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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 10/27/2025 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 10 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant asserts that amended claim 16 distinguishes over Hepworth because the ventilation chamber is allegedly configured to receive air via a “mouth end face,” whereas Hepworth’s second air inlet (402) is located on a peripheral or sidewall portion of the housing near the mouth end. However, Applicant’s argument relies on an unduly narrow interpretation of the term “mouth end face” that is not supported by the claim language.
Claim 16 does not require that air enter the ventilation chamber through an aperture formed in a planar terminal surface at the extreme mouth end of the device, nor does the claim exclude peripheral wall portions that define the mouth end of the aerosol-generating device.
Under a broadest reasonable interpretation, the “mouth end face” reasonably encompasses the mouth-end region of the device, including peripheral wall portions defining that end.
As shown in Hepworth (annotated Fig. 4), air enters the ventilation chamber via inlet 402 located at the mouth-end portion of the device and is supplied to the ventilation zone of the aerosol-generating article when the article is received within the device cavity. Accordingly, Hepworth teaches a ventilation chamber in fluid communication with the exterior via the mouth end of the aerosol-generating device, as recited in claim 16.
Applicant further argues that Hepworth’s configuration is more susceptible to inadvertent blocking by a user’s hand. However, claim 16 does not recite any structural limitation directed to preventing obstruction or blocking by a user. Alleged advantages not reflected in the claim language cannot be relied upon to distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art.
With respect to Applicant’s assertion that secondary references Blick and Mahler do not cure the alleged deficiencies of Hepworth, Blick explicitly discloses a smoking article comprising a wrapper provided with a plurality of ventilation apertures configured to vary gaseous flow through the article. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Hepworth to include the ventilated wrapper taught by Blick in order to achieve predictable airflow variation, as previously set forth in the rejection.
Accordingly, Applicant’s amendment and arguments do not overcome the rejection of claim 16 under 35 U.S.C. § 103.
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.
Claim(s) 16-25, 29 and 31-32 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hepworth et al. (WO2019096983) using (US 20200345075) as a citing reference, and further in view of Blick et al. (US 2013/0139836).
Regarding claim 16, Hepworth teaches an aerosol-generating system (annotated Fig. 4: 100), comprising:
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an aerosol-generating article 102 comprising:
a rod of aerosol-forming substrate 106, a filter 202 204 disposed downstream of the rod of aerosol-forming substrate, wherein the rod of aerosol-forming substrate and the filter are assembled within a wrapper, and a ventilation zone 108 located on the wrapper (Fig. 2), the ventilation zone comprising a plurality of apertures extending through the wrapper (the ventilation region 108 is provided in the cooling segment 202 and comprises a plurality of ventilation holes arranged in two circumferential rows that allow air to flow into the cooling segment 204 [0042]).
and an aerosol-generating device 104 comprising:
a distal end 125 and a mouth end 124, a housing 110 comprising a peripheral wall, the peripheral wall defining a device cavity 132 configured to removably receive the aerosol-generating article at the mouth end of the aerosol-generating device,
and a heater 134 configured to heat the aerosol-forming substrate when the aerosol- generating article is received within the device cavity, wherein the aerosol-generating system is configured so that, when the aerosol- generating article is received within the device cavity, the ventilation zone 108 of the aerosol- generating article is located within the device cavity and a portion of an internal surface of the peripheral wall 404 overlying the ventilation zone is spaced apart from the aerosol-generating article to define a ventilation chamber within the peripheral wall (Depicted in annotated fig. 4), wherein the ventilation chamber is configured to be in fluid communication with an exterior of the aerosol-generating device via the mouth end of the device and with the ventilation zone of the aerosol-generating article (Depicted in annotated fig. 4), such that air is configured to enter the ventilation chamber via the mouth end of the aerosol-generating device when the aerosol- generating article is received within the device cavity (Depicted in annotated fig. 4), and wherein a thickness of the portion of the peripheral wall defining the ventilation chamber is different than a thickness of a different portion of the peripheral wall (Depicted in annotated fig. 4).
As shown in annotated Fig. 4, when the aerosol-generating article (102) is received within the device cavity (132), the ventilation zone (108) of the aerosol-generating article is positioned within the device cavity, and a portion of an internal surface of the peripheral wall (404) overlying the ventilation zone is spaced apart from the aerosol-generating article to define a ventilation chamber within the peripheral wall.
The ventilation chamber is configured to be in fluid communication with an exterior of the aerosol-generating device via the mouth-end portion of the device, such that air is configured to enter the ventilation chamber when the aerosol-generating article is received within the device cavity and to flow to the ventilation zone (108) of the aerosol-generating article (annotated Fig. 4).
Specifically, Hepworth teaches air entering the ventilation chamber via inlet (402), which is formed in a peripheral wall portion of the housing located at the mouth-end portion of the aerosol-generating device. Although inlet 402 is formed in a peripheral wall rather than in a planar terminal surface, the inlet is nonetheless located at the mouth-end portion of the device and therefore satisfies the recited fluid communication “via the mouth end face of the device” under a broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim.
However, Hepworth does not explicitly disclose the aerosol-generating article components being assembled within a wrapper (sleeve) having a plurality of ventilation apertures, as recited in claim 16.
Blick, on the other hand, discloses a smoking article comprising a wrapper (sleeve) surrounding the article components, wherein the wrapper is provided with a plurality of ventilation apertures extending through the wrapper (e.g., apertures 386, 366/367, 356), the apertures being configured to vary ventilation and gaseous flow through the article (see, e.g., FIGS. 73–76; ¶¶ [0399]–[0401]; [0375]–[0379]). Blick explicitly teaches that such ventilation apertures allow controlled ingress of air and variation of gaseous flow through the smoking article (abstract; ¶¶ [0376]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the aerosol-generating system of Hepworth to include the wrapper with a plurality of ventilation apertures as taught by Blick, in order to provide a known and predictable means of varying gaseous flow and ventilation through the aerosol-generating article, as recognized in the art. Such modification merely involves the substitution of one known ventilation structure for another to achieve a known result and does not require undue experimentation (See MPEP § 2143I (B)).
Regarding claim 17, Hepworth teaches wherein the ventilation chamber is defined within a thickness of the peripheral wall (Depicted in annotated fig. 4).
Regarding claim 18, Hepworth wherein the ventilation chamber is adjacent to the mouth end of the aerosol-generating device (Depicted in annotated fig. 4).
Regarding claim 19, Hepworth wherein the ventilation chamber is located at a longitudinal position away from the mouth end of the aerosol-generating device (Depicted in annotated fig. 4).
Regarding claim 20, Hepworth teaches wherein the ventilation chamber is configured to be in fluid communication with the exterior of the aerosol-generating device through a chamber inlet 402 defined in the housing (Depicted in annotated fig. 4).
Regarding claim 21, Hepworth teaches wherein the chamber inlet extends between the ventilation chamber and the mouth end of the aerosol- generating device (Depicted in annotated fig. 4).
Regarding claim 22, Hepworth teaches wherein the ventilation chamber is further configured to be in fluid communication with the exterior of the aerosol-generating device via a mouth end face defining the mouth end of the aerosol- generating device (Depicted in annotated fig. 4).
Regarding claim 23, Hepworth teaches wherein a thickness of the portion of the peripheral wall defining the ventilation chamber is less than a thickness of a different portion of the peripheral wall (Depicted in annotated fig. 4).
Regarding claim 24, Hepworth teaches wherein the thickness of the portion of the peripheral wall defining the ventilation chamber varies along a longitudinal direction (the second restrictor mechanism is operatively connected to a second actuator 404b which actuates the second restrictor mechanism 404a to increase or decrease the size of the second air inlet 402 [0080]).
Regarding claim 25, Hepworth teaches wherein the ventilation chamber is annular (annotated fig. 4).
Regarding claim 29, Hepworth teaches wherein the filter of the aerosol-generating article comprises:
a mouthpiece segment 206 comprising a plug of filtration material 204 arranged downstream of the rod of aerosol-forming substrate, and a hollow tubular segment 202 located between the mouthpiece segment and the rod of aerosol-forming substrate 106, wherein the ventilation zone is located at a position along an upstream half of the hollow tubular segment (fig. 2).
Regarding claim 31, As shown in Hepworth (annotated Fig. 4), the ventilation zone (108) of the aerosol-generating article is positioned proximate the mouth end of the aerosol-generating device when the article is received within the device cavity. The mouth end corresponds to an upstream portion of the aerosol-generating article during use, such that the ventilation zone is located within the upstream half of the hollow tubular segment of the article (annotated Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 32, Hepworth teaches a ventilation zone (108) that permits air to enter the aerosol-generating article when the article is received within the device cavity (see, e.g., ¶0042; annotated Fig. 4).
Hepworth does not explicitly disclose that the plurality of apertures of the ventilation zone extend through a hollow tubular segment or wrapper of the aerosol-generating article, as recited in claim 32.
However, Blick, on the other hand, explicitly discloses a smoking article comprising a hollow tubular wrapper or sleeve surrounding the article components, wherein the wrapper is provided with a plurality of ventilation apertures extending through the sleeve to permit ingress of air and variation of gaseous flow through the article (see, e.g., Figs. 3, 73–76; ¶¶ [0375]–[0379], [0399]–[0401]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the aerosol-generating article of Hepworth to implement the ventilation apertures in the hollow tubular segment in the manner taught by Blick, in order to provide a known and predictable structure for admitting air into the ventilation zone through the wall of the tubular article, thereby achieving controlled ventilation of the aerosol-generating article.
Claim(s) 26-28, and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hepworth et al. (WO2019096983) using (US 20200345075) as a citing reference, and Blick et al. (US 2013/0139836), and further in view of Mahler et al. (US 2018/0049472).
Regarding claim 26-28, and 30, Hepworth does not explicitly disclose an aerosol-generating device further comprising an extractor configured to extract the aerosol-generating article, wherein:
the extractor is movable between an operating position and an extraction position;
the operating position is defined by the heater being in contact with the aerosol-forming substrate;
movement of the extractor exposes the ventilation chamber when in the operating position;
an air-flow path is defined between the peripheral wall of the aerosol-generating device housing and an external surface of the extractor; and
the heater comprises an elongate heating element configured to penetrate the rod of aerosol-forming substrate when the aerosol-generating article is received within the device.
Accordingly, Hepworth does not teach the claimed extractor structure, its movable coupling, or the cooperation between the extractor, heater position, and airflow path as required by claims 26–28 and 30.
However, Mahler expressly discloses an extractor for an aerosol-generating device that is:
movably coupled to the device between an operating position and an extraction position (Abstract; ¶¶ [0032]–[0036]);
wherein the operating position is defined by the heater contacting the aerosol-forming substrate, and the extraction position is defined by the heater being separated from the article (¶¶ [0033]–[0035]);
the extractor includes a cavity configured to receive the aerosol-generating article, and a first aperture through an end wall of the cavity, allowing the heater to penetrate into the cavity when the extractor is moved into the operating position (¶¶ [0034]–[0036]; Fig. 4);
the extractor further defines an air-flow channel configured to allow air flow into the cavity, thereby establishing an air-flow path between the extractor and the device housing (Abstract; ¶¶ [0036]–[0038]).
Mahler therefore explicitly teaches the claimed extractor configuration, including movable positioning, heater penetration into the aerosol-forming substrate, and air-flow communication associated with the extractor structure, which are not taught by Hepworth.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the aerosol-generating system of Hepworth to include the movable extractor and elongate heating element of Mahler, because Mahler applies a known extraction and heater-positioning technique to an aerosol-generating device to facilitate article insertion/removal, controlled heater engagement, and predictable airflow management, yielding predictable results when incorporated into Hepworth’s system (see MPEP § 2143(B)).
Conclusion
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/JENNIFER A KESSIE/Examiner, Art Unit 1747