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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-5, 13-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Leleannec et al., hereinafter referred to as Leleannec (EP-3487177-A1).
As per claim 1, Leleannec discloses a method of video decoding performed at a computing system having memory and one or more processors (Leleannec: Abstract.), the method comprising:
receiving a video bitstream comprising a plurality of blocks, including a current block encoded in an intra prediction mode (Leleannec: Para. [0045] discloses “the input of the decoder includes a video bitstream [claimed receiving a video bitstream]” and Para. [0046] discloses “encoding of a frame of video sequence is based on a block structure. A frame is divided into square coding tree units (CTUs) … Each CU [claimed block] is either intra-predicted [claimed encoded in an intra prediction mode] … or inter-predicted … In I-slices all CUs are intra-predicted” and Para. [0084] discloses “input for the exemplary decoding process 1000 is, e.g., encoded information about prediction and reference array(s) obtained from the received bitstream [claimed receiving a video bitstream comprising a plurality of blocks, including a current block encoded in an intra prediction mode]”.);
when the current block is a luma block, identifying the intra prediction mode from a first set of intra prediction modes that includes one or more directional intra bi-prediction modes (Leleannec: Para. [0016] discloses “a decision is made to determine if the current block is a luma block, and the bi-directional intra prediction is applied when the current block is determined to be a luma block [claimed when the current block is a luma block]”, Para. [0066] discloses “a subset 610 comprising HEVC intra modes 2 - 6 and modes 30 - 34 are eligible and maybe selected for the bi-directional intra prediction [claimed first set of intra prediction modes that includes one or more directional intra bi-prediction modes]”, and Para. [0085] discloses “At 1002, a determination is made to see if the current block being decoded is a luma block … if the current block is a luma block then process 1000 continues at step 1004. At step 1004, a determination is made to see if the current prediction mode is eligible for the bi-directional intra prediction [claimed identifying the intra prediction mode from a first set of intra prediction modes that includes one or more directional intra bi-prediction modes] … That is, for example, whether the current prediction mode belongs to e.g., the subset 610 of intra prediction directions”.);
when the current block is a chroma block, identifying the intra prediction mode from a second set of intra prediction modes that does not include the one or more directional intra bi-prediction modes (Leleannec: Para. [0063] discloses “apply bi-directional intra prediction only to the luma component and not the chroma component of a block being encoded or decoded [claimed when the current block is a chroma block, identifying the intra prediction mode from a second set of intra prediction modes that does not include the one or more directional intra bi-prediction modes]”, Para. [0079] discloses “apply the bi-directional prediction only to the luma component. The color components will use the usual prediction modes”, and Para. [0085] discloses “At 1002, a determination is made to see if the current block being decoded is a luma block. If the decision is no, then the block is a chroma block [claimed when the current block is a chroma block] and the chroma block is uni-directionally predicted [claimed identifying the intra prediction mode from a second set of intra prediction modes that does not include the one or more directional intra bi-prediction modes], at step 1003”.); and
decoding the current block according to the intra prediction mode (Leleannec: Para. [0005] discloses “selecting a directional intra prediction mode … bi-directionally intra predicting a sample value of the sample, by using the first and second predictors; and decoding the sample of the current block based on the predicted sample value [claimed decoding the current block according to the intra prediction mode]”, Para. [0023] discloses “the terms "reconstructed" and "decoded" may be used interchangeably”, and Para. [0045] discloses “The predicted block may be obtained (370) from intra prediction (360) … Combining (355) the decoded prediction residuals and the predicted block, an image block [claimed current block] is reconstructed [claimed decoding the current block according to the intra prediction mode]”.).
As per claim 2, Leleannec discloses the method of claim 1, wherein each of the first and second sets of intra prediction modes includes an intra bi-prediction mode for a direct current (DC) intra prediction (Leleannec: Para. [0046] discloses “For intra prediction, HEVC defines 35 prediction modes which include one planar mode (indexed as mode 0), one DC mode (indexed as mode 1) and 33 directional prediction modes (indexed as modes 2 - 34)”; Para. [0066] discloses “HEVC intra modes 2 - 6 and modes 30 - 34 are eligible and maybe selected for the bi-directional intra prediction” and Para. [0067] discloses “we may choose to have these directions to have only bi-directional prediction”.).
As per claim 3, Leleannec discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the second set of intra prediction modes does not include any directional intra bi-prediction modes (Leleannec: Para. [0087] discloses “the selected subset of the intra predicted modes are then bi-directionally coded according to the present embodiments … Conversely, the remaining un-selected or un-eligible angular modes [claimed second set of intra prediction modes] will undergo only uni-directional prediction [claimed does not include any directional intra bi-prediction modes]” and Para. [0067] discloses “In this option, the remaining angular modes [claimed second set of intra prediction modes] will only be uni-directionally predicted [claimed does not include any directional intra bi-prediction modes].”).
As per claim 4, Leleannec discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the first set of intra prediction modes comprises a first plurality of directional intra bi-prediction modes, and wherein the second set of intra prediction comprises a second plurality of directional intra bi-prediction modes, different than the first plurality of directional intra bi-prediction modes (Leleannec: Para. [0069] discloses “for a rectangular block with its width greater than height, only the horizontal positive directions from 2 to 2+K are subject to the bi-directional intra prediction [claimed first set of intra prediction modes comprises a first plurality of directional intra bi-prediction modes], where K denotes a preset or selected number indicating the number of the chosen modes. On the other hand, for a rectangular block with its height greater than width, only the vertical positive directions from 66-K to 66 are applied with the bi-directional prediction [claimed second set of intra prediction comprises a second plurality of directional intra bi-prediction modes, different than the first plurality of directional intra bi-prediction modes]”; and Paras. [0012]-[0013] & [0071]-[0072] disclose that when width is greater than height, the subset of bi-directional modes comprises Kmax positive horizontal modes and Kmax*(H/W) positive vertical modes, whereas when height is greater than width, the subset comprises Kmax positive vertical modes and Kmax*(W/H) positive horizontal modes.”).
As per claim 5, Leleannec discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the first set of intra prediction modes comprises a plurality of directional intra bi-prediction modes, and wherein the second set of intra prediction comprises only a subset of the first set of intra prediction modes (Leleannec: Para. [0066] discloses “only the modes from 2 to 2+K and 34-K to 34 (or from 66-K to 66 in JEM) may apply the bi-directional intra prediction [claimed the first set of intra prediction modes comprises a plurality of directional intra bi-prediction modes] … a subset 610 comprising HEVC intra modes 2 - 6 and modes 30 - 34 are eligible and maybe selected for the bi-directional intra prediction” and Para. [0069] discloses ”for a rectangular block with its width greater than height, only the horizontal positive directions from 2 to 2+K are subject to the bi-directional intra prediction in an exemplary embodiment [claimed the second set of intra prediction comprises only a subset of the first set of intra prediction modes] … On the other hand, for a rectangular block with its height greater than width, only the vertical positive directions from 66-K to 66 are applied with the bi-directional prediction [claimed the second set of intra prediction comprises only a subset of the first set of intra prediction modes]”.).
As per claim 13, Leleannec discloses a method of video encoding performed at a computing system having memory and one or more processors (Leleannec: Abstract.), the method comprising:
receiving video data comprising a plurality of blocks, including a current block to be encoded in an intra prediction mode (Leleannec: Para. [0026] discloses “The picture [claimed video data] to be encoded is processed in units of CUs [claimed plurality of blocks]. Each CU is encoded using either an intra or inter mode. When a CU [claimed current block] is encoded in an intra mode [claimed to be encoded in an intra prediction mode], it performs intra prediction (160)”; and Para. [0101] discloses “processors 1310, the memory 1320, the storage device 1340, and the encoder/decoder module 1330 may store one or more of the various items during the performance of the processes discussed herein above, including, but not limited to the input video [claimed receiving video data]”; and Para. [0108] discloses “"receiving" various pieces of information. Receiving is, as with "accessing", intended to be a broad term. Receiving the information may include one or more of, for example, accessing the information, or retrieving the information (for example, from memory) [claimed receiving video data]”.);
when the current block is a luma block, identifying the intra prediction mode from a first set of intra prediction modes that includes one or more directional intra bi-prediction modes (Leleannec: Para. [0016] discloses “a decision is made to determine if the current block is a luma block [claimed when the current block is a luma block], and the bi-directional intra prediction is applied when the current block is determined to be a luma block”; Para. [0006] discloses ”selecting a directional intra prediction mode [claimed identifying the intra prediction mode] from the subset of the plurality of directional intra prediction modes [claimed from a first set of intra prediction modes that includes one or more directional intra bi-prediction modes] … bi-directionally intra predicting a sample value of the sample”; and Para. [0088] discloses “At step 1101, a determination is made to see if the current block being encoded is a luma block … if the current block is a luma block then process 1100 continues at step 1103. At step 1103, a determination is made to see if the current prediction mode is eligible for the bi-directional intra prediction [claimed identifying the intra prediction mode from a first set of intra prediction modes that includes one or more directional intra bi-prediction modes] … whether the current prediction mode belongs to e.g., the subset 610 of intra-prediction directions”.);
when the current block is a chroma block, identifying the intra prediction mode from a second set of intra prediction modes that does not include the one or more directional intra bi-prediction modes (Leleannec: Para. [0063] discloses “to apply bi-directional intra prediction only to the luma component and not the chroma component [claimed does not include the one or more directional intra bi-prediction modes] of a block being encoded”; Para. [0079] discloses “apply the bi-directional prediction only to the luma component. The color components [claimed chroma block] will use the usual prediction modes [claimed second set of intra prediction modes that does not include the one or more directional intra bi-prediction modes], for example, as defined in JEM”; and Para. [0088] discloses “At step 1101, a determination is made to see if the current block being encoded is a luma block. If the decision is no, then the block is a chroma block [claimed when the current block is a chroma block] and the chroma block is uni-directionally predicted [claimed identifying the intra prediction mode from a second set of intra prediction modes that does not include the one or more directional intra bi-prediction modes], at step 1102”.); and
encoding the current block according to the intra prediction mode (Leleannec: Para. [0006] discloses “bi-directionally intra predicting a sample value of the sample, by using the first and second predictors; and encoding the sample of the current block based on the predicted sample value [claimed encoding the current block according to the intra prediction mode]”; and Para. [0026] discloses “When a CU is encoded in an intra mode, it performs intra prediction (160) … Prediction residuals are calculated by subtracting (110) the predicted block from the original image block” and Para. [0042] discloses “The prediction residuals are then transformed (125) and quantized (130) … entropy coded (145) to output a bitstream [claimed encoding the current block according to the intra prediction mode]”.).
As per claim 14, the claim(s) recites analogous limitations to claim(s) 3 above, and is/are therefore rejected on the same premise.
As per claim 15, the claim(s) recites analogous limitations to claim(s) 2 above, and is/are therefore rejected on the same premise.
As per claim 16, the claim(s) recites analogous limitations to claim(s) 5 above, and is/are therefore rejected on the same premise.
As per claim 17, Leleannec discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a video bitstream that is generated by a video encoding method (Leleannec: Abstract.), the video encoding method comprising:
receiving video data comprising a plurality of blocks, including a current block to be encoded in an intra prediction mode (Leleannec: Para. [0026] discloses “The picture [claimed video data] to be encoded is processed in units of CUs [claimed plurality of blocks]. Each CU is encoded using either an intra or inter mode. When a CU [claimed current block] is encoded in an intra mode [claimed to be encoded in an intra prediction mode], it performs intra prediction (160)”; and Para. [0101] discloses “processors 1310, the memory 1320, the storage device 1340, and the encoder/decoder module 1330 may store one or more of the various items during the performance of the processes discussed herein above, including, but not limited to the input video [claimed receiving video data]”; and Para. [0108] discloses “"receiving" various pieces of information. Receiving is, as with "accessing", intended to be a broad term. Receiving the information may include one or more of, for example, accessing the information, or retrieving the information (for example, from memory) [claimed receiving video data]”.);
when the current block is a luma block, identifying the intra prediction mode from a first set of intra prediction modes that includes one or more directional intra bi-prediction modes (Leleannec: Para. [0016] discloses “a decision is made to determine if the current block is a luma block [claimed when the current block is a luma block], and the bi-directional intra prediction is applied when the current block is determined to be a luma block”; Para. [0006] discloses “selecting a directional intra prediction mode [claimed identifying the intra prediction mode] from the subset of the plurality of directional intra prediction modes [claimed from a first set of intra prediction modes that includes one or more directional intra bi-prediction modes] … bi-directionally intra predicting a sample value of the sample”; and Para. [0088] discloses “At step 1101, a determination is made to see if the current block being encoded is a luma block … if the current block is a luma block then process 1100 continues at step 1103. At step 1103, a determination is made to see if the current prediction mode is eligible for the bi-directional intra prediction [claimed identifying the intra prediction mode from a first set of intra prediction modes that includes one or more directional intra bi-prediction modes] … whether the current prediction mode belongs to e.g., the subset 610 of intra-prediction directions”.);
when the current block is a chroma block, identifying the intra prediction mode from a second set of intra prediction modes that does not include the one or more directional intra bi-prediction modes (Leleannec: Para. [0063] discloses “to apply bi-directional intra prediction only to the luma component and not the chroma component [claimed does not include the one or more directional intra bi-prediction modes] of a block being encoded”; Para. [0079] discloses “apply the bi-directional prediction only to the luma component. The color components [claimed chroma block] will use the usual prediction modes [claimed second set of intra prediction modes that does not include the one or more directional intra bi-prediction modes], for example, as defined in JEM”; and Para. [0088] discloses “At step 1101, a determination is made to see if the current block being encoded is a luma block. If the decision is no, then the block is a chroma block [claimed when the current block is a chroma block] and the chroma block is uni-directionally predicted [claimed identifying the intra prediction mode from a second set of intra prediction modes that does not include the one or more directional intra bi-prediction modes], at step 1102”.); and
encoding the current block according to the intra prediction mode (Leleannec: Para. [0006] discloses “bi-directionally intra predicting a sample value of the sample, by using the first and second predictors; and encoding the sample of the current block based on the predicted sample value [claimed encoding the current block according to the intra prediction mode]”; and Para. [0026] discloses “When a CU is encoded in an intra mode, it performs intra prediction (160) … Prediction residuals are calculated by subtracting (110) the predicted block from the original image block” and Para. [0042] discloses “The prediction residuals are then transformed (125) and quantized (130) … entropy coded (145) to output a bitstream [claimed encoding the current block according to the intra prediction mode]”.); and
wherein the video bitstream comprises information for the encoded current block (Leleannec: Para. [0042] discloses “The quantized transform coefficients, as well as motion vectors and other syntax elements, are entropy coded (145) to output a bitstream [claimed the video bitstream comprises information for the encoded current block]”, and Para. [0019] discloses “a bitstream is presented, wherein the bitstream is formed by: … encoding the sample of the current block based on the predicted sample value [claimed the video bitstream comprises information for the encoded current block]”.).
As per claim 18, the claim(s) recites analogous limitations to claim(s) 3, 14 above, and is/are therefore rejected on the same premise.
As per claim 19, the claim(s) recites analogous limitations to claim(s) 2, 15 above, and is/are therefore rejected on the same premise.
As per claim 20, the claim(s) recites analogous limitations to claim(s) 5, 16 above, and is/are therefore rejected on the same premise.
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 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Leleannec in view of Rath et al., hereinafter referred to as Rath (US 2022/0086487 A1).
As per claim 6, Leleannec discloses the method of claim 1 (Leleannec: Abstract.),
However, Leleannec do not explicitly disclose “… wherein directional intra bi-prediction is enabled for the luma block when a first set of criteria are met, and wherein directional intra bi-prediction is enabled for the chroma block when a second set of criteria are met, different than the first set of criteria.”
Further, Rath is in the same field of endeavor and teaches wherein directional intra bi-prediction is enabled for the luma block when a first set of criteria are met, and wherein directional intra bi-prediction is enabled for the chroma block when a second set of criteria are met, different than the first set of criteria (Rath: Para. [0123] discloses “for a block [claimed luma block] with positive prediction direction, both the unidirectional and bi-directional predictions are performed at the encoder and the one giving better RD performance is chosen. The chosen prediction method is signaled to the decoder using a 1-bit flag. A value of 1 for this flag indicates bi-directional prediction [claimed directional intra bi-prediction is enabled for the luma block when a first set of criteria are met] … For the chroma Coding Unit (CU) [claimed chroma block], the signaling flag used with the center luma CU is used to decide whether to perform interpolation [claimed directional intra bi-prediction] with the DM_Chroma mode. If the center luma CU has bi-directional prediction, meaning the flag has value 1, then the same is assumed for the chroma CU if its prediction mode is positive. If the prediction mode is not DM_Chroma, then the uni-directional intra prediction is used [claimed directional intra bi-prediction is enabled for the chroma block when a second set of criteria are met, different than the first set of criteria]” and Paras. [0141]-[0142] disclose “tests (850) the intra prediction mode for the luma component with bi-directional intra prediction … Based on the coding performance, the encoder determines (860) whether to use bi-directional intra prediction for the current intra prediction mode [claimed directional intra bi-prediction is enabled for the luma block when a first set of criteria are met]” and “For the chroma components, the encoder may determine (870) whether to use bi-directional intra prediction based on the bi-directional flag for the center luma CU for DM_CHROMA mode [claimed directional intra bi-prediction is enabled for the chroma block when a second set of criteria are met, different than the first set of criteria]”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, and having the teachings of Leleannec and Rath before him or her, to modify intra prediction mode selection of Leleannec to include the directional intra bi-prediction is enabled for the luma block when a first set of criteria are met, and wherein directional intra bi-prediction is enabled for the chroma block when a second set of criteria are met, different than the first set of criteria feature as described in Rath. The motivation for doing so would have been to improve rate-distortion performance by providing evaluation of coding performance and signaled flag derivation for luma and chroma components.
As per claim 7, Leleannec discloses the method of claim 6, wherein the second set of criteria includes each criterion of the first set of criteria (Leleannec: Para. [0082] discloses “At step 903, a determination is made to see if the current prediction mode is eligible for the bi-directional intra prediction, according to the present embodiments. That is, for example, whether the current prediction mode belongs to e.g., the subset 610 of intra-prediction directions as shown in FIG. 6 and as described previously [claimed first set of criteria]. Additionally, the determination may also include the block size check, for example, if the target block is sufficiently large based on the lengths of its height and width [claimed the second set of criteria includes each criterion of the first set of criteria]”; and Para. [0080] discloses “The above described improvements to the bi-directional intra prediction according to the present embodiments may be independently implemented, or one or more of them may also be selectively implemented together in a complementary way [claimed the second set of criteria includes each criterion of the first set of criteria]”).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8-12 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure and can be viewed in the list of references.
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/PEET DHILLON/Primary Examiner
Art Unit: 2488
Date: 10-13-2026
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