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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1, 3, 6 and 9-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Okuyama, et al. (JP 2019117391).
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Fig. 2: 1201 – focus limit switching switch
1220 - interchangeable lens control
1230 – system memory
Regarding claim 1, Okuyama discloses “a first operation unit (Fig. 2, ref.# 1220) operable to switch between a first mode for setting a driving range of a focus lens in autofocus to a first range and a second mode for setting the driving range of the focus lens in the autofocus to a second range narrower than the first range (translation: page 2, last paragraph – page 3, 1st paragraph; page 11, last paragraph – page 12, 1st paragraph); a second operation unit (Fig. 2, ref.# 1201) operable to issue a start command of a focus limit operation for limiting the driving range to the second range in the second mode; and a processor (Fig. 2, ref.# 1220) configured to: set the second range to a range that has a reference position at a position of the focus lens when the start command is issued or a position to which the focus lens is driven by the autofocus after the start command is issued, according to the start command in a case where the focus lens can be driven by the autofocus and the second mode is set (translation: page 6, 1st paragraph; page 11, 3rd paragraph), and control driving of the focus lens by the autofocus within the second range after the second range is set (abstract).”
Regarding claim 3, Okuyama discloses “wherein the processor is configured to change the second range based on a user input.” (translation, page 2, last paragraph – page 3, 2nd paragraph; page 17, 4th paragraph)
Regarding claim 6, Okuyama discloses “wherein the optical apparatus is a lens apparatus (Fig. 1, ref.# 1200) attachable to and detachable from an image pickup apparatus (Fig. 1, ref.# 1300), and the image pickup apparatus performs in-focus determination in the autofocus, and wherein the processor is configured to set the reference position based on a result of the in-focus determination transmitted from the image pickup apparatus (translation, page 13, paragraphs 1 – 2).
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Fig. 1
Regarding claim 9, Okuyama discloses “wherein the first operation unit (Fig. 2, ref.# 1220) is disposed on a barrel portion that houses an imaging optical system including the focus lens (Fig. 1, ref.# 1200), at a position closer to an end on an object side than to an end on an image side (Fig. 1, ref.# 1300).
Regarding claim 10, Okuyama discloses “wherein the first operation unit (Fig. 2, ref.# 1220 is disposed on the barrel portion (Fig. 1, ref.# 1200), at a position on a lower side or on a left side facing an object in a normal orientation (See Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 11, Okuyama discloses “setting the second range to a range that has a reference position at a position of the focus lens when the start command is issued or a position to which the focus lens is driven by the autofocus after the start command is issued (translation: page 6, 1st paragraph; page 11, 3rd paragraph), according to the start command in a case where the focus lens can be driven by the autofocus and the second mode is set (translation: page 2, last paragraph – page 3, 1st paragraph; page 11, last paragraph – page 12, 1st paragraph); and controlling driving of the focus lens by the autofocus within the second range after the second range is set (abstract).
Regarding claim 12, Okuyama discloses “setting the second range to a range that has a reference position at a position of the focus lens when the start command is issued or a position to which the focus lens is driven by the autofocus after the start command is issued (translation: page 6, 1st paragraph; page 11, 3rd paragraph), according to the start command in a case where the focus lens can be driven by the autofocus and the second mode is set (translation: page 2, last paragraph – page 3, 1st paragraph; page 11, last paragraph – page 12, 1st paragraph); and controlling driving of the focus lens by the autofocus within the second range after the second range is set (abstract).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 4-5 and 7-8 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Takamiya (WO 2020/098603), Ishiwata, et al. (US 2011/0293256), Kimoto (JP 2008216503) and Ogino (JP 2004094130) teach an optical apparatus with a first and second mode to control autofocus in a 1st and 2nd range.
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/RODNEY E FULLER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852
September 4, 2026
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