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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 09/02/2022, 08/14/2024, and 08/15/2025 were filed. The submissions are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 17 objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 17 begins with the article “An.” Examiner suggests amending claim 17 to begin with the article “The.” Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claims 16-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. Claim 16 depends on claim 1 but does not further limit claim 1. Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-17 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hwang et al (KR 20200009993 A).
Regarding claim 1, Hwang discloses an apparatus for an aerosol generating device, the apparatus comprising:
an inductive heating circuit (Fig. 4 #40 resonator and #41 power amplifier) configured to inductively heat a susceptor arrangement arranged to heat an aerosol generating material, to thereby generate an aerosol, the inductive heating circuit (Fig. 4 #40 resonator and #41 power amplifier) comprising:
an inductive element (Fig. 4 #21 coil) configured to inductively heat the susceptor arrangement when a varying current flows through the inductive element (Fig. 4 #21 coil), and a switching arrangement (Fig. 4 #411-412 switches) for causing the varying current to flow through the inductive element (Fig. 4 #21 coil)when a first DC voltage is supplied to the inductive heating circuit (Fig. 4 #40 resonator and #41 power amplifier);
a voltage regulator (Fig. 4 #44 DC-DC converter) configured to receive an input voltage from a voltage supply (Fig. 4 #43 battery) and output the first DC voltage across the inductive heating circuit (Fig. 4 #40 resonator and #41 power amplifier);
and a control arrangement (Fig. 4 #42 controller) configured to adjust the first DC voltage output by the voltage regulator (Fig. 4 #44 DC-DC converter), thereby to adjust a power supplied to the heating circuit (Fig. 4 #40 resonator and #41 power amplifier) for heating the susceptor arrangement.
Regarding claim 2, Hwang teaches the apparatus as appears above (see the rejection of claim 1), and Hwang teaches wherein the control arrangement (Fig. 4 #42 controller) is configured to control the first DC voltage output by the voltage regulator (Fig. 4 #44 DC-DC converter) by controlling a property of the input voltage to the voltage regulator (Page 4 para. 3 ---"The controller 42 controls the energy supplied to the coil 21 by controlling the switching waveform of the power amplifier 41, controlling the voltage of the DC-DC converter 44, or both.”).
Regarding claim 3, Hwang teaches the apparatus as appears above (see the rejection of claim 2), and Hwang teaches wherein the property of the input voltage to the voltage regulator (Fig. 4 #44 DC-DC converter) is a duty cycle of the input voltage (Page 5 para. 2 ---" That is, the method of changing the frequency of the current signal supplied from the power amplifier 41 to the resonator 40, the duty ratio of the switching signal for driving the switches M1, M2 (411, 412) in the power amplifier 41 ).
Regarding claim 4, Hwang teaches the apparatus as appears above (see the rejection of claim 1), and Hwang teaches wherein the voltage regulator (Fig. 4 #44 DC-DC converter) is configured to allow the input voltage to the voltage regulator (Fig. 4 #44 DC-DC converter) to be stepped down such that the first DC voltage is less than the input voltage (Page 4 para. 2 ---"The DC-DC converter 44 steps up or down the voltage VBAT of the battery 43 to generate a driving voltage PVIN for driving the power amplifier 41 and applies it to the power amplifier 41.).
Regarding claim 5, Hwang teaches the apparatus as appears above (see the rejection of claim 1), and Hwang teaches wherein the voltage regulator (Fig. 4 #44 DC-DC converter) is configured to allow the input voltage to the voltage regulator (Fig. 4 #44 DC-DC converter) to be stepped up such that the first DC voltage is greater than the input voltage (Page 4 para. 2 ---"The DC-DC converter 44 steps up or down the voltage VBAT of the battery 43 to generate a driving voltage PVIN for driving the power amplifier 41 and applies it to the power amplifier 41.).
Regarding claim 6, Hwang teaches the apparatus as appears above (see the rejection of claim 1), and Hwang teaches wherein the control arrangement (Fig. 4 #42 controller) is configured to adjust the first DC voltage supplied to the inductive heating circuit (Fig. 4 #40 resonator and #41 power amplifier) by the voltage regulator (Fig. 4 #44 DC-DC converter) based on a determined value of the power previously supplied to the heating circuit (Fig. 4 #40 resonator and #41 power amplifier) (Page 4 para. 3 ---" The controller 42 controls the switching waveform of the power amplifier 41 by using the temperature of the coil 21, the voltage of the coil 21, the current of the coil 21, or the output of the DC-DC converter 44. The voltage PVIN or both are controlled to manage the energy supplied to the coil 21. Since the current of the coil 21 is almost the same as the current of the power amplifier 41, the current of the power amplifier 41 can be detected and used as the current of the coil 21.”; Both the current and the voltage of the coil are known, power is inherently know.).
Regarding claim 7, Hwang teaches the apparatus as appears above (see the rejection of claim 1), and Hwang teaches wherein the control arrangement (Fig. 4 #42 controller) is configured to adjust the first DC voltage output by the voltage regulator (Fig. 4 #44 DC-DC converter) based on a determined temperature of the susceptor arrangement (Page 4 para. 3 ---" The controller 42 controls the switching waveform of the power amplifier 41 by using the temperature of the coil 21, the voltage of the coil 21, the current of the coil 21, or the output of the DC-DC converter 44.”).
Regarding claim 8, Hwang teaches the apparatus as appears above (see the rejection of claim 1), and Hwang teaches wherein the inductive heating circuit (Fig. 4 #40 resonator and #41 power amplifier) comprises a resonant LC circuit (Fig. 4 #21 coil and #400 resonant capacitor).
Regarding claim 9, Hwang teaches the apparatus as appears above (see the rejection of claim 8), and Hwang teaches wherein the resonant LC circuit (Fig. 4 #21 coil and #400 resonant capacitor) is a parallel LC circuit (Fig. 4 #21 coil and #400 resonant capacitor) comprising a capacitive element (Fig. 4 #400 resonant capacitor) arranged in parallel with the inductive element (Fig. 4 #21 coil) (Fig. 4 shows the inductor and capacitor in parallel.).
Regarding claim 10, Hwang teaches the apparatus as appears above (see the rejection of claim 8), and Hwang teaches wherein the resonant LC circuit (Fig. 4 #21 coil and #400 resonant capacitor) is configured to operate at a resonant frequency of the LC resonant circuit (Fig. 4 #21 coil and #400 resonant capacitor) to heat the susceptor arrangement (Page 3 para.10 ---"The resonator 40 includes a coil 21 and a resonant capacitor (C) 400, and generates a non-contact heat generation of the metal cylinder 20 using the coil 21. The coil 21 may be equivalent to the inductor L. The resonator capacitor 400 is connected to the coil 21 to form the resonator 40. The resonant capacitor 400 forms the resonator 40 together with the coil 21 to determine the resonant frequency.”).
Regarding claim 11, Hwang teaches the apparatus as appears above (see the rejection of claim 10), and Hwang teaches wherein the switching arrangement (Fig. 4 #411-412 switches) is configured to alternate between a first state and a second state to cause the varying current through the inductive element (Fig. 4 #21 coil), and wherein the switching arrangement (Fig. 4 #411-412 switches) is configured to alternate between the first state and the second state in response to voltage oscillations within the resonant circuit (Fig. 4 #21 coil and #400 resonant capacitor) (Page 4 para. 1 ---" The switches M1 and M2 411 and 412 alternate on and off and have a reverse phase waveform. The power amplifier 41 supplies the resonator 40 with current induced by the switching operations of the switches M1 and M2 411 and 412. At this time, the power amplifier 41 outputs an AC voltage / current having a frequency corresponding to the resonance frequency of the resonator 40 to drive the resonator 40.”).
Regarding claim 12, Hwang teaches the apparatus as appears above (see the rejection of claim 11), and Hwang teaches wherein the voltage oscillations within the resonant circuit (Fig. 4 #21 coil and #400 resonant capacitor) act to cause the alternating of the switching arrangement (Fig. 4 #411-412 switches) between the first state and the second state to thereby cause the current through the inductive element (Fig. 4 #21 coil) to vary at the resonant frequency of the resonant circuit (Fig. 4 #21 coil and #400 resonant capacitor) (Page 4 para. 1 ---" The switches M1 and M2 411 and 412 alternate on and off and have a reverse phase waveform. The power amplifier 41 supplies the resonator 40 with current induced by the switching operations of the switches M1 and M2 411 and 412. At this time, the power amplifier 41 outputs an AC voltage / current having a frequency corresponding to the resonance frequency of the resonator 40 to drive the resonator 40.”).
Regarding claim 13, Hwang teaches the apparatus as appears above (see the rejection of claim 1), and Hwang teaches further comprising a temperature determiner (Fig. 4 #27 temperature sensor), wherein the temperature determiner (Fig. 4 #27 temperature sensor) is configured to determine a temperature of the susceptor arrangement based on the first DC voltage supplied by the voltage regulator (Fig. 4 #44 DC-DC converter) to the heating circuit (Fig. 4 #40 resonator and #41 power amplifier) and one or more electrical properties of the heating circuit (Fig. 4 #40 resonator and #41 power amplifier) (Page 4 para. 6 ---"The temperature sensor 27 senses the temperature of the coil 21. At this time, the controller 42 controls the switching waveforms of the switches M1 and M2 411 and 412 in the power amplifier 41 using the temperature of the coil 21 sensed by the temperature sensor 27. For example, the controller 42 generates a switching waveform control signal for increasing the temperature of the sensed coil 21 when the temperature of the coil 21 is lower than a preset value and provides it to the power amplifier 41, and lowers it when it is higher than the preset value. A switching waveform control signal for generating may be generated and provided to the power amplifier 41.”).
Regarding claim 14, Hwang teaches the apparatus as appears above (see the rejection of claim 13), and Hwang teaches wherein the one or more electrical properties of the heating circuit (Fig. 4 #40 resonator and #41 power amplifier) comprise one or more of: a frequency at which the heating circuit is operating (Page 4 para. 6 ---" For example, the controller 42 generates a switching waveform control signal for increasing the temperature of the sensed coil 21 when the temperature of the coil 21 is lower than a preset value and provides it to the power amplifier 41, and lowers it when it is higher than the preset value.”; The switching waveform has a frequency at which the heating circuit is operated.); a current drawn by the heating circuit; and an impedance of the heating circuit.
Regarding claim 15, Hwang teaches the apparatus as appears above (see the rejection of claim 1), and Hwang teaches wherein the voltage supply (Fig. 4 #43 battery) from which the voltage regulator (Fig. 4 #44 DC-DC converter) receives the input voltage is a DC voltage supply.
Regarding claim 16, Hwang discloses an aerosol generating device comprising the apparatus according to claim 1 (See the rejection of claim 1).
Regarding claim 17, Hwang teaches an aerosol generating device as appears above (see the rejection of claim 16), and Hwang teaches the susceptor arrangement (Fig. 3 #20 metal cylinder) arranged to be heated by the inductive element (Fig. 4 #21 coil) to thereby heat the aerosol generating material to generate a flow of aerosol.
Regarding claim 19, Hwang discloses method of operating an aerosol generating system comprising an aerosol generating device and a susceptor arrangement arranged to be heated by the aerosol generating device to thereby heat an aerosol generating material to generate a flow of aerosol, the aerosol generating device comprising apparatus comprising an inductive heating circuit configured to inductively heat the susceptor arrangement, the inductive heating circuit comprising[[:]] an inductive element configured to inductively heat the susceptor arrangement when a varying current flows through the inductive element; and a switching arrangement for causing the varying current to flow through the inductive element when a first DC voltage is supplied to the inductive heating circuit; a voltage regulator configured to receive an input voltage from a voltage supply and output the first DC voltage across the inductive heating circuit; and a control arrangement; wherein the method comprising:
adjusting, by the control arrangement, the first DC voltage output by the voltage regulator, thereby to adjust a power supplied to the heating circuit for heating the susceptor arrangement (Page 4 para. 3 ---"The controller 42 controls the energy supplied to the coil 21 by controlling the switching waveform of the power amplifier 41, controlling the voltage of the DC-DC converter 44, or both.”).
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.
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.
Claim(s) 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hwang et al (KR 20200009993 A) as applied to claim 17, in view of Reevell et al (US 2019/0380391).
Regarding claim 18, Hwang teaches the aerosol generating device as appears above (see the rejection of claim 17), but does not teach wherein the susceptor arrangement is provided in a component separate from, and configured to releasably engage with, the aerosol provision device.
Nonetheless, Reevell in the same field of endeavor being aerosol generating devices teaches wherein the susceptor arrangement )Fig. 2 #20 susceptor) is provided in a component separate from, and configured to releasably engage with, the aerosol provision device (The susceptor is shown to be separate from and releasably engage with the aerosol provision device.).
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 device of Hwang by incorporating the susceptor arrangement as taught by Reevell for the benefit of preparation for further use or for cleaning. (Reevell [0064])
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOE E MILLS JR. whose telephone number is (571)272-8449. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5.
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/JOE E MILLS JR./Examiner, Art Unit 3761