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.
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 and 7-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Saguya (Pub. No. US 2022/0329713 A1; hereafter Saguya).
Regarding claim 1, Saguya discloses an imaging apparatus comprising: a fixing portion fixed inside a casing (see Saguya Fig. 2, item 100); a movable portion that includes an imaging element and moves in a direction orthogonal to an optical axis with respect to the fixing portion (see Saguya Fig. 2, items 200 and 221); and a connection member including a first connection portion connected to the fixing portion and a second connection portion connected to the movable portion (see Saguya Fig. 3, items 270, 271a and 271b), wherein the connection member includes a plurality of bent portions gently curved between the first connection portion and the second connection portion (see Saguya Figs. 3 and 4, which show item 270 curved in an “S” shape), wherein the plurality of bent portions include a first bent portion curved about a first virtual axis and a second bent portion curved about a second virtual axis, and wherein the first virtual axis and the second virtual axis each extend in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis (see Saguya Fig. 4, item 270, the axes are orthogonal to the “Front” axis which is parallel to the optical axis).
Regarding claim 2, Saguya discloses the imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first virtual axis and the second virtual axis are parallel to each other (see Saguya Fig. 4, item 270).
Regarding claim 3, Saguya discloses the imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first connection portion and the second connection portion are at positions shifted from each other along a direction orthogonal to the optical axis (see Saguya Fig. 3, items 271a and 271b are shifted in the “UP” direction with respect to one another.).
Regarding claim 4, Saguya discloses the imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the connection member includes an extending portion extending between the first bent portion and the second bent portion (see Saguya Fig. 6B, item 270b), and a reinforcing plate attached to the extending portion (see Saguya Fig. 6B, items 270a and 270b. See also Saguya paragraph [0123] “Each of the rigid portions (the first and second connection portions 270a and 270c) is made rigid by sticking an insulation reinforcement material such as a glass epoxy resin to a flexible portion (a wiring portion) with a thermosetting adhesive.” The reinforcing member is therefore at least attached to the extending portion via the rigid portions).
Regarding claim 5, Saguya discloses the imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the connection member extends in a first direction from the second connection portion toward the first bent portion, extends in a second direction opposite to the first direction from the first bent portion toward the second bent portion, and extends in the first direction from the second bent portion toward the first connection portion (see Saguya Fig. 4, which shows the “S” shaped configuration of the connecting portion).
Regarding claim 7, Saguya discloses the imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the connection member includes a third connection portion connected to the fixing portion at a position different from the first connection portion, and a plurality of bent portions gently curved between the second connection portion and the third connection portion, wherein the plurality of bent portions include a third bent portion curved about a third virtual axis and a fourth bent portion curved about a fourth virtual axis, and wherein each of the third virtual axis and the fourth virtual axis extends in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis (see Saguya Fig. 7B, item 290 can be construed as a third connection member, the third connection portion attaches to the fixed member and has a “U” bend at one end and a pair of bends less than right-angle bends at the other end, which can be construed as “a plurality of bent portions gently curved between the second connection portion and the third connection portion,” and which are all orthogonal to the optical axis).
Regarding claim 8, Saguya discloses the imaging apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the connection member extends in a first direction from the second connection portion toward the first bent portion, and extends in a second direction from the second connection portion toward the third bent portion (see Saguya Fig. 7B, the second connection portion extends in the “DOWN” direction towards the first bend portion, then extends in the opposite direction towards the third bend portion in item 290).
Regarding claim 9, Saguya discloses the imaging apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the first direction and the second direction are opposite to each other (see Saguya Fig. 7B, items 270 and 290).
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5, and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Katsumata (Pub. No. US 2025/0338017 A1; hereafter Katsumata).
Regarding claim 1, Saguya discloses an imaging apparatus comprising: a fixing portion fixed inside a casing (see Katsumata Fig. 3A, item 220); a movable portion that includes an imaging element and moves in a direction orthogonal to an optical axis with respect to the fixing portion (see Katsumata Fig. 3A, items 230 and 231); and a connection member including a first connection portion connected to the fixing portion and a second connection portion connected to the movable portion (see Katsumata Figs. 3A and 5, item 300), wherein the connection member includes a plurality of bent portions gently curved between the first connection portion and the second connection portion (see Katsumata Fig. 5, item 318), wherein the plurality of bent portions include a first bent portion curved about a first virtual axis and a second bent portion curved about a second virtual axis, and wherein the first virtual axis and the second virtual axis each extend in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis (see Katsumata Fig. 5, item 318, the axes are parallel to the “Y” axis which is orthogonal to the optical axis).
Regarding claim 2, Katsumata discloses the imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first virtual axis and the second virtual axis are parallel to each other (see Katsumata Fig. 5, item 318, all axes of the bends are parallel).
Regarding claim 3, Katsumata discloses the imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first connection portion and the second connection portion are at positions shifted from each other along a direction orthogonal to the optical axis (see Katsumata Fig. 5, items 318, the first and second bends are shifted in the “X” direction with respect to one another.).
Regarding claim 5, Katsumata discloses the imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the connection member extends in a first direction from the second connection portion toward the first bent portion (see Katsumata Fig. 5, which shows the connection member extends in the “X” direction), extends in a second direction opposite to the first direction from the first bent portion toward the second bent portion (see Katsumata Fig. 5, which shows the connection member extends in the “-X” direction), and extends in the first direction from the second bent portion toward the first connection portion (see Katsumata Fig. 5, which shows the connection member extends in the “X” direction after the second bend. Even though the member does another bend, it still meets the claimed limitation of extending in the +X direction “towards” the first connection after the second bend.).
Regarding claim 6, Katsumata discloses the imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the connection member is a heat transfer sheet that transfers heat of the movable portion to the fixing portion (see Katsumata paragraph [0052] “the image blur correction mechanism 240 is provided with a heat-dissipating member 300”).
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) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Saguya in view of Yeh et al. (Pub. No. US 2020/0329179 A1; hereafter Yeh).
Regrading claim 11, Saguya discloses an imaging apparatus comprising: a fixing portion fixed inside a casing (see Saguya Fig. 2, item 100); a movable portion that includes an imaging element and moves in a direction orthogonal to an optical axis with respect to the fixing portion (see Saguya Fig. 2, items 200 and 221); and a connection member including a first connection portion connected to the fixing portion and a second connection portion connected to the movable portion (see Saguya Fig. 3, items 270, 271a and 271b), wherein the connection member includes a plurality of bent portions gently curved between the first connection portion and the second connection portion (see Saguya Figs. 3 and 4, which show item 270).
Saguya does not disclose that the first bent portion is spirally curved.
Yeh discloses a connection member including a first connection portion connected to the fixing portion and a second connection portion connected to the movable portion (see Yeh Fig. 1, items 181 and 182b), wherein the connection member includes a plurality of bent portions gently curved between the first connection portion and the second connection portion, wherein the first bent portion is spirally curved (see Yeh Fig. 1, item 18).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to provide the connecting portion of Saguya as a spirally connected portion like that in Yeh in order to enable the image sensor to move axially along the optical axis and to tilt, as taught by Yeh, in addition to the lateral movement disclosed in Saguya.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10 and 12-14 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NOAM S REISNER whose telephone number is (571)270-7542. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00AM-5:30PM.
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/NOAM REISNER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852 3/5/2026