference frame; determining a second motion vector difference of the current picture block based on the first motion vector difference, wherein the second motion vector difference of the current picture block is used to indicate a difference between the second motion vector predictor and a second motion vector target value of the current picture block, the second motion vector target value and the second motion vector predictor correspond to a same reference frame, and when a direction of the first reference frame relative to a current frame in which the current picture block is located is the same as a direction of the second reference frame relative to the current frame, the second motion vector difference is the first motion vector difference, or when the direction of the first reference frame relative to the current frame in which the current picture block is located is opposite to the direction of the second reference frame relative to the current frame, a plus or minus sign of the second motion vector difference is opposite to a plus or minus sign of the first motion vector difference, and an absolute value of the second motion vector difference is the same as an absolute value of the first motion vector difference; determining the first motion vector target value of the current picture block based on the first motion vector difference and the first motion vector predictor; determining the second motion vector target value of the current picture block based on the second motion vector difference and the second motion vector predictor; and obtaining a prediction block of the current picture block based on the first motion vector target value and the second motion vector target value.
4. A decoding method for a decoder, comprising: absolute value of the first motion vector difference; determining the first motion vector target value of the current picture block based on the first motion vector difference and the first motion vector predictor; determining the second motion vector target value of the current picture block based on the second motion vector difference and the second motion vector predictor; and obtaining a prediction block of the current picture block based on the first motion vector target value and the second motion vector target value.
9. An inter prediction method, comprising: obtaining a first motion vector predictor of a current picture block and a second motion vector predictor of the current picture block, wherein the first motion vector predictor corresponds to a first reference frame, and the second motion vector predictor corresponds to a second reference frame; obtaining a first motion vector difference of the current picture block, wherein the first motion vector difference of the current picture block is used to indicate a difference between the first motion vector predictor and a first motion vector target value of the current picture block, and the first motion vector target value and the first motion vector predictor correspond to a same reference frame; determining a second motion vector difference of the current picture block based on the first motion vector difference, wherein the second motion vector difference of the current picture block is used to indicate a difference between the second motion vector predictor and a second motion vector target value of the current picture block, the second motion vector target value and the second motion vector predictor correspond to a same reference frame, and when a direction of the first reference frame relative to a current frame in which the current picture block is located is the same as a direction of the second reference frame relative to the current frame, the second motion vector difference is the first motion vector difference, or when the direction of the first reference frame relative to the current frame in which the current picture block is located is opposite to the direction of the second reference frame relative to the current frame, a plus or minus sign of the second motion vector difference is opposite to a plus or minus sign of the first motion vector difference, and an absolute value of the second motion vector difference is the same as an absolute value of the first motion vector difference; determining the first motion vector target value of the current picture block based on the first motion vector difference and the first motion vector predictor; determining the second motion vector target value of the current picture block based on the second motion vector difference and the second motion vector predictor; and obtaining a prediction block of the current picture block based on the first motion vector target value and the second motion vector target value.
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.
Claim(s) 1-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu et al. (US 20200092545 A1) in view of Xu et al. (US 20200021814 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Xu ‘545 teaches an encoding method for an encoder, comprising: obtaining a first motion vector predictor of a current picture block and a second motion vector predictor of the current picture block (¶0107, See Fig. 8: initial motion vectors MV0, MV1), wherein the first motion vector predictor corresponds to a first reference frame, and the second motion vector predictor corresponds to a second reference frame (two reference pictures Ref0 and Ref1); obtaining a first motion vector difference of the current picture block that indicates a difference between the first motion vector predictor and a first motion vector target value of the current picture block (i.e., MVdiff, -MVdiff in Eq (2): MV0′=MV0+MVdiff and Eq. 3: MV1′=MV1−MVdiff), wherein the first motion vector target value and the first motion vector predictor correspond to a same reference frame (Fig. 8: e.g., MV0’ and MV0 correspond a reference pictures Ref0), and the first motion vector difference (MVdiff) is used to determine a second motion vector difference (-MVdiff). Note that MVdiff is the motion vector difference between a candidate motion vector and an initial motion vector in one of the reference pictures. ¶0107. -MVdiff in Eq. 3 is minus sign of MVdiff in Eq. 2 of the current picture block that indicates a difference between the second motion vector predictor and a second motion vector target value of the current picture block (Eq. (3): MV1′=MV1−MVdiff → MVdiff=MV1-MV1′), the second motion vector target value and the second motion vector predictor correspond to a same reference frame (Fig. 8: e.g., MV1’ and MV1 correspond a reference pictures Ref1), and when a direction of the first reference frame relative to a current frame in which the current picture block is located is the same as a direction of the second reference frame relative to the current frame, the second motion vector difference is the first motion vector difference, or when the direction of the first reference frame relative to the current frame in which the current picture block is located is opposite to the direction of the second reference frame relative to the current frame (See Fig. 8, the reference picture Ref0 located opposite to the direction of the reference picture Ref1), a plus or minus sign of the second motion vector difference is opposite to a plus or minus sign of the first motion vector difference (i.e., MVdiff, -MVdiff in Eq (2): MV0′=MV0+MVdiff and in Eq. 3: MV1′=MV1−MVdiff), and an absolute value of the second motion vector difference is same as an absolute value of the first motion vector difference (i.e., MVdiff, -MVdiff in Eq (2): MV0′=MV0+MVdiff and Eq. 3: MV1′=MV1−MVdiff).
Xu ‘545 does not explicitly disclose obtaining an index value of a length of the first motion vector difference and an index value of a direction of the first motion vector difference; and encoding the index value of the length of the first motion vector difference and the index value of the direction of the first motion vector difference into a bitstream, without encoding the second motion vector difference into the bitstream.
However, Xu ‘814 teaches obtaining an index value of a length of the first motion vector difference and an index value of a direction of the first motion vector difference (direction IDXs, distance IDXs); and encoding the index value of the length of the first motion vector difference and the index value of the direction of the first motion vector difference into a bitstream, without encoding the second motion vector difference into the bitstream (¶0083: encoding information into a bitstream. ¶0012-0015, 0135: when the MVD is signaled according to the present disclosure, MV difference is assumed to be x direction or y direction, but not both. In this case, for each MVD, a combination of direction and distance indices can be used to represent this MVD. Table 6 shows a mapping example of direction indexes (direction IDXs) to directions, and Table 7 shows a mapping example of distance indexes (distance IDXs) to distances in term of pixels). Note that the decoder does not require receiving the MVD directly. Instead, it receives coded indices (direction and distance indices) from which the MVD is derived.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Xu ‘545’s encoding/decoding method by incorporating the teaching of Xu’ 814 as noted above, in order to improve the efficiency of the encoding method (Xu ‘814: ¶0117).
Regarding claim 2, Xu ‘545 in view of Xu ‘814 teaches the encoding method of claim 1. Xu ‘814 further teaches wherein the index value of the length of the first motion vector difference of the current picture block is used to indicate a piece of candidate length information in a set of preset candidate length information (¶0101, 0135: The distance IDX is used to indicate how large the offset is from the starting point (along x or y direction, but not both). The offset magnitude is chosen from a fix number of selections. The search direction IDX is used to indicate the direction (x or y, +or − direction) to apply the offset. See Table 7: Distance IDX). The motivation statement set forth above to combine references Xu ‘545 and Xu ‘814 applies here.
Regarding claim 3, Xu ‘545 in view of Xu ‘814 teaches the encoding method of claim 1. Xu ‘814 further teaches wherein the index value of the direction of the first motion vector difference of the current picture block is used to indicate a piece of candidate direction information in a set of preset candidate direction information (¶0101, 0135: the prediction direction IDX is used to indicate which of the prediction directions (temporal prediction direction, e.g., L0 reference direction, L1 reference direction or L0 and L1 reference directions) is used for UMVE mode. See Table 6: Direction IDX). The motivation statement set forth above to combine references Xu ‘545 and Xu ‘814 applies here.
Regarding claim 4, Xu ‘545 teaches a decoding method for a decoder, comprising: obtaining a first motion vector predictor of the current picture block and a second motion vector predictor of the current picture block (¶0107, See Fig. 8: initial motion vectors MV0, MV1), wherein the first motion vector predictor corresponds to a first reference frame, and the second motion vector predictor corresponds to a second reference frame (two reference pictures Ref0 and Ref1); wherein the first motion vector difference of the current picture block indicates a difference between the first motion vector predictor and a first motion vector target value of the current picture block (i.e., MVdiff, -MVdiff in Eq (2): MV0′=MV0+MVdiff and Eq. 3: MV1′=MV1−MVdiff), the first motion vector target value and the first motion vector predictor correspond to a same reference frame (Fig. 8: e.g., MV0’ and MV0 correspond a reference pictures Ref0); determining a second motion vector difference (-MVdiff ) of the current picture block based on the first motion vector difference (MVdiff). Note that MVdiff is the motion vector difference between a candidate motion vector and an initial motion vector in one of the reference pictures. ¶0107. -MVdiff in Eq. 3 is minus sign of MVdiff in Eq. 2, wherein the second motion vector difference (-MVdiff) of the current picture block indicates a difference between the second motion vector predictor and a second motion vector target value of the current picture block (Eq. (3): MV1′=MV1−MVdiff→ MVdiff =MV1-MV1′), the second motion vector target value and the second motion vector predictor correspond to a same reference frame (Fig. 8: e.g., MV1’ and MV1 correspond a reference pictures Ref1), and when a direction of the first reference frame relative to a current frame in which the current picture block is located is the same as a direction of the second reference frame relative to the current frame, the second motion vector difference is the first motion vector difference, or when the direction of the first reference frame relative to the current frame in which the current picture block is located is opposite to the direction of the second reference frame relative to the current frame, a plus or minus sign of the second motion vector difference is opposite to a plus or minus sign of the first motion vector difference (i.e., MVdiff, -MVdiff in Eq (2): MV0′=MV0+MVdiff and Eq. 3: MV1′=MV1−MVdiff), , and an absolute value of the second motion vector difference is same as an absolute value of the first motion vector difference (i.e., MVdiff, -MVdiff in Eq (2): MV0′=MV0+MVdiff and in Eq. 3: MV1′=MV1−MVdiff); determining the first motion vector target value of the current picture block based on the first motion vector difference and the first motion vector predictor(Eq.2: MV0′=MV0+MVdiff); determining the second motion vector target value of the current picture block based on the second motion vector difference and the second motion vector predictor (Eq. 3: MV1′=MV1−MVdiff); and obtaining a prediction block of the current picture block based on the first motion vector target value and the second motion vector target value (¶0105: the bilateral template (840) is generated as the weighted combination (i.e. average) of the two prediction blocks (820) and (830), from the initial MV0 of the first candidate list list0 and MV1 of the second candidate list list1, respectively, as shown in FIG. 8).
Xu ‘545 does not explicitly disclose obtaining an index value of a length of a first motion vector difference of a current picture block and an index value of a direction of the first motion vector difference from a bitstream; obtaining the first motion vector difference based on the index value of the length of the first motion vector difference and the index value of the direction of the first motion vector difference.
However, Xu ‘814 teaches obtaining an index value of a length of a first motion vector difference of a current picture block and an index value of a direction of the first motion vector difference from a bitstream (direction IDXs, distance IDXs. ¶0122: the decoder can decode the index from the coded video stream); obtaining the first motion vector difference based on the index value of the length of the first motion vector difference and the index value of the direction of the first motion vector difference (¶0122: At the decoder side, the decoder can decode the index from the coded video stream, and determine the corresponding offset value to the decoded index according to the mapping...¶0135: when the MVD is signaled according to the present disclosure, MV difference is assumed to be x direction or y direction, but not both. In this case, for each MVD, a combination of direction and distance indices can be used to represent this MVD. Table 6 shows a mapping example of direction indexes (direction IDXs) to directions, and Table 7 shows a mapping example of distance indexes (distance IDXs) to distances in term of pixels).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Xu ‘545’s encoding/decoding method by incorporating the teaching of Xu’ 814 as noted above, in order to improve the efficiency of the encoding method (Xu ‘814: ¶0117).
Regarding claims 5-6, the claims are drawn to a decoding device claim and recite the limitation analogous to claims 2-3, and are rejected due to the same reason set forth above with respect to claims 2-3.
Regarding claims 7-9, the claims are drawn to a decoding device claim and recite the limitation analogous to claims 4-6, and are rejected due to the same reason set forth above with respect to claims 4-6.
Regarding claims 10-12, the claims are drawn to a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium claims and recite the limitation analogous to claims 1-3, and are rejected due to a similar reason set forth above with respect to claims 1-3.
The following are the prior arts made of record and not relied upon are considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Hung et al. (US 20200107043 A1) describes a device and method for coding video data utilizes ultimate motion vector expression (UMVE). Abstract
Jang (US 20210076062 A1) describes an image decoding method and apparatus which use a motion vector difference (MVD) derived based on an LUT in an image coding system.¶0002
Conclusion
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/NATHNAEL AYNALEM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2488
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