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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species 1 (Fig. 2A) in the reply filed on 30 October 2025 is acknowledged.
Claims 1-17 are currently pending. Claims 1-8 and 10-17 are original, and claim 9 is withdrawn.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The IDS dated 30 October 2025 has been considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
Claims 1-8 and 10-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Re: claim 1, the meaning of the limitation “EP34/CT4+EP45/CT5>0.5” is unclear. It is not clear if the limitation means ((EP34/CT4) + (EP45/CT5)) > 0.5 or if the limitation means (EP34) / (CT4+EP45) / (CT5) > 0.5, or if some other meaning is intended. Because the meaning of this claim limitation could not reasonably be ascertained, this limitation has not been further examined.
Re: claims 2-8 and 10-17, because they depend upon claim 1, they are likewise rejected.
Re: claim 10, the meaning of the limitation “1.0<(D2s-d2s)/EP02+CT1/CT2<10.0” is unclear. It is not clear if the limitation means 1.0 < ((D2s-d2s)/EP02) + (CT1/CT2) < 10.0 or if the limitation means 1.0 < (D2s-d2s) / (EP02 + CT1) / CT2 < 10.0 or if some other meaning is intended. Because the meaning of this claim limitation could not reasonably be ascertained, this limitation has not been further examined.
Re: claim 12, the meaning of the limitation “1.0<B02/CT2+CP2/EP022<10.0” is unclear. It is not clear if the limitation means 1.0 < (B02/CT2) + (CP2/EP022) < 10.0 or if it means 1.0 < B02 / (CT2 + CP2) / EP022 < 10.0 or if some other meaning is intended. Because the meaning of this claim limitation could not reasonably be ascertained, this limitation has not been further examined.
Re: claim 13, the meaning of the limitation “(CT1+T12)/DP1+B01/CT1>0.3” is unclear. It is not clear if the limitation means ((CT1 + T12)/DP1) + (B01/CT1) > 0.3 or of the limitation means (CT1+T12) / (DP1+B01) / CT1 > 0.3 or if some other meaning is intended. Because the meaning of this claim limitation could not reasonably be ascertained, this limitation has not been further examined.
Re: claim 16, the meaning of the limitation “d3s/R3+D3s/R4+EP23/(T23+CT3)>0” is unclear. It is not clear if the limitation means (d3s/R3) + (D3s/R4) + (EP23/(T23+CT3)) > 1.0 or if the limitation means d3s / (R3+D3s) / (R4+EP23) / (T23+CT3) > 0 or if some other meaning is intended. Because the meaning of this claim limitation could not reasonably be ascertained, this limitation has not been further examined.
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) 1-2, 5, and 7-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Nagae (US 20220404262).
Re: claim 1, Nagae discloses a lens barrel structure 50, 60, comprising a first lens barrel 50 and a subsequent lens barrel 60 that are arranged sequentially along an optical axis (axis disclosed in Fig. 16) from an object side to an image side (Fig. 15, where the object side is on the left, and the image side is on the right); an imaging lens group 416, comprising a first lens 41, a second lens 42, a third lens 43, a fourth lens 44, a fifth lens 46, a sixth lens 47 and a seventh lens 48 that are arranged sequentially along the optical axis from the object side to the image side (arrangement disclosed in Fig. 15); and a plurality of spacing elements comprising a third spacing element (Fig. 15 discloses vertically extending projections from barrel 60 that are in physical contact with the outer edge of the right side of the third lens 44) that is at least partially in contact with an image-side surface of the third lens (contact disclosed in Fig. 15), a fourth spacing element (Fig. 15, where the spacing element is the inner side step of barrel 60 that is in physical contact with the outer edge of the image-side surface of fourth lens 45) that is at least partially in contact with an image-side surface of the fourth lens (contact disclosed in Fig. 15) and a fifth spacing element (Fig. 15, where the spacing element is the inner side step / lip that is in physical contact with the outer edge of fifth lens 46) that is at least partially in contact with an image-side surface of the fifth lens (contact disclosed in Fig. 15), wherein at least one lens in the imaging lens group 416 is arranged in the first lens barrel (Fig. 15 discloses that first – third lenses 41, 42, and 44 are so arranged), and a peripheral portion of the at least one lens in the imaging lens group is at least partially in contact with an inner wall of the lens barrel structure (Fig. 15 discloses that all of the first – seventh lenses 41, 42, 44, 45, 46, 47, and 48 are in contact); and a spacing EP34 between the third spacing element (Fig. 15 discloses vertically extending projections from barrel 60 that are in physical contact with the outer edge of the right side of the third lens 44) and the fourth spacing element (Fig. 15, where the spacing element is the inner side step of barrel 60 that is in physical contact with the outer edge of the image-side surface of fourth lens 45) along the optical axis (Fig. 15 discloses gap), a spacing EP45 between the fourth spacing element and the fifth spacing element along the optical axis (Fig. 15 discloses gap), a center thickness CT4 of the fourth lens on the optical axis and a center thickness CT5 of the fifth lens on the optical axis (thicknesses disclosed in Fig. 15).
Re: claim 2, Nagae discloses the limitations of claim 1 and Nagae further discloses that each spacing element in the plurality of spacing elements has a first surface parallel to the optical axis and a second surface perpendicular to the optical axis (Fig. 15 discloses the protrusions holding third lens 44 have horizontal and vertical surfaces, and all of the steps along the interior wall of elements 50, 60 have horizontal & vertical surfaces), at least one first surface is at least partially in contact with the inner wall of the lens barrel structure (Fig. 15, the horizontal surfaces of the protrusions holding third lens 44 are in contact with the inner wall of 50), and at least one second surface is at least partially in contact with a lens 44 in the imaging lens group 416 (Fig. 15 discloses vertically extending surfaces of the protrusions holding third lens 44 contact the image side surface of 44).
Re: claim 5, Nagae discloses the limitations of claim 1 and Nagae further discloses that, in object-side surfaces and image-side surfaces of the first lens 41, the second lens 42 and the third lens 44, at least two surfaces are convex surfaces(Fig. 15, the image side surfaces of 42 & 44), at least two surfaces are concave surfaces (Fig. 15, the object side surfaces of 41 & 44), and at least one image-side surface is a concave surface (Fig. 15, the image side surface of 41).
Re: claim 7, Nagae discloses the limitations of claim 1 and Nagae further discloses the image-side surface of the third lens 44 is a concave surface (Fig. 15).
Re: claim 8, Nagae discloses the limitations of claim 1 and Nagae further discloses that the subsequent lens barrel 60 is composed of one lens barrel or two lens barrels (Fig. 15 discloses 1), a lens closest to the image side 48 (Fig. 15, seventh lens) is arranged inside a lens barrel closest to the image side in the subsequent barrel (Fig. 15), and a peripheral portion of an object-side surface of the lens closest to the image side 48 is at least partially in contact with an inner wall of the lens barrel closest to the image side in the subsequent barrel (contact with peripheral portion disclosed in Fig. 15).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 4, 6, and 10-17 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANGELA MEDICH whose telephone number is (313)446-4819. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM ET.
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/ANGELA M. MEDICH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2871