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 (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.
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) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by IDS provided reference US 2012/0106936 to Lim et al. (hereinafter Lim).
Regarding independent claim 20, Lim teaches a camera device comprising:
a housing (housing 120, see Fig. 1);
a bobbin disposed in the housing (bobbin 131, see Fig. 1);
a coil and a magnet configured to move the bobbin in an optical axis direction (coil 121 and magnet 140 move the bobbin 131 in the optical axis direction, see par. [0049]); and
a support member connecting the housing and the bobbin (fixed suspension wire 150 connects the housing 120 and the bobbin 131, see par. [0053]).
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:
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(s) 1, 10 and 18-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lim in view of US 2020/0386968 to Uno et al. (hereinafter Uno).
Regarding independent claim 1, Lim teaches a camera device comprising:
a housing (housing 120, see Fig. 1);
a bobbin disposed in the housing (bobbin 131, see Fig. 1);
a coil and a magnet configured to move the bobbin in an optical axis direction (coil 121 and magnet 140 move the bobbin 131 in the optical axis direction, see par. [0049]); and
a support member connecting the housing and the bobbin (fixed suspension wire 150 connects the housing 120 and the bobbin 131, see par. [0053]),
But Lim fails to clearly specify “wherein the bobbin comprises a groove formed on an outer surface of the bobbin, and
wherein the support member comprises a first fixed portion fixed in the groove of the bobbin”.
However, Uno teaches a lens position adjustment device of a camera module “wherein the bobbin comprises a groove formed on an outer surface of the bobbin (lens holder 102 comprises two arms 218 and 220 with groove formed on an outer surface, see Figs. 2, 3A and 5 and par. [0048]), and
wherein the support member comprises a first fixed portion fixed in the groove of the bobbin (ball support members 226 and 228 extend inward from an inner wall of the housing 202, ball 214 and 216 are fixed in the groove of arms 218 and 220, see par. [0048-0049] and Figs. 2, 3A and 5)”.
References are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor and/or are reasonably pertinent to the particular problem with which the applicant was concerned because they relate to camera modules.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the above camera module as taught by Lim, by incorporating the components as taught by Uno.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do this modification in order to enable the lens holder 224 to be capable of moving in a Z-axis direction, which extends along the optical axis, as it is guided by the balls 214 and 216 as suggested by Uno (see par. [0049]).
Regarding claim 10, Lim in view of Uno teaches the camera device of claim 1,
wherein the magnet is disposed on the bobbin (magnet 140 disposed on the bobbin 130, see Lim Fig. 2), and
wherein the coil is disposed on the housing (coil 121 disposed on the housing 120, see Lim Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 18, Lim in view of Uno teaches an optical device comprising:
a main body (smartphone, see Uno par. [0003]);
the camera device of claim 1 disposed on the main body (camara incorporated in a smartphone, see Uno par. [0003]); and
a display disposed on the main body and outputting an image photographed by the camera device (implied component in the smartphone, see Uno par. [0003]).
Regarding independent claim 19, Lim teaches a camera device comprising:
a housing (housing 120, see Fig. 1);
a bobbin disposed in the housing (bobbin 131, see Fig. 1);
a coil and a magnet configured to move the bobbin in an optical axis direction (coil 121 and magnet 140 move the bobbin 131 in the optical axis direction, see par. [0049]); and
a support member connecting the housing and the bobbin (fixed suspension wire 150 connects the housing 120 and the bobbin 131, see par. [0053]),
But, Lim fails to clearly specify “wherein a groove is formed on at least one of an outer surface of the bobbin and an inner surface of the housing, and
wherein the support member comprises a fixed portion fixed in the groove”.
However, Uno teaches a lens position adjustment device of a camera module “wherein a groove is formed on at least one of an outer surface of the bobbin and an inner surface of the housing (lens holder 102 comprises two arms 218 and 220 with groove formed on an outer surface, see Figs. 2, 3A and 5 and par. [0048]), and
wherein the support member comprises a first fixed portion fixed in the groove (ball support members 226 and 228 extend inward from an inner wall of the housing 202, ball 214 and 216 are fixed in the groove of arms 218 and 220, see par. [0048-0049] and Figs. 2, 3A and 5)”.
References are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor and/or are reasonably pertinent to the particular problem with which the applicant was concerned because they relate to camera modules.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the above camera module as taught by Lim, by incorporating the components as taught by Uno.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do this modification in order to enable the lens holder 224 to be capable of moving in a Z-axis direction, which extends along the optical axis, as it is guided by the balls 214 and 216 as suggested by Uno (see par. [0049]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 2-9 and 11-17 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 ANGEL L GARCES-RIVERA whose telephone number is (571)270-7268. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9AM-5PM ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sinh Tran can be reached at 571-727-7564. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ANGEL L GARCES-RIVERA/ Examiner, Art Unit 2637
/SINH TRAN/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2637
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