ELECTRONIC APPARATUS, METHOD FOR CONTROLLING ELECTRONIC APPARATUS, AND CONTROL PROGRAM

Application No. 18/938,676

• Filed: Nov 06, 2024
• Priority: Jul 04, 2013 — nonprovisional of PCTJP2013068381
  • Dec 22, 2015 — continuation of 10/142,563
  • Nov 01, 2018 — continuation of 10/841,512
  • Sep 15, 2020 — continuation of 11/637,970
  • Mar 08, 2023 — continuation of 12/170,859
• Examiner: JERABEK, KELLY L
• Art Unit: 2699
• Tech Center: 2600 — Communications
• Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• OA Round: 1 (Non-Final)

Office Action

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 .

Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 11/27/2024 and 9/8/2025 in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.

Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.

Double Patenting
A rejection based on double patenting of the “same invention” type finds its support in the language of 35 U.S.C. 101 which states that “whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process... may obtain a patent therefor...” (Emphasis added). Thus, the term “same invention,” in this context, means an invention drawn to identical subject matter. See Miller v. Eagle Mfg. Co., 151 U.S. 186 (1894); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Ockert, 245 F.2d 467, 114 USPQ 330 (CCPA 1957).
A statutory type (35 U.S.C. 101) double patenting rejection can be overcome by canceling or amending the claims that are directed to the same invention so they are no longer coextensive in scope. The filing of a terminal disclaimer cannot overcome a double patenting rejection based upon 35 U.S.C. 101.

Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 as claiming the same invention as that of claim 1 of prior U.S. Patent No. 12,170,859. This is a statutory double patenting rejection.

Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Murata US 2015/0163441 discloses a stacked image sensor including a charge accumulation control unit.
Peng et al. US 2013/0293752 discloses an imaging system including a stacked-chip image sensor including processing circuitry to determine accumulation times.
Oike US 2012/0057056 discloses a solid-state imaging element including a plurality of stacked semiconductor layers.
Itonaga et al . US 2011/0157445 discloses a semiconductor device including a plurality of stacked chips.

Contacts
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Kelly L. Jerabek whose telephone number is [phone]. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday (8:00 AM - 5:00 PM).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, George Eng can be reached at [phone]. The fax phone number for submitting all Official communications is [phone]. The fax phone number for submitting informal communications such as drafts, proposed amendments, etc., may be faxed directly to the Examiner at [phone].
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).

/KELLY L JERABEK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2699

Prosecution Timeline

• Nov 06, 2024: Application Filed
• Jan 15, 2026: Non-Final Rejection mailed — §101 (current)