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 and 3-6 are pending and subject to this Office Action. Claim 1 has been amended. Claim 2 has been cancelled. Claims 7-13 have been withdrawn from consideration.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 5-9, filed 31 March 2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-6 under 35 USC § 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of previously applied and newly found prior art.
Claim 1 has been amended to define the claimed pore structure as being “wherein a plurality of pores directly connected to the at least one passage are formed in an outer circumferential surface of the single cylindrical porous tobacco solid and extend radially inward from the outer circumferential surface to the passage.”
The Applicant argues, pages 5-8, that the teachings of Deforel in view of Rasouli do not teach, disclose, or make obvious the limitation of claim 1.
The Examiner agrees with this assessment and as such the rejection of claim 1 has been withdrawn. However, upon further search additional prior art that taught the limitations of amended was found. Selby, et al (WO 2020181358A1) teaches an aerosol generating article having a distal filter material that can have vapor modifiers, hollow tube/ passage that has perforations that extends through a tobacco section, a filter section, and a mouthpiece.
Selby is silent with respect to the perforations have a portion the is radially extending from the hollow portion through the tobacco to the outer circumferential surface.
Steigerwald, directed to the design of cigarettes having additional airflow, teaches a cigarette having a tobacco rod with a central/secondary airflow channel. (cl2 ln 49-54) The prior art teaches the central secondary air channel can be attached to additional channels that are connected to and extend laterally from the secondary air channel. (cl11 ln 59-63) Steigerwald discloses these channels can extend to the circumferential surface of the tobacco section. (Fig. 17)
The following is a modified rejection based on amendments made to the claims.
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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Selby, et al (WO-2020181358-A1) and further in view of Steigerwald (US-3774622-A).
Regarding claim 1, Selby teaches a smoking article comprised of:
A first portion - a distal porous/ filter element (p11 ln 21-23)
A second portion – a tobacco tube section (80) (p11 ln 23-24)
A third portion – a hollow tube section/ cooling section between the top of the tobacco section (p11 ln 15-19)
A fourth portion – a mouthpiece (p11 ln 15-16) further claiming the mouthpiece may comprise a filter (claim 22)
That are sequentially arranged in an axial configuration. (annotated figure 1)
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Annotated Figure 1
Selby teaches a heat-not-burn cigarette that includes a plug of engineered tobacco incorporating integral air channels (p7 ln 17-19). Selby teaches the tobacco portion includes a hollow inner tube that can extend from the bottom end of the tobacco section to the top end of the tobacco section. (p8 ln 20-23) The prior art teaches that in some embodiments the air flow channel can further comprise a plurality of perforations in the tobacco tube which permits additional tobacco vapors to mix with the cooler air to be introduced into the HNB cigarette, allowing for further and finer temperature control of the tobacco vapors being inhaled, as well as further and finer control of the ratio of tobacco vapors to the cooler air inflow. (p12 ln 3-10)
Selby teaches that the distal end of the article can include a filter. The filter that is a porous filter or other material that permits airflow and retains the tobacco material. (p 12 ln 23-25) Additionally Selby teaches the filter material can be used for adding flavor or otherwise modifying the vapor. (p 17 ln 27-29) Selby teaches that in the configuration where the filter is the first element of the article, the filter is designed to be pierced by the heating element used to vaporize material.(p15 ln 8-10) A person having ordinary skill would recognize that the flavoring in the distal filter portion would be heated and thus be aerosolized and pass into and through the article. As such, this is considered to read on the first portion/ aerosol generating element.
Selby teaches that the air inflow may be provided by perforations on the side of the smoking article. (p5 ln1-2) The prior art teaches the tobacco plug is shaped to define grooves, tubes, holes, perforations, columns, or other features built directly into the tobacco section in order to optimize the air inflow/outflow and vapor production from the tobacco section. (p5 ln 17-19)
However, Selby is silent with respect to the hollow tube in the tobacco section having pores/perforations that directly connect to at least one passage formed in the tobacco portion where the passage extends from the outer surface of the tobacco tube to the central airflow channel.
Steigerwald, directed to the design of cigarettes having additional airflow, teaches a cigarette having a tobacco rod with a central/secondary airflow channel. (cl2 ln 49-54) The prior art teaches the central secondary air channel can be attached to additional channels that are connected to and extend laterally from the secondary air channel. (cl11 ln 59-63) Steigerwald discloses a configuration where the additional air channels extend from the central secondary air channel to the periphery of the tobacco rod but do not extend through the wrapper . (Fig 17, annotated figure 2)
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Annotated Figure 2.
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would be obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art to modify Selby by adding the additional air channels extending from the central air passageway as taught by Steigerwald because both Selby and Steigerwald are directed to tobacco containing smoking articles, Steigerwald teaches the that secondary channels aid in the reduction of undesirable smoke constituents (cl3 ln 12-14) and that the transversely extending additional channels result in finer subdivision and improved supply of secondary air (cl11 ln 57-59), and this involves the use of known technique of adding secondary air channels to improve similar products in the same way.
Claims 3 and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Selby, et al (WO-2020181358-A1) and Steigerwald (US-3774622-A) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Yoss, et al (US-20090014020-A1).
Regarding claims 3 and 4, Selby is silent with respect to the diameter of the central hollow tube in the tobacco section. Steigerwald teaches the parameters, particularly the channel diameter, can selected based on the amount of air resistance in the secondary channel. (cl4 ln 3-7)
However, neither Selby nor Steigerwald teach a specific diameter for the passage.
Yoss, directed to the design of smoking articles, teaches a tobacco rod having a hollow tube that extends through the tobacco portion. The prior art teaches the hollow tube has an inner diameter that can vary from about 0.5mm to 5.5 mm. [0016] Yoss teaches that the diameter of the hollow channels inside the tobacco rod can affect the delivery profile of the tobacco rod. In view of the teachings of Steigerwald and Yoss, a person having ordinary skill in the art would consider these diameters for any channel in the tobacco rod section to achieve a desired air resistance and delivery profile.
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would be obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art to modify Selby and Steigerwald by using air channels in the article in the ranges as taught by Yoss because Selby, Steigerwald, and Yoss are directed to tobacco containing smoking articles, Yoss teaches the diameter of these channels can affect the amount delivery profile of the smoking article including the amount of tar [0021], and this involves combining prior art elements according to known size ranges for internal passageways to yield predictable results.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Selby, et al (WO-2020181358-A1) and Steigerwald (US-3774622-A) as applied to claim1 above, and further in view of Rasoul,. et al (US20150114405A1).
Regarding claim 5, Selby teaches heating a tobacco product where more surface area of the tobacco is exposed to the heater improves the heating of the tobacco as it is more evenly heated. (p9 ln 8-9) However, the prior art is silent as to the specific surface area of the tobacco.
Rasouli taches a specific surface area of a porous tobacco solid ranges from 200m2/g to 10000m2/g. [0022-0023] The claimed range overlaps the range disclosed by the prior art and is therefore considered prima facie obvious. See MPEP 2144.05
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would be obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art to modify Selby and Steigerwald by using a porous tobacco solid having the specific surface area in the range as taught by Rasouli because Selby, Steigerwald, and Rasouli are directed to tobacco containing smoking articles, Rasouli teaches having a high surface improves the efficiency of the functional material [0043], and this involves the use of known technique to improve similar products in the same way.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Selby, et al (WO-2020181358-A1) and Steigerwald (US-3774622-A) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Malgat, et al (US-20200120978-A1).
Regarding claim 6 , Selby teaches the second assembly (the tobacco assembly) is wrapped in covering wrap. ([0020], [0075]) Selby also teaches that heat not burn cigarette of this design can be used with various types of heaters that include external heating elements. [0022]
However, the prior art is silent with respect to the use of a conductive wrapping material.
Malgat, directed to aerosol generating systems and articles, teaches an aerosol generating article for use in a device similar to the heating configuration taught by Selby. Malgat teaches the aerosol forming substrate is encircled by a sheet of thermally conductive material. (Abstract)
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would be obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art to modify Selby and Steigerwald by a using a thermally conductive sheet of material around the aerosol generating substrate as taught by Malgat because Selby, Steigerwald, and Malgat are directed to tobacco containing smoking articles, Malgat teaches the thermally conductive wrapper spreads the heat and prevents ignition (Abstract), and this involves the use of known technique to improve similar products in the same way.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VIRGINIA R BIEGER whose telephone number is (703)756-1014. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th: 7:30-4:30.
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/V.R.B./Examiner, Art Unit 1755 /PHILIP Y LOUIE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1755
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