EDETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . This office action is in response to a reply filed 1/22/2026.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
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 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.
Continued Examination
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 1/22/2026 has been entered.
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.
Claims 1-4, 6-10 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iwamoto et al. (US20180095254) in view of Yokoyama (US20070014025).
Regarding claim 1, Iwamoto teaches an optical system (Iwamoto, figs.1-14, abstract, an optical system), in which a height (Iwamoto, fig.13, the height H1) from an optical axis (Iwamoto, fig.13, optical axis O) of a paraxial marginal ray (Iwamoto, fig.13, paragraph [0037], Q denotes the paraxial marginal ray) that passes through a lens surface closest to an object (see Iwamoto, paragraph [0037], in FIG. 13, reference sign GF denotes a front lens unit having negative refractive) is smaller than a maximum height (Iwamoto, fig.13, the height H2) from the optical axis of the paraxial marginal ray (Iwamoto, paragraph [0036], a paraxial marginal ray Q enters the lens surface of a lens GF closest to the magnification side is smaller than the maximum value of the distance “H2” in FIG. 13) that passes through a lens (fig.13, lens GR) surface on an image side of an intersection (fig.13, intersection point P) between the optical axis (fig.13, optical axis O) and a paraxial chief ray (Iwamoto, fig.13, chief paraxial ray R), the optical system (Iwamoto fig.13, fig.9, optical system; paragraph [0005], intersection point P between the optical axis and a chief paraxial ray to the optical axis) comprising an optical element (Iwamoto fig.9, optical element G) disposed on an object side or the image side of the intersection (Iwamoto, fig.9, point P, paragraph [0036], Referring to FIG. 13, The optical systems of the embodiments are optical systems in which the distance “H1” in FIG. 13, from the optical axis “O” in FIG. 13 to a position where a paraxial marginal ray enters the lens surface of a lens closest to the magnification side is smaller than the maximum value of the distance “H2” in FIG. 13 from the optical axis O to a position where the paraxial marginal ray enters the lens surface on the reduction side with respect to the intersection point P between the optical axis and the chief paraxial ray),
wherein the optical element (Iwamoto, fig.9, optical element G) has positive refractive power in a case where the optical element is disposed on the object side of the intersection (Iwamoto, paragraph [0039], the optical element G is disposed on the magnification side with respect to the point P, the optical element G is a positive lens), and has negative refractive power in a case where the optical element is disposed placed on the image side of the intersection (Iwamoto, fig.13, fig.9, paragraph [0039], the case where the optical element G is disposed on the reduction side with respect to the point P, the optical element G is a negative lens), and
wherein the following inequalities are satisfied:
28<νd<39 (34.82; Iwamoto, fig.9, paragraph [0103], data of table 1, Example 5, Vd = 34.82)
−0.010<θgF−(0.64168−0.00162×νd)<−0.004 (-0.003; paragraph [0103], data of table 1, Example 5, Vd = 34.82, θgF = 0.5825;---which is very close to the value of < 0.004; the claimed ranges and the prior art ranges are close enough that one skilled in the art would have expected them to have the same properties, Titanium Metals Corp. of America v. Nabber, 778 F.2d 775, 227 USPQ 773 (Fed. Cir. 1985); See MPEP 2131.03.)
where νd is an Abbe number of the optical element (Iwamoto, paragraph [0094], νd is the Abbe number of the optical member for the d-line), and θgF is a partial dispersion ratio for g-line and F-line of the optical element (Iwamoto, paragraph [0094], θgF is the partial dispersion ratio of the optical member for the g-line and the F-line).
But Iwamoto does not explicitly teach wherein the following inequalities are satisfied: 1.74<Nd<1.85 (1.67542)
where Nd is a refractive index for d-line of the optical element.
However, Yokoyama teaches the analogous an optical system (Yokoyama, fig.1, fig.8, paragraph [0084], the intersection point P coincides with the center of an aperture stop. hn and hp are entrance heights of the paraxial marginal ray Q on lens surfaces. Hn and Hp are entrance heights of the paraxial chief ray R on the front component), and further teaches wherein
wherein the following inequalities are satisfied: 1.74<Nd<1.85 (1.81175; see annotated image, Yokoyama, fig.8, and paragraph [0164], data of table EX4, a refractive index for d-line of the optical element, Nd = 1.81175).
wherein has negative refractive power in a case where the optical element (see annotated image, Yokoyama, fig.8, the optical element and paragraph [0164] data of table Ex4, the optical element has negative refractive power) is disposed placed on the image side of the intersection (fig.8, intersection of the optical axis and the SP has been referred to as the intersection point), and Nd is a refractive index for d-line of the optical element (see annotated image, Yokoyama, fig.8, and paragraph [0164], data of table EX4, a refractive index for d-line of the optical element, Nd = 1.81175).
Further, it has been held that where the selection of a known material based on its suitability for its intended use is disclosed in the prior art, a prima facie case of obviousness exists. See MPEP § 2144.07, citing In re Leshin, 277 F.2d 197, 125 USPQ 416 (CCPA 1960) and Ryco, Inc. v. Ag-Bag Corp., 857 F.2d 1418, 8 USPQ2d 1323 (Fed. Cir. 1988). See also Sinclair & Carroll Co. v. Interchemical Corp., 325 U.S. 327, 65 USPQ 297 (1945), as cited in MPEP § 2144.07; it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of design choice and a skilled person in the art may ascertain claimed lens material without any difficulty;
Thus, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the material of the optical element of Iwamoto to have the material of Yokoyama to be satisfied: 1.74<Nd<1.85 for the purpose of facilitating correction and reduction of various types of aberration, such as chromatic aberration (Yokoyama, paragraph [0013]).
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Regarding claim 2, combination Iwamoto-Yokoyama discloses the invention as described in Claim 1 and Iwamoto further teaches wherein the optical element is made of a glass material (Iwamoto, paragraph [0066], an optical element G that be.. formed of a glass material).
Regarding claim 3, combination Iwamoto-Yokoyama discloses the invention as described in Claim 1 and Iwamoto further teaches wherein the following inequality is satisfied:
0.7<|fA/f|<8.0 (3.909, Iwamoto, fig.9, paragraph [0103], Example 5, |fA|/f = 3.909)
where f is a focal length of the optical system (Iwamoto, paragraph [0068], f is the focal length of the entire optical system), and fA is a focal length of the optical element (Iwamoto, paragraph [0068], fA is the focal length of the optical element G).
Regarding claim 4, combination Iwamoto-Yokoyama discloses the invention as described in Claim 1 and Iwamoto further teaches wherein in the case where the optical element is disposed on the object side of the intersection, the following inequality is satisfied:
−3.0<(rpa+rpb)/(rpa−rpb)<1.0 (-0.458; Iwamoto, fig.9, paragraph [0103], Example 5, (rpa+rpb)/(rpa−rpb) = -0.458)
where rpa is a radius of curvature of the lens surface on the object side of the optical element (Iwamoto, paragraph [0069], rpa is the curvature radius on the object side of the optical element G), and rpb is a radius of curvature of the lens surface on the image side (paragraph [0069], rpb is the curvature radius on the image side) of the optical element (Iwamoto, fig.9, the optical element G).
Regarding claim 6, Iwamoto discloses the invention as described in Claim 1 and Iwamoto further teaches wherein further comprising an aperture stop,
wherein the following inequality is satisfied:
0.2<|dA/fA|<3.0 (0.816; Iwamoto, fig.9, paragraph [0103], Example 5, |dA/fA| =0.816)
where dA is a distance on the optical axis from a lens surface on a side of the aperture stop of the optical element to the aperture stop (Iwamoto, fig.9, paragraph [0071], dA is a distance on the optical axis from a refracting surface of the optical element G adjacent to the aperture stop SP to the aperture stop SP), and fA is a focal length of the optical element (described in claim 3).
Regarding claim 7, combination Iwamoto-Yokoyama discloses the invention as described in Claim 1 and Iwamoto further teaches wherein further comprising an aperture stop,
wherein the following inequality is satisfied:
0.05<dA/OVL|<0.70 (0.2094; Iwamoto, fig.9, paragraph [0103], Example 5, dA = 36.156; paragraph [0101], data of Example 5, OVL = overall lens length =172.46)
where dA is a distance on the optical axis from a lens surface on a side of the aperture stop of the optical element to the aperture stop (described in claim 6), and OVL is a distance on the optical axis from the lens surface closest to the object of the optical system to an image plane (Iwamoto, paragraph [0096], The overall lens length is a value obtained by adding the back focus to the distance from the first lens surface to the final lens surface).
Regarding claim 8, combination Iwamoto-Yokoyama discloses the invention as described in Claim 1 and Iwamoto further teaches wherein the following inequality is satisfied:
1.5<d<4.0 (d is approximately 2.76; paragraph [0065] glass with product name S-TIM27, nd=1.63980, νd=34.5, θgF=0.5922, manufactured by Ohara Inc,: as evidenced by Ohara optical Glass, page 7, d is approximately 2.76)
where d is specific gravity of the optical element (as evidenced by Ohara optical Glass, page 16, Specific Gravity d, Specific gravity is the density value of well-annealed glass referenced against pure water at 4[Symbol font/0xB0]C).
Regarding claim 9, combination Iwamoto-Yokoyama discloses the invention as described in Claim 1 and Iwamoto further teaches wherein the optical system (Iwamoto, fig.9, the optical system) includes, in order from the object side to the image side, a first lens unit (Iwamoto, fig.9, lens unit L1) and a second lens unit (Iwamoto, fig.9, lens unit L2), and a distance between the first lens unit and the second lens unit changes during focusing (Iwamoto, fig.9, paragraph [0031], The arrow 2a for the second lens unit L2 indicates a movement locus in zooming from the wide angle end to the telephoto end during focusing on infinity, and wherein the optical element (Iwamoto, fig.9, the optical system) is provided in the first lens unit (fig.9, lens unit L1) or the second lens unit (fig.9, lens unit L2).
Regarding claim 10, combination Iwamoto-Yokoyama discloses the invention as described in Claim 1 and Iwamoto further teaches wherein the optical system (Iwamoto, fig.9) includes, in order from the object side to the image side, a first lens unit (fig.9, lens unit L1) having negative refractive power (Iwamoto, fig.9, paragraph [0101], data of example 5, focal length of lens unit L1 = -18.24), and a second lens unit (fig.9, lens unit L2) having positive refractive power (Iwamoto, fig.9, paragraph [0101], data of example 5, focal length of lens unit L2 = 71.82), and wherein a distance between the first lens unit and the second lens unit is reduced during zooming from a wide-angle end to a telephoto end (paragraph [0031], FIG. 9A indicate the movement loci of the individual lens units in zooming from the wide angle end to the telephoto end).
Regarding claim 12, Iwamoto teaches an image pickup apparatus (Iwamoto, figs.1-14, paragraph [0029], The optical systems according to the embodiments are image-taking lens systems for use in image pickup apparatuses) comprising:
an optical system; an image sensor configured to receive an image formed by the optical system (Iwamoto, fig.14, paragraph [0104], a light receiving element, an image sensor72 that photoelectrically converts an image formed by the optical system 71 ), wherein in the optical system (Iwamoto, figs.1-14, abstract, an optical system), a height (Iwamoto, fig.13, the height H1) from an optical axis (Iwamoto, fig.13, optical axis O) of a paraxial marginal ray (Iwamoto, fig.13, paragraph [0037], Q denotes the paraxial marginal ray) that passes through a lens surface closest to an object (see Iwamoto, paragraph [0037], in FIG. 13, reference sign GF denotes a front lens unit having negative refractive) is smaller than a maximum height (Iwamoto, fig.13, the height H2) from the optical axis of the paraxial marginal ray (Iwamoto, paragraph [0036], a paraxial marginal ray Q enters the lens surface of a lens GF closest to the magnification side is smaller than the maximum value of the distance “H2” in FIG. 13) that passes through a lens (fig.13, lens GR) surface on an image side of an intersection (fig.13, intersection point P) between the optical axis (fig.13, optical axis O) and a paraxial chief ray (Iwamoto, fig.13, chief paraxial ray R), the optical system (Iwamoto fig.13, fig.9, optical system; paragraph [0005], intersection point P between the optical axis and a chief paraxial ray to the optical axis) comprising an optical element (Iwamoto fig.9, optical element G) disposed on an object side or the image side of the intersection (Iwamoto, fig.9, point P, paragraph [0036], Referring to FIG. 13, The optical systems of the embodiments are optical systems in which the distance “H1” in FIG. 13, from the optical axis “O” in FIG. 13 to a position where a paraxial marginal ray enters the lens surface of a lens closest to the magnification side is smaller than the maximum value of the distance “H2” in FIG. 13 from the optical axis O to a position where the paraxial marginal ray enters the lens surface on the reduction side with respect to the intersection point P between the optical axis and the chief paraxial ray),
wherein the optical element (Iwamoto, fig.9, optical element G) has positive refractive power in a case where the optical element is disposed on the object side of the intersection (Iwamoto, paragraph [0039], the optical element G is disposed on the magnification side with respect to the point P, the optical element G is a positive lens), and has negative refractive power in a case where the optical element is disposed placed on the image side of the intersection (Iwamoto, fig.13, fig.9, paragraph [0039], the case where the optical element G is disposed on the reduction side with respect to the point P, the optical element G is a negative lens), and
wherein the following inequalities are satisfied:
28<νd<39 (34.82; Iwamoto, fig.9, paragraph [0103], data of table 1, Example 5, Vd = 34.82)
−0.010<θgF−(0.64168−0.00162×νd)<−0.004 (-0.003; paragraph [0103], data of table 1, Example 5, Vd = 34.82, θgF = 0.5825;---which is very close to the value of < 0.004; the claimed ranges and the prior art ranges are close enough that one skilled in the art would have expected them to have the same properties, Titanium Metals Corp. of America v. Nabber, 778 F.2d 775, 227 USPQ 773 (Fed. Cir. 1985); See MPEP 2131.03.)
where νd is an Abbe number of the optical element (Iwamoto, paragraph [0094], νd is the Abbe number of the optical member for the d-line), and θgF is a partial dispersion ratio for g-line and F-line of the optical element (Iwamoto, paragraph [0094], θgF is the partial dispersion ratio of the optical member for the g-line and the F-line).
But Iwamoto does not explicitly teaches wherein the following inequalities are satisfied: 1.74<Nd<1.85
where Nd is a refractive index for d-line of the optical element.
However, Yokoyama teaches the analogous an optical system (Yokoyama, fig.1, fig.8, paragraph [0084], the intersection point P coincides with the center of an aperture stop. hn and hp are entrance heights of the paraxial marginal ray Q on lens surfaces. Hn and Hp are entrance heights of the paraxial chief ray R on the front component) , and further teaches wherein
wherein the following inequalities are satisfied: 1.74<Nd<1.85 (1.81175; see annotated image, Yokoyama, fig.8, and paragraph [0164], data of table EX4, a refractive index for d-line of the optical element, Nd = 1.81175).
wherein has negative refractive power in a case where the optical element (see annotated image, Yokoyama, fig.8, the optical element and paragraph [0164] data of table Ex4, the optical element has negative refractive power) is disposed placed on the image side of the intersection (fig.8, intersection of the optical axis and the SP has been referred to as the intersection point), and Nd is a refractive index for d-line of the optical element (see annotated image, Yokoyama, fig.8, and paragraph [0164], data of table EX4, a refractive index for d-line of the optical element, Nd = 1.81175).
Further, it has been held that where the selection of a known material based on its suitability for its intended use is disclosed in the prior art, a prima facie case of obviousness exists. See MPEP § 2144.07, citing In re Leshin, 277 F.2d 197, 125 USPQ 416 (CCPA 1960) and Ryco, Inc. v. Ag-Bag Corp., 857 F.2d 1418, 8 USPQ2d 1323 (Fed. Cir. 1988). See also Sinclair & Carroll Co. v. Interchemical Corp., 325 U.S. 327, 65 USPQ 297 (1945), as cited in MPEP § 2144.07; it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of design choice and a skilled person in the art may ascertain claimed lens material without any difficulty;
Thus, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the material of the optical element of Iwamoto to have the material of Yokoyama to be satisfied: 1.74<Nd<1.85 for the purpose of facilitating correction and reduction of various types of aberration, such as chromatic aberration (Yokoyama, paragraph [0013]).
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims have been considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to any of the references or portions of the reference being used in the current rejections.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KUEI-JEN LEE EDENFIELD whose telephone number is (571)272-3005. The examiner can normally be reached Mon. -Thurs 8:00 am - 5:30 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Thomas Pham can be reached on 571-272-3689. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273- 8300.
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/KUEI-JEN L EDENFIELD/
Examiner, Art Unit 2872
/THOMAS K PHAM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2872