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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on December 2, 2025 has been considered by the examiner.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see page 20, third paragraph and page 22, third paragraph, filed January 20, 2026, with respect to claims 1-7 and 9-34 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection of claims 1-7 and 9-34 has been withdrawn.
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.
Claims 35 and 36 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sugita (U.S. Patent Publication 2019/0064491).
With regard to independent claim 35, Sugita teaches a method for manufacturing a variable magnification optical system comprising a plurality of lens groups (Figure 1, elements L1, L2, L3, L4, L5, L6, L7, L8 and L9), the plurality of lens groups being six or more lens groups (Figure 1, wherein the number of lens groups is nine) and comprising a first lens group (Figure 1, element L1) having positive refractive power (page 2, paragraph [0029], lines 1-2) and a rear group disposed closer to an image side than the first lens group (Figure 1, elements L8 and L9), the method comprising arranging so that at varying magnification the distances between the lens groups are varied (page 6, paragraph [0077], data for d4, d6, d11, d14, d18, d26, d28 and d31), the rear group comprises a first positive lens group (Figure 1, element L8) having positive refractive power (page 2, paragraph [0029], lines 10-11), and a first negative lens group (Figure 1, element L9) having negative refractive power (page 2, paragraph [0029], lines 11-12) and disposed closer to the image side than the first positive lens group (Figure 1, wherein L9 is disposed closer to an image side than L8), and the first lens group consists of two or fewer lenses (Figure 1, and page 6, paragraph [0077], wherein L1 consists of lenses defined by surfaces 1/2 and 3/4, respectively), wherein the method further comprises one {emphasis added} of the following features A or B, the feature A comprising arranging so that: all of the following conditional expressions are satisfied: 8.00<fl/D1<27.00; 1.00<M1/D1<12.00; and 1.00<MP1/MN1<20.00 where fl is the focal length of the first lens group, D1 is the thickness of the first lens group on an optical axis, M1 is the amount of movement of the first lens group at varying magnification from a wide-angle end state to a telephoto end state, MP1 is the amount of movement of the first positive lens group at varying magnification from the wide-angle end state to the telephoto end state, and MN1 is the amount of movement of the first negative lens group at varying magnification from the wide-angle end state to the telephoto end state, and the feature B comprising arranging so that: all of the following conditional expressions are satisfied: 8.00<fl/D1<14.00 (page 6, paragraph [0077], wherein f1 = 254.46; D1 = 15.36; and f1/D1 = 16.57); 1.00<M1/D1<12.00 (page 6, paragraph [0077], wherein M1 = 59; D1 = 15.36; and M1/D1 = 3.84); 0.75<fl/fP1<4.75 (page 6, paragraph [0077], wherein f1 = 254.46; fp1 = 118.97; and f1/fp1 = 2.13); and 0.75<fP1/ (-fN1) <4.50 (page 6, paragraph [0077], wherein fp1 = 118.97; fN1 = -127.73; and fp1/(-fN1) = 0.93) where fl is the focal length of the first lens group, D1 is the thickness of the first lens group on an optical axis, M1 is the amount of movement of the first lens group at varying magnification from a wide-angle end state to a telephoto end state, fP1 is the focal length of the first positive lens group, and fN1 is the focal length of the first negative lens group.
With regard to independent claim 36, Sugita teaches a variable magnification optical system comprising a plurality of lens groups (Figure 1, elements L1, L2, L3, L4, L5, L6, L7, L8 and L9), the plurality of lens groups being six or more lens groups (Figure 1, wherein the number of lens groups is nine) and comprising a first lens group (Figure 1, element L1) having positive refractive power (page 2, paragraph [0029], lines 1-2) and a rear group disposed closer to an image side than the first lens group (Figure 1, elements L8 and L9), at varying magnification the distances between the lens groups are varied (page 6, paragraph [0077], data for d4, d6, d11, d14, d18, d26, d28 and d31), the first lens group consisting of two or fewer lenses (Figure 1, and page 6, paragraph [0077], wherein L1 consists of lenses defined by surfaces 1/2 and 3/4, respectively), the rear group comprises a first positive lens group (Figure 1, element L8) having positive refractive power (page 2, paragraph [0029], lines 10-11), and a first negative lens group (Figure 1, element L9) having negative refractive power (page 2, paragraph [0029], lines 11-12) and disposed closer to the image side than the first positive lens group (Figure 1, wherein L9 is disposed closer to an image side than L8), and, all of the following conditional expressions are satisfied: 8.00<fl/D1<14.00 (page 6, paragraph [0077], wherein f1 = 254.46; D1 = 15.36; and f1/D1 = 16.57); 1.00<M1/D1<12.00 (page 6, paragraph [0077], wherein M1 = 59; D1 = 15.36; and M1/D1 = 3.84); 0.75<fl/fP1<4.75 (page 6, paragraph [0077], wherein f1 = 254.46; fp1 = 118.97; and f1/fp1 = 2.13); and 0.75<fP1/ (-fN1) <4.50 (page 6, paragraph [0077], wherein fp1 = 118.97; fN1 = -127.73; and fp1/(-fN1) = 0.93) where fl is the focal length of the first lens group, D1 is the thickness of the first lens group on an optical axis, M1 is the amount of movement of the first lens group at varying magnification from a wide-angle end state to a telephoto end state, fP1 is the focal length of the first positive lens group, and fN1 is the focal length of the first negative lens group.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-7 and 9-34 are allowed.
Claim 37 is 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 a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
With regard to claims 1-7 and 9-34, the reasons for indicating allowable subject matter are as set forth in the Office action mailed October 27, 2025 and Applicant’s Remarks (page 20, third paragraph and page 22, third paragraph), filed January 20, 2026
With regard to dependent claim 37, the prior art taken either singularly or in combination fails to anticipate or fairly suggest the limitations of the independent claims, in such a manner that a rejection under 35 U.S.C. §102 or §103 would be proper. Although the prior art teaches a variable magnification optical system comprising a plurality of lens groups, the plurality of lens groups being six or more lens groups and comprising a first lens group having positive refractive power and a rear group disposed closer to an image side than the first lens group, at varying magnification the distances between the lens groups are varied, the first lens group consisting of two or fewer lenses, the rear group comprises a first positive lens group having positive refractive power, and a first negative lens group having negative refractive power and disposed closer to the image side than the first positive lens group, and, all of the following conditional expressions are satisfied: 8.00<fl/D1<14.00; 1.00<M1/D1<12.00; 0.75<fl/fP1<4.75; and 0.75<fP1/ (-fN1) <4.50, as defined, the prior art fails to teach such a variable magnification optical system simultaneously satisfying the conditional expression 1.00 MP1/MN1 < 20.00, as defined and claimed.
Conclusion
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.
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/DARRYL J COLLINS/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872
23 February 2026