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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 20 recites the limitation "the downstream" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 16-19 and 21-32 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: The closest prior art is Hutchens (US 2009/0288669) and Bundren et al. (US 2013/0115452).
Hutchens discloses a smoking article comprising filter element 26 (filter segment) which may incorporate an effective amount of adsorbent material 50 containing carrier material 55 ([0051]). The filter material 40 can vary, and can be any material of the type that can be employed for providing a tobacco smoke filter for cigarettes. Preferably a traditional cigarette filter material is used, such as cellulose acetate tow, gathered cellulose acetate web, polypropylene tow, gathered cellulose acetate web, gathered paper, strands of reconstituted tobacco, or the like. One highly preferred filter material that can provide a suitable filter rod is cellulose acetate tow having 3 denier per filament and 40,000 total denier. As another example, cellulose acetate tow having 3 denier per filament and 35,000 total denier can provide a suitable filter rod. As another example, cellulose acetate tow having 8 denier per filament and 40,000 total denier can provide a suitable filter rod ([0065]). A flavoring agent may be impregnated or otherwise suspended or included within or on the carrier material 55, in addition to the adsorbent material 50 ([0053]). The adsorbent material 50 may be formed as a rupturable capsule (flavor delivery member) ([0054]; Figure 3b). Hutchens discloses embodiments where the cellulose acetate tow has a total denier of 35,000 and 40,000 but does not explicitly disclose an example where the total denier is between about 10,000 and about 30,000. Hutchens also does not disclose wherein a cross-sectional area of the flavour delivery member measured perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the filter is about 30%, or greater, of the cross-sectional area of the filter segment and wherein the filter material of the filter segment comprises at least one of paper and a non-woven material.
Bundren et al. discloses a smoking device filter produced from high denier per filament and low total denier cellulose acetate tow bands ([0034]). Filaments may be high dpf filaments, i.e., about 10 denier per filament (dpf) or greater. In some embodiments, filaments for use in the present invention may be about 11 denier per filament (dpf) or greater. In some embodiments, filaments for use in the present invention may be about 12 denier per filament (dpf) or greater ([0042]). Tow bands formed from the plurality of filaments may be about 20,000 total denier or less. In some embodiments, a tow band may be about 15,000 total denier or less. In some embodiments, a tow band may be about 10,000 total denier or less. An exemplary tow band may have about 10 dpf or greater and about 20,000 total denier ([0056]). Bundren does not disclose wherein a cross-sectional area of the flavour delivery member measured perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the filter is about 30%, or greater, of the cross-sectional area of the filter segment and wherein the filter material of the filter segment comprises at least one of paper and a non-woven material.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Katherine A Will whose telephone number is (571)270-0516. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 10:00AM-6:00PM(EST).
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael Wilson can be reached at (571)270-3882. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/KATHERINE A WILL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1747