# US 11,310,500 B2 · Image decoding method, image coding method, image decoding apparatus, image coding apparatus, program, and integrated circuit

> Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt

- Number: US 11,310,500 B2
- Document ID: US11310500B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/801,228
- Filed: 2020-02-26
- Published: 2020-06-18
- Granted: 2022-04-19
- Earliest claimed: 2010-09-30
- Assignees: Sun Patent Trust
- Applicants: Sun Patent Trust
- Inventors: Hisao Sasai; Takahiro Nishi; Youji Shibahara; Chong Soon Lim; Viktor Wahadaniah; Xuan Jing; Sue Mon Thet Naing
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11310500B2

## CPC

- H04N 19/124: Quantisation
- H04N 19/119: Adaptive subdivision aspects, e.g. subdivision of a picture into rectangular or non-rectangular coding blocks
- H04N 19/12: Selection from among a plurality of transforms or standards, e.g. selection between discrete cosine transform [DCT] and sub-band transform or selection between H.263 and H.264
- H04N 19/147: according to rate distortion criteria (rate-distortion as a criterion for motion estimation H04N19/567)
- H04N 19/176: the region being a block, e.g. a macroblock
- H04N 19/42: characterised by implementation details or hardware specially adapted for video compression or decompression, e.g. dedicated software implementation (H04N19/635 takes precedence)
- H04N 19/44: Decoders specially adapted therefor, e.g. video decoders which are asymmetric with respect to the encoder
- H04N 19/46: Embedding additional information in the video signal during the compression process (H04N19/517, H04N19/68, H04N19/70 take precedence)
- H04N 19/61: in combination with predictive coding
- H04N 19/70: characterised by syntax aspects related to video coding, e.g. related to compression standards
- H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION

## Abstract

An image decoding method which can improve both image quality and coding efficiency is an image decoding method for decoding a coded stream which includes a plurality of processing units and a header for the processing units, the coded stream being generated by coding a moving picture, the processing units including at least one processing unit layered to be split into a plurality of smaller processing units, the image decoding method including specifying a hierarchical layer having a processing unit in which a parameter necessary for decoding is stored, by parsing hierarchy depth information stored in the header, and decoding the processing unit using the parameter stored in the processing unit located at the specified hierarchical layer.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A decoding method for decoding a coded stream to generate a picture, the picture including a plurality of units, each of the units including a plurality of blocks, the decoding method comprising:
determining, using first information in a picture header of a picture, whether or not a first quantization parameter to be used for decoding a first block is provided for a unit, the picture including the unit, the unit including the first block; and
decoding the first block,
wherein, when the first quantization parameter is determined to be provided, (i) the decoding includes deriving a value for dequantization by using the first quantization parameter and (ii) the first quantization parameter is used for other blocks included in the unit, and
wherein, when the first quantization parameter is determined not to be provided, the decoding includes deriving a value for dequantization by not using the first quantization parameter and by using a second quantization parameter which is provided for the first block.

### Claim 2

A decoding apparatus for decoding a coded stream to generate a picture, the picture including a plurality of units, each of the units including a plurality of blocks, the decoding apparatus comprising:
a processor; and
a non-transitory memory having stored thereon executable instructions, which when executed, cause the processor to perform:
determining, using first information in a picture header of a picture, whether or not a first quantization parameter to be used for decoding a first block is provided for a unit, the picture including the unit, the unit including the first block; and
decoding the first block,
wherein, when the first quantization parameter is determined to be provided, (i) the decoding includes deriving a value for dequantization by using the first quantization parameter and (ii) the first quantization parameter is used for other blocks included in the unit, and
wherein, when the first quantization parameter is determined not to be provided, the decoding includes deriving a value for dequantization by not using the first quantization parameter and by using a second quantization parameter which is provided for the first block.

### Claim 3

A coding method for coding a picture to generate a coded stream, the picture including a plurality of units, each of the units including a plurality of blocks, the coding method comprising:
determining, using first information in a picture header of a picture, whether or not a first quantization parameter to be used for coding a first block is provided for a unit, the picture including the unit, the unit including the first block; and
coding the first block,
wherein, when the first quantization parameter is determined to be provided, (i) the coding includes deriving a value for dequantization by using the first quantization parameter and (ii) the first quantization parameter is used for other blocks included in the unit, and
wherein, when the first quantization parameter is determined not to be provided, the coding includes deriving a value for dequantization by not using the first quantization parameter and by using a second quantization parameter which is provided for the first block.

### Claim 4

A coding apparatus for coding a picture to generate a coded stream, the picture including a plurality of units, each of the units including a plurality of blocks, the coding apparatus comprising:
a processor; and
a non-transitory memory having stored thereon executable instructions, which when executed, cause the processor to perform:
determining, using first information in a picture header of a picture, whether or not a first quantization parameter to be used for coding a first block is provided for a unit, the picture including the unit, the unit including the first block; and
coding the first block,
wherein, when the first quantization parameter is determined to be provided, (i) the coding includes deriving a value for dequantization by using the first quantization parameter and (ii) the first quantization parameter is used for other blocks included in the unit, and
wherein, when the first quantization parameter is determined not to be provided, the coding includes deriving a value for dequantization by not using the first quantization parameter and by using a second quantization parameter which is provided for the first block.