DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-7 were withdrawn from consideration as non-elected after a restriction requirement mailed on 06/23/2026. Claims 8-20 were elected for examination and have been considered for patentability.
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) 8-10, 13 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Zhao et al. (US Publication 2018/0020131).
In re Claim 8, Zhao discloses a camera module for an electronic device, comprising: a base 612; a flexible electrical connector 614 secured to the base; an enclosure 652 overlying and secured to the flexible electrical connector 614 at a first location 670, 672 (See Figures 6 and 8), the enclosure 652 secured to the base 612 at a second location (at 812, See Figure 8), the enclosure 652 and the base 612 at least partially defining a camera volume (Figure 8); and a camera component 610 disposed in the camera volume.
In re Claim 9, Zhao discloses wherein the enclosure 652 comprises: a first sidewall 672, 678 secured to the flexible electrical connector 614, 618 at the first location; and a second sidewall opposite the first sidewall (See Figure 8), the second sidewall secured to the base at the second location (See Figure 8, at 812).
In re Claim 10, Zhao discloses wherein the first sidewall 672, 678 and the second sidewall (See Figure 8) at least partially define an opening disposed over the camera component (See Figure 8).
In re Claim 13, Zhao discloses wherein the enclosure 652 is secured to the flexible electrical connector 614 with an adhesive 812.
In re Claim 19, Zhao discloses an electronic device, comprising: a base 612; a flexible electrical connector 614 secured to the base 612; and a camera module, comprising: a camera volume (See Figure 8) defined by the base 612 and an enclosure 652 overlying and secured to the flexible electrical connector 614 at a first location 670, 672 (See Figures 6 and 8), the enclosure 652 secured to the base 612 at a second location (at 812, See Figure 8); and a camera component 610 disposed on the base 612 in the camera volume (Figure 8).
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) 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhao et al. (US Publication 2018/0020131) in view of Barrows (US Patent 9,756,228).
In re Claim 14, Zhao discloses the limitations as noted above but does not explicitly disclose wherein the adhesive is substantially opaque. However, providing such would have been an obvious modification to a person having ordinary skill in the art. Barrows discloses optical structures to image sensors using edge adhesive and making that adhesive opaque to prevent light from entering through the side. Barrows, Figure 5A; col. 8. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art portable electronics at a time before the effective filing date to have provided an opaque adhesive, as disclosed in Barrows, in place of the adhesive as otherwise disclosed in Zhao. Using opaque adhesive would assist in preventing light from bleeding through from the portable electronic device display and negatively affecting the camera performance. Barrows, col. 8.
Claim(s) 15-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhao et al. (US Publication 2018/0020131) in view of Murouchi et al. (US Patent 8,192,645).
In re Claim 15, Zhao discloses the limitations as noted above and wherein manufacturing the enclosure by molding and subsequently plating or coating with a conductive material or forming the structures from a conductive thermoplastic or resin. Zhao, paragraph 0049. However, Zhao does not explicitly disclose wherein the enclosure is plastic with light reflecting material disposed in the plastic.
Murouchi discloses a plastic material comprising a liquid crystal polymer resin having titanium particles disposed therein. Murouchi, Example 8, Table 3, columns 17-18. Murouchi identifies titanium dioxide as a white pigment and describes its use in resin compositions to improve refectiviity, thereby teaching a light reflective material disposed in plastic. Id. at col.2, ll. 45-50; col. 11, ll. 8-15.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art portable electronics at a time before the effective filing date to have provided Murouchi’s light reflective material in the otherwise plastic enclosure as disclosed in Zhao. The addition of the light reflective material provides a molded camera module enclosure having suitable strength and heat resistance while still providing desirable properties to improve the camara performance while reducing the impact on a surrounding display quality. Murouchi, col. 1 ll. 7-21; col. 12 ll. 33-49. Furthermore, using this disclosed resin for the enclosure in Zhao’s molded enclosure would predictably provide these material properties while the conductive coating preserves the enclosure’s electromagnetic shielding function. The resulting enclosure would comprise a plastic material and a light reflecting material disposed in the plastic material.
In re Claim 16, Murouchi further discloses wherein the light reflecting material comprises a ceramic material. Murouchi, col. 11 ll. 8-15 (titanium dioxide is an oxide ceramic).
Claim(s) 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhao et al. (US Publication 2018/0020131) in view of Bai (US Publication 2019/0327400).
In re Claim 17, Zhao discloses the limitations as noted above but does not explicitly disclose an ambient light sensor disposed in the camera volume. However, providing such was not new in the art of portable electronics before applicant’s effective filing date. For example, Bai discloses an ambient light sensor 17 disposed in a camera volume (See Figure 1). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art of portable electronics to have provided an ambient light sensor in a camera module as taught by Zhang, with the apparatus and camera module as otherwise disclosed in Zhao to reduce the number of openings required in display/front housing wall. Bae, paragraphs 0004-0006, 0074.
Claim(s) 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhao et al. (US Publication 2018/0020131) in view of Gustavsson et al. (US Patent 7,405,764).
In re Claim 18, Zhao discloses the limitations as noted above but does not explicitly disclose wherein the flexible electrical connector is configured to be in communication with a processor disposed on the base. However, providing such was not new in the art of portable electronics before applicant’s effective filing date. For example, Gustavsson discloses wherein a flexible electrical connector 9 is configured to be in communication with a processor 13 disposed on a base 7. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art of portable electronics to have provided a flexible connector connected to a processor as taught by Gustavsson, with the apparatus and camera module as otherwise disclosed in Zhao to mount an image processor on the rigid base and connect through the board circuitry to the flexible connector to make the camera module and apparatus more compact and reduce the amount of space it takes up within the portable electronic device. Gustavsson, Figures 1 and 2, columns 4-5.
Claim(s) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhao et al. (US Publication 2018/0020131) in view of Zhang (US Publication 2019/0394373).
In re Claim 20, Zhao discloses the limitations as noted above, also disclosing a housing at least partially defining an internal volume (Zhao, paragraph 0002, describing how the camera module disclosed therein may be used in various devices such as cell phones and computers), but does not explicitly disclose a backlight component disposed in the internal volume, the backlight component defining a notch; the camera module being disposed in the internal volume adjacent to the backlight component at the notch. However, providing such was not new in the art prior to applicant’s effective filing date.
For example, Zhang discloses a backlight component 223 disposed in an internal volume 10, 40 (Figure 1), the backlight component defining a notch (Zhang, paragraphs 0064, 0072, 0076; Figures 7 and 8); a camera module 50 being disposed in the internal volume adjacent to the backlight component at the notch (Zhang, paragraphs 0065-0066, Figures 6-8).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art of portable electronics to have provided a camera module at a notch in a backlight of a display, as taught by Zhang, with the apparatus and camera module as otherwise disclosed in Zhao to save design space. Zhang, paragraph 0065.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 11-12 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 specific limitations of “wherein: the enclosure defines a portion of an exterior surface of the camera module; and the portion of the exterior surface has a reflectivity of machined aluminum” in Claim 11 are not anticipated or made obvious by the prior art of record in the examiner’s opinion.
For example, Zhao et al. (US Publication 2018/0020131) discloses a camera module for an electronic device, comprising: a base 612; a flexible electrical connector 614 secured to the base; an enclosure 652 overlying and secured to the flexible electrical connector 614 at a first location 670, 672 (See Figures 6 and 8), the enclosure 652 secured to the base 612 at a second location (at 812, See Figure 8), the enclosure 652 and the base 612 at least partially defining a camera volume (Figure 8); and a camera component 610 disposed in the camera volume.
Zhao further discloses wherein the enclosure 652 comprises: a first sidewall 672, 678 secured to the flexible electrical connector 614, 618 at the first location; and a second sidewall opposite the first sidewall (See Figure 8), the second sidewall secured to the base at the second location (See Figure 8, at 812). Zhao also discloses wherein the first sidewall 672, 678 and the second sidewall (See Figure 8) at least partially define an opening disposed over the camera component (See Figure 8).
However, Zhao further discloses wherein the enclosure may be made from an aluminum sheet. Zhao, paragraph 0049. However, an aluminum sheet is not the same thing as machined aluminum with the purpose of creating reflectivity. Therefore, Zhao does not disclose wherein: the enclosure defines a portion of an exterior surface of the camera module; and the portion of the exterior surface has a reflectivity of machined aluminum.
Murouchi et al. (US Patent 8,192,645) discloses a plastic material comprising a liquid crystal polymer resin having titanium particles disposed therein. Murouchi, Example 8, Table 3, columns 17-18. Murouchi identifies titanium dioxide as a white pigment and describes its use in resin compositions to improve reflectivity, thereby teaching a light reflective material disposed in plastic. Id. at col.2, ll. 45-50; col. 11, ll. 8-15. Murouchi further discloses wherein the light reflecting material comprises a ceramic material. Murouchi, col. 11 ll. 8-15 (titanium dioxide is an oxide ceramic). Murouchi also discloses aluminum oxide impurities in talc and surface treatment of pigment particles. Its titanium dioxide disclosure supports the light reflecting as discussed in the rejection to Claims 15 and 16 above but does not establish that the enclosure has reflectivity of a machined aluminum as claimed in Claim 11.
Hoelter et al. (US Publication 2013/0329054) discloses a camera housing cover 910A-910C with metal layers 920A-920C on interior and/or exterior surfaces. See Hoelter, Figures 12-14. However, Hoelter does not disclose machined aluminum for reflectivity.
De La Cruz (US Patent 9,525,832) discloses a camera EMC shield comprising aluminum film with an anti-reflective coating. De La Cruz, Figure 3 and associated disclosure. However, De La Cruz does not disclose machining aluminum to improve reflectivity and perhaps even teaches away from doing so by disclosing an anti-reflective coating being applied to the metal.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Adrian S Wilson whose telephone number is (571)270-3907. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Allen L Parker can be reached at 303-297-4722. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/ADRIAN S WILSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841
Prosecution Insights