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 statement (IDS) submitted on 7/2/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sawanobori et al. US 2002/0091478.
Re claim 1, Sawanobori discloses a blade open-close device (1), comprising: an elongated member (partition 30) having an opening (31) on an optical axis of an optical unit (lens 3) and extending in an intersecting direction intersecting with an optical axis direction in which the optical axis of the optical unit extends (figures 1-3; paragraphs 26-29); a blade (50) movable in the intersecting direction, the blade (50) being configured to cover or uncover the opening (31) (driving actuator 70 moves blade 50 in x direction to cover and uncover opening 31) (figures 1-3, 7A, 7B; paragraphs 31-32, 47-50); a drive (driving actuator 70) configured to move the blade (50)to one of a closing position to cover the opening (31) or an opening position to uncover the opening (31) (driving actuator 70 moves blade 50 in x direction to cover and uncover opening 31) (figures 1-3, 7A, 7B; paragraphs 31-32, 47-50); a transmission member (cam plate 60, connecting part 76, drive lever 75) configured to transmit a driving force generated by the drive (70) to the blade (50) (driving actuator 70 moves blade 50 in x direction to cover and uncover opening 31) (figures 1-3, 7A, 7B; paragraphs 31-32, 47-50); a body (base 10) in which the elongated member (30), the blade (50), the drive (70), and the transmission member (60, 75, 76) are located (figures 1-7B; paragraphs 26-32, 47-50); and a restrictor (80) configured to restrict movement of the blade (50) in the intersecting direction (stopper actuator 80 restricts operation of driving actuator 70 for moving blade 50) (figure 4; paragraph 32), wherein the elongated member (30) and the transmission member (60, 75, 76) are located between the body (10) and the blade (50) in the optical axis direction, the body (upper surface of base 10) has a facing surface facing the elongated member (30) and the transmission member (60, 75, 76) (figures 1-4), and the restrictor is located on the facing surface (stopper actuator 80 is located on upper surface of base 10)(figures 2,4; paragraphs 32, 34).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-10 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:
Re claims 2-10, the prior art fails to teach or suggest a blade open-close device having the specific configurations disclosed in claims 2-10, wherein the blade open-close device comprises: a blade open-close device, comprising: an elongated member having an opening on an optical axis of an optical unit and extending in an intersecting direction intersecting with an optical axis direction in which the optical axis of the optical unit extends; a blade movable in the intersecting direction, the blade being configured to cover or uncover the opening; a drive configured to move the blade to one of a closing position to cover the opening or an opening position to uncover the opening; a transmission member configured to transmit a driving force generated by the drive to the blade; a body in which the elongated member, the blade, the drive, and the transmission member are located; and a restrictor configured to restrict movement of the blade in the intersecting direction, wherein the elongated member and the transmission member are located between the body and the blade in the optical axis direction, the body has a facing surface facing the elongated member and the transmission member, and the restrictor is located on the facing surface, wherein the restrictor includes a first restrictor and a second restrictor, the first restrictor comes in contact with the blade to restrict the movement of the blade, and the second restrictor comes in contact with the transmission member to restrict the movement of the blade. The prior art fails to specifically disclose a blade open-close device including a drive, a transmission member, a body and a restrictor including a first restrictor coming into contact with the blade and a second restrictor coming into contact with the transmission member disposed in the exact configuration disclosed in the claims and specification.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Sawanobori US 2022/0091479 discloses a blade open-close device including a stopper movable between a lock and an unlock position.
Sawanobori et al. US 12,517,416 discloses a blade open-close device including a detector for detecting an opening or closing position.
Yang et al. US 2020/0196142 discloses a privacy protection module for an electronic device including an actuator for driving a lens cover.
Hung US 2021/0349374 discloses a portable electronic device including a drivable lens shutting module.
Ushio et al. US 11,921,403 discloses an electronic device including an open-close device for covering a camera module by a blade.
Cho et al. US 2020/0374432 discloses an electronic device including an open-close door device for covering a camera lens.
Ushio et al. US 2021/0033948 discloses a blade open-close device for opening or closing a lens aperture in a camera module.
Ushio et al. US 11,611,687 discloses a blade open-close device for opening or closing a lens aperture in a camera module.
Ushio et al. US 11,758,254 discloses a blade open-close device for opening or closing a lens aperture in a camera module.
Imai et al. US 2022/0021791 discloses an imaging device including a blade operable to switch between an open and closed state to either block or allow light to be incident on an image sensor.
Contacts
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Kelly L. Jerabek whose telephone number is (571) 272-7312. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday (8:00 AM - 5:00 PM).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, George Eng can be reached at (571) 272-7495. The fax phone number for submitting all Official communications is (571) 273-7300. The fax phone number for submitting informal communications such as drafts, proposed amendments, etc., may be faxed directly to the Examiner at (571) 273-7312.
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/KELLY L JERABEK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2699