CTNF 19/225,399 CTNF 99949 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Priority 02-26 AIA Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement filed on August 1, 2025 has been considered. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 07-30-01 AIA The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a): (a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention. The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112: The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention. Claims 1-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Claims 1 and 17 recite the limitation “wherein there are two cemented lenses consisting of positive and negative lenses, in the first lens unit” in lines 9-10 and 13-14, respectively. The originally filed specification fails to describe these features. Specifically the tables for Numerical Data 1-3 ([0049]-[0051]) only show one cemented lens for each of the examples (specifically the last lens of the first lens group is a cemented lens). The rest of lenses in the first lens group are separated by an air gap and thus none of them constitute a cemented lens. Furthermore, the rest of specification fails to reasonably indicate that there are two cemented lenses in the first lens group. Therefore claims 1 and 17 fail the written description requirement since specification fails to reasonably convey the inventor had possession of the claimed invention at the time the application was filed. Claims 2-16 fail the written description requirement based on their dependency from claim 1. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-12-aia AIA (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. 07-15-03-aia AIA Claim s 1-4 and 6-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Ohtake et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2023/0152556 – hereinafter referred to as “Ohtake”) . Regarding claim 1, Ohtake teaches an optical system (Figure 21A) comprising a first lens unit having positive refractive power (Figure 21A lens group G1, [0360] G1 has negative refractive power), a second lens unit having positive or negative refractive power (Figure 21A focusing group GF) and configured to move in focusing ([0360]), and a third lens unit having negative refractive power (Figure 21A lens group GR, [0360] lens group GR has negative refractive power) that are arranged in order from an object side to an image side (Figure 21A lens groups G1, GF, and GR are arranged in order), wherein a distance between adjacent two of the lens units changes in focusing (Table 11 Variable distance data: distance between G1 and GF changes and distance between GF and GR changes), wherein there are two cemented lenses consisting of positive lenses and negative lenses, in the first lens unit ([0363] lens group G1 has cemented lens composed of negative lens L2 and positive lens L3 and cemented lens composed of positive lens L4 and negative lens L5), wherein the lens arranged closest to an image side in the third lens unit, is a cemented lens ([0365] cemented lens composed of lenses L18, L19, and L20 formed by cementing a negative lens A ([0365] L20 is negative) and a positive lens arranged on the object side of the negative lens A (Figure 21A L19 is on object side of L20, [0365] L19 is positive), and wherein the optical system satisfies the following conditional inequalities: 0.10 < TL3/TL < 0.40 (Table 11 Lens specifications: TL3 calculated to be 71.653 mm, TL calculated to be 302.5 mm, TL3/TL = 0.24), and 0.05 < DM3/TL3 < 0.14 (Table 11 Lens specifications: DM3 = 8 mm, TL3 calculated to be 71.653 mm, DM3/TL3 = 0.11), where TL is a distance on an optical axis from a lens surface closest to the object side to a lens surface closest to the image side, TL3 is a distance on the optical axis from a lens surface closest to the object side in the third lens unit to a lens surface closest to the image side in the third lens unit, and DM3 is the largest of the thicknesses, on the optical axis, of the lenses in the third lens unit. Regarding claim 2, Ohtake teaches all the limitations of the claimed invention with respect to claim 1. Ohtake further teaches the optical system satisfies the following conditional inequality:0.45 < LD/f < 0.80 (Table 11 General specification: LD = 399.482 mm, f = 779.95 mm, LD/f = 0.51), where LD is a distance on the optical axis from the lens surface closest to the object side to an image plane, and f is a focal length of the optical system at infinity focusing. Regarding claim 3, Ohtake teaches all the limitations of the claimed invention with respect to claim 1. Ohtake further teaches the optical system satisfies the following conditional inequality:0.15 <BF/LD< 0.27 (Table 11 General specification: BF = 87.483 mm, LD = 399.482 mm, BF/LD = 0.22), where BF is a distance on the optical axis from the lens surface closest to the image side to an image plane, and LD is a distance on the optical axis from the lens surface closest to the object side to the image plane. Regarding claim 4, Ohtake teaches all the limitations of the claimed invention with respect to claim 1. Ohtake further teaches the optical system satisfies the following conditional inequality:-0.50 < f3/f < -0.10 (Table 11 Focal length data of groups: f3 = -168.016, f = 779.95 mm, f3/f = -0.22), where f3 is a focal length of the third lens unit, and f is a focal length of the optical system at infinity focusing. Regarding claim 6, Ohtake teaches all the limitations of the claimed invention with respect to claim 1. Ohtake further teaches the optical system satisfies the following conditional inequality:1.85 < nd3N < 2.2 (Table 11 Lens specifications: lens from surfaces 24-25 has a calculated focal length of -46.57 mm, nd3N = 1.92286), where nd3N is a refractive index of a lens relative to a d- line, the lens having the largest refractive index relative to the d-line among negative lenses included in the third lens unit. Regarding claim 7, Ohtake teaches all the limitations of the claimed invention with respect to claim 1. Ohtake further teaches the third lens unit includes a first subunit (Figure 21A lens L8), a second subunit (cemented lens composed of L9 and L10 and single lens L11), and a third subunit (lenses L14-L20) that are arranged in order from the object side to the image side (lenses L8-11 and L14-L20 are arranged in order), wherein the first subunit and the third subunit are configured not to move in image blur correction (Figure 21A VR; only second subunit composed of L9-L11 moves for blur correction, [0368]) and wherein the second subunit is configured to move in a direction containing a component in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis in the image blur correction (Figure 21A VR, [0368] second subunit composed L9-L11 moves for blur correction). Regarding claim 8, Ohtake teaches all the limitations of the claimed invention with respect to claim 7. Ohtake further teaches the first subunit has positive refractive power ([0365] lens L8 is positive). Regarding claim 9, Ohtake teaches all the limitations of the claimed invention with respect to claim 7. Ohtake further teaches the second subunit has negative refractive power (Table 11 Lens specification: focal length of lenses L9-L11 calculated to be -83.18 mm). Regarding claim 10, Ohtake teaches all the limitations of the claimed invention with respect to claim 7. Ohtake further teaches the third subunit has negative refractive power (Table 11 Lens specification: focal length of lenses L14-L20 calculated to be -153.99 mm). Regarding claim 11, Ohtake teaches all the limitations of the claimed invention with respect to claim 1. Ohtake further teaches the second lens unit has negative refractive power ([0360] GF has negative refractive power). Regarding claim 12, Ohtake teaches all the limitations of the claimed invention with respect to claim 11. Ohtake further teaches the second lens unit is configured to move to the image side in focusing from an infinity side to a short distance side (Figure 21A lens group GF moves towards image side during focusing). Regarding claim 13, Ohtake teaches all the limitations of the claimed invention with respect to claim 1. Ohtake further teaches the second lens unit consists of one lens (Figure 21A, [0364] lens group GF consists of lens L7). Regarding claim 14, Ohtake teaches all the limitations of the claimed invention with respect to claim 1. Ohtake further teaches among distances on the optical axis between two adjacent lenses in the optical system, a distance between a lens closest to the object side and a lens adjacent thereto is largest (Table 11 Lens specification: distance between L1 and L2 is the largest separation between adjacent lenses). Regarding claim 15, Ohtake teaches all the limitations of the claimed invention with respect to claim 1. Ohtake further teaches the first lens unit and the third lens unit are configured not to move in focusing (Figure 21A, [0367] only lens group GF moves during focusing). Regarding claim 16, Ohtake teaches all the limitations of the claimed invention with respect to claim 1. Ohtake further teaches an aperture stop is disposed between the first lens unit and the second lens unit (Figure 21A, [0361] aperture stop S is disposed between lens groups G1 and GF). Regarding claim 17, Ohtake teaches an imaging apparatus (Figure 23) comprising: an optical system (Figure 21A); and an image sensor configured to capture an image of an object through the optical system ([0366] imaging device constructed from a CCD or CMOS is disposed at image plane), wherein a first lens unit having positive refractive power (Figure 21A lens group G1, [0360] G1 has negative refractive power), a second lens unit having positive or negative refractive power (Figure 21A focusing group GF) and configured to move in focusing ([0360]), and a third lens unit having negative refractive power (Figure 21A lens group GR, [0360] lens group GR has negative refractive power) that are arranged in order from an object side to an image side (Figure 21A lens groups G1, GF, and GR are arranged in order), wherein a distance between adjacent two of the lens units changes in focusing (Table 11 Variable distance data: distance between G1 and GF changes and distance between GF and GR changes), wherein there are two cemented lenses consisting of positive lenses and negative lenses, in the first lens unit ([0363] lens group G1 has cemented lens composed of negative lens L2 and positive lens L3 and cemented lens composed of positive lens L4 and negative lens L5), wherein the lens arranged closest to an image side in the third lens unit, is a cemented lens ([0365] cemented lens composed of lenses L18, L19, and L20 formed by cementing a negative lens A ([0365] L20 is negative) and a positive lens arranged on the object side of the negative lens A (Figure 21A L19 is on object side of L20, [0365] L19 is positive), and wherein the optical system satisfies the following conditional inequalities: 0.10 < TL3/TL < 0.40 (Table 11 Lens specifications: TL3 calculated to be 71.653 mm, TL calculated to be 302.5 mm, TL3/TL = 0.24), and 0.05 < DM3/TL3 < 0.14 (Table 11 Lens specifications: DM3 = 8 mm, TL3 calculated to be 71.653 mm, DM3/TL3 = 0.11), where TL is a distance on an optical axis from a lens surface closest to the object side to a lens surface closest to the image side, TL3 is a distance on the optical axis from a lens surface closest to the object side in the third lens unit to a lens surface closest to the image side in the third lens unit, and DM3 is the largest of the thicknesses, on the optical axis, of the lenses in the third lens unit . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ohtake et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2023/0152556) . Regarding claim 5, Ohtake teaches all the limitations of the claimed invention with respect to claim 1. Ohtake further teaches vd3P = 70.32 (Table 11 Lens specification) but fails to teach 73 < vd3P< 97, where vd3P is an Abbe number of a lens based on a d-line, the lens having the largest Abbe number based on the d-line among positive lenses included in the third lens unit. In this instance, 70.32 is close to the claimed range of 73 < vd3P< 97. A prima facie case of obviousness exists where the claimed ranges or amounts do not overlap with the prior art but are merely close. Titanium Metals Corp. of America v. Banner, 778 F.2d 775, 783, 227 USPQ 773, 779 (Fed. Cir. 1985) (Court held as proper a rejection of a claim directed to an alloy of "having 0.8% nickel, 0.3% molybdenum, up to 0.1% iron, balance titanium" as obvious over a reference disclosing alloys of 0.75% nickel, 0.25% molybdenum, balance titanium and 0.94% nickel, 0.31% molybdenum, balance titanium. "The proportions are so close that prima facie one skilled in the art would have expected them to have the same properties."). As such, the disclosed lens system of Ohtake would have made the claimed system obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the effective time of filing . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Miwa et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2021/0055530), Sugita et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2017/0351060), and Eguchi (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0100337) all teach optical systems with similar configurations to the claimed invention . Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALEX PARK RICKEL whose telephone number is (703)756-4561. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m. - 6 p.m. ET. 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, Bumsuk Won can be reached at (571)272-2713. 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. Alex Rickel Examiner Art Unit 2872 /A.P.R./Examiner, Art Unit 2872 /BUMSUK WON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2872 Application/Control Number: 19/225,399 Page 2 Art Unit: 2872 Application/Control Number: 19/225,399 Page 3 Art Unit: 2872 Application/Control Number: 19/225,399 Page 4 Art Unit: 2872 Application/Control Number: 19/225,399 Page 5 Art Unit: 2872 Application/Control Number: 19/225,399 Page 6 Art Unit: 2872 Application/Control Number: 19/225,399 Page 7 Art Unit: 2872 Application/Control Number: 19/225,399 Page 8 Art Unit: 2872 Application/Control Number: 19/225,399 Page 9 Art Unit: 2872 Application/Control Number: 19/225,399 Page 10 Art Unit: 2872 Application/Control Number: 19/225,399 Page 11 Art Unit: 2872 Application/Control Number: 19/225,399 Page 12 Art Unit: 2872
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