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 .
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.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 06/05/2025 has been considered by the examiner. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
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.
Claims 1 – 7 and 9 – 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by KISHIDA (US PgPub No. 20120114319).
Regarding claim 1, KISHIDA teaches an imaging apparatus to which an interchangeable lens is detachably attachable (figure 1 item 100 items 200 and 300), the imaging apparatus comprising: a communication interface that communicates data with the attached interchangeable lens (figure 1 item 400); an image sensor that captures a subject image via the interchangeable lens to generate image data (figure 1 item 221); a controller that controls an operation of the interchangeable lens with data communication via the communication interface (figure 1 items 201, 301, and 401); an image processor (figure 1 item 240) that performs electronic zoom processing to crop an image at a variable magnification from the image data generated by the image sensor (figure 3 item S401); and a setting interface that sets the electronic zoom processing to a first operation member in response to a user operation of the setting interface, the first operation member being provided in the interchangeable lens (figure 3 silent mode leading to item S401), wherein when the electronic zoom processing is not set to the first operation member by the setting interface, the controller controls the interchangeable lens to perform a predetermined operation in response to a user operation of the first operation member (figure 3 normal mode leading to item S201), and when the electronic zoom processing is set to the first operation member by the setting interface, the controller disallows the predetermined operation by the interchangeable lens and controls the image processor to perform the electronic zoom processing in response to the user operation of the first operation member (figure 3 silent mode leading to item S401 and does not allow S210).
Regarding claim 2, as mentioned above in the discussion of claim 1, KISHIDA teaches all of the limitations of the parent claim. Additionally, KISHIDA teaches wherein the first operation member is provided to output an operation amount indicating a degree of the user operation thereof on the interchangeable lens (figure 3 items S402, S404, and S406), wherein when the electronic zoom processing is set to the first operation member, the controller receives the operation amount of the first operation member in turn from the interchangeable lens via the communication interface (figure 3 items S403 and S405), and controls the image processor to perform the electronic zoom processing with changing the magnification according to the received operation amount (figure 3 items S401 – S406).
Regarding claim 3, as mentioned above in the discussion of claim 2, KISHIDA teaches all of the limitations of the parent claim. Additionally, KISHIDA teaches wherein the controller receives characteristic information from the attached interchangeable lens via the communication interface, the characteristic information regarding the first operation member, and manages a correspondence between the operation amount and the magnification, based on the characteristic information of the first operation member and a range in which the magnification is settable in the electronic zoom processing 9paragraphs 0035, 0039, 0042, 0064, and 0073 - 0074; information required to control and zoom range).
Regarding claim 4, as mentioned above in the discussion of claim 1, KISHIDA teaches all of the limitations of the parent claim. Additionally, KISHIDA teaches wherein the setting interface includes a switcher that switches an operation mode of the imaging apparatus among a plurality of operation modes in response to the user operation of the setting interface (figure 1 items 253 and 255), the plurality of operation modes including a first operation mode corresponding to the predetermined operation, the switcher does not set the electronic zoom processing to the first operation member when the operation mode of the imaging apparatus is switched to the first operation mode, and the switcher sets the electronic zoom processing to the first operation member when the operation mode of the imaging apparatus is switched to a second operation mode different from the first operation mode (figure 3 Silent, normal, and high speed modes).
Regarding claim 5, as mentioned above in the discussion of claim 1, KISHIDA teaches all of the limitations of the parent claim. Additionally, KISHIDA teaches wherein the first operation member is provided to perform a focus adjustment operation as the predetermined operation (paragraphs 0026 – 0028 and 0033), the focus adjustment operation adjusting a focus position in the interchangeable lens in response to the user operation of the first operation member, and the controller disallows the focus adjustment operation by the first operation member when the electronic zoom processing is set on the first operation member by the setting interface (figure 3 silent mode vs normal mode focus control as discussed in paragraphs 0026 – 0028 and 0033).
Regarding claim 6, as mentioned above in the discussion of claim 1, KISHIDA teaches all of the limitations of the parent claim. Additionally, KISHIDA teaches wherein the interchangeable lens includes a zoom lens and a second operation member for optical zoom by the zoom lens, and the setting interface includes a first option and a second option, the first option allocating the electronic zoom processing to the first operation member and the second option allocating the electronic zoom processing together with the optical zoom to the second operation member (figure 3 zoom by interchangeable lens and zoom by electronic zoom via different modes).
Regarding claim 7, as mentioned above in the discussion of claim 6, KISHIDA teaches all of the limitations of the parent claim. Additionally, KISHIDA teaches wherein the interchangeable lens further includes a driver that drives the zoom lens to control the optical zoom (figure 1 items 330 and 430), and the setting interface further includes a third option disallowing the optical zoom and allocating the electronic zoom processing to the second operation member (figure 3 silent mode).
Regarding claim 9, KISHIDA teaches an interchangeable lens detachably attachable to an imaging apparatus (figure 1 item 100 items 200 and 300), the interchangeable lens comprising: a communication interface that communicates data with the attached imaging apparatus (figure 1 item 400); an optical system that forms an image on an image sensor of the imaging apparatus, based on incident light (figure 1 items 322, 432, and 221); an operation member that receives a user operation for the optical system (figure 1 items 253 and 255); and a controller that controls an operation of the optical system according to the user operation of the operation member, based on information received from the imaging apparatus via the communication interface (figure 1 items 201, 301, and 401), wherein when electronic zoom processing of the imaging apparatus is not set to the operation member, the controller performs a predetermined operation by the optical system in response to the user operation of the operation member (figure 3 normal mode leading to item S201), and when the electronic zoom processing is set to the operation member, the controller does not perform the predetermined operation by the optical system in response to the user operation of the operation member (figure 3 silent mode leading to item S401 and does not allow S210).
Regarding claim 10, as mentioned above in the discussion of claim 9, KISHIDA teaches all of the limitations of the parent claim. Additionally, KISHIDA teaches wherein the operation member is provided to output an operation amount indicating a degree of the user operation thereof on the interchangeable lens (figure 3 items S402, S404, and S406), and the controller transmits the operation amount of the operation member to the imaging apparatus via the communication interface (figure 3 items S403 and S405) when the electronic zoom processing is set to the operation member (figure 3 items S401 – S406).
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:
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.
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 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KISHIDA (US PgPub No. 2012/0114319) in view of Hagiwara (US PgPub No. 2005/0057677).
Regarding claim 8, as mentioned above in the discussion of claim 1, KISHIDA teaches all of the limitations of the parent claim.
Additionally, KISHIDA teaches a display that displays at least one of an image or a menu screen (figure 1 item 231), wherein the interchangeable lens includes a zoom lens and a second operation member for optical zoom by the zoom lens (figure 1).
However, KISHIDA fails to teach the controller causes the display to independently display information indicating the magnification for the electronic zoom processing with the first operation member and information indicating another magnification for the optical zoom with the second operation member. Hagiwara, on the other hand teaches the controller causes the display to independently display information indicating the magnification for the electronic zoom processing with the first operation member and information indicating another magnification for the optical zoom with the second operation member.
More specifically, Hagiwara teaches the controller causes the display to independently display information indicating the magnification for the electronic zoom processing with the first operation member and information indicating another magnification for the optical zoom with the second operation member (figures 8 – 9 also paragraphs 0040 – 0041 and 0055).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention (AIA ) to incorporate the teachings of Hagiwara with the teachings of KISHIDA to have a system to quickly and easily display to the user zoom levels, thereby improving usability of the device.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Yamamoto (US PgPub No. 20070053068) teaches a camera with zoom lens with zoom and cut out modes.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Usman A Khan whose telephone number is (571)270-1131. The examiner can normally be reached on M - Th 5:30 AM - 2 PM, F 5:30 AM - Noon.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sinh Tran can be reached on (571)272-7564. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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Usman Khan
/USMAN A KHAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2637
06/30/2026
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