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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/05/2024 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 § 112
Claims 1-20 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.
Claim 1 recites “in a case where one lens group is a group of which a spacing to an adjacent group in an optical axis direction changes during changing magnification, the second optical system includes, continuously along the optical path in order from a position closest to the enlargement side to the reduction side: a first movable lens group having a positive refractive power that moves during changing magnification; a second movable lens group that moves during changing magnification; and a third movable lens group having a positive refractive power that moves during changing magnification, and in the entire zoom lens, lens groups that move during changing magnification are only the first movable lens group, the second movable lens group, and the third movable lens group”. The sentence structure appears to render optional all limitations on the second optical system regarding movable lens groups. The claim does not require there to be only three movable lens groups (first, second and third movable lens groups with associated optical power), but rather provides that there are only three movable lens groups in a case when spacing between one lens groups changes during changes to magnification. As the originally-filed disclosure only provides descriptions of embodiments in which lens systems zoom and move during changes in magnifications, the broadest reasonable interpretation of “in a case where” would not have been clear to a person having ordinary skill in the art in light of the Specifications. For the purpose of examination, the phrase will be interpreted as rendering the subsequent movable lens limitations optional though the prior art cited below evidences that which is optional in the claim. This phrasing is repeated in Claims 6, 10, and 12. Dependent claims 2-20 fail to remedy the indefiniteness.
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.
Claims 1-4, 6-8, 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US Pat. No. 10,401,596 to Nagatoshi (hereinafter Nagatoshi).
Regarding claim 1, Nagatoshi discloses a zoom lens (Fig. 5) consisting of a first optical system (a first optical system G1, Fig. 5) and a second optical system (a second optical system G2, Fig. 5) along an optical path in order from an enlargement side (left in Fig. 5) to a reduction side (right in Fig. 5), wherein: the second optical system forms an intermediate image at a position conjugate to a reduction-side imaging plane (“an intermediate image at a position conjugate to a reduction side imaging plane (image display surface Sim) and forms the intermediate image again on a magnification side imaging plane”; col. 5, ln. 44-col. 6, ln. 13), and the first optical system re-forms the intermediate image on an enlargement-side imaging plane, a lens (lens L21a, Fig. 5) closest to the enlargement side in the second optical system is a positive lens that has a convex surface facing the enlargement side (Fig. 5, Table 17; col. 18-19), in a case where one lens group is a group of which a spacing to an adjacent group in an optical axis direction changes during changing magnification (Fig. 5, Table 17; col. 18-19), the second optical system includes, continuously along the optical path in order from a position closest to the enlargement side to the reduction side: a first movable lens group having a positive refractive power that moves during changing magnification (G21 including lens L21a, Fig. 5, Table 17; col. 18-19); a second movable lens group that moves during changing magnification (G22 including lenses L22a-L22b, Fig. 5, Table 17; col. 18-19); and a third movable lens group having a positive refractive power that moves during changing magnification (G23 including lenses L23a-L23e, Fig. 5, Table 17; col. 18-19), and in the entire zoom lens, lens groups that move during changing magnification are only the first movable lens group, the second movable lens group, and the third movable lens group (Fig. 5, Table 17; col. 18-19).
Regarding claim 2, Nagatoshi discloses the second optical system includes a stationary lens group (G24, Fig. 5; Table 17; col. 18-19) that is fixed to the reduction-side imaging plane closest to the reduction side during changing magnification.
Regarding claim 3, Nagatoshi discloses the stationary lens group has a positive refractive power (lens 24a; Table 17; col. 18-19).
Regarding claim 4, Nagatoshi discloses the reduction side is configured to be telecentric (Fig. 5; Table 17).
Regarding claim 6, Nagatoshi discloses in a case where: a focal length of the zoom lens at a wide angle end is represented by fw, and a focal length of the first optical system is represented by fr1, Conditional Expression (1) is satisfied: 0.8 < fr1/|fw| < 5 (Table 17; fr1/fw = 8.11 / |-4.87| = 1.67).
Regarding claim 7, Nagatoshi discloses the first optical system includes a cemented lens where a positive lens, a negative lens, and a positive lens are cemented in this order (lenses L11f and L11g, Table 17).
Regarding claim 8, Nagatoshi discloses an effective diameter of an enlargement-side surface of a second lens from the enlargement side in the first optical system at a wide angle end is less than an effective diameter of an enlargement-side surface of a lens closest to the reduction side in the first optical system at the wide angle end (Fig. 5; Table 17).
Regarding claim 18, Nagatoshi discloses the first optical system has a positive refractive power and is fixed to the reduction-side imaging plane during changing magnification (Fig. 5; Table 17), and the second optical system consists of, along the optical path in order from the enlargement side to the reduction side, the first movable lens group, the second movable lens group, the third movable lens group, and a stationary lens group that is fixed to the reduction-side imaging plane during changing magnification (Fig. 5; Table 17).
Regarding claim 19, Nagatoshi discloses a projection type display device comprising the zoom lens (Claim 16).
Regarding claim 20, Nagatoshi discloses an imaging apparatus comprising: the zoom lens (Claim 17).
Claims 1 and 12-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by WO 2020/110380 to Masui (hereinafter Masui).
Regarding claim 1, Masui discloses a zoom lens (Fig. 4 & 8; [0087]-[0089]) consisting of a first optical system (LN1, Figs. 4 & 8) and a second optical system (LN2, Figs. 4 & 8) along an optical path in order from an enlargement side to a reduction side, wherein: the second optical system forms an intermediate image (intermediate image IM1, Figs. 4 & 8) at a position conjugate to a reduction-side imaging plane, and the first optical system re-forms the intermediate image on an enlargement-side imaging plane, a lens (lens of m2-2 of EX4, Fig. 4 & 8) closest to the enlargement side in the second optical system is a positive lens that has a convex surface facing the enlargement side (surfaces 36-37, Figs. 4 & 8; [0087]-[0089]), in a case where one lens group is a group of which a spacing to an adjacent group in an optical axis direction changes during changing magnification, the second optical system includes, continuously along the optical path in order from a position closest to the enlargement side to the reduction side: a first movable lens group (Gr2-2, Figs. 4 & 8) having a positive refractive power that moves during changing magnification (Gr2-2, Figs. 4 & 8; [0087]-[0089]); a second movable lens group (Gr2-3, Figs. 4 & 8; [0087]-[0089]) that moves during changing magnification; and a third movable lens group (Gr2-4, Figs. 4 & 8; [0087]-[0089]) having a positive refractive power that moves during changing magnification, and in the entire zoom lens, lens groups that move during changing magnification are only the first movable lens group, the second movable lens group, and the third movable lens group (Figs. 4 & 8; [0087]-[0089]).
Note: The phrase “a positive lens that has a convex surface facing the enlargement side” is not necessarily limited to a lens in which a convex surface is a surface nearest to the enlargement side of the lens system.
Regarding claim 12, Masui discloses a case where: a focal length of the first movable lens group is represented by f1, and a focal length of the third movable lens group is represented by f3, Conditional Expression (4) is satisfied: 0.5 < f1/f3 < 2 (EX4, Fig. 4; focal length of Gr2-2/ focal length of Gr2-4 = 1.09).
Regarding claim 13, Masui discloses the first movable lens group at a telephoto end is positioned closer to the enlargement side than the first movable lens group at a wide angle end, the second movable lens group at the telephoto end is positioned closer to the enlargement side than the second movable lens group at the wide angle end, and the third movable lens group at the telephoto end is positioned closer to the enlargement side than the third movable lens group at the wide angle end (Fig. 4; [0087]-[0089]).
Regarding claim 14, Masui discloses during changing magnification from the wide angle end to the telephoto end, each of the first movable lens group, the second movable lens group, and the third movable lens group constantly moves to the enlargement side (trajectories m2-2, m2-3, m2-4, Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 15, Masui discloses a first optical path bending member that bends the optical path is disposed in the first optical system (RD, Fig. 8).
Regarding claim 16, Masui discloses a second optical path bending member that bends the optical path is disposed closer to the reduction side than the first optical system (RD, Fig. 8). Note: The claim does not clearly define a reference by which to judge “closer … than the first optical system” as it is not necessarily true that the reference is the most reduction-side portion of the first optical system, a center of the first optical system, or a most enlargement-side portion of the first optical system.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Masui.
Regarding claim 17, Masui discloses a first optical path bending member that bends the optical path is disposed in the first optical system (Fig. 8).
Masui discloses the claimed invention as cited above though does not explicitly disclose a second optical path bending member that bends the optical path is disposed closer to the reduction side than the first optical system.
Before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to provide a second, as-claimed bending member as a mere duplication of the element known in the prior art. The motivation would have been to achieve further compactness and/or conforming to the physical dimensional constraints of the system.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5 and 9-11 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.
Claims 5 and 9-11 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination with other references, neither teaches nor suggests:
“wherein the second movable lens group has a negative refractive power” in the context of further limitations of Claim 1
“wherein the second movable lens group consists of one negative lens and one positive lens” in the context of further limitations of Claim 1
“wherein Conditional Expressions (2-2) and (3-2) are satisfied: 0 < |f1/f2| < 0.5 .. (2-2) and 0 < |f3/f2| < 0.5 .. (3-2)” in the context of further limitations of Claim 1
The nearest prior art (Nagatoshi and Masui above) fail to disclose these specific limitations in a system providing the claimed intermediate image and conditions on the first through third movable group of the independent claim.
Pertinent Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US Pat 10,416,422 , US Pat. 10,908,484, US PG Pub. 2021/0033831 disclose zoom lens systems providing intermediate images and three moving groups on one side of the intermediate image.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER J STANFORD whose telephone number is (571)270-3337. The examiner can normally be reached 8AM-4PM PST M-F.
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/CHRISTOPHER STANFORD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872
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