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 .
Terminal Disclaimer
The terminal disclaimer filed on 24 January 2026 disclaiming the terminal portion of any patent granted on this application which would extend beyond the expiration date of U.S. Patent No. 12,081,857 has been reviewed and is accepted. The terminal disclaimer has been recorded.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 24 January 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues with respect to the claims that the prior art does not teach or suggest the technical feature “the first reflecting member comprises at least two reflecting surfaces” of claim 1.
However, Examiner respectfully disagrees. Each surface of a prism can be considered a reflecting surface. See, for example, Fig. 4A of Konno (US 2007/0024739 A1) reproduced below. Konno is not relied upon for the rejection of the claims, but the ray diagram of Fig. 4A of Konno is presented here as an illustration of how the surfaces of a prism reflect light.
PNG
media_image1.png
419
556
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Figure 4A of Konno depicts a prism having similar geometry to that of prism 204 of Sharma (US 2022/0214598 A1). Surfaces 1011b and 1011c are both reflecting surfaces. Although there are no ray diagrams showing this reflection in Sharma, it is inherent in the prism of Sharma that the surfaces of said prism exhibit the same reflecting properties. That is, prism 204 comprises a first and second surface that have light reflecting properties. Thus, the claims of the instant application remain rejected in view of Sharma.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
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)(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, 6, 7, and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Sharma (US 2022/0214598 A1).
Claim 1, Sharma teaches camera module, comprising:
an imaging lens assembly for receiving an incident light on an image surface (lens group 102; paragraph 0036 and Fig. 1);
an image sensor (image sensor package 108; paragraph 108 and Fig. 1);
a first reflecting member configured to fold and direct the incident light toward the image sensor (first prism 104 folds light such that light is directed to the lens group 102 and second prism 106 and towards image sensor package 108; paragraph 0036); and
a first driving apparatus configured to drive the first reflecting member moving relative to the imaging lens assembly and the image sensor (OIS-X VCM actuator 232 is configured to move the first prism 204; paragraph 0047);
wherein the first reflecting member comprises at least two reflecting surfaces (a prism such as that of prism 204 inherently has more than one reflecting surface);
wherein the first driving apparatus is further configured to perform an autofocus function for the camera module (actuator module is configured to move the first prism to provide autofocus; paragraph 0036).
Claim 2, Sharma further teaches wherein when the first reflecting member moves close to the image sensor, the first reflecting member simultaneously moves close to the imaging lens assembly; when the first reflecting member moves away from the image sensor, the first reflecting member simultaneously moves away from the imaging lens assembly (lens group 102 and image sensor 108 are on the same side of prism 104. Thus, when prism 104 moves towards the image sensor 108, the prism 104 also moves toward lens group 102 and vice versa; see Figs. 1-2).
Claim 3, Sharma further teaches wherein the first reflecting member further comprises an incident surface and an exiting surface (a prism inherently has an incident surface defined as the surface on which light enters and an exiting surface from which light departs), and at least one of the incident surface and the exiting surface has an aspheric surface (see planar surface of prism 204 in Fig. 2B).
Claim 6, Sharma further teaches wherein a length of the camera module is L, a width of the camera module is W, and the following condition is satisfied: 0.7<L/W<3.5 (see illustrations of Fig. 2 wherein the ratio of L/W is approximately 2).
Claim 7, Sharma further teaches wherein the length of the camera module is L, the width of the camera module is W, and the following condition is satisfied: 0.8<L/W<2.5 (see illustrations of Fig. 2 wherein the ratio of L/W is approximately 2).
Claim 9, Sharma further teaches an electronic device, comprising:
the camera module of claim 1 (see computer system 900 of Fig. 9 and paragraph 0108).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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) 4 and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sharma in view of Georgiev (US 2015/0370040 A1).
Claim 4, Sharma teaches the camera module of claim 1, but is silent regarding wherein a refractive index of the first reflecting member at a d-line is N, and the following condition is satisfied: 1.66≤N<2.5.
Georgiev teaches wherein a refractive index of a prism is n=2 (paragraph 0064).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have used the teaching of Georgiev with that of Sharma in order to reflect and direct light such that the lenses of Sharma can property focus light onto the image sensor (see paragraph 0065 of Georgiev and Fig. 2 of Sharma).
Claim 5, Sharma teaches the camera module of claim 4, but is silent regarding wherein the refractive index of the first reflecting member at the d-line is N, and the following condition is satisfied: 1.7≤N<2.5.
Georgiev teaches wherein a refractive index of a prism is n=2 (paragraph 0064).
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sharma in view of Mireault (US 2022/0321746 A1).
Claim 8, Sharma teaches the camera module of claim 1, but is silent regarding wherein the first driving apparatus further comprises a rolling member for driving the first reflecting member moving along a first translational degrees of freedom relative to the imaging lens assembly and the image sensor.
Mireault teaches wherein a first driving apparatus further comprises a rolling member (actuator to move first prism 104 on a bearing suspension arrangement; paragraph 0028, 0030) for driving the first reflecting member moving along a first translational degrees of freedom relative to the imaging lens assembly and the image sensor (bearing suspension arrangement allows light path folding elements to move along an X, Y, and Z direction; paragraph 0030).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have used the teaching of Mireault with that of Sharma in order to move optical elements along multiple axes to provide autofocus and/or optical image stabilization functionality (see paragraph 0028 of Mireault).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO-892 attached.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHIAWEI A CHEN whose telephone number is (571)270-1707. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 12:00pm - 9:00pm EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sinh Tran can be reached at (571)272-7564. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/CHIAWEI CHEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2637