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
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 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and/or 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Lee et al. (US 20080084620 A1, hereinafter Lee).
Regarding claim 1, Lee discloses an optical member driving mechanism (lens driving device 100, fig. 1), comprising:
a movable portion (lens barrel 110, ¶0030-0031, figs. 1-2), configured to connect an optical member ( …and a guiding part guiding the lens barrel to move in the optical axis direction… Abstract);
a fixed portion (base 150, figs. 1-2), wherein the movable portion is movable relative to the fixed portion (¶0042, ¶0080); and
a driving assembly (actuator 120, figs. 1-2, ¶0030-0036), configured to drive the movable portion (lens barrel 110, figs. 1-3) to move (Abstract, ¶0042-0046).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-20 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:
Regarding claim 2, Lee discloses the optical member driving mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the optical member driving mechanism further comprises:
a transferring assembly, configured to transfer a driving force generated by the driving assembly to the movable portion (…the actuator 120 transfers the driving force generated upon application of power to the lens barrel 110 via the friction member 125 contacting the tip friction member 121 – ¶0044), and comprising a contacting member, (121+122, figs. 1-3) wherein the contacting member comprises a first contacting part (121, out of 121+122, fig. 3), and the first contacting part has a plate structure corresponding to the driving assembly (121 is understood as a plate structure, fig. 3); and
a guiding assembly (143+141, fig. 3), configured to guide a movement direction (optical axis, Abstract) of the movable portion (lens barrel, 110, figs. 1-3) relative to the fixed portion (base 150, figs. 1-3), and comprising a first guiding member (141, fig. 3, ¶0055-0068), wherein the first guiding member has a longitudinal structure (evident from fig. 2) and is extended along a longitudinal direction (see fig. 2).
However, Lee is not found disclosing reasonably the limitation of, wherein as observed along the longitudinal direction, an included angle formed by a connecting line between the center of the first guiding member and the center of the first contacting part and a direction of a thickness of the first contacting part is less than 10 degrees.
Claims 3-20 are allowable for being dependent on allowable claim 2
Conclusion
The prior and/or pertinent art(s) made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure, are – Kim et al. (US 9544479 B2), Uno et al. (US 9140875 B2), Shyu et al. (US 8040623 B2), Koc et al. (US 7706089 B2), and Ko et al. (US 20110122517 A1) – who disclose different lens driving modules of interest.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHAHBAZ NAZRUL whose telephone number is (571)270-1467. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th: 9.30 am-3 pm, 6.30 pm-9 pm, F: 9.30 am-1.30 pm, 4 pm-8 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Lin Ye can be reached on 571-272-7372. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SHAHBAZ NAZRUL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2638
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