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 .
Status Of Claims
Claims 1-11, received 8/18/2024, are pending for examination.
If applicant is aware of any relevant prior art, or other co-pending application not already of record, he/she is reminded of his/her duty under 37 CFR 1.56 to disclose the same.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: at least paragraph [0033] of the specification refers to element 140 as “conductive capacitator plates”, and at least paragraph [0037] of the specification refers to element 140 as “conductive electrode plate”, and at least paragraph [0046] of the specification refers to element 140 as “conductive plate”. The specification should be checked to consistently refer to element 140.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1, 9-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al., CN 112531981 A, of record (hereafter Zhang’981; It is noted that references to the specification of Zhang’981 set forth below are with respect to the numbered pages of the provided English machine translation) in view of Topliss et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2017/0346999 A1 (hereafter Topliss).
Regarding claims 1 and 11, Zhang’981 discloses an anti-shake motor (see at least the abstract on page 1 of the English machine translation of Zhang’981), comprising:
a base (see at least element 6 of Zhang’981);
an anti-shake bracket movably mounted on the base (see at least element 2 of Zhang’981);
a circuit board mounted on the base (see at least element 41 of Zhang’981);
a conductive electrode plate positioned on the circuit board (see at least element 5 of Zhang’981), and the circuit board outputs a capacitance signal of the capacitor (see at least figures 6-7, pages 2-3 and 6-7, “processing unit”, “capacitance signal”, “circuit substrate”, “capacitance detection circuit”, “driving circuit”, “dither signal detection circuit”, “control chip”);
a lens holder connected to the anti-shake bracket, wherein the lens holder has a mounting hole (see at least element 1 of Zhang’981);
a lens disposed within the mounting hole (see at least pages 2, 4 and 8 of the specification of Zhang’981); and
a driving chip electrically connected to the circuit board, wherein the driving chip is configured to receive the capacitive signal and based on the capacitive signal (see at least figures 6-7, pages 2-3 and 6-7, “processing unit”, “capacitance signal”, “circuit substrate”, “capacitance detection circuit”, “driving circuit”, “dither signal detection circuit”, “control chip”).
Zhang’981 further discloses that the anti-shake motor may include a magnet and coil (see at least page 4 of the specification of Zhang’981), and that a dither/jitter motor may be controlled based on a capacitance detection (see at least figures 6-7, pages 2-3 and 6-7 of Zhang’981).
Zhang’981 does not specifically disclose that the anti-shake bracket further comprising a conductive magnetic component, that the circuit board further comprising a coil configured to drive the magnetic component to move the anti-shake bracket within a predetermined plane, or that the conductive electrode plate is positioned opposite the magnetic component to form a capacitor, wherein the magnetic component is electronically connected to the circuit board, or that the driving chip transmits a control signal to the circuit board for controlling the coil.
However, Topliss is related to Zhang’981 as both are related to detection and movement in a camera device (see at least the abstract of Zhang’981, and paragraph [0002] of Topliss), wherein Topliss teaches an anti-shake bracket further comprising a conductive magnetic component (see at least figure 4A of Topliss, magnet component 4006 together with capacitor plates 4010a and/or 4010b; figure 4B, magnet component 4116 together with capacitor plates 4113a and/or 4113b; figure 5, magnet component 5006 together with capacitor plate 5010a), a coil configured to drive the magnetic component to move the anti-shake bracket within a predetermined plane (see at least coils 4004, 4114 and 5005, as well as paras. [0030]-[0032], [0147], [0150], [0152]-[0153], [0160], [0163], [0165]-[0166], [0174], [0177], [0179]-[0180] of Topliss), that a conductive electrode plate is positioned opposite the magnetic component to form a capacitor (see at least figure 5, magnet component 5006 together with capacitor plate 5010b), wherein the magnetic component is electronically connected to a circuit board (see at least elements 4090, 4191, 5090, paras. [0032], [0049]-[0050], [0052]-[0053], [0058], [0157]-[0160], [0170]-[0174], [0184]-[0185], [0188]-[0197] of Topliss), and wherein a control circuit transmits a control signal for controlling a coil (see at least elements 4090, 4191, 5090, paras. [0032], [0049]-[0050], [0052]-[0053], [0058], [0157]-[0160], [0170]-[0174], [0184]-[0185], [0188]-[0197] of Topliss).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to an ordinarily skilled artisan before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the anti-shake apparatus of Zhang’981 to include the teachings of Topliss so that the anti-shake bracket further comprises a conductive magnetic component, wherein the circuit board further comprises a coil configured to drive the magnetic component to move the anti-shake bracket within a predetermined plane, wherein the conductive electrode plate is positioned opposite the magnetic component to form a capacitor, wherein the magnetic component is electronically connected to the circuit board, and wherein the driving chip transmits a control signal to the circuit board for controlling the coil, for the purpose of using known magnet and coil motors to provide optical image stabilization, and using known conductive electrode plate arrangements to provide capacitive position control.
Regarding claim 9, Zhang’981 in view of Topliss discloses an anti-shake motor according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic component comprises a magnet and a metal layer disposed on a surface of the magnet (see at least figure 4A of Topliss, magnet component 4006 together with capacitor plates 4010a and/or 4010b; figure 4B, magnet component 4116 together with capacitor plates 4113a and/or 4113b; figure 5, magnet component 5006 together with capacitor plate 5010a, as well as the combination set forth above with respect to claim 1).
Regarding claim 10, Zhang’981 in view of Topliss discloses an anti-shake motor according to claim 1, further comprising a suspension wire assembly, wherein the anti-shake bracket is connected to and supported on the base by the suspension wire assembly, and the magnetic component is electrically connected to the circuit board via the suspension wire assembly (see at least page 3 of the specification of Zhang’981, additionally these features are disclosed by elements 4020, 4021, 5020 of Topliss).
Claims 2, 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al., CN 112531981 A, of record (hereafter Zhang’981; It is noted that references to the specification of Zhang’981 set forth below are with respect to the numbered pages of the provided English machine translation) in view of Topliss et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2017/0346999 A1 (hereafter Topliss) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Zhang et al., CN 113572938 A, of record (hereafter Zhang’938; It is noted that references to the specification of Zhang’938 set forth below are with respect to the numbered pages of the provided English machine translation).
Regarding claim 2, Zhang’981 in view of Topliss discloses an anti-shake motor according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic component, coil, and conductive electrode plate each comprise a plurality of units (see at least the conductive electrode plates 3 and 5 of Zhang’981, the magnets 406, 4116 and 5006 of Topliss, the coils 4004, 4114 and 5005 of Topliss, the electrode plates 4010a/4010b, 4113a/4113b and 5010a/5010b of Topliss, as well as the combination set forth with respect to claim 1 above), with the magnetic components distributed in a first direction and a second direction, wherein the first direction and the second direction are perpendicular to each other and both parallel to the predetermined plane (see at least the conductive electrode plates 3 and 5 of Zhang’981, the magnets 406, 4116 and 5006 of Topliss, the coils 4004, 4114 and 5005 of Topliss, the electrode plates 4010a/4010b, 4113a/4113b and 5010a/5010b of Topliss, as well as the combination set forth with respect to claim 1 above).
Zhang’981 in view of Topliss does not specifically disclose that each magnetic component corresponds to a coil and a conductive electrode plate.
However, Zhang’938 is related to Zhang’981 as both are related to detection and movement in a camera device (see at least the abstracts of Zhang’981 and Zhang’938), wherein Zhang’938 teaches capacitive sensing elements including electrode plates wherein there may be 4 pairs of electrode plates situated around an optical axis (see at least figures 3 and 4, elements 50, 51, 52, as well as pages 4-6 of the specification of Zhang’938).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to an ordinarily skilled artisan before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the anti-shake apparatus of Zhang’981 in view of Topliss to include the teachings of Zhang’938 so that each magnetic component corresponds to a coil and a conductive electrode plate, for the purpose of using a known conductive electrode plate arrangement to provide capacitive position control while improving performance of the position detection (see at least page 6 of the specification of Zhang’938).
Regarding claim 5, Zhang’981 in view of Topliss and Zhang’938 discloses an anti-shake motor according to claim 2. Topliss further discloses that at least two magnetic components are distributed along the first direction (see at least the magnetic components of figures 4A-5 of Topliss, as well as the combination set forth above with respect to claim 1).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to an ordinarily skilled artisan before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the anti-shake apparatus of Zhang’981 in view of Topliss and Zhang’938 to include the further teachings of Topliss so that at least two magnetic components are distributed along the first direction, for the purpose of using a known magnetic configuration in a voice coil motor actuation device to predictively actuate elements in an anti-shake motor device.
Regarding claim 6, Zhang’981 in view of Topliss and Zhang’938 discloses an anti-shake motor according to claim 2. Topliss further discloses that at least two magnetic components are distributed along the second direction (see at least the magnetic components 3008a/3008b/3008c of figures 3A-3C of Topliss).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to an ordinarily skilled artisan before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the anti-shake apparatus of Zhang’981 in view of Topliss and Zhang’938 to include the further teachings of Topliss so that at least two magnetic components are distributed along the second direction, for the purpose of using a known magnetic configuration in a voice coil motor actuation device to predictively actuate elements in an anti-shake motor device.
Claims 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al., CN 112531981 A, of record (hereafter Zhang’981; It is noted that references to the specification of Zhang’981 set forth below are with respect to the numbered pages of the provided English machine translation) in view of Topliss et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2017/0346999 A1 (hereafter Topliss) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Park et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2025/0234077 A1 (hereafter Park; It is noted that the teachings relied upon in Park appear to be disclosed by foreign priority document KR 10-2021-0145457).
Regarding claim 7, Zhang’981 in view of Topliss discloses an anti-shake motor according to claim 1, wherein the conductive electrode plate is incorporated in a surface of the circuit board (see at least elements 5 and 41 of Zhang’981).
Zhang’981 in view of Topliss does not specifically disclose that the conductive electrode plate is a copper foil incorporated in a surface of the circuit board.
However, Park is also related to a movement device for a camera device (see at least the abstract of Park), wherein Park teaches that various conductive elements may be formed of copper (see at least paras. [0296], [0428]-[0429], [0581], [0591], [0596] of Park)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to an ordinarily skilled artisan before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the anti-shake apparatus of Zhang’981 in view of Topliss to include the teachings of Park so that the conductive electrode plate is a copper foil incorporated in a surface of the circuit board, for the purpose of using a known conductive material in the art to form the conductive electrode plate.
Additionally, it would have been obvious to an ordinarily skilled artisan before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to form the conductive electrode plate from copper foil, since it has been held to be within the ordinary skill of workers in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use. One would have been motivated to form the conductive electrode plate from copper foil, for the purpose of using a known conductive material in the art to form the conductive electrode plate. Sinclair & Carroll Co. v. Interchemical Corp., 325 U.S. 327, 65 USPQ 297 (1945).
Regarding claim 8, Zhang’981 in view of Topliss and Park discloses an anti-shake motor according to claim 7, wherein the conductive electrode plate is positioned between the coil and the magnetic component (see at least figures 4A-5 of Topliss, as well as the combination set forth above with respect to claim 1).
Topliss further teaches that coils may be configured adjacent to magnetic components (see at least figures 4A-5 of Topliss, as well as the combination set forth above with respect to claim 1), and that coils may be configured adjacent to surfaces of circuit boards (see at least figure 7A of Topliss, “FPC Mounted to AF Coil and Lens Carriage”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to an ordinarily skilled artisan before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the anti-shake apparatus of Zhang’981 in view of Topliss and Park to include the further teachings of Park so that the coil is configured adjacent to a surface of the circuit board opposite the magnetic component, for the purpose of using a known voice coil motor configuration which allows control of the coil and actuation of the motor.
Other Related Art
This prior art, made of record, but not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure since the following references have similar structure and/or use similar optical elements to what is claimed and/or disclosed in the instant application:
Sharma et al., US 2023/0148358 A1, discloses capacitor electrodes on the surface of a circuit board (see at least figures 4A-5B, electrodes formed on circuit 130), and capacitor electrodes around 4 sides of a drive device (see at least figure 6);
Sharma et al., US 2017/0054883 A1, discloses coils in various adjacent positions with respect to magnetic elements for driving elements in a camera module (see at least figures 1 and 4, elements 140, 125, 160), and capacitive sensors on a circuit board (see at least figure 4, elements 272a, 270);
Kang et al., US 2015/0207983 A1, discloses a similar anti-shake motor comprising magnets and coils (see at least figures 1A-4, 7), with partial overlap of elements (see at least figures 9-10C, 13-14); and
Zhang et al., US 11,671,709 B2, claims a similar anti-shake motor including a capacitance sensor (claims 1, 3-6).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-4 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 DEREK S. CHAPEL whose telephone number is (571)272-8042. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30am-6pm.
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, Stephone B. Allen can be reached at 571-272-2434. 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.
/Derek S. Chapel/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872 7/10/2026
Derek S. CHAPEL
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2872
Prosecution Insights