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 .
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.
Claims 1, 9-17, and 29-31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Souma (US 20090002842).
Regarding claim 1, Souma discloses (Figs. 1-17; in particular Figs. 1-5) a zoom lens comprising a first lens unit (Gr1) having negative refractive power (NEGATIVE; section 0030), a second lens unit (Gr2), an intermediate unit including one or more lens units (Gr4, Gr5), and a final lens unit (Gr6), which are arranged in this order from an object side to an image side (side of IM) and in which an interval between adjacent lens units changes during zooming (section 0030), wherein the first lens unit (Gr1) includes two or more lenses, wherein the intermediate unit includes a first intermediate lens unit (Gr4) and a second intermediate lens unit (Gr5) arranged adjacent to the image side of the first intermediate lens unit (Gr4), and wherein the first lens unit (Gr1) and the first intermediate lens unit (Gr4) do not move during zooming (section 0067).
Regarding claim 9, Souma discloses (Figs. 1-17; in particular Figs. 1-5) a lens unit (Gr2) that is arranged closer to the object side than the first intermediate lens unit (Gr4) and moves during zooming moves toward the object side during zooming from a wide angle end (W) to a telephoto end (T).
Regarding claim 10, Souma discloses (Figs. 1-17; in particular Figs. 1-5) a lens unit (Gr2) that is arranged between the first lens unit (Gr1) and the first intermediate lens unit (Gr4) is a lens unit having positive refractive power (POSITIVE).
Regarding claim 11, Souma discloses (Figs. 1-17; in particular Figs. 1-5) a lens unit (Gr5) that is arranged closer to the image side than the first intermediate lens unit (Gr4) and moves during zooming moves toward the object side during zooming from a wide angle end (W) to a telephoto end (T).
Regarding claim 12, Souma discloses (Figs. 1-17; in particular Figs. 1-5) the second intermediate lens unit (Gr5) is a lens unit having positive refractive power (POSITIVE).
Regarding claim 13, Souma discloses (Figs. 1-17; in particular Figs. 1-5) the second intermediate lens unit (Gr5) includes a lens having an aspherical lens surface (section 0073).
Regarding claim 14, Souma discloses (Figs. 1-17; in particular Figs. 1-5) the first intermediate lens unit includes an aperture stop (ST).
Regarding claim 15, Souma discloses (Figs. 1-17; in particular Figs. 1-5) a lens unit (Gr5) having negative refractive power (NEGATIVE) is arranged closer to the image side than the first intermediate lens unit.
Regarding claim 16, Souma discloses (Figs. 1-17; in particular Figs. 1-5) a lens (L2) that is arranged closest to the image side in the first lens unit is a positive lens (section 0071).
Regarding claim 17, Souma discloses (Figs. 1-17; in particular Figs. 1-5) a lens (L1) that is arranged closest to the object side in the first lens unit is a negative lens (section 0071).
Regarding claim 29, Souma discloses (Figs. 1-17; in particular Figs. 1-5) lens units that move during zooming among lens units included in the zoom lens are all moved by an actuator (sections 0038, 0057-0059, 0063).
Regarding claim 30, Souma discloses (Figs. 1-17; in particular Figs. 1-5, 17) an image capturing apparatus comprising the zoom lens (ZL) (section 0002).
Regarding claim 31, Souma discloses (Figs. 1-17; in particular Figs. 1-5, 17) an imaging element (SS, SR) configured to photoelectrically convert an optical image formed by the zoom lens (ZL) (section 0060-0061).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-8 and 18-28 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 an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: the prior art does not disclose or suggest the zoom lens of claim 2, in particular the limitations of a following inequality is satisfied: 0.04 < D1/TLw < 0.25, where D1 is a distance on an optical axis from a surface vertex of a lens surface closest to the object side in the first lens unit to a surface vertex of a lens surface closest to the image side in the first lens unit, and TLw is a distance on the optical axis at a wide angle end from a surface vertex of a lens surface closest to the object side in the zoom lens to a surface vertex of a lens surface closest to the image side in the zoom lens. The prior art does not disclose or suggest the zoom lens of claim 3, in particular the limitations of a following inequality is satisfied: 0.05 < Skw/fw < 1.50, where Skw is an air equivalent distance on an optical axis at a wide angle end from a surface vertex of a lens surface closest to the image side in the zoom lens to an image plane, and fw is a focal length of an overall system at the wide angle end in the zoom lens. The prior art does not disclose or suggest the zoom lens of claim 4, in particular the limitations of a following inequality is satisfied: 1.65 < ft/fw < 6.00, where fw is a focal length of an overall system at a wide angle end in the zoom lens, and ft is a focal length of the overall system at a telephoto end in the zoom lens. The prior art does not disclose or suggest the zoom lens of claim 5, in particular the limitations of a following inequality is satisfied: vdn > 50, where vdn is a largest Abbe number in Abbe numbers of a material of a negative lens included in the first lens unit. The prior art does not disclose or suggest the zoom lens of claim 6, in particular the limitations of the final lens unit does not move during zooming. The prior art does not disclose or suggest the zoom lens of claim 7, in particular the limitations of a following inequality is satisfied: 0.10 < Da/D1 < 0.60, where Da is a largest air gap in air gaps on an optical axis of the first lens unit, and D1 is a distance on an optical axis from a surface vertex of a lens surface closest to the object side in the first lens unit to a surface vertex of a lens surface closest to the image side in the first lens unit. The prior art does not disclose or suggest the zoom lens of claim 8, in particular the limitations of the first intermediate lens unit is a lens unit having negative refractive power. The prior art does not disclose or suggest the zoom lens of claim 18, in particular the limitations of a lens that is arranged closest to the object side in the first lens unit is a lens with a convex surface facing the object side. The prior art does not disclose or suggest the zoom lens of claim 19, in particular the limitations of a following inequality is satisfied: 0.48 < (-f1)/fa_t < 1.27, where f1 is a focal length of the first lens unit, and fa_t is a combined focal length of a lens arranged between the first lens unit and the first intermediate lens unit at a telephoto end. The prior art does not disclose or suggest the zoom lens of claim 20, in particular the limitations of a following inequality is satisfied: 0.25 < f1/fm1 < 0.88, where f1 is a focal length of the first lens unit, and fm1 is a focal length of the first intermediate lens unit. The prior art does not disclose or suggest the zoom lens of claim 21, in particular the limitations of a following inequality is satisfied: 0.83 < (-f1)/fw < 1.97, where f1 is a focal length of the first lens unit, and fw is a focal length of an overall system at the wide angle end in the zoom lens. The prior art does not disclose or suggest the zoom lens of claim 22, in particular the limitations of a following inequality is satisfied: 0.38 < fa_t/ft < 1.51, where fa_t is a combined focal length of a lens arranged between the first lens unit and the first intermediate lens unit at a telephoto end, and ft is a focal length of the overall system at a telephoto end in the zoom lens. The prior art does not disclose or suggest the zoom lens of claim 23, in particular the limitations of a following inequality is satisfied: 0.20 < xa_t/TLw < 0.56, where xa_t is a distance on an optical axis at a telephoto end from a surface vertex of a lens surface closest to the object side in lenses arranged between the first lens unit and the first intermediate lens unit to a surface vertex of a lens surface closest to the object side in the first intermediate lens unit, and TLw is a distance on the optical axis at a wide angle end from a surface vertex of a lens surface closest to the object side in the zoom lens to a surface vertex of a lens surface closest to the image side in the zoom lens. The prior art does not disclose or suggest the zoom lens of claim 24, in particular the limitations of a following inequality is satisfied: 0.19 < xb_w/TLw < 0.55, where xb_w is a distance on an optical axis at a wide angle end from a surface vertex of a lens surface closest to the image side in the first intermediate lens unit to a surface vertex of a lens surface closest to the image side in lenses arranged between the first intermediate lens unit and the final lens unit, and TLw is a distance on the optical axis at a wide angle end from a surface vertex of a lens surface closest to the object side in the zoom lens to a surface vertex of a lens surface closest to the image side in the zoom lens. The prior art does not disclose or suggest the zoom lens of claim 25, in particular the limitations of a following inequality is satisfied: 0.09 < |ma|/TLw < 0.27, where ma is a largest movement amount of a lens unit arranged between the first lens unit and the first intermediate lens unit during zooming from a wide angle end to a telephoto end, and TLw is a distance on the optical axis at a wide angle end from a surface vertex of a lens surface closest to the object side in the zoom lens to a surface vertex of a lens surface closest to the image side in the zoom lens. The prior art does not disclose or suggest the zoom lens of claim 26, in particular the limitations of a following inequality is satisfied: 0.06 < |mb|/TLw < 0.20, where mb is a largest movement amount of a lens unit arranged between the first intermediate lens unit and the final lens unit during zooming from a wide angle end to a telephoto end, and TLw is a distance on the optical axis at a wide angle end from a surface vertex of a lens surface closest to the object side in the zoom lens to a surface vertex of a lens surface closest to the image side in the zoom lens. The prior art does not disclose or suggest the zoom lens of claim 27, in particular the limitations of a third intermediate lens unit having negative refractive power is arranged adjacent to the image side of the second intermediate lens unit. The prior art does not disclose or suggest the zoom lens of claim 28, in particular the limitations of a following inequality is satisfied: 0.71 < fm2/(-fm3) < 1.36, where fm2 is a focal length of the second intermediate lens unit, and fm3 is a focal length of the third intermediate lens unit.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHARLES S CHANG whose telephone number is (571)270-5024. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael Caley can be reached at (571) 272-2286. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHARLES S CHANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2871
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