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 § 102
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.
(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) 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kim US 2011/0058093.
Regarding claim 21, Kim teaches one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media storing one or more computer programs including computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform operations (see Fig. 3 and para 0024-0025: teaches a driver including a memory 150 and control components such as 12C unit (120), DAC (130), register (140) and AMP (160) i.e., teaches processor-based control using stored date and control logic corresponding to computer-executable instructions),
the operations comprising: controlling an electric current applied to a first coil of a housing accommodating an auto focus (F) carrier of a camera of the electronic device, or a second coil of the housing (para 0025 teaches: “the DAC 130 receives a digital signal and outputs an analogue signal, where … a current is outputted as an analogue signal” and para 0022: “a code value is a bit value set up in response to a current value” i.e., teaches controlling an electric current applied to a coil of VCM actuator to control lens movement),
based on information acquired through an image sensor of the camera (para 0004: “auto focusing control function is to detect a harmonic component of an image obtained from an image sensor to obtain a focus value (FV) useful to the focus adjustment”, para 0005: “Information on focus control is obtained from an image signal obtained without any separate devices”, and para 0011: “an upward position value … is obtained by upwardly moving the lens to capture an image” and para 0032: “an image having a greatest frequency among the images stored by an ISP (image sensor processor) … may be obtained as an AF upward position value” i.e., teaches controlling autofocus based on information acquired through an image sensor); and
moving the AF carrier along an optical axis by controlling the electric current applied to the first coil or the second coil (para 0006: “the VCM … linearly moves a lens”, para 0011: “upwardly move a lens position… and downwardly move the lens position to automatically adjust the lens focus”, para 0031: “a lens position is upwardly moved… and downwardly move”, and para 0020: “a lens moving distance responsive to a current value” i.e., teaches moving the lens (AF carrier) along the optical axis by controlling current applied to a coil).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-20 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Regarding claim 1, the closest prior art Lee et al. US 2021/0173226: teaches a camera (para 0043-004: camera module) comprising: a lens assembly aligned along an optical axis (para 0045: “a plurality of lenses are disposed in the lens barrel 210, the plurality of lenses may be disposed in the lens barrel 210 along the optical axis”);
an auto focus (AF) carrier for moving along the optical axis together with the lens assembly (para 0057-0064: teaches a carrier 300 having the lens module 200 accommodated therein and that the carrier and lens module may move in the optical axis direction (Z axis)); and
a housing for accommodating the AF carrier (para 0044: a housing 110 having the lens module 200 and the lens driving device accommodated therein).
However, Lee fails to teach: “wherein a yoke is fixed to a first outer surface of side surfaces of the AF carrier” as it instead discloses a magnet mounted on a side surface of the carrier and a yoke disposed on a housing/substrate side (para 0059,0067) and although movable yokes are disclosed, they are used for shake correction and are not fixed to the AF carrier (paras. 0074-0075). Lee also fails to teach “the yoke comprises a first portion having a first length in an optical axis direction and two protrusions which protrude toward the housing from both ends of a first portion”, as no such yoke geometry is disclosed. Lee further does not disclose “wherein a first magnetic body, a magnet and a second magnetic body are fixed in order in a direction parallel to the optical axis in a first inner surface facing the first outer surface of the AF carrier among the side surfaces of the housing” as it instead discloses a carrier-side magnet and a housing-side coil rather than the claimed first magnetic body, magnet and second magnetic body arrangement (para 0058-0060). Lee does not teach “wherein the magnet has a first pole on a surface contacting the first magnetic body, and a second pole opposite to the first pole on a surface contacting the second magnetic body” not “wherein a second protrusion faces the second magnetic body while a first protrusion of the two protrusions of the yoke faces the first magnetic body”, because Lee does not disclose the claimed yoke having two protrusions or the claimed first and second magnetic bodies. Accordingly, these limitations are not taught or suggested by Lee and constitute allowable subject matter.
Regarding claim 11, closest prior art Lee US 2021/0173226 teaches an electronic device comprising: a camera “see para 0043-0044”, and further teaches a lens assembly aligned along the optical axis (para 0045: plurality of lenses may be disposed in a lens barrel along an optical axis), an image sensor for acquiring light passing through the lens assembly (see para 0044: image sensor module 700), an auto focus (AF) carrier for moving along the optical axis together with the lens assembly (para 0057-0064: carrier having the lens module accommodated therein and moving in the optical axis direction together with the lens module), a housing for accommodating the AF carrier (para 0044: a housing accommodating the carrier and the lens module).
Lee fails to teach: memory storing one or more computer programs; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the camera and the memory, the AF carrier comprising a yoke disposed on a first outer surface of side surfaces of the AF carrier, and a housing for accommodating the AF carrier, the housing comprising: a first magnetic body fixed to a first inner surface facing the first outer surface of the AF carrier among the side surfaces of the housing, a second magnetic body, and a magnet disposed between the first magnetic body and the second magnetic body, a first coil spaced apart from the magnet by a first distance in a first direction parallel to the optical axis and disposed parallel to the first inner surface, and a second coil spaced apart from the magnet by the first distance in a second direction opposite to the first direction and disposed parallel to the first inner surface, wherein the magnet has a first pole on a surface contacting the first magnetic body, and a second pole opposite to the first pole on a surface contacting the second magnetic body, and wherein the yoke comprises a first portion having a first length in an optical axis direction and two protrusions which protrude toward the housing from both ends of a first portion, and while a first protrusion of the two protrusions of the yoke faces the first magnetic body, a second protrusion faces the second magnetic body wherein the one or more computer programs include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to: control an electric current applied to the first coil or the second coil, based on information acquired through the image sensor, and move the AF carrier along the optical axis by controlling the electric current applied to the first coil or the second coil.
In the same field of endeavor, Kim US 2011/0058093 teaches: a driver including a memory, 12C unit, DAC, register, and control logic (para 0024-0025), where the 12C unit receives an autofocus command algorithm and the DAC outputs current to the actuator, thereby corresponding to processor executed instruction stored in memory. Kim further teaches that autofocus control is performed “based on information acquired through an image sensor” by detecting a harmonic component of an image obtained from an image sensor to obtain a focus value (para 0004), and teaches controlling current supplied to a VCM actuator (para 0025) to move the lens position upwardly and downwardly (para 0011, 0031-0034), thereby teaching controlling electric current and moving the AF carrier along the optical axis. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the camera module of Lee to include the processor-based autofocus control of Kim, because Kim teaches a conventional autofocus control technique using image sensor information to control current applied to a VCM actuator for moving a lens, which would have been recognized as improving focus accuracy and control performance of the camera module.
However, the combination of Lee and Kim fails to teach: the AF carrier comprising a yoke disposed on a first outer surface of side surfaces of the AF carrier, and a housing for accommodating the AF carrier, the housing comprising: a first magnetic body fixed to a first inner surface facing the first outer surface of the AF carrier among the side surfaces of the housing, a second magnetic body, and a magnet disposed between the first magnetic body and the second magnetic body, a first coil spaced apart from the magnet by a first distance in a first direction parallel to the optical axis and disposed parallel to the first inner surface, and a second coil spaced apart from the magnet by the first distance in a second direction opposite to the first direction and disposed parallel to the first inner surface, wherein the magnet has a first pole on a surface contacting the first magnetic body, and a second pole opposite to the first pole on a surface contacting the second magnetic body, and wherein the yoke comprises a first portion having a first length in an optical axis direction and two protrusions which protrude toward the housing from both ends of a first portion, and while a first protrusion of the two protrusions of the yoke faces the first magnetic body, a second protrusion faces the second magnetic body.
Conclusion
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/EPHREM Z MEBRAHTU/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872