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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 3/10/2026 has been entered.
Status of the Claims
Claims 1-3, 5, 7, 9-12, 14-15, 17-18, 20-22, and 24-26 are pending. Claims 2, 9, 12, 14-15, 17-18, 20-22, and 24-26 are withdrawn. Claims 1-3, 5, 9, 10, and 12 have been amended.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 7-8 of Remarks filed 3/10/2026, with respect to the rejection of claims 1, 3-5, 7, 10, and 11 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) have been fully considered and are persuasive. The Applicant has amended claim 1 to include limitations that were not previously presented and are not anticipated by the previous mapping of Reevell included in the Final Rejection mailed 11/10/2025. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, new grounds of rejection are made in view of a new mapping of Reevell.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: "receptable" should be "receptacle". Appropriate correction is required.
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)(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.
Claims 1, 3-5, and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Reevell (US 2020/0245682 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Reevell discloses a non-combustible aerosol provision device (“aerosol-generating device 10”, Fig. 1a, ¶ 0047) for generating an aerosol (“aerosol”, ¶ 0047) from an article (“consumable”, ¶ 0047) comprising an aerosol-generating material (“aerosol-forming substrate”, ¶ 0047), the device comprising:
a receptacle (“chamber 16 for inserting a consumable containing aerosol-forming substrate”, Fig. 1a, ¶ 0046) to receive, in use, the article;
a heating system (combination of “heating regions 18.1, 18.2” and “induction coil 20”, Figs. 7a-7d, ¶ 0055) for heating the aerosol-generating material when the article is received in the receptacle (¶ 0046), the heating system comprising a plurality of parts (“heating regions 18.1, 18.2”, Fig. 7a, ¶ 0055);
a selector (“support member 40”, Fig. 7a, ¶ 0052) operable to select one or more portions of the aerosol-generating material, from a plurality of portions of the aerosol-generating material, for heating by the heating system (“a first region of the consumable 34 with the length 44 corresponding to the length 44 of one of the heating regions 18.1, 18.2 can be heated. Thereafter, the heating element 18 can be partly pushed out of the chamber 16 such that a second portion of the consumable 34 can be heated.”, ¶ 0055, see Figs. 7a-7b); and
a controller (“sliding actuator 50”, Figs. 9a-9c, ¶ 0057) configured to cause the plurality of parts of the heating system to move relative to the receptacle to be positioned such that, in use, the one or more portions of the aerosol-generating material is, or are, heatable by the heating system (“The sliding actuator 50 is connected with the heating element 18 by means of connecting means such that a sliding action of the sliding actuator 50 is conveyed to the heating element 18 by the connecting means”, ¶ 0057, see Figs. 7c-7d and 9a-9c);
wherein when the article is received within the receptacle, each of the plurality of parts of the heating system is movable, in use, relative to the receptacle, to heat different ones of the plurality of portions of the aerosol-generating material (“In this way, when a consumable 34 is inserted into the chamber 16 and pushed over the heating element 18, a first region of the consumable 34 with the length 44 corresponding to the length 44 of one of the heating regions 18.1, 18.2 can be heated. Thereafter, the heating element 18 can be partly pushed out of the chamber 16 such that a second portion of the consumable 34 can be heated”, ¶ 0055).
Regarding claim 3, Reevell discloses the device according to claim 1 as stated above. Reevell further discloses wherein the plurality of parts of the heating system are translatable relative to the receptacle in a direction of a second axis of the receptacle (Figs. 7a-7b and 9a-9c).
Regarding claim 5, Reevell discloses the device according to claim 1 as stated above. Reevell further discloses wherein the controller is configured to cause the plurality of parts of the heating system to heat the plurality of portions of the aerosol-generating material in a non-successive order (as there is an insulating region separating the plurality of parts of the heating system (“a separating element 48, which facilitates a thermal insulation between the heating regions 18.1, 18.2”, ¶ 0055) the heating system will heat portions of the aerosol-generating material which are adjacent to the heating regions in a non-successive order as the controller pushes the heating system).
Regarding claim 7, Reevell discloses the device according to claim 1 as stated above. Reevell further discloses wherein the heating system comprises an induction heating system (“induction ”, ¶ 0055), comprising a susceptor (“heating element 18”, Figs. 7a-7d, ¶ 0055) and an induction coil (“induction coil 20”, Figs. 7c-7d, ¶ 0055) operable to cause heating of the susceptor in use (¶ 0046).
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.
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.
Claims 10 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Reevell (US 2020/0245682 A1) as applied to claim 7 above.
Regarding claim 10, Reevell discloses the device according to claim 7 as stated above. Reevell further discloses that the plurality of parts of the heating system comprises the susceptor (“heating element 18”, Figs. 7a-7d, ¶ 0055). However, Reevell does not explicitly disclose in the embodiment shown in Figs. 7a-7d that the induction coil is movable relative to the receptacle such that it can also be considered one of the plurality of parts of the heating system.
In a different embodiment, Reevell discloses that the induction coil may be formed to be movable, in use, relative to the receptacle (“FIG. 10 shows an embodiment of the induction coil, in which the induction coil is arranged movable”, Figs. 10a-10c, ¶ 0045). One of ordinary skill in the art would have understood that there was a benefit to making the induction coil, in addition to the susceptor, movable, in use, relative to the receptacle in that it allows for increased control over which portion of the aerosol-generating material is heated at any given moment (¶ 0058). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to make both the susceptor and the induction coil of Reevell movable, in use, relative to the receptacle, such that the plurality of parts of the heating system comprises the susceptor and the induction coil, in order to obtain this benefit.
Regarding claim 11, the obvious modification of Reevell discloses the device according to claim 10 as stated above. Further, in the device of the obvious modification of Reevell in which both the susceptor and the induction coil are movable, in use, relative to the receptacle, the induction coil is movable in unison with the susceptor (by sliding the coil at the same speed as sliding the controller).
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 H. Wilson/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1747