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 certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on April 4, 2024 and May 23, 2024 have been considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 24 is objected to because of the following informalities: In line 3, after “second lens”, please delete “.” [the period]. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1, 5-9, 11, 13-16, 18-22 and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wang (U.S. Patent Publication 2023/0020801).
With regard to independent claim 1, Wang teaches an optical system comprising (Figure 3), in order from an object side to an image side: a first lens (Figure 3, element L21) having negative refractive power (page 1, paragraph [0004], line 4 and page 6, Table 4, Effective Focal Length data); a second lens (Figure 3, element L22) having positive refractive power (page 1, paragraph [0004], line 5 and page 6, Table 4, Effective Focal Length data); a third lens (Figure 3, element L23) having positive refractive power (page 1, paragraph [0004], lines 5-6 and page 6, Table 4, Effective Focal Length data); and a fourth lens (Figure 3, element 24) having negative refractive power (page 1, paragraph [0004], lines 6-7 and page 6, Table 4, Effective Focal Length data), wherein a first lens surface on the object side of the first lens is aspheric (page 4, paragraph [0034]), and the first lens surface has an area in which a curvature that is convex toward the object side increases from a central portion to a peripheral portion (page 4, paragraph [0034], lines 3-4 and Figure 3, element S21 and page 7, Table 5, aspheric coefficients for S21), and wherein the following inequalities are satisfied: -1.50 ≤ f2/f1 < -0.20 (page 6, Table 4, wherein f2 = 7.82; f1 = -6.41; and f2/f1 = -1.22); -2.40 < f4/f < -0.80 (page 6, Table 4, wherein f4 = -6.07; f = 4.51; and f4/f = -1.35) where f1 is a focal length of the first lens, f2 is a focal length of the second lens, f is a focal length of the optical system, and f4 is a focal length of the fourth lens.
With regard to dependent claim 5, Wang teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to independent claim 1, and further teaches such an optical system wherein the following inequality is satisfied: 0.40 < Dsum/TTL < 0.85 (page 6, Table 4, Thickness data, wherein Dsum = 12.86; TTL = 24.25; and Dsum/TTL = 0.53) where TTL is a distance on an optical axis from the first lens surface to an image plane, and Dsum is a total thickness of lenses included in the optical system.
With regard to dependent claim 6, Wang teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to independent claim 1, and further teaches such an optical system wherein the following inequality is satisfied: -3.50 < f1/f < -0.80 (page 6, Table 4, wherein f1 = -1.22; f = 4.51; and f1/f = -1.42).
With regard to dependent claim 7, Wang teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to independent claim 1, and further teaches such an optical system wherein the following inequality is satisfied: 0.40 < f3/f2 < 1.50 (page 6, Table 4, wherein f3 = 10.84; f2 = 7.82; and f3/f2 = 1.39) where f3 is a focal length of the third lens.
With regard to dependent claim 8, Wang teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to independent claim 1, and further teaches such an optical system wherein the optical system comprises, in order from the object side to the image side, the first lens (Figure 3, element 21), the second lens (Figure 3, element 22), the third lens (Figure 3, element 23), the fourth lens (Figure 3, element 24), and a fifth lens (Figure 3, element 25) having positive refractive power (page 1, paragraph [0004], lines 7-8 and page 6, Table 4, Effective Focal Length data).
With regard to dependent claim 9, Wang teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to dependent claim 8, and further teaches such an optical system wherein the optical system comprises, in order from the object side to the image side, the first lens (Figure 3, element 21), the second lens (Figure 3, element 22), the third lens (Figure 3, element 23), the fourth lens (Figure 3, element 24), the fifth lens (Figure 3, element 25), and a sixth lens (Figure 3, element 26).
With regard to dependent claim 11, Wang teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to dependent claim 9, and further teaches such an optical system wherein the optical system consists of, in order from the object side to the image side, the first lens (Figure 3, element 21), the second lens (Figure 3, element 22), the third lens (Figure 3, element 23), the fourth lens (Figure 3, element 24), the fifth lens (Figure 3, element 25), the sixth lens (Figure 3, element 26) having positive refractive power (page 4, paragraph [0039], lines 1-2 and page 6, Table 4, Effective Focal Length data).
With regard to dependent claim 13, Wang teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to independent claim 1, and further teaches such an optical system wherein a lens surface on the object side of the fourth lens is concave (page 4, paragraph [0037], lines 3-4 and Figure 3, element S28).
With regard to dependent claim 14, Wang teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to dependent claim 8, and further teaches such an optical system wherein the following inequality is satisfied: 0.001 < f/f5 < 1.500 (page 6, Table 4, wherein f = 4.51; f5 = 6.83; and f/f5 = 0.66) where f5 is a focal length of the fifth lens.
With regard to dependent claim 15, Wang teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to independent claim 1, and further teaches such an optical system wherein a lens surface on the object side of the second lens has a concave shape toward the object side (page 4, paragraph [0035], lines 3-4 and Figure 3, element S23).
With regard to dependent claim 16, Wang teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to dependent claim 15, and further teaches such an optical system wherein the following inequality is satisfied: -3.00 < (G2R2+G2R1)/(G2R2-G2R1) < -0.40 (page 6, Table 4, Radius of Curvature data, wherein G2R2 = -3.51; G2R1 = -13.21; and (G2R2+G2R1)/(G2R2-G2R1) = -1.72) where G2R1 is a radius of curvature of a lens surface on the object side of the second lens, and G2R2 is a radius of curvature of a lens surface on the image side of the second lens.
With regard to dependent claim 18, Wang teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to independent claim 1, and further teaches such an optical system wherein the following inequality is satisfied: -1.50 < f/fair < 0.00 or 0.00 < f/fair < 0.30 (page 6, Table 4, wherein f = 4.51; fair = -6983.07; and f/fair = -0.0006) where fair is a focal length of an air lens including a second lens surface on the image side of the first lens, a third lens surface on the object side of the second lens, and an air gap between the second lens surface and the third lens surface.
With regard to dependent claim 19, Wang teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to independent claim 1, and further teaches such an optical system wherein the following inequality is satisfied: -1.00 < f23/f1 < -0.10 (page 6, Table 4, wherein f23 = 4.86; f1 = -6.41; and f23/f1 = -0.76) where f23 is a combined focal length of the second lens and the third lens.
With regard to dependent claim 20, Wang teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to independent claim 1, and further teaches such an optical system wherein the first lens is made of plastic resin, and wherein the following inequalities are satisfied: 1.5 < n1 < 1.6 and 45 <νd1 < 65 (page 6, Table 4, wherein n1 = 1.545; νd1 = 55.987) where n1 is a refractive index of the first lens, and νd1 is an Abbe number of the first lens.
With regard to dependent claim 21, Wang teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to independent claim 1, and further teaches such an optical system further comprising a final lens disposed closest to an image plane among lenses included in the optical system and made of plastic resin (page 4, paragraph [0039], line 2), wherein the following inequalities are satisfied: 1.58 < nR < 1.75 and 15 < νdR νd1 30 (page 6, Table 4, wherein n6 = 1.661; νdR = 20.373) where nR is a refractive index of the final lens, and νdR is an Abbe number of the final lens.
With regard to dependent claim 22, Wang teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to independent claim 1, and further teaches such an optical system wherein a lens included in the optical system has an aspherical shape on at least one of a lens surface on the object side and a lens surface on the image side, and is made of plastic resin (page 4, paragraph [0034], lines 2 and 5-6; paragraph [0035], lines 2-3 and 5-7; paragraph [0036], lines 2 and 5-6; paragraph [0037], lines 2 and 5-7; paragraph [0038], lines 2 and 5-7; and paragraph [0039], lines 2 and 5-7).
With regard to independent claim 26, Wang teaches a lens apparatus comprising an optical system (page 3, paragraph [0031], lines 1-2), wherein the optical system (Figure 3) includes, in order from an object side to an image side: a first lens (Figure 3, element L21) having negative refractive power (page 1, paragraph [0004], line 4 and page 6, Table 4, Effective Focal Length data); a second lens (Figure 3, element L22) having positive refractive power (page 1, paragraph [0004], line 5 and page 6, Table 4, Effective Focal Length data); a third lens (Figure 3, element L23) having positive refractive power (page 1, paragraph [0004], lines 5-6 and page 6, Table 4, Effective Focal Length data); and a fourth lens (Figure 3, element 24) having negative refractive power (page 1, paragraph [0004], lines 6-7 and page 6, Table 4, Effective Focal Length data), wherein a first lens surface on the object side of the first lens is aspheric (page 4, paragraph [0034]), and the first lens surface has an area in which a curvature that is convex toward the object side increases from a central portion to a peripheral portion (page 4, paragraph [0034], lines 3-4 and Figure 3, element S21 and page 7, Table 5, aspheric coefficients for S21), and wherein the following inequalities are satisfied: -1.50 ≤ f2/f1 < -0.20 (page 6, Table 4, wherein f2 = 7.82; f1 = -6.41; and f2/f1 = -1.22); -2.40 < f4/f < -0.80 (page 6, Table 4, wherein f4 = -6.07; f = 4.51; and f4/f = -1.35) where f1 is a focal length of the first lens, f2 is a focal length of the second lens, f is a focal length of the optical system, and f4 is a focal length of the fourth lens.
Claims 1, 5-9, 12-15, 17-19, 21, 22, 25 and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tang (U.S. Patent Publication 2022/0326483).
With regard to independent claim 1, Tang teaches an optical system comprising (Figure 17), in order from an object side to an image side: a first lens (Figure 17, element L1) having negative refractive power (page 14, Table 21, f1 data for Embodiment 5); a second lens (Figure 17, element L2) having positive refractive power (page 14, Table 21, f2 data for Embodiment 5); a third lens (Figure 17, element L3) having positive refractive power (page 14, Table 21, f3 data for Embodiment 5); and a fourth lens (Figure 17, element L4) having negative refractive power (page 14, Table 21, f4 data for Embodiment 5), wherein a first lens surface on the object side of the first lens is aspheric (page 12, Table 18, Aspheric surface coefficients data for R1 and R2), and the first lens surface has an area in which a curvature that is convex toward the object side increases from a central portion to a peripheral portion (page 12, Table 18, Aspheric surface coefficients data for R1 and R2), and wherein the following inequalities are satisfied: -1.50 ≤ f2/f1 < -0.20 (page 14, Table 21, wherein f2 = 6.123; f1 = -4.347; and f2/f1 = -1.41); -2.40 < f4/f < -0.80 (page 14, Table 21, wherein f4 = -4.303; f = 2.498; and f4/f = -1.72) where f1 is a focal length of the first lens, f2 is a focal length of the second lens, f is a focal length of the optical system, and f4 is a focal length of the fourth lens.
With regard to dependent claim 5, Tang teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to independent claim 1, and further teaches such an optical system wherein the following inequality is satisfied: 0.40 < Dsum/TTL < 0.85 (page 12, Table 17, d data, wherein Dsum = 5.425; TTL = 10.922; and Dsum/TTL = 0.497) where TTL is a distance on an optical axis from the first lens surface to an image plane, and Dsum is a total thickness of lenses included in the optical system.
With regard to dependent claim 6, Tang teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to independent claim 1, and further teaches such an optical system wherein the following inequality is satisfied: -3.50 < f1/f < -0.80 (page 14, Table 21, wherein f1 = -4.347; f = 2.498; and f1/f = -1.74).
With regard to dependent claim 7, Tang teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to independent claim 1, and further teaches such an optical system wherein the following inequality is satisfied: 0.40 < f3/f2 < 1.50 (page 14, Table 21, wherein f3 = 3.329; f2 = 6.123; and f3/f2 = 0.54) where f3 is a focal length of the third lens.
With regard to dependent claim 8, Tang teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to independent claim 1, and further teaches such an optical system wherein the optical system comprises, in order from the object side to the image side, the first lens (Figure 17, element L1), the second lens (Figure 17, element L2), the third lens (Figure 17, element L3), the fourth lens (Figure 17, element L4), and a fifth lens (Figure 17, element L5) having positive refractive power (page 14, Table 21, f5 data for Embodiment 5).
With regard to dependent claim 9, Tang teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to dependent claim 8, and further teaches such an optical system wherein the optical system comprises, in order from the object side to the image side, the first lens (Figure 17, element L1), the second lens (Figure 17, element L2), the third lens (Figure 17, element L3), the fourth lens (Figure 17, element L4), the fifth lens (Figure 17, element L5), and a sixth lens (Figure 17, element L6).
With regard to dependent claim 12, Tang teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to dependent claim 9, and further teaches such an optical system wherein the optical system consists of, in order from the object side to the image side, the first lens (Figure 17, element L1), the second lens (Figure 17, element L2), the third lens (Figure 17, element L3), the fourth lens (Figure 17, element L4), and a fifth lens (Figure 17, element L5), a sixth lens (Figure 17, element L6) having positive refractive power (page 14, Table 21, f6 data for Embodiment 5), and a seventh lens (Figure 17, element L7) having negative refractive power (page 14, Table 21, f7 data for Embodiment 5).
With regard to dependent claim 13, Tang teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to independent claim 1, and further teaches such an optical system wherein a lens surface on the object side of the fourth lens is concave (page 12, Table 17, R data for R7).
With regard to dependent claim 14, Tang teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to dependent claim 8, and further teaches such an optical system wherein the following inequality is satisfied: 0.001 < f/f5 < 1.500 (page 14, Table 21, wherein f = 2.498; f5 = 34.903; and f/f5 = 0.072) where f5 is a focal length of the fifth lens.
With regard to dependent claim 15, Tang teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to independent claim 1, and further teaches such an optical system wherein a lens surface on the object side of the second lens has a concave shape toward the object side (page 12, Table 17, R data for R3).
With regard to dependent claim 17, Tang teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to independent claim 1, and further teaches such an optical system wherein the following inequality is satisfied: -10.00 < G2R1/f < -0.80 (page 12, Table 17, R data for R3, wherein G2R1 = -5.165 and page 14, Table 21, wherein f = 2.498; and G2R1/f = -2.07) where G2R1 is a radius of curvature of a lens surface on the object side of the second lens.
With regard to dependent claim 18, Tang teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to independent claim 1, and further teaches such an optical system wherein the following inequality is satisfied: -1.50 < f/fair < 0.00 or 0.00 < f/fair < 0.30 (page 12, Table 17, wherein fair = 606.37; page 14, Table 21, wherein f = 2.498; and f/fair = 0.004) where fair is a focal length of an air lens including a second lens surface on the image side of the first lens, a third lens surface on the object side of the second lens, and an air gap between the second lens surface and the third lens surface.
With regard to dependent claim 19, Tang teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to independent claim 1, and further teaches such an optical system wherein the following inequality is satisfied: -1.00 < f23/f1 < -0.10 (page 12, Table 4, and page 14, Table 21, wherein f23 = 2.33; f1 = -4.347; and f23/f1 = -0.54) where f23 is a combined focal length of the second lens and the third lens.
With regard to dependent claim 21, Tang teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to independent claim 1, and further teaches such an optical system further comprising a final lens disposed closest to an image plane among lenses included in the optical system and made of plastic resin (page 3, paragraph [0048]), wherein the following inequalities are satisfied: 1.58 < nR < 1.75 and 15 < νdR νd1 30 (page 12, Table 17, wherein n7 = 1.6610; νd7 = 20.53) where nR is a refractive index of the final lens, and νdR is an Abbe number of the final lens.
With regard to dependent claim 22, Tang teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to independent claim 1, and further teaches such an optical system wherein a lens included in the optical system has an aspherical shape on at least one of a lens surface on the object side and a lens surface on the image side, and is made of plastic resin (page 12, Table 18, Aspheric surface coefficients for R3, R4, R5r6, R7, R8, R9, R10, R11, R12, R13 and R14 and page 3, paragraph [0048]).
With regard to independent claim 25, Tang teaches an image pickup apparatus (page 1, paragraph [0001]) comprising: an optical system (Figure 17); and an image sensor configured to receive an image formed by the optical system (page 2, paragraph [0024]), wherein the optical system includes, a first lens (Figure 17, element L1) having negative refractive power (page 14, Table 21, f1 data for Embodiment 5); a second lens (Figure 17, element L2) having positive refractive power (page 14, Table 21, f2 data for Embodiment 5); a third lens (Figure 17, element L3) having positive refractive power (page 14, Table 21, f3 data for Embodiment 5); and a fourth lens (Figure 17, element L4) having negative refractive power (page 14, Table 21, f4 data for Embodiment 5), wherein a first lens surface on the object side of the first lens is aspheric (page 12, Table 18, Aspheric surface coefficients data for R1 and R2), and the first lens surface has an area in which a curvature that is convex toward the object side increases from a central portion to a peripheral portion (page 12, Table 18, Aspheric surface coefficients data for R1 and R2), and wherein the following inequalities are satisfied: -1.50 ≤ f2/f1 < -0.20 (page 14, Table 21, wherein f2 = 6.123; f1 = -4.347; and f2/f1 = -1.41); -2.40 < f4/f < -0.80 (page 14, Table 21, wherein f4 = -4.303; f = 2.498; and f4/f = -1.72) where f1 is a focal length of the first lens, f2 is a focal length of the second lens, f is a focal length of the optical system, and f4 is a focal length of the fourth lens.
With regard to independent claim 26, Tang teaches a lens apparatus (page 1, paragraph [0001]) comprising an optical system, wherein the optical system includes, a first lens (Figure 17, element L1) having negative refractive power (page 14, Table 21, f1 data for Embodiment 5); a second lens (Figure 17, element L2) having positive refractive power (page 14, Table 21, f2 data for Embodiment 5); a third lens (Figure 17, element L3) having positive refractive power (page 14, Table 21, f3 data for Embodiment 5); and a fourth lens (Figure 17, element L4) having negative refractive power (page 14, Table 21, f4 data for Embodiment 5), wherein a first lens surface on the object side of the first lens is aspheric (page 12, Table 18, Aspheric surface coefficients data for R1 and R2), and the first lens surface has an area in which a curvature that is convex toward the object side increases from a central portion to a peripheral portion (page 12, Table 18, Aspheric surface coefficients data for R1 and R2), and wherein the following inequalities are satisfied: -1.50 ≤ f2/f1 < -0.20 (page 14, Table 21, wherein f2 = 6.123; f1 = -4.347; and f2/f1 = -1.41); -2.40 < f4/f < -0.80 (page 14, Table 21, wherein f4 = -4.303; f = 2.498; and f4/f = -1.72) where f1 is a focal length of the first lens, f2 is a focal length of the second lens, f is a focal length of the optical system, and f4 is a focal length of the fourth lens.
Claims 1, 5-10, 14, 18-23, 25 and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zhu (U.S. Patent Publication 2022/0137348).
With regard to independent claim 1, Zhu teaches an optical system comprising (Figure 1), in order from an object side to an image side: a first lens (Figure 1, element L1) having negative refractive power (page 10, Table 14, f1 data for Embodiment 1); a second lens (Figure 1, element L2) having positive refractive power (page 10, Table 17, f2 data for Embodiment 1); a third lens (Figure 1, element L3) having positive refractive power (page 10, Table 17, f3 data for Embodiment 1); and a fourth lens (Figure 1, element L4) having negative refractive power (page 10, Table 17, f4 data for Embodiment 1), wherein a first lens surface on the object side of the first lens is aspheric (page 5, Table 2, Aspheric surface coefficients data for R1 and R2), and the first lens surface has an area in which a curvature that is convex toward the object side increases from a central portion to a peripheral portion (page 5, Table 2, Aspheric surface coefficients data for R1 and R2), and wherein the following inequalities are satisfied: -1.50 ≤ f2/f1 < -0.20 (page 10, Table 17, wherein f2 = 4.978; f1 = -7.290; and f2/f1 = -0.68); -2.40 < f4/f < -0.80 (page 10, Table 17, wherein f4 = -5.914; f = 3.312; and f4/f = -0.81) where f1 is a focal length of the first lens, f2 is a focal length of the second lens, f is a focal length of the optical system, and f4 is a focal length of the fourth lens.
With regard to dependent claim 5, Zhu teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to independent claim 1, and further teaches such an optical system wherein the following inequality is satisfied: 0.40 < Dsum/TTL < 0.85 (page 4, Table 1, d data, wherein Dsum = 3.552; page 10, Table 17, wherein TTL = 7.499; and Dsum/TTL = 0.47) where TTL is a distance on an optical axis from the first lens surface to an image plane, and Dsum is a total thickness of lenses included in the optical system.
With regard to dependent claim 6, Zhu teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to independent claim 1, and further teaches such an optical system wherein the following inequality is satisfied: -3.50 < f1/f < -0.80 (page 10, Table 17, wherein f1 = -7.290; f = 3.312; and f1/f = -2.2).
With regard to dependent claim 7, Zhu teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to independent claim 1, and further teaches such an optical system wherein the following inequality is satisfied: 0.40 < f3/f2 < 1.50 (page 10, Table 17, wherein f3 = 3.971; f2 = 4.978; and f3/f2 = 0.80) where f3 is a focal length of the third lens.
With regard to dependent claim 8, Zhu teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to independent claim 1, and further teaches such an optical system wherein the optical system comprises, in order from the object side to the image side, the first lens (Figure 1, element L1), the second lens (Figure 1, element L2), the third lens (Figure 1, element L3), the fourth lens (Figure 1, element L4), and a fifth lens (Figure 1, element L5) having positive refractive power (page 10, Table 17, f5 data for Embodiment 1).
With regard to dependent claim 9, Zhu teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to dependent claim 8, and further teaches such an optical system wherein the optical system comprises, in order from the object side to the image side, the first lens (Figure 1, element L1), the second lens (Figure 1, element L2), the third lens (Figure 1, element L3), the fourth lens (Figure 1, element L4), the fifth lens (Figure 1, element L5), and a sixth lens (Figure 1, element L6).
With regard to dependent claim 10, Zhu teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to dependent claim 9, and further teaches such an optical system wherein the optical system consists of, in order from the object side to the image side, the first lens (Figure 1, element L1), the second lens (Figure 1, element L2), the third lens (Figure 1, element L3), the fourth lens (Figure 1, element L4), and the fifth lens (Figure 1, element L5), and a sixth lens (Figure 1, element L6) having negative refractive power (page 10, Table 17, f6 data for Embodiment 1).
With regard to dependent claim 14, Zhu teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to dependent claim 8, and further teaches such an optical system wherein the following inequality is satisfied: 0.001 < f/f5 < 1.500 (page 10, Table 17, wherein f = 3.312; f5 = 2.279; and f/f5 = 1.45) where f5 is a focal length of the fifth lens.
With regard to dependent claim 18, Zhu teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to independent claim 1, and further teaches such an optical system wherein the following inequality is satisfied: -1.50 < f/fair < 0.00 or 0.00 < f/fair < 0.30 (page 4, Table 1, wherein fair = 10910.5; page 10, Table 17, wherein f = 3.312; and f/fair = 0.0003) where fair is a focal length of an air lens including a second lens surface on the image side of the first lens, a third lens surface on the object side of the second lens, and an air gap between the second lens surface and the third lens surface.
With regard to dependent claim 19, Zhu teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to independent claim 1, and further teaches such an optical system wherein the following inequality is satisfied: -1.00 < f23/f1 < -0.10 (page 4, Table 1, and page 10, Table 17, wherein f23 = 2.3; f1 = -7.290; and f23/f1 = -0.31) where f23 is a combined focal length of the second lens and the third lens.
With regard to dependent claim 20, Zhu teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to independent claim 1, and further teaches such an optical system further comprising the first lens is made of plastic resin (page 2, paragraph [0036]), wherein the following inequalities are satisfied: 1.5 < n1 < 1.6 and 45 < νd1 < 65 (page 4, Table 1, wherein n1 = 1.5444; νd1 = 55.82) where n1 is a refractive index of the first lens, and νd1 is an Abbe number of the first lens.
With regard to dependent claim 21, Zhu teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to independent claim 1, and further teaches such an optical system further comprising a final lens disposed closest to an image plane among lenses included in the optical system and made of plastic resin (page 2, paragraph [0036]), wherein the following inequalities are satisfied: 1.58 < nR < 1.75 and 15 < νdR νd1 30 (page 4, Table 1, wherein n6 = 1.5876; νd6 = 29.04) where nR is a refractive index of the final lens, and νdR is an Abbe number of the final lens.
With regard to dependent claim 22, Zhu teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to independent claim 1, and further teaches such an optical system wherein a lens included in the optical system has an aspherical shape on at least one of a lens surface on the object side and a lens surface on the image side, and is made of plastic resin (page 2, paragraph [0036] and page 5, Table 2, Aspheric surface coefficients).
With regard to dependent claim 23, Zhu teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to independent claim 1, and further teaches such an optical system wherein a lens surface on the object side of a final lens disposed closest to an image plane among lenses included in the optical system has a stationary point, and a shape that is convex near an optical axis and concave at a peripheral portion, and wherein a lens surface on the image side of the final lens has another stationary point, and a shape that is concave near the optical axis and convex at a peripheral portion (page 4, paragraph [0071] and page 6, Tables 3 and 4, data for P6R1 and P6R2).
With regard to independent claim 25, Zhu teaches an image pickup apparatus (page 1, paragraph [0001]) comprising: an optical system (Figure 1); and an image sensor configured to receive an image formed by the optical system (page 1, paragraph [0002] and Figure 1, element Si), wherein the optical system includes, a first lens (Figure 1, element L1) having negative refractive power (page 10, Table 14, f1 data for Embodiment 1); a second lens (Figure 1, element L2) having positive refractive power (page 10, Table 17, f2 data for Embodiment 1); a third lens (Figure 1, element L3) having positive refractive power (page 10, Table 17, f3 data for Embodiment 1); and a fourth lens (Figure 1, element L4) having negative refractive power (page 10, Table 17, f4 data for Embodiment 1), wherein a first lens surface on the object side of the first lens is aspheric (page 5, Table 2, Aspheric surface coefficients data for R1 and R2), and the first lens surface has an area in which a curvature that is convex toward the object side increases from a central portion to a peripheral portion (page 5, Table 2, Aspheric surface coefficients data for R1 and R2), and wherein the following inequalities are satisfied: -1.50 ≤ f2/f1 < -0.20 (page 10, Table 17, wherein f2 = 4.978; f1 = -7.290; and f2/f1 = -0.68); -2.40 < f4/f < -0.80 (page 10, Table 17, wherein f4 = -5.914; f = 3.312; and f4/f = -0.81) where f1 is a focal length of the first lens, f2 is a focal length of the second lens, f is a focal length of the optical system, and f4 is a focal length of the fourth lens.
With regard to independent claim 26, Zhu teaches a lens apparatus (page 1, paragraph [0001]) comprising an optical system, wherein the optical system includes, a first lens (Figure 1, element L1) having negative refractive power (page 10, Table 14, f1 data for Embodiment 1); a second lens (Figure 1, element L2) having positive refractive power (page 10, Table 17, f2 data for Embodiment 1); a third lens (Figure 1, element L3) having positive refractive power (page 10, Table 17, f3 data for Embodiment 1); and a fourth lens (Figure 1, element L4) having negative refractive power (page 10, Table 17, f4 data for Embodiment 1), wherein a first lens surface on the object side of the first lens is aspheric (page 5, Table 2, Aspheric surface coefficients data for R1 and R2), and the first lens surface has an area in which a curvature that is convex toward the object side increases from a central portion to a peripheral portion (page 5, Table 2, Aspheric surface coefficients data for R1 and R2), and wherein the following inequalities are satisfied: -1.50 ≤ f2/f1 < -0.20 (page 10, Table 17, wherein f2 = 4.978; f1 = -7.290; and f2/f1 = -0.68); -2.40 < f4/f < -0.80 (page 10, Table 17, wherein f4 = -5.914; f = 3.312; and f4/f = -0.81) where f1 is a focal length of the first lens, f2 is a focal length of the second lens, f is a focal length of the optical system, and f4 is a focal length of the fourth lens.
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.
Claims 3, 17 and 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang (U.S. Patent Publication 2023/0020801).
With regard to dependent claim 3, although Wang teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to independent claim 1, Wang fails to teach such an optical system further comprising an aperture stop configured to determine an on-axis ray and disposed between the first lens and the second lens. Wang does teach an optical system further comprising an aperture stop (Figure 3, element ST2), such that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention, without undue experimentation, to position the aperture stop between the first and second lenses to control the light within the optical system and reduce aberrations, as is known in the art.
With regard to dependent claim 17, although Wang teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to independent claim 1, Wang fails to teach such an optical system simultaneously satisfying the conditional expression: -10.00 < G2R1/f < -0.80, as defined. Wang does teach such an optical system wherein G2R1/f = -0.78 (page 6, Table 4, wherein G2R1 = -13.21 and f = 4.51), such that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to modify the optical imaging system, as taught by Wang, since it has been held that a prima facie case of obviousness exists where the claimed ranges or amounts do not overlap with the prior art but are merely close (Titanium Metals Corp. of America v. Banner, 778 F.2d 775, 783, 227 USPQ 773, 779 (Fed. Cir. 1985)).
With regard to dependent claim 25, although Wang teaches an optical system (page 3, paragraph [0031], lines 1-2), wherein the optical system (Figure 3) includes, in order from an object side to an image side: a first lens (Figure 3, element L21) having negative refractive power (page 1, paragraph [0004], line 4 and page 6, Table 4, Effective Focal Length data); a second lens (Figure 3, element L22) having positive refractive power (page 1, paragraph [0004], line 5 and page 6, Table 4, Effective Focal Length data); a third lens (Figure 3, element L23) having positive refractive power (page 1, paragraph [0004], lines 5-6 and page 6, Table 4, Effective Focal Length data); and a fourth lens (Figure 3, element 24) having negative refractive power (page 1, paragraph [0004], lines 6-7 and page 6, Table 4, Effective Focal Length data), wherein a first lens surface on the object side of the first lens is aspheric (page 4, paragraph [0034]), and the first lens surface has an area in which a curvature that is convex toward the object side increases from a central portion to a peripheral portion (page 4, paragraph [0034], lines 3-4 and Figure 3, element S21 and page 7, Table 5, aspheric coefficients for S21), and wherein the following inequalities are satisfied: -1.50 ≤ f2/f1 < -0.20 (page 6, Table 4, wherein f2 = 7.82; f1 = -6.41; and f2/f1 = -1.22); -2.40 < f4/f < -0.80 (page 6, Table 4, wherein f4 = -6.07; f = 4.51; and f4/f = -1.35) where f1 is a focal length of the first lens, f2 is a focal length of the second lens, f is a focal length of the optical system, and f4 is a focal length of the fourth lens, Wang fails to explicitly teach an image pickup apparatus comprising such an optical system. Given the optical system, as taught by Wang and given an image plane (Figure 3, element IMA2), one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention would have found it obvious to use the optical system in an image pickup apparatus having an image sensor to view the captured image.
Claims 3 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tang (U.S. Patent Publication 2022/0326483).
With regard to dependent claim 3, although Tang teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to independent claim 1, Tang fails to teach such an optical system further comprising an aperture stop configured to determine an on-axis ray and disposed between the first lens and the second lens. Tang does teach an optical system further comprising an aperture stop (Figure 17, element S1), such that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention, without undue experimentation, to position the aperture stop between the first and second lenses to control the light within the optical system and reduce aberrations, as is known in the art.
With regard to dependent claim 16, although Tang teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to dependent claim 15, Tang fails to teach such an optical system simultaneously satisfying the conditional expression: -3.00 < (G2R2+G2R1)/(G2R2-G2R1) < -0.40, as defined. Tang does teach such an optical system wherein (G2R2+G2R1)/(G2R2-G2R1) (page 12, Table 17, wherein G2R2 = -2.767; G2R1 = -5.165; and (G2R2+G2R1)/(G2R2-G2R1) = -3.31), such that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to modify the optical imaging system, as taught by Tang, since it has been held that a prima facie case of obviousness exists where the claimed ranges or amounts do not overlap with the prior art but are merely close (Titanium Metals Corp. of America v. Banner, 778 F.2d 775, 783, 227 USPQ 773, 779 (Fed. Cir. 1985)).
Claims 3 and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhu (U.S. Patent Publication 2022/0137348).
With regard to dependent claim 3, although Zhu teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to independent claim 1, Zhu fails to teach such an optical system further comprising an aperture stop configured to determine an on-axis ray and disposed between the first lens and the second lens. Zhu does teach an optical system further comprising an aperture stop (Figure 1, element S1), such that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention, without undue experimentation, to position the aperture stop between the first and second lenses to control the light within the optical system and reduce aberrations, as is known in the art.
With regard to dependent claim 4, although Zhu teaches all of the claimed limitations of the instant invention as outlined above with respect to dependent claim 3, Zhu fails to teach such an optical system simultaneously satisfying the conditional expression 0.08 < T/TTL < 0.25, as defined. Zhu does teach such an optical system wherein T/TTL = 0.28 (page 4, Table 1, d data, wherein T = 2.131 and page 10, Table 17, wherein TTL = 7.499; and T/TTL = 0.28), such that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to modify the optical imaging system, as taught by Zhu, since it has been held that a prima facie case of obviousness exists where the claimed ranges or amounts do not overlap with the prior art but are merely close (Titanium Metals Corp. of America v. Banner, 778 F.2d 775, 783, 227 USPQ 773, 779 (Fed. Cir. 1985)).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2 and 24 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 taken either singularly or in combination fails to anticipate or fairly suggest the limitations of the independent claims, in such a manner that a rejection under 35 U.S.C. §102 or §103 would be proper. Although the prior art teaches an optical system comprising, in order from an object side to an image side: a first lens having negative refractive power; a second lens having positive refractive power; a third lens having positive refractive power; and a fourth lens having negative refractive power, wherein a first lens surface on the object side of the first lens is aspheric, and the first lens surface has an area in which a curvature that is convex toward the object side increases from a central portion to a peripheral portion, and wherein the following inequalities are satisfied: -1.50 ≤ f2/f1 < -0.20 and -2.40 < f4/f < -0.80, as defined, the prior art fails to teach such an optical system: further comprising an aperture stop configured to determine an on-axis ray and disposed between the first lens and the second lens. wherein the following inequality is satisfied: 0.05 < x1/T < 0.80 where T is a distance on an optical axis from the first lens surface to the aperture stop, and x1 is a distance in an optical axis direction from a position on a reference spherical surface that passes through a surface vertex of the first lens surface separated from the optical axis by a distance of 3×T/2 and a position on the first lens surface separated from the optical axis by a distance of T/2 in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis, and a position on the first lens surface separated from the optical axis by a distance of 3×T/2 in the direction orthogonal to the optical axis, as claimed in dependent claim 2; or wherein a lens surface on the object side of a final lens disposed closest to an image plane among lenses included in the optical system has a stationary point, and a shape that is convex near an optical axis and concave at a peripheral portion, and wherein a lens surface on the image side of the final lens has another stationary point, and a shape that is concave near the optical axis and convex at a peripheral portion and further comprising an aperture stop configured to determine an on-axis ray and disposed between the first lens and the second lens, simultaneously satisfying the conditional expression: 0.25 < h/TR < 0.65, s defined and claimed in dependent claim 24.
Conclusion
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/DARRYL J COLLINS/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872
03 February 2026