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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 04/02/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Objection/s to the Specification
The title of the invention, “LENS DEVICE, IMAGING APPARATUS, AND FILTER UNIT,” is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
Claim Rejections - AIA 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
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.
Claims 19-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hong (US 20200019039 A1) in view of Common Knowledge in the Art.
Regarding claim 19, Hong teaches a filter unit (Fig. 7; [0048]-[0060]) disposed at a pupil position or near the pupil position on an optical path of a lens device, the filter unit comprising: a frame (60) having opening portions (filters holder); first optical filters (band pass coating/s of each filter area 62) which are disposed in at least two of the opening portions (filters holder), and each of which has a light transmission band in a specific wavelength region ([0051]); and second optical filters (band stop coating/s of each filter area 62) which are disposed in the opening portions (filters holder) in which the first optical filters (band pass coating/s of each filter area 62) are disposed, and each of which has a band stop in a wavelength region which is different from the light transmission band of each of the first optical filters (band pass coating/s of each filter area 62).
Hong does not teach the band stop filter is an absorptive type.
It is well known in the art that band stop filters fall into one or a combination of absorptive, interference or reflective types. Absorptive type is the cheapest. (https://web.archive.org/web/20170428083946/https://www.globalspec.com/learnmore/optical_components_optics/optical_components/optical_filters).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skills in the art at the time of the invention to use the absorptive type of band stop filter; because it is the most cost effective.
Regarding claim 20, Hong further teaches among the first optical filters (band pass coating/s of each filter area 62) disposed in the opening portions (filters holder), a light transmission band of a first optical filter disposed in at least one opening portion is different from a light transmission band of a first optical filter disposed in another opening portion ([0051]).
Regarding claim 21, Hong further teaches the second optical filters (band stop coating/s of each filter area 62) disposed in the opening portions (filters holder) each have a light absorption band including a light transmission band of a first optical filter disposed in at least one opening portion of the opening portions (filters holder; [0051]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-18 are allowed.
Regarding claims 1 and 16, the closest prior art references, Hong, teaches a filter unit (Fig. 7; [0048]-[0060]) disposed at a pupil position or near the pupil position on an optical path of a lens device, the filter unit comprising: a frame (60) having opening portions (filters holder); first optical filters (band pass coating/s of each filter area 62) which are disposed in at least two of the opening portions (filters holder), and each of which has a light transmission band in a specific wavelength region ([0051]); and second optical filters (band stop coating/s of each filter area 62) which are disposed in the opening portions (filters holder) in which the first optical filters (band pass coating/s of each filter area 62) are disposed, and each of which has a band stop in a wavelength region which is different from the light transmission band of each of the first optical filters (band pass coating/s of each filter area 62). Hong does not teach polarization filters “disposed in the opening portions in which the first optical filters are disposed.” Furthermore, there is no teaching, suggestion or motivation in the prior art references to modify the references in such manner that results in the above claimed limitation/s; hence the invention as claimed by claims 1 and 16 is not obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention.
Claims 2-15 and 17-18 depend, directly or indirectly, on claims 1 and 16, respectively; hence they are also allowed.
Conclusion
The prior art references cited in PTO-892 are made of record and considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Patent documents, US 20210215920 A1, US 20150234150 A1, US 20140055661 A1, US 20120130175 A1, US 20100044583 A1, US 20090244355 A1, US 20020122314 A1, disclose filter arrays having a frame with multiple openings where spectral filters are disposed within the openings. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BAO-LUAN Q LE whose telephone number is (571)270-5362. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday; 9:00AM-5:00PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Minh-Toan Ton can be reached on (571) 272 230303. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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Any response to this action should be mailed to:
Commissioner for Patents
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
Or faxed to:
(571) 273-8300, (for formal communications intended for entry)
Or:
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Hand-delivered responses should be brought to:
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/BAO-LUAN Q LE/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2882
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