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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on March 2nd, 2026 has been entered.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Response to Amendment
The amendments filed March 2nd, 2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Pg. 7, Par. 1, filed March 2nd, 2026, with respect to claims 1-2, 4-5, 7-11, and 13 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection of claims 1-2, 4-5, 7-11, and 13 has been withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-2, 4-5, 7-11, and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the free-form surface lens contained therein" in line 16. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It is unclear as to which free-form lens this is. For examination purposes, "the free-form surface lens contained therein" is interpreted as "the first and/or second free-form surface lens contained therein".
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the free-form surface lens" in line 19. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It is unclear as to which free-form lens this is. For examination purposes, "the free-form surface lens" is interpreted as "the first and second free-form surface lenses".
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the free-form surface lens" in line 22. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It is unclear as to which free-form lens this is. For examination purposes, "the free-form surface lens" is interpreted as "the first and second free-form surface lenses".
Claims 2, 4-5, 7-11, and 13 are rejected due to dependency upon claim 1.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-2, 4-5, 7-11, and 13 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Regarding claim 1, Wada (US 2002/0071190) discloses an optical camera lens (Fig. 2, 4) comprising:
a first camera lens (22, 24) component including a first lens barrel (24) and at least one first lens (22) mounted in the first lens barrel (22 is mounted in 24 in Fig. 2);
a second camera lens (21, 23) component including a second lens barrel (23) and at least one second lens (21) mounted in the second lens barrel (21 is mounted in 23 in Fig. 2), the at least one first lens and the at least one second lens together constituting an imageable optical system (5, as shown in Fig. 2, the lenses form an imaging system), and in a direction along an optical axis of the optical camera lens, a gap is present between the first lens barrel and the second lens barrel (25 forms a gap between 23 and 24); and
a connecting medium (25) adapted to fix the first camera lens component and the second camera lens component together ([0076], “an adhesive agent 25 for adhering the first lens holder 23 to the second lens holder 24”).
Buchheister (US 2011/0199575) further teaches an included angle between an optical axis of the first camera lens component (Figs. 1-2, element 3) and an optical axis of the second camera lens (2) component is not zero ([0036], “Thereby, the at least two refractive optical elements are designed approximately wedge-shaped and are tilted at a random azimuth angle of at least 5.degree”, examiner interprets this to mean that the optical axis of the first and second lenses are not parallel and have an angle between the two, and can be seen in Figs. 1-2 where the optical path is not straight passing from the first to the second lens), wherein the at least one first lens includes a first free-form surface lens ([0043], “at least two of the optical system surfaces of the at least two approximately wedge-shaped refractive optical elements, tilted in the beam path, are designed as free-form surfaces”), the at least one second lens includes a second free-form surface lens ([0043], “at least two of the optical system surfaces of the at least two approximately wedge-shaped refractive optical elements, tilted in the beam path, are designed as free-form surfaces”), and facial form directions of the first and second free-form surface lenses complement each other (as shown by the optical paths in Figs. 1-2, the facial forms of 2 and 3 complement one another).
Zhou (US 2014/0285905) further teaches wherein the first camera lens component (Fig. 3, 101) and/or the second camera lens component (102) has an identifier that characterizes facial form direction information of the free-form surface lens contained therein ([0097], “a set of alignment features or orientation indicators identifying at least one freeform surface reference axis (e.g., an x- and/or a y-axis) transverse to a thickness profile”).
Wang (US 2017/0176705) further teaches wherein relative positions of the first camera lens component (111C) and the second camera lens component (112C) are adjusted ([0100], “enable the first lens element 111C to be adjusted along multiple directions and angles, so that the accuracy of the adjusting process is ensured”).
However, the prior art of Wada, Buchheister, Zhou, and Wang, taken either singularly or in combination with any other prior art fails to disclose or fairly suggest the following:
“make a difference between an actual reference direction of the free- form surface lens and a reference direction determined by an optical design to be not greater than 0.05 degree, the reference direction determined by the optical design characterizing the facial form direction information of the free-form surface lens”.
Claims 2, 4-5, 7-11, and 13 would be allowed due to dependency.
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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW Y LEE whose telephone number is (571)272-3526. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 5:00 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Pinping Sun can be reached at (571) 270 - 1284. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MATTHEW Y LEE/Examiner, Art Unit 2872 9 March 2026