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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 11/06/2024 and 01/03/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
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 1-3, 5, 8, and 11-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tseng et al. (2021/0223515).
Regarding claim 1, Tseng discloses a imaging lens (Figure 7), comprising: a first lens (410, first lens element), a second lens (420, second lens element), a third lens (430, third lens element), and a fourth lens (480, eighth lens element) disposed in order from an object side (left hand side of Figure 7); and an aperture stop on a foremost object side (400, aperture stop), wherein the first lens is a positive meniscus lens ([0144]) having a convex surface facing the object side (411, object-side surface; [0144]), the second lens is a lens having an inflection point on at least one surface with a low thickness deviation ratio ([0145]), the third lens is a positive lens ([0146]) having a convex surface facing an image plane side (432, image-side surface; Table 7 depicts surface 8 to be convex) and an inflection point on a lens peripheral portion ([0146]), the fourth lens is a negative lens ([0151]) having a concave surface on an image plane side (482, image-side surface; [0151]) and an inflection point on a peripheral portion ([0151]), and Conditions (1) and (2) are satisfied, 0.45 < |f/f1| < 0.80 (1) (Table 7 depicts f to be 6.92 and f1 to be 12.79; the values in the condition yield 0.54 which falls within the claimed range) and 0.25 < |f4/f1| < 0.50, (2) (Table 7 depicts f4 to be -5.87 and f1 to be 12.79; the values in the condition yield 0.45 which falls within the claimed range) when a focal length of the first lens is denoted by f1, a focal length of the fourth lens is denoted by f4, and a focal length of an entire optical system is denoted by f.
Regarding claim 2, Tseng discloses the imaging lens according to claim 1, wherein Condition (3) is satisfied, N1 < N4, (3) (Table 7 depicts N1 to be 1.529 and N4 to be 1.534, thus the values satisfy the condition) when a refractive index of a material of the first lens with respect to a d-line is denoted by N1 and a refractive index of a material of the fourth lens with respect to the d-line is denoted by N4.
Regarding claim 3, Tseng discloses the imaging lens according to claim 1, wherein Condition (4) is satisfied, 1.49 < N1 < 1.55, (4) (Table 7 depicts N1 to be 1.529 thus the value satisfies the condition) when a refractive index of a material of the first lens with respect to a d-line is denoted by N1.
Regarding claim 5, Tseng discloses the imaging lens according to claim 1, wherein Condition (6) is satisfied, 0.60 < f/OAL < 0.75, (6) ([0076] teaches TL/f to be between 1.1 and 1.4, thus converting f/TL to be between 0.71 and 0.90, which includes values that fall within the claimed range from 0.72 to 0.74) when the focal length of the entire optical system is denoted by f and a total length of an optical system is denoted by OAL.
Regarding claim 8, Tseng discloses the imaging lens according to claim 1, wherein Condition (9) is satisfied, 0.01 < |f1/f2| < 0.40,(9) (Table 7 depicts f1 to be 12.79 and f2 to be 367.45; the values in the condition yield 0.03 which falls within the claimed range) when the focal length of the first lens is denoted by f1 and a focal length of the second lens is denoted by f2.
Regarding claim 11, in an alternative embodiment, henceforth referred to as “Tseng alt.” (emphasis added), Tseng alt. discloses an imaging lens (Figure 13), comprising: a first lens (710, first lens element), a second lens (740, fourth lens element), a third lens (770, seventh lens element), and a fourth lens (780, eighth lens element) disposed in order from an object side (left hand side of Figure 13); and an aperture stop on a foremost object side (700, aperture stop), wherein the first lens is a positive meniscus lens ([0183]) having a convex surface facing the object side (711, object-side surface; [0183]), the second lens is a lens having an inflection point on at least one surface with a low thickness deviation ratio ([0186]), the third lens is a positive lens ([0189]) having a convex surface facing an image plane side (722, image-side surface; [0189]) and an inflection point on a lens peripheral portion ([0189]), the fourth lens is a negative lens ([0190]) having a concave surface on an image plane side (782, image-side surface; [0190]) and an inflection point on a peripheral portion ([0190]), and Conditions (1) and (2) are satisfied, 0.45 < |f/f1| < 0.80 (1) (Table 13 depicts f to be 6.93 and f1 to be 11.61; the values in the condition yield 0.59, which falls within the claimed range) and 0.25 < |f4/f1| < 0.50, (2) (Table 13 depicts f4 to be -4.93 and f1 to be 11.61; the values in the condition yield 0.42, which falls within the claimed range) when a focal length of the first lens is denoted by f1, a focal length of the fourth lens is denoted by f4, and a focal length of an entire optical system is denoted by f; wherein the second lens has a negative power, and Condition (16) is satisfied, - 0.2 < f/f2 < - 0.0,(16) (Table 13 depicts f to be 6.93 and f2 to be -218.23; the values in the condition yield -0.03, which falls within the claimed range) when a focal length of the second lens is denoted by f2 and the focal length of the entire optical system is denoted by f.
Regarding claim 12, Tseng discloses the imaging lens according to claim 1, wherein the second lens has a positive power, and Condition (17) is satisfied, 0.0 < f/f2 < 0.25,(17) (Table 7 depicts f to be 6.92 and f2 to be 367.45; the values in the condition yield 0.01, which falls within the claimed range) when a focal length of the second lens is denoted by f2 and the focal length of the entire optical system is denoted by f.
Regarding claim 13, Tseng discloses an imaging device (Figure 19C, 10, imaging apparatus), comprising: the imaging lens according to claim 1 (Figure 7); and a solid-state imaging element configured to receive an image formed by the imaging lens and generate an imaging signal (13, image sensor; [0210]).
Regarding claim 14, Tseng discloses an information processing apparatus (Figure 19C, 20, electronic device), comprising: the imaging device according to claim 13 (10, imaging apparatus); and a display unit configured to display an image corresponding to the imaging signal generated by the imaging device (24, user interface; Figure 19B).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 6, 7, 9, and 10 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: the prior art fails to teach or suggest the limitations of claims 4, 6, 7, 9, and 10, along with the structural limitations positively recited in claim 1, in a manner that would be appropriate under 35 U.S.C. 102 or 103.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Chang (2023/0003974), Chang (2021/0325637), Chang (2021/0223510), Tseng (2020/0018930), Chang (2019/0250369), Yang (2019/0056565), Huang (2016/0352984), Tang (22016/0195696), Liao (2016/0154216), and Tsai (2010/0097709) disclose relevant imaging lenses.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BALRAM T PARBADIA whose telephone number is (571)270-0602. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 am - 5:00 pm, Monday - Friday.
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, Bumsuk Won can be reached at (571) 272-2713. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BALRAM T PARBADIA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872
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