DETAILED ACTION
Claims 64-83 are pending for examination.
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 .
Claim Objections
Claim 83 is objected to because of the following informalities: improper dependencies.
Claim 83 states: The apparatus according to claim 82, wherein the inter-frame prediction process for frames of video is performed by an encoder or a decoder.
Claim 83 depends off of Claim 82, which is a non-transitory computer readable medium claim, not an apparatus claim. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 64, 72, 73, 81, 82 and 83 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Chen et al, US 20250008147 A1 (Chen).
Regarding Claim 64, Chen discloses a method, comprising: in an inter-frame prediction process for frames of video (Chen ¶ [0060]– To predict a CU, video encoder 200 may generally form a prediction block for the CU through inter-prediction..), selecting a luma block to be encoded or decoded for a current coding unit to form a reconstructed luma block of the current coding unit (Chen Fig. 8, 604 ¶ [0214]– Video decoder 300 determines a luma prediction block for a luma block of the current block using the initial motion vector (604));
refining one or more motion vectors that point from the luma block to a prediction luma block (Chen Fig. 8, 606; ¶ [0240]– apply one or more decoder-side motion vector refinement processes to the luma prediction block to determine a refined luma prediction block and refined motion vectors for each luma sample of the luma block, wherein the one or more motion vector refinement processes comprise a bi-directional optical flow (BDOF) process) in a reference picture of the video (Chen ¶ [0084]– The CU is coded using “true” bi-prediction mode, i.e., one of the two reference pictures is prior to the current picture);
and selecting one of the refined one or more motion vectors (Chen Fig. 8, 608; ¶ [0240]– for a chroma sample of a chroma block, determine a motion vector for the chroma sample based on refined motion vectors of one or more co-located luma samples of the luma block) to encode or decode chroma blocks for the current coding unit (Chen ¶ [0240]– determine a decoded version of the current block based on the... chroma prediction block).
Regarding Claim 72, Chen discloses the method according to claim 64 wherein the inter-frame prediction process is performed by an encoder or a decoder (Chen ¶ [0075]– Video encoder 200 and video decoder 300 may be configured to perform one or more BDOF processes).
With regard to claim 73, the claim limitations are essentially the same as Claim 64 but in a different embodiment. Therefore, the rational used to reject Claim 64 is applied to Claim 73.
Furthermore, Chen discloses an apparatus, comprising: one or more processors (Chen ¶ [0010]– one or more processors…); and one or more memories storing instructions (Chen ¶ [0031]–memories 106, 120 may store software instructions…) that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus (Chen [0270]– The techniques of this disclosure may be implemented in a wide variety of devices or apparatuses…) at least to perform…(Chen ¶ [0043]– execute the instructions in hardware using one or more processors to perform the techniques of this disclosure).
With regard to claim 81, the claim limitations are essentially the same as Claim 72 but in a different embodiment. Therefore, the rational used to reject Claim 72 is applied to Claim 81.
With regard to claim 82, the claim limitations are essentially the same as Claim 64 but in a different embodiment. Therefore, the rational used to reject Claim 64 is applied to Claim 82.
Furthermore, Chen discloses a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following…(Chen ¶ [0043]– non-transitory computer-readable medium and execute the instructions in hardware using one or more processors to perform the techniques of this disclosure).
With regard to claim 83, the claim limitations are essentially the same as Claim 72 but in a different embodiment. Therefore, the rational used to reject Claim 72 is applied to Claim 83.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claims 65-71 and 74-80 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen, in view of Zhang et al, WO 2020065518 A1 (Zhang).
Regarding Claim 65, Chen in combination, further discloses the method according to Claim 64, wherein: the luma block is coded with a luma motion vector equal to a motion vector prediction added to a motion vector difference, the luma motion vector corresponding to the selected luma block (Chen ¶ [0097]– MV0_pass1=MV0+deltaMV);
the refining comprises creating refined motion vectors by adding refinements to the luma motion vector (Chen ¶ [0096]– Video decoder 300 derives the refined motion vectors after the first pass as follows: Chen ¶ [0097]– MV0_pass1=MV0+deltaMV), where the refined motion vectors are contained within a refinement area (Chen ¶ [0094]– The local search applies a 3×3 square search pattern to loop through the search range);
and the selecting comprises using the selected refined motion vector (Chen Fig. 8, 608; ¶ [0240]– for a chroma sample of a chroma block, determine a motion vector for the chroma sample based on refined motion vectors of one or more co-located luma samples of the luma block) to encode or decode the chroma blocks of the current coding unit (Chen ¶ [0240]– determine a decoded version of the current block based on the... chroma prediction block).
However, Chen does not explicitly disclose the refining comprises comparing the reconstructed luma block and prediction luma blocks pointed to by the refined motion vectors; a refined motion vector is selected that creates a smallest difference between the reconstructed luma block and a corresponding prediction luma block for the refined motion vector.
Zhang teaches the refining comprises comparing the reconstructed luma block and prediction luma blocks pointed to by the refined motion vectors (Zhang ¶ [00203]– In the decoder-side motion vector refinement (DMVR) method, the...motion vectors...are further refined by a bilateral template matching process. The bilateral template matching applied in the decoder to perform a distortion-based search between a bilateral template and the reconstruction samples in the reference pictures);
a refined motion vector is selected that creates a smallest difference between the reconstructed luma block and a corresponding prediction luma block for the refined motion vector (Zhang ¶ [00204]– the MV that yields the minimum template cost is considered as the updated MV of that list to replace the original one...A sum of absolute differences (SAD) is used as the cost measure);
Therefore, it 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 to modify Chen to incorporate comparing the reconstructed luma block and prediction luma blocks pointed to by the refined motion vectors and a selection of a refined motion vector that creates a smallest difference as taught by Zhang.
One would be motivated to combine Zhang’s incorporation of comparing the reconstructed luma block and prediction luma blocks pointed to by the refined motion vectors and a selection of a refined motion vector that creates a smallest difference to improve inter-prediction accuracy by minimizing prediction error.
Regarding Claim 66, Chen in combination, further discloses the method according to Claim 64, wherein: the luma block is encoded or decoded with a luma motion vector equal to a motion vector prediction added to a motion vector difference (Chen ¶ [0097]– MV0_pass1=MV0+deltaMV), the luma motion vector corresponding to the selected luma block (Chen ¶ [0110]– The multi-pass DMVR process is applied for the selected merge candidate to refine the motion vectors), the refining comprises: where the refined motion vectors are contained within a refinement area associated with the merge candidate (Chen ¶ [0094]– The local search applies a 3×3 square search pattern to loop through the search range);
in the merge candidate list (Chen ¶ [0111]– The…merge candidate list is used…; Chen ¶ [0110]– The multi-pass DMVR process is applied for the selected merge candidate to refine the motion vectors) within corresponding refinement areas (Chen ¶ [0094]– The local search applies a 3×3 square search pattern to loop through the search range);
and one of the refined motion vectors, having a smallest difference between its corresponding prediction luma block and the reconstructed luma block of the current coding unit (Chen ¶ [0093]– The refined motion vectors (MV0_pass1 and MV1_pass1) are derived around the initiate motion vectors based on the minimum bilateral matching cost between the two reference blocks in L0 and L1), is selected and the selected refined motion vector is used to encode or decode the chroma blocks of the current coding unit (Chen Fig. 8, 608; ¶ [0240]– for a chroma sample of a chroma block, determine a motion vector for the chroma sample based on refined motion vectors of one or more co-located luma samples of the luma block).
However, Chen does not explicitly disclose where the motion vector prediction is associated with a merge candidate from a merge candidate list; comparing the reconstructed luma block with prediction luma blocks pointed to by a few refined motion vectors formed by adding refinements to the luma motion vector, and comparing the reconstructed luma block with prediction luma blocks pointed to by a few refined motion vectors formed by adding refinements to motion vector predictions associated with other merge candidates.
Zhang teaches where the motion vector prediction is associated with a merge candidate from a merge candidate list (Zhang [00119]– When a PU is predicted using merge mode, an index pointing to an entry in the merge candidates list is parsed from the bitstream and used to retrieve the motion information.);
comparing the reconstructed luma block with prediction luma blocks pointed to by a few refined motion vectors formed by adding refinements to the luma motion vector (Zhang ¶ [00198]– MV refinement is a pattern based MV search with the criterion of bilateral matching cost or template matching cost...For both CU and sub-CU level MV refinement, the MV is directly searched at quarter luma sample MV accuracy, and this is followed by one-eighth luma sample MV refinement. [Examiner’s Interpretation: Examiner is interpreting the term “few” to be more than one]), and comparing the reconstructed luma block with prediction luma blocks pointed to by a few refined motion vectors (Zhang ¶ [00203]– In the decoder-side motion vector refinement (DMVR) method, the...motion vectors...are further refined by a bilateral template matching process. The bilateral template matching applied in the decoder to perform a distortion-based search between a bilateral template and the reconstruction samples in the reference pictures) formed by adding refinements to motion vector predictions (Zhang ¶ [00198]– MV refinement is a pattern based MV search with the criterion of bilateral matching cost or template matching cost...For both CU and sub-CU level MV refinement, the MV is directly searched at quarter luma sample MV accuracy, and this is followed by one-eighth luma sample MV refinement) associated with other merge candidates (Zhang [00120]– For spatial merge candidate derivation, a maximum of four merge candidates are selected among candidates that are located in five different positions).
Therefore, it 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 to modify Chen to incorporate comparing the reconstructed luma block with prediction luma blocks pointed to by a few refined motion vectors formed by adding refinements to motion vector predictions associated with other merge candidates in the merge candidate list as taught by Zhang.
One would be motivated to combine Zhang’s refinement techniques to improve inter-prediction accuracy by minimizing prediction error.
Regarding Claim 67, Chen in combination, further discloses the method according to Claim 64, wherein: the luma block is encoded or decoded with a luma motion vector equal to a motion vector prediction, the luma motion vector corresponding to the selected luma block (Chen ¶ [0063]– video encoder 200 may encode motion vectors using advanced motion vector prediction (AMVP) or merge mode);
However, Chen does not explicitly disclose the refining comprises comparing the reconstructed luma block with prediction luma blocks associated with merge candidates in a merge candidate list; and a merge candidate, having a smallest difference between its corresponding prediction luma block and the reconstructed luma block of the current coding unit, is selected and the selected merge candidate is used to encode or decode the chroma blocks of the current coding unit.
Zhang teaches the refining comprises comparing the reconstructed luma block with prediction luma blocks (Zhang ¶ [00177]– As shown in FIG. 22, template matching is used to derive motion information of the current CU by finding the closest match between a template (top and/or left neighbouring blocks of the current CU) in the current picture and a block (same size to the template) in a reference picture) associated with merge candidates in a merge candidate list (Zhang ¶ [00119]– When a PU is predicted using merge mode, an index pointing to an entry in the merge candidates list is parsed from the bitstream and used to retrieve the motion information);
and a merge candidate, having a smallest difference (Zhang [0174]– First, a list of MV candidates is generated and the candidate which leads to the minimum matching cost is selected as the starting point for further CU level refinement) between its corresponding prediction luma block and the reconstructed luma block of the current coding unit (Zhang [0177]– template matching is used to derive motion information of the current CU), is selected and the selected merge candidate is used to encode or decode the chroma blocks of the current coding unit (Zhang [00196]– MV is derived by using luma...The derived motion will be used for...chroma for MC inter prediction).
Therefore, it 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 to modify Chen to incorporate encoding or decoding the chroma blocks of the current coding unit with the selected merge candidate as taught by Zhang.
One would be motivated to combine Zhang’s refinement techniques to reduce matching costs and improve prediction accuracy.
Regarding Claim 68, Chen in combination, further discloses the method according to Claim 64, wherein: the luma block is encoded or decoded with a luma motion vector equal to a motion vector prediction, the luma motion vector corresponding to the selected luma block (Chen ¶ [0063]– video encoder 200 may encode motion vectors using advanced motion vector prediction (AMVP) or merge mode);
where the refined motion vectors are contained within a refinement area (Chen ¶ [0094]– The local search applies a 3×3 square search pattern to loop through the search range);
and one of the refined motion vectors, having a smallest difference between its corresponding prediction luma block and the reconstructed luma block of the current coding unit, is selected (Chen ¶ [0093]– The refined motion vectors...are derived ...based on the minimum bilateral matching cost), and the selected refined motion vector is used to encode or decode the chroma blocks of the current coding unit (Chen Fig. 8, 608; ¶ [0240]– for a chroma sample of a chroma block, determine a motion vector for the chroma sample based on refined motion vectors of one or more co-located luma samples of the luma block).
However, Chen does not explicitly disclose the refining comprises comparing the reconstructed luma block with prediction luma blocks pointed to by a few refined motion vectors created by adding refinements to the motion vector prediction.
Zhang teaches the refining comprises comparing the reconstructed luma block with prediction luma blocks pointed to by a few refined motion vectors (Zhang [203]– the two motion vectors of the bi-prediction are further refined by a bilateral template matching process) created by adding refinements to the motion vector prediction (Zhang ¶ [00198]– MV refinement is a pattern based MV search with the criterion of bilateral matching cost or template matching cost...For both CU and sub-CU level MV refinement, the MV is directly searched at quarter luma sample MV accuracy, and this is followed by one-eighth luma sample MV refinement).
Therefore, it 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 to modify Chen to incorporate comparing the reconstructed luma block with prediction luma blocks pointed to by a few refined motion vectors created by adding refinements to the motion vector prediction as taught by Zhang.
One would be motivated to combine Zhang’s refinement techniques to improve selection of refined motion vectors and prediction accuracy.
Regarding Claim 69, Chen, in combination, further discloses the method according to Claim 64, wherein: the luma block is encoded or decoded with a luma motion vector equal to a motion vector prediction, the luma motion vector corresponding to the selected luma block (Chen ¶ [0063]– video encoder 200 may encode motion vectors using advanced motion vector prediction (AMVP) or merge mode);
associated with merge candidates in a merge candidate list (Chen ¶ [0111]– The…merge candidate list is used…; Chen ¶ [0110]– The multi-pass DMVR process is applied for the selected merge candidate to refine the motion vectors);
associated with the selected merge candidate (Chen ¶ [0110]– The multi-pass DMVR process is applied for the selected merge candidate to refine the motion vectors), where the refined motion vectors are contained within a refinement area associated with the merge candidate (Chen ¶ [0094]– The local search applies a 3×3 square search pattern to loop through the search range);
and one of the refined motion vectors, having a smallest difference between its corresponding prediction luma block and the reconstructed luma block of the current coding unit (Chen ¶ [0093]– The refined motion vectors...are derived ...based on the minimum bilateral matching cost), is selected and the selected refined motion vector is used for the chroma blocks to encode or decode the current coding unit (Chen Fig. 8, 608; ¶ [0240]– for a chroma sample of a chroma block, determine a motion vector for the chroma sample based on refined motion vectors of one or more co-located luma samples of the luma block).
However, Chen does not explicitly disclose the refining comprises comparing the reconstructed luma block with prediction luma blocks; the method further comprises selecting a merge candidate with a smallest difference between its corresponding prediction luma block and the reconstructed luma block of the current coding unit; refining also comprises comparing the reconstructed luma block with prediction luma blocks pointed to by refined motion vectors formed by adding refinements to the motion vector prediction.
Zhang teaches the refining comprises comparing the reconstructed luma block with prediction luma blocks (Zhang ¶ [00203]– In the decoder-side motion vector refinement (DMVR) method, the...motion vectors...are further refined by a bilateral template matching process. The bilateral template matching applied in the decoder to perform a distortion-based search between a bilateral template and the reconstruction samples in the reference pictures);
the method further comprises selecting a merge candidate with a smallest difference between its corresponding prediction luma block and the reconstructed luma block of the current coding unit (Zhang ¶ [00204]– the MV that yields the minimum template cost is considered as the updated MV of that list to replace the original one...A sum of absolute differences (SAD) is used as the cost measure);
refining also comprises comparing the reconstructed luma block with prediction luma blocks (Zhang [203]– the two motion vectors of the bi-prediction are further refined by a bilateral template matching process) pointed to by refined motion vectors formed by adding refinements to the motion vector prediction (Zhang ¶ [00198]– MV refinement is a pattern based MV search with the criterion of bilateral matching cost or template matching cost...For both CU and sub-CU level MV refinement, the MV is directly searched at quarter luma sample MV accuracy, and this is followed by one-eighth luma sample MV refinement).
Therefore, it 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 to modify Chen to incorporate selecting a merge candidate with a smallest difference and comparing the reconstructed luma block with prediction luma blocks pointed to by refined motion vectors as taught by Zhang.
One would be motivated to combine Zhang’s refinement techniques to improve merge candidate selection and motion estimation accuracy by evaluating candidate prediction blocks using template matching.
Regarding Claim 70, Chen in combination, further discloses the method according to Claim 64, wherein: the luma block is encoded or decoded with a luma motion vector equal to a motion vector prediction (Chen ¶ [0063]– video encoder 200 may encode motion vectors using advanced motion vector prediction (AMVP) or merge mode),
motion vector predictions held in both the initial merge candidate and selected merge candidate are refined by adding refinements to the motion vector predictions to form refined motion vectors (Chen [0096]– ¶ Video decoder 300 derives the refined motion vectors … as follows: Chen ¶ [0097]– MV0_pass1=MV0+deltaMV);
where the refined motion vectors are contained within refinement areas associated with the initial merge candidate or selected merge candidate (Chen ¶ [0094]– The local search applies a 3×3 square search pattern to loop through the search range);
However, Chen does not explicitly disclose the luma motion vector corresponding to the selected luma block that is encoded or decoded with an initial merge candidate from a merge candidate list; the refining comprises comparing the reconstructed luma block with prediction luma blocks associated with merge candidates in the merge candidate list; the method further comprises selecting a merge candidate with a smallest difference between its corresponding prediction luma block and the reconstructed luma block of the current coding unit; and by comparing the reconstructed luma block with prediction luma blocks pointed to by the refined motion vectors; and a refined motion vector, having a smallest difference between its corresponding prediction luma block and the reconstructed luma block of the current coding unit, is selected and the selected refined motion vector is used for the chroma blocks to encode or decode the current coding unit.
Zhang teaches the luma motion vector corresponding to the selected luma block that is encoded or decoded with an initial merge candidate from a merge candidate list (Zhang [00119]– When a PU is predicted using merge mode, an index pointing to an entry in the merge candidates list is parsed from the bitstream and used to retrieve the motion information);
the refining comprises comparing the reconstructed luma block with prediction luma blocks associated with merge candidates in the merge candidate list (Zhang ¶ [00203]– In the decoder-side motion vector refinement (DMVR) method, the...motion vectors...are further refined by a bilateral template matching process. The bilateral template matching applied in the decoder to perform a distortion-based search between a bilateral template and the reconstruction samples in the reference pictures);
the method further comprises selecting a merge candidate with a smallest difference between its corresponding prediction luma block and the reconstructed luma block of the current coding unit (Zhang [0174]– First, a list of MV candidates is generated and the candidate which leads to the minimum matching cost is selected…);
and by comparing the reconstructed luma block with prediction luma blocks pointed to by the refined motion vectors (Zhang ¶ [00203]– In the decoder-side motion vector refinement (DMVR) method, the...motion vectors...are further refined by a bilateral template matching process. The bilateral template matching applied in the decoder to perform a distortion-based search between a bilateral template and the reconstruction samples in the reference pictures);
and a refined motion vector, having a smallest difference between its corresponding prediction luma block and the reconstructed luma block of the current coding unit (Zhang ¶ [00204]– the MV that yields the minimum template cost is considered as the updated MV of that list to replace the original one...A sum of absolute differences (SAD) is used as the cost measure), is selected and the selected refined motion vector is used for the chroma blocks to encode or decode the current coding unit (Zhang [00196]– MV is derived by using luma...The derived motion will be used for...chroma for MC inter prediction).
Therefore, it 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 to modify Chen to incorporate selecting a merge candidate with a smallest difference, comparing the reconstructed luma block with prediction luma blocks, and selecting a refined motion vector for the chroma blocks to encode or decode the current coding unit as taught by Zhang.
One would be motivated to combine Zhang’s refinement techniques to improve motion estimation accuracy by selecting the optimal merge candidate and refined motion vector.
Regarding Claim 71, Chen in combination, further discloses the method according to claim 64, wherein: the luma block is encoded or decoded with a luma motion vector equal to a motion vector prediction (Chen ¶ [0063]– video encoder 200 may encode motion vectors using advanced motion vector prediction (AMVP) or merge mode).
However, Chen does not explicitly disclose the luma motion vector corresponding to the selected luma block that is encoded or decoded with an initial merge candidate from a merge candidate list; the refining comprises obtaining refined motion vectors by refining the motion vector predictions associated with merge candidates in the merge candidate list within corresponding refinement areas by adding refinements to the motion vector predictions to form the refined motion vectors and by comparing the reconstructed luma block and prediction luma blocks pointed to by the refined motion vectors; and one of the refined motion vectors, having a smallest difference between its corresponding prediction luma block and the reconstructed luma block of the current coding unit, is selected, and the selected refined motion vector is used for the chroma blocks to encode or decode the current coding unit.
Zhang teaches the luma motion vector corresponding to the selected luma block that is encoded or decoded with an initial merge candidate from a merge candidate list (Zhang ¶ [00119]– When a PU is predicted using merge mode, an index pointing to an entry in the merge candidates list is parsed from the bitstream and used to retrieve the motion information.);
the refining comprises obtaining refined motion vectors by refining the motion vector predictions associated with merge candidates in the merge candidate list within corresponding refinement areas by adding refinements to the motion vector predictions to form the refined motion vectors (Zhang ¶ [00198]– MV refinement is a pattern based MV search with the criterion of bilateral matching cost or template matching cost...For both CU and sub-CU level MV refinement, the MV is directly searched at quarter luma sample MV accuracy, and this is followed by one-eighth luma sample MV refinement) and by comparing the reconstructed luma block and prediction luma blocks pointed to by the refined motion vectors (Zhang ¶ [00203]– In the decoder-side motion vector refinement (DMVR) method, the...motion vectors...are further refined by a bilateral template matching process. The bilateral template matching applied in the decoder to perform a distortion-based search between a bilateral template and the reconstruction samples in the reference pictures);
and one of the refined motion vectors, having a smallest difference between its corresponding prediction luma block and the reconstructed luma block of the current coding unit (Zhang ¶ [00204]– the MV that yields the minimum template cost is considered as the updated MV of that list to replace the original one...A sum of absolute differences (SAD) is used as the cost measure), is selected, and the selected refined motion vector is used for the chroma blocks to encode or decode the current coding unit (Zhang [00196]– MV is derived by using luma...The derived motion will be used for...chroma for MC inter prediction.).
Therefore, it 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 to modify Chen to incorporate refining motion vector predictions associated with merge candidates, and using one of the refined motion vectors having a smallest difference as taught by Zhang.
One would be motivated to combine Zhang’s refinement techniques to improve motion estimation accuracy by refining motion vector predictions and selecting an optimal refined motion vector.
With regard to claim 74, the claim limitations are essentially the same as Claim 65 but in a different embodiment. Therefore, the rational used to reject Claim 65 is applied to Claim 74.
With regard to claim 75, the claim limitations are essentially the same as Claim 66 but in a different embodiment. Therefore, the rational used to reject Claim 66 is applied to Claim 75.
With regard to claim 76, the claim limitations are essentially the same as Claim 67 but in a different embodiment. Therefore, the rational used to reject Claim 67 is applied to Claim 76.
With regard to claim 77, the claim limitations are essentially the same as Claim 68 but in a different embodiment. Therefore, the rational used to reject Claim 68 is applied to Claim 77.
With regard to claim 78, the claim limitations are essentially the same as Claim 69 but in a different embodiment. Therefore, the rational used to reject Claim 69 is applied to Claim 78.
With regard to claim 79, the claim limitations are essentially the same as Claim 70 but in a different embodiment. Therefore, the rational used to reject Claim 70 is applied to Claim 79.
With regard to claim 80, the claim limitations are essentially the same as Claim 71 but in a different embodiment. Therefore, the rational used to reject Claim 71 is applied to Claim 80.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTIAN P MCFALL whose telephone number is (571)270-0773. The examiner can normally be reached Monday Friday, 8 a.m. 5 p.m. ET..
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joseph 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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/C.P.M./Examiner, Art Unit 2483
/AMIR SHAHNAMI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2483
