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
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. 17/430212, filed on 8/11/2021.
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for priority under 35 U.S.C. 120.
Drawings
The originally filed drawings were received on 11/19/2024. These drawings are acceptable.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Park et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication US 2016/0216529 A1).
Park et al. discloses a lens driving device (See for example Abstract; Figures 1-13) comprising a housing (See for example 140 in Figure1); a bobbin (See for example 110 in Figure 1) disposed in the housing; a coil (See for example 120 in Figure 1) disposed on the bobbin; a first magnet (See for example 130 in Figure 1) disposed on the housing and facing the coil; and an elastic member (See for example 150 in Figure 1) coupled with the bobbin and the housing.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-19 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claim 1 is allowable over the cited art of record for at least the reason that the cited art of record fails to teach or reasonably suggest a lens driving device as generally set forth in Claim 1, the device including, in combination with the features recited in Claim 1, an adhesive fixing the upper elastic member to the housing, wherein the housing comprises an upper surface facing the upper plate of the cover and a groove formed on the upper surface of the housing, wherein the upper elastic member comprises a hole disposed at a position corresponding with the groove of the housing, and wherein at least a portion of the adhesive is disposed in the groove of the housing. Claims 2-15 are dependent on Claim 1, and hence are allowable for at least the same reasons Claim 1 is allowable.
Claim 16 is allowable over the cited art of record for at least the reason that the cited art of record fails to teach or reasonably suggest a lens driving device as generally set forth in Claim 16, the device including, in combination with the features recited in Claim 16, an adhesive fixing the elastic member to the housing, wherein the housing comprises a groove formed on the housing, wherein the elastic member comprises a hole disposed at a position corresponding with the groove of the housing, and wherein at least a portion of the adhesive is disposed in the groove of the housing. Claims 17-19 are dependent on Claim 16, and hence are allowable for at least the same reasons Claim 16 is allowable.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
U.S. Patent No. 12176145 to Son et al.- Lens driving device for optical image stabilization and lens autofocusing, and parent application to the instant application.
U.S. Patent Application Publication US 2018/0031858 A1 to Gomyo et al.- Lens driving device for optical image stabilization and lens autofocusing, utilizing leaf springs and suspension wires.
U.S. Patent Application Publication US 2019/0243087 A1 to Osaka et al.- Lens driving device for optical image stabilization and lens autofocusing.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ARNEL C LAVARIAS whose telephone number is (571)272-2315. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10:30 AM-7 PM.
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ARNEL C. LAVARIAS
Primary Examiner
Group Art Unit 2872
7/15/2026
/ARNEL C LAVARIAS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872