DETAILED ACTION
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.
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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Invention III in the reply filed on 06/12/26 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that “independent claims 1, 14, and 22 are all directed to an optical imaging lens assembly having the same fundamental nine-lens architecture and a highly overlapping set of structural and optical features. In particular, independent claims 1, 14 and 22 share at least the following eight common technical features,…eight common technical features account for eight of the eleven substantive technical features recited in the independent claim, i.e., approximately 73% (8/11x100% = 73%) of the technical features of claim 22 … claims 1, 14, and 22 are each supported by as many as nine common embodiments … the Office Action classifies each of Inventions I, II, and III in the same classification.” This is not found persuasive because the shared features are broad structural characteristics common to a wide class of optical imaging lens assemblies, and distinctness turns on whether the inventions as a whole are mutually exclusive in scope rather than on the number of shared limitations; each invention is defined by a mutually exclusive set of conditional parameter limitations that the others do not require (Invention I: the R3/R4 and R5/R8 curvature-radius relationships; Invention II: the TL/f, CT6/CT5, and (T34+T45+T78)/T23 relationships; Invention III: the T23/(CT1+CT2) relationship), and searching each mutually exclusive set of conditional limitations requires a different field of search and different search strategies and queries, imposing a serious search and/or examination burden.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claims 1-21 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected Invention I and II, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 06/12/26.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 11/21/23 comply with provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the examiner considered the information disclosure statements.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
(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.
Claims 22, 26, 27, 29, and 31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Li et a. (CN121634472A).
Regarding claim 22, Li teaches an optical imaging lens assembly comprising nine lens elements (fig. 1), the nine lens elements (Table 1) being, in order from an object side to an image side along an optical path (¶n0044), a first lens element (10), a second lens element (20), a third lens element (30), a fourth lens element (40), a fifth lens element (50), a sixth lens element (60), a seventh lens element (70), an eighth lens element (80) and a ninth lens element (90), and each of the nine lens elements having an object-side surface facing toward the object side and an image-side surface facing toward the image side (¶n0044); wherein the first lens element (10) has negative refractive power (¶n0044, first lens 10 with negative optical power), the second lens element (20) has negative refractive power (¶n0044, a second lens 20 with negative optical power), the image-side surface of the second lens element is concave in a paraxial region thereof (shown in fig. 1, second lens 20 image side surface is concave and table 1, S4 radius of curvature is 1.257), the image-side surface of the fourth lens element (40) is convex in a paraxial region thereof (shown in fig. 1, fourth lens 40 image side surface is convex and table 1, S8 radius of curvature is -10.454), the fifth lens element (50) has positive refractive power (¶n0044, fifth lens 50 with positive optical power), the image-side surface of the sixth lens element (60) is concave in a paraxial region thereof (shown in fig. 1, sixth lens 60 image side surface is concave and table 1, S13 radius of curvature is 7.198), the eighth lens element (80) has negative refractive power (¶n0044, eighth lens 80 with negative optical power), and the object-side surface of the eighth lens element (80) is concave in a paraxial region thereof (shown in fig. 1, eighth lens 80 object side surface is concave and table 1, S16 radius of curvature is -2.144); wherein a curvature radius of the object-side surface of the third lens element is R5, a curvature radius of the image-side surface of the fourth lens element is R8, an axial distance between the second lens element and the third lens element is T23, a central thickness of the first lens element is CT1, a central thickness of the second lens element is CT2, and the following conditions are satisfied, 0 < (R5+R8)/(R5-R8) < 10.00 (table 1, R5=S5=0.369 and R8=S8=0.02, (R5+R8)/(R5-R8) = (0.369+0.02)/(0.369+0.02)=1.11, 0<1.11<10; and 0.60 < T23/(CT1+CT2) < 3.00 (table 1, T23=S4 thickness=0.948, CT1=S1 thickness=0.552, and CT2=S3 thickness = 0.407, 0.948/(0.552+0.407) = 0.9885, 0.60<0.9885<3.00.
Regarding claim 26, Li teaches the optical imaging lens assembly of claim 22, wherein a focal length of the optical imaging lens assembly is f, the curvature radius of the image-side surface of the fourth lens element is R8, a curvature radius of the image-side surface of the sixth lens element is R12, and the following condition is satisfied: 0.40 < f/R8|+|f/R12| < 1.80 (¶0088, focal length f is 2.191, R8=S8 radius of curvature is -10.454 and R12=S13 radius of curvature=7.198; |f/R8|+|f/R12| = 2.191/10.454+2.191/7.198=0.514).
Regarding claim 27, Li teaches the optical imaging lens assembly of claim 22, wherein at least four lens elements of the optical imaging lens assembly are made of plastic material, an Abbe number of the first lens element is V1, an Abbe number of the second lens element is V2, an Abbe number of the third lens element is V3, an Abbe number of the fourth lens element is V4, an Abbe number of the fifth lens element is V5, an Abbe number of the sixth lens element is V6, an Abbe number of the seventh lens element is V7, an Abbe number of the eighth lens element is V8, an Abbe number of the ninth lens element is V9, an Abbe number of the i-th lens element is Vi, a refractive index of the first lens element is N1, a refractive index of the second lens element is N2, a refractive index of the third lens element is N3, a refractive index of the fourth lens element is N4, a refractive index of the fifth lens element is N5, a refractive index of the sixth lens element is N6, a refractive index of the seventh lens element is N7, a refractive index of the eighth lens element is N8, a refractive index of the ninth lens element is N9, a refractive index of the i-th lens element is Ni, and at least two lens elements of the optical imaging lens assembly satisfy the following condition:8.0<Vi/Ni < 16.0, wherein i = 1, 2,3,4,5,6,7, 8, or 9 (table 1, second lens is V2/N2=23.9/1.64=14.57 and sixth lens is V6/N6 =23.9/1.67=14.57).
Regarding claim 29, Li teaches the optical imaging lens assembly of claim 22, wherein a focal length of the optical imaging lens assembly is f, a focal length of the third lens element is f3, and the following condition is satisfied: If/f3|< 0.45 (¶0088, focal length f is 2.191, using the thin lens formula is f3=14.3 |2.191/14.3|=0.15 < 0.45).
Regarding claim 31, Li teaches the optical imaging lens assembly of claim 22, wherein a curvature radius of the object-side surface of the fourth lens element is R7, the curvature radius of the image-side surface of the fourth lens element is R8, and the following condition is satisfied: 0 < |R8/R7|< 2.00 (table 1, R8=S8=-10.454 and R7=S7=7.679, |R8/R7|=|-10.454/7.679|=0.73, 0 < 0.73 < 2.00).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 23-25, 28, 30, and 32 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art does not disclose the claimed combination of limitations to warrant a rejection under 35 USC 102 or 103.
Regarding claim 23, the prior art does not disclose the claimed optical imaging lens assembly specifically including as the distinguishing features in combination with the other limitations the claimed “wherein the axial distance between the second lens element and the third lens element is T23, the central thickness of the first lens element is CT1, the central thickness of the second lens element is CT2, a refractive index of the fourth lens element is N4, and the following conditions are satisfied: 0.70 < T23/(CT1+CT2) < 2.50; and 1.400 < N4 < 1.620.”
Regarding claim 24, the prior art does not disclose the claimed optical imaging lens assembly specifically including as the distinguishing features in combination with the other limitations the claimed “wherein the image-side surface of the third lens element is convex in a paraxial region thereof, and at least one of the object-side surface and the image-side surface of the third lens element has at least one inflection point.”
Regarding claim 25, the prior art does not disclose the claimed optical imaging lens assembly specifically including as the distinguishing features in combination with the other limitations the claimed “wherein an Abbe number of the third lens element is V3, an Abbe number of the sixth lens element is V6, an Abbe number of the eighth lens element is V8, and the following condition is satisfied: 30.0 < V3+V6+V8 < 85.0.”
Regarding claim 28, the prior art does not disclose the claimed optical imaging lens assembly specifically including as the distinguishing features in combination with the other limitations the claimed “wherein a curvature radius of the object-side surface of the second lens element is R3, a curvature radius of the image- side surface of the second lens element is R4, the curvature radius of the object-side surface of the third lens element is R5, the curvature radius of the image-side surface of the fourth lens element is R8, an axial distance between the object-side surface of the first lens element and an image surface is TL, a focal length of the optical imaging lens assembly is f, the central thickness of the first lens element is CT1, the central thickness of the second lens element is CT2, a central thickness of the fifth lens element is CT5, a central thickness of the sixth lens element is CT6, the axial distance between the second lens element and the third lens element is T23, an axial distance between the third lens element and the fourth lens element is T34, an axial distance between the fourth lens element and the fifth lens element is T45, an axial distance between the seventh lens element and the eighth lens element is T78, and the following conditions are satisfied: 0.82 < (R5+R8)/(R5-R8) < 3.00; 0.80 < (R3+R4)/(R3-R4) < 2.00; 8.84 < TL/f < 12.24; 0.14 < CT6/CT5<0.28; 0.05 < (T34+T45+T78)/T23 <0.45; and 0.92 < T23/(CT1+CT2) < 1.95.”
Regarding claim 30, the prior art does not disclose the claimed optical imaging lens assembly specifically including as the distinguishing features in combination with the other limitations the claimed “wherein a curvature radius of the object-side surface of the sixth lens element is Ri1, a curvature radius of the image-side surface of the sixth lens element is R12, and the following condition is satisfied: |R12/R11|< 1.00.”
Regarding claim 32, the prior art does not disclose the claimed optical imaging lens assembly specifically including as the distinguishing features in combination with the other limitations the claimed “wherein an axial distance between the first lens element and the second lens element is T12, an axial distance between the fifth lens element and the sixth lens element is T56, and the following condition is satisfied: 0 < T56/T12 < 0.50.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Liu et al. (US 20130141804) teaches projection lens system.
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/HENRY DUONG/Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2872 08/22/26
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