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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Response to Amendment
Claims 1-30 are currently pending. Claims 6-12, 16, 24-25, 28 and 30 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Invention or Species. In response to the Office Action mailed 3/26/2026 Applicant amended claims 1 and 30
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 1-5, 13-15, 17-23 and 29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 20210096345 A1 to Shibata et al.
Regarding Claim 1. Shibata discloses 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 (See Table 9/Table 10 and Fig. 10/Fig. 12 lens group G1) and a rear group (Fig. 10 lens group G2) disposed closer to an image side than the first lens group, at varying magnification the distances between all adjacent lens groups being varied (See at least Table 9 and Fig. 10), the first lens group consisting of two or fewer lenses (See at least Fig. 10), both the following conditional expressions being satisfied: 7.50<f1/D1<55.00 (Table 9 = 89.377/8.922) where f1 is the focal length of the first lens group, D1 is the thickness of the first lens group on an optical axis.
Regarding Claim 2. Shibata further discloses the rear group comprises a first negative lens group having negative refractive power (See Fig. 10 lens group G2, Table 9), and the following conditional expression is satisfied: 2.50<f1/(−fN1)<7.00 (Table 1 = 89.377/13.03) where fN1 is the focal length of the first negative lens group.
Regarding Claim 3. Shibata further discloses the rear group comprises a first negative lens group having negative refractive power (See Fig. 10 lens group G6, Table 9), and a second negative lens group having negative refractive power and disposed closer to the image side than the first negative lens group, and the following expression is satisfied: 0.05<f1/(−fN2)<6.50 where fN2 is the focal length of the second negative lens group (See Table 9).
Regarding Claim 4. Shibata further discloses the rear group comprises a first negative lens group having negative refractive power (See Fig. 10 lens group G2, Table 9), and a second negative lens group having negative refractive power and disposed closer to the image side than the first negative lens group (See Fig. 10 lens group G6, Table 9), and the following expression is satisfied: 0.01<fN1/fN2<1.20 (Table 9 =13.03/193.67 ) where fN1 is the focal length of the first negative lens group, and fN2 is the focal length of the second negative lens group.
Regarding Claim 5. Shibata further discloses the first negative lens group is a lens group disposed closest to an object side of lens groups having negative refractive power in the rear group (as shown in Fig. 10 and Table 9).
Regarding Claim 13. Shibata further discloses the rear group comprises a negative focusing group having negative refractive power (See Fig. 12 lens group G6, Table 10) and configured to move along the optical axis at focusing (as shown in Fig. 10), and the following conditional expression is satisfied: 0.05<f1/(−fFN)<6.50 (Table 9 = 89.47/176.04) where fFN is the focal length of the negative focusing group.
Regarding Claim 14. Shibata further discloses the rear group comprises a negative focusing group having negative refractive power (See Fig. 10 lens Group G2, Table 9) and configured to move along the optical axis at focusing (as shown in Fig. 10), and the following conditional expression is satisfied: −35.00<(−fFN)/fRNw<1.50 (Table 10 = 13.03/26.87) where fFN is the focal length of the negative focusing group, and fRNw is a combined focal length in the wide-angle end state of one or more lens groups disposed closer to the image side than the negative focusing group (See Fig. 10 lens group G3, Table 9).
Regarding Claim 15. Shibata further discloses a final lens group disposed closest to the image side of lens groups in the rear group has negative refractive power (See Fig. 12 lens group G6, Table 10), and the following conditional expression is satisfied: 0.50<f1/(−fR)<10.00 (Table 1=89.47/176.04) where fR is the focal length of the final lens group.
Regarding Claim 29. Shibata further discloses an optical apparatus comprising the variable magnification optical system according to claim 1 (See at least Fig. 10).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 26-27 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 1 have been 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.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EDMOND C LAU whose telephone number is (571)272-5859. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 8am-6pm EST.
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/EDMOND C LAU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2871
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