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 .
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed 2/18/26 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claims filed 2/18/26 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) 1-9,11,20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) or (2) as being anticipated by Lyu (US 20210003828, of record).
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Regarding claim 1, Lyu teaches (Fig. 1, Tables 1-3) An optical imaging system comprising:
a first lens having positive refractive power (f1=3.15), a convex (1.3 radius) object-side surface in a paraxial region thereof and a concave (4.7 radius) image-side surface in the paraxial region thereof;
a second lens having negative refractive power (f2=-9);
a third lens having positive refractive power (f3=20.6);
a fourth lens having negative refractive power (f4=-9.8);
a fifth lens having positive refractive power (f5=3), a convex (2 radius) object-side surface in a paraxial region thereof and a convex (-12 radius) image-side surface in a paraxial region thereof; and
a sixth lens having negative refractive power (f6=-2),
wherein the first to sixth lenses are sequentially arranged from an object side of the optical imaging system,
wherein the optical imaging system has a total of six lenses,
wherein 0.35<R1/f<0.40 (1.3/3.35=0.39), where R1 is a radius of curvature of the object-side surface of the first lens, and f is an overall focal length of the optical imaging system,
wherein the third lens has a focal length with a largest absolute value (20.6) among the first to sixth lenses,
wherein at least one or more inflection points are formed on at least one or both of an object-side surface and an image-side surface of the fourth lens (image-side),
wherein at least one or more inflection points are formed on at least one or both of an object-side surface and an image-side surface of the fifth lens (object-side),
wherein at least one or more inflection points are formed on at least one or both of an object-side surface and an image-side surface of the sixth lens (both), and
wherein an absolute value of a radius (7) of curvature of an object-side surface of the second lens is greater than an absolute value of a radius (4.7) of curvature of the image-side surface of the first lens (Table 1).
Regarding claim 2, Lyu further teaches The optical imaging system of claim 1, wherein 0.015<D1/f<0.025 (0.0652/3.35=0.019), where D1 is a distance on an optical axis between the image-side surface of the first lens and an object-side surface of the second lens.
Regarding claim 3, Lyu further teaches The optical imaging system of claim 1, wherein TTL/f<1.25 (4/3.35=1.19), where TTL is a distance on an optical axis from the object-side surface of the first lens to an image capturing surface.
Regarding claim 4, Lyu further teaches The optical imaging system of claim 3, wherein 0.15<BFL/f<0.25 (0.6378/3.35=0.19), where BFL is a distance on the optical axis from an image-side surface of the sixth lens to the image capturing surface.
Regarding claim 5, Lyu further teaches The optical imaging system of claim 1, wherein f1/f<1.2 (3.15/3.35), where f1 is a focal length of the first lens.
Regarding claim 6, Lyu further teaches The optical imaging system of claim 1, wherein −0.5<f1/f2<0 (3.15/-9.21), where f1 is a focal length of the first lens, and f2 is a focal length of the second lens.
Regarding claim 7, Lyu further teaches The optical imaging system of claim 1, wherein f3/f>6 (20.61/3.35=6.15), where f3 is a focal length of the third lens.
Regarding claim 8, Lyu further teaches The optical imaging system of claim 1, wherein −0.5<f2/f3<0 (-9.21/20.61), where f2 is a focal length of the second lens, and f3 is a focal length of the third lens.
Regarding claim 9, mutatis mutandis, Lyu teaches in Fig. 3&Tables 4-6 all the limitations as described in claim 1 rejection above (R1/f=3.57), and further teaches The optical imaging system of claim 1, wherein −2.5<f2/f<−2.0 (-8.38/3.5=-2.39), where f2 is a focal length of the second lens.
Regarding claim 11, Lyu further teaches The optical imaging system of claim 1, wherein TTL/(2*IMG HT)<0.69 (Table 28: 0.615), where TTL is a distance on an optical axis from the object-side surface of the first lens to an image capturing surface, and IMG HT is half of a diagonal length of the image capturing surface.
Regarding claim 20, Lyu further teaches (Table 1) The optical imaging system of claim 1, wherein at least one or both of an object-side surface and an image-side surface of each of the first to sixth lenses is aspherical.
Claim(s) 1,10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) or (2) as being anticipated by Peng (US 20200041767).
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Regarding claim 1, Peng teaches (Fig. 1, Tables 1-3) An optical imaging system comprising:
a first lens having positive refractive power (f1=4.6), a convex (1.6 radius) object-side surface in a paraxial region thereof and a concave (4 radius) image-side surface in the paraxial region thereof;
a second lens having negative refractive power (f2=-41);
a third lens having positive refractive power (f3=75);
a fourth lens having negative refractive power (f4=-13);
a fifth lens having positive refractive power (f5=2.8), a convex (4.6 radius) object-side surface in a paraxial region thereof and a convex (-2.2 radius) image-side surface in a paraxial region thereof; and
a sixth lens having negative refractive power (f6=-2.3),
wherein the first to sixth lenses are sequentially arranged from an object side of the optical imaging system,
wherein the optical imaging system has a total of six lenses,
wherein 0.35<R1/f<0.40 (1.6/4.262=0.38), where R1 is a radius of curvature of the object-side surface of the first lens, and f is an overall focal length of the optical imaging system,
wherein the third lens has a focal length with a largest absolute value (75) among the first to sixth lenses,
wherein at least one or more inflection points are formed on at least one or both of an object-side surface and an image-side surface of the fourth lens (both),
wherein at least one or more inflection points are formed on at least one or both of an object-side surface and an image-side surface of the fifth lens (both),
wherein at least one or more inflection points are formed on at least one or both of an object-side surface and an image-side surface of the sixth lens (both), and
wherein an absolute value of a radius (4.5) of curvature of an object-side surface of the second lens is greater than an absolute value of a radius (4) of curvature of the image-side surface of the first lens (Table 1).
Regarding claim 10, Peng further teaches The optical imaging system of claim 1, wherein Fno<1.85 (1.69, Table 16), where Fno is an F number of the optical imaging system.
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) 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lyu.
Regarding claim 18, Lyu teaches all the limitations as stated in claim 1 rejections above, but does not explicitly teach The optical imaging system of claim 1, wherein the first to sixth lenses are formed of plastic.
Absent any showing of criticality and/or unpredictability, having the first to sixth lenses are formed of plastic 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 easy manufacturing.
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 by Lyu having the first to sixth lenses are formed of plastic for the purposes of easy manufacturing.
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
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