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 2/19/26 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the amended claims filed 2/19/26 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) 1-4,6 is/are rejected under at least one of 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (2) as being anticipated by Tang (US 20180106984).
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Regarding claim 1, Chae teaches (Fig. 9, Table 9) An optical imaging system comprising:
a first lens having a concave image-side surface in a paraxial region thereof (radius =5.967 for 512);
a second lens having a refractive power;
a third lens having a refractive power;
a fourth lens having a refractive power;
a fifth lens having a refractive power;
a sixth lens having negative refractive power (focal length -6.77) and a concave image-side surface (radius=3 for 562) in a paraxial region thereof; and
a seventh lens having a refractive power,
wherein the first to seventh lenses are sequentially disposed in ascending numerical order along an optical axis of the optical imaging system from an object side of the optical imaging system toward an imaging plane of the optical imaging system,
wherein a radius of curvature of the image-side surface of the fourth lens is greater than a radius of curvature of the object-side surface of the first lens (5.66 vs 1.9), and
wherein the optical imaging system has a total number of seven lenses having a refractive power.
Regarding claim 2, Tang further teaches (Table 9) The optical imaging system of claim 1, wherein the first lens has a convex object-side surface in a paraxial region thereof.
Regarding claim 3, Tang further teaches (Table 9) The optical imaging system of claim 1, wherein the second lens has a convex object-side surface in a paraxial region thereof.
Regarding claim 4, Tang further teaches (Table 9) The optical imaging system of claim 1, wherein the fourth lens has a convex object-side surface in a paraxial region thereof.
Regarding claim 6, Tang further teaches (Table 9) The optical imaging system of claim 1, wherein the seventh lens has a convex object-side surface in a paraxial region thereof.
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) 1,5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mizusawa (US 20110075273, of record).
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Regarding claim 1, Mizusawa teaches (Fig. 2A, [63-]) An optical imaging system comprising:
a first lens having a concave (radius=1.8 for surface 2) image-side surface in a paraxial region thereof;
a second lens having a refractive power;
a third lens having a refractive power;
a fourth lens having a refractive power;
a fifth lens having a refractive power;
a sixth lens having negative refractive power and a concave image-side surface in a paraxial region thereof (L33, as seen in Fig. 2A); and
a seventh lens having a refractive power,
wherein the first to seventh lenses (L1-L34 in Fig. 2A) are sequentially disposed in ascending numerical order along an optical axis of the optical imaging system from an object side of the optical imaging system toward an imaging plane of the optical imaging system,
wherein the optical imaging system has a total number of seven lenses having a refractive power.
Mizusawa does not explicitly teach a radius of curvature of the image-side surface of the fourth lens is greater than a radius of curvature of the object-side surface of the first lens.
Absent any showing of criticality and/or unpredictability, having a radius of curvature of the image-side surface of the fourth lens is greater than a radius of curvature of the object-side surface of the first lens 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 improving production by allowing some manufacturing errors (i.e., the radius of curvature of the object-side surface of the 1st lens being slightly negative or close to negative infinity, which is smaller than the radius of curvature of the image-side surface of the fourth lens).
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 Mizusawa by having a radius of curvature of the image-side surface of the fourth lens is greater than a radius of curvature of the object-side surface of the first lens for the purposes of improving production by allowing some manufacturing errors.
Regarding claim 5, Mizusawafurther teaches (L32 as seen in Fig. 2A) The optical imaging system of claim 1, wherein the fifth lens has a convex object-side surface in a paraxial region thereof.
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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
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