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 .
The instant application having Application No. 18/872,356 filed on 12/6/2024 is presented for examination by the examiner.
Examiner Notes
Examiner cites particular columns and line numbers in the references as applied to the claims below for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested that, in preparing responses, the applicant fully consider the references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the examiner.
Priority
As required by e M.P.E.P. 210, 200, 214, acknowledgement is made of applicant’s claim for priority based on application KR10-2022-0069451 (Republic of Korea).
Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the wing hole, upper portion, lower portion, and side portion must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. 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 § 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 1, 3, 4, 7, and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee (KR 20220052570 A)(see attached machine translation), in view of Wang (CN 114553987 A)(see attached machine translation).
Regarding claim 1, Lee discloses a camera actuator, in at least Figures 1-8, comprising:
a housing (100 "base", Figures 1 and 3);
a lens assembly (700 "second lens assembly", Figure 3) which moves in an optical axis direction from the housing (100 "base", first paragraph of page 4 of translation states "The first driving coil and the first driving magnet of the first driving unit 220 apply a first driving force for moving the second lens assembly 700 in the optical axis direction along the rail of the first guide unit 300");
a ball part (740 "first rolling member", Figure 7) positioned between the housing (100 "base") and the lens assembly (700 "second lens assembly", page 11, paragraph 6 of translation states "The first rolling member 740 includes a single or a plurality of first balls 741 disposed on an upper side of the first driving unit housing 720 , and a single or a plurality of second balls disposed on a lower side of the first driving unit housing 720", page 11, paragraph 5 of translation states "the first rolling member 740 disposed between the second lens assembly 700 and the first guide part 300", page 4, paragraph 4 of translation states "The rail guide part 500 may include a first guide part 300 disposed on one side of the base 100"); and
a driving part (220 "first driving unit", Figure 11) which moves the lens assembly (700 "second lens assembly", first paragraph of page 4 of translation states "The first driving unit 220 may include a first driving coil and a first driving magnet … The first driving coil and the first driving magnet of the first driving unit 220 apply a first driving force for moving the second lens assembly 700 in the optical axis direction along the rail of the first guide unit 300"),
wherein the lens assembly (700 "second lens assembly") includes a lens holder (710 "second lens barrel", Figure 7) including at least one lens (730 "second lens group", first paragraph of page 11 of translation states "the second lens assembly 700 includes a second lens barrel 710 in which the second lens group 730 is disposed", Figure 7), a rail part (720 "first driving unit housing", Figure 8) including a side plate (see examiner's first markup of Figure 8) on which the ball part (740 "first rolling member") is mounted (page 12, paragraph 2 of translation states "the second lens assembly 700 may include a first ball groove 750 in which the first rolling member 740 is disposed") and a wing part (see examiner's first markup of Figure 8) extending from the side plate (see examiner's first markup of Figure 8).
Below is an examiner’s first markup of Figure 8 of Lee pointing out a side plate, a wing part, and a wing hole.
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However, Lee does not disclose an adhesive member disposed between the rail part and the lens holder.
Wang teaches an adhesive member (“adhesive layer”) disposed between the rail part (13 “carrier body”) and the lens holder (21 “lens”, page 10, paragraph 7 of translation states “the lens 21 and the carrier body 13 through the adhesive layer is fixed”).
Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the camera actuator of Lee modified by an adhesive member disposed between the rail part and the lens holder, as taught by Wang, in order to fix the layers together and simplify the lens movement system (page 10, paragraph 7 of translation).
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Lee and Wang disclose all the limitations of claim 1 and Lee further discloses wherein the wing part (see examiner’s first markup of Figure 8) is disposed on a front end or rear end of the lens holder (710 "second lens barrel", examiner's markup of Figure 8 shows that the wing part is disposed on a front end of 710 "lens barrel").
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Lee and Wang disclose all the limitations of claim 3 and Lee further discloses wherein the wing part (see examiner’s first markup of Figure 8) includes a wing hole (see examiner’s first markup of Figure 8).
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Lee and Wang disclose all the limitations of claim 3 and Lee further discloses wherein a thickness of each of an upper portion (see examiner’s second markup of Figure 8) and a lower portion (see examiner’s second markup of Figure 8) in the wing part (see examiner’s first and second markup of Figure 8) differs from a thickness of a side portion (see examiner’s second markup of Figure 8) in the wing part (see examiner’s second markup of Figure 8 which shows that a thickness of each of an upper portion and a lower portion in the wing part differs from a thickness of a side portion in the wing part).
Below is an examiner’s second markup of Figure 8 of Lee pointing out an upper portion, a lower portion, a side portion, and a wing part.
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Regarding claim 9, the combination of Lee and Wang disclose all the limitations of claim 1 and Lee further discloses wherein the wing part (see examiner’s first markup of Figure 8) is disposed above or under the lens holder (710 "second lens barrel", examiner's first markup of Figure 8 shows that the wing part is disposed above and under 710 "lens barrel").
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee (KR 20220052570 A)(see attached machine translation), in view of Wang (CN 114553987 A)(see attached machine translation), and further in view of Bae (KR 20160051955 A)(see attached machine translation).
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Lee and Wang disclose all the limitations of claim 3, however Lee does not disclose wherein the adhesive member has a closed loop or open loop structure.
Kim teaches wherein the adhesive member (“insulating adhesive member”) has a closed loop or open loop structure (page 3, paragraph 7 of translation states “The nozzle unit 122 may be driven by a separate driving unit to apply the adhesive to the substrate assembly 1 in a closed loop manner”).
Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the camera actuator of Lee modified by wherein the adhesive member has a closed loop or open loop structure, as taught by Kim, in order to improve efficiency.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 6, 8, and 10 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:
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Lee and Wang disclose all the limitations of claim 1, however Lee does not disclose wherein the wing part is in contact with the adhesive member and the side plate.
Lee (KR 20220052570 A), Wang (CN 114553987 A), and Bae (KR 20160051955 A), either singularly or in combination, do not disclose or suggest wherein the wing part is in contact with the adhesive member and the side plate, among other claim limitations.
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Lee and Wang disclose all the limitations of claim 3, however Lee does not disclose wherein the adhesive member includes a member hole.
Lee (KR 20220052570 A), Wang (CN 114553987 A), and Bae (KR 20160051955 A), either singularly or in combination, do not disclose or suggest wherein the adhesive member includes a member hole, among other claim limitations.
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Lee and Wang disclose all the limitations of claim 3, however Lee does not disclose wherein the wing part, the adhesive member, and the lens holder overlap in the optical axis direction.
Lee (KR 20220052570 A), Wang (CN 114553987 A), and Bae (KR 20160051955 A), either singularly or in combination, do not disclose or suggest wherein the wing part, the adhesive member, and the lens holder overlap in the optical axis direction, among other claim limitations.
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Lee and Wang disclose all the limitations of claim 9, however Lee does not disclose wherein the adhesive member overlaps the wing part and the lens holder.
Lee (KR 20220052570 A), Wang (CN 114553987 A), and Bae (KR 20160051955 A), either singularly or in combination, do not disclose or suggest wherein the adhesive member overlaps the wing part and the lens holder, among other claim limitations.
Contact Information
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to the applicant’s disclosure.
Aizawa (KR 20160009866 A)(see attached machine translation) discloses a camera module which slides using ball guides.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALAINA M SWANSON whose telephone number is (703)756-5809. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri, 7:30am-4:00pm.
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 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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/ALAINA MARIE SWANSON/Examiner, Art Unit 2872
/WILLIAM R ALEXANDER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872
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