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.
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.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1 – 7 and 9 – 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lee (US 2014/0184891).
Regarding claim 1, Lee discloses a camera module comprising: a lens (11) (¶51); a holder (100) holding the lens (¶53); a frame (20) surrounding the holder (¶51, 52); a driving mechanism configured to move the holder with respect to the frame (¶53); and a flexible printed circuit board (200/300) provided with a connection portion connected to the holder, an attachment portion attached to the frame, and a tortuous portion being tortuous between the connection portion and the attachment portion (figs. 5-6; ¶74).
Regarding claim 2, Lee discloses the limitations of claim 1. Lee also teaches wherein the frame has an outer periphery surface, and the tortuous portion is disposed inside the outer periphery surface in a circumferential direction (figs. 1, 4, 6).
Regarding claim 3, Lee discloses the limitations of claim 1. Lee also teaches wherein the lens has an optical axis (Z), the connection portion is a first connection portion, the tortuous portion is a first tortuous portion, in a plan view from a direction parallel to the optical axis, the holder has an outline shape having a first opposed side and a second opposed side facing each other, and the flexible printed circuit board is provided with a first leader portion disposed between the first connection portion and the first tortuous portion and drawn from the first opposed side, a second connection portion connected to the holder, a second tortuous portion being tortuous between the second connection portion and the attachment portion, and a second leader portion disposed between the second connection portion and the second tortuous portion and drawn from the second opposed side (figs. 1, 4, 5; ¶51, 69).
Regarding claim 4, Lee discloses the limitations of claim 3. Lee also teaches wherein the first connection portion is disposed along the first opposed side, and the second connection portion is disposed along the second opposed side (figs. 4).
Regarding claim 5, Lee discloses the limitations of claim 3. Lee also teaches wherein the second connection portion, the second leader portion, and the second tortuous portion have a planer shape symmetrical to a planer shape of the first connection portion, the first leader portion, and the first tortuous portion about a plane including the optical axis (figs. 4).
Regarding claim 6, Lee discloses the limitations of claim 1. Lee also teaches wherein the lens has an optical axis, in a plan view from a direction parallel to the optical axis, the holder has an outline shape having a first side distant from the optical axis toward a first direction, in the plan view from the direction parallel to the optical axis, the frame has an outline shape having a second side distant from the optical axis toward a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and the flexible printed circuit board is provided with a leader portion disposed between the connection portion and the tortuous portion and drawn from the first side, and another leader portion disposed between the attachment portion and the tortuous portion and drawn from the second side (figs. 1, 4, 5; ¶51, 69).
Regarding claim 7, Lee discloses the limitations of claim 1. Lee also teaches wherein the lens has an optical axis, the holder has a surface perpendicular to the optical axis, the connection portion is connected to the surface, the frame has an outer periphery surface, and an end surface perpendicular to the optical axis and facing toward a direction identical to a direction toward which the surface faces, the tortuous portion is disposed on the end surface, and the attachment portion is attached to the outer periphery surface (figs. 1, 4, 6).
Regarding claim 9, Lee discloses the limitations of claim 1. Lee also teaches wherein the lens has an optical axis, in a plan view from a direction parallel to the optical axis, the frame has an outline shape having a side, the tortuous portion is disposed along the side, and the tortuous portion is provided with a plurality of liner portions extending parallel to the side (figs. 1, 4).
Regarding claim 10, Lee discloses the limitations of claim 1. Lee also teaches wherein the lens has an optical axis, in a plan view from a direction parallel to the optical axis, the frame has an outline shape having a side, the tortuous portion is disposed along the side, and the tortuous portion is provided with a plurality of liner portions extending perpendicularly to the side (figs. 1, 4).
Regarding claim 11, Lee discloses the limitations of claim 1. Lee also teaches wherein the lens has an optical axis, in a plan view from a direction parallel to the optical axis, the frame has an outline shape having a side, the tortuous portion is disposed along the side, and the tortuous portion is provided with a plurality of first liner portions extending parallel to the side, and a plurality of second liner portions extending perpendicularly to the side (figs. 1, 4).
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, 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(s) 8 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee.
Regarding claim 8, Lee discloses the limitations of claim 1. Lee also teaches wherein the tortuous portion has a liner shape (figs. 1, 4). Lee fails to explicitly disclose having a line width of 1.0 to 1.2 mm inclusive, and a thickness of 75 to 125 μm inclusive. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to choose width and thickness having an optimal range of 1.0 to 1.2mm and 75 to 125 μm, respectively, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Contact
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANTOINETTE SPINKS whose telephone number is (571)270-3749. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 7am - 5pm EST.
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/ANTOINETTE T SPINKS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2639
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