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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 06/23/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the Examiner.
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 29-38, 40, 43-49 and 51-52 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(1) as being anticipated over Eguchi (US 2013/0100337, of record).
Regarding claim 29, Eguchi disclose an optical system (Figure 1A) comprising
a first lens group ([0026] discloses: L1, first lens unit) having positive refractive power ([0026] discloses: L1, first lens unit, as positive refractive power),
a focusing group ([0026] discloses: L2, second lens unit) that moves along an optical axis at focusing ([0026] discloses: L2, second lens unit, moves in an optical axis direction to perform focusing), and a rear group ([0026] discloses: L3, third lens unit), in order from an object side (left hand side of Figure 1A to right hand side of Figure 1A), wherein
the first lens group includes a first-A lens group ([0028] discloses: L1A, fixed first partial lens unit) disposed on the object side of the largest air space A in the first lens group (Figure 1A depicts: L1A, fixed partial lens unit, disposed on object side of the largest air space, between the L1A, fixed first partial lens unit and L1B, fixed second partial lens unit), and
all of the following conditional expressions are satisfied:
0.30<TL/f<0.80 (using values from [0120] Various Kinds of Data: TL is calculated to be 420.00, f is calculated to be 548.99, TL/f is calculated to be 0.72, which falls within the claimed range)
0.30<dA/dG1<0.85 (using values from [0120] Surface Data: dA is calculated to be 91.63; using values from Lens Unit Data: dG1 is calculated to be 199.68, dA/dG1 is calculated to be 0.46, which falls within the claimed range)
where
TL is the total optical length of the optical system focusing on infinity,
f is the focal length of the optical system focusing on infinity,
dA is the length on the optical axis of the largest air space A, and
dG1 is the length on the optical axis of the first lens group.
Regarding claim 30, Eguchi discloses an optical system comprising a plurality of lenses including a positive lens component ([0026] discloses: L1A, first partial lens unit) closest to an object side (Figure 1A depicts: L1A, first partial lens unit, closest to object side, left hand side of Figure 1A) and
including a negative lens N ([0028] discloses: negative lens of L1B, second partial lens unit; Examiner notes that the left hand lens of L1B, second partial lens unit is considered the negative lens) disposed closest to the object side of negative lenses ([0028] discloses: L1B, second partial lens unit, has a negative refractive power, cemented and considered the negative lenses) disposed closer to an image side than the positive lens component (Figure 1A depicts: L1B, second partial lens unit, disposed closer to the image side, right hand side of Figure 1A, than the L1A, first partial lens unit),
all of the following conditional expressions being satisfied:
1.00<FNo x (TL/f)2<2.50 (using values from [0120] Various Kinds of Data: FNo is calculated to be 4.12, TL is calculated to be 420.00, f is calculated to be 584.99, FNo x (TL/f)2 is calculated to be 2.12, which falls within the claimed range)
0.18<dN/TL<0.45 (using values from [0120] Surface Data: dN is calculated to be 137.13; from Various Kinds of Data: TL is calculated to be 420.00, dN/TL is calculated to be 0.33, which falls within the claimed range)
where
FNo is the f-number of the optical system focusing on infinity,
TL is the total optical length of the optical system focusing on infinity,
f is the focal length of the optical system focusing on infinity, and
dN is the distance on an optical axis from a surface closest to the object side in the optical system to an object-side surface of the negative lens N.
Regarding claim 31, Eguchi discloses the optical system according to claim 30, comprising a first lens group ([0026] discloses: L1, first lens unit), a focusing group ([0026] discloses: L2, second lens unit) that moves along the optical axis at focusing ([0026] discloses: L2, second lens unit, moves in an optical axis direction to perform focusing), and a rear group ([0026] discloses: L3, third lens unit), in order from the object side (left hand side of Figure 1A to right hand side of Figure 1A), wherein
the first lens group includes a first-A lens group ([0028] discloses: L1A, fixed first partial lens unit) disposed on the object side of the largest air space A in the first lens group (Figure 1A depicts: L1A, fixed partial lens unit, disposed on object side of the largest air space, between the L1A, fixed first partial lens unit and L1B, fixed second partial lens unit), and
the following conditional expression is satisfied:
0.30<dA/dG1<0.85 (using values from [0120] Surface Data: dA is calculated to be 91.63; using values from Lens Unit Data: dG1 is calculated to be 199.68, dA/dG1 is calculated to be 0.46, which falls within the claimed range)
where
dA is the length on the optical axis of the largest air space A, and
dG1 is the length on the optical axis of the first lens group.
Regarding claim 32, Eguchi discloses the optical system according to claim 30, comprising a first lens group closest to the object side, wherein the following conditional expression is satisfied:
0.30<TL/f<0.80 (using values from [0120] Various Kinds of Data: TL is calculated to be 420.00, f is calculated to be 548.99, TL/f is calculated to be 0.72, which falls within the claimed range).
Regarding claim 33, Eguchi discloses the optical system according to claim 29, wherein the first lens group ([0026] discloses: L1, first lens unit) includes the positive lens component and the negative lens N (Figure 1A depicts: L1, first lens group, containing L1A, the positive lens component and L1B, the negative lens component that contains negative lens N).
Regarding claim 34, Eguchi discloses the optical system according to claim 29, wherein
the first lens group ([0026] discloses: L1, first lens unit) includes a first-B lens group disposed on an image side of the largest air space A (Figure 1 depicts: L1B, second partial lens unit, disposed on the image side of the largest air space A, that is between L1A and L1B), and
the following conditional expression is satisfied:
-2.00<f1A/f1B<0.30 (using values from [0120] Lens Unit Data: f1A is calculated to be 238.87, f1B is calculated to be -249.72, f1A/f1B is calculated to be -0.96, which falls within the claimed range)
where
f1A is the focal length of the first-A lens group, and
f1B is the focal length of the first-B lens group.
Regarding claim 35, Eguchi discloses the optical system according to claim 29, wherein the following conditional expression is satisfied:
0.10<f1A/f<0.60 (using values from [0120] Lens Unit Data: f1A is calculated to be 238.87; f is calculated to be 584.99, f1A/f is calculated to be 0.41, which falls within the claimed range)
where
f1A is the focal length of the first-A lens group.
Regarding claim 36, Eguchi discloses the optical system according to claim 29, wherein
the first lens group ([0026] discloses: L1, first lens unit) includes a first-B lens group disposed on an image side of the largest air space A (Figure 1 depicts: L1B, second partial lens unit, disposed on the image side of the largest air space A, that is between L1A and L1B), and
the following conditional expression is satisfied:
0.40<dB/dG1<0.85 (using values from [0120] Surface Data: dB is calculated to be 120.9, using values from Lens Data Unit: dG1 is calculated to be 199.68, dB/dG1 is calculated to be 0.61, which falls within the claimed range)
where
dB is the distance on the optical axis from a surface closest to the object side in the optical system to an object-side surface of the first-B lens group, and
dG1 is the length on the optical axis of the first lens group.
Regarding claim 37, Eguchi discloses the optical system according to claim 29, wherein the first-A lens group includes two or fewer positive lenses (Figure 1A depicts: L1A, considered the first-A lens group, with two lenses).
Regarding claim 38, Eguchi discloses the optical system according to claim 29, wherein the following conditional expression is satisfied:
0.80<fL1/fL2<3.30 (using values from [0120] Single Lens Data Table: fL1 is calculated to be 525.40, fL2 is calculated to be 441.69, fL1/fL2 is calculated to be 1.19, which falls within the claimed range)
where
fL1 is the focal length of a first lens disposed closest to the object side in the first-A lens group, and
fL2 is the focal length of a second lens disposed second from the object side in the first-A lens group.
Regarding claim 40, Eguchi discloses the optical system according to claim 29, wherein the following conditional expression is satisfied:
55.00<vdlAave (using values from [0120] Surface Data Table: , vd1Aave is calculated to be 82.65, which falls within the claimed range)
where
vdlAave is an average of the Abbe numbers for d-line of lenses included in the first-A lens group.
Regarding claim 43, Eguchi discloses the optical system according to claim 29, wherein the following conditional expression is satisfied:
0.00<(L2R2+L2R1)/(L2R2-L2R1)<3.00 (using values from [0120] Surface Data Table: L2R2 is calculated to be 339.103, L2R1 is calculated to be 124.218, (L2R2+L2R1)/(L2R2-L2R1) is calculated to be 2.16, which falls within the claimed range)
where
L2R1 is the radius of curvature of an object-side surface of a second lens disposed second from the object side in the first-A lens group, and
L2R2 is the radius of curvature of an image-side surface of the second lens.
Regarding claim 44, Eguchi discloses the optical system according to claim 29, wherein the following conditional expression is satisfied:
0.10<f1/f<0.60 (using values from [0120] Lens Data Unit: f1 is calculated to be 234.00; from Various Kinds of Data: f is calculated to be 584.99, f1/f is calculated to be 0.40, which falls within the claimed range)
where
f1 is the focal length of the first lens group.
Regarding claim 45, Eguchi discloses the optical system according to claim 29, wherein the following conditional expression is satisfied:
0.20< (-fF)/f1<0.85 (using values from [0120] Lens Data Unit: -fF is calculated to be 136.58, f1 is calculated to be 234, (-fF)/f1 is calculated to be 0.58, which falls within the claimed range)
where
fF is the focal length of the focusing group, and
f1 is the focal length of the first lens group.
Regarding claim 46, Eguchi discloses the optical system according to claim 29, wherein the following conditional expression is satisfied:
-1.50< (-fF) /fR<0.60 (using values from [0120] Lens Data Unit: -fF is calculated to be 136.58, fR is calculated to be 0.58, which falls within the claimed range)
where
fF is the focal length of the focusing group, and
fR is the focal length of the rear group.
Regarding claim 47, Eguchi discloses the optical system according to claim 29, wherein the following conditional expression is satisfied:
0.30<dF/TL<0.70 (using values from [0120] Lens Data Unit: dF is calculated to be 234.00; from Various Kinds of Data Table: TL is calculated to be 420.00, dF/TL is calculated to be 0.56, which falls within the claimed range)
where
dF is the distance on the optical axis from a surface closest to the object side in the optical system to a surface closest to the object side in the focusing group.
Regarding claim 48, Eguchi discloses the optical system according to claim 29, wherein the following conditional expression is satisfied:
40.00<vdFave (using values from [0120] Surface Data Table: vdFave is calculated to be 50.8, which falls within the claimed range)
where
vdFave is an average of the Abbe numbers for d-line of lenses included in the focusing group.
Regarding claim 49, Eguchi discloses the optical system according to claim 29, wherein the following conditional expression is satisfied:
1.00̊<2ω<20.00 (using values from [0120] Surface Data Table: 2ω is calculated to be 4.24, which falls within the claimed range),
where
2ω is the total angle of view of the optical system.
Regarding claim 51, Eguchi discloses the optical system according to claim 29, wherein
the rear group includes a vibration reduction lens group movable so that movement has a component in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis to correct an image blur ([0096] discloses: L32, second partial lens unit, moves in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis as to perform a correction of an image blur; Examiner notes that this is considered to a vibration reduction lens group).
Regarding claim 52, Eguchi discloses the optical apparatus comprising the optical system according to claim 29 ([0002] discloses: the present invention relates to an optical system that is suitably used for an image pickup apparatus).
Regarding claim 53, Eguchi discloses a method for manufacturing an optical system including a plurality of lenses, the method comprising one of the following features A or B, wherein:
the feature A comprising:
disposing a first lens group ([0026] discloses: L1, first lens unit) having positive refractive power ([0026] discloses: L1, first lens unit, as positive refractive power), a focusing group ([0026] discloses: L2, second lens unit) that moves along an optical axis at focusing ([0026] discloses: L2, second lens unit, moves in an optical axis direction to perform focusing), and a rear group ([0026] discloses: L3, third lens unit), in order from an object side (left hand side of Figure 1A to right hand side of Figure 1A);
disposing a first-A lens group ([0028] discloses: L1A, fixed first partial lens unit) on the object side of the largest air space A in the first lens group (Figure 1A depicts: L1A, fixed partial lens unit, disposed on object side of the largest air space, between the L1A, fixed first partial lens unit and L1B, fixed second partial lens unit); and
arranging so that all of the following conditional expressions are satisfied: 0.30<TL/f<0.80 (using values from [0120] Various Kinds of Data: TL is calculated to be 420.00, f is calculated to be 548.99, TL/f is calculated to be 0.72, which falls within the claimed range)
0.30<dA/dG1<0.85 (using values from [0120] Surface Data: dA is calculated to be 91.63; using values from Lens Unit Data: dG1 is calculated to be 199.68, dA/dG1 is calculated to be 0.46, which falls within the claimed range)
where
TL is the total optical length of the optical system focusing on infinity,
f is the focal length of the optical system focusing on infinity,
dA is the length on the optical axis of the largest air space A, and
dG1 is the length on the optical axis of the first lens group, and
the feature B comprising:
disposing at least one positive lens component ([0026] discloses: L1A, first partial lens unit) closest to an object side (Figure 1A depicts: L1A, first partial lens unit, closest to object side, left hand side of Figure 1A);
disposing a negative lens N ([0028] discloses: negative lens of L1B, second partial lens unit; Examiner notes that the left hand lens of L1B, second partial lens unit is considered the negative lens) closest to the object side of negative lenses ([0028] discloses: L1B, second partial lens unit, has a negative refractive power, cemented and considered the negative lenses) disposed closer to an image side than the positive lens component (Figure 1A depicts: L1B, second partial lens unit, disposed closer to the image side, right hand side of Figure 1A, than the L1A, first partial lens unit); and
arranging so that all of the following conditional expressions are satisfied:
1.00<FNo x (TL/f)2<2.50 (using values from [0120] Various Kinds of Data: FNo is calculated to be 4.12, TL is calculated to be 420.00, f is calculated to be 584.99, FNo x (TL/f)2 is calculated to be 2.12, which falls within the claimed range)
0.18<dN/TL<0.45 (using values from [0120] Surface Data: dN is calculated to be 137.13; from Various Kinds of Data: TL is calculated to be 420.00, dN/TL is calculated to be 0.33, which falls within the claimed range)
where
FNo is the f-number of the optical system focusing on infinity,
TL is the total optical length of the optical system focusing on infinity,
f is the focal length of the optical system focusing on infinity, and
dN is the distance on an optical axis from a surface closest to the object side in the optical system to an object-side surface of the negative lens N.
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.
Claims 39 and 41 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Eguchi (US 2013/0100337, of record), as applied to claim 1 above, in view of Uchida (US 2011/0122510, of record).
Regarding claim 39, Eguchi discloses the optical system according to claim 29, wherein
a first-B lens group disposed on an image side of the largest air space A (Figure 1 depicts: L1B, second partial lens unit, disposed on the image side of the largest air space A, that is between L1A and L1B).
Eguchi fails to disclose an optical system wherein
the first-B lens group includes at least one positive lens Z satisfying the following conditional expression: 60.00<vd1Amax-vdLZ where vdlAmax is the highest of the Abbe numbers for d-line of lenses included in the first-A lens group, and vdLZ is the Abbe number for d-line of the positive lens Z. However, optimizing the Abbe number to a lens system is well within the bounds of normal experimentation. See MPEP 2144.05 II (A). “Where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to dis-cover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation. ”In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955). Furthermore, “a particular parameter must first be recognized as a result-effective variable, i.e., a variable which achieves a recognized result, before the determination of the optimum or workable ranges of said variable might be characterized as routine experimentation. ”In re Antonie, 559 F.2d 618, 195 USPQ 6 (CCPA 1977). In the case at hand, Uchida teaches in [0074] that the Abbe number for a lens system is considered a variable which achieves a recognized result. Optimizing the Abbe number adjusts the chromatic aberration/dispersion, improving the overall balance of aberration correction and imaging performance. Therefore, the prior art teaches adjusting the Abbe and identifies said sizes/ratios as result-effective variables. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective time of filing to satisfying the following conditional expression: 60.00<vd1Amax-vdLZ since it is not inventive to dis-cover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation.
Regarding claim 41, Eguchi discloses the optical system according to claim 29, wherein
the first lens group includes a first-B lens group disposed on an image side of the largest air space A (Figure 1 depicts: L1B, second partial lens unit, disposed on the image side of the largest air space A, that is between L1A and L1B).
Eguchi fails to disclose an optical system wherein
the first-B lens group includes at least one positive lens Z satisfying all of the following conditional expressions: ndLZ+(0.01425 x vdLZ)<2.12, vdLZ<35.00, 0.702<ØgFLZ+(0.00316 x vdLZ) where ndLZ is the refractive index for d-line of the positive lens Z, vdLZ is the Abbe number for d-line of the positive lens Z, and ØgFLZ is a partial dispersion ratio of the positive lens Z and is defined by the following equation: ØgFLZ= (ngLZ-nFLZ) / (nFLZ-nCLZ)
where the refractive indices for g-line, F-line, and C-line of the positive lens Z are denoted by ngLZ, nFLZ, and nCLZ, respectively. However, optimizing the Abbe number to a lens system is well within the bounds of normal experimentation. See MPEP 2144.05 II (A). “Where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to dis-cover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation. ”In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955). Furthermore, “a particular parameter must first be recognized as a result-effective variable, i.e., a variable which achieves a recognized result, before the determination of the optimum or workable ranges of said variable might be characterized as routine experimentation. ”In re Antonie, 559 F.2d 618, 195 USPQ 6 (CCPA 1977). In the case at hand, Uchida teaches in [0074] that the Abbe number for a lens system is considered a variable which achieves a recognized result. Optimizing the Abbe number adjusts the chromatic aberration/dispersion, improving the overall balance of aberration correction and imaging performance. Therefore, the prior art teaches adjusting the Abbe and identifies said sizes/ratios as result-effective variables. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective time of filing to satisfying the following conditional expressions: ndLZ+(0.01425 x vdLZ)<2.12, vdLZ<35.00, 0.702<ØgFLZ+(0.00316 x vdLZ) since it is not inventive to dis-cover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation.
Claim 42 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Eguchi (US 2013/0100337, of record), as applied to claim 1 above, in view of Yabe “Optimization in Lens Design”, 2018, of record).
Regarding claim 42, Eguchi discloses the optical system according to claim 29.
Eguchi fails to disclose an optical system wherein the following conditional expression is satisfied: 0.00<(L1R2+L1R1)/(L1R2-L1R1)<3.00 where L1R1 is the radius of curvature of an object-side surface of a first lens disposed closest to the object side in the first-A lens group, and L1R2 is the radius of curvature of an image-side surface of the first lens. However, optimizing the curvature/radius of curvature of a lens is well within the bounds of normal experimentation. See MPEP 2144.05 II (A). “Where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to dis-cover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation. ”In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955). Furthermore, “a particular parameter must first be recognized as a result-effective variable, i.e., a variable which achieves a recognized result, before the determination of the optimum or workable ranges of said variable might be characterized as routine experimentation. ”In re Antonie, 559 F.2d 618, 195 USPQ 6 (CCPA 1977). In the case at hand, Yabe teaches in section 4.4 Sensitivity control of “Optimization in Lens Design” teaches lens curvature as an adjustable variable which achieves a recognized result. This is done to achieve a desired refractive index and aberration characteristics compact optical layout of the optical system. Therefore, the prior art teaches adjusting the curvature of a lens in a lens system and identifies said sizes/ratios as result-effective variables. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective time of filing to 0.00<(L1R2+L1R1)/(L1R2-L1R1)<3.00 since it is not inventive to dis-cover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation.
Claim 50 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Eguchi (US 2013/0100337, of record), as applied to claim 1 above, in view of Kawamura (US 2014/0307338, of record).
Regarding claim 50, Eguchi discloses the optical system according to claim 29.
Eguchi fails to disclose an optical system wherein the following conditional expression is satisfied: 0.075<Bf/f<0.185 where Bf is the back focus of the optical system. However, optimizing the back focus is well within the bounds of normal experimentation. See MPEP 2144.05 II (A). “Where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to dis-cover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation. ”In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955). Furthermore, “a particular parameter must first be recognized as a result-effective variable, i.e., a variable which achieves a recognized result, before the determination of the optimum or workable ranges of said variable might be characterized as routine experimentation. ”In re Antonie, 559 F.2d 618, 195 USPQ 6 (CCPA 1977). In the case at hand, Kawamura teaches in [0089] that back focus is an optimizable variable which achieves a recognized result. Therefore, the prior art teaches adjusting the back focus of an optical system and identifies back focus as result-effective variables. Doing so would allow for proper image plane spacing, compact optical layout and desired imaging performance. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective time of filing to adjust the back focus to satisfy 0.075<Bf/f<0.185 since it is not inventive to dis-cover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: Bito et al. (US 2019/0041607), Ichikawa et al. (US 2019/0033563) and Aoi (US 2018/0259752) all disclose relevant optical systems.
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/J.C.S./Examiner, Art Unit 2872
/BUMSUK WON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2872