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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of species 2 in the reply filed on 5/26/2026 is acknowledged.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
Acknowledgement is made of receipt of Information Disclosure Statement(s) (PTO-1449) filed 2/12/2024. An initialed copy is attached to this Office Action.
Response to Amendment
This Office action is in response to the communication filed 5/26/2026.
The Amendments to Claims 1, 9-10, 13, and 15-19, filed 5/26/2026, are acknowledged and accepted.
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.
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) 1-3, 6, 8, 10, 13, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nagotoshi et al. (2011/0249344), hereinafter Nagotoshi in view of Seo et al. (20110002043), hereinafter Seo.
Regarding claim 1, Nagotoshi discloses, in figures 1 and 2, an optical system (variable magnification optical system) (paragraph 0342) comprising: first to fourth lens groups (G1-G4, first through fourth lens groups) disposed along an optical axis in a direction from an object side (magnification side) to a sensor side (reduction side) and including at least one lens (L1-L6, first through sixth lenses) (paragraph 0344), respectively, wherein a number of lenses (six lenses) in the first lens group (G1, first lens group) is greater than a number of lenses in the fourth lens group (G4, fourth lens group) (paragraph 0350 and 0493) (figures 1 and 2), wherein the lenses of the first lens group are aligned along the optical axis (figures 1 and 2), and, wherein a first lens closest to the object side among the lenses of the first lens group is a lens with a thickest center thickness (figure 1), wherein a sign (negative) of a refractive power of the first lens group (G1, first lens group) is opposite to a sign (positive) of a refractive power of the fourth lens group (G4, fourth lens group) (paragraph 048 7), wherein a sign (negative) of a refractive power of the second lens group (G2, second lens group) is opposite to a sign (positive) of a refractive power of the third lens group (G3, third lens group) (paragraph 0344), wherein positions of the first and fourth lens groups (G1, forst lens group and G4, fourth lens group) are fixed (paragraph 0346), wherein positions of the second and third lens groups (G2, second lens group and G3, third lens group) are movable in a direction of the optical axis (paragraph 0346), wherein the optical system having the first to fourth lens groups is operated with magnifications according to changes in at least three modes according to a movement of each of the second lens group and the third lens group (paragraph 0342; wide angle, middle, telephoto), wherein EFL G1 is an effective focal length of the first lens group, and EFL_G1 < 0 (paragraph 0387).
Nagotoshi does not disclose wherein a lens closest to the sensor side among lenses of the first lens group has negative refractive power and has a sign opposite to a refractive power of a lens closest to the object side among lenses of the second lens group.
Seo discloses wherein a lens (33, concave lens) closest to the sensor side among lenses of the first lens group (51, first lens group) has negative refractive power (paragraph 0124) and has a sign opposite to a refractive power of a lens (34, convex lens) closest to the object side among lenses of the second lens group (52, second lens group) (paragraph 0125).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the device of Nagotoshi with the lens of the first and second lens groups of Seo for the purpose of focusing light to form sharp images on sensors or retinas.
Regarding claim 2, Nagotoshi discloses wherein the first lens group (G1, first lens group) includes first to third lenses (L1-L3, first through third lenses) sequentially disposed along the optical axis from the object side toward the sensor side, wherein the second lens group (G2, second lens group) includes fourth and fifth lenses (L7 and L8, seventh and eighth lenses) sequentially arranged along the optical axis from the object side toward the sensor side, wherein the third lens group (G3, third lens group) includes sixth and seventh lenses (L9 and L10, ninth and tenth lenses) sequentially arranged along the optical axis from the object side toward the sensor side, and wherein the fourth lens group (G4, fourth lens group) includes an eighth lens (L12, twelth lens) (Figure 2) (paragraphs 0344-0350).
Regarding claim 3, Nagotoshi discloses wherein the first lens group has a negative (-) refractive power (paragraph 0344), wherein the first lens has a positive (+) refractive power (paragraph 0347), wherein the third lens has a negative (-) refractive power (paragraph 0347), and wherein the fourth lens has positive (+) refractive power (paragraph 0347).
Regarding claim 6, Nagotoshi discloses wherein an object-side surface of the fifth lens, and an object-side surface and a sensor-side surface of the seventh lens have at least one inflection point (figures 2 and 4).
Regarding claim 8, Nagotoshi discloses wherein the eighth lens has a shape in which an object-side surface and a sensor-side surface do not have inflection point (figures 2 and 4).
Regarding claim 10, Nagotoshi discloses when the second and third lens groups are positioned at a first position, the optical system has a first effective focal length, and when the second and third lens groups are positioned at a second position different from the first position, the optical system has a second effective focal length greater than the first effective focal length (paragraph 0346).
Regarding claim 13, Nagotoshi discloses wherein a maximum movement distance of the third lens group is greater than a maximum movement distance of the second lens group (paragraphs 0380 and 0408).
Regarding claim 20, Nagotoshi discloses a camera module (paragraph 0344) comprising: an optical system (variable magnification optical system) and a driving member, wherein the optical system includes an optical system according to claim 1, and wherein the driving member is driven in a direction of the optical axis with respect to each position of the second and third lens groups (paragraphs 0351 and 0352).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-5, 7, 9, 11-12, and 14-19 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 statement of reasons for allowance: The prior art of record fails to teach or fairly suggest to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention, in conjunction with all the other claimed limitation, an optical system having all the claimed features of applicant's instant invention, specifically including: in claim 4, wherein the third lens is formed of a glass material having an aspherical surface and having a refractive index of 1.75 or more, and the fourth lens is formed of a glass material having an aspherical surface; in claim 5, wherein an object-side surface of the first lens has a convex shape on the optical axis toward the object side, and wherein an object-side surface of the fourth lens has a convex shape on the optical axis toward the object side; in claim 7, wherein a position of the inflection point on the object-side surface of the fifth lens is disposed in a range of 10% to 30% of an effective radius of the object-side surface of the fifth lens with respect to the optical axis; in claim 9, wherein a distance on the optical axis from a lens surface closest to the object side of the first lens group to a surface of an image sensor is TTL, wherein a size of an entrance pupil diameter (EPD) of the optical system when operating at a highest magnification in an operation mode is EPD Tele, and wherein the following equation satisfies: TTL/EPD_Tele < 2.72; in claim 11, wherein m_G2 is a movement distance when the second lens group moves from the first position to the second position or from the second position to the first position, TTL (Total track length) is a distance on the optical axis from an object-side surface of a lens closest to the object in the first lens group to an upper surface of an image sensor, and wherein the following equation satisfies: 0.05 <m_G2/TTL <0.5; in claim 12, wherein m_G3 is a movement distance when the third lens group moves from the first position to the second position or from the second position to the first position, and TTL (Total Track Length) is a distance on the optical axis from the object-side surface of a lens closest to the object in the first lens group to an upper surface of an image sensor, and wherein the following equation satisfies: 0.05 < m_G3/TTL < 0.5; in claim 14, wherein the maximum movement distance of third lens group is 6 mm or less, and the maximum movement distance of the second lens group is 5 mm or more; in claim 15, wherein Min_Relative illumination is a value having a lowest relative illuminance value at each magnification, and wherein the following equation satisfies: illumination > 40; in claim 16, wherein CRA is a chief ray incidence angle of light incident to an image sensor, and wherein the following equation satisfies: CRA <6; in claim 17, wherein the fourth lens group consists of one lens, and the first, second, and third lens groups consist of two or more lenses, wherein CA_L4S7 is an effective diameter of an object-side surface of the fourth lens, wherein CA_L1S1 is an effective diameter of an object-side surface of the first lens, and wherein the following equation satisfies: CA_L4S7/CA_L1S1 <0.7; in claims 18, wherein the first lens group includes second and third lenses spaced apart from each other along the optical axis on a sensor side of the first lens, wherein the second lens group includes fourth and fifth lenses aligned with the optical axis, wherein the third lens group includes sixth and seventh lenses aligned with the optical axis, wherein the fourth lens group includes an eighth lens, vd4 is an Abbe number of the fourth lens and vd5 is an Abbe number of the fifth lens, vd6 is an Abbe number of the sixth lens, and vd7 is an Abbe number of the seventh lens, and wherein the following equation satisfies: 20 < |vd4 - vd5| and 20 < |vd6 - vd7; in claim 19, wherein dG1G4 is a distance between a lens surface closest to the sensor side of the first lens group and a lens surface closest to the object side of the fourth lens group on the optical axis, and TTL is a distance on the optical axis from a lens surface closest to the object side of the first lens group to an upper surface of an image sensor, and wherein the following equation satisfies: dG1G4 < TTL, wherein a distance on the optical axis from a vertex of a sensor-side surface of a lens closest to the image sensor to the upper surface of the image sensor is BFL, wherein 1/2 of a total diagonal length of an effective region of the image sensor is ImgH, wherein the following equation satisfies: Equation: 2 < ImgH / BFL < 4, as set forth in the claims.
Nagotoshi (20110249344) discloses an optical system with four lens groups and the first lens group having six lenses. However, Nagotoshi is silent in regards to independent the fourth lens having convex shape.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRANDI N THOMAS whose telephone number is (571)272-2341. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 7:30 - 3:30.
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/BRANDI N THOMAS/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872
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