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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 01/11/24 was/were received by the Examiner before the issuance/mailing date of the first office action. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement(s) has/have been considered (except for anything in foreign language non-accompanied by an English translation) by the Examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Claim 9 recites “the inside” and “the outside”. There are lacks of antecedent basis for those limitations in the claim. The Examiner has assumed “an inside” and “an outside”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
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.
Claim(s) 1-4, 7-15 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wakashima et al. (US 2020/025268).
a. Re claim 1, Wakashima et al. disclose an image pickup element, comprising a pixel portion 102 (see figs. 1-7B and related text; see [0019] and remaining of disclosure for more details) in which a plurality of pixels 200 (or 200B or 200G or 200R; [0024]) is arrayed in a matrix, wherein the plurality of pixels each includes a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements 201&202 ([0024]) arranged in a planar direction of the pixel portion (figs. 1A-B), an optical member 303 positioned on a light incident side with respect to the plurality of photoelectric conversion elements and refracting light, and a lens 306 positioned on the light incident side with respect to the optical member, the optical member of a first pixel (which would be the pixel with a first image height as per [0028]) among the plurality of pixels is arranged to be shifted in the planar direction by a first shift amount with respect to the plurality of photoelectric conversion elements of the first pixel (see [0026]-[0027], [0029], and [0036]-[0040] for a description of a shift amount such as 308 on fig. 2, and 901 on fig. 6 for example), and the optical member of a second pixel (pixel with a second image height as per [0028]) different from the first pixel among the plurality of pixels is arranged to be shifted in the planar direction by a second shift amount different from the first shift amount with respect to the plurality of photoelectric conversion elements of the second pixel (see [0028]).
b. Re claim 2, the optical member is an inner lens ([0026]).
c. Re claim 3, a shape of the inner lens is different from a shape of the lens (explicit on figs.2&6 noting that the 306 has a lower portion below the hemispherical portion that 303 does not have).
d. Re claim 4, a size of the inner lens is different from a size of the lens (explicit on figs.2&6 noting that the 306 has a lower portion below the hemispherical portion that 303 does not have).
e. Re claim 7, the first shift amount is a shift amount corresponding to a distance between the optical member of the first pixel and an optical axis of the pixel portion (see [0028]), and the second shift amount is a shift amount corresponding to a distance between the optical member of the second pixel and an optical axis of the pixel portion (see [0028]).
f. Re claim 8, a first shift direction of the optical member of the first pixel is different from a second shift direction of the optical member of the second pixel (see [0028]).
g. Re claim 9, the first shift direction is a direction toward an inside of the pixel portion in the planar direction ([0027]-[0028]), and the second shift direction is a direction toward an outside of the pixel portion in the planar direction ([0027]-[0028]).
h. Re claim 10, a plurality of the first pixels and a plurality of the second pixels are provided, and the plurality of the first pixels and the plurality of the second pixels are alternately arranged (see fig. 1B).
i. Re claim 11, the plurality of the first pixels and the plurality of the second pixels are alternately arranged in a row direction (fig. 1B).
j. Re claim 12, the plurality of the first pixels and the plurality of the second pixels are alternately arranged in a row direction and a column direction (fig. 1B).
k. Re claim 13, a plurality of the first pixels and a plurality of the second pixels are provided, and the plurality of the first pixels and the plurality of the second pixels are arranged at predetermined specific positions (fig. 1B).
l. Re claim 14, the first pixels and the second pixels include color filters of different colors that transmit light of different wavelength bands (fig. 1B, [0024]), and the first shift amount and the second shift amount are different according to the color filters of different colors (fig. 1B, [0024]).
m. Re claim 15, the first pixels and the second pixels (when the first and second pixels are R, or G, or B alone on fig. 1B) include color filters of the same color that transmit light of the same wavelength band.
n. Re claim 20, Wakashima et al. disclose an electronic device 800 (fig. 4 and related text; see [0043], figs. 1-3&5-7B and remaining of disclosure for more details), comprising an image pickup element 101, wherein the image pickup element includes a pixel portion 102 in which a plurality of pixels 200 (or 200B or 200G or 200R; [0024]) is arrayed in a matrix, the plurality of pixels each includes a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements 201&202 arranged in a planar direction of the pixel portion, an optical member 303 (figs. 2-3B&6-7B) positioned on a light incident side with respect to the plurality of photoelectric conversion elements and refracting light, and a lens 306 positioned on the light incident side with respect to the optical member, the optical member of a first pixel (which would be the pixel with a first image height as per [0028]) among the plurality of pixels is arranged to be shifted in the planar direction by a first shift amount with respect to the plurality of photoelectric conversion elements of the first pixel (see [0026]-[0027], [0029], and [0036]-[0040] for a description of a shift amount such as 308 on fig. 2, and 901 on fig. 6 for example), and the optical member of a second pixel (pixel with a second image height as per [0028]) different from the first pixel among the plurality of pixels is arranged to be shifted in the planar direction by a second shift amount different from the first shift amount with respect to the plurality of photoelectric conversion elements of the second pixel (see [0028]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-6 and 16-19 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Tayanaka (US 2015/0236066), Touniya et al. (US 2021/0242873) and Saeki et al. (US 2011/0063486) disclose a structure similar to the claimed invention.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PENIEL M GUMEDZOE whose telephone number is (571)270-3041. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9:00AM - 5:30PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Dale Page can be reached at 5712707877. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PENIEL M GUMEDZOE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2899
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