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.
Claim(s) 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a as being anticipated by Chen et al (US 10606028)
Regarding Claim 18,
Chen et al discloses (ABSTRACT and Fig. 1) a wide-angle lens assembly comprising: a first lens (L11) which is with negative refractive power (column 4, lines 65-67); a second lens (L12) which is with refractive power (column 5, lines 4-8); a third lens (L13) which is with positive refractive power (column 5, lines 9-13); a fourth lens (L14) which is with negative refractive power and comprises a concave surface facing an image side (column 5, lines 14-18); a fifth lens (L15) which is with refractive power and comprises a convex surface facing the image side (column 5, lines 19-23); and a sixth lens (L16) which is with refractive power and comprises a convex surface facing an object side (column 5, lines 24-29); wherein the first lens, the second lens, the third lens, the fourth lens, the fifth lens, and the sixth lens are arranged in order from the object side (Object side) to the image side (Image side) along an optical axis; the first lens (L11) is a meniscus lens (column 4, lines 65-67); when the first lens is the meniscus lens (column 4, lines 65-67), then the sixth lens (L16) is also a meniscus lens (column 5, lines 24-29); when the first lens (L11) is the biconcave lens (S12), then a shape of an object side surface of the second lens (S13) is similar to a shape of an object side surface (S112) of the six lens (L16), and a shape of an image side surface (S15) of the second lens (L12) is similar to a shape of an image side surface (S113) of the six lens (L16).
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.
Claim(s) 1,15,17, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al (US 10606028) in view of Tsai Hsuing-Yu et al (WO 2021164013 A1)
Regarding Claim 1,
Chen et al discloses (ABSTRACT and Fig. 1) a wide-angle lens assembly comprising: a first lens (L11) which is with negative refractive power (column 4, lines 65-67); a second lens (L12) which is with refractive power (column 5, lines 4-8); a third lens (L13) which is with positive refractive power (column 5, lines 9-13); a fourth lens (L14) which is with negative refractive power and comprises a concave surface facing an image side (column 5, lines 14-18); a fifth lens (L15) which is with refractive power and comprises a convex surface facing the image side (column 5, lines 19-23); and a sixth lens (L16) which is with refractive power and comprises a convex surface facing an object side (column 5, lines 24-29); wherein the first lens, the second lens, the third lens, the fourth lens, the fifth lens, and the sixth lens are arranged in order from the object side (Object side) to the image side (Image side) along an optical axis.
Chen et al does not disclose wherein the wide-angle lens assembly satisfies at least one of following conditions: 1.03 ≤ BFL/f ≤ 1.22; 0.5 ≤ R52/R61 ≤ 1.3; 17.2 degrees/mm ≤ FOV/f ≤ 17.5 degrees/mm; 45 degrees ≤ FOV/Fno ≤ 47 degrees; 2.58 mm ≤ f/Fno ≤ 2.72 mm; wherein f is an effective focal length of the wide-angle lens assembly, R52 is a radius of curvature of an image side surface of the fifth lens, R61 is a radius of curvature of an object side surface of the sixth lens, BFL is an interval from an image side surface of the sixth lens to an image plane along the optical axis, FOV is a maximum field of view of the wide-angle lens assembly, and Fno is a F-number of the wide-angle lens assembly.
Tsai Hsuing-Yu et al discloses wherein the wide-angle lens assembly satisfies at least one of following conditions: 1.03 ≤ BFL/f ≤ 1.22. (“…In some embodiments, the optical system 10 satisfies the following relationship: 0.3＜BFL/f＜1.5;…” which are overlapping ranges)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Chen et al to include Tsai Hsuing-Yu et al discloses wherein the wide-angle lens assembly satisfies at least one of following conditions: 1.03 ≤ BFL/f ≤ 1.22 motivated by the desire to shorten the length of the system (“…When the above relationship is satisfied, the air gap between the lenses in the optical system 10 can be reasonably configured…”)
Regarding Claim 15,
In addition to Chen et al and Hsuing-Yu et al, Hsuing-Yu et al discloses a stop disposed between the third lens and the fourth lens (“…On the other hand, referring to FIG. 13, in some embodiments of the present application, the optical system 10 includes a first lens L1 with negative refractive power, a second lens L2 with positive refractive power, and a second lens L2 with positive refractive power from the object side to the image side. The third lens L3 with refractive power, the stop STO, the fourth lens L4 with refractive power...”)
Regarding Claim 17,
In addition to Chen et al and Hsuing-Yu et al, Chen et al discloses (ABSTRACT and Fig. 1) the first lens (L11) is a meniscus lens (column 4, lines 65-67); when the first lens is the meniscus lens (column 4, lines 65-67), then the sixth lens (L16) is also a meniscus lens (column 5, lines 24-29); when the first lens (L11) is the biconcave lens (S12), then a shape of an object side surface of the second lens (S13) is similar to a shape of an object side surface (S112) of the six lens (L16), and a shape of an image side surface (S15) of the second lens (L12) is similar to a shape of an image side surface (S113) of the six lens (L16).
Claim(s) 2,16,19, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al (US 10606028) and of Tsai Hsuing-Yu et al (WO 2021164013 A1) in view of Fukaya (US 20210364766)
Regarding Claim 2,16,19,
Chen et al and Tsai Hsuing-Yu et al discloses everything as disclosed above.
Chen et al and Tsai Hsuing-Yu et al do not discloses wherein the wide-angle lens assembly satisfies at least one of following conditions:
2 ≤ Vd1/Vd2 ≤ 3; 3.4 ≤ TTL/BFL ≤ 4.2; 2.2 ≤ |R21/R12| ≤ 6.3; 1.35 ≤ f1/f4 ≤ 2.05; 0.44 ≤ |f/R31| ≤ 0.57; wherein Vd1 is an Abbe number of the first lens, Vd2 is an Abbe number of the second lens, TTL is an interval from an object side surface of the first lens to the image plane along the optical axis, BFL is the interval from the image side surface of the sixth lens to the image plane along the optical axis, R12 is a radius of curvature of an image side surface of the first lens, R21 is a radius of curvature of an object side surface of the second lens, f1 is an effective focal length of the first lens, and f4 is an effective focal length of the fourth lens, R31 is a radius of curvature of an object side surface of the third lens, f is an effective focal length of the wide-angle lens assembly.
Fukaya discloses wherein the wide-angle lens assembly satisfies at least one of following conditions: 2 ≤ Vd1/Vd2 ≤ 3 (See page 12, Table 5) Table 5 says Vd1/Vd2 using example 1 which 2.87 is within that range.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Chen et al and Tsai Hsuing-Yu et al to include Fukaya’s wide-angle lens assembly satisfies at least one of following conditions: 2 ≤ Vd1/Vd2 ≤ 3 (See page 12, Table 5) Table 5 says Vd1/Vd2 using example 1 which 2.87 is within that range motivated by the desire to provide a wide field of view lens assembly.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 3-14 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.
Regarding Claim 3,
Chen et al discloses the second lens is with positive refractive power; the fifth lens is with positive refractive power; and the sixth lens is with NEGATIVE refractive power.
The prior art does not disclose the exact combinations as in Claim 1 and there is no motivation to add in a sixth lens with a positive refractive power.
Claims 4-14 depends on Claim 3, therefore are objected.
Conclusion
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/LUCY P CHIEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2871
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