Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 01, 2026
Application No. 18/922,858

OPTICAL IMAGING SYSTEM

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Oct 22, 2024
Priority
Oct 25, 2023 — RE 10-2023-0144144
Examiner
LIU, SHAN
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
72%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 72% — above average
72%
Career Allowance Rate
461 granted / 637 resolved
+12.4% vs TC avg
Strong +39% interview lift
Without
With
+39.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
2y 1m
Avg Prosecution
29 currently pending
Career history
652
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.2%
-39.8% vs TC avg
§103
59.7%
+19.7% vs TC avg
§102
22.2%
-17.8% vs TC avg
§112
15.0%
-25.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 637 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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 . 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 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 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, 7, 19, 23 and 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Mercado (US 2015/0253543). Regarding claim 1, Mercado teaches an optical imaging system (Fig. 9A-9B, Tables 5A-5E, [0168-0188]) comprising: a first lens group (the group corresponding to 501, 502 and 540 in Fig. 9A-9B) comprising a reflective member (540 in Fig. 9A-9B) and one or two lenses (501 and 502 in Fig. 9A-9B) disposed in front of the reflective member (540 in Fig. 9A-9B); and a second lens group (the group corresponding to 503 and 504 in Fig. 9A-9B) disposed behind the reflective member (540 in Fig. 9A-9B) and comprising a plurality of lenses (503 and 504 in Fig. 9A-9B), wherein the one or two lenses (501 and 502 in Fig. 9A-9B) included in the first lens group have a positive refractive power overall (Table 5B, [0091]), an image-side surface of a lens (the surface of 502 facing 540 in Fig. 9A-9B) disposed closest to the reflective member (540 in Fig. 9A-9B) among the one or two lenses of the first lens group (501 and 502 in Fig. 9A-9B) is concave (Fig. 9A-9B), the reflective member (540 in Fig. 9A-9B) comprises an incident surface (the surface of 540 facing 502 in Fig. 9A-9B), a reflection surface (the tilted reflecting surface of 540 in Fig. 9A-9B), and an exit surface (the surface of 540 facing 503 in Fig. 9A-9B), and 0.25 ≤ D12P/DR ≤ 1.0 is satisfied (Table 5B and 5E, D12P=0.813mm or 0.9337mm, DR=2.4mm, and DP21=2.1507mm; therefore, D12P/DR=0.813/2.4=0.339, or D12P/DR=0.9337/2.4=0.389) where D12P is a distance on an optical axis of the optical imaging system (the axis corresponding to AX1 and AX2 in Fig. 9A-9B) from the image-side surface of the lens (the surface of 502 facing 540 in Fig. 9A-9B) disposed closest to the reflective member (540 in Fig. 9A-9B) among the one or two lenses of the first lens group to the incident surface of the reflective member (the surface of 540 facing 502 in Fig. 9A-9B), and DR is a distance on the optical axis (the axis corresponding to AX1 and AX2 in Fig. 9A-9B) from the incident surface of the reflective member (the surface of 540 facing 502 in Fig. 9A-9B) to the reflection surface of the reflective member (the tilted reflecting surface of 540 in Fig. 9A-9B). Regarding claim 7, Mercado also teaches the following elements: (Claim 7) 0.65 ≤ D11P/DR ≤ 1.55 is satisfied (Fig. 9A-9B, Table 5B, DR=2.4mm, D11P =1.4878+0.1219+0.4773+0.8130=2.9mm, D11P/DR =2.9/2.4=1.208; or DR=2.4mm, D11P =1.4878+0.1219+0.4773+0.9337=3.02mm, D11P/DR =3.02/2.4=1.259), where D11P is a distance on the optical axis from an object-side surface of a lens disposed closest to an object side of the optical imaging system among the one or two lenses included in the first lens group to the incident surface of the reflective member (Fig. 9A-9B, Table 5B). Regarding claim 19, Mercado teaches an optical imaging system (Fig. 9A-9B, Tables 5A-5E, [0168-0188]) comprising: a first lens group (the group corresponding to 501, 502 and 540 in Fig. 9A-9B) comprising a reflective member (540 in Fig. 9A-9B) and one or two lenses (501 and 502 in Fig. 9A-9B) disposed in front of the reflective member (540 in Fig. 9A-9B); and a second lens group (the group corresponding to 503 and 504 in Fig. 9A-9B) disposed behind the reflective member (540 in Fig. 9A-9B) and comprising a plurality of lenses (503 and 504 in Fig. 9A-9B), wherein the one or two lenses (501 and 502 in Fig. 9A-9B) of the first lens group have a positive refractive power overall (Table 5B, [0091]), an image-side surface of a lens (the surface of 502 facing 540 in Fig. 9A-9B) disposed closest to the reflective member (540 in Fig. 9A-9B) among the one or two lenses of the first lens group (501 and 502 in Fig. 9A-9B) is concave (Fig. 9A-9B), the reflective member (540 in Fig. 9A-9B) comprises an incident surface (the surface of 540 facing 502 in Fig. 9A-9B), a reflection surface (the tilted reflecting surface of 540 in Fig. 9A-9B), and an exit surface (the surface of 540 facing 503 in Fig. 9A-9B), and 0.7 ≤ DP21/DR ≤ 1.6 is satisfied (Table 5B and 5E, D12P=0.813mm or 0.9337mm, DR=2.4mm, and DP21=2.1507mm; therefore, DP21/DR =2.1507/2.4=0.896), where DP21 is a distance on an optical axis of the optical imaging system (the axis corresponding to AX1 and AX2 in Fig. 9A-9B) from the exit surface of the reflective member (the surface of 540 facing 503 in Fig. 9A-9B) to an object-side surface of a lens (the surface of 503 facing 540 in Fig. 9A-9B) disposed closest to the reflective member (540 in Fig. 9A-9B) among the lenses of the second lens group, and DR is a distance on the optical axis (the axis corresponding to AX1 and AX2 in Fig. 9A-9B) from the incident surface of the reflective member (the surface of 540 facing 502 in Fig. 9A-9B) to the reflection surface of the reflective member (the tilted reflecting surface of 540 in Fig. 9A-9B). Regarding claim 23, Mercado also teaches the following elements: (Claim 23) the plurality of lenses (503 and 504 in Fig. 9A-9B) of the second lens group are configured so that lenses among the plurality of lenses disposed adjacent to each other have different refractive indexes (Table 5B) and different Abbe numbers (Table 5B). Regarding claim 24, Mercado teaches an optical imaging system (Fig. 9A-9B, Tables 5A-5E, [0168-0188]) comprising: a first lens group (the group corresponding to 501, 502 and 540 in Fig. 9A-9B) comprising a reflective member (540 in Fig. 9A-9B) and one or two lenses (501 and 502 in Fig. 9A-9B) disposed in front of the reflective member (540 in Fig. 9A-9B); and a second lens group (the group corresponding to 503 and 504 in Fig. 9A-9B) disposed behind the reflective member (540 in Fig. 9A-9B) and comprising a plurality of lenses (503 and 504 in Fig. 9A-9B), wherein the one or two lenses (501 and 502 in Fig. 9A-9B) of the first lens group have a positive refractive power overall (Table 5B, [0091]), an image-side surface of a lens (the surface of 502 facing 540 in Fig. 9A-9B) disposed closest to the reflective member (540 in Fig. 9A-9B) among the one or two lenses of the first lens group (501 and 502 in Fig. 9A-9B) is concave (Fig. 9A-9B), the reflective member (540 in Fig. 9A-9B) comprises an incident surface (the surface of 540 facing 502 in Fig. 9A-9B), a reflection surface (the tilted reflecting surface of 540 in Fig. 9A-9B), and an exit surface (the surface of 540 facing 503 in Fig. 9A-9B), and 0.3 < D12P/DP21 < 0.6 is satisfied (Table 5B and 5E, D12P=0.813mm or 0.9337mm, DR=2.4mm, and DP21=2.1507mm; therefore, D12P/DP21=0.813/2.1507=0.378, or D12P/DP21=0.9337/2.1507=0.434), where D12P is a distance on an optical axis of the optical imaging system (the axis corresponding to AX1 and AX2 in Fig. 9A-9B) from the image-side surface of the lens (the surface of 502 facing 540 in Fig. 9A-9B) disposed closest to the reflective member (540 in Fig. 9A-9B) among the one or two lenses of the first lens group to the incident surface of the reflective member (the surface of 540 facing 502 in Fig. 9A-9B), and DP21 is a distance on an optical axis (the axis corresponding to AX1 and AX2 in Fig. 9A-9B) from the exit surface of the reflective member (the surface of 540 facing 503 in Fig. 9A-9B) to an object-side surface of a lens (the surface of 503 facing 540 in Fig. 9A-9B) disposed closest to the reflective member (540 in Fig. 9A-9B) among the plurality lenses of the second lens group. Claims 1, 5, 8-11, 13, 16-17, 19-21 and 24-26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kim (US 2022/0252847). Regarding claim 1, Kim teaches an optical imaging system (Fig. 11-14, Tables 11-14, [0113-0120]) comprising: a first lens group (the group corresponding to 610/710 and P in Fig. 11 and 13) comprising a reflective member (P in Fig. 11 and 13) and one or two lenses (610/710 in Fig. 11 and 13) disposed in front of the reflective member (P in Fig. 11 and 13); and a second lens group (the group corresponding to 620/720, 630/730, 640/740, 650/750, and 760 in Fig. 11 and 13) disposed behind the reflective member (P in Fig. 11 and 13) and comprising a plurality of lenses (620/720, 630/730, 640/740, 650/750, and 760 in Fig. 11 and 13), wherein the one or two lenses (610/710 in Fig. 11 and 13) included in the first lens group have a positive refractive power overall (Table 15, [0116, 0124]), an image-side surface of a lens (the surface of 610/710 facing P in Fig. 11 and 13) disposed closest to the reflective member (P in Fig. 11 and 13) among the one or two lenses (610/710 in Fig. 11 and 13) of the first lens group (the group corresponding to 610/710 and P in Fig. 11 and 13) is concave (Fig. 11 and 13, Table 11 and 13), the reflective member (P in Fig. 11 and 13) comprises an incident surface (the surface of P facing 610/710 in Fig. 11 and 13), a reflection surface (the tilted reflecting surface of P in Fig. 9A-9B), and an exit surface (the surface of P facing 620/720 in Fig. 11 and 13), and 0.25 ≤ D12P/DR ≤ 1.0 is satisfied (in Table 11 and Fig. 11, D12P/DR=0.75/2.5=0.3; in Table 13 and Fig. 13, D12P/DR=0.85/2.5=0.34), where D12P is a distance on an optical axis of the optical imaging system (Fig. 11 and 13) from the image-side surface of the lens (the surface of 610/710 facing P in Fig. 11 and 13) disposed closest to the reflective member (P in Fig. 11 and 13) among the one or two lenses of the first lens group (Fig. 11 and 13) to the incident surface of the reflective member (the surface of P facing 610/710 in Fig. 11 and 13), and DR is a distance on the optical axis (Fig. 11 and 13) from the incident surface of the reflective member (the surface of P facing 610/710 in Fig. 11 and 13) to the reflection surface of the reflective member (the tilted reflecting surface of P in Fig. 9A-9B). Regarding claim 19, Mercado teaches an optical imaging system (Fig. 11-14, Tables 11-14, [0113-0120]) comprising: a first lens group (the group corresponding to 610/710 and P in Fig. 11 and 13) comprising a reflective member (P in Fig. 11 and 13) and one or two lenses (610/710 in Fig. 11 and 13) disposed in front of the reflective member (P in Fig. 11 and 13); and a second lens group (the group corresponding to 620/720, 630/730, 640/740, 650/750, and 760 in Fig. 11 and 13) disposed behind the reflective member (P in Fig. 11 and 13) and comprising a plurality of lenses (620/720, 630/730, 640/740, 650/750, and 760 in Fig. 11 and 13), wherein the one or two lenses (610/710 in Fig. 11 and 13) of the first lens group have a positive refractive power overall (Table 15, [0116, 0124]), an image-side surface of a lens (the surface of 610/710 facing P in Fig. 11 and 13) disposed closest to the reflective member (P in Fig. 11 and 13) among the one or two lenses (610/710 in Fig. 11 and 13) of the first lens group (the group corresponding to 610/710 and P in Fig. 11 and 13) is concave (Fig. 11 and 13, Table 11 and 13), the reflective member (P in Fig. 11 and 13) comprises an incident surface (the surface of P facing 610/710 in Fig. 11 and 13), a reflection surface (the tilted reflecting surface of P in Fig. 9A-9B), and an exit surface (the surface of P facing 620/720 in Fig. 11 and 13), and 0.7 ≤ DP21/DR ≤ 1.6 is satisfied (in Table 11 and Fig. 11, DP21/DR=2/2.5=0.8; in Table 13 and Fig. 13, DP21/DR=2/2.5=0.8), where DP21 is a distance on an optical axis of the optical imaging system (Fig. 11 and 13) from the exit surface of the reflective member (the surface of P facing 620/720 in Fig. 11 and 13) to an object-side surface of a lens (the surface of 620/720 facing P in Fig. 11 and 13) disposed closest to the reflective member (P in Fig. 11 and 13) among the lenses of the second lens group (Fig. 11 and 13), and DR is a distance on the optical axis (Fig. 11 and 13) from the incident surface of the reflective member (the surface of P facing 610/710 in Fig. 11 and 13) to the reflection surface of the reflective member (the tilted reflecting surface of P in Fig. 9A-9B). Regarding claim 24, Mercado teaches an optical imaging system (Fig. 11-14, Tables 11-14, [0113-0120]) comprising: a first lens group (the group corresponding to 610/710 and P in Fig. 11 and 13) comprising a reflective member (P in Fig. 11 and 13) and one or two lenses (610/710 in Fig. 11 and 13) disposed in front of the reflective member (P in Fig. 11 and 13); and a second lens group (the group corresponding to 620/720, 630/730, 640/740, 650/750, and 760 in Fig. 11 and 13) disposed behind the reflective member (P in Fig. 11 and 13) and comprising a plurality of lenses (620/720, 630/730, 640/740, 650/750, and 760 in Fig. 11 and 13), wherein the one or two lenses (610/710 in Fig. 11 and 13) of the first lens group have a positive refractive power overall (Table 15, [0116, 0124]), an image-side surface of a lens (the surface of 610/710 facing P in Fig. 11 and 13) disposed closest to the reflective member (P in Fig. 11 and 13) among the one or two lenses (610/710 in Fig. 11 and 13) of the first lens group (the group corresponding to 610/710 and P in Fig. 11 and 13) is concave (Fig. 11 and 13, Table 11 and 13), the reflective member (P in Fig. 11 and 13) comprises an incident surface (the surface of P facing 610/710 in Fig. 11 and 13), a reflection surface (the tilted reflecting surface of P in Fig. 9A-9B), and an exit surface (the surface of P facing 620/720 in Fig. 11 and 13), and 0.3 < D12P/DP21 < 0.6 is satisfied (in Table 11 and Fig. 11, D12P/DP21=0.75/2=0.375; in Table 13 and Fig. 13, D12P/ DP21=0.85/2=0.425), where D12P is a distance on an optical axis of the optical imaging system (Fig. 11 and 13) from the image-side surface of the lens (the surface of 610/710 facing P in Fig. 11 and 13) disposed closest to the reflective member (P in Fig. 11 and 13) among the one or two lenses of the first lens group (Fig. 11 and 13) to the incident surface of the reflective member (the surface of P facing 610/710 in Fig. 11 and 13), and DP21 is a distance on an optical axis (Fig. 11 and 13) from the exit surface of the reflective member (the surface of P facing 620/720 in Fig. 11 and 13) to an object-side surface of a lens (the surface of 620/720 facing P in Fig. 11 and 13) disposed closest to the reflective member (P in Fig. 11 and 13) among the plurality lenses of the second lens group (Fig. 11 and 13). Regarding claims 5, 8-11, 13, 16-17, 20-21, 25-26, Kim also teaches the following elements: (Claim 5) wherein 1.3 < fG1/fG2 < 3 is satisfied (Table 11 and 15, Fig. 11, FG1=113.485mm, FG2=41.2899mm, fG1/fG2=113.485/41.2899=2.7485), where fG1 is a focal length of the first lens group, and fG2 is a focal length of the second lens group (Table 11, Fig. 11). (Claim 8) wherein -0.25 ≤ (RG1_S1-RG1_S2)/(RG1_S1+RG1_S2) < 0 is satisfied (Table 11, Fig. 11, (RG1_S1-RG1_S2)/(RG1_S1+RG1_S2)=(16.90317-23.07441)/(16.90317+23.07441)=-0.1544), where RG1_S1 is a radius of curvature of an object-side surface of a lens disposed closest to an object side of the optical imaging system among the one or two lenses included in the first lens group, and RG1_S2 is a radius of curvature of the image-side surface of the lens disposed closest to the reflective member among the one or two lenses included in the first lens group (Table 11, Fig. 11). (Claim 9) wherein -0.6 ≤ RG2_S1/fG2 ≤ 2.1 is satisfied (Table 11, Fig. 11, RG2_S1 =8.582mm, fG2=41.2899mm, RG2_S1/fG2=8.582/41.2899=0.2078), where RG2_S1 is a radius of curvature of an object-side surface of a lens disposed closest to the reflective member among the plurality of lenses included in the second lens group, and fG2 is a focal length of the second lens group (Table 11, Fig. 11). (Claim 10) wherein 0.7 ≤ DP21/DR ≤ 1.6 is satisfied (Table 11 and Fig. 11, DP21/DR=2/2.5=0.8), where DP21 is a distance on the optical axis from the exit surface of the reflective member to an object-side surface of a lens disposed closest to the reflective member among the plurality of lenses included in the second lens group (Table 11, Fig. 11). (Claim 11) wherein 0 < D12P/L < 0.1, 0 < DP21/L ≤ 0.2, and 0.3 < D12P/DP21 < 0.6 are satisfied (Table 11, Fig. 11, L=35.4010; D12P/L=0.75/35.4010=0.0212; DP21/L=2/35.4010=0.0565; D12P/DP21=0.75/2=0.375), where L is a sum of a distance on the optical axis from an object-side surface of a lens disposed closest to an object side of the optical imaging system among the one or two lenses included in the first lens group to the reflection surface of the reflective member, and a distance on the optical axis from the reflection surface of the reflective member to an imaging plane of the optical imaging system (Table 11, Fig. 11). (Claim 13) wherein 0.1 ≤ Lf/Lr ≤ 0.4 is satisfied (Table 11 and Fig. 11, Lf=3.9mm, Lr=35.501mm; Lf/Lr=3.9/35.501=0.1238), where Lf is a distance on the optical axis from an object-side surface of a lens disposed closest to an object side of the optical imaging system among the one or two lenses included in the first lens group to the reflection surface of the reflective member, and Lr is a distance on the optical axis from the reflection surface of the reflective member to an imaging plane of the optical imaging system (Table 11, Fig. 11). (Claim 16) wherein 0.6 < f/fG2 ≤ 1.1 is satisfied (Table 11 and 15, Fig. 11, f =30.6mm, fG2=41.2899mm, f/fG2 =30.6/41.2899=0.7411) where f is a total focal length of the optical imaging system, and fG2 is a focal length of the second lens group (Table 11, Fig. 11). (Claim 17) wherein a lens (620 in Fig. 11) disposed closest to the reflective member among the plurality of lenses of the second lens group has a positive refractive power (Table 15, f2=18.567mm). (Claim 20) there are a total of one lens (710 in Fig. 13) having a refractive power in the first lens group (Table 11 and 15, Fig. 13), and a total of five (720-760 in Fig. 13) or six lenses having a refractive power in the second lens group (Table 11 and 15, Fig. 13). (Claim 21) the one lens (710 in Fig. 13) of the first lens group is a first lens having a positive refractive power (Table 15, f1=113.3840), a convex object-side surface in a paraxial region thereof (Fig. 13, Table 13), and a concave image-side surface in a paraxial region thereof (Fig. 13, Table 13), and the five (Fig. 13, Table 13) or six lenses of the second lens group comprise a second lens (720 in Fig. 13) closest to the reflective member among the five or six lenses of the second lens group and having a positive refractive power (Table 15, f2=12.591) (Claim 25) there are a total of one lens (710 in Fig. 13) having a refractive power in the first lens group, and a total of five (720-760 in Fig. 13) or six lenses having a refractive power in the second lens group (Fig. 13). (Claim 26) the one lens (710 in Fig. 13) of the first lens group is a first lens having a positive refractive power (Table 15, f1=113.3840), a convex object-side surface in a paraxial region thereof (Fig. 13, Table 13), and a concave image-side surface in a paraxial region thereof (Fig. 13, Table 13), and the five (Fig. 13, Table 13) or six lenses of the second lens group comprise a second lens (720 in Fig. 13) closest to the reflective member among the five or six lenses of the second lens group and having a positive refractive power (Table 15, f2=12.591). Claims 1 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zhang (CN112578535A). Regarding claim 1, Zhang teaches an optical imaging system (Fig. 1-2, Tables 1-3, Pages 11-12 of English translation of CN112578535A) comprising: a first lens group (the group corresponding to L1 and F1 in Fig. 1) comprising a reflective member (F1 in Fig. 1) and one or two lenses (L1 in Fig. 1) disposed in front of the reflective member (F1 in Fig. 1); and a second lens group (the group corresponding to L2, L3, L4, L5 and L6 in Fig. 1) disposed behind the reflective member (F1 in Fig. 1) and comprising a plurality of lenses (L2, L3, L4, L5 and L6 in Fig. 1), wherein the one or two lenses (L1 in Fig. 1) included in the first lens group have a positive refractive power overall (Fig. 1, Page 11), an image-side surface of a lens (the surface of L1 facing F1 in Fig. 1) disposed closest to the reflective member (F1 in Fig. 1) among the one or two lenses of the first lens group is concave (Fig. 1), the reflective member (F1 in Fig. 1) comprises an incident surface (the surface of F1 facing L1 in Fig. 1), a reflection surface (the tilted reflecting surface of F1 in Fig. 1), and an exit surface (the surface of F1 facing L2 in Fig. 1), and 0.25 ≤ D12P/DR ≤ 1.0 is satisfied (Table 1 and Fig. 1, D12P/DR=1.0222/3.0000=0.34), where D12P is a distance on an optical axis of the optical imaging system from the image-side surface of the lens disposed closest to the reflective member among the one or two lenses of the first lens group to the incident surface of the reflective member, and DR is a distance on the optical axis from the incident surface of the reflective member to the reflection surface of the reflective member (Fig. 1). Regarding claim 18, Zhang also teaches the following elements: (Claim 18) at least three lenses (L3, L4 and L5 in Fig. 1 and Table 1) among the plurality of lenses of the second lens group (L2, L3, L4, L5 and L6 in Fig. 1) have a refractive index greater than 1.6 (Table 1). Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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 of this title, 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 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mercado as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Lee (US 2023/0131146). Regarding claim 2, Mercado does not teach the following elements. Lee teaches the following elements: (Claim 2) a reflective member (455 in Fig. 7, [0147, 0149-0150]) is configured to be rotatable about two axes perpendicular to each other (Fig. 7, [0147, 0149-0150]). Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to the artisan of ordinary skill to employ the above elements as taught by Lee for the system of Mercado such that in the system of Mercado, (Claim 2) the reflective member is configured to be rotatable about two axes perpendicular to each other. The motivation is to implement a scan or an image stabilization operation (Lee, [0147, 0149]). Claim 28 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mercado (US 2015/0253543). Regarding claim 28, Mercado also teaches that a first lens group is disposed at a fixed position on the optical axis ([0177]), and a second lens groups is configured to be movable along the optical axis relative to the first lens group to adjust a focus of the optical imaging system ([0177]). Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to the artisan of ordinary skill to employ the above elements as taught by Mercado for the system of Fig. 9A-9B and Tables 5A-5E of Mercado such that in the system of Fig. 9A-9B and Tables 5A-5E of Mercado, the first lens group is disposed at a fixed position on the optical axis, and the second lens groups is configured to be movable along the optical axis relative to the first lens group to adjust a focus of the optical imaging system. The motivation is that the object distance or focus displacement range of the focusing lens group may be scaled up or down for larger or smaller implementations of a camera using an embodiment of a folded telephoto lens system (Mercado, [0177]). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 3-4, 6, 12, 14, 15, 22 and 27 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: None of the prior art of record discloses or suggests all the combination of an optical imaging system as set forth in claims 3-4, 6, 12, 14, 15, 22 and 27. Regarding claims 3-4, none of the prior art discloses or suggests an optical imaging system recited in claim 1, wherein “the one or two lenses included in the first lens group comprise a first lens having an object-side surface that is convex in a paraxial region thereof, and an image-side surface that is concave in a paraxial region thereof, and an effective diameter of the object-side surface of the first lens and an effective diameter of the image-side surface of the first lens are greater than a minor axis length of the incident surface of the reflective member” in combination with the other required elements of the claim. Regarding claim 6, none of the prior art discloses or suggests an optical imaging system recited in claim 1, wherein “0.35 ≤ DR/L2S1_ED ≤ 0.65 is satisfied, where L2S1_ED is an effective diameter of an object-side surface of a lens disposed closest to the reflective member among the plurality of lenses included in the second lens group” in combination with the other required elements of the claim. Regarding claim 12, none of the prior art discloses or suggests an optical imaging system recited in claim 1, wherein “1.1 ≤ fG1/L ≤ 1.9 is satisfied, where fG1 is a focal length of the first lens group, and L is a sum of a distance on the optical axis from an object-side surface of a lens disposed closest to an object side of the optical imaging system among the one or two lenses included in the first lens group to the reflection surface of the reflective member, and a distance on the optical axis from the reflection surface of the reflective member to an imaging plane of the optical imaging system” in combination with the other required elements of the claim. Regarding claim 14, none of the prior art discloses or suggests an optical imaging system recited in claim 1, wherein “0.25 < G1_MED/Lr < 0.42 and 0.7 < G2_MED/Lf < 1.4 are satisfied, where G1_MED is a maximum effective diameter of the one or two lenses included in the first lens group, and G2_MED is a maximum effective diameter of the plurality of lenses included in the second lens group” in combination with the other required elements of the claim. Regarding claim 15, none of the prior art discloses or suggests an optical imaging system recited in claim 1, wherein “0.35 < f/fG1 ≤ 0.5 is satisfied, where f is a total focal length of the optical imaging system, and fG1 is a focal length of the first lens group” in combination with the other required elements of the claim. Regarding claim 22, none of the prior art discloses or suggests an optical imaging system recited in claim 21, wherein “there is a total of five lenses having a refractive power in the second lens group, and the five lenses comprise the second lens having the positive refractive power, a third lens having a negative refractive power, a fourth lens having a positive refractive power or a negative refractive power, a fifth lens having a positive refractive power, and a sixth lens having a positive refractive power or a negative refractive power” in combination with the other required elements of the claim. Regarding claim 27, none of the prior art discloses or suggests an optical imaging system recited in claim 26, wherein “there is a total of six lenses having a refractive power in the second lens group, and the six lenses comprise the second lens having the positive refractive power, a third lens having a positive refractive power, a fourth lens having a negative refractive power, a fifth lens having a negative refractive power, a sixth lens having a positive refractive power, and a seventh lens having a positive refractive power or a negative refractive power” in combination with the other required elements of the claim. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHAN LIU whose telephone number is (571)270-0383. The examiner can normally be reached on 9am-5pm EST M-F. 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, Jennifer Carruth can be reached on 571-272-9791. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /Shan Liu/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2871
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Oct 22, 2024
Application Filed
Sep 10, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12742962
OPTICAL DEVICE, SUBASSEMBLY OF OPTICAL DEVICE, AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING OPTICAL DEVICE
3y 2m to grant Granted Sep 22, 2026
Patent 12730346
CONDUCTIVE BASE STRUCTURE, ELECTROCHROMIC DEVICE, AND ELECTROCHROMIC APPARATUS
2y 7m to grant Granted Sep 08, 2026
Patent 12724299
OPTICAL MODULATOR, LIGHT SOURCE MODULE, OPTICAL ENGINE, AND XR GLASSES
2y 7m to grant Granted Sep 01, 2026
Patent 12717088
MARINE LIDAR SYSTEM
2y 10m to grant Granted Aug 25, 2026
Patent 12706433
DEVICE, LASER SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR COMBINING COHERENT LASER BEAMS
4y 0m to grant Granted Aug 11, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

Strategy Recommendation AI-generated — please review before filing

Get a prosecution strategy drawn from examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Typically takes 5-10 seconds — AI-generated, attorney review required before filing

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
72%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+39.4%)
2y 1m (~2m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 637 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month