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 statements (IDS’s) submitted on 8/6/2024, 4/15/2025, 5/6/2025, and 1/26/2026 were filed in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are 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(s) 1-3, 7, and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chou et al (US 2020/0116973 A1).
In regard to claim 1, Chou et al discloses a lens module (page 2, section [0036], Figure 1A, “100”), comprising: a lens barrel (Figure 1A, “140”); a lens disposed within the lens barrel (Figure 1A, “150”); and a gap maintaining portion disposed within the lens barrel (page 3, section [0042], Figure 1A, “170, 190”), and further disposed between a side surface of the lens (Figure 1A, “160”) and an inner peripheral surface of the lens barrel (Figure 1A, “140”), wherein a protruding portion (page 3, section [0042] & page 4, section [0056] – page 5, section [0058], Figures 1A, 1B, 1G, “168”), that protrudes toward the inner peripheral surface of the lens barrel (Figure 1A, “140”), is disposed on the side surface of the lens (Figures 1A, 1G, “160”), and wherein a groove in which the protruding portion is disposed is formed in the gap maintaining portion (page 3, section [0042] & page 4, section [0054], Figure 1A, re: magnified circle, “160, 170, 190”).
Regarding claim 2, Chou et al discloses wherein the groove has a shape that corresponds to a shape of the protruding portion (Figure 1A, “160, 170, 190”).
Regarding claim 3, Chou et al discloses wherein the gap maintaining portion comprises: a first gap maintaining portion (page 3, section [0042], Figure 1A, “170”); and a second gap maintaining portion disposed above the first gap maintaining portion (page 3, section [0042], Figure 1A, “190”), wherein the groove is disposed between the first gap maintaining portion and the second gap maintaining portion (Figure 1A, “160, 170, 190”).
Regarding claim 7, Chou et al discloses wherein the protruding portion comprises: a first inclined surface in contact with the first gap maintaining portion; and a second inclined surface in contact with the second gap maintaining portion, wherein the first inclined surface and the second inclined surface are connected to each other (page 5, section [0058], Figures 1A, 1G, re: inner and outer inclined surfaces of wedge shape structures “163, 168”).
In regard to claim 14, Chou et al discloses a lens module (page 2, section [0036], Figure 1A, “100”), comprising: a lens barrel (Figure 1A, “140”); a lens disposed within the lens barrel (Figure 1A, “150”); a first gap maintaining portion (page 3, section [0042], Figure 1A, “170”) and a second gap maintaining portion (page 3, section [0042], Figure 1A, “190”) disposed within the lens barrel (Figure 1A, “140”) and stacked in an optical axis direction (Figure 1A, “170, 190”), wherein a side surface of the lens is in contact with an inner surface of the first gap maintaining portion and an inner surface of the second gap maintaining portion (Figure 1A, “160, 170, 190”).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-6, 8-13, and 15-19 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 a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art fails to teach a combination of all the claimed features as presented in claim 4: a lens module as claimed, specifically wherein the protruding portion comprises an inclined surface of which a distance from an optical axis increases from an object side to an image side.
The prior art fails to teach a combination of all the claimed features as presented in claim 5: a lens module as claimed, specifically wherein the protruding portion comprises a first inclined surface of which a distance from an optical axis increases from an object side to an image side; and a second inclined surface of which a distance from the optical axis decreases from the object side to the image side, wherein the first inclined surface and the second inclined surface are connected on a side extending from the optical axis.
The prior art fails to teach a combination of all the claimed features as presented in claim 6: a lens module as claimed, specifically wherein a width of a cross-section of the protruding portion parallel to an optical axis narrows as a distance from the optical axis increases.
The prior art fails to teach a combination of all the claimed features as presented in claims 8 and 9: a lens module as claimed, specifically wherein the protruding portion comprises: a first protruding portion that extends directly from the side surface of the lens; and a second protruding portion that extends directly from the first protruding portion, wherein a cross-section of the second protruding portion has a width parallel to an optical axis which narrows as a distance from the optical axis increases.
The prior art fails to teach a combination of all the claimed features as presented in claim 10: a lens module as claimed, specifically wherein the protruding portion is formed with a recessed groove that is formed to be concave from an object side to an image side, and the first gap maintaining portion comprises a step portion disposed in the recessed groove.
The prior art fails to teach a combination of all the claimed features as presented in claims 11 and 12: a lens module as claimed, specifically wherein the protruding portion comprises a first recessed groove that is formed to be concave from an object side to an image side, and a second recessed groove that is formed to be concave from the image side to the object side, wherein the first gap maintaining portion comprises: a first step portion disposed in the first recessed groove; and a second step portion disposed in the second recessed groove.
The prior art fails to teach a combination of all the claimed features as presented in claim 13: a lens module as claimed, specifically wherein the protruding portion comprises: a first protruding portion that extends directly from the side surface of the lens; and a second protruding portion that extends directly from the first protruding portion, wherein a cross-section of the first protruding portion has a width, parallel to an optical axis, that narrows as a distance from the optical axis increases.
The prior art fails to teach a combination of all the claimed features as presented in claims 15 and 16: a lens module as claimed, specifically wherein the lens comprises an optical portion and a flange portion disposed at an edge of the optical portion, wherein the first gap maintaining portion comprises a first step portion that protrudes in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction from inside of the first gap maintaining portion, and wherein the flange portion and the first step portion overlap in the optical axis direction.
The prior art fails to teach a combination of all the claimed features as presented in claim 17: a lens module as claimed, specifically wherein the second gap maintaining portion comprises a second step portion that protrudes from inside of the second gap maintaining portion in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction, and wherein the second step portion overlaps the lens in the optical axis direction.
The prior art fails to teach a combination of all the claimed features as presented in claims 18 and 19: a lens module as claimed, specifically wherein a seating groove formed to be concave in the optical axis direction is disposed on an upper surface of the first gap maintaining portion, and the second gap maintaining portion comprises a protruding portion disposed in the seating groove.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WILLIAM C CHOI whose telephone number is (571)272-2324. The examiner can normally be reached Monday- Friday, 9:00 am - 6:00 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Pinping Sun can be reached at (571) 270-1284. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WILLIAM CHOI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872 June 9, 2026
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