DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-20 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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) was submitted on 03/11/2026. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 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)(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 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wang et al, US 20140086333 A1 (Wang).
Regarding claims 19-20, Claim 19 claims a product by process claim limitation where the product is the bitstream and the process is the method steps to generate the bitstream. MPEP §2113 recites “Product-by-Process claims are not limited to the manipulations of the recited steps, only the structure implied by the steps”. Thus, the scope of the claim is the storage medium storing the bitstream (with the structure implied by the method steps). The structure includes the information and samples manipulated by the steps.
“To be given patentable weight, the printed matter and associated product must be in a functional relationship. A functional relationship can be found where the printed matter performs some function with respect to the product to which it is associated”. MPEP §2111.05(I)(A). When a claimed “computer-readable medium” merely serves as a support for information or data, no functional relationship exists. MPEP §2111.05(III).
The memory storing the claimed bitstream in Claim 19 merely services as a support for the storage of the bitstream and provides no functional relationship between the stored bitstream and storage medium. Therefore, the bitstream, which scope is implied by the method steps, is non-functional descriptive material and given no patentable weight. MPEP §2111.05(III). Thus, the claim scope is just a storage medium storing data and is anticipated by Wang which recites a storage medium storing a bitstream.
Wang discloses, a bitstream of compressed video data, including a computer readable storage medium storing the compressed non-transitory video data (Wang ¶ [0060] and ¶¶ [0044]-[0045]– Video encoder 20” implemented as a variety of suitable circuitry such as one or more microprocessors).
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 1-3, 10 and 14-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Esenlik et al, US 20220021883 A1 (Esenlik), in view of Wang et al, US 20200296389 A1 (Wang) and Chen et al, WO 2015031818 A1 (Chen).
Regarding Claim 1, Esenlik discloses a method of video decoding performed at a computing system having memory and one or more processors, the method comprising (Esenlik Fig. 1B– Video Decoder 30; processor(s) 43; Memory Store(s) 44): obtaining a video bitstream comprising a plurality of blocks including a block having a first color component (i.e., Y, luma) and a second color component (i.e., Cb, Cr chroma) (Esenlik ¶ [0115]– Pre-processor 18 is configured to receive the (raw) picture data 17 and to perform pre-processing on the picture data 17 to obtain a pre-processed picture 19 or pre-processed picture data 19. Pre-processing performed by the pre-processor 18 may, e.g., comprise trimming, color format conversion (e.g. from RGB to YCbCr)...), wherein the block is coded in a geometric partition mode comprising a first geometric partition and a second geometric partition (Esenlik ¶ [0229]– In an example, according to use sub-block partition mode, the following steps are applied to obtain prediction samples: Esenlik ¶ [0230]– Step 1: divide a coding block into 2 sub-blocks, according to a geometric model; Esenlik Fig. 7– Pu1 and PU2);
of the first color component (Esenlik ¶ [0115]– YCbCr; Y is the luma value);
for the second color component (Esenlik ¶ [0115]– YCbCr; CbCr are the chroma values);
of the second color component (Esenlik ¶ [0115]– YCbCr; CbCr are the chroma values);
and decoding the block based on the reconstructed samples of the first color component and the reconstructed samples of the second color component (Esenlik Fig. 3; ¶ [0204]– Similarly in the decoder, 309, 311 and 313 represent the residual data (more specifically quantized coefficients, dequantized coefficients and reconstructed residual block), each of which are comprised of three parts (one part of luma channel and 2 chroma channels)).
However, Esenlik does not explicitly disclose reconstructing samples in the first geometric partition using the first geometric partition; deriving the second geometric partition based on the reconstructed samples of the first color component; reconstructing samples using the second geometric partition.
Wang teaches reconstructing samples in the first geometric partition using the first geometric partition (Wang [0149]– For instance, a video coder (e.g., video encoder 200 or video decoder 300) may generate the collocated motion compensated pixels A, B and C of first triangle-shaped partition 639 using motion information (e.g., a uni-directional motion vector) for first triangle-shaped partition 639);
reconstructing samples using the second geometric partition (Wang [0150]– For instance, a video coder (e.g., video encoder 200 or video decoder 300) may generate the collocated motion compensated pixels A, B and C of second triangle-shaped partition 640 using motion information (e.g., a uni-directional motion vector) for second triangle-shaped partition 640);
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 Esenlik to incorporate reconstructing samples in the first and second geometric partitions using the first and second geometric partitions as taught by Wang.
One would be motivated to combine Wang’s reconstructing samples in the first and second geometric partitions using the first and second geometric partitions to enable accurate reconstruction of the partitioned video block.
Chen teaches deriving the second geometric partition based on the reconstructed samples of the first color component (Chen Fig. 4; ¶ [0094]– In DMM mode 4, a contour partitioning pattern is implicitly derived using reconstructed luma samples of the co-located texture block);
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 Esenlik to incorporate deriving a second geometric partition based on reconstructed samples of a color component as taught by Chen.
One would be motivated to combine Chen’s deriving a second geometric partition based on reconstructed samples of a color component to determine a partitioning pattern that accounts for the reconstructed content of the block.
Regarding Claim 2, Esenlik, Wang and Chen teach the method of Claim 1, as outlined above.
However, Esenlik does not explicitly disclose wherein the second geometric partition is determined based on the first geometric partition.
Chen teaches wherein the second geometric partition is determined based on the first geometric partition (Chen Fig. 3; ¶ [0093]– For a Wedgelet partition, a depth block is partitioned into two regions by a straight line...where the two regions are labeled with Po and Pi. Each pattern consists of an array of size uBxvB binary digit labeling whether the corresponding sample belongs to region P0 or PI). Therefore, once one partition is established, the second partition is necessarily established.
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 Esenlik to incorporate the determination of a second geometric partition based on a first geometric partition as taught by Chen.
One would be motivated to combine Chen’s determination of a second geometric partition based on a first geometric partition to ensure the block is completely partitioned into the corresponding regions.
Regarding Claim 3, Esenlik in combination, further discloses the method of Claim 1, wherein the first geometric partition is different than the second geometric partition (Esenlik Fig. 7; ¶ [0226]– In the triangular prediction mode, a block is split into two triangular parts (as in FIG. 7), and each part can be predicted using one motion vector. A motion vector which is used to predict one triangle part (denoted with PU1) can be different from a motion vector which is used to predict the other triangle part (denoted with PU2)).
Regarding Claim 10, Esenlik in combination, further discloses the method of Claim 1, further comprising: adjusting a blending strength along a partition boundary of second geometric partition in reconstruction data of the second color component based on the reconstruction data of the first color component (Esenlik ¶ [0239]– the sample weights for combination of chroma predictions (to obtain the combined chroma predictions) are calculated, according to sample weights for combination of luma predictions. It is necessary to calculate a separate blending filter for the chroma prediction, as it is typical in video applications to employ the concept of chroma sub-sampling. Chroma sub-sampling is the process of using a lower spatial resolution for the two chrominance channels than for the luminance channels).
Regarding Claim 14, Esenlik in combination, further discloses the method of Claim 1, the first color component is a luma component, and the second color component is a chroma component (Esenlik [0017]– The method as described above may further comprise obtaining a weight value for a luma sample by calculating the weight value for the luma sample; and obtaining a...weight value for a chroma sample by calculating the...weight value for the chroma sample).
With regard to Claim 15, the claim limitations are essentially the same as Claim 1 but in a different embodiment. Therefore, the rational used to reject claim 1 is applied to Claim 11. Furthermore, Esenlik discloses a method of video encoding (Esenlik ¶ [0062]– The present disclosure may also provide an encoder comprising processing circuitry for carrying out the method as described above) performed at a computing system having memory and one or more processors, the method comprising (Esenlik Fig. 1B– Video Encoder 20; processor(s) 43; Memory Store(s) 44).
With regard to Claim 16, the claim limitations are essentially the same as Claim 2 but in a different embodiment. Therefore, the rational used to reject claim 2 is applied to Claim 16.
Claims 4-6 and 11 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Esenlik, in view of Wang and Chen, and further in view of Helle et al, US 20200128259 A1 (Helle).
Regarding Claim 4, Esenlik, Wang and Chen teach the method of Claim 1, as outlined above. In addition, Esenlik discloses wherein the second geometric partition (Esenlik Fig. 7– PU2);
associated with the first geometric partition (Esenlik Fig. 7– PU1).
However, Esenlik does not explicitly disclose is selected from a group of predefined candidate geometric partitions.
Helle teaches is selected from a group of predefined candidate geometric partitions (Helle ¶ [0076]– The derivation of the initial set of samples described in this sections concerns the derivation of an initial candidate set. Some of all of the candidate blocks may be later removed by analyzing the associated parameters (e.g. prediction information) and removal of those candidate blocks for which a merging would result in a final partitioning that could also be obtained by using another partitioning patterns). A POSITA would understand Helle's disclosure of an initial candidate set and a final partitioning obtainable using another partitioning pattern as teaching selection among candidate partitioning patterns.
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 Esenlik to incorporate selection from a group of predefined candidate geometric partitions as taught by Helle.
One would be motivated to combine Helle’s selection from a group of predefined candidate geometric partitions to avoid redundant portioning patterns.
Regarding Claim 5, Esenlik, Wang and Chen teach the method of Claim 4, as outlined above. In addition, Esenlik discloses further including: evaluating a cost value (Esenlik ¶ [0236]– In the encoder side, a separation line (the parameters defining the line, e.g. the angular and distance) is determined based on a rate-distortion based cost function. The determined line parameters are encoded into the bitstream);
that minimizes the cost value (Esenlik ¶ [0236]– In the encoder side, a separation line (the parameters defining the line, e.g. the angular and distance) is determined based on a rate-distortion based cost function. The determined line parameters are encoded into the bitstream) is selected as the second geometric partition (Esenlik Fig. 7– PU2) for the second color component (Esenlik ¶ [0115]– YCbCr; CbCr are the chroma values).
However, Esenlik does not explicitly disclose for each predefined candidate geometric partition in the group of predefined candidate geometric partitions based on reconstruction data of the first color component, wherein a predefined candidate geometric partition from the group of predefined candidate geometric partitions.
Chen teaches based on reconstruction data of the first color component (Chen Fig. 4; ¶ [0094]– In DMM mode 4, a contour partitioning pattern is implicitly derived using reconstructed luma samples of the co-located texture block).
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 Esenlik to incorporate reconstruction data of the first color component as taught by Chen.
One would be motivated to combine Chen’s reconstruction data of the first color component determine the partitioning pattern based on the reconstructed content of the block.
Helle teaches for each predefined candidate geometric partition in the group of predefined candidate geometric partitions (Helle ¶ [0076]– The derivation of the initial set of samples described in this sections concerns the derivation of an initial candidate set. Some of all of the candidate blocks may be later removed by analyzing the associated parameters (e.g. prediction information) and removal of those candidate blocks for which a merging would result in a final partitioning that could also be obtained by using another partitioning patterns), wherein a predefined candidate geometric partition from the group of predefined candidate geometric partitions (Helle ¶ [0076]– The derivation of the initial set of samples described in this sections concerns the derivation of an initial candidate set. Some of all of the candidate blocks may be later removed by analyzing the associated parameters (e.g. prediction information) and removal of those candidate blocks for which a merging would result in a final partitioning that could also be obtained by using another partitioning patterns).
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 Esenlik to incorporate predefined candidate geometric partitions as taught by Helle.
One would be motivated to combine Helle’s predefined candidate geometric partitions to avoid redundant portioning patterns.
Regarding Claim 6, Esenlik, Wang and Chen teach the method of Claim 5, as outlined above.
However, Esenlik does not explicitly disclose wherein evaluating the cost value includes calculating a variance value associated with each of the predefined candidate geometric partition.
Helle teaches wherein evaluating the cost value includes calculating a variance value associated with each of the predefined candidate geometric partition (Helle ¶ [0032]– Additionally or alternatively, at least some of the coding parameter candidates may be derived from coding parameter candidates associated with more than one previously coded partition, by way of a suitable combination such as a median, mean or the like).
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 Esenlik to incorporate calculating a variance value as taught by Helle.
One would be motivated to combine Helle’s calculation of a variance value to provide a statistical measure for evaluating the candidate geometric partitions.
Regarding Claim 11, Esenlik, Wang and Chen teach the method of Claim 1, as outlined above.
However, Esenlik does not explicitly disclose further comprising: determining whether the second geometric partition applied to the second color component is the same as the first geometric partition, or the second geometric partition differs from the first geometric partition.
However, Helle teaches further comprising: determining whether the second geometric partition applied to the second color component is the same as the first geometric partition, or the second geometric partition differs from the first geometric partition (Helle ¶ [0097]– In another embodiment, a different set of partitioning patterns for a block (or any other form of sample array set) is supported. For sample array sets that are not partitioned, all candidates of the initial candidate lists can be used for the merging. If a sample array is partitioned into exactly two sample arrays, for the sample arrays that is first in coding order all candidates of the initial candidate set are inserted into the final candidate set. For the second sample array in coding order, all candidates that have the same associated parameters as the first sample array are removed. Or in a low-complexity variation, only the first sample array is removed from the candidate set. For partitioning patterns that split a sample array into more than 2 sample arrays, the removal of candidates depends on whether another partitioning pattern can be simulated with the current partition pattern and corresponding merging information).
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 Esenlik to incorporate a determination of whether partitions are the same or different as taught by Helle.
One would be motivated to combine Helle’s determination of whether partitions are the same or different to avoid redundant portioning candidates.
With regard to Claim 17, the claim limitations are essentially the same as Claim 4 but in a different embodiment. Therefore, the rational used to reject claim 4 is applied to Claim 17.
Claim 7-9, 13 and 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Esenlik, in view of Wang and Chen, and further in view of Aono et al, US 20200296380 A1 (Aono).
Regarding Claim 7, Esenlik, Wang and Chen teach the method of Claim 1, as outlined above.
However, Esenlik does not explicitly disclose wherein a partition boundary of the second geometric partition is determined by shifting the partition boundary from a reference position to an offset position, and selecting the offset position having a minimized cost value as a location of the partition boundary.
Aono teaches wherein a partition boundary of the second geometric partition is determined by shifting the partition boundary from a reference position to an offset position (Aono ¶ [0373]– (a prediction list use flag predFlagLX, a reference picture index refIdxLX, a motion vector mvLX, an on/off flag, and the like) input from the inter prediction parameter decoding unit 303, the motion compensation unit 3091 reads from the reference picture memory 306 a block located at the position shifted by the motion vector mvLX from the position of the decoding target PU in the reference picture RefX specified by the reference picture index refIdxLX, and thereby generates a compensation image (motion compensation image)), and selecting the offset position having a minimized cost value as a location of the partition boundary (Aono ¶ [0435]– a first selector configured to select an initial vector of a target block from a motion vector of a block adjacent to the target block in spatial-temporal direction; a first deriver configured to search a local region (search_range) around the initial vector of the target block, search for a vector having a minimum matching cost, and derive a motion vector of the target block; a second selector configured to select an initial vector of a target sub-block from the motion vector of the target block, and a motion vector of a block adjacent to a target sub-block in the spatial-temporal direction; a second deriver configured to search a local region (search_range) around the initial vector of the target sub-block, search for a vector having a minimum matching cost).
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 Esenlik to incorporate shifting a partition boundary and selecting a minimum cost offset as taught by Aono.
One would be motivated to combine Aono’s shifting a partition boundary and selecting a minimum cost offset to improve prediction accuracy by selecting a partition boundary that provides a better match.
Regarding Claim 8, Esenlik, Wang and Chen teach the method of Claim 7, as outlined above.
However, Esenlik does not explicitly disclose wherein shifting the partition boundary from the reference position comprises one or more of: shifting the partition boundary along one or more of a horizontal dimension and a vertical dimension while fixing an angle of the partition boundary; varying an angle of the partition boundary; shifting the partition boundary by an offset that corresponds to an index of a look up table that include entries having offset values for an angle and a displacement of the partition boundary; and shifting the partition boundary by an offset value within a pre-defined range.
Aono teaches wherein shifting the partition boundary from the reference position comprises one or more of: shifting the partition boundary along one or more of a horizontal dimension and a vertical dimension while fixing an angle of the partition boundary (Aono ¶ [0361]– Configuring the search range dependent on both the resolution of the image and the block size in this manner makes it possible to configure the search range based on the angle of view per pixel that is different depending on the resolution of the image);
varying an angle of the partition boundary (Aono ¶ [0361]– Configuring the search range dependent on both the resolution of the image and the block size in this manner makes it possible to configure the search range based on the angle of view per pixel that is different depending on the resolution of the image);
shifting the partition boundary by an offset that corresponds to an index of a look up table that include entries having offset values for an angle and a displacement of the partition boundary (Aono ¶ [0362]– The search range configuration according to the resolution of the image and the block size may be implemented in a configuration in which the search range is derived by reference to a lookup table, based on the block size);
and shifting the partition boundary by an offset value within a pre-defined range (Aono ¶ [0373]– Based on the inter prediction parameters (a prediction list use flag predFlagLX, a reference picture index refIdxLX, a motion vector mvLX, an on/off flag, and the like) input from the inter prediction parameter decoding unit 303, the motion compensation unit 3091 reads from the reference picture memory 306 a block located at the position shifted by the motion vector mvLX from the position of the decoding target PU in the reference picture RefX specified by the reference picture index refIdxLX, and thereby generates a compensation image (motion compensation image)).
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 Esenlik to incorporate a shifting technique as taught by Aono.
One would be motivated to combine Aono’s shifting technique to provide controlled adjustment of the partition boundary based on image resolution and block size.
Regarding Claim 9, Esenlik, Wang and Chen teach the method of Claim 1, as outlined above.
However, Esenlik does not explicitly disclose further comprising: obtaining a respective motion vector for each partition in reconstruction data of the first color component; and applying the respective motion vector for each partition to partitions in reconstruction data of the second color component.
Aono teaches further comprising: obtaining a respective motion vector for each partition in reconstruction data of the first color component (Aono ¶ [0277]– The sub-block prediction parameter derivation unit 3037 splits the PU into multiple sub-blocks depending on a value of the sub-block prediction mode flag subPbMotionFlag to derive a motion vector in units of sub-block. Specifically, in the sub-block prediction mode, a prediction block is predicted in units of block as small as 4×4 or 8×8. In the image encoding device 11 described later, for a method in which the CU is split into multiple partitions (PU of 2N×N, N×2N, N×N, and the like) and a syntax of the prediction parameter is coded in units of partition);
and applying the respective motion vector for each partition to partitions in reconstruction data of the second color component (Aono ¶ [0373]– Based on the inter prediction parameters (a prediction list use flag predFlagLX, a reference picture index refIdxLX, a motion vector mvLX, an on/off flag, and the like) input from the inter prediction parameter decoding unit 303, the motion compensation unit 3091 reads from the reference picture memory 306 a block located at the position shifted by the motion vector mvLX from the position of the decoding target PU in the reference picture RefX specified by the reference picture index refIdxLX, and thereby generates a compensation image (motion compensation image). Here, in a case that accuracy of the motion vector mvLX is not integer accuracy, a filter, called a motion compensation filter, for generating pixels at fractional positions is applied to generate a motion compensation image).
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 Esenlik to incorporate the motion vector application technique as taught by Aono.
One would be motivated to combine Aono’s motion vector application technique to improve prediction accuracy by generating motion-compensated samples at appropriate positions.
Regarding Claim 13, Esenlik, Wang and Chen teach the method of Claim 1, as outlined above.
However, Esenlik does not explicitly disclose further comprising, when a dimension of the first color component differs from a dimension of the second color component: prior to generating reconstruction data of the second color component, downsampling a mask for the first geometric partition used to generate the reconstruction data of the first color component.
Aono teaches further comprising, when a dimension of the first color component differs from a dimension of the second color component: prior to generating reconstruction data of the second color component, downsampling a mask for the first geometric partition used to generate the reconstruction data of the first color component (Aono ¶ [0117]– In a case that a chrominance format is 4:2:0, the luminance image is downsampled to have a size the same as that of the chrominance image in order to create a linear model).
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 Esenlik to incorporate downsampling as taught by Aono.
One would be motivated to combine Aono’s downsampling technique to match the dimensions of the luminance and chrominance components.
With regard to Claim 18, the claim limitations are essentially the same as Claim 7 but in a different embodiment. Therefore, the rational used to reject claim 7 is applied to Claim 18.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Esenlik, in view of Wang and Chen, and further in view of Wang, US 20220086387 A1 (Wang).
Regarding Claim 12, Esenlik, Wang and Chen teach the method of Claim 1, as outlined above. In addition, Esenlik discloses associated with the first color component (Esenlik ¶ [0115]– YCbCr; Y is the luma value);
to the second color component (Esenlik ¶ [0115]– YCbCr; CbCr are the chroma values);
applied to the second color component (Esenlik ¶ [0115]– YCbCr; CbCr are the chroma values);
However, Esenlik does not explicitly disclose determining a residue; when the residue is zero, determining that the second geometric partition applied is the same as the first geometric partition; when the residue is non-zero, determining that the second geometric partition is different than the first geometric partition.
Wang discloses determining a residue (Wang [0317]– Residual generation unit 207 may generate residual data for the current video block);
when the residue is zero, determining that the second geometric partition applied is the same as the first geometric partition (Wang ¶ [0317]– Residual generation unit 207 may generate residual data for the current video block by subtracting (e.g., indicated by the minus sign) the predicted video block(s) of the current video block from the current video block. The residual data of the current video block may include residual video blocks that correspond to different sample components of the samples in the current video block; Wang ¶ [0318]– In other examples, there may be no residual data for the current video block for the current video block, for example in a skip mode, and residual generation unit 207 may not perform the subtracting operation.);
when the residue is non-zero, determining that the second geometric partition is different than the first geometric partition (Wang ¶ [0321]– Inverse quantization unit 210 and inverse transform unit 211 may apply inverse quantization and inverse transforms to the transform coefficient video block, respectively, to reconstruct a residual video block from the transform coefficient video block. Reconstruction unit 212 may add the reconstructed residual video block to corresponding samples from one or more predicted video blocks generated by the predication unit 202 to produce a reconstructed video block associated with the current block for storage in the buffer 213.).
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 Esenlik to incorporate determinations based on residue values as taught by Wang.
One would be motivated to combine Wang’s determinations based on residue values to avoid unnecessary processing when no residual data is present.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
US Patent Number: 12,445,620
Instant Application: 19/337,794
1. A method of video decoding performed at a computing system having memory and one or more processors, the method comprising: receiving video data comprising a picture, wherein the picture is coded using at least a first color component and a second color component, and wherein the picture includes a first block that is coded in a geometric partition mode, the first block comprising a first geometric partition and a second geometric partition; reconstructing samples in a first geometric partition of the first color component of the first block using the first geometric partition; deriving the second geometric partition for the second color component of the first block based on the reconstructed samples of the first color component of the first block; reconstructing samples of the second color component of the first block using the second geometric partition, wherein the first geometric partition is different than the second geometric partition; and decoding the first block in the picture based at least on the reconstructed samples in the first geometric partition of the first color component and the second color component of the first block.
1. A method of video decoding performed at a computing system having memory and one or more processors, the method comprising: obtaining a video bitstream comprising a plurality of blocks including a block having a first color component and a second color component, wherein the block is coded in a geometric partition mode comprising a first geometric partition and a second geometric partition; reconstructing samples in the first geometric partition of the first color component using the first geometric partition; deriving the second geometric partition for the second color component based on the reconstructed samples of the first color component; reconstructing samples of the second color component using the second geometric partition; and decoding the block based on the reconstructed samples of the first color component and the reconstructed samples of the second color component.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second geometric partition is determined based on the first geometric partition.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second geometric partition is determined based on the first geometric partition.
1. A method of video decoding performed at a computing system having memory and one or more processors, the method comprising: receiving video data comprising a picture, wherein the picture is coded using at least a first color component and a second color component, and wherein the picture includes a first block that is coded in a geometric partition mode, the first block comprising a first geometric partition and a second geometric partition; reconstructing samples in a first geometric partition of the first color component of the first block using the first geometric partition; deriving the second geometric partition for the second color component of the first block based on the reconstructed samples of the first color component of the first block; reconstructing samples of the second color component of the first block using the second geometric partition, wherein the first geometric partition is different than the second geometric partition; and decoding the first block in the picture based at least on the reconstructed samples in the first geometric partition of the first color component and the second color component of the first block.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first geometric partition is different than the second geometric partition.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the second geometric partition is selected from a group of predefined candidate geometric partitions associated with the first geometric partition.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the second geometric partition is selected from a group of predefined candidate geometric partitions associated with the first geometric partition.
4. The method of claim 3, further including: evaluating a cost value for each predefined candidate geometric partition in the group of predefined candidate geometric partitions on reconstruction data of the first color component, and wherein a predefined candidate geometric partition from the group of predefined candidate geometric partitions that minimizes the cost value is selected as the second geometric partition for the second color component.
17. The method of claim 16, further including: evaluating a cost value for each predefined candidate geometric partition in the group of predefined candidate geometric partitions on reconstruction data of the first color component, and wherein a predefined candidate geometric partition from the group of predefined candidate geometric partitions that minimizes the cost value is selected as the second geometric partition for the second color component.
5. The method of claim 4, further including: evaluating a cost value for each predefined candidate geometric partition in the group of predefined candidate geometric partitions based on reconstruction data of the first color component, wherein a predefined candidate geometric partition from the group of predefined candidate geometric partitions that minimizes the cost value is selected as the second geometric partition for the second color component.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein evaluating the cost value includes calculating a variance value associated with each of the predefined candidate geometric partition.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein evaluating the cost value includes calculating a variance value associated with each of the predefined candidate geometric partition.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein a partition boundary of the second geometric partition is determined by shifting the partition boundary from a reference position to an offset position, and selecting the offset position having a minimized cost value as a location of the partition boundary.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein a partition boundary of the second geometric partition is determined by shifting the partition boundary from a reference position to an offset position, and selecting the offset position having a minimized cost value as a location of the partition boundary.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein shifting the partition boundary from the reference position consists of one or more elements selected from a group consisting of: shifting the partition boundary along one or more of a horizontal dimension and a vertical dimension while fixing an angle of the partition boundary, varying an angle of the partition boundary, shifting the partition boundary by an offset that corresponds to an index of a look up table that include entries having offset values for an angle and a displacement of the partition boundary, and shifting the partition boundary by an offset value within a pre-defined range.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein shifting the partition boundary from the reference position comprises one or more of: shifting the partition boundary along one or more of a horizontal dimension and a vertical dimension while fixing an angle of the partition boundary; varying an angle of the partition boundary; shifting the partition boundary by an offset that corresponds to an index of a look up table that include entries having offset values for an angle and a displacement of the partition boundary; and shifting the partition boundary by an offset value within a pre-defined range.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: obtaining a respective motion vector for each partition in reconstruction data of the first color component; and applying the respective motion vector for each partition to partitions in reconstruction data of the second color component.
9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: obtaining a respective motion vector for each partition in reconstruction data of the first color component; and applying the respective motion vector for each partition to partitions in reconstruction data of the second color component.
9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: adjusting a blending strength along a partition boundary of second geometric partition in reconstruction data of the second color component based on the reconstruction data of the first color component.
10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: adjusting a blending strength along a partition boundary of second geometric partition in reconstruction data of the second color component based on the reconstruction data of the first color component.
10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: providing an indication whether the second geometric partition applied to the second color component is identical to the first geometric partition, or the second geometric partition differs from the first geometric partition.
11. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining whether the second geometric partition applied to the second color component is the same as the first geometric partition, or the second geometric partition differs from the first geometric partition.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein providing the indication includes determining a residue associated with the first color component, the method further comprising: in accordance with a determination that the residue associated with the first color component is zero, providing an indication that the second geometric partition applied to the second color component is identical to the first geometric partition; in accordance with a determination that the residue associated with the first color component is non-zero, providing an indication that the second geometric partition applied to the second color component differs from the first geometric partition.
12. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining a residue associated with the first color component; when the residue associated with the first color component is zero, determining that the second geometric partition applied to the second color component is the same as the first geometric partition; when the residue associated with the first color component is non-zero, determining that the second geometric partition applied to the second color component is different than the first geometric partition.
12. The method of claim 1, further comprising: in accordance with a determination that a dimension of the first color component in the first block of video data component differs from a dimension of the second color component in the first block of video data: prior to generating reconstruction data of a second color component of the first block of video data, downsampling a mask for a first geometric partition used to generate the reconstruction data of the first color component.
13. The method of claim 1, further comprising, when a dimension of the first color component differs from a dimension of the second color component: prior to generating reconstruction data of the second color component, downsampling a mask for the first geometric partition used to generate the reconstruction data of the first color component.
13. The method of claim 1, the first color component is luma (Y), and the second color component is chroma.
14. The method of claim 1, the first color component is a luma component, and the second color component is a chroma component.
14. A method of video encoding performed at a computing system having memory and one or more processors, the method comprising: receiving video data comprising a picture composed of a plurality of blocks, including a current block having a first color component and a second color component; identifying a first geometric partition for the first color component; identifying a second geometric partition for the second color component based on information from the first geometric partition for the first color component, wherein the first geometric partition used for the first color component is different from the second geometric partition used for the second color component; and encoding the current block in a geometric partition mode using information from the first geometric partition and information from the second geometric partition.
15. A method of video encoding performed at a computing system having memory and one or more processors, the method comprising: receiving video data comprising a plurality of blocks, including a block having a first color component and a second color component, wherein the block is coded in a geometric partition mode comprising a first geometric partition and a second geometric partition; deriving the second geometric partition for the second color component based on samples of the first color component; and encoding the block, including: encoding samples in the first geometric partition of the first color component using the first geometric partition; and encoding samples of the second color component using the second geometric partition.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the second geometric partition is determined based on the first geometric partition.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the second geometric partition is determined based on the first geometric partition.
16. The method of claim 14, wherein the second geometric partition is selected from a group of predefined candidate geometric partitions associated with the first geometric partition.
17. The method of claim 15, wherein the second geometric partition is selected from a group of predefined candidate geometric partitions associated with the first geometric partition.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein a partition boundary of the second geometric partition is determined by shifting the partition boundary from a reference position to an offset position, and selecting the offset position having a minimized cost value as a location of the partition boundary.
18. The method of claim 15, wherein a partition boundary of the second geometric partition is determined by shifting the partition boundary from a reference position to an offset position, and selecting the offset position having a minimized cost value as a location of the partition boundary.
18. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a video bitstream that is generated by a video encoding method, the video encoding method comprising: receiving video data comprising a picture composed of a plurality of blocks, including a current block having a first color component and a second color component; identifying a first geometric partition for the first color component; and identifying a second geometric partition for the second color component based on information from the first geometric partition for the first color component, wherein the first geometric partition used for the first color component is different from the second geometric partition used for the second color component; and wherein the video bitstream comprises the current block encoded in a geometric partition mode using information from the first geometric partition and information from the second geometric partition.
19. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a video bitstream that is generated by a video encoding method, the video bitstream comprising: encoded video data comprising a plurality of blocks, including a block having a first color component and a second color component, wherein the block is coded in a geometric partition mode comprising a first geometric partition and a second geometric partition; and wherein the video encoding method comprises: deriving the second geometric partition for the second color component based on samples of the first color component; and encoding the block, including: encoding samples in the first geometric partition of the first color component using the first geometric partition; and encoding samples of the second color component using the second geometric partition.
19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the second geometric partition is identified using reconstruction data of the first color component.
20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the second geometric partition is identified using sample data of the first color component.
Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-19 of U.S. Patent No. 12,445,620. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claims 1-20 of the instant application differ from claims 1-19 of U.S. Patent No. 12,445,620 in that the instant application is broader in scope and therefore the entire scope of the reference claim falls within the scope of the examined claim.
Conclusion
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/C.P.M./Examiner, Art Unit 2483
/AMIR SHAHNAMI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2483
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