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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 2025 November 24 has been entered.
Claims 1, 3-4, and 16-23 are pending. Claims 17 and 21 remain withdrawn.
Claims 1, 3-4, 16, 18-20, and 22-23 are presently examined.
Claim Objections
Claim 19 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 19: “the rod portion extends through the first recess” should be “the rod portion extending through the first recess” or “wherein the rod portion extends through the first recess”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 1, 3-4, 16, 18-20, and 22-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (CN 110226777 A with reference made to machine translation) in view of Bache (US 20180368474 A1).
Claim 1: Chen teaches an electronic vaporization device (fig. 14-17 and [102-104]), comprising:
a vaporizable material storage device (fig. 14), configured to store a vaporizable material ([104], fig. 14 shows a cartridge) and comprising two electric contact elements ([106], #1471 and #1472 can form electrical contact);
and a body (fig. 15), detachably connected ([104], fig. 14’s cartridge and fig. 15’s rod can be disassembled) to the vaporizable material storage device (fig. 14), comprising:
two electric connection terminals ([103], #1621 and #1622 can form electrical connection), electrically connected to ([135], #1621 and #1622 electrically connect to #151; [106], #151 electrically connects to #1471 and #1472) the two electric contact elements (1471 and 1472) when the body is detachably connected to the vaporizable material storage device (when fig. 14’s cartridge and fig. 15’s rod are connected as in fig. 18);
a processing circuit ([103], #166 is a circuitry module);
a power supply (#166 is powered which teaches a power supply to power #166), electrically connected to the processing circuit (166), wherein the processing circuit (166) controls the power supply to provide first electric power ([102], #151 forms a heating circuit #111) to the vaporizable material storage device (fig. 14) to vaporize the vaporizable material [56];
and a detection apparatus ([146], authentication circuit #112 and pin #1623), electrically connected to the processing circuit (#166 receives information from #112 and #1623) and configured to provide a flavor detection signal to the processing circuit (#112 and #1623 send flavor information to #166) in a case that the vaporizable material storage device (fig. 14) is in contact with and triggers the detection apparatus (112 and 1623);
wherein the vaporizable material storage device (fig. 14) further comprises an auxiliary apparatus ([105], #1481 and #1482), the auxiliary apparatus (1481 and 1482) is configured to trigger the detection apparatus ([102], #1481 and #1482 electrically connect to detection circuit #112 which teaches that connecting #1481 and #1482 electrically triggers detection circuit #112) in a case that the auxiliary apparatus (1481 and 1482) is connected between the detection apparatus (#1481 and #1482 electrically connect to #112) and the electric connection terminals ([105], #1481 and #1482 electrically connect to #1621 and #1622), the auxiliary apparatus (1481 and 1482) comprises an auxiliary elastic piece (#1481 is a spring piece), one end of the auxiliary elastic piece (1481) is connected to one of the two electric contact elements (1471), the auxiliary elastic piece (1481) extends toward (#1481 extends along fig. 14’s horizontal direction) another of the two electric contact elements (1472), another end (bottommost end of 1481) is spaced from the another of the two electric contact elements (1472), and the detection apparatus ([146], #112 and #1623) provides the flavor detection signal in a case that the detection apparatus (112 and 1623) is connected to the another end of the auxiliary elastic piece ([102], #112 electrically connects to #1481).
Chen does not explicitly teach that the flavor detection signal is a power adjustment signal, wherein the processing circuit controls, in response to the power adjustment signal, the power supply to provide second electric power to the vaporizable material storage device, the second electric power being different from the first electric power.
Bache teaches an electronic vaporization device (title) configured to send a flavor detection signal ([149], the device detects a flavor type of a cartridge #180) which is a power adjustment signal ([150], the device uses the flavor type to adjust a power delivered to a vapor generator #144), such that vapor generation is adjusted to each cartridge’s flavor [150].
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to make Chen’s flavor detection signal a power adjustment signal as taught by Bache, wherein the processing circuit controls, in response to the power adjustment signal, the power supply to provide second electric power to the vaporizable material storage device, the second electric power being different from the first electric power, because doing so would enable the device to adjust vapor generation to each cartridge’s flavor.
Claim 3: modified Chen teaches the electronic vaporization device of claim 1, wherein the auxiliary apparatus (fig. 14-15, #1481 and #1482) is configured to form a short circuit (electrical components #1481 and #1482 inherently can short circuit in the event of failure; for example, [126] discloses that certain temperatures enable short-circuiting along the bottom of #146) between the detection apparatus (112 and 1623) and the electric connection terminals (1621 and 1622).
Claim 4: modified Chen teaches the electronic vaporization device of claim 3, wherein the power adjustment signal ([146], #112 and #1623 send information to #166) indicates potential differences (#112 detects resistance values which are proportional to potential values) between the detection apparatus (112 and 1623) and the electric connection terminals (1621 and 1622).
Claim 16: modified Chen teaches the electronic vaporization device of claim 1, wherein the auxiliary elastic piece (fig. 14-15, #1481 and #1482) is disposed in the vaporizable material storage device (fig. 14).
Claim 18: modified Chen teaches the electronic vaporization device of claim 1, wherein the vaporizable material storage device (fig. 14) further comprises a base (150), the base (150) comprising a first recess (topmost recess 1503) for accommodating the electric contact elements (1471 and 1472).
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Claim 19: modified Chen teaches the electronic vaporization device of claim 18, wherein the electric contact elements (fig. 14, #1471 and #1472) comprise an electric contact surface (bottommost surface of 1471) and a rod portion (topmost cylinder of 1471), the electric contact surface (bottommost surface of 1471) being exposed out of an outer surface of the base ([106], #1471 passes through #150’s holes which teaches that a bottommost surface of #1471 is exposed out of #150), the rod portion extending through the first recess of the base (#1471 passes through topmost recess #1503).
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Claim 20: modified Chen teaches the electronic vaporization device of claim 19, wherein the auxiliary elastic piece (fig. 14, #1481) extends from the electric contact surface (bottommost surface of 1481) to a center portion (interior volume) of the base (150).
Claim 22: modified Chen teaches the electronic vaporization device of claim 1, wherein the body (fig. 15) comprises a body casing (171) having an opening (topmost opening of 171) to accommodate part of the vaporizable material storage device (fig. 2A-B show that fig. 15’s rod #12 can accommodate fig. 14’s cartridge #11).
Claim 23: modified Chen teaches the electronic vaporization device of claim 18, wherein the auxiliary apparatus (fig. 14, #1481 and #1482) further comprises an auxiliary pin (protrusion of 1482), and the base (fig. 14, #150) further comprises a second recess (bottommost recess of 150), the second recess (bottommost recess of 150) accommodating the auxiliary pin ([106], #1472 passes through #150, and #1482 is below #1472, so #1482 is accommodated in #150’s bottommost recess), wherein the other end of the auxiliary elastic piece (1481) is connected to the auxiliary pin ([106], #1481 electrically connects to #151 which electrically connects to #1482).
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Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments of 2025 November 24 have been carefully considered. Upon further search and consideration, a new ground of rejection is made for claim 1 over Chen in view of Bache.
Applicant argues (p. 6, [2]) that Chen teaches an authentication circuit ([146], #112) positioned in a vaporizable material storage device (Chen fig. 14) rather than a body (Chen fig. 15). However, Chen teaches an authentication assembly (Chen fig. 14 and [146], authentication circuit #112 and pin #1623) at least partially positioned in a body (Chen fig. 15) which reads on the claimed detection assembly.
Applicant’s arguments against Marubashi (p. 6, [3-5]) are mooted by the new ground of rejection which does not rely on Marubashi.
Applicant argues (p. 7, [2]) that the advisory action of 2025 November 3 mapped both Chen’s #1461 and Chen’s #1481 to an auxiliary elastic piece. The examiner apologizes for the advisory action’s typo but maintains the prior grounds of rejection that mapped Chen’s #1481 to an auxiliary elastic piece.
Applicant argues (p. 7, [final paragraph] – p. 8, [1]) limitations which are not claimed, e.g., an auxiliary elastic element that extends to another of two electric contact elements. Applicant further argues that Chen does not teach an auxiliary elastic element that extends toward another of two electric contact elements. However, Chen does teach an auxiliary elastic piece (fig. 14 and [105], #1481 is a spring piece) that extends toward (#1481 extends along fig. 14’s horizontal direction) another of two electric contact elements (1472). The claims in view of the specification do not differentiate the claimed auxiliary elastic piece that extends over Chen’s flat piece that extends in a horizontal direction. See MPEP 2111 with emphasis added: claims must be given their broadest reasonable interpretation in light of the specification.
Applicant argues (p. 8, [2]) that Chen does not teach an auxiliary elastic piece that connects to a detection assembly. However, Chen does teach that an auxiliary elastic piece (fig. 14 and [105], #1481) electrically connects to a detection assembly ([102], #1481 electrically connects to #112).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Tobey C. Le whose telephone number is (703)756-5516. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thu 7:30-17:30 ET.
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/TOBEY C LE/Examiner, Art Unit 1747
/Michael H. Wilson/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1747
