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 .
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.
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Claims 1-17 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims of U.S. Patent No. 12388998 and U.S. Patent No. 12034927B2 atent. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they are difference by citing prediction specific mode, such specific mode about the size of the block is within the particular standard well before the application date.
Instant Application
U.S. Patent No. 12388998
1. An image encoding apparatus for encoding an image including a rectangular region including at least one block row formed from a plurality of blocks, comprising:
an encoding unit configured to encode, into a bitstream, a first flag related to enablement of parallel processing, first information used for identifying a rectangular region to be processed first among a plurality of rectangular regions included in a target slice which is a slice in the image,
second information used for identifying a rectangular region to be processed last among the plurality of rectangular regions, and third information corresponding to the number of blocks, in a vertical direction, of the rectangular region in the image; and
an identifying unit configured to identify, for the target slice,
the number of syntax elements each of which is used to identify a start position of coded data of a block row , based on the first information, the second information, and the third information, in a state where a value of the first flag is 1, a second flag, which is in a picture parameter set of the bitstream and is related to a mode of a slice, indicates that a mode in which a slice is rectangular is used, and the target slice in the image includes a plurality of rectangular regions in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction,
wherein fourth information for determining a size of each of blocks forming the block row is encoded into a sequence parameter set of the bitstream, and
the syntax elements, the number of which is the number identified by the identifying unit, are included in a slice header of the bitstream, and wherein fifth information corresponding to a width of the image and sixth information corresponding to a height of the image are encoded into the bitstream.
2. An image decoding apparatus for decoding an image from a bitstream obtained by encoding an image including a rectangular region including at least one block row formed from a plurality of blocks, comprising:a decoding unit configured to decode, from the bitstream, a first flag related to enablement of parallel processing, first information used for identifying a rectangular region to be processed first among a plurality of rectangular regions included in a target slice which is a slice in the image, second information used for identifying a rectangular region to be processed last among the plurality of rectangular regions, and third information corresponding to the number of blocks, in a vertical direction, of the rectangular region in the image; and an identifying unit configured to identify, for the target slice, the number of syntax elements each of which is used to identify a start position of coded data of a block row, based on the first information, the second information, and the third information, in a state where a value of the first flag is 1, a second flag, which is decoded from a picture parameter set of the bitstream and is related to a mode of a slice, indicates that a mode in which a slice is rectangular is used, and the target slice in the image includes a plurality of rectangular regions in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction, wherein a size of each of blocks forming the blockrow is determined fromfourth information decoded from a sequence parameter set of the bitstream, and the syntax elements, the number of which is the number identified by the identifying unit, are included in a slice header of the bitstream, and wherein fifth information corresponding to a width of the image and sixth information corresponding to a height of the image are decoded from the bitstream.
3. The image decoding apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the first flag is an entropy coding sync enabled flag, and the second flag is a rect slice flag.
4. The image decoding apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when the value of the first flag is 1, parallel processing of entropy decoding on a basic blockrow basis is available.
5. The image decoding apparatus according to claim 2, wherein each of the syntax elements is used to identify a start position of coded data of a block row which is formed from a plurality of blocks and which is included in a rectangular region in the target slice.
6. The image decoding apparatus according to claim 2, wherein information of the number of syntax elements is not signaled in the bitstream.
7. The image decoding apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the rectangular region to be processed first among the plurality of rectangular regions included in the target slice is a rectangular region at the top-left corner among the plurality of rectangular regions, and the rectangular region to be processed last among the plurality of rectangular regions is a rectangular region at the bottom-right corner among the plurality of rectangular regions.
8. The image decoding apparatus according to claim 2, wherein each of the blocks forming the block row corresponds to a CTU (Coding Tree Unit) and can be divided into smaller blocks.
9. The image decoding apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the size of each block is determined by performing arithmetic left shift of 1 by a result of summing a predetermined value and a value of the fourth information.
10. The image decoding apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the decoding unit decodes the coded data of the block row based on at least the number identified by the identifying unit and the syntax element for identifying the start position. I1 An image encoding method for encoding an image including a rectangular region including at least one block row formed from a plurality of blocks, comprising: encoding, into a bitstream, a first flag related to enablement of parallel processing, first information used for identifying a rectangular region to be processed first among a plurality of rectangular regions included in a target slice which is a slice in the image, second information used for identifying a rectangular region to be processed last among the plurality of rectangular regions, and third information corresponding to the number of blocks, in a vertical direction, of the rectangular region in the image; and identifying, for the target slice, the number of syntax elements each of which is used to identify a start position of coded data of a block row, based on the first information, the second information, and the third information, in a state where a value of the first flag is 1, a second flag, which is in a picture parameter set of the bitstream and is related to a mode of a slice, indicates that a mode in which a slice is rectangular is used, and the target slice in the image includes a plurality of rectangular regions in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction, wherein fourth information for determining a size of each of blocks forming the block row is encoded into a sequence parameter set of the bitstream, and the syntax elements, the number of which is the identified number, are included in a slice header of the bitstream, and wherein fifth information corresponding to a width of the image and sixth information corresponding to a height of the image are encoded into the bitstream.
12. An image decoding method for decoding an image from a bitstream obtained by encoding an image including a rectangular region including at least one block row formed from a plurality of blocks, comprising: decoding, from the bitstream, a first flag related to enablement of parallel processing, first information used for identifying a rectangular region to be processed first among a plurality of rectangular regions included in a target slice which is a slice in the image, second information used for identifying a rectangular region to be processed last among the plurality of rectangular regions, and third information corresponding to the number of blocks, in a vertical direction, of the rectangular region in the image; and identifying, for the target slice, the number of syntax elements each of which is used to identify a start position of coded data of a block row, based on the first information, the second information, and the third information, in a state where a value of the first flag is 1, a second flag, which is decoded from a picture parameter set of the bitstream and is related to a mode of a slice, indicates that a mode in which a slice is rectangular is used, and the target slice in the image includes a plurality of rectangular regions in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction, wherein a size of each of blocks forming the block row is determined from fourth information decoded from a sequence parameter set of the bitstream, and the syntax elements, the number of which is the identified number, are included in a slice header of the bitstream, and wherein fifth information corresponding to a width of the image and sixth information corresponding to a height of the image are decoded from the bitstream.
13. The image decodingmethod according to claim 12, wherein each of the syntax elementsis used to identify a start position of coded data of a blockrow which isformed from a plurality of blocks and whichis included in a rectangular regioninthe target slice.
14. The image decoding method according to claim 12, wherein information of the number of syntax elements is not signaled in the bitstream.
15. The image decoding method according to claim 12, wherein the rectangular region to be processed first among the plurality of rectangular regions included in the target slice is a rectangular region at the top-left corner among the plurality of rectangular regions, and the rectangular region to be processed last among the plurality of rectangular regions is a rectangular region at the bottom-right corner among the plurality of rectangular regions.
16. The image decoding method according to claim 12, wherein each of the blocks forming the block row corresponds to a CTU (Coding Tree Unit) and can be divided into smaller blocks.
17. The image decoding method according to claim 12, wherein the size of each block is determined by performing arithmetic left shift of 1 by a result of summing a predetermined value and a value of the fourth information.
1. An image encoding apparatus for encoding an image including a rectangular region including at least one block row formed from a plurality of blocks, comprising:
an encoding unit configured to encode, into a bitstream, a first flag related to enablement of parallel processing, first information used for specifying a rectangular region to be processed first among a plurality of rectangular regions included in a slice in the image,
second information used for specifying a rectangular region to be processed last among the plurality of rectangular regions, and third information corresponding to the number of blocks, in a vertical direction, of the rectangular region in the image; and
a specifying unit configured to specify, for a target slice,
the number of pieces of information for specifying a start position of coded data of the block row , based on the first information, the second information, and the third information, in a state where a value of the first flag is 1, a second flag, which is decoded from a picture parameter set of the bitstream and is related to a mode of a slice, indicates that a mode in which a slice is rectangular is used, and the target slice in the image includes a plurality of rectangular regions in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction,
wherein fourth information used to specify a size of a block in the image is encoded into the bitstream.
wherein the encoding unit configured to encode the information for specifying the start position, the number of pieces of which is as many as the number specified by the specifying unit, and
2. The image encoding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first flag is an entropy coding sync enabled flag, and the second flag is a rect slice flag.
3. An image decoding apparatus for decoding an image from a bitstream obtained by encoding an image including a rectangular region including at least one block row formed from a plurality of blocks, comprising: a decoding unit configured to decode, from the bitstream, a first flag related to enablement of parallel processing, first information used for specifying a rectangular region to be processed first among a plurality of rectangular regions included in a slice in the image, second information used for specifying a rectangular region to be processed last among the plurality of rectangular regions, and third information corresponding to the number of blocks, in a vertical direction, of the rectangular region in the image; and a specifying unit configured to specify, for a target slice, the number of pieces of information for specifying a start position of coded data of the block row, based on the first information, the second information, and the third information, in a state where a value of the first flag is 1, a second flag, which is decoded from a picture parameter set of the bitstream and is related to a mode of a slice, indicates that a mode in which a slice is rectangular is used, and the target slice in the image includes a plurality of rectangular regions in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction, wherein the decoding unit decodes the coded data of the block row, based on at least (a) the number of pieces of information for specifying the start position, which is specified by the specifying unit, and (b) the information for specifying the start position, and wherein fourth information used to specify a size of a block in the image is decoded from the bitstream.
4. The image decoding apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the first flag is an entropy coding sync enabled flag, and the second flag is a rect slice flag.
5. The image decoding apparatus according to claim 3, wherein when the value of the first flag is 1, parallel processing of entropy decoding on a basic block row basis is available.
6. An image encoding method for encoding an image including a rectangular region including at least one block row formed from a plurality of blocks, comprising: encoding, into a bitstream, a first flag related to enablement of parallel processing, first information used for specifying a rectangular region to be processed first among a plurality of rectangular regions included in a slice in the image, second information used for specifying a rectangular region to be processed last among the plurality of rectangular regions, and third information corresponding to the number of blocks, in a vertical direction, of the rectangular region in the image; and specifying, for a target slice, the number of pieces of information for specifying a start position of coded data of the block row , based on the first information, the second information, and the third information, in a state where a value of the first flag is 1, a second flag, which is decoded from a picture parameter set of the bitstream and is related to a mode of a slice, indicates that a mode in which a slice is rectangular is used, and the target slice in the image includes a plurality of rectangular regions in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction; wherein the encoding encodes the information for specifying the start position, the number of pieces of which is as many as the number specified in the specifying, and wherein fourth information used to specify a size of a block in the image is encoded into the bitstream.
7. An image decoding method for decoding an image from a bitstream obtained by encoding an image including a rectangular region including at least one block row formed from a plurality of blocks, comprising: decoding, from the bitstream, a first flag related to enablement of parallel processing, first information used for specifying a rectangular region to be processed first among a plurality of rectangular regions included in a slice in the image, second information used for specifying a rectangular region to be processed last among the plurality of rectangular regions, and third information corresponding to the number of blocks, in a vertical direction, of the rectangular region in the image; and specifying, for a target slice, the number of pieces of information for specifying a start position of coded data of the block row, based on the first information, the second information, and the third information, in a state where a value of the first flag is 1, a second flag, which is decoded from a picture parameter set of the bitstream and is related to a mode of a slice, indicates that a mode in which a slice is rectangular is used, and the target slice in the image includes a plurality of rectangular regions in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction, wherein in the decoding, the coded data of the block row is decoded based on at least (a) the number of pieces of information for specifying the start position, which is specified in the specifying, and (b) the information for specifying the start position, and wherein fourth information used to specify a size of a block in the image is decoded from the bitstream.
U.S. Patent No. 12388998
U.S. Patent No. 12034927B2
1. An image encoding apparatus for encoding an image including a rectangular region including at least one block row formed from a plurality of blocks, comprising: an encoding unit configured to encode, into a bitstream, a first flag related to enablement of parallel processing, first information used for specifying a rectangular region to be processed first among a plurality of rectangular regions included in a slice in the image, second information used for specifying a rectangular region to be processed last among the plurality of rectangular regions, and third information corresponding to the number of blocks, in a vertical direction, of the rectangular region in the image; and a specifying unit configured to specify, for a target slice, the number of pieces of information for specifying a start position of coded data of the block row , based on the first information, the second information, and the third information, in a state where a value of the first flag is 1, a second flag, which is decoded from a picture parameter set of the bitstream and is related to a mode of a slice, indicates that a mode in which a slice is rectangular is used, and the target slice in the image includes a plurality of rectangular regions in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction, wherein the encoding unit configured to encode the information for specifying the start position, the number of pieces of which is as many as the number specified by the specifying unit, and wherein fourth information used to specify a size of a block in the image is encoded into the bitstream.
2. The image encoding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first flag is an entropy coding sync enabled flag, and the second flag is a rect slice flag.
3. An image decoding apparatus for decoding an image from a bitstream obtained by encoding an image including a rectangular region including at least one block row formed from a plurality of blocks, comprising: a decoding unit configured to decode, from the bitstream, a first flag related to enablement of parallel processing, first information used for specifying a rectangular region to be processed first among a plurality of rectangular regions included in a slice in the image, second information used for specifying a rectangular region to be processed last among the plurality of rectangular regions, and third information corresponding to the number of blocks, in a vertical direction, of the rectangular region in the image; and a specifying unit configured to specify, for a target slice, the number of pieces of information for specifying a start position of coded data of the block row, based on the first information, the second information, and the third information, in a state where a value of the first flag is 1, a second flag, which is decoded from a picture parameter set of the bitstream and is related to a mode of a slice, indicates that a mode in which a slice is rectangular is used, and the target slice in the image includes a plurality of rectangular regions in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction, wherein the decoding unit decodes the coded data of the block row, based on at least (a) the number of pieces of information for specifying the start position, which is specified by the specifying unit, and (b) the information for specifying the start position, and wherein fourth information used to specify a size of a block in the image is decoded from the bitstream.
4. The image decoding apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the first flag is an entropy coding sync enabled flag, and the second flag is a rect slice flag.
5. The image decoding apparatus according to claim 3, wherein when the value of the first flag is 1, parallel processing of entropy decoding on a basic block row basis is available.
6. An image encoding method for encoding an image including a rectangular region including at least one block row formed from a plurality of blocks, comprising: encoding, into a bitstream, a first flag related to enablement of parallel processing, first information used for specifying a rectangular region to be processed first among a plurality of rectangular regions included in a slice in the image, second information used for specifying a rectangular region to be processed last among the plurality of rectangular regions, and third information corresponding to the number of blocks, in a vertical direction, of the rectangular region in the image; and specifying, for a target slice, the number of pieces of information for specifying a start position of coded data of the block row , based on the first information, the second information, and the third information, in a state where a value of the first flag is 1, a second flag, which is decoded from a picture parameter set of the bitstream and is related to a mode of a slice, indicates that a mode in which a slice is rectangular is used, and the target slice in the image includes a plurality of rectangular regions in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction; wherein the encoding encodes the information for specifying the start position, the number of pieces of which is as many as the number specified in the specifying, and wherein fourth information used to specify a size of a block in the image is encoded into the bitstream.
7. An image decoding method for decoding an image from a bitstream obtained by encoding an image including a rectangular region including at least one block row formed from a plurality of blocks, comprising: decoding, from the bitstream, a first flag related to enablement of parallel processing, first information used for specifying a rectangular region to be processed first among a plurality of rectangular regions included in a slice in the image, second information used for specifying a rectangular region to be processed last among the plurality of rectangular regions, and third information corresponding to the number of blocks, in a vertical direction, of the rectangular region in the image; and specifying, for a target slice, the number of pieces of information for specifying a start position of coded data of the block row, based on the first information, the second information, and the third information, in a state where a value of the first flag is 1, a second flag, which is decoded from a picture parameter set of the bitstream and is related to a mode of a slice, indicates that a mode in which a slice is rectangular is used, and the target slice in the image includes a plurality of rectangular regions in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction, wherein in the decoding, the coded data of the block row is decoded based on at least (a) the number of pieces of information for specifying the start position, which is specified in the specifying, and (b) the information for specifying the start position, and wherein fourth information used to specify a size of a block in the image is decoded from the bitstream.
1. An image encoding apparatus for encoding an image including a rectangular region including at least one block row formed from a plurality of blocks, comprising:
an encoding unit configured to encode, into a bitstream, a first flag related to enablement of parallel processing, first information used for specifying a rectangular region to be processed first among a plurality of rectangular regions included in a slice in the image, second information used for specifying a rectangular region to be processed last among the plurality of rectangular regions, and third information corresponding to the number of blocks, in a vertical direction, of the rectangular region in the image; and
a specifying unit configured to specify, for a target slice, the number of pieces of information for specifying a start position of coded data of the block row, based on the first information, the second information, and the third information, in a state where a value of the first flag is 1, a second flag, which is decoded from a picture parameter set of the bitstream and is related to a mode of a slice, indicates that a mode in which a slice is rectangular is used, and the target slice in the image includes a plurality of rectangular regions in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction,
wherein the encoding unit configured to encode the information for specifying the start position, the number of pieces of which is as many as the number specified by the specifying unit.
2. An image decoding apparatus for decoding an image from a bitstream obtained by encoding an image into including a rectangular region including at least one block row formed from a plurality of blocks, comprising:
a decoding unit configured to decode, from the bitstream, a first flag related to enablement of parallel processing, first information used for specifying a rectangular region to be processed first among a plurality of rectangular regions included in a slice in the image, second information used for specifying a rectangular region to be processed last among the plurality of rectangular regions, and third information corresponding to the number of blocks, in a vertical direction, of the rectangular region in the image; and
a specifying unit configured to specify, for a target slice, the number of pieces of information for specifying a start position of coded data of the block row, based on the first information, the second information, and the third information, in a state where a value of the first flag is 1, a second flag, which is decoded from a picture parameter set of the bitstream and is related to a mode of a slice, indicates that a mode in which a slice is rectangular is used, and the target slice in the image includes a plurality of rectangular regions in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction,
wherein the decoding unit decodes the coded data of the block row, based on at least (a) the number of pieces of information for specifying the start position, which is specified by the specifying unit, and (b) the information for specifying the start position.
3. An image encoding method for encoding an image including a rectangular region including at least one block row formed from a plurality of blocks, comprising:
encoding, into a bitstream, a first flag related to enablement of parallel processing, first information used for specifying a rectangular region to be processed first among a plurality of rectangular regions included in a slice in the image, second information used for specifying a rectangular region to be processed last among the plurality of rectangular regions, and third information corresponding to the number of blocks, in a vertical direction, of the rectangular region in the image; and
specifying, for a target slice, the number of pieces of information for specifying a start position of coded data of the block row, based on the first information, the second information, and the third information, in a state where a value of the first flag is 1, a second flag, which is decoded from a picture parameter set of the bitstream and is related to a mode of a slice, indicates that a mode in which a slice is rectangular is used, and the target slice in the image includes a plurality of rectangular regions in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction;
wherein the encoding encodes the information for specifying the start position, the number of pieces of which is as many as the number specified in the specifying.
4. An image decoding method for decoding an image from a bitstream obtained by encoding an image including a rectangular region including at least one block row formed from a plurality of blocks, comprising:
decoding, from the bitstream, a first flag related to enablement of parallel processing, first information used for specifying a rectangular region to be processed first among a plurality of rectangular regions included in a slice in the image, second information used for specifying a rectangular region to be processed last among the plurality of rectangular regions, and third information corresponding to the number of blocks, in a vertical direction, of the rectangular region in the image; and
specifying, for a target slice, the number of pieces of information for specifying a start position of coded data of the block row, based on the first information, the second information, and the third information, in a state where a value of the first flag is 1, a second flag, which is decoded from a picture parameter set of the bitstream and is related to a mode of a slice, indicates that a mode in which a slice is rectangular is used, and the target slice in the image includes a plurality of rectangular regions in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction,
wherein in the decoding, the coded data of the block row is decoded based on at least (a) the number of pieces of information for specifying the start position, which is specified in the specifying, and (b) the information for specifying the start position.
5. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program for causing a computer to execute an image encoding method for encoding an image including a rectangular region including at least one block row formed from a plurality of blocks, the method comprising:
encoding, into a bitstream, a first flag related to enablement of parallel processing, first information used for specifying a rectangular region to be processed first among a plurality of rectangular regions included in a slice in the image, second information used for specifying a rectangular region to be processed last among the plurality of rectangular regions, and third information corresponding to the number of blocks, in a vertical direction, of the rectangular region in the image; and
specifying, for a target slice, the number of pieces of information for specifying a start position of coded data of the block row, based on the first information, the second information, and the third information, in a state where a value of the first flag is 1, a second flag, which is decoded from a picture parameter set of the bitstream and is related to a mode of a slice, indicates that a mode in which a slice is rectangular is used, and the target slice in the image includes a plurality of rectangular regions in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction;
wherein the encoding encodes the information for specifying the start position, the number of pieces of which is as many as the number specified in the specifying.
6. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program for causing a computer to execute an image decoding method for decoding an image from a bitstream obtained by encoding an image including a rectangular region including at least one block row formed from a plurality of blocks, comprising:
decoding, from the bitstream, a first flag related to enablement of parallel processing, first information used for specifying a rectangular region to be processed first among a plurality of rectangular regions included in a slice in the image, second information used for specifying a rectangular region to be processed last among the plurality of rectangular regions, and third information corresponding to the number of blocks, in a vertical direction, of the rectangular region in the image; and
specifying, for a target slice, the number of pieces of information for specifying a start position of coded data of the block row, based on the first information, the second information, and the third information, in a state where a value of the first flag is 1, a second flag, which is decoded from a picture parameter set of the bitstream and is related to a mode of a slice, indicates that a mode in which a slice is rectangular is used, and the target slice in the image includes a plurality of rectangular regions in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction,
wherein in the decoding, the coded data of the block row is decoded based on at least (a) the number of pieces of information for specifying the start position, which is specified in the specifying, and (b) the information for specifying the start position.
7. The image encoding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first flag is an entropy coding sync enabled flag, and the second flag is a rect slice flag.
8. The image decoding apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the first flag is an entropy coding sync enabled flag, and the second flag is a rect slice flag.
Allowable Subject Matter
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Bross et al. Joint Video Experts Team (JVET) of ITU-T SG 16 WP 3 and ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29/WG 11 13th Meeting: Marrakech, MA, 9–18 Jan. 2019 “Bross” discloses BROSS disclose a video processing unit with encoding apparatus for dividing the image into tile and raster scanning (BROSS, sec. 6.3.1, pg. 17).
KOJI, CN 107517389 “KOJI” (IDS) discloses an image encoding device and method, an image decoding device and method, and a storage medium. The encoded data is decoded based on the block data division information, the block data position information, the block line data division information, and the block line data position information. The tile data division information indicates whether the encoded data is constituted by tile data items serving as encoded data items of tiles. The tile data location information indicates a location of the tile data item. The block line data division information indicates whether each tile data item is configured by the first block line data and the second block line data. The first block line data is used as encoded data of a first block line which is a group of blocks arranged linearly. The second block line data is used as encoded data of a second block line next to the first block line. The block line data position information indicates a position of the second block line data.
None of the cited prior discloses “an encoding unit configured to encode, into a bitstream, a first flag related to enablement of parallel processing, first information used for identifying a rectangular region to be processed first among a plurality of rectangular regions included in a target slice which is a slice in the image, second information used for identifying a rectangular region to be processed last among the plurality of rectangular regions, and third information corresponding to the number of blocks, in a vertical direction, of the rectangular region in the image; andan identifying unit configured to identify, for the target slice, the number of syntax elements each of which is used to identify a start position of coded data of a block row , based on the first information, the second information, and the third information, in a state where a value of the first flag is 1, a second flag, which is in a picture parameter set of the bitstream and is related to a mode of a slice, indicates that a mode in which a slice is rectangular is used, and the target slice in the image includes a plurality of rectangular regions in a horizontal directionor a vertical direction,wherein fourth information for determining a size of each of blocksforming the block row is encoded into a sequence parameter set of the bitstream, and the syntax elements, the number of which is the number identified by the identifying unit, are included in a slice header of the bitstream, andwherein fifth information corresponding to a width of the image and sixth information corresponding to a height of the image are encoded into the bitstream.”
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's
disclosure:
US 10911754 B2 Image coding method using history-based motion information and
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/FRANK F HUANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2485
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