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 .
Specification
The objection to the title of the invention made in the previous office action has been withdrawn in view of the amendment. And the new title of the invention filed on 09/08/2026 has been acknowledged.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) [1-13 and 15-17] have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Drawings
Applicant further argued on his remark filed on 09/08/2026 on a substance that “As a preliminary matter, Applicants note that FIG. 5 is not discussed/described in the "Background" section of the application. Further, FIG. 5 illustrates the temperature distribution of an example camera module when the heating member generates heat in the camera module of a comparative example that does not include an insulating member. A figure that illustrates a comparative example in a U.S. patent application does not automatically have to be labeled as "Prior Art."
Examiner respectfully disagrees: per MPEP § 608.02(g). Figures showing the prior art are usually unnecessary and should be canceled. Ex parte Elliott, 1904 C.D. 103, 109 OG 1337 (Comm’r Pat. 1904). However, where needed to understand applicant’s invention, they may be retained if designated by a legend such as "Prior Art." . And hence applicant’s disclosure in paragraph [0076] of the current PGPB discloses “FIG. 5, illustrates the temperature distribution of the example camera module when the heating member generates heat in the camera module of the comparative example that does not include the insulating member.” Thus, Fig.5 is used to illustrate applicant’s invention by comparison, and therefore should be labeled by a legend “prior art or comparative example”. In order to show that Fig. 5 is not applicant’s current invention or work. In general if a comparative example drawing in patent application is intended to show existing technology (prior art) rather than Applicant’s own current invention, it should be labeled with a legend such as “Prior Art” in compliance with MPEP § 608.02(g). Hence the objection to the drawing made in the previous office action is believed to be proper’ And thus maintained.
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.
Claim(s) [1-13 and 15-17] is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park (2022/0163751) in view of GU(US. 2020/0116994).
Reclaim [1] Park discloses A camera module (see 1020 fig. 23 and ¶0141, a camera device 102) , comprising: a lens barrel which accommodates a lens (see 1100 fig. 23, the barrel holding the lens in the lens module 1100 as disclosed in ¶0141), and which has a first surface disposed along a circumference of the lens barrel and faces a direction parallel to an optical axis (see the elongated circular surface of 1100 as depicted in fig. 23 which is also parallel to the optical axis); a housing in which the lens barrel is disposed (see 1200 fig. 23); an insulating member which has a second surface that faces the direction parallel to the optical axis (see 1820 figs 23 and fig. 26, as depicted in fig. 23the upper surface of the heat insulator is parallel to the optical axis), and disposed along the circumference of the lens barrel (see 1820 and 1100 fig. 23); and a heating member which has a third surface and a fourth surface that oppose each other (see figs. 23 and 25-26, 1700, 1710, the top and bottom surface as for example depicted in fig. 26, by the virtue of being 2D surface), and each of the third surface and the fourth surface face the direction parallel to the optical axis (see 1710 as depicted in fig. 25 each surface parallel to the optical axis), and the heating member is disposed on the insulating member along the circumference of the lens barrel (see 1710, 1820 fig. 26,), the bottom surface of 1710 which is on 1820 as depicted in fig. 26).
Park doesn’t seem to explicitly disclose the first surface of the lens barrel is disposed on the third surface of the heating member.
Nonetheless in the same field of endeavor Gu discloses a camera module as park (see Gu fig. 2). Gu further discloses the first surface of the lens barrel is disposed on the third surface of the heating member. (see ¶0058 and fig. 5, according to the present exemplary embodiment, the heat generating member 150 is interposed between the first opening part 211 of the upper housing 210 and the lens barrel 230 and autonomously generates heat when electric power is applied to the heat generating member 150.” [as depicted in fig. 5 of the prior art, the elongated member of the lens barrel 230 is equated to the claimed first surface of lens barrel and the upper surface of the heating member 150 is equated to the claimed third surface of the heating member]).
Hence it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have been motivated to modify Park before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, for example by reconfiguring the camera module of Park as for example taught in Gu, since this is an obvious modification to a camera module of Park in order to directly transfer heat to a lens barrel of Park, and thereby removing moisture and frost produced in the camera module of Park swiftly, (see ¶0044).
Reclaim [2], Park as modified further discloses wherein the heating member is in a form of a film (see Park ¶0145, The heating element 1700 may be a transparent heating film, the heater 1710 is part of the heating element as depicted in figs, 25-26) .
Reclaim [3], Park as modified further discloses, wherein the heating member comprises a single layer (see Park 1710 fig. 26, is a single layer [the claim language requires including but not to limited to a single layer]).
Reclaim [4], Park as modified further discloses, wherein the lens barrel is inserted into the heating member (see Park fig. 23, when assembled as depicted for example in fig. 22).
Reclaim [5], Park as modified further discloses, wherein the heating member is disposed to surround the lens barrel (see Park fig. 23, when assembled as depicted for example in fig. 22).
Reclaim [6], Park as modified further discloses, wherein the lens barrel is inserted into the insulating member (see Park fig. 23, when assembled as depicted for example in fig. 22).
Reclaim [7], Park as modified further discloses, wherein the insulating member is disposed to surround the lens barrel (see Park 1820 fig. 23, see fig. 23, when assembled as depicted for example in fig. 22).
Reclaim [8], Park as modified further discloses, further comprising: a board disposed in the housing (see Park 1300 fig. 23); and a connecting member configured to electrically connect the heating member and the board to each other (see Park ¶0146, The connection terminal 1720 may be electrically connected to the substrate 1300 through the connection member 1320) .
Reclaim [9], Park as modified further discloses, wherein the lens barrel (see Park 1100), the heating member (see Park 1710), the insulating member (see Park 1820), and the housing are sequentially disposed in the optical axis direction (see Park figs. 23 and 26 [as depicted in fig. 26 1710 is disposed on the top of the insulating element 1820]).
Reclaim [10], Park as modified further discloses, wherein the first surface extends in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis (see Park the surface of 110 extended along the x axis as depicted in fig. 23 is substantially perpendicular to the optical axis).
Reclaim [11], Park as modified further discloses, wherein the second surface extends in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis. (see Park the surface of 1820 extended along the x axis as depicted in fig. 26 is substantially perpendicular to the optical axis).
Reclaim [12], Park as modified further discloses, wherein the first surface of the lens barrel is in contact with the heating member (see Park figs 22 and 23, when assemble as depicted in fig. 22).
Reclaim [13], Park as modified further discloses, wherein the second surface of the insulating member is in contact with the heating member (see Park 1820, 1710 as depicted in fig. 26).
Reclaim [15], Park as modified further discloses, wherein the insulating member has a shape corresponding to a shape of the heating member (see Park 1710 and 1820 fig. 26, both substantially oval).
Reclaim [16], Park as modified further discloses, wherein the heating member extends in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis (see Park the surface of 1710 extended along the x axis as depicted in fig. 26 is substantially perpendicular to the optical axis).
Reclaim [17], Park as modified further discloses, wherein the first surface of the lens barrel is a stepped surface (see Park the elevated portion of 1100, as depicted in figs 22 and 23).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim [14] is 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
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AHMED A BERHAN whose telephone number is (571)270-5094. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00Am-5:00pm (MAX- Flex).
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/AHMED A BERHAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2639
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