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 1/3/2025 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
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-9 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.
Claims 1-9 incorporate indefiniteness in the use of the terms “-like” or “-type.” Specifically, the claims state a “vibration-type actuator.” The addition of these terms to otherwise definite expressions extend the scope of the expression rendering it indefinite. The various expressions need to describe what an element is, not what it is “like” or a kind of “type.”
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, 2, and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kimura (20110241488) hereafter Kimura
Regarding claim 1, Kimura discloses in figs 5A, 5B, 6A-6D, 7A, and 8A-8D a vibration-type actuator (50 or 60) comprising: a vibrator (50 or 60) including an electro-mechanical energy conversion element (65) and an elastic member (52 or 62); and a contact member (66) to be bought into contact with the elastic member (52 or 62), vibration of the vibrator allowing the contact member and the vibrator to relatively move in a first direction (par. [0063]-[0085]), wherein the elastic member (52 or 62) includes a rectangular plate portion (fig. 7A) along the first direction, a protruding portion (59 or 69) protruding in a second direction crossing the first direction (fig. 7A), and an extending portion (521 or 621) extending from the plate portion in a direction along the first direction (fig. 6F and 8F) , wherein the vibration-type actuator further comprises a support member (par. [0073]) to be brought into contact with at least one of the extending portion (521 or 621) and the plate portion to support the vibrator movably along the second direction (par. [0063]-[0086]), and wherein a part of the elastic member (52 or 62) is provided with a contact surface (57 or 67) and an inclined portion (figs. 5A, 5B, 6A-6D, 7A, and 8A-8D), the contact surface (57 or 67) being in contact with the support member along the second direction (5A, 5B, 6A-6D, 7A, and 8A-8D) the inclined portion being adjacent to the contact surface and being inclined in a direction away from the support member relative to the contact surface (see fig. 5A, 5B, 6A-6D, 7A, and 8A-8D , par. [0063]-[0086]).
Regarding claim 2, Kimura discloses the vibration-type actuator according to claim 1, wherein the support member includes a convex portion (53) to selectively support a node common to two different vibration modes in the vibrator (par. [0035]-[0036][0065]-[0086]).
Regarding claim 8, Kimura discloses an electronic apparatus comprising: the vibration-type actuator according to claim 1; and a member to be driven by the vibration-type actuator (par. [0033]).
6. The vibration-type actuator according to claim 1, further comprising a sagging portion on an opposite side of the inclined portion with respect to the contact surface, the sagging portion being adjacent to the contact surface.
7. The vibration-type actuator according to claim 6, wherein the electro-mechanical energy conversion element is located on a surface of the plate portion that is closer to the sagging portion than the inclined portion.
An optical apparatus comprising: the vibration-type actuator according to claim 1; and an optical element to be driven by the vibration-type actuator.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-7 and 9 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 does not disclose the claimed combination of limitations to warrant a rejection under 102 or 103.
Regarding claim 3 (and its dependents), the prior art does not disclose the claimed vibrator actuator specifically including as the distinguishing features in combination with the other limitations the claimed “wherein a columnar portion provided on the support member contacts at least one of the extending portion and the plate portion of the elastic member.”
Regarding claim 5, the prior art does not disclose the claimed vibrator actuator specifically including as the distinguishing features in combination with the other limitations the claimed “wherein the inclined portion includes inclined portions having different inclination angles or different curvatures, the inclined portions being inclined in a direction away from the support member and being adjacent to each other.”
Regarding claim 6 (and its dependent), the prior art does not disclose the claimed vibrator actuator specifically including as the distinguishing features in combination with the other limitations the claimed “a sagging portion on an opposite side of the inclined portion with respect to the contact surface, the sagging portion being adjacent to the contact surface.”
Regarding claim 9 the prior art does not disclose the claimed vibrator actuator specifically including as the distinguishing features in combination with the other limitations the claimed “an optical element to be driven by the vibration actuator.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMES JONES whose telephone number is (571)270-1278. The examiner can normally be reached 7:00 am - 4:00 pm.
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, Pinping Sun can be reached at (571) 270-1284. 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.
/JAMES C. JONES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872
Prosecution Insights