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 .
Status of the Claims
Claims 1-4, 7, 9, 11-12, and 16-30 are pending and are subject to this Office Action. Claims 5-6, 8, 10, and 13-15 are cancelled. Claims 1-4, 7, 9, and 16-29 are withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments, see pgs 7-8, filed December 18, 2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of claims 11-12, and 30 under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
On pg. 7-8, Applicant argues that one of ordinary skill in the art would not have been motivated to modify Mironov in view of Taurino because the heating chamber of Taurino belongs to a cartridge for use with an aerosol generating device, while the heating chamber of Mironov is integral to the device. Examiner does not find the argument persuasive because Mironov demonstrates that the heating chamber includes an air inlet and an air outlet ([0134], [0145]-[0146], Figs. 1-3, 6; Ventilation holes may be provided in the walls of the housing 110 to allow airflow into the chamber 120 (heating chamber). Chamber 120 includes an opening 125, which is the air outlet). While there may be differences in the configurations of Mironov and Taurino, Taurino is only relied upon for the disclosure of a suitable location of an air inlet and the demonstration that this configuration allows air to travel in a direct path from the distal end of the heating chamber to a proximal end of the heating chamber (Taurino, [0221]-[0226], Figs. 1-6). Additionally, the differences in the construction between Mironov and Taurino do not prevent one of ordinary skill in the art from being motivated to the include projections/grooves in the heating chamber because the projections facilitate sufficient flow of air around the outer surface of the article (Taurino, [0223]), and the configuration enables the improved transfer of heat to air entering the chamber to maintain the temperature of the chamber at a steady state over time (Taurino, [0016]). As such, the argument is unpersuasive.
On pg. 9-10, Applicant argues that the proposed modification of Mironov to include the projections/grooves of Taurino would render Mironov unsuitable for its intended purpose. Specifically, Applicant argues that it would not make sense to pass air from one end of the chamber 120 of Mironov to the other and around the wrapper of aerosol-generating article 10, as the air would not pass through the aerosol-forming segment 20. Examiner does not find the argument persuasive because Mironov demonstrates that ventilation holes may be provided in the walls of the housing 110 to allow airflow into the chamber 120 (Mironov, [0134], Fig. 3). Alternatively, or in addition, airflow may enter the chamber 120 at the opening 125 and flow along the length of the chamber 120 between the outer walls of the aerosol-generating article 10 and the inner walls of the chamber 120 (Mironov, [0134], Fig. 3). Turning to Fig. 3 of Mironov, air entering the chamber 120 at the opening 125 must be capable of flowing around the wrapper of the aerosol-generating article 10 to enter the aerosol-forming segment. Further, because Mironov states that the wrapper is made of paper (Mironov, [0104]) and one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that paper is air permeable, it is not necessarily true that “air would not pass through the aerosol-forming segment 20” in the proposed modification. As such, the argument is unpersuasive.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 11-12, and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mironov (US 2020/0221775 A1) in view of Taurino (US 2021/0329748 A1) and de Rooij (US 2004/0108311 A1).
Regarding Claim 11, Mironov, directed to aerosol-generating devices ([0002]) and induction heating ([0002]), teaches an aerosol generating device for heating an aerosol generating article including aerosol generating material and an inductively heatable susceptor ([0133]-[0136], Figs. 1-3; Aerosol-generating device 100 is configured to heat aerosol-generating article 10. Aerosol-forming article 10 includes an aerosol-forming segment 20 containing an aerosol-forming substrate. [0135], Figs. 1-3 show that aerosol-generating device 100 comprises elongate susceptor element 180 which is inductively heatable by the inductor coil assembly 130. [0091] states that the elongate susceptor element 180 may be part of the aerosol-generating article 10), wherein the aerosol generating device comprises:
an electromagnetic field generator including a first planar coil and a second planar coil ([0016], [0133], Figs. 1-3; Aerosol-generating device 100 comprises inductor coil assembly 130 surrounding chamber 120. Inductor coil assembly 130 generates a magnetic field. [0145]-[0146], Fig. 6 shows an alternate embodiment of aerosol-generating device 100/200 comprising an inductor coil assembly 230 in which first and second inductor coils 231, 232 are planar coils disposed around part of the circumference of the chamber 220),
wherein the first and second planar coils are arranged to face each other ([0145]-[0146], Fig. 6; First and second planar inductor coils 231, 232 are arranged to face each other);
a heating chamber for receiving the aerosol generating article ([0133], [0135], Figs. 1-3; Aerosol-generating device 100 comprises inductor coil assembly 130 surrounding chamber 120. Chamber 120 is a heating zone, wherein aerosol-generating article 10 is heated by inductor coil assembly 130 and susceptor element 180. [0145]-[0146], Fig. 6; Aerosol-generating device 200 has an analogous chamber 220),
the heating chamber being positioned between the first and second planar coils ([0145]-[0146], Fig. 6; Chamber 220 is positioned between first and second planar inductor coils 231, 232) and
including an air inlet and an air outlet ([0134], Figs. 1-3; Aerosol-generating device 100 comprises a housing 110 defining the chamber 120. Ventilation holes (not shown in Figs. 1-3) may be provided in the walls of the housing 110 to allow airflow into the chamber 120. Chamber 120 includes an opening 125, which is the air outlet. [0145]-[0146], Fig. 6; It is reasonably understood that similar ventilation holes (air inlets) may be provided in the walls of housing 210 to allow airflow into chamber 220. Chamber 220 has a similar opening “225” serving as the air outlet); and
an airflow path extending between the air inlet and the air outlet ([0134], [0145]-[0146], Figs. 1-3, 6; Air flows into the ventilation holes and out of opening 125/225),
wherein a cross-section of the heating chamber has a major surface and the first and second planar coils are positioned outwardly of the major surface of the heating chamber ([0145]-[0146], Fig. 6; Chamber 220 has a cylindrical cross-section having a cylindrical major surface. First and second planar inductor coils 231, 232 are positioned outwardly of the major surface of chamber 220 (heating chamber),
wherein the first planar coil is an active coil to which power is intermittently supplied ([0147] states that in the embodiments shown in Figs. 1 and 6, one of the coils may be a drive coil and one of the coils may be a resonant coil. [0152], [0155], Fig. 8 shows a circuit diagram of a configuration of the aerosol-generating device comprising a first coil 441 serving as an active (drive) coil to which power is supplied. [0088], Current may be supplied to one or both of the inductor coils intermittently following activation of the aerosol-generating device) and
the second planar coil is a passive coil forming a resonant circuit with a capacitor ([0147] states that in the embodiments shown in Figs. 1 and 6, one of the coils may be a drive coil and one of the coils may be a resonant coil. [0152], [0155], Fig. 8 shows a circuit diagram of a configuration of the aerosol-generating device comprising second coil 435 serving as a resonant (passive) coil). Second coil 435 and resonant capacitor 437 form a resonant circuit),
but does not teach the aerosol-generating device i) wherein a cross-section of the heating chamber has major surfaces and side surfaces and the first and second planar coils are positioned outwardly of the major surfaces of the heating chamber, and wherein the air inlet and the air outlet are at opposite ends of the heating chamber that are spaced apart along a direction parallel with a longitudinal axis of the heating chamber, and the heating chamber includes projections or grooves extending from the major surfaces and the side surfaces in the direction parallel with the longitudinal axis of the heating chamber for supporting the aerosol generating article in the heating chamber and for providing said airflow path around a surface of the aerosol generating article between the air inlet and the air outlet, and ii) wherein the second planar coil includes a capacitor.
With respect to i), Taurino, directed to aerosol generating devices ([0001]), teaches aerosol generating system ([0213]-[0214], [0240], Figs. 1-6, and 13; Aerosol generating system comprises cartridge 102 and aerosol generating device 202) comprising
an aerosol generating device ([0240], Figs. 1-6, and 13; Aerosol generating system comprises cartridge 102 and aerosol generating device 202) and
an aerosol generating article including aerosol generating material and an inductively heatable susceptor ([0213]-[0217], Figs. 1-6; Aerosol generating system comprises cartridge 102. Cartridge 102 comprises a first compartment 110 and a second compartment 114. First compartment 110 contains susceptor arrangement 112 and a first carrier material impregnated with a nicotine source (aerosol generating material). The susceptor 112 comprises a ferromagnetic stainless steel mesh covering one side of the first carrier material. Second compartment 114 contains susceptor arrangement 116 and a second carrier material impregnated with an acid source (aerosol generating material). The susceptor 116 comprises a ferromagnetic stainless steel mesh covering one side of the second carrier material. [0220], The first carrier material and the second carrier material comprise a non-woven sheet of PET/PBT. [0224]-[0228], In operation, the nicotine source and the acid source are vaporized to generate an aerosol. Therefore, the susceptor arrangement 112 and first carrier material form a first aerosol generating article; and the susceptor arrangement 116 and second carrier material form a second aerosol generating article);
a heating chamber for receiving the aerosol generating article ([0213]-[0217], Figs. 1-6; Aerosol generating system comprises cartridge 102. Cartridge 102 comprises a first compartment 110 and a second compartment 114. First compartment 110 (heating chamber) contains susceptor arrangement 112 and the first carrier material impregnated (aerosol generating article). Second compartment 114 (heating chamber) contains susceptor arrangement 116 and the second carrier material (aerosol generating article). [0240]-[0246], Fig. 13; Aerosol generating device 202 comprises an inductor coil 208 which surrounds the first and second compartments 110, 114 when cartridge 102 is received in cavity 206. Inductor coil 208 heats the aerosol generating articles in the first and second compartments 110, 114 (heating chambers)),
the heating chamber including an air inlet and an air outlet ([0221]-[0226], Figs. 4-5; First compartment 110 (heating chamber) includes a first air inlet 120 and a first air outlet 126. Second compartment 114 (heating chamber) includes a second air inlet 122 and a second air outlet 128); and
an airflow path extending between the air inlet and the air outlet ([0221]-[0226], Figs. 4-5; An airflow path extends between the first air inlet 120 and the first air outlet 126. An airflow path extends between the second air inlet 122 and the second air outlet 128),
wherein a cross-section of the heating chamber has major surfaces and side surfaces ([0213]-[0217], Figs. 1-6; First compartment 110 and second compartment 114 have rectangular cross sections. Heating chambers having rectangular cross sections necessarily have major surfaces (left/right as shown in Fig. 5) and side surfaces (top/bottom as shown in Fig. 5)), and
wherein the air inlet and the air outlet are at opposite ends of the heating chamber that are spaced apart along a direction parallel with a longitudinal axis of the heating chamber ([0221]-[0226], Figs. 4-5; The first air inlet 120 and the first air outlet 126 are at opposite ends of the first compartment 110 (heating chamber) that are spaced apart along a direction parallel with a longitudinal axis of the first compartment 110. The second air inlet 122 and the second air outlet 128 are at opposite ends of the second compartment 114 (heating chamber) that are spaced apart along a direction parallel with a longitudinal axis of the second compartment 114), and
the heating chamber includes projections or grooves extending from the major surfaces in the direction parallel with the longitudinal axis of the heating chamber for supporting the aerosol generating article in the heating chamber and for providing said airflow path around a surface of the aerosol generating article between the air inlet and the air outlet ([0221]-[0226], Fig. 5; The first and second compartments 110, 114 (heating chamber) comprises at least one protrusion 127/129 protruding from the partition wall 118 towards the opposite side of the chamber 110. The protrusions 127/129 extend direction parallel with the longitudinal axis of the first and second compartments 110, 114 (heating chamber) and are spaced apart such that an air channel forms between the protrusions. The air channels facilitate airflow from the inlets 120/122 to the outlets 126/128 around at least one surface of the article(s). [0232]-[0234], Fig. 9 shows that the projections 127/129 support the article comprising carrier materials 1161 and susceptor element 1162).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the aerosol generating device taught by Mironov wherein the cross-section of the heating chamber is rectangular as taught by Taurino because Mironov and Taurino are directed to aerosol-generating devices, and changing the cross section of the surrounding wall from circular to rectangular constitutes a change in form of shape to another known shape in the art. The change in form or shape, without any new or unexpected results, is an obvious engineering design. See MPEP § 2144.04 IV B.
Further, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide the first and second planar coils are positioned outwardly of the major surfaces of the heating chamber because Mironov demonstrates that the first and second planar coils are arranged to face each other (Mironov, [0145]-[0146], Fig. 6; First and second planar inductor coils 231, 232 are arranged to face each other), and Taurino demonstrates that the major surfaces face each other and the side surfaces face each other (Taurino, [0213]-[0217], Figs. 1-6; First compartment 110 and second compartment 114 have rectangular cross sections. A rectangular chamber must have two sides of a first length, and two sides having a second length which is shorter than the first length. The sides having the first length are the major surfaces, the sides having the second length are the side surfaces. The major surfaces must face each other, and the side surfaces must face each other). As there are only a finite number of options presented for the positions of the first and second planar coils, one of ordinary skill in the art would have had a reasonable expectation of success by selecting from this finite list of options, and thus it would have been obvious to try positioning the first and second planar coils outwardly of the major surfaces of the heating chamber, as claimed, because there are a finite number of identified, predictable solutions.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the heating chamber of the aerosol generating device taught by Mironov wherein the air inlet and the air outlet are at opposite ends of the heating chamber, and the heating chamber includes projections or grooves extending from the major surfaces in the direction parallel with the longitudinal axis of the heating chamber for supporting the aerosol generating article in the heating chamber and for providing said airflow path around a surface of the aerosol generating article between the air inlet and the air outlet as taught by Taurino because Mironov and Taurino are directed to aerosol generating devices, Taurino demonstrates that this configuration allows air to travel in a direct path from the distal end of the heating chamber to a proximal end of the heating chamber (Taurino, [0221]-[0226], Figs. 1-6), wherein the projections facilitate sufficient flow of air around the outer surface of the article (Taurino, [0223]), and the configuration enables the improved transfer of heat to air entering the chamber to maintain the temperature of the chamber at a steady state over time (Taurino, [0016]), and this involves combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results.
Further, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to additionally provide projections extending from the side surfaces in the direction parallel with the longitudinal axis of the heating chamber for supporting the aerosol generating article in the heating chamber and for providing said airflow path around a surface of the aerosol generating article between the air inlet and the air outlet because Taurino already discloses projections extending from the major surfaces (Taurino, [0221]-[0226], [0232]-[0234], Figs. 5, 9), and this would merely involve duplication of parts and positioning additional projections at a different section of the heating chamber to provide support for the article and provide airflow paths at multiple positions.
Mironov in view of Taurino does not teach the aerosol-generating device ii) wherein the second planar coil includes a capacitor.
de Rooij, directed to induction heating ([0001]), teaches an induction coil including an integral capacitor ([0006], [0028]-[0030], Figs. 2-3, 4a, 4b; Capacitor cable 200 may be wound into a coil. FIGS. 4A & 4B depict configuration connections to the embedded capacitor cable which result in a series connected capacitance 300 and inductance 400).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to replace the second coil taught by Mironov with the induction coil including an integral capacitor taught by de Rooij because Mironov and de Rooij are directed to induction heating, Mironov requires an external capacitor to form a resonant circuit with the second coil (Mironov, [0008], [0152], [0155], Fig. 8), the coil taught by de Rooij does not require an external capacitor to form a resonant circuit (de Rooij, [0027]-[0028]), and this involves substituting one induction coil for another to yield predictable results.
Regarding Claim 12, Mironov in view of Taurino and de Rooij teaches the aerosol generating device according to claim 11. Mironov further teaches the device wherein the heating chamber includes an opening through which the aerosol generating article can be inserted into the heating chamber ([0134], Figs. 1-3; Chamber 120 (heating chamber) includes an opening 125, through which aerosol-generating article 10 can be inserted into the chamber 120. [0145]-[0146], Fig. 6; Chamber 220 has a similar opening “225”).
Regarding Claim 30, Mironov in view of Taurino and de Rooij teaches the aerosol generating device according to claim 11. Taurino further teaches the device wherein the cross-section of the heating chamber is rectangular ([0213]-[0217], Figs. 1-6; First compartment 110 and second compartment 114 have rectangular cross sections).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 JOHN M. MARTIN whose telephone number is (703)756-1270. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-5:00.
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/J.M.M./
Examiner, Art Unit 1755
/PHILIP Y LOUIE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1755