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 statement (IDS) submitted on 12/2/2024 was considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(4) because for Fig. 2, reference character “300” has been used to designate both the “carrier” and the “base”. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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)(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.
Claims 1, 2, and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Park et al. (US 2023/0236385).
Regarding Claim 1, Park discloses an actuator for a camera (Fig. 2), comprising:
a carrier (Fig. 2, lens holder 142, Paragraph 0074);
a magnet (Fig. 2, stabilizing magnet 144a towards the right, Paragraph 0075) installed on the carrier;
a base configured to accommodate the carrier (Fig. 2, housing 110, Paragraph 0064);
a coil configured to face the magnet (Fig. 2, stabilizing coil 144b, Paragraph 0075); and
a back yoke (See annotated Fig. 2 below) provided at a rear of the magnet and installed on the carrier,
wherein the back yoke includes:
a body plate (See annotated Fig. 2 below) provided at the rear of the magnet; and
a cover (See annotated Fig. 2 below) configured to protrude from the body plate toward the coil to cover a side surface of the magnet while forming a gap (See annotated Fig. 2 below) with the side surface of the magnet.
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Regarding Claim 2, Park discloses as is set forth above and further discloses wherein the carrier includes:
a first carrier (Fig. 2, carrier 131, Paragraphs 0068-0071, Paragraph 0062, autofocus) configured to move in an optical axis direction and having an autofocusing (AF) magnet installed thereon (Paragraphs 0066-0067); and
a second carrier (Fig. 2, lens holder 142, Paragraph 0074) configured to move in a plane direction perpendicular to an optical axis and having an optical image stabilization (OIS) magnet installed thereon (Paragraphs 0073-0077),
wherein the back yoke is provided at a rear of the OIS magnet (Fig. 2, the back yoke, as shown in annotated Fig. 2 above, is at the rear of stabilization magnet 144a).
Regarding Claim 3, Park discloses as is set forth above and further discloses wherein the OIS magnet is provided in plurality at orthogonal positions, and wherein the back yoke is provided at a rear of an OIS magnet that is disposed at a position close to the AF magnet among the plurality of OIS magnets (Fig. 2, there are at least three back yokes, as shown in annotated Fig. 2 above, is at the rear of 2 stabilization magnets 144a and one stabilization magnet 145a, Paragraph 0075).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4 and 5 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: with respect to the allowable subject matter, none of the prior art either alone or in combination disclose or teach of the claimed combination of limitations to warrant a rejection under 35 USC 102 or 103.
Specifically, with respect to claim 4, none of the prior art either alone or in combination disclose or teach an actuator including, as the distinguishing feature(s) in combination with the other limitations, wherein further comprising: a pulling yoke configured to generate an attractive force with the OIS magnet, wherein the cover covers side surfaces of the OIS magnet except for a side surface of the OIS magnet facing the pulling yoke so that a part of the OIS magnet facing the pulling yoke is exposed.
Specifically, with respect to claim 5, none of the prior art either alone or in combination disclose or teach an actuator including, as the distinguishing feature(s) in combination with the other limitations, wherein further comprising: a pulling yoke configured to generate an attractive force with the OIS magnet, wherein a part of the cover that is disposed in a direction toward the pulling yoke has one or more holes or openings formed therein.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Seo et al. (US 2019/0058817), Park et al. (US 2018/0343370), Park et al. (US 12,025,851), Park et al. (US 2023/0049848), and Park et al. (US 2020/0310079) are cited to show similar camera actuators but do not meet the claim limitations detailed in the allowable subject matter above.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WILLIAM R ALEXANDER whose telephone number is (571)270-7656. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30 AM- 4:00 PM.
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, Pinping Sun can be reached on (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 R ALEXANDER/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872
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