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 .
Claims 1-22 are currently pending in the present application.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 1 and 22 are allowable. Claims 2, 4, 7, 10-12, 15-17, and 19-21, previously withdrawn from consideration as a result of a restriction requirement, require all the limitations of an allowable claim. Pursuant to the procedures set forth in MPEP § 821.04(a), the restriction requirement between species, as set forth in the Office action mailed on 26 February 2026, is hereby withdrawn and claims 2, 4, 7, 10-12, 15-17, and 19-21are hereby rejoined and fully examined for patentability under 37 CFR 1.104. In view of the withdrawal of the restriction requirement, applicant(s) are advised that if any claim presented in a divisional application is anticipated by, or includes all the limitations of, a claim that is allowable in the present application, such claim may be subject to provisional statutory and/or nonstatutory double patenting rejections over the claims of the instant application. Once the restriction requirement is withdrawn, the provisions of 35 U.S.C. 121 are no longer applicable. See In re Ziegler, 443 F.2d 1211, 1215, 170 USPQ 129, 131-32 (CCPA 1971). See also MPEP § 804.01.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The IDSs dated 06 March 2024, 11 April 2024, and 13 August 2024 have been considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 9 is objected to for containing a typographical error. The term “nd3PA” should read “vd3PA”.
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.
Claims 20-21 are 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.
Re: claim 20, the meaning of the limitation “the four or more lens units” is unclear. It is not clear as to whether the limitation refers to “four or more lenses” as recited in line 1 of claim 1 or whether some other lenses or lens units are being referred to.
In addition, the meaning of the limitation “a fourth lens” in line 3 of the claim is unclear. It is not clear as to whether the limitation is intended to refer to a fourth lens unit or whether the limitation refers to the “four or more lenses” recited in line 1 of claim 1.
Re: claim 21, the meaning of the limitation “the four or more lens units” is unclear. It is not clear as to whether the limitation refers to “four or more lenses” as recited in line 1 of claim 1 or whether some other lenses or lens units are being referred to.
In addition, the meaning of the limitation “a fourth lens” in line 3 of the claim is unclear. It is not clear as to whether the limitation is intended to refer to a fourth lens unit or whether the limitation refers to the “four or more lenses” recited in line 1 of claim 1.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-19 are allowed.
Claims 20-21 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include 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:
Regarding independent claims 1 and 22, prior art reference Ogata (US 20150168697), now made of record, discloses a zoom lens (Figs. 1A-1C; para. 221) comprising four or more lenses (Fig. 1A discloses 17 total lenses) that include, in order from an object side to an image side, a first lens unit G1 having positive refractive power (para. 221 discloses positive), a second lens unit G2 having negative refractive power (para. 221 discloses negative), and a third lens unit G3 having positive refractive power (para. 221 discloses positive), wherein a distance between adjacent lens units changes during zooming from a wide-angle end to a telephoto end (changing distances disclosed in Figs. 1A – 1C & para. 222), wherein for zooming from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end, the first lens unit and the third lens unit are fixed relative to an image plane, and the second lens unit moves toward the image side (para. 222 discloses that among lens units G1, G2, and G3, only G2 moves), wherein the third lens unit includes three lens elements each having positive refractive power (para. 228 discloses that L8, L10, and L11 are positive).
However, Ohashi does not explicitly disclose that the following inequalities are satisfied: 0.005 < f3/ft < 0.150 1.902 < nd3u < 2.300 -0.50 < β2w < -0.01 where f3 is a focal length of the third lens unit, ft is a focal length of the zoom lens at the telephoto end, nd3u is a maximum value among refractive indices for d-line of lenses included in the third lens unit, and β2w is a lateral magnification of the second lens at the wide-angle end.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANGELA MEDICH whose telephone number is (313)446-4819. The examiner can normally be reached M-T & Th-F 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM ET.
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/ANGELA M. MEDICH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2871
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