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 .
Examiner Notes
Examiner cites particular columns and line numbers in the references as applied to the claims below for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested that, in preparing responses, the applicant fully consider the references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the examiner.
Priority
As required by M.P.E.P. 201.14(c), acknowledgement is made of applicant’s claim for priority based on the application filed on June 28th, 2022 (JP 2022-103920). Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Information Disclosure Statement
As required by M.P.E.P. 609, the applicant’s submissions of the Information Disclosure Statement dated April 26th, 2023 is acknowledged by the examiner and the cited references have been considered in the examination of the claims now pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claim(s) 6, 7, 11, and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kaneko et al. (US 2016/0134796 A1).
Regarding claim 6, Kaneko teaches an imaging-lens manufacturing apparatus that manufactures an imaging lens provided with a plurality of lenses including an adjusted lens that is used in assembly (See, e.g., the combination of lenses 15A-D in Fig. 2 and lens 73b in Fig. 8 and note that here lens 15A is considered the adjusted lens), the imaging-lens manufacturing apparatus comprising:
a stage configured to hold at least the plurality of lenses excluding the adjusted lens (See, e.g., the combination of lens barrel 17 in Fig. 2 and bracket 73a in Fig. 8 and note as the claim says “at least the plurality of lenses excluding the adjusted lens” and is open ended, it includes a situation where the adjusted lens is included, meeting this limitation);
a lens adjusting mechanism configured to hold the adjusted lens (See, e.g., the combination of lens drive unit 19 in Fig. 2 and slide stage 99 in Fig. 8 which hold the adjusted lens), and capable of adjusting, in a plane perpendicular to an optical axis of the imaging lens, a position of the adjusted lens with respect to the plurality of lenses excluding the adjusted lens (See, e.g., paragraph [0105] which explains that the slide stage can move the lens unit 11 in the Y axis direction, meeting this limitation insofar as the adjusted lens is adjusted relative to the position of at least lens 73b and note the claim does not require adjustment relative to every other lens);
a chart with a pattern formed so that optical performance in a tangential direction and a sagittal direction of the imaging lens is evaluable (See, e.g., chart unit 71 in Fig. 8); and
an image pickup element configured to take an image of the chart through the imaging lens (See, e.g., imaging element unit 13 in Fig. 8),
wherein the lens adjusting mechanism is further capable of adjusting a tilt angle of the adjusted lens with respect to the optical axis, and the tilt angle undergoes adjustment by rotating the adjusted lens about a rotation center point located on the optical axis (See, e.g., paragraph [0128] which indicates the lens can be inclined and fixed via the VCMs which are part of the lens drive unit).
Regarding claim 7, Kaneko teaches the device set forth above and further teaches a control unit, wherein the control unit is configured to derive the optical performance of the imaging lens from a signal output from the image pickup element, and calculate a tilt of a tangential image plane and a tilt of a sagittal image plane in accordance with the optical performance derived, and control the lens adjusting mechanism in accordance with the tilt of the tangential image plane calculated and the tilt of the sagittal image plane calculated (See, e.g., paragraphs [0099], [0121]-[0123], and [0128] which combine to explain the function of the control unit 85 in Fig. 8).
Regarding claim 11, Kaneko teaches a camera-module apparatus that manufactures a camera module having an imaging lens and an image pickup element, the imaging lens being provided with a plurality of lenses including an adjusted lens that is used in assembly (See, e.g., the combination of lenses 15A-D in Fig. 2 and lens 73b in Fig. 8 and note that here lens 15A is considered the adjusted lens), the camera-module manufacturing apparatus comprising:
a stage configured to hold the camera module (See, e.g., the combination of lens barrel 17 in Fig. 2 and bracket 73a in Fig. 8);
a lens adjusting mechanism configured to hold the adjusted lens (See, e.g., the combination of lens drive unit 19 in Fig. 2 and slide stage 99 in Fig. 8 which hold the adjusted lens), and capable of adjusting, in a plane perpendicular to an optical axis of the imaging lens, a position of the adjusted lens with respect to the plurality of lenses excluding the adjusted lens (See, e.g., paragraph [0105] which explains that the slide stage can move the lens unit 11 in the Y axis direction, meeting this limitation insofar as the adjusted lens is adjusted relative to the position of at least lens 73b and note the claim does not require adjustment relative to every other lens);
a chart with a pattern formed so that optical performance in a tangential direction and a sagittal direction of the imaging lens is evaluable (See, e.g., chart unit 71 in Fig. 8);
wherein the lens adjusting mechanism is further capable of adjusting a tilt angle of the adjusted lens with respect to the optical axis, and the tilt angle undergoes adjustment by rotating the adjusted lens about a rotation center point located on the optical axis (See, e.g., paragraph [0128] which indicates the lens can be inclined and fixed via the VCMs which are part of the lens drive unit).
Regarding claim 12, Kaneko teaches the device set forth above and further teaches a control unit, wherein the control unit is configured to derive the optical performance of the imaging lens from a signal output from the image pickup element, and calculate a tilt of a tangential image plane and a tilt of a sagittal image plane in accordance with the optical performance derived, and control the lens adjusting mechanism in accordance with the tilt of the tangential image plane calculated and the tilt of the sagittal image plane calculated (See, e.g., paragraphs [0099], [0121]-[0123], and [0128] which combine to explain the function of the control unit 85 in Fig. 8).
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, 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.
Claim(s) 1 and 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kaneko et al. (US 2016/0134796 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Kaneko teaches an imaging-lens manufacturing apparatus that manufactures an imaging lens provided with a plurality of lenses including an adjusted lens that is used in assembly (See, e.g., the combination of lenses 15A-D in Fig. 2 and lens 73b in Fig. 8 and note that here lens 15A is considered the adjusted lens), the imaging-lens manufacturing apparatus comprising:
a stage configured to hold at least the plurality of lenses excluding the adjusted lens (See, e.g., the combination of lens barrel 17 in Fig. 2 and bracket 73a in Fig. 8 and note as the claim says “at least the plurality of lenses excluding the adjusted lens” and is open ended, it includes a situation where the adjusted lens is included, meeting this limitation);
a lens adjusting mechanism configured to hold the adjusted lens (See, e.g., the combination of lens drive unit 19 in Fig. 2 and slide stage 99 in Fig. 8 which hold the adjusted lens), and capable of adjusting, in a plane perpendicular to an optical axis of the imaging lens, a position of the adjusted lens with respect to the plurality of lenses excluding the adjusted lens (See, e.g., paragraph [0105] which explains that the slide stage can move the lens unit 11 in the Y axis direction, meeting this limitation insofar as the adjusted lens is adjusted relative to the position of at least lens 73b and note the claim does not require adjustment relative to every other lens);
a light source (See, e.g., light source 91 in chart unit 71 in Fig. 8);
a reticle disposed between the imaging lens and the light source, and having three or more slits that allow light from the light source to pass (See, e.g., chart unit 71 in Fig. 8 which includes a pattern 89 that achieves this); and
a light detecting unit configured to detect, via the imaging lens, a corresponding one of a plurality of light-ray bundles composed of the light from the light sourced passed through the three or more slits (See, e.g., imaging element unit 13 in Fig. 8 which receives light through the lens from the light source),
wherein the lens adjusting mechanism is further capable of adjusting a tilt angle of the adjusted lens with respect to the optical axis, and the tilt angle undergoes adjustment by rotating the adjusted lens about a rotation center point located on the optical axis (See, e.g., paragraph [0128] which indicates the lens can be inclined and fixed via the VCMs which are part of the lens drive unit).
Kaneko lacks an explicit disclosure wherein the light detecting unit has a plurality of sensors.
However, it has been held that constructing a formerly integral structure in various elements involves only routine skill in the art. In re Dulberg, 289 F.2d 522, 523, 129 USPQ 348, 349 (CCPA 1961); Nerwin v. Erlichman, 168 USPQ 177, 179. Accordingly in the instant case, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the image element unit 13 to be comprised of a plurality of sub-sensors, for the purpose of having more control over the image pickup element. Note that splitting the image sensor into multiple sensors would not affect the normal operation of the device, merely allow for more image sensing options as the various image sensors would be independently controllable.
Regarding claim 2, Kaneko teaches the device set forth above and further teaches a control unit, wherein the control unit is configured to derive the optical performance of the imaging lens from a signal output from the image pickup element, and calculate a tilt of a tangential image plane and a tilt of a sagittal image plane in accordance with the optical performance derived, and control the lens adjusting mechanism in accordance with the tilt of the tangential image plane calculated and the tilt of the sagittal image plane calculated (See, e.g., paragraphs [0099], [0121]-[0123], and [0128] which combine to explain the function of the control unit 85 in Fig. 8).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-5 and 8-10 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is an examiner’s reasons for indicating allowable subject matter:
Regarding claims 3 and 8, the prior art, alone or in combination, fails to teach wherein a positional-adjustment amount (x) of the adjusted lens that undergoes positional adjustment in the plane perpendicular to the optical axis, and a rotational-adjustment amount (t) of the adjusted lens that undergoes adjustment to the tilt angle satisfy the following Expression (El), Expression (E2) and Expression (E3), where PSi1 denotes a difference in focal length in a tangential image plane, where PSi2 denotes a difference in focal length in a sagittal image plane, where k1 denotes a degree of sensitivity at which the difference in focal length varies per unit of movement amount in the plane perpendicular to the optical axis in the tangential image plane, where k2 denotes a degree of sensitivity at which the difference in focal length varies per unit of movement amount in the plane perpendicular to the optical axis in the sagittal image plane, where k3 denotes a degree of sensitivity at which the difference in focal length varies per unit of rotation amount in the tangential image plane, where k4 denotes a degree of sensitivity at which the difference in focal length varies per unit of rotation amount in the sagittal image plane, where xt denotes an amount of movement in the plane perpendicular to the optical axis in response to a rotation of the adjusted lens: PSi1 - (k1x + k3t) = 0 Expression (El), PSi2 - (k2x + k4t) = 0 Expression (E2), and |x / xt| ≥ 1 Expression (E3).
Regarding claims 4, 5, 9, and 10, these claims depend on an allowable base claim and are therefore allowable for at least the reasons stated supra.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Mitchell Oestreich whose telephone number is (571)270-7559. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:00-11:00 MT.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Bumsuk Won can be reached at 571-272-2713. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MITCHELL T OESTREICH/ Examiner, Art Unit 2872
/BALRAM T PARBADIA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872