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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 9/16/25 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the amended claims filed 9/16/25 have been considered as follows.
35 USC 102/103 Rejections of the claims:
Applicant’s arguments are moot in view of the new ground rejections.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 5,10-15 is/are rejected under at least one of 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (2) as being anticipated by Chen (US 20180329177).
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Regarding claim 10, Chen teaches (Table 1-3, -++...+-, Fig. 1) A wide-angle lens assembly, comprising sequentially from an object side to an image side along an optical axis:
a first lens which is a meniscus lens with negative refractive power;
a second lens which is a meniscus lens with positive refractive power;
a third lens with positive refractive power, comprising a convex surface facing the object side and a convex surface in a paraxial region facing the image side;
a fourth lens (L15) with positive refractive power, comprising a convex surface facing the object side in the paraxial region; and
a fifth lens (L16) with negative refractive power, comprising a convex surface facing the object side in a paraxial region;
wherein the wide-angle lens assembly satisfies:
−3<f 2 /f 1<−1 (-6.053/3.405);
wherein f1 is an effective focal length of the first lens and f2 is an effective focal length of the second lens.
Regarding claim 11, Chen further teaches The wide-angle lens assembly as claimed in claim 10, wherein the first lens further comprises a convex surface facing the object side and a concave surface facing an image side (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 12, mutatis mutandis, Chen teaches in Tables 4-6 and Fig. 3 (L21,L22,L23,L25,L26), all the limitations as stated in claim 10 rejection above, and further teaches (Table 4) The wide-angle lens assembly as claimed in claim 10, wherein the second lens further comprises a concave surface facing the object side and a convex surface facing the image side.
Regarding claim 13, Chen further teaches The wide-angle lens assembly as claimed in claim 10, wherein the fourth lens further comprises a convex surface facing the image side (L15).
Regarding claim 14, Chen further teaches The wide-angle lens assembly as claimed in claim 10, wherein the fifth lens further comprises a concave surface facing the image side (L16).
Regarding claim 15, Chen further teaches The wide-angle lens assembly as claimed in claim 10, wherein the fifth lens (L16) further comprises a concave surface facing the object side (near edge) and a concave surface facing the image side.
Regarding claim 5, mutatis mutandis, Chen teaches all the limitations as stated in claim 12 rejection above.
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 of this title, 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) 1-2,4,6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu (US 20190129146, of record).
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Regarding claim 1, Wu teaches (Fig. 1, Table 1) A wide-angle lens assembly, comprising sequentially from an object side to an image side along an optical axis:
a first lens which is a meniscus lens with negative refractive power;
a second lens which is a meniscus lens with positive refractive power, comprising a concave surface facing the object side and a convex surface facing the image side;
a third lens with positive refractive power, comprising a convex surface facing the object side;
a fourth lens with positive refractive power, comprising a convex surface in the paraxial region facing the object side; and
a fifth lens with negative refractive power, comprising a concave surface facing the image side (near the edge);
wherein the wide-angle lens assembly satisfies:
−2.785≤f 2 /f 1≤-1.507 (-5.35/2.91);
wherein f1 is an effective focal length of the first lens and f2 is an effective focal length of the second lens.
Wu does not explicitly teach the third lens comprising a convex surface in a paraxial region facing the image side.
Absent any showing of criticality and/or unpredictability, having the third lens comprising a convex surface in a paraxial region facing the image side would have been known to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for the purposes of allowing some manufacturing error (so the 3rd lens having a slightly convex image-side surface in a paraxial region) to improve the production.
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Wu by having the third lens comprising a convex surface in a paraxial region facing the image side for the purposes of allowing some manufacturing error to improve the production.
Regarding claim 2, Wu further teaches (Fig. 1) The wide-angle lens assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first lens further comprises a convex surface facing the object side and a concave surface facing an image side.
Regarding claim 4, Wu further teaches (Table 1) The wide-angle lens assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fourth lens further comprises a convex surface facing the object side (duplicated from claim 1) and another convex surface facing the image side.
Regarding claim 6, Wu further teaches (Fig. 1, Table 1) The wide-angle lens assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fifth lens further comprises a concave surface facing the object side.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WEN HUANG whose telephone number is (571)270-0234. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F: 9:00AM-4:00PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Pinping Sun can be reached on (571) 270-1284. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WEN HUANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872
wen.huang2@uspto.gov
(571)270-0234