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 Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1-4, 8-14, and 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kwon (US 2021/0405321, hereinafter Kwon) in view of Choi et al. (US 2018/0013938, hereinafter Choi) and further in view of Nomura et al. (US 2007/0077805, hereinafter Nomura).
Re claim 1, Kwon discloses, a camera module comprising: a first circuit board (900) electrically connected to an image sensor (250) or a circuit board comprising the image sensor; an actuator (400) configured to control at least one of a position or a posture of the image sensor within the camera module (claim 1); a flexible circuit board (800, par [0086]) extracted and extending from at least one side surface of the first circuit board (fig 3); and a second circuit board (700) electrically connected to one end of the flexible circuit board (par [0086]), wherein the flexible circuit board comprises a first section extending in a first direction from the first circuit board and a second section extending from one end of the first section in a second direction different from the first direction (pars [0150]-[0151], fig 3), and the flexible circuit board is configured to be deformed based on the actuator being driven (claim 1).
Kwon fails to explicitly disclose limitations which are disclosed by Choi as follows: a plurality of slits disposed between adjacent ones of multiple conductive wires mounted on the flexible circuit board (par [0117]); and wherein the plurality of slits comprise a plurality of first slits formed in parallel with each other in the first direction (fig 4).
One of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, would have been motivated to combine a plurality of slits disposed between adjacent ones of multiple conductive wires mounted on the flexible circuit board; and wherein the plurality of slits comprise a plurality of first slits formed in parallel with each other in the first direction of Choi with the module of Kwon in order to alleviate twisting or crinkling of the circuit board - to prevent damage to the circuit board.
The combination of Kwon and Choi fails to explicitly disclose limitations which are disclosed by Nomura as follows: wherein the plurality of slits comprise a plurality of first slits formed in parallel with each other in the first direction in the first section and a plurality of second slits formed in parallel with each other in the second direction in the second section (fig 13).
One of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, would have been motivated to combine wherein the plurality of slits comprise a plurality of first slits formed in parallel with each other in the first direction in the first section and a plurality of second slits formed in parallel with each other in the second direction in the second section of Nomura with the module of Kwon and Choi in order to alleviate twisting or crinkling of the circuit board - to prevent damage to the circuit board.
Re claim 2, the combination of Kwon, Choi, and Nomura discloses the limitations of claim 1 including wherein the flexible circuit board further comprises, between the first section and the second section, a curved section in which a direction in which the flexible circuit board extends is changed (Kwon fig 3), and wherein the curved section includes a smaller number of slits than the first section or no slits (Choi par [0117]).
Re claim 3, the combination of Kwon, Choi, and Nomura discloses the limitations of claim 1 including further comprising an optical system (Kwon 200) comprising an optical path configured to guide light incident from a subject to the image sensor, wherein the flexible circuit board is extracted at a position deviating from a central axis corresponding to an optical axis of the optical system on the at least one side surface of the first circuit board (Kwon fig 3).
Re claim 4, the combination of Kwon, Choi, and Nomura discloses the limitations of claim 3 including further comprising a housing (Kwon 100) accommodating the first circuit board and the optical system, wherein the flexible circuit board is disposed along at least one surface of the housing around the optical system (Kwon fig 3).
Re claim 8, the combination of Kwon, Choi, and Nomura discloses the limitations of claim 1 including wherein the flexible circuit board further comprises a third section extending in a third direction different from the second direction (Kwon fig 3).
Re claim 9, the combination of Kwon, Choi, and Nomura discloses the limitations of claim 8 including wherein the second section is configured to be deformed as the first circuit board moves in the first direction as the actuator is driven (Kwon par [0086]).
Re claim 10, the combination of Kwon, Choi, and Nomura discloses the limitations of claim 8 including wherein the third section is configured to be deformed as the first circuit board moves in the second direction as the actuator is driven (Kwon par [0086]).
Re claim 11, the combination of Kwon, Choi, and Nomura discloses the limitations of claim 8 including wherein the first section and the third section are configured to be deformed as the first circuit board rotates as the actuator is driven (Kwon par [0086]).
Re claim 12, the combination of Kwon, Choi, and Nomura discloses the limitations of claim 8 wherein the actuator comprises an auto-focusing actuator configured to provide an auto-focusing function, and the first section is configured to be deformed as the auto-focusing actuator is driven (Kwon pars [0080]-[0086]).
Re claim 13, the combination of Kwon, Choi, and Nomura discloses the limitations of claim 1 wherein the flexible circuit board comprises a folded and bent section between the first section and the second section, and a stiffener is attached to the bent section (Kwon fig 3).
Claims 14, 18, and 20 are rejected for the reasons stated in claims 1, 1, and 2, respectively. The module and apparatus as claimed would have been obvious and expected by the module of Kwon, Choi, and Nomura.
Re claim 19, the combination of Kwon, Choi, and Nomura discloses the limitations of claim 18 wherein the flexible circuit board comprises multiple conductive wires, and the multiple slits are disposed in parallel to the conductive wires (Choi par [0117], figs 4-7).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-7 and 15-17 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
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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 mailing date of this final action.
Contact
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOEL W FOSSELMAN whose telephone number is (571)270-3728. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00 - 5:00 M-F.
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, Twyler Haskins can be reached at (571)272-7406. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JOEL W FOSSELMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2639