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
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 1-7-8, 10, 17-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0033974 to Sato (“Sato”).
Regarding claim 1, Sato teaches a variable aperture mechanism for a camera, comprising: one or more sets of blades (see the sets of blades in Figure 2, reference number 200a and reference number 200b); and one or more actuators configured to move the one or more sets of blades to vary an aperture for the camera between at least three states of the one or more sets of blades, the three states including at least two differently-sized open aperture states and a fully shuttered state; wherein the one or more sets of blades are shaped to move between the at least three states with no more than three levels of overlap of the one or more sets of blades (Figures 3-7(d) show different states of the aperture size and the movement of the sets of blades; Figure 2 shows that that are no more than three levels of overlap between the sets of blades).
Regarding claim 7, Sato teaches the variable aperture mechanism for a camera of claim 1, wherein the one or more sets of blades comprise: a first set of the sets of blades configured to vary the aperture for the camera between the two differently-sized open states; and a second set of the sets of blades configured to put the aperture into the fully shuttered state (see Figures 4 and 6 showing the different states based on the driven blade sets).
Regarding claim 8, Sato teaches the variable aperture mechanism for a camera of claim 1, wherein the one or more sets of blades comprise: a first set of variable aperture blades configured to provide three or more differently-sized open states; and a second set of shutter blades configured to provide the fully shuttered state (see Figures 3-6).
Regarding claim 18, Sato teaches the lens assembly for a camera of claim 10, wherein the one or more sets of blades comprise: a set of blades configured to meet one another at a blade interface in a closed position; wherein the blade interface is a non-linear shape (see Figures 3-6).
Claims 10, 19 are rejected similarly to claim 1.
Claims 16-17 are rejected similarly to claims 7-8.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-6, 9, 11-15, 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AMY R HSU whose telephone number is (571)270-3012. The examiner can normally be reached 9am-5pm.
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AMY R. HSU
Examiner
Art Unit 2664
/AMY R HSU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2638
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