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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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, 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, 8-12, 16 and 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Drzymala et al. (US 2022/0221683 A1) in view of Byrne et al. (US 2019/0306966 A1) and Lawrynowicz et al. (US 2008/0241570 A1).
Re claims 1 and 11, Drzymala et al. discloses a device comprising: a lens module comprising: a lens assembly comprising a lens (130) and a lens barrel (110) for accommodating the lens; a holder (140, 145, 165) defining a cavity and a groove, wherein at least a portion of the lens assembly (130) is accommodated within the cavity (Fig. 1); a circuit board (115), wherein the holder is arranged on the circuit board; and a sensor (105), wherein the groove on the holder is partially recesses on a surface of the holder (165) facing the circuit board, and the sensor is arranged in the groove (Fig. 1). The holder (165) comprises a groove in which the sensor is arranged in (Fig. 1). Drzymala et al. does not disclose the device wherein a coefficient of thermal expansion of the holder is less than or equal to 0.6 (10-5 cm/cm/oC).
Byrne et al. discloses a device wherein a coefficient of thermal expansion of the holder is less than or equal to 0.6 (10-5 cm/cm/oC) (paragraph 0013-0014, paragraph 0016; depicted as “less than about 2 ppm/oC”). Byrne et al. discloses that the entire front of the camera including the lens barrel system may be formed from the low CTE material (paragraph 0016), which would include the holder (14) and the front portion of the housing (26).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to employ the device wherein a coefficient of thermal expansion of the holder is less than or equal to 0.6 (10-5 cm/cm/oC) since one would be motivated by high levels of focus precision in all environments (paragraph 0011). The entire front of the camera of Drzymala et al. may include at least the portion of the front portion (145) of the holder (140, 145, 165).
Drzymala et al. as modified by Byrne et al. do not disclose the device wherein the holder is made of titanium alloy, wherein the titanium alloy comprises titanium, aluminum, and vanadium (V), a content of aluminum in the titanium alloy is 6 wt. %, and a content of vanadium in the titanium alloy is 4 wt. %.
Lawrynowicz et al. discloses a device wherein a titanium alloy comprising titanium, aluminum, and vanadium (V), a content of aluminum in the titanium alloy is 6 wt. %, and a content of vanadium in the titanium alloy is 4 wt. % (paragraph 0070).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to employ the device wherein the holder is made of titanium alloy, wherein the titanium alloy comprises titanium, aluminum, and vanadium (V), a content of aluminum in the titanium alloy is 6 wt. %, and a content of vanadium in the titanium alloy is 4 wt. % since one would be motivated to employ a well-known material in the art of low thermal expansion. Furthermore, employing Ti6Al4V as a holder material is the simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results (KSR).
Re claims 5 and 16, Drzymala et al. does not disclose the device further comprising an adhesive layer arranged in the groove, wherein the adhesive layer fixes the sensor in the groove.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to employ the device further comprising an adhesive layer arranged in the groove, wherein the adhesive layer fixes the sensor in the groove. Drzymala et al. discloses that the sensor is soldered to the printed circuit board (paragraph 0036). It is well known in the art that a conductive adhesive can be used in place of a solder to bond a sensor to a printed circuit board, and the selection of one of these known equivalents would be within the level ordinary skill in the art. Furthermore, it is well known in the art for a conductive adhesive to extend the entire bottom surface of the sensor which would extend into the groove of the holder to improve adhesion.
Re claims 8 and 19, Drzymala et al. discloses the device comprising a filter arranged in the cavity and located on an optical path of the lens (paragraph 0039).
Re claim 12, Drzymala et al. does not disclose the device wherein the device comprises a vehicle, a mobile phone, a wearable device, or a monitoring device.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to employ the device wherein the device comprises a vehicle, a mobile phone, a wearable device, or a monitoring device since cameras are well known and conventionally used in the art to be employed in a vehicle, a mobile phone, a wearable device, or a monitoring device.
Re claims 9, 10 and 20, Drzymala et al. does not disclose the device wherein the lens comprises a first lens portion, a second lens portion, a third lens portion, a fourth lens portion, a fifth lens portion, and a sixth lens portion, which are connected in sequence and coaxial with each other, wherein a diameter of the first lens portion is larger than a diameter of the second lens portion, and diameters of the second lens portion, the third lens portion, the fourth lens portion, and the fifth lens portion gradually decrease in sequence.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to employ the device wherein the lens comprises a first lens portion, a second lens portion, a third lens portion, a fourth lens portion, a fifth lens portion, and a sixth lens portion, which are connected in sequence and coaxial with each other, wherein a diameter of the first lens portion is larger than a diameter of the second lens portion, and diameters of the second lens portion, the third lens portion, the fourth lens portion, and the fifth lens portion gradually decrease in sequence since doing so is well known in the art to manipulate the light beam and compress the light to the sensor.
Claim(s) 6-7 and 17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Drzymala et al. and Byrne et al., Lawrynowicz et al., in view of Jeong et al. (US 2025/0150702 A1).
Re claims 6 and 17, Drzymala et al. discloses the device wherein the circuit board comprises a first rigid portion (115), but does not disclose the device comprising a second rigid board portion, a flexible board portion arranged between the first rigid portion and the second rigid portion, and an electronic component; the circuit board has a first surface facing the holder and a second surface opposite to the first surface, the electronic component is arranged on the first surface of the first rigid board portion, and the holder is arranged on the first surface of the first rigid board portion.
Jeong et al. et al. discloses a device comprising a first rigid portion (730), a second rigid portion (770), a flexible portion (750) arranged between the first rigid portion and the second rigid portion, and an electronic component (711); the circuit board has a first surface facing a holder (400) and a second surface opposite to the first surface (Fig. 10), the electronic component is arranged on the first surface of the first rigid board portion (Fig. 10), and the holder (400) is arranged on the first surface of the first rigid board portion (730).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to employ the device comprising a second rigid board portion, a flexible board portion arranged between the first rigid portion and the second rigid portion, and an electronic component; the circuit board has a first surface facing the holder and a second surface opposite to the first surface, the electronic component is arranged on the first surface of the first rigid board portion, and the holder is arranged on the first surface of the first rigid board portion since one would be motivated to connect the printed circuit board to an external device (paragraph 0776).
Re claims 7 and 18, Drzymala et al. does not disclose the device wherein the circuit board further comprises an electrical connection portion arranged on the second surface of the second rigid board portion, and the electrical connection portion comprises a connector or gold fingers.
Jeong et al. disclose a device wherein the circuit board further comprises an electrical connection portion (773) arranged on the second surface of the second rigid board portion (770).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to employ the device wherein the circuit board further comprises an electrical connection portion arranged on the second surface of the second rigid board portion since one would be motivated to connect the printed circuit board to an external device. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to employ the device wherein the electrical connection portion comprises a connector or gold fingers since doing so is well known in the art to establish a connection with good conductivity.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4 and 15 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claims have been considered but are moot due to new grounds of rejection.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RICHARD H KIM whose telephone number is (571)272-2294. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 10 am-6:30 pm.
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/RICHARD H KIM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2871
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