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 .
Response to Amendment
The present office action is made in response to the amendment filed by applicant on 10/30/2025. It is noted that in the amendment, applicant has made changes to the drawings, the specification and the claims. There is not any change being made to the abstract.
A) Regarding the drawings, applicant has submitted two replacement sheets contained figures 11-12 and 13A-13B;
B) Regarding the specification, applicant has made changes to paragraphs [0020]-[0024] and [0109]; and
C) Regarding the claims, applicant has amended claims 1-2 and 9-10.
Response to Arguments
The amendments to the drawings, the specification and the claims as provided in the amendment of 10/30/2025, and applicant's arguments provided in the mentioned amendment, pages 11-16, have been fully considered and resulted the following conclusions.
A) Regarding the claims, because applicant has not added/canceled any claim into/from the application, thus the pending claims are still claims 1-10 in which claims 1-2, 4-5 and 9-10 are examined in the present office action, and claims 3 and 6-8 have been withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to nonelected Inventions II and III.
Applicant should note that the non-elected claims 3 and 6-8 will be rejoined if the linking claim 1 is later found as an allowable claim.
B) Regarding the objections to drawings as set forth in the office action of 08/04/2025, the amendments to the drawings as provided in the amendment of 10/30/2025, and applicant’s arguments provided in the mentioned amendment, page 11, have been fully considered and are sufficient to overcome the objections to drawings as set forth in the mentioned office action.
C) Regarding the objections to specification as set forth in the office action of 08/04/2025, the amendments to the specification as provided in the amendment of 10/30/2025, and applicant’s arguments provided in the mentioned amendment, page 11, have been fully considered and are sufficient to overcome the objections to specification as set forth in the mentioned office action.
D) Regarding the Claim Interpretation as set forth in the office action of 08/04/2025, applicant’s arguments provided in the mentioned amendment, pages 11-12, have been fully considered and are sufficient to overcome the Claim Interpretation as set forth in the mentioned office action.
E) Regarding the objections to claim 9 as set forth in the office action of 08/04/2025, the amendments to the claim as provided in the amendment of 10/30/2025, and applicant’s arguments provided in the mentioned amendment, pages 12-13, have been fully considered and are sufficient to overcome the objections to claim 9 as set forth in the mentioned office action.
F) Regarding the rejections of claims 1-2, 4-5 and 9-10 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as set forth in the office action of 08/04/2025, the amendments to the claims as provided in the amendment of 10/30/2025, and applicant’s arguments provided in the mentioned amendment, page 13, have been fully considered and are sufficient to overcome the rejections of claims 1-2, 4-5 and 9-10 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as set forth in the mentioned office action.
However, the amendments to the claims raise new problems under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, to the claims as provided in the present office action.
G) Regarding the rejection of claims 1-2, 4-5 and 9-10 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hiroki (Japanese reference No. 2020-008629 A, submitted by applicant) in view of Shafer et al (US Patent No. 8,814,779) and Zhou et al (Chinese reference No. CN 111694144 A) as set forth in the office action of 08/04/2025, the amendments to the claims as provided in the amendment of 10/30/2025, and applicant’s arguments provided in the mentioned amendment, pages 13-16, have been fully considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Drawings
The two replacement sheets contained figures 11-12 and 13A-13B were received on 10/30/2025.
As a result of the changes to the drawings, the application now contains a total of eleven sheets of figures 1-12, 13A-13B and 14-18 which includes nine sheets of figures 1-10 and 14-18 as filed on 12/15/2022, and two replacement sheets contained figures 11-12 and 13A-13B as filed on 10/30/2025. The mentioned total of eleven sheets of figures 1-12, 13A-13B and 14-18 are now approved by the examiner.
Specification
The lengthy specification which was amended by the amendment of 10/30/2025 has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
7. 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.
8. Claims 1-2, 4-5 and 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for the following reasons:
a) Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite because the feature thereof “the image plane” (line 12) lacks a proper antecedent basis.
Further, it is unclear about the structural relationship(s) between the image sensor and the so-called “the image plane” based on the claimed language provided in the claim. In other words, it is unclear whether the image sensor is located in the so-called “the image plane” or not.
For the purpose of examination, the image sensor is understood as located or defined the so-called “the image plane”.
b) Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for the similar reasons as set forth in element a) above.
c) The remaining claims are dependent upon the rejected base claim and thus inherit the deficiency thereof.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. Claims 1-2, 4-5 and 9-10, as best as understood, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kiyoshi et al (JP 2021-177237, submitted by applicant).
Applicant has provided evidence in this file showing that the claimed invention and the subject matter disclosed in the prior art reference were owned by, or subject to an obligation of assignment to, the same entity as CANON not later than the effective filing date of the claimed invention, or the subject matter disclosed in the prior art reference was developed and the claimed invention was made by, or on behalf of one or more parties to a joint research agreement in effect not later than the effective filing date of the claimed invention. However, although reference JP 2021-177237 has been excepted as prior art under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2), it is still applicable as prior art under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) that cannot be excepted under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C).
Applicant may rely on the exception under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(1)(A) to overcome this rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) by a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(a) that the subject matter disclosed in the reference was obtained directly or indirectly from the inventor or a joint inventor of this application, and is therefore not prior art under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1). Alternatively, applicant may rely on the exception under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(1)(B) by providing evidence of a prior public disclosure via an affidavit or declaration under 37 CFR 1.130(b).
Kiyoshi et al discloses a stereoscope optical system.
Regarding present claims 1, 4 and 10, the stereoscopic optical system (200) as described in pages 2-12 and shown in figs 1-1 of the (machine) English translation attached with the present office action comprises the following features:
a1) two optical systems (201R, 201L) wherein each optical system comprises an object-side (front) lens unit, see the lens unit located in front of the prism (220) having a reflecting surface, an image-side (rear) lens unit, see the lens unit located after the prism (230) having a reflective surface, and an intermediate lens unit located between the object-side (front) lens unit and the image-side (rear) lens unit wherein the intermediate lens unit comprises two prisms (220, 230) for bending light passing through the object-side (front) lens unit to the image-side (rear) lens unit, see English translation in pages 2-3 and fig. 1.
As a result, the distance, Dout, between the optical axes of the image-side (rear) lens units is shorter than the distance, Din, between the optical axes of the object-side (front) lens unit, see English translation in pages 5-6 and fig. 1, 8;
a2) the two optical systems (201R, 201L) are arranged in parallel to each other and configured to form image circles of the two optical system on a single image sensor, see English translation in pages 7-12 and figs. 6-7 and 9-11;
a3) each optical systems (201R, 201L) has an angle of view in which an image of an object/screen from an optical system, i.e., optical system (201R), is formed in a first area at an outer peripheral portion in an image circle (300L) in a parallel arrangement direction of the other optical system, i.e., optical system (201L), see English translation in pages 8-12 and fig. 11, for example;
a4) a lens cover (258) having two openings and a light shielding wall which lens cover acts as a field stop for both optical systems, i.e., each opening is in the optical path of each optical system and acts as a field stop, wherein the lens cover is located between an image sensor located in an image plane of the stereoscopic optical system and the lens of each optical system located closest to the image plane, see page 12 and fig. 1 and 10, for example.; and
a5) regarding the ratio of Dout and IH as recited in claim 2 and the value of the ratio of Dout and Din as recited in claim 5, such value if read from the stereoscopic optical system as measurement such distances from the figs 7 and 8.
Conclusion
12. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
13. The US Patent No. 12,422,653 is cited of interest in that it discloses a stereoscopic optical system having two optical system constituted by lenses and prisms wherein the prisms are arranged to bend light beams so that a distance between the image-side lens unit is shorter than a distance between the object-side lens unit.
14. Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
15. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THONG Q NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-2316. The examiner can normally be reached M - Th: 6:00 ~ 17:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, STEPHONE B. ALLEN can be reached at (571) 272-2434. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/THONG Q NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872