DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 8/20/2025 has been entered.
Status of the Claims
Claims 1-10 are pending. Claims 1-3 and 8 have been amended.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 8/20/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that ceramic body 201a of Li is not an atomizing portion because “Applicant is of the opinion that the ceramic body 201a of Li is merely a ceramic frame for carrying the heating element 203a” and does not itself provide heat to atomize the liquid. This argument is not persuasive as Applicant’s opinion cannot take the place of evidence in the record. Specifically, Li explicitly states that “the ceramic base 201 may generate heat together with the heating element 203 to heat and atomize the liquid” (¶ 0016).
Applicant further argues that upper and lower “end[s]” of claim 1 should be interpreted as “faces” because Applicant’s Specification discusses “faces”. This argument is not persuasive as claim 1 does not require that the upper or lower end be a “face”. To the contrary, claim 1 only states that the upper end is “provided with” a face, meaning that while it comprises a face, it may also comprise other components. Further, while the Specification may have given an example in which the upper or lower end is exclusively a single “face”, Applicant did not claim this feature. Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
Applicant further argues that the liquid absorbing face of Li is only provided at a “middle position” of the wall. This argument is not persuasive as the absorbing face of Li extends from the top to the bottom of the wall (Fig. 7 of Li).
Applicant further argues that “[a]s mentioned above, the ceramic body 201a of Li is merely a ceramic frame . . . and atomization does not occurs [sic] at the ceramic body 201a”. This argument is not persuasive since, as discussed above, atomization occurs at the ceramic body (¶ 0016 of Li).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al. (US 2017/0224018 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Li discloses an atomizing structural member (“ceramic heating atomizing core 10a”, Fig. 4, ¶ 0026), comprising an atomizing core assembly (assembly comprising “ceramic body 201a”, Fig. 5, ¶ 0027, and “liquid guiding body 103a”, Fig. 4, ¶ 0026) and a heating element (“heating element 203a”, Fig. 5, ¶ 0027);
the atomizing core assembly comprising an atomizing portion (“ceramic body 201a”, Fig. 5, ¶ 0027) and a liquid guiding portion (“liquid guiding body 103a”, Fig. 4, ¶ 0026), wherein the heating element is embedded in the atomizing portion (¶ 0027, 0032), and the atomizing portion is ceramic (“ceramic body 201a”, ¶ 0027);
the liquid guiding portion is provided with a wall portion (“liquid guiding body 103a” has a wall portion, see Fig. 4 below, annotated by examiner) having an upper end (top half of the wall portion) and a lower end (bottom half of the wall portion), the lower end the wall portion is in contact with a central region of an outer wall of the atomizing portion (see Fig. 4 below, annotated by examiner; the central region of an outer wall of the atomizing portion, “ceramic body 201a”, being the portion containing “plurality of through holes 2023” in Fig. 5, ¶ 0031), a highest position of the upper end of the wall portion is provided with a liquid absorbing face (the face of the wall) in contact with an atomizing medium (“liquid” in “liquid reservoir 304a”, Fig. 7, ¶ 0039), and the atomizing medium is delivered to the atomizing portion through the upper end and the lower end of the wall portion (¶ 0026-0027).
Li does not explicitly disclose using a porous material for the atomizing portion. Instead, Li discloses that the atomizing portion is ceramic (“ceramic body 201a”, ¶ 0027). However, it is known in the art that ceramic can be porous (Li, ¶ 0015). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to use a porous ceramic material for the atomizing portion, as it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use. (In re Leshin, 277 F.2d 197, 125 USPQ 416 (CCPA 1960); MPEP § 2144.07).
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Figure 4, Annotated by Examiner
Regarding claim 2, Li discloses the atomizing structural member according to claim 1, as stated above. Li further discloses wherein, in a state of use, a highest position of the atomizing portion in the direction of gravity is lower than the highest position of the upper end of the wall portion to which the atomizing medium is delivered by capillary action (Fig. 7, ¶ 0015, Li teaches capillary osmosis).
Regarding claim 3, Li discloses the atomizing structural member according to claim 2, as stated above. Li further discloses the atomizing core assembly is provided with a leak-proof sealing layer (“shell 101a”, Fig. 4, ¶ 0026) at the liquid guiding portion, and the leak-proof sealing layer is used to prevent the atomizing medium from leaking out of the liquid guiding portion (see Fig. 7, the leak-proof sealing layer provides a physical barrier which prevents the atomizing medium from leaking out of the liquid guiding portion).
Regarding claim 4, Li discloses the atomizing structural member according to claim 1, as stated above. Li further discloses the wall portion is provided with at least one opening at a position adjacent to the atomizing portion so that an upper end region and a lower end region of the opening are in fluid communication (wall portion of “liquid guiding body 103a” forms a hollow tube with openings at the top and bottom in fluid communication, Fig. 7).
Regarding claim 5, Li discloses the atomizing structural member according to claim 1, as stated above. Li further discloses wherein the liquid guiding portion is further provided with a cup bottom (“liquid guiding body 103a” has a cup bottom, see Fig. 4 below, annotated by examiner) connected to the wall portion (see Fig. 4 below, annotated by examiner), the cup bottom is arranged to be in contact with the atomizing portion (see Fig. 4 below, annotated by examiner), and the wall portion delivers the atomizing medium to the atomizing portion through the cup bottom (the entirety of “liquid guiding body 103a” supplies liquid, including the wall portion and cup bottom, and the cup bottom receives its liquid from the wall portion, ¶ 0026).
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Figure 4, Annotated by Examiner
Regarding claim 6, Li discloses the atomizing structural member according to claim 5, as stated above. Li further discloses wherein the cup bottom is provided with at least one opening (opening in the middle of cup bottom of “liquid guiding body 103a”, see Fig. 4 above, annotated by examiner) at a contacting position of the cup bottom and the atomizing portion (see Fig. 4 above, annotated by examiner), so that an upper end region and a lower end region of the opening are in fluid communication (see Fig. 4 above, annotated by examiner).
Regarding claim 7, Li discloses the atomizing structural member according to claim 3, as stated above. Li further discloses that the atomizing portion has a cylindrical shape (Fig. 5), and a contacting position of the liquid guiding portion and the atomizing portion is located at a central region of an outer wall of the atomizing portion (a central region of “liquid guiding body 103a” contacts a central region of an outer wall of “ceramic body 201a” where the liquid is supplied through “liquid inlet 102a”, see Fig. 7, ¶ 0026-0027).
Li does not explicitly disclose that having a contacting position at a central region allows capillary force and gravitational force to balance each other, so that the atomizing medium is evenly delivered to both ends of the atomizing portion. However, Li teaches benefits of heating uniformly and creating a smooth aerosol (¶ 0031). The efficacy of the atomizing structural member for this result depends on the uniformity of the saturation of the liquid guiding portion and the atomizing portion with the liquid. If the contacting position at the central region is located too low, there may not be enough capillary force for the liquid to saturate the top of the liquid guiding portion and the atomizing portion, leading to dry spots at the top. If the contacting position at the central region is located too high, there may not be enough gravitational pull to saturate the bottom of the liquid guiding portion and the atomizing portion, leading to dry spots at the bottom. One of ordinary skill in the art would have understood that these dry spots would cause hot spots in the heater and result in an aerosol that is not smooth for the user. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to optimize the location of the contacting position of the liquid guiding portion and the atomizing portion in the central region of the outer wall of the atomizing portion such that the capillary force and gravitational force balance each other and the atomizing medium is evenly delivered to both ends of the atomizing portion. "[W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation." (In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233 (C.C.P.A. 1955); MPEP § 2144.05(II)(A)).
Regarding claim 8, Li discloses an atomizing device (“atomizer 30a”, Fig. 7, ¶ 0038), comprising a liquid-storing structural member (“main body 301a”, Fig. 7, ¶ 0038) and the atomizing structural member (“ceramic heating atomizing core 10a”, Fig. 7, ¶ 0038) of claim 1 (see rejection of claim 1 above);
wherein the liquid-storing structural member is provided with a liquid storing chamber (“liquid reservoir 304a”, Fig. 7, ¶ 0039) for accommodating the atomizing medium (“liquid”, ¶ 0039), and the liquid absorbing face at the highest position of the upper end of the wall portion of the liquid guiding portion is arranged to be in contact with the atomizing medium in the liquid storing chamber (Fig. 7, ¶ 0039);
the atomizing structural member further comprises a ventilation tube (“air-flow passage 202a”, Fig. 5, ¶ 0027), the ventilation tube is in communication with the atomizing portion so as to deliver an aerosol generated from the atomizing portion (¶ 0027);
the atomizing structural member further comprises a sealing upper cover (“shell 101a”, Fig. 4, ¶ 0026), the sealing upper cover is provided with an accommodating cavity (cavity inside of “shell 101a”, Fig. 4), a through hole (hole through cavity in “shell 101a”, Fig. 4) and at least one liquid inlet (“liquid inlet 102a”, Fig. 7, ¶ 0026), the wall portion is at least partially located in the accommodating cavity (wall portion of “liquid guiding body 103a” is in the cavity of “shell 101a”, see Fig. 4 above, annotated by examiner), the sealing upper cover seals the liquid storing chamber so that the atomizing medium in the liquid storing chamber only contacts the liquid guiding portion through the liquid inlet (Fig. 7), and the ventilation tube is arranged to pass through the through hole (“air-flow passage 202a” goes through “shell 101a”, see Figs. 4 and 5).
Regarding claim 9, Li discloses the atomizing device according to claim 8, as stated above. Li further discloses that the atomizing structural member further comprises an electrode assembly (connection to power supply through “first electrode 206a” and “second electrode 207a”, Fig. 5, ¶ 0029), the electrode assembly is connected to the heating element (¶ 0029), the electrode assembly is used for connecting with the power source (¶ 0029).
Regarding claim 10, Li discloses an aerosol generating device (“electronic cigarette”, ¶ 0038), comprising a power source (“power supply”, ¶ 0029) and the atomizing device (“atomizer 30a”, Fig. 7, ¶ 0038) of claim 8 (see rejection of claim 8 above), wherein the power source is connected to the atomizing device for power supply (¶ 0029).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to COURTNEY G CULBERT whose telephone number is (571)270-0874. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9am-4pm.
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/C.G.C./Examiner, Art Unit 1747
/Michael J Felton/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1747