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
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 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Smith(US 7373684 B1).
Regarding Claim 18 SMITH teaches a cleaning device, comprising: a lens receiving portion (space in b/n brushes 35 and pads 30 see Fig 1) configured to receive a lens assembly (40) that includes a first lens (40), a second lens (40), and a waveguide (see Fig below, any physical structure can be described as a waveguide since it is able to reflect light) assembled in a stacked configuration where the first lens (40) is positioned opposite the second lens (40), and the waveguide (see Fig below) is located between the first lens and the second lens (Fig 1); a first cleaning element (35) configured to contact and conform to the first lens (40) (Fig 1); a second cleaning element (30) configured to contact and conform to the second lens (40) (Fig 1); and a controller (20,26) configured to control operation of the first cleaning element (35) and the second cleaning element (30) in a manner that limits deformation of the first lens and the second lens (40) relative to the waveguide (see Fig below, the geometrical arrangement of first and second cleaning element 30,35 coupled with the operation of on/off device 20 prevents deformation of the lenses 40 see Fig 1).
Allowable subject matter
Claims 19-20 are objected but would be allowable if rewritten to include all the limitations of the base claims and all the intervening claims. Claims 1-17 are allowed. Regarding Claims 1-17 Smith remains silent regarding the following limitations a sensor configured to output a force signal that represents a force applied by the first cleaning element; and a controller operable to control operation of the first cleaning element based on the force signal. Smith also remains silent regarding a bladder configured to hold a gas; a sensor coupled to the bladder and configured to output a signal that represents a pressure of the gas in the bladder; a second cleaning element positioned on a second side of the lens assembly and configured to contact the second side of the lens assembly; and a controller operable to control operation of the first cleaning element based on the pressure.
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Conclusion
Prior art made of record not relied up on is pertinent to applicant’s disclosure. Rincon (WO 2021034869), Wang (CN 111359920 A), Zhang (CN 109557684 A), Yongzhong (CN 108957762 A) and Wang (CN 108897146) all teach optical cleaning devices that are pertinent to the claimed invention but they all remain silent on the above missing limitations.
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/ABIY TEKA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3745
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