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 statement (IDS) submitted on 12/02/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is 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 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(1) as being anticipated over Yamanaka (US 2023/0003983).
Regarding claim 1, Yamanaka discloses a zoom lens (Figures 9 and 10; Example 3) consist of: a lens group P1 ([0152] teaches: G1, first lens group) having positive refractive power ([0152] teaches: G1, first lens group, having positive refractive power); a middle group ([0152] teaches: G2, second lens group) including one or more lens groups and having negative refractive power as a whole ([0152] teaches: G2, second lens group, has negative refractive power); a lens group P2 ([0152] teaches: G3, third lens group) having positive refractive power ([0152] teaches: G3, third lens group, has positive refractive power); a lens group P3 ([0152] teaches: G4, fourth lens group) having positive refractive power ([0152] teaches: G4, fourth lens group, has positive refractive power); a lens group N ([0152] teaches: G5, fifth lens group) having negative refractive power ([0152] teaches: G5, fifth lens group, has negative refractive power); and a rear group ([0152] teaches: G5, fifth lens group, corresponding to R, rear group) including one or more lens groups all of which are disposed in order from an object side to an image plane side (Figure 9 depicts: G1-G6 from object side, left hand side of Figure 9, to image plane side, right hand side of Figure 9), wherein
the lens group P2 includes a lens component A, having negative refractive power ([0159] discloses: L14, negative meniscus lens), closest to an image plane (Figure 9 depicts: L14, closest to an image plane of G3, third lens group), the lens component A has an object side face having a concave surface facing an object ([0159] discloses: L14, has a concave surface facing an object), and the zoom lens satisfies following Expression:
-5.0<fp12w/fw<-0.3 (using values from Example 3, fp12w/fw is calculated to be -1.379, which falls within the claimed range) …(1) where
fp12w is a composite focal length of the zoom lens from the lens group P1 to the lens group P2 at a wide-angle end at a time of infinity focusing, and fw is a focal length of the zoom lens at the wide-angle end at the time of infinity focusing.
Regarding claim 2, Yamanaka discloses the zoom lens according to claim 1, wherein the zoom lens satisfies following Expression:
0.5<Bfw/Yw<1.5 (Claim 10 discloses: 0.3<Bfw/Yw<1.5, which includes the claimed range) …(2) where
bfw is a back focus of the zoom lens at the wide-angle end at the time of infinity focusing, and Yw is a maximum image height of the zoom lens at the wide-angle end at the time of infinity focusing.
Regarding claim 3, Yamanaka discloses the zoom lens according to claim 1, wherein the zoom lens satisfies following Expression:
-5.0<(Rf+Rb)/(Rf-Rb)<-0.1 (using values from Example 3, (Rf+Rb)/(Rf-Rb), is calculated to be -1.373, which falls within the claimed range) …(3) where
Rf is a radius of curvature of a lens surface, of the lens component A, closer to an object, and Rb is a radius of curvature of a lens surface, of the lens component A, closer to an image plane.
Regarding claim 4, Yamanaka discloses the zoom lens according to claim 1, wherein the zoom lens satisfies following Expression:
-1.3<Fa/Fp2<-0.001 (using values from Example 3, Fa/Fp2 is calculated to be -0.310, which falls within the claimed range)…(4) where
fA is a focal length of the lens component A, and fp2 is a focal length of the lens group P2.
Regarding claim 5, Yamanaka discloses the zoom lens according to claim 1, wherein the zoom lens satisfies following Expression:
0.001<fp3/fp2<0.45 (using values from Example 3, fp3/fp2 is calculated to be 0.164, which falls within the claimed range) …(5) where
fp3 is a focal length of the lens group P3 and fp2 is a focal length of the lens group P2.
Regarding claim 6, Yamanaka discloses the zoom lens according to claim 1, wherein the zoom lens satisfies following Expression:
0.4<fp3/fw<1.3 (using values from Example 3, fp3/fw is calculated to be 0.567, which falls within the claimed range) …(6) where
fp3 is a focal length of the lens group P3.
Regarding claim 7, Yamanaka discloses the zoom lens according to claim 1, wherein the zoom lens satisfies following Expression:
15<vd<40 (using values from Example 3, vd is calculated to be 20.88, which falls within the claimed range) …(7) where
vd is an Abbe number of a lens, of the lens group P2, having positive refractive power, the lens being closest to the object, with respect to d Line.
Regarding claim 8, Yamanaka discloses the zoom lens according to claim 1, wherein the zoom lens satisfies following Expression:
2.5<fp1/fw<10 (using values from Example 3, fp1/fw is calculated to be 4.436, which falls within the claimed range)…(8) where
fp1 is a focal length of the lens group P1.
Regarding claim 9, Yamanaka discloses the zoom lens according to claim 1, wherein the zoom lens satisfies following Expression:
0.7<FNOp1_3<1.9 (using values from Example 3, FNOp1_3 is calculated to be: 1.443, 1.158 and 1.122, thus 1.122 falls within the claimed range)…(9) where
FNOp1_3 is a minimum value of an open F value in an entire zoom region from the lens group P1 to the lens group P3.
Regarding claim 10, Yamanaka discloses the zoom lens according to claim 1, wherein the zoom lens satisfies following Expression:
0.9<βp2w<5.0 (using values from Example 3, βp2w is calculated to be 1.097, which falls within the claimed range)…(10) where
βp2w is a lateral magnification of the lens group P2 at the wide-angle end at the time of infinity focusing.
Regarding claim 11, Yamanaka discloses the zoom lens according to claim 1, wherein the zoom lens satisfies following Expression:
4.<Tw/Yw<8.5 (using values from Example 3, Tw/Yw is calculated to be 7.627, which falls within the claimed range)…(11) where
Tw is an optical total length of the zoom lens at the wide-angle end at the time of infinity focusing.
Regarding claim 12, Yamanaka discloses the zoom lens according to claim 1, wherein the lens group P2 includes a cemented lens having a cemented surface with a convex surface facing the object ([0159] discloses: L8, lens, with a convex surface facing the object and cemented with L9, lens; all part of G3, third lens group).
Regarding claim 13, Yamanaka discloses the zoom lens according to claim 1, wherein the lens group P2 includes at least two lenses having positive refractive power ([0159] discloses: L8, lens is positive and L11, lens is positive) and at least two lenses having negative refractive power ([0159] discloses: L10, lens is negative, L13, lens is negative; all part of G3, third lens group).
Regarding claim 14, Yamanaka discloses the zoom lens according to claim 1, wherein the lens group N moves on an optical axis in focusing ([0154] discloses: G5, fifth lens group, moves toward the image at focusing).
Regarding claim 15, Yamanaka discloses an imaging apparatus comprising: the zoom lens according to claim 1; and an image sensor that converts an optical image formed by the zoom lens on an image plane side of the zoom lens into an electrical signal (0014] teaches: zoom lens and an image sensor that converts an optical image formed by the zoom lens into an electrical signal).
Compact Prosecution
Further prosecution may be expedited by amending the independent claims to more particularly recite the specific lens component arrangement of lens group P2, such as the arrangement of positive and negative lens components disclosed in the embodiments, rather than further narrowing the presently claimed numerical conditions.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: Ichimura et al. (US 2020/0233191) and Iwamoto (US 2019/0302404) both disclose relevant zoom lenses buy fail to disclose the correct conditional expressions.
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John Sipes
Examiner
Art Unit 2872
/J.C.S./Examiner, Art Unit 2872
/BUMSUK WON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2872
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