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
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 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.
Claim(s) 1-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Furuya (US 2008/0025712 A1).
Claim 1, Furuya teaches an image pickup apparatus to which an optical apparatus is attachable (optical systems disposed, i.e., permanently attached, in a housing; paragraph 0003 and Fig. 1), the image pickup apparatus comprising:
an image pickup element (image sensor 108; paragraph 0040); and
a processor (central control circuit 300; paragraph 0040), wherein the optical apparatus including a first optical system (first imaging optical system 100; paragraph 0040), a second optical system (second imaging optical system 200; paragraph 0041), and a switching unit (switching between first imaging optical system and the second imaging optical system; paragraph 0051), optical axes of the first and second optical systems not being coinciding with each other (the first and second imaging optical systems cannot coexist in the same space and therefore the optical axes must also be different), the switching unit (central control circuit 300 controls the operation of the camera; paragraph 0042) being capable of switching between a first mode in which the first and second optical systems can be simultaneously driven (“simultaneous mode in which the first imaging optical system and the second imaging optical system are simultaneously driven;” paragraph 0046) and a second mode in which one of the first and second optical systems can be driven (“individual mode in which either the first imaging optical system or the second imaging optical system is individually driven;” paragraph 0048), wherein the processor is configured to cause a display unit to display a first display indicating a state in which the second mode is set in a case where the state of the switching unit is the second mode (central control circuit 300 prepares an indicator corresponding to each of the modes and displays the indicator on the display; paragraph 0050. See Fig. 15 of example screen display achieved in the individual drive mode; paragraph 0058).
Claim 2, Furuya further teaches wherein the processor is configured to cause the display unit to display a second display indicating a state in which the first mode is set in a case where the state of the switching unit is the first mode (Fig. 12 shows an example screen display achieved in the simultaneous drive mode; paragraph 0057).
Claim 3, Furuya further teaches wherein the first display includes information related to a difference between focus positions of the first and second optical systems (see Fig. 15 of display of the images acquired by the first and second imaging optical systems, the images inherently contain information related to focus positions of the first and second optical systems).
Claim 4, Furuya further teaches wherein the display unit alternately displays, as the first display, a display including information related to an image pickup distance of one of the first and second optical systems (see zoom ratios of Fig. 15) and a display including information related to a difference between focus positions of the first and second optical systems (see Fig. 15 of display of the images acquired by the first and second imaging optical systems, the images of the first and second optical systems are displayed at alternate positions of the display screen).
Claim 5, Furuya further teaches wherein the display unit alternately displays, as the first display, a display including information related to an image pickup distance of one of the first and second optical systems (see zoom ratios for each optical system in Fig. 15) and a display including information related to an image pickup distance of the other of the first and second optical systems (see Fig. 15 of display of the images acquired by the first and second imaging optical systems, the images of the first and second optical systems are displayed at alternate positions of the display screen).
Claim 6, Furuya teaches an optical apparatus that is attachable to an image pickup apparatus (optical systems disposed, i.e., permanently attached, in a housing; paragraph 0003 and Fig. 1), the optical apparatus comprising:
a first optical system (first imaging optical system 100; paragraph 0040);
a second optical system (second imaging optical system 200; paragraph 0041) having an optical axis which does not coincide with an optical axis of the first optical system (the first and second imaging optical systems cannot coexist in the same space and therefore the optical axes must also be different);
a switching unit (central control circuit 300 controls the operation of the camera; paragraph 0042) capable of switching between a first mode in which the first and second optical systems can be simultaneously driven (“simultaneous mode in which the first imaging optical system and the second imaging optical system are simultaneously driven;” paragraph 0046) and a second mode in which one of the first and second optical systems can be driven (“individual mode in which either the first imaging optical system or the second imaging optical system is individually driven;” paragraph 0048); and
a processor configured to transmit information that requests display of a first display indicating a state in which the second mode is set to the image pickup apparatus in a case where a state of the switching unit indicates the second mode (central control circuit 300 prepares an indicator corresponding to each of the modes and displays the indicator on the display; paragraph 0050. See Fig. 15 of example screen display achieved in the individual drive mode; paragraph 0058).
Claim 7, Furuya further teaches wherein the processor configured to transmit information that requests display of a second display indicating a state in which the first mode is set to the image pickup apparatus in a case where the state of the switching unit is the first mode (Fig. 12 shows an example screen display achieved in the simultaneous drive mode; paragraph 0057).
Claim 8, Furuya further teaches wherein the processor transmits information related to a difference between focus positions of the first and second optical systems in a case where the state of the switching unit is the second mode (see Fig. 15 of display of the images acquired by the first and second imaging optical systems, the images inherently contain information related to focus positions of the first and second optical systems).
Claim 9, Furuya further teaches wherein in a case where the state of the switching unit is the second mode, the processor alternately transmits information related to an image pickup distance of one of the first and second optical systems (see zoom ratios of Fig. 15) and information related to a difference between focus positions of the first and second optical systems (see Fig. 15 of display of the images acquired by the first and second imaging optical systems, the images of the first and second optical systems are displayed at alternate positions of the display screen).
Claim 10, Furuya further teaches wherein in a case where the state of the switching unit is the second mode, the processor alternately transmits information related to an image pickup distance of one of the first and second optical systems (see zoom ratios of Fig. 15) and information related to an image pickup distance of the other of the first and second optical systems (see Fig. 15 of display of the images acquired by the first and second imaging optical systems, the images of the first and second optical systems are displayed at alternate positions of the display screen).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO-892 attached.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHIAWEI A CHEN whose telephone number is (571)270-1707. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 12:00pm - 9:00pm EST.
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/CHIAWEI CHEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2637