DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 2/5/2024 complies with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the examiner considered the information disclosure statement.
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 1-3, 5, 7-9 and 11-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu et al.(CN114578512, of record, see IDS dated 2/5/2024, English translation attached) in view of Ye et al. (CN107741630, of record, see IDS dated 2/5/2024) .
Regarding claim 1, Xu teaches a photographing system lens assembly comprising eight lens elements (see Xu, fig.1, abstract, an optical system, a camera module and electronic equipment), the eight lens elements being, in order from an object side to an image side (see Xu, fig.1, abstract, the eight lens elements being, in order from an object side to an image side):
a first lens element (fig.1, lens L1), a second lens element (fig.1, lens L2), a third lens element (fig.1, lens L3), a fourth lens element (fig.1, lens L4), a fifth lens element (fig.1, lens L5), a sixth lens element (fig.1, lens L6), a seventh lens element (fig.1, lens L7) and an eighth lens element (fig.1, lens L8); each of the eight lens elements has an object-side surface towards the object side and an image-side surface towards the image side (see Xu, fig.1, each of the eight lens has an object-side surface towards the object side and an image-side surface towards the image side);
wherein a focal length of the photographing system lens assembly is f (paragraph [0017], f is the effective focal length of the optical system; see paragraph [0136] data of table 1, f = 7.65), a focal length of the fifth lens element is f5 (see Xu, paragraph [0136] data of table 1, f5 = -24.685), a focal length of the sixth lens element is f6 (see Xu, paragraph [0136] data of table 1, f6 = -84.156), a focal length of the seventh lens element is f7 (see Xu, paragraph [0136] data of table 1, f7 = 8.583), a focal length of the eighth lens element is f8 (see Xu, paragraph [0136] data of table 1, f8 = -24.685), a sum of central thicknesses of the lens elements of the photographing system lens assembly is ΣCT (see Xu, fig.1, paragraph [0136] data of table 1, ΣCT = 5.21), a sum of all axial distances between adjacent lens elements of the photographing system lens assembly is ΣAT (see Xu, fig.1, paragraph [0136] data of table 1, ΣAT = 3.048), a curvature radius of the image-side surface of the second lens element (fig.1, lens L2) is R4 (see Xu, fig.1, paragraph [0136] data of table 1, R4 = 3.589), a curvature radius of the image-side surface of the sixth lens element (fig.1, lens L6) is R12 (see Xu, fig.1, paragraph [0136] data of table 1, R12 = 26.946), a curvature radius of the image-side surface of the seventh lens element (fig.1, lens L7) is R14 (see Xu, fig.1, paragraph [0136] data of table 1, R14 =11.073), a curvature radius of the image-side surface of the eighth lens element (fig.1, lens L8) is R16 (see Xu, fig.1, paragraph [0136] data of table 1, R16 = 3.728), and the following conditions are satisfied:
0 < (|f/f5|+|f/f6|)/(|f/f7|+|f/f8|) < 0.50 (0.197; see described above, f/f5|+|f/f6|)/(|f/f7|+|f/f8| = 0.197);
0.9 < (R12+R16)/(R12-R16) < 3.0 (1.32; described above, (R12+R16)/(R12-R16) = 1.32);
-1.95 < (R4+R14)/(R4-R14) < -0.51 (-1.96;--- which is very close to the value of 1.95; 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 curvature radius of the surface of the lens element to fit into the claimed range of the above expression since 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. Banner, 778 F.2d 775, 783, 227 USPQ 773, 779 (Fed. Cir. 1985) and further being motivated to have large light incoming amount and miniaturization design, and can
meet the requirement of high imaging quality, see Xu, paragraph [0003]).
Xu does not explicitly teaches wherein the following conditions are satisfied:
2.0 < ΣCT/ΣAT < 5.0 (1.7);
-10.0 < f7/f8 < -1.5 (-1.3);
However, Ye teaches the analogous optical system (Ye, fig.3, the camera lens; paragraphs [0122]-[129], data of tables 4-6, The camera lens comprises a first lens E1, a second lens E2, a third lens E3, a fourth lens E4, a fifth lens E5, a sixth lens E6, a seventh lens E7 and an eighth lens E8 in sequence from the object side to the image side along the optical axis), and further teaches wherein the following conditions are satisfied:
2.0 < ΣCT/ΣAT < 5.0 (2.9; Ye, paragraph [0122], data of table 4, ΣCT/ΣAT = 3.4373/1.818);
-10.0 < f7/f8 < -1.5 (-3.429; Ye, paragraph [0129], data of table 6, f7/f8=32.27/-9.41).
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 sum of central thicknesses and air gaps of the lenses of Xu to have the ratio within the recited range, according to teachings of Ye for the purpose of the high imaging quality and miniaturization of the matching imaging lenses (Ye, paragraph [0004]).
Regarding claim 2, combination Xu-Ye discloses the invention as described in Claim 1 and Xu further teaches wherein the first lens element has positive refractive power (see Xu, fig.1, paragraph [0136], data of table 1, the first lens L1 has positive refractive power, f1 = 8.168); the object-side surface of the first lens element is convex in a paraxial region thereof (fig.1, paragraph [0007], A first lens L1 with positive refractive power, wherein the object side of the first lens is convex near the optical axis ); an axial distance between the object-side surface of the first lens element and an image surface (fig.1, imaging plane S19) is TL (see paragraph [0136], data of table 1, TL = 9.426), an axial distance between the image-side surface of the eighth lens element (fig.1, lens L8) and the image surface (fig.1, imaging plane S19) is BL (see paragraph [0136], data of table 1, BL = 1.168), and the following condition is satisfied:
7.5 < TL/BL < 13.5 (8.07; described above, TL/BL = 9.426/1.168).
Regarding claim 3, combination Xu-Ye discloses the invention as described in Claim 1 and Xu further teaches wherein the second lens element has negative refractive power (fig.1, abstract, second lens element L2 with negative refractive power); the image-side surface of the second lens element is concave in a paraxial region thereof (abstract, an image-side surface being concave in a paraxial region); the focal length of the photographing system lens assembly is f (see fig.1, paragraph [0136], data of table 1, f =7.65), a curvature radius of the object-side surface of the fifth lens element (fig.1, lens L5) is R9 (see fig.1, paragraph [0136], data of table 1,R9 =-16.005), a curvature radius of the image-side surface of the fifth lens element is R10 (see fig.1, paragraph [0136], data of table 1,R10 = -375.412), and the following condition is satisfied:
0.10 < |f/R9|+|f/R10| < 0.90 (0.5; described above, |f/R9|+|f/R10| =0.5).
Regarding claim 5, combination Xu-Ye-Li discloses the invention as described in Claim 1 and Xu further teaches wherein the object-side surface of the sixth lens element (fig.1, lens L6) is convex in a paraxial region thereof (see fig.6, paragraph [0136], data of table 1, the object-side surface of the sixth lens L6 element is convex in a paraxial region); a central thickness of the fourth lens element (fig.1, lens L4) is CT4 (paragraph [0136], data of table 1, CT4 = 0.659 ), an axial distance between the third lens element (fig.1, lens L3) and the fourth lens element (fig.1, lens L4) is T34 (see paragraph [0136], data of table 1, T34 = 0.549), and the following condition is satisfied:
1.1 < CT4/T34 < 5.0 (1.2; described above, CT4/T34 = 1.2).
Regarding claim 7, combination Xu-Ye discloses the invention as described in Claim 1 and Xu further teaches wherein an axial distance between the object-side surface of the first lens element (Lens L1) and an image surface (the S19) is TL (paragraph [0136] data of table 1,TL= 9.426), a maximum image height of the photographing system lens assembly is ImgH (see Xu, fig.2, ImgH = IMG HT = 7.4), a central thickness of the third lens element (fig.1, lens L3) is CT3 (see paragraph [0136] data of table 1, CT3 = 0.402), a central thickness of the fourth lens element (the lens L4) is CT4 (see paragraph [0136] data of table 1, CT4 = 0.659), a central thickness of the fifth lens element (the Lens L5) is CT5 (see paragraph [0136] data of table 1, CT5=0.42), and the following conditions are satisfied:
0.5 < TL/ImgH < 2.0 (1.27; described above, TL/ImgH=1.27); and
0.05 < CT3/(CT4+CT5) < 0.45 (0.37; described above, CT3/(CT4+CT5) =0.37).
Regarding claim 8, combination Xu-Ye discloses the invention as described in Claim 1 and Ye further teaches wherein a central thickness of the second lens element (Ye, fig.3, lens E2) is CT2 (Ye, paragraph [0122], data of table 3, CT2 = 0.248), a focal length of the second lens element (Ye, fig.3, lens E2) is f2 (Ye, paragraph [0122], data of table 3, f2 =-8.29) , and the following condition is satisfied:
-1.0 < 10×CT2/f2 < -0.15 (-0.29; described above).
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 sum of central thicknesses of the lenses of Xu to have the ratio within the recited range, according to teachings of Ye for the purpose of the high imaging quality and miniaturization of the matching imaging lenses (Ye, paragraph [0004]).
Regarding claim 9, combination Xu-Ye discloses the invention as described in Claim 1 and Xu further teaches wherein an Abbe number of the first lens element (fig.1, lens L1) is V1 (see paragraph [0136] data of table 1, V1= 56.114) , an Abbe number of the second lens element (fig.1, the lens L2) is V2 (see paragraph [0136] data of table 1, V2 = 19.244), an Abbe number of the third lens element (fig.1, lens L3) is V3 (see paragraph [0136] data of table 1, V3 = 56.114), an Abbe number of the fourth lens element (fig.1, lens L4) is V4 (see paragraph [0136] data of table 1, V4 = 56.114), an Abbe number of the fifth lens element (fig.1, lens L5) is V5 (see paragraph [0136] data of table 1, V5 = 19.244), an Abbe number of the sixth lens element (fig.1, lens L6) is V6 (see paragraph [0136] data of table 1, V6 = 28.325), an Abbe number of the seventh lens element (fig.1, lens L7) is V7 (see paragraph [0136] data of table 1, V7= 56.114), an Abbe number of the eighth lens element (fig.1, lens L8) is V8 (see paragraph [0136] data of table 1, V8 = 55.751), a minimum among V1, V2, V3, V4, V5, V6, V7 and V8 is Vmin (see paragraph [0136] data of table 1, V2 = 19.244), a curvature radius of the object-side surface of the first lens element (fig.1, lens L1) is R1 (see paragraph [0136] data of table 1, R1 = 3.301), a curvature radius of the object-side surface of the sixth lens element (fig.1, lens L6) is R11(see paragraph [0136] data of table 1, R11 = 59.237), and the following conditions are satisfied:
5.0 < Vmin < 20.0 (19.244; described above, V2 = 19.244); and
-0.2 < R1/R11 < 0.5 (0.06; described above).
Regarding claim 11, combination Xu-Ye discloses the invention as described in Claim 1 and Ye further teaches wherein a distance in parallel with an optical axis between a maximum effective radius position on the object-side surface of the sixth lens element (Ye, fig.3, lens E6) and a maximum effective radius position on the image-side surface of the sixth lens element (Ye, fig.3, lens E6) is ET6 (see fig.3, and paragraph [0122], data of table 3, referring to the scale in the image, the E6 is approximately 0.51), a central thickness of the sixth lens element (Ye, fig.3, lens E6) is CT6 (see Ye, paragraph [0122], data of table 3, CT6 = 0.4048), and the following condition is satisfied:
1.15 < ET6/CT6 < 2.5 (1.25, described above).
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 thicknesses of the lenses of Xu to have the ratio within the recited range, according to teachings of Ye for the purpose of the high imaging quality and miniaturization of the matching imaging lenses (Ye, paragraph [0004]).
Regarding claim 12, combination Xu-Ye discloses the invention as described in Claim 1 and Xu further teaches wherein an axial distance between the seventh lens element (fig.1, lens L7) and the eighth lens element (fig.1, lens L8) is T78 (see paragraph [0136] data of table 1, T78 = 1.221), a displacement in parallel with an optical axis from an axial vertex on the image-side surface of the seventh lens element (Fig.1, lens L7) to a maximum effective radius position on the image-side surface of the seventh lens element (lens L7) is Sag7R2 (see Xu, fig.1, referring to the scale in the image, the Sag7R2 is approximately -1.155 mm) , a displacement in parallel with the optical axis from an axial vertex on the object-side surface of the eighth lens element (fig.1, lens L8) to a maximum effective radius position on the object-side surface of the eighth lens element (fig.1, lens L8) is Sag8R1 (see Xu, fig.1, referring to the scale in the image, the Sag8R is approximately -1.53), satisfied:
0 < (T78-Sag7R2+Sag8R1)/T78 < 0.70 (referring to the scale in the image of fig.1, the (T78-Sag7R2+Sag8R1)/T78 is approximately 0.69).
Regarding claim 13, combination Xu-Ye discloses the invention as described in Claim 1 and Ye further teaches wherein a displacement in parallel with an optical axis from an axial vertex on the object-side surface of the seventh lens element (Ye, fig.3, lens E7) to a maximum effective radius position on the object-side surface of the seventh lens element is Sag7R1(see Ye, fig.7, referring to the scale in the image, the Sag7R1 is approximately 0.13 mm), a central thickness of the seventh lens element is CT7(paragraph [0122], data of table 3, CT7 = 0.5719), and the following condition is satisfied:
0 < |Sag7R1|/CT7 < 0.60 (0.22;described above).
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 thicknesses of the lenses of Xu to have the ratio within the recited range, according to teachings of Ye for the purpose of the high imaging quality and miniaturization of the matching imaging lenses (Ye, paragraph [0004]).
Regarding claim 14, combination Xu-Ye discloses the invention as described in Claim 1 and Xu further teaches wherein an imaging apparatus (fir.1, paragraph [0002] electronic devices to capture images), comprising:
the photographing system lens assembly of claim 1 (see claim 1); and
an image sensor (paragraph [0002], CCD sensor) disposed on an image surface of the photographing system lens assembly (fig.1, optical system).
Regarding claim 15, combination Xu-Ye discloses the invention as described in Claim 14 and Xu further teaches wherein an electronic device (fir.1, paragraph [0002] electronic devices to capture images), comprising:
the imaging apparatus of claim 14 (see claim 14).
Claims 4 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu et al. (CN114578512, of record, see IDS dated 2/5/2024, English translation attached) in view of Ye et al. (CN107741630, of record, see IDS dated 2/5/2024), and further in view of Zeng et al. (CN114740590, English translation attached).
Regarding claim 4, combination Xu-Ye discloses the invention as described in Claim 1 and Xu further teaches wherein the image-side surface of the fourth lens element (fig.1, lens L4) is convex in a paraxial region thereof (paragraph [0010], the image-side surface of the fourth lens is convex near the optical axis); a central thickness of the first lens element (fig.1, lens L1) is CT1 (paragraph [0136], data of table 1, CT1 = 1.039), a central thickness of the fifth lens element (fig.1, lens L5) is CT5 (paragraph [0136], data of table 1, CT5 = 0.42), but does not explicitly teaches wherein the following condition is satisfied:
0.5 < CT1/CT5 < 2.0 (2.47).
However, Zeng teaches the analogous optical lenses (Zeng, fig.7, paragraph [0071] Please refer to Figure 1. According to the first aspect of this application, this application discloses an optical lens 100, which includes a first lens L1, a second lens L2, a third lens L3, a fourth lens L4, a fifth lens L5, a sixth lens L6, a seventh lens L7 and an eighth lens L8 arranged sequentially along the optical axis O from the object side to the image side. abstract..), and further teaches wherein the image-side surface of the fourth lens element (fig.7, lens L4) is convex in a paraxial region thereof (paragraph [0139], the image-side surface 42 of the fourth lens L4 is convex near the optical axis); a central thickness of the first lens element (fig.7, lens L1) is CT1 (paragraph [0143], data of table 7, CT1 = 0.685), a central thickness of the fifth lens element (fig.7, lens L5) is CT5 (paragraph [0143], data of table 7, CT5 = 0.395), and the following condition is satisfied:
0.5 < CT1/CT5 < 2.0 (1.73).
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 thickness of the lenses of Xu to have the ratio within the recited range, according to teachings of Zeng for the purpose to achieve large image size imaging in optical lenses and shorten lens length to achieve miniaturization while maintaining good image quality (Zeng, paragraph [0002]).
Regarding claim 6, combination Xu-Ye discloses the invention as described in Claim 1 and Xu further teaches wherein an f-number of the photographing system lens assembly is Fno (Xu, paragraph [0138], the aperture number FNO is 1.72), the focal length of the photographing system lens assembly is f (paragraph [0136] data of table 1, f = 7.65), a composite focal length of the sixth lens element (fig.1, lens L6 ) and the seventh lens element (fig.1, lens L7) is f67 (paragraph [0136] data of table 1, f67 value is approximately 9.51), and the following conditions are satisfied:
1.0 < Fno < 2.0 (1.72, described above);
but Xu does not explicitly teaches wherein the following conditions are satisfied:
0.1 < f/f67 < 0.65 (0.8).
However, Zeng teaches the analogous optical lenses (Zeng, fig.7, paragraph [0071] Please refer to Figure 1. According to the first aspect of this application, this application discloses an optical lens 100, which includes a first lens L1, a second lens L2, a third lens L3, a fourth lens L4, a fifth lens L5, a sixth lens L6, a seventh lens L7 and an eighth lens L8 arranged sequentially along the optical axis O from the object side to the image side. abstract..), and further teaches wherein the following conditions are satisfied:
0.1 < f/f67 < 0.65 (0.59; see Zeng, fig.7, paragraph [0143], data of table 7, wherein the focal length of the photographing system lens assembly is f = 6.966, a composite focal length of the sixth lens element L6 and the seventh lens element is approximately 11.8).
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 focal length of the sixth lens element of Xu to have the ratio within the recited range, according to teachings of Zeng for the purpose to achieve large image size imaging in optical lenses and shorten lens length to achieve miniaturization while maintaining good image quality (Zeng, paragraph [0002]).
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu et al. (CN114578512, of record, see IDS dated 2/5/2024, English translation attached) in view of Ye et al. (CN107741630, of record, see IDS dated 2/5/2024), and further in view of Huang (US20190056568).
Regarding claim 10, combination Xu-Ye discloses the invention as described in Claim 1 and Xu further teaches wherein an Abbe number of one of the lens elements (fig.1, lens L2) is V (see paragraph [0136] data of table 1, V=V2=19.244), a refractive index of the lens element is N (see paragraph [0136] data of table 1, N = 1.678), and at least one of the eight lens elements satisfies the following condition:
5.0 < V/N < 12.0 (11.47; described above, V/N = V2/N = 11.47);
wherein an Abbe number of the first lens element (fig.1, lens L1) is V1 (see paragraph [0136] data of table 1, V1= 56.114), an Abbe number of the fifth lens element (fig.1, lens L5) is V5 (see paragraph [0136] data of table 1, V5 = 19.244),
but Xu does not explicitly teaches wherein the following condition is satisfied:
0.6 < V5/V1 < 1.5 (0.34).
However, Huang teaches the analogous image capturing optical assembly (Huang, fig,1, the image capturing optical assembly includes eight lens elements, without additional one or more lens elements inserted between the first lens element and the eighth lens element), and further teaches wherein an Abbe number of the first lens element (Huang, fig.1, lens 110) is V1 (Huang, paragraph [0137], data of table 1, V1 = 56), an Abbe number of the fifth lens element (fig.1, lens 150) is V5 (Huang, paragraph [0137], data of table 1, V5 = 56), and the following condition is satisfied:
0.6 < V5/V1 < 1.5 (1; described above).
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 lenses of Xu to have the ratio within the recited range, according to teachings of Huang for the purpose of reducing aberrations by controlling refractive power of the lens elements, and improving the image quality by adjusting the light path according to different fields of view (Huang, paragraph [0062]).
Claims 16-20 and 23-26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu et al. (CN114578512, of record, see IDS dated 2/5/2024, English translation attached) in view of Huang (US20190056568).
Regarding claim 16, Xu teaches a photographing system lens assembly comprising eight lens elements (see Xu, fig.1, abstract, an optical system, a camera module and electronic equipment), the eight lens elements being, in order from an object side to an image side (see Xu, fig.1, abstract, the eight lens elements being, in order from an object side to an image side):
a first lens element (fig.1, lens L1), a second lens element (fig.1, lens L2), a third lens element (fig.1, lens L3), a fourth lens element (fig.1, lens L4), a fifth lens element (fig.1, lens L5), a sixth lens element (fig.1, lens L6), a seventh lens element (fig.1, lens L7) and an eighth lens element (fig.1, lens L8); each of the eight lens elements has an object-side surface towards the object side and an image-side surface towards the image side (see Xu, fig.1, each of the eight lens has an object-side surface towards the object side and an image-side surface towards the image side);
wherein the object-side surface of the seventh lens element is convex in a paraxial region thereof (paragraph [0013], the object side of the seventh lens L7 is convex near the optical axis); the image-side surface of the eighth lens element (fig.1, lens L8) comprises at least one inflection point (see Xu, fig.1, paragraph [0110], a lens surface is aspherical, the lens surface have inflection points. In this case, the surface shape will change along the radial direction; and paragraph [0136] data of table 1, the image-side surface of the eighth lens element L8 comprises at least one inflection point);
wherein a focal length of the photographing system lens assembly is f f1 (paragraph [0017], f is the effective focal length of the optical system; see paragraph [0136] data of table 1, f = 7.65), a focal length of the first lens element (fig.1, lens L1) is f1 (paragraph [0136] data of table 1, f1 = 8.167), a focal length of the second lens element (fig.1, lens L2) is f2 (see paragraph [0136] data of table 1, f2 = -22.845), a focal length of the fifth lens element (fig.1, lens L5) is f5 (see paragraph [0136] data of table 1, f5 = -24.685), a focal length of the sixth lens element (fig.1, lens L6) is f6 see paragraph [0136] data of table 1, f6 = -84.156), a focal length of the seventh lens element (fig.1, lens L7) is f7 (see paragraph [0136] data of table 1, f7 = 8.583), a focal length of the eighth lens element (fig.1, lens L8) is f8 (see paragraph [0136] data of table 1, f8 = -6.666), a sum of central thicknesses of the lens elements of the photographing system lens assembly is ΣCT (see Xu, fig.1, paragraph [0136] data of table 1, ΣCT = 5.21), a sum of all axial distances between adjacent lens elements of the photographing system lens assembly is ΣAT (see Xu, fig.1, paragraph [0136] data of table 1, ΣAT = 3.048), a central thickness of the first lens element (fig.1, lens L1) is CT1 (paragraph [0136] data of table 1, CT1 = 1.039), a central thickness of the fifth lens element (fig.1, lens L5) is CT5 (paragraph [0136] data of table 1, CT5 = 0.42), a central thickness of the sixth lens element (fig.1, lens L6) is CT6 (paragraph [0136] data of table 1, CT6 = 0.559), a central thickness of the seventh lens element (fig.1, lens L7) is CT7 (paragraph [0136] data of table 1, CT7 = 0.98), a curvature radius of the image-side surface of the seventh lens element (fig.1, lens L7) is R14 (paragraph [0136] data of table 1, R14 = 11.073), a curvature radius of the image-side surface of the eighth lens element (fig.1, lens L8) is R16 (paragraph [0136] data of table 1, R16 = 3.728), and the following conditions are satisfied:
0 < (|f/f5|+|f/f6|)/(|f/f7|+|f/f8|) < 0.50 (0.19, described above);
0.16 < (R14+R16)/(R14-R16) < 2.10 (2.01, described above);
0.1 < f1/CT1 < 10.0 (7.86, described above); and
0.30 < |f1/f2| < 2.0 (0.35, described above).
Xu does not explicitly teaches wherein the following conditions are satisfied:
2.0 < ΣCT/ΣAT < 5.0 (1.71).
However, Huang teaches the analogous image capturing optical assembly (Huang, fig.23, paragraph [0301], the image capturing optical assembly includes eight lens elements, 1210, 1220, 1230, 1240, 1250, 1260, 1270 and 1280, without additional one or more lens elements inserted between the first lens element 1210 and the eighth lens element 1280), and further teaches wherein the following conditions are satisfied:
2.0 < ΣCT/ΣAT < 5.0 (2.12; see Huang, fig.23, paragraph [0311], data of table 23, ΣCT = 3.7, ΣAT = 1.739);
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 sum of central thicknesses of the lenses of Xu to have the ratio within the recited range, according to teachings of Huang for the purpose of imaging apparatus with compact size applicable to electronic devices (Huang, paragraph [0002]).
Xu does not explicitly teaches wherein the following conditions are satisfied:
0.5 < CT5/(CT6+CT7) < 1.0 (0.27);
However, Huang teaches the analogous image capturing optical assembly (Huang, fig.1, paragraph [0101], the image capturing optical assembly includes eight lens elements, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160, 170 and 180, without additional one or more lens elements inserted between the first lens element 110 and the eighth lens element 180, and there is an air gap in a paraxial region between every adjacent lens elements of the image capturing optical assembly), and further teaches wherein the following conditions are satisfied:
0.5 < CT5/(CT6+CT7) < 1.0 (0.84; see Huang, fig.1, paragraph [0137], data of table 1, a central thickness of the fifth lens element 150 is CT5 = 0.584, a central thickness of the sixth lens element 160 is CT6 =0.345, a central thickness of the seventh lens element 170 is CT7 =0.346);
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 one of central thicknesses of the lenses of Xu to have the ratio within the recited range, according to teachings of Huang for the purpose of imaging apparatus with compact size applicable to electronic devices (Huang, paragraph [0002]).
Regarding claim 17, combination Xu-Huang discloses the invention as described in Claim 16 and Xu further teaches wherein the seventh lens element has positive refractive power (fig.1, paragraph [0013], the seventh lens L7 with positive refractive power); the focal length of the photographing system lens assembly is f a (see Xu, paragraph [0136], data of table 1, f = 7.65), focal length of the fourth lens element (fig.1, lens L4) is f4 (see Xu, paragraph [0136], data of table 1, f4 = 56.529), the focal length of the fifth lens element (fig.1, lens L5) is f5 (see Xu, paragraph [0136], data of table 1, f5 = -24.658), the focal length of the sixth lens element (fig.1, lens L6) is f6 (see Xu, paragraph [0136], data of table 1, f6 = -84.156), and the following condition is satisfied:
0.10 < |f/f4|+|f/f5|+|f/f6| < 0.70 (0.53; described above).
Regarding claim 18, combination Xu-Huang discloses the invention as described in Claim 16 and Xu further teaches wherein the eighth lens element (Xu, fig.1, lens L8) has negative refractive power (Xu, fig.1, abstract, an eighth lens element with negative refractive power); the image-side surface of the eighth lens element is concave in a paraxial region thereof (fig.1, abstract, The eighth lens element L8 has an image-side surface being concave in a paraxial region thereof); the focal length of the second lens element is f2 (see Xu, paragraph [0136], data of table 1, f2 = -22.845), the focal length of the sixth lens element is f6 (see Xu, paragraph [0136], data of table 1, f6 = -84.156), and the following condition is satisfied:
0 < |f2/f6| < 1.2 (0.27, described above).
Regarding claim 19, combination Xu-Huang discloses the invention as described in Claim 16 and Xu further teaches wherein the focal length of the photographing system lens assembly is f (see Xu, paragraph [0136], data of table 1, f = 7.65), an axial distance between the object-side surface of the first lens element (fig.1, lens L1) and an image surface (fig.1, surface S19) is TL (see Xu, paragraph [0136], data of table 1, TL = 9.426), a curvature radius of the object-side surface of the seventh lens element (the lens L7) is R13 (see Xu, paragraph [0136], data of table 1, R13 = 3.395), the curvature radius of the image-side surface of the seventh lens element (the lens L7) is R14 (see Xu, paragraph [0136], data of table 1, R14 = 11.073), and the following conditions are satisfied:
0.5 < TL/f < 2.0 (1.23; described above); and
but Xu does not explicitly teaches wherein... the following conditions are satisfied: -1.5 < (R13+R14)/(R13-R14) < 0 (-1.89).
However, Huang of fig.23 further teaches wherein the following conditions are satisfied: -1.5 < (R13+R14)/(R13-R14) < 0 (-1.38; see Huang, fig.23, paragraph [0311], data of table 23, a curvature radius of the object-side surface of the seventh lens element 1270 is R13 = -15.034, the curvature radius of the image-side surface of the seventh lens element 1270 is R14 = -93.901).
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 one of curvature radius of the lenses of Xu to have the ratio within the recited range, according to teachings of Huang for the purpose of reducing aberrations by controlling refractive power of the lens elements, and improving the image quality by adjusting the light path according to different fields of view (Huang, paragraph [0062]).
Regarding claim 20, combination Xu-Huang discloses the invention as described in Claim 16 and Xu further teaches wherein an axial distance between the sixth lens element (fig.1, lens L6) and the seventh lens element (fig.1, lens L7) is T67 (see Xu, paragraph [0136], data of table 1, T67 = 0.362), an axial distance between the seventh lens element (fig.1, lens L7) and the eighth lens element (fig.1, lens L8) is T78 (see Xu, paragraph [0136], data of table 1, T78 = 1.221), and the following condition is satisfied:
0 < T67/T78 < 0.40 (0.30, described above).
Regarding claim 23, combination Xu-Huang discloses the invention as described in Claim 16 and Huang further teaches wherein an Abbe number of the first lens element (Huang, fig.1, lens 110) is V1 (Huang, paragraph [0137], data of table 1, V1 = 56), an Abbe number of the second lens element (fig.1, lens 120) is V2 (Huang, paragraph [0137], data of table 1, V2 = 19.5), an Abbe number of the third lens element (fig.1, the lens 130 ) is V3 (Huang, paragraph [0137], data of table 1, V3 = 56), an Abbe number of the fourth lens element (fig.1, the lens 140) is V4 (Huang, paragraph [0137], data of table 1, V4 =19.5), an Abbe number of the fifth lens element (fig.1, lens 150) is V5 (Huang, paragraph [0137], data of table 1, V5 = 56), an Abbe number of the sixth lens element (fig.1, lens 160) is V6 (Huang, paragraph [0137], data of table 1, V6 =19.5), an Abbe number of the seventh lens element (fig.1, lens 170) is V7 (Huang, paragraph [0137], data of table 1, V7 = 56), an Abbe number of the eighth lens element (fig.1, lens 180) is V8 (Huang, paragraph [0137], data of table 1, V8 = 55.8), and the following conditions are satisfied:
5.0 < Vi < 20.0 (19.5; Huang, described above), wherein i is at least one of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 (I = 2); and
20.0 < V4+V6 < 45.0 (39, Huang, described above).
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 lenses of Xu to have the abbe number within the recited range, according to teachings of Huang for the purpose of reducing aberrations by controlling refractive power of the lens elements, and improving the image quality by adjusting the light path according to different fields of view (Huang, paragraph [0062]).
Regarding claim 24, combination Xu-Huang discloses the invention as described in Claim 16 and Xu further teaches wherein a half of a maximum field of view of the photographing system lens assembly is HFOV (see Xu, fig.1, paragraph [0136], data of table 1, HFOV= FOV/2=87.8/2=43.9), an axial distance between the object-side surface of the first lens element (fig.1, lens L1) and an image surface (fig.1, surface S19) is TL (see Xu, fig.1, paragraph [0136], data of table 1, TL =9.426), an axial distance between the image-side surface of the eighth lens element (fig.1, lens L8) and the image surface (fig.1, surface S19) is BL (see Xu, fig.1, paragraph [0136], data of table 1, BL = 1.168) , and the following conditions are satisfied:
30.0 degrees < HFOV < 50.0 degrees (43.9; described above); and
7.5 < TL/BL < 11.0 (8.07, described above).
Regarding claim 25, combination Xu-Huang discloses the invention as described in Claim 16 and Huang further teaches wherein a focal length of the third lens element (Huang, fig.1, lens 130) is f3 (Huang, paragraph [0137], data of table 1, f3 = 5.36), the focal length of the seventh lens element (Huang, fig.1, lens 170) is f7 (Huang, paragraph [0137], data of table 1, f7 = 20.86), and the following condition is satisfied:
-6.0 < f3/f7 < 3.2 (0.26; described above).
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 focal length of the lenses of Xu to have the ratio within the recited range, according to teachings of Huang for the purpose of reducing aberrations by controlling refractive power of the lens elements, and improving the image quality by adjusting the light path according to different fields of view (Huang, paragraph [0062]).
Regarding claim 26, combination Xu-Huang discloses the invention as described in Claim 16 and Xu further teaches wherein the curvature radius of the image-side surface of the eighth lens element (fig.1, lens L8) is R16 (Xu, paragraph [0136], data of table 1, R16 = 3.728), a central thickness of the fourth lens element (Xu, fig.1, lens L4) is CT4 ((Xu, paragraph [0136], data of table 1, CT4 = 0.659), and the following condition is satisfied:
2.9 < R16/CT4 < 8.0 (5.66; described above).
Claims 21 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu et al. (CN114578512, of record, see IDS dated 2/5/2024, English translation attached) in view of Huang (US20190056568), and further in view of Ye et al. (CN107741630, of record, see IDS dated 2/5/2024).
Regarding claim 21, combination Xu-Huang discloses the invention as described in Claim 16 and further teaches wherein the focal length of the photographing system lens assembly is f (paragraph [0017], f is the effective focal length of the optical system; see paragraph [0136] data of table 1, f = 7.65), a curvature radius of the object-side surface of the seventh lens element (fig.1, L7) is R13 (paragraph [0136] data of table 1, R13=3.395), the curvature radius of the image-side surface of the seventh lens element (fig.1, L7) is R14 (paragraph [0136] data of table 1, R14 = 11.073),
but Xu does not explicitly teaches wherein the following condition is satisfied:
0.1 < |f/R13|+|f/R14| < 2.0 (2.94).
However, Ye teaches the analogous optical system (Ye, fig.3, the camera lens; paragraphs [0122]-[129], data of tables 4-6, The camera lens comprises a first lens E1, a second lens E2, a third lens E3, a fourth lens E4, a fifth lens E5, a sixth lens E6, a seventh lens E7 and an eighth lens E8 in sequence from the object side to the image side along the optical axis), and further teaches wherein the following conditions are satisfied:
0.1 < |f/R13|+|f/R14| < 2.0 (1.15; Ye, paragraph [0122], data of table 4, |f/R13|+|f/R14| = 1.15; wherein the focal length of the photographing system lens assembly is f = 4.46, a curvature radius of the object-side surface of the seventh lens element E7 is R13 = 6.6387, the curvature radius of the image-side surface of the seventh lens element E7 is R14 =9.4187);
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 curvature radius of the object-side surface of the seventh lens element of Xu to have the ratio within the recited range, according to teachings of Ye for the purpose of the high imaging quality and miniaturization of the matching imaging lenses (Ye, paragraph [0004]).
Claims 22 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu et al. (CN114578512, of record, see IDS dated 2/5/2024, English translation attached) in view of Huang (US20190056568), and further in view of Dang et al. (WO2022110044, of record, see IDS dated 2/5/2024. English translation attached).
Regarding claim 22, combination Xu-Huang discloses the invention as described in Claim 16 and Xu further teaches wherein the a focal length of the first lens element (fig.1, lens L1) is f1 (paragraph [0136] data of table 1, f1 = 8.167), a curvature radius of the image-side surface of the first lens element (fig.1, the lens L1) is R2 (paragraph [0136] data of table 1, R2=11.3),
but Xu does not explicitly teaches wherein the following condition is satisfied:
0.1 < f1/|R2| < 0.50 (0.72).
However, Dang teaches the analogous optical system (Dang, figs.1-13, abstract The optical imaging system 10 comprises: a first lens L1 having positive refractive power; a second lens L2 having refractive power; a third lens L3 having refractive power; a fourth lens L4 having positive refractive power; a fifth lens L5 having refractive power; a sixth lens L6 having refractive power; a seventh lens L7 having positive refractive power; and an eighth lens L8), and further teaches wherein the following conditions are satisfied:
0.1 < f1/|R2| < 0.50 (0.48; Dang, fig.1, page 72, data of table 1, wherein the a focal length of the first lens element L1 is f1 = 5.55 , a curvature radius of the image-side surface of the first lens element L1, is R2 = 11.488);
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 curvature radius of the image-side surface of the first lens element of Xu to have the ratio within the recited range, according to teachings of Dang for the purpose of the high imaging quality and miniaturization of the matching imaging lenses (Dang, paragraph [0003]).
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