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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Pages 4-5, filed 07/08/2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-3 and 5-6 under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejections previously set forth in the Non-Final Office Action mailed 04/08/2025 has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejections for claims 1-3 and 5-6 are made as stated below.
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 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.
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 of this title, 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 and 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang (US2024/0210665) in view of Watanabe (US 2011/0182566) and Hirata (JP2016224388A)
Regarding claim 1, Zhang teaches a camera module (Fig. 1-40, Abs, [0006-0208]) comprising:
a first lens group (G1 in Fig. 2-4), including two or more lenses (Fig. 2-4), having a positive power as a whole (Abs, [0006, 0094]), and being configured to receive object light (Fig. 1-4 and 40);
a second lens group (G2 in Fig. 2-4) including one or more lenses (Fig. 2-4), having a negative power as a whole (Abs, [0006, 0094]), and disposed in a traveling direction of the object light (Fig. 1-4 and 40) with respect to the first lens group (G1 in Fig. 2-4) to concentrate the object light (Fig. 1-4 and 40, Abs, [0093-0094, 0101]); and
a lens driver (Fig. 5A-5B, the inherent driver to move G2 in Fig. 2-3, [0098, 0105]) to move (Fig. 3) the second lens group (G2 in Fig. 2-4).
Zhang does not teach that a first lens barrel holding the first lens group; a second lens barrel holding the second lens group, a lens driver holding a perimeter of the second lens barrel to move the second lens group, in a direction along a first optical axis of the second lens group, wherein a size of the lens driver in a direction intersecting with the first optical axis is smaller than a size of the first lens barrel in the direction intersecting with the first optical axis, a case housing the first lens barrel, one of the first lens barrel and the case is provided with a protrusion structure protruding in a diameter direction of the first lens barrel, and another one of the first lens barrel and the case is provided with a guidance structure for the protrusion structure.
Watanabe teaches that (Fig. 1-4 and 7-8, [0157-0170, 0205]) a first lens barrel (10 in Fig. 2-4, [0159]) holding a first lens group (the lens group corresponding to G1 in Fig. 2-4); a second lens barrel (110a in Fig. 3 and Fig. 7, [0173, 0178]) holding a second lens group (the lens group corresponding to G3, G4 and/or G5 in Fig. 4), a lens driver (the driver corresponding to 130/132, 140/142, 105, 106 and 70 in Fig. 2-3, [0168, 0205]) holding a perimeter of the second lens barrel (110 in Fig. 3, [0169]) to move the second lens group (the lens group corresponding to G3, G4 and/or G5 in Fig. 4), in a direction along a first optical axis (L2 in Fig. 3) of the second lens group (the lens group corresponding to G3, G4 and/or G5 in Fig. 4), wherein a size of the lens driver (the driver corresponding to 130/132, 140/142, 105, 106 and 70 in Fig. 2-3, [0168, 0205]) in a direction (the vertical direction in Fig. 3) intersecting with the first optical axis (L2 in Fig. 3) is smaller than (Fig. 2-3) a size of the first lens barrel (10 in Fig. 2-4, [0159]) in the direction (the vertical direction in Fig. 3) intersecting with the first optical axis (L2 in Fig. 3).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to the artisan of ordinary skill to employ the above elements as taught by Watanabe for the system of Zhang such that in the system of Zhang, a first lens barrel holding the first lens group; a second lens barrel holding the second lens group, a lens driver holding a perimeter of the second lens barrel to move the second lens group, in a direction along a first optical axis of the second lens group, wherein a size of the lens driver in a direction intersecting with the first optical axis is smaller than a size of the first lens barrel in the direction intersecting with the first optical axis. The motivation is to provide an optical system with simplification of the structure or a reduction in size and thickness of the device (Watanabe, [0013, 0019, 0043]).
Hirata teaches that (Fig. 1-2, Pages 2-4 of English translation of JP2016224388A) a case (17 in Fig. 1-2) housing a first lens barrel (the lens barrel 1 in Fig. 1-7), one of the first lens barrel (the lens barrel 1 in Fig. 1-7) and the case (17 in Fig. 1-2) is provided with a protrusion structure (the protrusion of lens barrel 1 corresponding to 1c in Fig. 1-2) protruding in a diameter direction (Fig. 1-2) of the first lens barrel (the lens barrel 1 in Fig. 1-7), and another one of the first lens barrel (the lens barrel 1 in Fig. 1-7) and the case (17 in Fig. 1-2) is provided with a guidance structure (the end portion of 17 contact 1c in Fig. 1-2) for the protrusion structure (the protrusion of lens barrel 1 corresponding to 1c in Fig. 1-2)
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to the artisan of ordinary skill to employ the above elements as taught by Hirata for the system of Zhang in view of Watanabe such that in the system of Zhang in view of Watanabe, a case housing the first lens barrel, one of the first lens barrel and the case is provided with a protrusion structure protruding in a diameter direction of the first lens barrel, and another one of the first lens barrel and the case is provided with a guidance structure for the protrusion structure. The motivation is to provide a lens unit that can prevent lenses supported by a lens barrel from moving due to a temperature change (Hirata, Abs).
Regarding claims 2-3 and 5-6, Zhang teaches that an image pickup unit (20 in Fig. 2-4, [0101]) to which the object light converges (Fig. 2-4, [0101]), wherein a position of the first lens group (G1 in Fig. 2-4) with respect to the image pickup unit (20 in Fig. 2-4, [0101]) is fixed (Fig. 2-3, Abs, [0006, 0094]). Zhang does not teach the following elements.
Watanabe teaches the following elements (Fig. 1-4 and 7-8, [0157-0170, 0205]):
(Claim 2) the lens driver (the driver corresponding to 130/132, 140/142, 105, 106 and 70 in Fig. 2-3, [0168, 0205]) is incorporated in the first lens barrel (10 in Fig. 2-4, [0159]).
(Claim 3) a position of a first lens barrel (10 in Fig. 2-4, [0159]) with respect to an image pickup unit (50 in Fig. 3, [0158]) is fixed (Fig. 3).
(Claim 5) the lens driver (the driver corresponding to 130/132, 140/142, 105, 106 and 70 in Fig. 2-3, [0168, 0205]) has a movable part (the part corresponding to 130/132, 140/142, 105, 106 in Fig. 2-3) configured to move a second lens group (the lens group corresponding to G3, G4 and/or G5 in Fig. 4) in the direction along the first optical axis (L2 in Fig. 3), and a fixed part (the part corresponding to 70 in Fig. 2-3) that does not change position (Fig. 2-3) when the second lens group (the lens group corresponding to G3, G4 and/or G5 in Fig. 4) undergoes movement, and a size of the fixed part (the part corresponding to 70 in Fig. 2-3) in the direction (the vertical direction in Fig. 3) intersecting with the first optical axis (L2 in Fig. 3) is smaller than (Fig. 2-3) a size of the first lens barrel in the direction (the vertical direction in Fig. 3) intersecting with the first optical axis (L2 in Fig. 3)
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to the artisan of ordinary skill to employ the above elements as taught by Watanabe for the system of Zhang in view of Watanabe such that in the system of Zhang in view of Watanabe,
(Claim 2) the lens driver is incorporated in the first lens barrel.
(Claim 3) a position of the first lens barrel with respect to the image pickup unit is fixed.
(Claim 5) the lens driver has a movable part configured to move the second lens group in the direction along the first optical axis, and a fixed part that does not change position when the second lens group undergoes movement, and a size of the fixed part in the direction intersecting with the first optical axis is smaller than a size of the first lens barrel in the direction intersecting with the first optical axis.
The motivation is to provide an optical system with simplification of the structure or a reduction in size and thickness of the device (Watanabe, [0013, 0019, 0043]).
Regarding claim 6, Zhang also teaches the following elements:
(Claim 6) a reflective element (Fig. 40, [0206]) disposed in a direction opposite to the traveling direction of the object light (Fig. 40) with respect to the first lens group (the first lens group of 301 in Fig. 40, which is corresponding to G1 in Fig. 2-4), wherein the reflective element (Fig. 40, [0206]) guides, along the first optical axis (the axis of 301 corresponding to the horizontal direction in Fig. 40), the object light emitted along a second optical axis (the axis corresponding to the vertical direction in Fig. 40) intersecting with the first optical axis (the axis of 301 corresponding to the horizontal direction in Fig. 40), and the first lens group (the first lens group of 301 in Fig. 40, which is corresponding to G1 in Fig. 2-4) and the second lens group (the second lens group of 301 in Fig. 40, which is corresponding to G2 in Fig. 2-4) concentrate the object light along the first optical axis (the axis of 301 corresponding to the horizontal direction in Fig. 40).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Kinouchi (US 2019/0179108, at least Fig. 2-3) a case (the case corresponding to 212, or the combination of 212, 211 and 205 in Fig. 3) housing the first lens barrel (220 in Fig. 2-3, [0037]), wherein a size of the lens driver (the driver corresponding to 270 in Fig. 3) in a direction (the vertical direction in Fig. 3) intersecting with the first optical axis (OA in Fig. 3) is smaller than (Fig. 3) a size of the first lens barrel (220 in Fig. 2-3, [0037]) in the direction intersecting with the first optical axis (Fig. 3); one of the first lens barrel (220 in Fig. 2-3, [0037]) and the case (the case corresponding to 212, or the combination of 212, 211 and 205 in Fig. 3) is provided with a protrusion structure (221a in Fig. 2-3) protruding in a diameter direction (Fig. 2-3) of the first lens barrel (220 in Fig. 2-3, [0037]), and another one of the first lens barrel (220 in Fig. 2-3, [0037]) and the case (the case corresponding to 212, or the combination of 212, 211 and 205 in Fig. 3) is provided with a guidance structure (212a in Fig. 2-3) for the protrusion structure (221a in Fig. 2-3).
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Ozaki (US 2010/0067129, at least Fig. 1) teaches that a case (11 in Fig. 1) housing a lens barrel (36 in Fig. 1), one of the lens barrel (36 in Fig. 1) and the case (11 in Fig. 1) is provided with a protrusion structure (the bottom protrusion of 36 in Fig. 1) protruding in a diameter direction (Fig. 2-3) of the lens barrel (36 in Fig. 1), and another one of the first lens barrel and the case is provided with a guidance structure (the groove of 11 for the bottom protrusion of 36 in Fig. 1) for the protrusion structure (Fig. 1).
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Hwang (US 2023/0075967, at least Fig. 4) teaches that a case (the case corresponding to C1 in Picture 1) housing a first lens barrel (1230 in Picture 1), one of the first lens barrel (1230 in Picture 1) and the case (C1 in Picture 1) is provided with a protrusion structure (P1 in Picture 1) protruding in a diameter direction (Fig. 4) of the first lens barrel (1230 in Picture 1), and another one of the first lens barrel and the case is provided with a guidance structure (G1 in Picture 1) for the protrusion structure (P1 in Picture 1).
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Picture 1, from Fig. 4 of Hwang (US 2023/0075967)
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/Shan Liu/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2871