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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 02/03/2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 15, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choi (US10645263), referred to as Choi ‘263, in view of Lee (US10684444).
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Annotated Fig. 6 of Choi ‘263
Regarding claim 1, Choi ‘263 teaches A lens unit comprising:
a cylindrical lens barrel (850) and a plurality of lenses (100) arranged side by side along an axial direction of the lens barrel on an inner peripheral side of the lens barrel (Fig. 3,6),
a first lens (110) of the plurality of lenses (100) having a flat surface on a first side (111) of the first lens (annotated Fig. 6, element D being the flat surface) configured to face an imaging sensor (500);
a reduced diameter portion having a first diameter at the first side of the first lens (111, annotated Fig. 6 Element A being the reduced diameter portion),
the first diameter being smaller than a second diameter of the first lens at a second side of the first lens (Annotated Fig. 6 diameter of 111 shown as A is smaller than diameter of the rest of lens 110 at a second side, marked as E),
the second side (112) of the first lens being opposite to the first side (111) of the first lens (Fig. 6)
a second lens (120) of the plurality of lenses (100) having a flat surface (annotated Fig. 6 element B being the flat surface) on a side of the second lens (120) configured to face an object (Fig. 6),
a heater unit (610) that generates a heat when energized sandwiched between the flat surface of the first lens (110) and the flat surface of the second lens (120, Fig. 6),
a seal member (859) disposed between the reduced diameter portion of the first lens (element A) and the inner peripheral surface of the lens barrel (850, Fig. 6),
and a wiring portion (620, Figs. 3 and 4) electrically connected to an outer peripheral end of the heater unit (610),
the wiring portion (620) configured to supply electrical power to the heater unit (Col. 6 lines 1-5 power applying member (620) may function to apply a current to the resistance heating film (610)).
Choi ‘263 is silent on lens barrel includes a stepped portion on the inner peripheral side of the lens barrel at a position opposite to the flat surface of the first lens, the stepped portion being stepped relative to the axial direction of the lens barrel, and the stepped portion accommodating the second lens, the wiring portion is in a continuous space defined by an inner peripheral surface of the lens barrel, the reduced diameter portion of the first lens, an outer peripheral surface of the seal member, and the stepped portion of the lens barrel.
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Annotated Fig. 11 of Lee
Lee teaches the lens barrel (5000, 7000) includes a stepped portion (Annotated Fig. 11, Col. 11 lines 30-35 lens barrel may take a both ends-opened pillar shape to accommodate/fix therein the plurality of lenses, and each of the plurality of lenses may be spaced apart by a spacer or an inwardly-protruded lug) on the inner peripheral side of the lens barrel (5000) at a position opposite to the flat surface of the first lens (1000), the stepped portion being stepped relative to the axial direction of the lens barrel (5000), and the stepped portion accommodating the second lens (Annotated Fig. 11),
the wiring portion (8200) is in a continuous space (A) defined by an inner peripheral surface of the lens barrel (5000, 7000), the reduced diameter portion of the first lens (Fig. 11), an outer peripheral surface of the seal member (Fig. 11), and the stepped portion of the lens barrel (Fig. 11).
Choi ‘263 and Lee are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of lens devices. It would have been obvious to have modified Choi ‘263 to incorporate the teachings of Lee to have a stepped portion that accommodates a second lens and the wiring portion be in a continuous space so that the heating layer may be supplied with power by a power supply source placed at a different end of the heating layer in the imaging device (Lee Col. 2 lines 10-20) and so that all the lenses in the device may be fixed and spaced apart within the device (Lee Col. 11 lines 30-35).
Regarding claim 15, Choi ‘263 and Lee teach a lens unit according to claim 1; and Choi ‘263 teaches a camera module (Col. 2 line 15 camera) comprising: a lens unit according to claim 1; and an imaging element that captures an image formed by the lens unit (Col. 5 lines 20-35 400, 500).
Regarding claim 17, Choi ‘263 and Lee teach a lens unit according to claim 1; and Choi ‘263 teaches wherein the first diameter of the reduced diameter portion is an outer diameter of the first lens (Element A in Annotated Fig. 6 where a diameter of lens 111 is an outer diameter of lens 110).
Claims 2 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choi (US10645263), referred to as Choi ‘263, and Lee (US10684444) as applied to claim 1 above, in further view of Liu (CN206650748) and Dong (TW201018949) with citations made to attached machine translations.
Regarding claim 2, Choi ‘263 and Lee teach the lens unit according to claim 1, but are silent on wherein the heater unit includes: a conductive carbon film having a self-temperature control function and a light-blocking function; and a circuit pattern for energizing the conductive carbon film.
Liu teaches a conductive film having a self-temperature control function and a light-blocking function ([0029] heating film 3 of the heating device is provided with a copper wire 7 and an NTC thermistor 6. The NTC thermistor 6 are respectively connected to the copper wires 7 and the power connection wire 4; the heating film 3 is made of polyimide base material); and a circuit pattern for energizing the conductive film ([0029] copper wires 7 are arranged in an S-shape).
Choi ‘263, Lee, and Liu are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of lens devices. It would have been obvious to have modified Choi ‘263 and Lee to incorporate the teachings of Liu to have a conductive film with a circuit pattern to energize the film in order to improve the uniformity of the temperature rise of the wires (Liu [0029]).
Dong teaches a conductive carbon film ([0012] carbon conductive film 24 to generate heat and transmit the heat energy to the ring-shaped defogger cover).
Choi ‘263, Lee, Liu, and Dong are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of lens devices. It would have been obvious to have modified Choi ‘263, Lee, and Liu to incorporate the teachings of Dong to have a carbon conductive film to generate heat and transmit the heat energy to the ring-shaped defogger cover (Dong [0012]).
Regarding claim 5, Choi ‘263 and Lee teach the lens unit according to claim 1, and Choi ‘263 teaches wherein the heater unit (620) includes: a flexible substrate (626); but is silent on a conductive carbon film formed on the flexible substrate and having a self-temperature control function and a light-blocking function; and a circuit pattern electrically connected to the flexible substrate and capable of energizing the conductive carbon film.
Liu teaches a flexible substrate ([0030] heating device uses polyimide material as the base material), a conductive film formed on the flexible substrate and having a self-temperature control function and a light-blocking function ([0029] heating film 3 of the heating device is provided with a copper wire 7 and an NTC thermistor 6. The NTC thermistor 6 are respectively connected to the copper wires 7 and the power connection wire 4; the heating film 3 is made of polyimide base material); and a circuit pattern electrically connected to the flexible substrate and capable of energizing the conductive carbon film ([0029] copper wires 7 are arranged in an S-shape).
It would have been obvious to have modified Choi ‘263 and Lee to incorporate the teachings of Liu to have a conductive film with a circuit pattern to energize the film in order to improve the uniformity of the temperature rise of the wires (Liu [0029]).
Dong teaches a conductive carbon film ([0012] carbon conductive film 24 to generate heat and transmit the heat energy to the ring-shaped defogger cover).
It would have been obvious to have modified Choi ‘263, Lee, and Liu to incorporate the teachings of Dong to have a carbon conductive film to generate heat and transmit the heat energy to the ring-shaped defogger cover (Dong [0012]).
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choi (US10645263), referred to as Choi ‘263, and Lee (US10684444) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Liu (CN206650748) with citations made to attached machine translation.
Regarding claim 4, Choi ‘263 and Lee teach the lens unit according to claim 1, and Dong teaches wherein the heater unit (620) includes: a flexible substrate on which a heater circuit has been formed (flexible insulation member 626); but is silent on a thermistor mounted on the flexible substrate and having a self-temperature control function.
Liu teaches a thermistor mounted on the flexible substrate and having a self-temperature control function ([0029] heating film 3 of the heating device is provided with a copper wire 7 and an NTC thermistor 6).
It would have been obvious to have modified Choi ‘263 and Lee to incorporate the teachings of Liu to have a thermistor in order to monitor the product temperature and control the heating power (Liu [0030]).
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choi (US10645263), referred to as Choi ‘263, and Lee (US10684444) as applied to claim 1 above, in further view of Dong (TW201018949) with citations made to attached machine translations.
Regarding claim 7, Choi ‘263 and Lee teach the lens unit according to claim 1, but are silent on wherein the heater unit is formed of ceramics having a self-temperature control function.
Dong teaches wherein the heater unit is formed of ceramics having a self-temperature control function ([0012] carbon conductive film 24, carbon being a ceramic).
It would have been obvious to have modified Choi ‘263 and Lee to incorporate the teachings of Dong to have a ceramic conductive film to generate heat and transmit the heat energy to the ring-shaped defogger cover (Dong [0012]).
Claims 3, 6, and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choi (US10645263), referred to as Choi ‘263, Lee (US10684444), Liu (CN206650748), and Dong (TW201018949) applied to claims 2 and 7 above, in further view of Ishizuka (US20190278158) with citations made to attached machine translations.
Regarding claims 3 and 6, Choi ‘263, Lee, Liu, and Dong teach the lens unit according to claim 2 and 5, but are silent on wherein the circuit pattern has a comb-like shape including a plurality of protruding portions protruding in the radial direction, and arranged at equal intervals along the circumferential direction.
Ishizuka teaches wherein the circuit pattern has a comb-like shape including a plurality of protruding portions protruding in the radial direction, and arranged at equal intervals along the circumferential direction ([00658] Fig. 7 positive electrode pattern portion 84 and the negative electrode pattern portion 86 are formed spaced apart from each other, and the heat generating element 88 is provided between the positive electrode pattern portion 84 and the negative electrode pattern portion 8).
Choi ‘263, Lee, Liu, Dong and Ishizuka are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of lens devices. It would have been obvious to have modified Choi ‘263, Lee, Liu, and Dong to incorporate the teachings of Ishizuka to have a circuit pattern with a comb like shape in order to allow respective placement portions and the periphery of the lens hole be heated to a substantially constant temperature (Ishizuka [0058]).
Regarding claim 9, Choi ‘263, Lee, and Dong teach the lens unit according to claim 7, but are silent on wherein the heater unit is formed in an annular shape, and includes: an inner peripheral side electrode pattern provided along the inner peripheral portion and the inner peripheral side surface of the image side surface of the heater unit; and an outer peripheral side electrode pattern provided along the outer peripheral portion and the outer peripheral side surface of the image side surface of the heater unit, wherein the wiring portion includes lead wires that are respectively adhered to the end portion of the inner peripheral electrode pattern and the end portion of the outer peripheral electrode pattern.
Liu teaches wherein the heater unit is formed in an annular shape ([0029] Fig. 2 the heating film 3 is a hollow circular structure).
It would have been obvious to have modified Choi ‘263, Lee, and Dong to incorporate the teachings of Liu to have heater unit with an annular shape in order to provide a camera that be automatically heated in a low-temperature environment through the heating device, and is easy to install and thin in volume (Liu [0014]).
Ishizuka teaches an inner peripheral side electrode pattern provided along the inner peripheral portion and the inner peripheral side surface of the image side surface of the heater unit ([0058] Fig. 7 positive electrode pattern portion 84 and the negative electrode pattern portion 86 are formed spaced apart from each other, and the heat generating element 88 is provided between the positive electrode pattern portion 84 and the negative electrode pattern portion 8); and an outer peripheral side electrode pattern provided along the outer peripheral portion and the outer peripheral side surface of the image side surface of the heater unit ([0058] Fig. 7 positive electrode pattern portion 84 and the negative electrode pattern portion 86 are formed spaced apart from each other, and the heat generating element 88 is provided between the positive electrode pattern portion 84 and the negative electrode pattern portion 8), wiring portion includes lead wires that are respectively adhered to the end portion of the inner peripheral electrode pattern and the end portion of the outer peripheral electrode pattern ([0059] Two electrodes 80 are provided as an example, one of the electrodes 80 being formed integrally to the positive electrode pattern portion 84, and the other electrode 80 being formed integrally to the negative electrode pattern portion 86).
It would have been obvious to have modified Choi ‘263, Lee, Liu, and Dong to incorporate the teachings of Ishizuka to have an inner and outer peripheral side of an electrode pattern on an inner and outer side of a heat unit with lead wires at the ends of the patterns in order to allow respective placement portions and the periphery of the lens hole be heated to a substantially constant temperature (Ishizuka [0058]).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choi (US10645263), referred to as Choi ‘263, Lee (US10684444), and Dong (TW201018949) as applied to claim 7 above, in further view of Takada (US7609322) and Ishizuka (US20190278158).
Regarding claim 8, Choi ‘263, Lee, and Dong teach the lens unit according to claim 7, but are silent on wherein the heater unit has a PTC characteristic, and has a Curie temperature which is 80° C. or higher and 120° C. or lower.
Takada teaches a Curie temperature which is 80° C. or higher and 120° C. or lower (Col. 38 lines 50-60 as for a lens to be used in an ambient atmospheric temperature range of from -40 degrees centigrade to +85 degrees centigrade, predetermined performance has to be satisfied over an available atmospheric temperature change of 125 degrees with the estimated temperature in design being set at 25 degrees centigrade).
It would have been obvious to have modified Choi ‘263, Lee, and Dong to incorporate the teachings of Takada to have the Curie temperature be 80° C. or higher and 120° C. or lower so that the performance of the lens module is not negatively altered (Takada Col. 38 lines 50-67).
Ishizuka teaches wherein the heater unit has a PTC characteristic ([0056] heat generating body 78 features a Positive Temperature Coefficient (PTC) heater 76 provided to a heater unit 74).
It would have been obvious to have modified Choi ‘263, Lee, Dong, and Takada to incorporate the teachings of Ishizuka to have a PTC characteristic in order to allow respective placement portions and the periphery of the lens hole be heated to a substantially constant temperature (Ishizuka [0058]).
Claims 10 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choi (US10645263), referred to as Choi ‘263, Lee (US10684444), and Dong (TW201018949) as applied to claim 7 above, in further view of Choi (US10649205), referred to as Choi 205’ having priority to KR102556516, published 2/21/2018.
Regarding claim 10, Choi ‘263, Lee, and Dong teach the lens unit according to claim 7, but are silent on wherein lens barrel has a through hole for drawing a lead wire of the wiring portion includes lead wires that connected to the heater unit to the outside of the lens barrel through an opening formed on the outer peripheral surface of the lens barrel and wherein the lead wire is fixed to the opening on the outer peripheral surface side of the lens barrel by an adhesive or a fixing member.
Choi ‘205 teaches wherein lens barrel has a through hole for drawing a lead wire of the wiring portion connected to the heater unit to the outside of the lens barrel through an opening formed on the outer peripheral surface of the lens barrel (Col. 8 lines 15-25 the connecting portion 620 may be located in the space formed in the diametric direction between the inner surface of the retainer 200 and the barrel 100 inside the retainer 200. The bonding portion 610 may be electrically connected to the electrode layer 550), wherein the lead wire is fixed to the opening on the outer peripheral surface side of the lens barrel by an adhesive or a fixing member (Col. 8 lines 24-30 adhesive may be applied between the top surface of the protruding portion 210 and the bottom surface of the bonding portion 610 and between the top surface of the bonding portion 610 and the bottom surface of the cover part 500, thereby securely attaching the bonding portion 610 and the cover part 500 to the retainer 200).
Choi ‘263, Lee, Dong, and Choi ‘205 are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of lens devices. It would have been obvious to have modified Choi ‘263, Liu, and Dong to incorporate the teachings of Choi ‘205 to have a hole for lead wires which are fixed to the lens barrel in order to securely attach the cover with a bonding portion that allows electrical connection to the heating layer and a printed circuit board (Choi ‘205 Col. 8 lines 1-25).
Regarding claim 11, Choi ‘263, Lee, Choi ‘205, and Dong teach the lens unit according to claim 10, but are silent on wherein there are two through holes are provided at two positions of the lens barrel, with the lead wire inserted into one of the through holes.
Choi ‘205 teaches a through hole at one position of the lens barrel, with the lead wire inserted into one of the through holes (Col. 8 lines 15-25 the connecting portion 620 may be located in the space formed in the diametric direction between the inner surface of the retainer 200 and the barrel 100 inside the retainer 200. The bonding portion 610 may be electrically connected to the electrode layer 550).
Regarding the limitation of “there are two through holes are provided at two positions of the lens barrel, with the lead wire inserted into one of the through holes”
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of to have modified the one through hole taught in Choi ‘205 to be two through holes, since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. (MPEP 2144. VI. B)
Claims 12 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choi (US10645263), referred to as Choi ‘263, Lee (US10684444), Dong (TW201018949), and Choi (US10649205), referred to as Choi ‘205, as applied to claim 10 above, in further view of Mori (JP2017225255) with citations made to attached machine translations.
Regarding claim 12, Choi ‘263, Lee, Choi 205’, and Dong teach the lens unit according to claim 10, but are silent on wherein the fixing member is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and is inserted into the opening in a state where the lead wire has been inserted into the fixing member.
Mori teaches wherein the fixing member is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and is inserted into the opening in a state where the lead wire has been inserted into the fixing member ([0021] sleeve 3 is a cylindrical body (made of rubber, for example) whose outer peripheral surface has a conical tapered shape, and an insertion hole 31 through which the cable C is inserted is formed in the sleeve 3 along the axial direction).
Choi ‘263, Lee, Dong, Choi 205’, and Mori are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of lens devices and cable holding devices. It would have been obvious to have modified Choi ‘263, Lee, Choi 205’, and Dong to incorporate the teachings of Mori to have a cylindrical fixing member so that the sleeve is deformed in a diameter reducing direction, and the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole of the sleeve and the outer peripheral surface of the cable are brought into close contact with each other (Mori, [0004]).
Regarding claim 13, Choi ‘263, Lee, Choi 205’, and Dong teach the lens unit according to claim 10, but are silent on wherein the fixing member is formed in a tapered shape using an elastically deformable material, such that the outer diameter thereof becomes smaller from one end to the other, and is inserted into the opening from an end having a smaller diameter, with the inner diameter thereof becoming smaller while being inserted into the opening.
Mori teaches wherein the fixing member is formed in a tapered shape using an elastically deformable material, such that the outer diameter thereof becomes smaller from one end to the other, and is inserted into the opening from an end having a smaller diameter, with the inner diameter thereof becoming smaller while being inserted into the opening ([0021] sleeve 3 is a cylindrical body (made of rubber, for example) whose outer peripheral surface has a conical tapered shape, and an insertion hole 31 through which the cable C is inserted is formed in the sleeve 3 along the axial direction).
It would have been obvious to have modified Choi ‘263, Lee, Choi 205’, and Dong to incorporate the teachings of Mori to have a fixing member with a tapered shape made of an elastically deformable material so that the sleeve is deformed in a diameter reducing direction, and the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole of the sleeve and the outer peripheral surface of the cable are brought into close contact with each other (Mori, [0004]).
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choi (US10645263), referred to as Choi ‘263, and Lee (US10684444) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Liu (CN206650748) and Takada (US7609322) with citations made to attached machine translations.
Regarding claim 14, Choi ‘263 and Lee teach the lens unit according to claim 1, but are silent on wherein a plurality of the lenses form an ultra-wide-angle lens assembly having a horizontal angle of view which is larger than 180°, wherein the thickness of the heater unit is such that a distance between the flat portion of the first lens and the flat portion of the second lens is 0.5 mm or less.
Liu teaches wherein the thickness of the heater unit is such that a distance between the flat surface of the first lens and the flat surface of the second lens is 0.5 mm or less ([0012] thickness of the heating film is 0.2mm).
It would have been obvious to have modified Choi ‘263 and Lee to incorporate the teachings of Liu to have a thickness of a heater unit such that the distance between lenses is 0.5mm or less in order to provide a camera that be automatically heated in a low-temperature environment through the heating device, and is easy to install and thin in volume (Liu [0014]).
Takada teaches wherein a plurality of the lenses form an ultra-wide-angle lens assembly having a horizontal angle of view which is larger than 180° (Col. 26 lines 55-60 A dotted line 730 in FIG. 40 designates the object side convex surface of the first lens 722. The maximum wide-angle view of the imaging apparatus in this case follows the line 723. That is, light beams wider in angle than the line 723 are blocked by the side surface 724 of the pressure member 705 so that the wide-angle view is narrowed correspondingly).
Choi ‘263, Lee, Liu, and Takada are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of lens devices. It would have been obvious to have modified Choi ‘263, Lee, and Liu to incorporate the teachings of Takada to have a plurality of lenses form an ultra-wide angle lens assembly having a horizontal angle of view which is larger than 180° such that wide angle photography may be achieved in spite of the structural limitations of the imaging assembly (Takada Col. 25 lines 50-60).
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choi (US10645263), referred to as Choi ‘263, Lee (US10684444), Dong (TW201018949), and Choi (US10649205), referred to as Choi ‘205 as applied to claim 10 above, in further view of Takada (US7609322).
Regarding claim 16, Choi ‘263, Liu, Choi ‘205, and Dong teach a lens unit according to claim 10 and Choi ‘263 teaches a camera module (Col. 2 line 15 camera) comprising: an imaging element (400, 500)that captures an image formed by the lens unit (Col. 5 lines 20-35), a camera case (700) that covers the periphery of the lens unit while exposing an end of the lens unit on the object side (Fig. 3), but is silent on wherein an O-ring is disposed between the camera case and the flange portion formed on the outer peripheral surface of the lens barrel to form a seal portion, wherein the opening of the through hole on the outer peripheral surface side of the lens barrel is provided on the image side of the seal portion in the axial direction of the lens barrel.
Takada teaches wherein an O-ring is disposed between the camera case and the flange portion formed on the outer peripheral surface of the lens barrel to form a seal portion (Col. 39 lines 44-55 The edge portion of the front lens 612 is subjected to a step cut process, and a first O-ring 652 for maintaining airtightness is inserted into the step cut portion for waterproofing. The front lens 612 is fixed by a screw-down press ring 640 fitted to the outer periphery of the lens holder 642. At this time, the first O-ring 652 is pressed by the pressing ring 640 and the above-described step cut portion),
wherein the opening of the through hole on the outer peripheral surface side of the lens barrel is provided on the image side of the seal portion in the axial direction of the lens barrel (Col. 26 lines 15-20 Further, the flat portion 703 of the first lens 700 is pressed onto the imaging side by a ring-like pressure member 705 disposed on the object side of the first lens 700. Thus, the first lens 700 is pressed and fixed onto the lens-barrel 706. The pressure member 705 is fixedly screwed down to the outer circumferential portion of the lens-barrel 706).
It would have been obvious to have modified Choi ‘263, Lee, Choi ‘205, and Dong to incorporate the teachings of Takada to have an O-ring between the camera case and a flange of the lens barrel and an opening on the image side of the seal portion of the lens barrel in order to provide an air tightness in the imaging device (Takada Col. 39 lines 40-55).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 02/03/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding applicant’s arguments that Lee does not teach “the stepped portion accommodating the second lens… Lee’s alleged stepped portion is positioned adjacent to and accommodates the outermost lens.” However in further consideration of Lee, the interpretation of the “stepped portion” is no longer identified to be element 6000 of previous rejections, as it is now taken to be a protruding portion of 5000 shown in annotated Fig. 11 above, which does accommodate a second lens as now claimed.
Regarding applicant’s arguments towards the newly added limitation of a “seal member,” applicant argues that the ring of Choi cannot define a continuous space as now claimed. Choi is only used to teach the limitation of the “seal member disposed between the reduced diameter portion of the first lens and the inner peripheral surface of the lens barrel.” Secondary reference Lee is used as a modification of the seal in Choi, where the seal in Fig. 11 of Choi is understood to be part of a continuous space, as the limitation reads “an outer peripheral surface of the seal member” defines the continuous space, where in Fig. 11, the continuous space shown is at an outer peripheral portion of the seal member. So it is understood that the combination of Choi in view of Lee teaches the limitation.
Conclusion
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/ABIGAIL H RHUE/Examiner, Art Unit 3761 3/13/2026
/VY T NGUYEN/Examiner, Art Unit 3761