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 .
Claims 1-14 are currently pending in the present application.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The IDSs dated 06 November 2024 and 20 February 2025 were considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Re: claim 1, the meaning of the limitation “low thickness deviation ratio” is unclear. The meaning is unclear because the specification does not provide some standard or range of values that are deemed to be “low’” (see MPEP § 2173.05.I). For the purpose of examining the present claim, the limitation has been interpreted as if it were deleted.
Re: claims 2-14, because they depend upon claim 1, they are likewise rejected.
Re: claim 8, the meaning of the limitation “an optical length is denoted by OAL” is unclear. The meaning is unclear because the same variable “OAL” is recited in claim 7 as meaning “total length of an optical system.” For the purpose of examining the present claim, the limitation has been construed as meaning “total length of an optical system” so that it is consistent with how claim 7 defines “OAL.”
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 1 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
Claims 2-14 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include 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:
Regarding independent claim 1, prior art reference Chen (US 20200393653), now made of record, discloses a first lens 910 (Fig. 17), a second lens 920, a third lens 930, and a fourth lens 940 disposed in order from an object side (Fig. 17, where the object side is to the left of the apparatus); wherein the first lens 910 is a positive lens (para. 267) having a convex surface facing the object side (para. 267), the second lens 920 is a positive or negative lens (para. 268 discloses positive) having an inflection point on at least one surface with a low thickness deviation ratio (inflection point disclosed in para. 268), the third lens 930 is a positive lens (para. 269) having a convex surface facing an image plane side (para. 269) and an inflection point on a lens peripheral portion (para. 269, where Fig. 17 discloses location on peripheral portion), the fourth lens 940 is a negative lens (para. 270) having a concave surface on an image plane side (para. 270) and an inflection point (para. 270).
However, Chen does not explicitly disclose an aperture stop between the first and second lenses; that the inflection point of the fourth lens is on the periphery; and that Conditions (1) and (2) are satisfied, where Condition 1 is {0.45 < |f/f1| < 0.70} and Condition 2 is {0.30 < |f4/f1| < 0.50}, 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 (Chen discloses that f = 7.91, f1 = 5.82, and f4 = -6.95. Substituting these values into Conditions 1 and 2 yields: [Wingdings font/0xE0]f/f1 = 7.91 / 5.82 = 1.36 which is outside the claimed range, and [Wingdings font/0xE0] f4 / f1 = -6.95 / 7.91 = 0.88 which is outside the claimed range).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Figure 17 of reference Lin (US20240012223), now made of record, discloses positive first and third lenses, negative second and fourth lenses, a stop between the first and second lens, and where the second, third and fourth lenses have inflection points. Figures 1 and 5 of reference Wang (US20230132957), now made of record, disclose first through fourth lenses with the second, third, and fourth lenses having inflection points.
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/ANGELA M. MEDICH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2871
