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 .
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 is 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.
Claim 7 recites the limitation "Pout (µm)" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For the purposes of examination, this term is ignored in calculating the expression of claim 7.
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) 1-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nagasaki et al. (JP2008310160A; translation attached herewith).
Regarding claim 1, Nagasaki discloses a diffractive optical element (see figure 3, for instance) comprising: a diffractive area (4) including annular sections (4A) concentrically arranged, wherein at least one of the annular sections has a non-circular shape (“concentrically formed ellipses”, see Abstract), and wherein the following inequality is satisfied: 6<Pmin×Rdc/Re<65 (see figure 6, wherein Re = Rdc = 25, and Pmin = 1 / 75 mm-1, yielding a total of Pmin×Rdc/Re=13.3µm) where Rdc (mm) is a shortest one of distances from a center of the annular sections to an outer circumference of the diffractive area, Re (mm) is a radius of one of the annular sections which is farthest from the center, and Pmin (μm) is a minimum value of an array pitch of the diffractive optical element.
Regarding claim 2, Nagasaki discloses the diffractive optical element according to claim 1, wherein the following inequality is satisfied: 0.5<Rdc/Re<0.95 (see figure 3, wherein Rdc and Re along the X-axis fulfill this expression).
Regarding claim 3, Nagasaki discloses the diffractive optical element according to claim 1, wherein the following inequality is satisfied: 0.8<1000×(R22-R12) / (Re×Pmin) < 2.4 where R1 (mm) is a radius of a first annulus counted from the center, and R2 (mm) is a radius of a second annulus counted from the center (see figure 3, see also page 6 of attached translation).
Regarding claim 4, Nagasaki discloses the diffractive optical element according to claim 1, wherein the following inequality is satisfied: 0.4<fd×λ0/(Re×Pmin)<1.2 where λ0 (μm) is a design wavelength of the diffractive optical element, and fd (mm) is a focal length on a diffractive surface (see page 5 of the attached translation).
Regarding claim 5, Nagasaki discloses the diffractive optical element according to claim 1, wherein the following inequality is satisfied: 0.05<Dm/Pmin<1. where Dm (μm) is a grating height in an annulus having the minimum value Pmin (see pages 4-6, of attached translation).
Regarding claim 6, Nagasaki discloses the diffractive optical element according to claim 1, wherein the following inequality is satisfied: 0.70<Rdc/RPm<1.5 where RPm (mm) is a radius of the annulus having the minimum value Pmin (see pages 4-6, of attached translation).
Regarding claim 7, Nagasaki discloses the diffractive optical element according to claim 1, wherein the following inequality is satisfied: 1.5<Poutm/Pmin<6.0 where Pout (μm) is an interval between adjacent annular ends among the annular sections in which the circumference is non-circular, and Poutm (μm) is a minimum value of the interval Pout (see pages 4-6, of attached translation).
Regarding claim 8, Nagasaki discloses the diffractive optical element according to claim 1, wherein an outermost annulus in the diffractive optical element has the circumference that is non-circular (see figure 3), and the following inequality is satisfied: 3.<Lae/Re<6.0 where Lae (mm) is a length of an arc in the outermost annulus (see pages 4-6, of attached translation).
Regarding claim 9, Nagasaki discloses the diffractive optical element according to claim 1, wherein the following inequality is satisfied: 150<NR<800 where NR is the number of annuli in the annular sections (see pages 4-6, of attached translation).
Regarding claim 10, Nagasaki discloses the diffractive optical element according to claim 1, wherein the following inequality is satisfied: 20<Ndc<300 where Ndc is the number of annuli having a radius larger than the shortest distance Rdc and smaller than the radius Re among the annular sections (see pages 4-6, of attached translation).
Regarding claim 11, Nagasaki discloses the diffractive optical element according to claim 1, wherein an optical material of the diffractive optical element includes a thermoplastic resin (see page 7, of attached translation).
Regarding claim 12, Nagasaki discloses the diffractive optical element according to claim 1, wherein the diffractive optical element includes layers of a first diffraction grating (3) made of a first material (see figure 4), and a second diffraction grating (2) made of a second material different from the first material (see figure 4).
Regarding claim 13, Nagasaki discloses the diffractive optical element according to claim 1, wherein the diffractive optical element (4) has an outer circumferential area in which no diffraction grating is formed outside an annulus having the radius Re (see figure 3, for instance).
Regarding claim 14, Nagasaki discloses the diffractive optical element according to claim 1, wherein the following inequality is satisfied: -5.<(Ψ2(h)-2)/C2<-0.5 (see pages 4-6 of attached translation) where h (mm) is a distance in a direction perpendicular to an optical axis in the diffractive optical element, an optical path difference function Ψ of a diffractive surface is Ψ(h)=C2h2+C4h4+C6h6 . . . , Ψ2(h) is a second derivative value of the optical path difference function Ψ with respect to h, and Ci is a phase coefficient (i=2, 4, 6 . . . ).
Regarding claim 15, Nagasaki discloses the diffractive optical element according to claim 1, wherein the diffractive optical element (1) has a gate portion, and wherein in the diffractive area, a direction of a shortest length from the center and a direction of the gate portion are opposite to each other with respect to an annular rotation center (4A, center).
Regarding claim 16, Nagasaki discloses an optical system comprising the diffractive optical element (1) according to claim 1.
Regarding claim 17, Nagasaki discloses an image pickup apparatus comprising: the optical system according to claim 16; and an image sensor (222) configured to receive an optical image formed by the optical system (1).
Regarding claim 18, Nagasaki discloses a display apparatus comprising: a display element configured to display an image; and the optical system (1) according to claim 16 configured to guide light from the display element.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Arai (US 9,777,990) discloses a diffractive optical element having noncircular boundaries.
Kobayashi (US 10,890,698) discloses a diffractive optical element having specific pitch and radius relationships, including two types of diffractive material.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NATHANAEL R BRIGGS whose telephone number is (571)272-8992. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.
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/NATHANAEL R BRIGGS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2871 12/18/2025