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 .
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 WO 2021/251426 A1.
WO 2021/251426 A1 discloses a lens unit (Fig. 1, lens unit 11) including an optical element having at least a lens group formed by arranging a plurality of lenses (13, 14) along an optical axis (O) and a lens barrel (lens tube 12) having an inner accommodation space accommodating and holding the optical element (see lenses are disposed in an inner accommodation space), the lens
group including a first lens (13) located closest to an object side and a second lens (14) adjacent to the first lens on an image side, and an inter-lens space (inter-lens space S1) being formed between the first lens (13) and the second lens (14), the lens unit comprising:
a seal portion (40, 42, 44, 60B) that prevents entry of water vapor into the inter-lens space (S1),
wherein the seal portion forms a two-stage seal including an object-side sealing material (40) that seals a gas flow path toward the inter-lens space so as to block the gas flow path on an object side, and an image-side sealing material (42, 44, 60B) that seals a gas flow path toward the inter-lens space so as to block the gas flow path on an image side.
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.
Claims 2-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2021/251426 A1 in view of Inaba et al (US 2022/0146777 A1).
Regarding claim 2, WO 2021/251426 A1 discloses the claimed invention as set forth above except for wherein the object-side sealing material of the seal portion includes an adhesive layer that adheres annular seat surfaces of the first lens and the second lens facing each other in the optical axis direction in an airtight state so that the inside of the inter-lens space is sealed to an outside thereof,
and the image-side sealing material of the seal portion includes an adhesive, an O-ring, or a water absorber interposed between the optical element and the lens barrel.
Inaba discloses the object-side sealing material of the seal portion (Fig. 1 and para 73, 40) includes an adhesive layer (para 73 “as an adhesion medium 40 used in the present embodiment, it is possible to use, for example, an acrylic adhesive, an epoxy adhesive, or an olefin adhesive, hereinafter, in the present specification, an acrylic-based adhesive is an adhesive containing 50% by weight or more of acrylic resin, an epoxy-based adhesive is an adhesive containing 50% by weight or more of epoxy resin, and an olefin-based adhesive is an adhesive containing 50% by weight or more of olefin resin”) that adheres annular seat surfaces of the first lens (13) and the second lens (14) facing each other in the optical axis direction in an airtight state so that the inside of the inter-lens space (S1) is sealed to an outside thereof (such an adhesion medium 40 is provided outside the effective diameters of the lenses 13, 14).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention before the effective filing date to use adhesive for both the optic-side sealing material and the image-side sealing material of the seal portion to include an adhesive as taught by Inaba for the purpose of filling the micro-gaps and geometric irregularities between the lens seat and the barrel material, ensuring a perfect seal regardless of minor machining variations.
Regarding claim 3, the lens unit according to claim 2, wherein the optical element is a lens
located closest to an image side constituting the lens group (WO 2021/251426 A1, lenses 17, 18).
Regarding claim 4, the lens unit according to claim 3, wherein the lens located closest to the
image side is a meniscus lens, and is loosely fitted to an inner surface of the lens barrel with a predetermined gap in a state where an image-side end of the lens barrel is not sealed (WO 2021/251426 A1, 17 and 18 are not sealed).
Regarding claim 5, the lens unit according to claim 2, wherein the optical element is an intermediate ring interposed between lenses constituting the lens group (WO 2021/251426 A1, lenses 13, 14).
Regarding claim 6, the lens unit according to claim 2, wherein the optical element is a blocking
body that is bonded to an image-side end of the lens barrel and seals the inside of the inner accommodation space with respect to an outside on an image side (WO 2021/251426 A1, lenses 13, 14 are blocking body that is bonded to an image-side end of the lens barrel 12 and seals the inside of the inner accommodating space S1 with respect to an outside on an image side, see Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 7, the lens unit according to claim 2, wherein the object-side sealing material of
the seal portion further includes an O-ring interposed between the first lens and the lens barrel (WO 2021/251426 A1, 40).
Regarding claim 8, Inaba discloses a camera module (para 158 “lens barrel 12 into the in-vehicle camera”) comprising: the lens unit according to claim 1, and an imaging element that converts light condensed through the lens group of the lens unit into an electrical signal (para 70 “the package sensor 304 is arranged inside the mount 302 and is disposed at a position capable of receiving an image of an object formed by the lens unit 11. Further, the package sensor 304 includes CCD, CMOS or the like, and converts a light collected through the lens unit 11 into an electric signal. The converted electrical signal is converted into analog data or digital data, which are components of image data captured by the camera”).
Regarding claim 9, Inaba discloses an in-vehicle system mounted on a vehicle, the in-vehicle system comprising: the camera module according to claim 8; and a controller that processes a captured image output from the imaging element of the camera module and recognizes an object in the captured image (para 70 “the package sensor 304 is arranged inside the mount 302 and is disposed at a position capable of receiving an image of an object formed by the lens unit 11. Further, the package sensor 304 includes CCD, CMOS or the like, and converts a light collected through the lens unit 11 into an electric signal. The converted electrical signal is converted into analog data or digital data, which are components of image data captured by the camera”).
Regarding claim 10, Inaba discloses a mobile body mounted with the in-vehicle system according to claim 9 and an output apparatus outputting information to an occupant (para 70 “the package sensor 304 is arranged inside the mount 302 and is disposed at a position capable of receiving an image of an object formed by the lens unit 11. Further, the package sensor 304 includes CCD, CMOS or the like, and converts a light collected through the lens unit 11 into an electric signal. The converted electrical signal is converted into analog data or digital data, which are components of image data captured by the camera” to a driver of the vehicle), wherein the controller is configured to output recognition information of the object to the output apparatus (information sensed by sensor).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EUNCHA P CHERRY whose telephone number is (571)272-2310. The examiner can normally be reached M to F 7am to 3:30pm.
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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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5/30/2026
/EUNCHA P CHERRY/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872
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