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 .
Response to Arguments
Claims 1-2, 5, 7, 9-10, 12, and 15-20 were amended. Claims 1-20 are currently pending.
Applicant’s arguments, filed 12/10/2025, and in light of Applicant’s amendments to claims 1 and 15 have been fully considered and are moot in view of new rejection (see infra).
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.
Claim 7 recites the limitation "enter the semi-automatic adjustment
" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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 1-6 and 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Turcotte; Rheal Peter (US 20210218902 A1, hereinafter “Turcotte”), in view of Ito et al. (US 20170219913 A1, hereinafter “Ito”).
Regarding claim 1, Turcotte teaches a control system for a manual lens (Fig. 4,[0072]: camera 1 with automated systems on a barrel), comprising:
a parameter adjustment ring (Fig. 4, [0081]: a pulley wheel which in turn rotates a moving gear band (4.6) interfaced to an identical pitch gear band (4.7) fastened directly to a focus ring (4.8));
a motor (Fig. 4: a stepper motor (4.4));
a processor (Figs. 4 and 11-13, [0072]: All the configurations use a common controller); and a memory ([0108]: Parameter values are stored in the microcontroller's EEPROM (non-volatile memory) so that the next use of the controller can begin with the previously used configuration.),
wherein the manual lens is configured to be manually focused by a user for photographing (Fig. 4, [0081]: the camera 1 is provided with the focus ring (4.8) on a lens barrel. Examiner point out that a camera lens focusing ring is primarily used to adjust the focus distance when the camera is set to Manual Focus (MF) mode),
the control system is configured to be added externally to the manual lens to add automatic focusing to the manual lens, such that the manual lens has both an automatic focusing mode and a manual focusing mode (Fig. 4&11-13: the controller is used to adjust several important factors in using this method to vary step size, number of steps, etc., depending on the subject distance and corresponding DOF. An automated rotation control of the focus ring in which all the hardware is attached to the lens.),
the parameter adjustment ring is sleeved on a lens barrel of the manual lens, and is configured to adjust a lens parameter of the manual lens to photograph a target object (Fig. 4, [0081]: The motor in any case turns a pulley wheel which in turn rotates a moving gear band (4.6) interfaced to an identical pitch gear band (4.7) fastened directly to the focus ring (4.8)),
the motor is arranged outside the parameter adjustment ring, and is configured to drive the parameter adjustment ring to rotate (Fig. 4, [0081]: A hinge-pin (4.3) is attached to a metal band and it in turn is connected to the stepper motor (4.4) by means of an attached mounting plate (4.5)),
and the processor is configured to automatically determine a focusing position [0060]-[0064]: It is possible by reprograming the drive chip in the controller to automatically change the step size as each step is taken; allowing fully automatic collection of images in small focal distance steps by externally rotating the focus ring for any camera and any lens.) and control the motor to rotate to a target motor position for automatic focusing when the manual lens is in the automatic focusing mode for photographing the target object ([0060]-[0064]: allowing fully automatic collection of images in small focal distance steps by externally rotating the focus ring for any camera and any lens. the controller is able to program the motor functions and trigger the camera sequentially, and allows setting all of the following parameters: number of shots, steps per shot, step resolution (size), delay time between steps (shots), and motor speed, by means which thereby allows taking a large number of still photographs, or videos while changing the focus distance.).
Turcotte does not teach automatically determine a focusing position of an image of the target object.
However, Ito discloses automatically determine a focusing position of an image of the target object (Figs. 6&8, [0012]-[0014], [0196]&[0260]: in focus control based on the contrast AF in the imaging system 1, a plurality of AF modes in which control methods, AF parameters to be used in the control, conversion tables to be used by the conversion unit 332, and the like differ are decided. wherein the target position is a position decided using contrast autofocus and wherein a motor is a ring-shaped ultrasonic motor).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate automatically determine a focusing position of an image of the target object as taught by Ito into Turcotte automated system. The suggestion/ motivation for doing so would be to perform more accurate focusing (Ito: [0006]).
Regarding claim 2, Turcotte and Ito combination teaches the control system according to claim 1, in addition Turcotte discloses wherein an adjustment mode of the manual lens comprises the automatic focusing mode, and the processor is further configured to: enter the automatic focusing mode when receiving an instruction to start a fully automatic adjustment mode ([0066]-[0071]&[0108]: A camera shooting sequence is initiated by the user by pressing the Enter keypad switch while the initial Shots screen is displayed.).
Regarding claim 3, Turcotte and Ito combination teaches the control system according to claim 1, in addition Turcotte discloses wherein to automatically determine the focusing position of the image and control the motor to rotate to the target motor position for automatic focusing when the manual lens is in the automatic focusing mode, the processor is configured to: automatically control the motor to rotate to a target rotation angle based on the target rotation angle for automatic focusing when the manual lens is in the automatic focusing mode ([0060]-[0064]: allowing fully automatic collection of images in small focal distance steps by externally rotating the focus ring for any camera and any lens. the controller is able to program the motor functions and trigger the camera sequentially, and allows setting all of the following parameters: number of shots, steps per shot, step resolution (size), delay time between steps (shots), and motor speed, by means which thereby allows taking a large number of still photographs, or videos while changing the focus distance.).
Regarding claim 4, Turcotte and Ito combination teaches the control system according to claim 1, in addition Turcotte discloses wherein the processor is further configured to calibrate a conversion relationship between a rotation angle of the motor and the lens parameter of the manual lens, the memory is configured to store the conversion relationship (Fig. 2, [0076]: This figure shows the nonlinear relationship between the subject distance and focus ring rotation angle.);
And to automatically determine the focusing position of the image and control the motor to rotate to the target motor position for automatic focusing when the manual lens is in the automatic focusing mode (Figs. 2&13, [0065]: logic flow diagram utilized by the controller to drive the step motor to a shooting sequence),
the processor is configured to: automatically determine the focusing position based on the conversion relationship and control the motor to rotate to the target motor position for automatic focusing when the manual lens is in the automatic focusing mode (Figs. 2&13, [0065]-[0069]: the nonlinear relationship between the subject distance and focus ring rotation angle. The embedded software Retrieves all above configuration settings from microcontroller memory, Enables the motor coils and sets the motor direction based on the sign of the Motor Speed parameter and then Produces a series of motor movements and camera shutter control relay activations as determined by the configuration parameters, essentially taking the configured Shots photographs interspersed with an equal number of motor movements.).
Regarding claim 5, Turcotte and Ito combination teaches the control system according to claim 4, in addition Turcotte discloses wherein the lens parameter comprises a focusing distance (Figs. 2&13, [0064]&[0076]: A controller is used to adjust several important factors in using this method to vary step size, number of steps, etc., depending on the subject distance and corresponding DOF.), the conversion relationship comprises a first conversion relationship between the rotation angle of the motor and the focusing distance of the lens, and a target rotation angle of the motor is determined based on the first conversion relationship and distance information from a target object currently photographed by the manual lens to the manual lens (Figs. 2&13, [0060]: It is possible by reprograming the drive chip in the controller to automatically change the step size as each step is taken. In this way, it would be possible to make the step sizes be larger as the focus distance increases but maintain that the step size is still about ½ the DOF at that distance. This would minimize the number of shots required and may allow improvements in the rendering of the stack as well.).
Regarding claim 6, Turcotte and Ito combination teaches the control system according to claim 1, in addition The combination discloses wherein to automatically determine the focusing position of the image and control the motor to rotate to the target motor position for automatic focusing when the manual lens is in the automatic focusing mode (in Turcotte, [0060]-[0064]: allowing fully automatic collection of images in small focal distance steps by externally rotating the focus ring for any camera and any lens. the controller is able to program the motor functions and trigger the camera sequentially, and allows setting all of the following parameters: number of shots, steps per shot, step resolution (size), delay time between steps (shots), and motor speed, by means which thereby allows taking a large number of still photographs, or videos while changing the focus distance.), the processor is configured to: determine the focusing position of the image based on a contrast detection auto focus (CDAF) focusing method or a phase detection auto focus (PDAF) focusing method, and control the motor to gradually rotate towards the target motor position until the motor rotates to the target motor position, when the manual lens is in the automatic focusing mode (in Ito, Figs. 6&8, [0012]-[0014], [0196]&[0260]: in focus control based on the contrast AF in the imaging system 1, a plurality of AF modes in which control methods, AF parameters to be used in the control, conversion tables to be used by the conversion unit 332, and the like differ are decided. wherein the target position is a position decided using contrast autofocus and wherein a motor is a ring-shaped ultrasonic motor).
Regarding claims 15-20, Method claims 15-20 are drawn to the method of using the corresponding apparatus claimed in respective claims 1-6. Therefore, method claims 15-20 correspond to apparatus in respective claims 1-6 and are rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used above.
Claims 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Turcotte and Ito combination as applied above, in view of TSUCHIYA; Hitoshi (US 20090115883 A1, hereinafter “TSUCHIYA”).
Regarding claim 7, Turcotte and Ito combination teaches the control system according to claim 1, except wherein the processor is further configured to: enter the semi-automatic adjustment mode when an instruction to start the semi-automatic adjustment mode is received.
However, TSUCHIYA discloses wherein the processor is further configured to: enter the semi-automatic adjustment mode when an instruction to start the semi-automatic adjustment mode is received ([0024]&[0039]: camera shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B is so designed that an autofocus mode, a manual focus mode or a semi-autofocus mode can be selected for each focusing operation. The semi-autofocus mode is an intermediate mode between an autofocus mode and a manual focus mode. More specifically, the user manually operates for basic focusing (selection of a subject) and then the camera automatically finely adjusts the focus on the selected subject. the setting switch 129 is used to select the autofocus mode, the manual focus mode or the semi-autofocus mode.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate wherein the processor is further configured to: enter the semi-automatic adjustment mode when an instruction to start the semi-automatic adjustment mode is received as taught by TSUCHIYA into Turcotte and Ito combination. The suggestion/ motivation for doing so would be to allow photographer more control over a result than a fully automatic setting would by combining the speed of autofocus with the precision of manual focus.
Regarding claim 8, Turcotte, Ito and TSUCHIYA combination teaches the control system according to claim 7, in addition TSUCHIYA discloses wherein the processor is further configured to: in the semi-automatic adjustment mode: display a feature map of a real-time image captured with the manual lens by a display device (as illustrated by Fig. 5, [0056]: a plurality of focus is defined in the field of view and the defined focus areas are displayed so that the user can visually recognize them.); display a parameter scale in the feature map, wherein the parameter scale is configured to represent range information of the lens parameter (as illustrated by Fig. 5, [0056]: an indicator 301 is displayed to show the current position of the focusing lens as determined by referring to the imaging plane and the focus scanning range that is centered at this current position.);
and display a first scale position mark of a target lens parameter and a second scale position mark of a current lens parameter on the parameter scale in the feature map, so as to instruct a user to input a second user instruction (as illustrated by Fig. 5, [0056]-[0057]: an indicator 301 is displayed to show the current position of the focusing lens as determined by referring to the imaging plane and the focus scanning range that is centered at this current position. Furthermore, a display 302 shows the actual value of the focus scanning range. The indicator 301 shows the focus scanning range as converted to the range on the subject side.). The suggestion/ motivation for doing so would be to allow photographer more control over a result than a fully automatic setting would by combining the speed of autofocus with the precision of manual focus.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9-14 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.
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.
Contact
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ABDELAAZIZ TISSIRE whose telephone number is (571)270-7204. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 5 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ye Lin can be reached on 571-272-7372. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ABDELAAZIZ TISSIRE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2638