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 .
Examiner Notes
Examiner cites particular columns and line numbers in the references as applied to the claims below for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested that, in preparing responses, the applicant fully consider the references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the examiner.
Priority
As required by M.P.E.P. 201.14(c), acknowledgement is made of applicant’s claim for priority based on the application filed on May 31st, 2023 (TW 112120322). Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Information Disclosure Statement
As required by M.P.E.P. 609, the applicant’s submissions of the Information Disclosure Statements dated September 12th, 2024 and October 28th, 2024 are acknowledged by the examiner and the cited references have been considered in the examination of the claims now pending.
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.
Claim(s) 1-5, 8, 9, 12, 17, and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lin et al. (US 2015/0253542 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Lin teaches a lens assembly comprising:
a first lens with negative refractive power (See, e.g., lens 110 in Fig. 1 and TABLE 1 which shows it to be negative);
a second lens with positive refractive power (See, e.g., lens 120 in Fig. 1 and TABLE 1 which shows it to be negative);
a third lens with refractive power (See, e.g., lens 130 in Fig. 1); and
a fourth lens with refractive power (See, e.g., lens 140 in Fig. 1);
wherein the first lens, the second lens, the third lens, and the fourth lens are arranged in order from an object side to an image side along an optical axis;
wherein the lens assembly satisfies at least one of the following conditions:
3 ≤ f3/f ≤ 5.5;
0.2 ≤ f/AAG ≤ 0.3;
0.72 ≤ f/BFL ≤ 1.04 (Note given the data in TABLE 1 this value was calculated to be approximately 0.75 which is within the claimed range);
wherein f is an effective focal length of the lens assembly, f3 is an effective focal length of the third lens, AAG is a sum of all air intervals from an image side surface of the first lens to an object side surface of the fourth lens along the optical axis, and BFL is an interval from an image side surface of the fourth lens to an image plane along the optical axis.
Regarding claim 2, Lin teaches the device set forth above and further teaches wherein the third lens is with positive refractive power (See, e.g., TABLE 1 which shows this).
Regarding claim 3, Lin teaches the device set forth above and further teaches wherein the third lens comprises a convex surface facing the object side (See, e.g., Fig. 1 which shows this).
Regarding claim 4, Lin teaches the device set forth above and further teaches wherein the third lens comprises a convex surface facing the image side (See, e.g., Fig. 1 which shows this).
Regarding claim 5, Lin teaches the device set forth above and further teaches wherein the lens assembly satisfies at least one of the following conditions:
3 ≤ f4/f ≤ 9.5 (Note given the data in TABLE 1 this value was calculated to be approximately 4.3 which is within the claimed range);
0.2 ≤ TTL/BFL ≤ 8.5;
2.3 ≤ TTL/T1 ≤ 2.65;
wherein f is the effective focal length of the lens assembly, f4 is an effective focal length of the fourth lens, TTL is an interval from an object side surface of the first lens to the image plane along the optical axis, BFL is the interval from the image side surface of the fourth lens to the image plane along the optical axis, and T1 is an interval from the image side surface of the first lens to an object side surface of the second lens along the optical axis.
Regarding claim 8, Lin teaches the device set forth above and further teaches wherein the first lens is a spherical glass lens, the second lens is a spherical glass lens, the third lens is a spherical glass lens, or the fourth lens is an aspheric plastic lens (See, e.g., TABLE 1 which indicates the fourth lens is aspheric, also shown in Fig. 1, and a plastic material).
Regarding claim 9, Lin teaches the device set forth above and further teaches wherein the lens assembly satisfies at least one of the following conditions:
3 ≤ f4/f ≤ 9.5 (Note given the data in TABLE 1 this value was calculated to be approximately 4.3 which is within the claimed range);
5.5 ≤ TTL/BFL ≤ 8.5;
2.3 ≤ TTL/T1 ≤ 2.65;
wherein f is the effective focal length of the lens assembly, f4 is an effective focal length of the fourth lens, TTL is an interval from an object side surface of the first lens to the image plane along the optical axis, BFL is the interval from the image side surface of the fourth lens to the image plane along the optical axis, and T1 is an interval from the image side surface of the first lens to an object side surface of the second lens along the optical axis.
Regarding claim 12, Lin teaches the device set forth above and further teaches wherein the fourth lens is with positive refractive power (See, e.g., TABLE 1 which shows this).
Regarding claim 17, Lin teaches the device set forth above and further teaches a stop disposed between the second lens and the third lens (See, e.g., stop 100 in Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 18, Lin teaches the device set forth above and further teaches wherein the lens assembly satisfies at least one of the following conditions:
3 ≤ f4/f ≤ 9.5 (Note given the data in TABLE 1 this value was calculated to be approximately 4.3 which is within the claimed range);
5.5 ≤ TTL/BFL ≤ 8.5;
2.3 ≤ TTL/T1 ≤ 2.65;
wherein f is the effective focal length of the lens assembly, f4 is an effective focal length of the fourth lens, TTL is an interval from an object side surface of the first lens to the image plane along the optical axis, BFL is the interval from the image side surface of the fourth lens to the image plane along the optical axis, and T1 is an interval from the image side surface of the first lens to an object side surface of the second lens along the optical axis.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6, 7, 10, 11, and 13-16 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 an examiner’s reasons for indicating allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 6, the prior art, alone or in combination, fails to teach wherein the third lens comprises a concave surface facing the image side.
Regarding claim 10, the prior art, alone or in combination, fails to teach wherein the second lens comprises a convex surface facing the object side and a concave surface facing the image side, and the fourth lens comprises a convex surface facing the object side and a concave surface facing the image side.
Regarding claim 11, the prior art, alone or in combination, fails to teach wherein the second lens comprises a convex surface facing the object side and a concave surface facing the image side, the third lens is a meniscus lens and comprises a concave surface facing the image side, and the fourth lens comprises a convex surface facing the object side and a concave surface facing the image side.
Regarding claim 13, the prior art, alone or in combination, fails to teach wherein the fourth lens comprises a convex surface facing the object side and a concave surface facing the image side.
Regarding claim 15, the prior art, alone or in combination, fails to teach wherein the second lens comprises a convex surface facing the object side and a concave surface facing the image side.
Regarding claims 7, 14, and 16, these claims depend on an allowable base claim and are therefore allowable for at least the reasons stated supra.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Mitchell Oestreich whose telephone number is (571)270-7559. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:00-11:00 MT.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Bumsuk Won can be reached at 571-272-2713. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MITCHELL T OESTREICH/Examiner, Art Unit 2872
/BUMSUK WON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2872