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 .
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed 8/2/26 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the amended claims filed 8/2/26 have been considered as follows.
35 USC 102/103 Rejections of the claims:
Applicant’s arguments are moot in view of the new ground rejections.
Claim Objections
Claim(s) 1 is/are objected to because of the following informalities:
“wherein the first OPFE is the first optical path folding element encountered by light propagating from the object through the two or more lens elements toward the image sensor” should be “wherein no optical path folding element is on the object side of the first OPFE”.
Appropriate correction is required. For the purpose of the examination of the above claim(s), the above suggested correction(s) will be used by the examiner to interpret the claim(s).
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.
(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.
Claim(s) 1-6,16-19,21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by KATSURAGI (US 20240134168).
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Regarding claim 1, KATSURAGI teaches (Tables 10-12, Fig. 7) A camera module, comprising:
a lens with N lens elements Li 1≤ i ≤ N (L1w-L4) and having an effective focal length (EFL), an aperture having an aperture diameter (DA) and an f-number (f/#) = EFL/DA, wherein each lens element has a respective focal length (fi) and wherein a first lens element (Li) faces an object side and a last lens element (LN) faces an image side;
a first optical path folding element (OPFE) (331) for folding a first optical path (OP 1) (OA1) to a second optical path (OP2) (as seen in Fig. 7); and
an image sensor (23) having a full sensor diagonal (SD),
wherein the camera module is a folded digital camera module, wherein two or more lens elements are located at an object side of the first OPFE, wherein the EFL is in a range of 8mm<EFL<50mm (fw=15), wherein the camera module has a minimum camera module length MLM measured along an axis perpendicular to OP1, wherein MLM (the diameter of L3, perpendicular to the diagram in Fig. 7) accounts for optically operative regions of components included in the camera module, wherein EFL > 1.1 MLM, (15>1.1x~6.7) wherein f/#< 3.25 (2.74), and wherein the first OPFE is the first optical path folding element encountered by light propagating from the object through the two or more lens elements toward the image sensor
Regarding claim 2, KATSURAGI further teaches The camera module of claim 1, wherein f/# < 3 (2.74).
Regarding claim 3, KATSURAGI further teaches The camera module of claim 1, wherein f/# < 2.9 (2.74).
Regarding claim 4, KATSURAGI further teaches The camera module of claim 1, wherein f/# < 2.8 (2.74).
Regarding claim 5, KATSURAGI further teaches The camera module of claim 1, wherein EFL > 1.2MLM (15>1.2x~6.7).
Regarding claim 6, KATSURAGI further teaches The camera module of claim 1, wherein EFL > 1.3MLM (15>1.3x~6.7).
Regarding claim 16, KATSURAGI further teaches The camera module of claim 1, wherein 0.3 < SD/EFL < 0.7 (4.7/15).
Regarding claim 17, KATSURAGI further teaches The camera module of claim 1, wherein the lens has a total track length (TTL), and wherein EFL/TTL < 1.2 (15/16.57).
Regarding claim 18, mutatis mutandis, KATSURAGI teaches in Tables 28-30 and Fig. 15 all the limitations as stated in claim 1 rejection above, and further teaches The camera module of claim 1, wherein 16mm < EFL < 25mm (22).
Regarding claim 19, KATSURAGI further teaches ([93], “mobile phones”) A mobile device including the camera module of claim 1.
Regarding claim 21, KATSURAGI further teaches ([93], “mobile phones” considered as smartphones) The mobile device of claim 19, wherein the mobile device is a smartphone.
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 of this title, 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) 1,7-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable Lu (US 20240134169, of record), as evidenced by Seo (US 20240126054).
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Regarding claim 1, Lu teaches (Table 1, Fig. 3) A camera module, comprising:
a lens with N lens elements Li 1≤ i ≤ N (L1-L6) and having an effective focal length (EFL), an aperture having an aperture diameter (DA) and an f-number (f/#) = EFL/DA, wherein each lens element has a respective focal length (fi) and wherein a first lens element (Li) faces an object side and a last lens element (LN) faces an image side;
a first optical path folding element (OPFE) (12) for folding a first optical path (OP 1) (0 in Fig. 3) to a second optical path (OP2) (optical path for 01 or 03); and
an image sensor (2 in Fig. 3) having a full sensor diagonal (SD),
wherein the camera module is a folded digital camera module, wherein two or more lens elements are located at an object side of the first OPFE, wherein the EFL is in a range of 8mm<EFL<50mm (16.85), wherein the camera module has a minimum camera module length MLM measured along an axis perpendicular to OP1, wherein MLM accounts for optically operative regions of components included in the camera module, wherein EFL > 1.1 MLM, (16.85>1.1x(O1+O3)=1.1x7.58) and wherein f/#< 3.25 (1.79).
Lu does not teach the first OPFE is the first optical path folding element encountered by light propagating from the object through the two or more lens elements toward the image sensor. The difference between the claimed invention and the prior art teaching is there is no prism 11 to bend the optical path.
Absent any showing of criticality and/or unpredictability, having no prism 11 to bend the optical path would have been known to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, as evidenced by Seo (Figs. 1 and 4, which are equivalent to each other with Fig. 4 with optical path folding element and Fig. 1 without) for the purposes of design choices.
Accordingly, 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 teaching of Lu by having no prism 11 to bend the optical path for the purposes of design choices.
Regarding claim 7, Lu further teaches The camera module of claim 1, wherein the lens is located at an object side of the first OPFE (Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 8, Lu further teaches The camera module of claim 7, wherein N ≥ 4 (6).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WEN HUANG whose telephone number is (571)270-0234. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F: 9:00AM-4:00PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Pinping Sun can be reached on (571) 270-1284. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WEN HUANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872
wen.huang2@uspto.gov
(571)270-0234
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