DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 07 November 2025 has been entered.
Status of the Claims
This office action is in response to Applicant’s amendment filed on 07 November 2025:
Claims 1, 3-9, 11-14, 16, 19-20, 35 and 38-39 are pending
Claims 1, 5, 16, 19 and 35 are amended
Claims 2, 10, 15, 17-18, 21-34 and 36 are cancelled
Claims 38-39 are new
Response to Amendment
Applicant's amendments to the claims filed 07 November 2025 have been acknowledged. The rejection to Claim 36 under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) is withdrawn due to cancellation of the claim.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed on 07 November 2025, with respect to Claims 1 and 35 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Applicant has amended Claims 1 and 35 with details from both Claims 17 and 18 such that they require all of the following features together: a mouthpiece, a first and second air inlet, and a mixing chamber; wherein the first and second part of the aerosol must enter the mouthpiece without maxing, and wherein the aerosol mixes in the mixing chamber within said mouthpiece.
Applicant argues that Gill does not disclose said features and that there is no motivation to modify Gill with Bruton due to differences in the purpose of their design. However, this argument is now moot as Examiner no longer relies on Gill or Bruton to reject the features listed above that is now recited in amended Claim 1.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 35 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 35 is indefinite for reciting “without causing delivery of significant amounts of heat” because it is unclear how “significant amounts of heat” is being determined and/or what degree of heat generation would be considered “significant”. Applicant’s disclosure does not provide any further description or details on what criteria can be used to assess or determine the amount of heat generation that would constitute as being “significant” and therefore, Claim 35 is considered indefinite.
For examination purposes, Claim 35 is interpreted to recite the following: “without causing delivery
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter 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 pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) 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 under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a), the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned at the time any inventions covered therein were made absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and invention dates of each claim that was not commonly owned at the time a later invention was made in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(c) and potential pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(e), (f) or (g) prior art under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a).
Claims 1, 3-9, 11-13, 16, 19-20 and 35 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Nakano (Publication No. US20190217028A1) in view of Hejazi (Publication No. US20210112881A1) and Rojo-Calderon et al (Publication No. US20180279681A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Nakano discloses a vaporizer device (Flavor inhaler 100) comprising:
a first reservoir (102A) containing or configured to contain a first vaporizable material (i.e., aerosol source) that includes at least one first aerosol component (Fig. 1; [0058-0060]; aerosol source is a liquid such as propylene glycol that can be vaporized to form an aerosol; liquid is considered equivalent to an aerosol component);
a first aerosol generation mechanism (First atomizing unit 104A) configured to create a first part of an aerosol that includes the at least one first aerosol component (Fig. 1; [0058-0060]; atomizing unit atomizes the aerosol source to generate aerosol);
a second reservoir (102B) containing or configured to contain a second vaporizable material (Fig. 1; [0058-0060]; aerosol source is a liquid such as propylene glycol that can be vaporized to form an aerosol; liquid is considered equivalent to an aerosol component);
and a second aerosol generation mechanism (Second atomizing unit 104B) configured to vaporize the second aerosol component of the second vaporizable material (i.e., aerosol source) to generate a second part of the aerosol (Fig. 1; [0058-0060]; atomizing unit atomizes the aerosol source to generate aerosol);
a mouthpiece (Mouthpiece member 108) (Fig. 8; [0058]);
wherein the first part of the aerosol enters the mouthpiece (108) through a first inlet (First aerosol flow path 110A) of a mixing chamber (118) (see Fig. 1; [0062-0063]);
and the second part of the aerosol enters the mouthpiece (108) through a second inlet (First aerosol flow path 110B) of a mixing chamber (118) (see Fig. 1; [0062-0063]);
such that the first part of the aerosol and the second part of the aerosol enter the mixing chamber without any mixing (see Fig. 1; [0062-0063] the first and second flow paths are shown as distinct and separate paths which implies that there is no mixing of the two aerosols prior to entering the mixing chamber;
and wherein the first part of the aerosol and the second part of the aerosol mix in a mixing chamber [0062-0063].
Nakano further discloses the mouthpiece (108) is downstream of the mixing chamber (118), and that instead of a heater, the atomizing unit(s) can be an ultrasonic-type atomizer that atomizes the aerosol source by ultrasonic vibration ([0060]; implies that the first aerosol generation mechanism/atomizing unit can be generated by vibrational forces).
Nakano does not explicitly disclose the following:
the first part of the aerosol being formed by the first aerosol generation mechanism (i.e., first atomizing unit is an ultrasonic-type) while the first vaporizable material is maintained at a first temperature below a first vaporization temperature of the at least one first aerosol component;
the first and second part of the aerosol enters the mouthpiece through a first and second inlet respectively, such that there is no mixing;
and the mixing chamber is within the mouthpiece.
Regarding (I), Hejazi, directed to an aerosol device, discloses a first and second reservoir (110A/110B) containing different liquids (112A/112B) which get aerosolized by a first and second atomization assembly (115A/115B) (Fig. 1; [0069]). The atomization assemblies are a vibrating assembly that vaporizes the liquid and forms aerosol particles utilizing ambient air (i.e., first temperature) drawn by the user without combusting or significant chemical alteration of said liquid ([0039, 0061, 0064, 0069]; as the aerosol is formed at ambient conditions without combusting, it implies the ambient/first temperature is below the vaporization/combustion temperature of the aerosol component/liquid).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to substitute the first atomizing unit disclosed by Nakano, with the vibration assembly (i.e., aerosol generating mechanism) disclosed by Hejazi, as both are directed to an aerosol/vaporizer device, where this is a substitution of a known aerosol generating mechanism using a heating element/heater as disclosed by Gill, with another known aerosol generating mechanism using a vibrational ultrasonic assembly as disclosed by Hejazi, to a similar aerosol device to yield a predictable result that the modified aerosol device will be able to aerosolize an aerosol component using vibration energy instead of heat.
Regarding (II-III), Rojo-Calderon, directed to an aerosol-generating device, discloses a mouthpiece (71) comprising a mixing chamber (704) to homogenize and blend an aerosol flow before it leaves the mouthpiece, wherein said mixing chamber is shown to be located within the mouthpiece (see Figs. 15-16; [0114, 0173]).
Therefore, one ordinarily skilled in the art can reasonably take Rojo-Calderon’s disclosure to arrange the Nakano’s mixing chamber inside of the mouthpiece to predictably result in vapors generated from a first and second aerosol source to enter the mouthpiece (and mixing chamber) without mixing, and then mixes in the mixing chamber within the mouthpiece to produce one single airstream that enters the user’s mouth.
It should be noted that while Rojo-Calderon does not disclose a first and second aerosol part entering said mouthpiece/mixing chamber through a first and second inlet respectively such that there is no mixing prior to entering the mouthpiece, Nakano’s channels/outlets are already constructed to achieve this with the mixing chamber. As such, Rojo-Calderon’s disclosure is merely to shift the mixing chamber into the mouthpiece; when Nakano is modified by Rojo-Calderon in this manner, it is apparent that since the aerosols do not mix when entering Nakano’s mixing chamber, the same principle applies to the mouthpiece once the mixing chamber has been moved into the mouthpiece.
Regarding Claim 3, Nakano further discloses the vaporizer device (100) comprises a vaporizer device body (i.e., device main body) that is configured to be re-usable and to be joinable with at least one separable cartridge (Fig. 1; [0058]; discloses that the reservoirs and atomizing units can be gathered together to form a detachable/joinable cartridge; the detachability of the cartridge implies that it is re-usable).
Regarding Claim 4, Nakano further discloses the at least one separable cartridge comprises the first reservoir (102A) and second reservoir (102B) (Fig. 1; [0058]).
and at least a portion of each of the first aerosol generation mechanism (104A) and the second aerosol generation mechanism (104B) (Fig. 1; [0058]).
Regarding Claim 5, Modified Nakano further discloses the at least one separable cartridge comprises one or more of the first reservoir (102A), the second reservoir (102B) and the mouthpiece (108) (Fig. 1; [0058]; discloses that elements such as the reservoir and mouthpiece can be gathered together to form a cartridge);
and electrical connections for receiving power from a battery (114) in the vaporizer device (100) body (i.e., main body) when the vaporizer device body and cartridge are coupled ([0058, 0060]; discloses the atomizing units comprise heaters which are electrically connected to a battery; this implies that there are electrical connections between the atomizer/heaters and the battery).
Regarding Claim 6, Nakano further discloses a pressure sensor (Puff/pressure sensor 122) configured to detect a pressure change corresponding to an airflow through an air inlet (Air intake channel 116) (Fig. 1; [0060]);
and a controller (Control unit 130) configured to respond to the pressure change by at least activating the first aerosol generation mechanism (104A) and the second aerosol generation mechanism (104B) (Figs. 1, 3A-B; [0065, 0089, 0096-0097]; the controller operates the device to supply voltage/power from the battery to the heaters of the atomizing units once a puff is detected via the sensor).
Regarding Claim 7, Modified Nakano does not explicitly disclose that the controller is configured to control the first vaporization rate of the first aerosol component by at least adjusting an amplitude, a frequency, and/or a duty cycle of the vibration associated with the first aerosol generation mechanism.
However, Hejazi, directed to an aerosol device, discloses an atomization assembly (115A/115B) which is electrically connected to a power/battery source (108) via a control component (106) to induce vibrations in the vibration component of said atomization assembly (Fig. 1; [0056]). The vibrating component is a piezoelectric ring that is configured to respond to an electrical stimulus (i.e., power provided via controller) to deliver a continuous change in oscillating motion with a frequency range of 50 to 150 KHz ([0075]; implies that the controller is configured to adjust the frequency within the disclosed frequency range based on the power delivered from the controller to the piezoelectric ring).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art to modify the controller for the first aerosol generation mechanism disclosed in Modified Nakano, to adjust the frequency of the vibration aerosol generating assembly as disclosed by Hejazi, as both are directed to an aerosol device, and one ordinarily skilled in the art can apply the known aerosol generating controller configuration in Hejazi to another known aerosol generating controller configuration in a similar device disclosed in Modified Nakano with a reasonable expectation that the modified controller will successfully control the first aerosol generation vibration assembly/mechanism via frequency adjustments induced by power delivered via controller to piezoelectric ring/actuator.
Regarding Claim 8, Nakano further discloses the controller (130) is configured to control a second vaporization rate of the second aerosol component by adjusting a power level and/or a target temperature associated with the second aerosol generation mechanism ([0083-0085]; the power sent to the heater of the second atomizing unit can be adjusted/changed depending on the desired quantity of aerosol delivered over time, impacting the rate which it is vaporized).
Regarding Claim 9, Modified Nakano further discloses the first temperature is an ambient temperature (Hejazi, [0039, 0061, 0064, 0069]; the liquid vaporized by the vibration assembly is aerosolized with ambient air inhaled by the user, implying that the temperature of the aerosol is at the same ambient conditions as the inhaled air that formed said aerosol).
Regarding Claim 11, Nakano further discloses the second aerosol generation mechanism (104B) includes a heating element (i.e., heater) (Fig. 1; [0060]);
and wherein the heating element is configured to generate heat for heating the second aerosol component (i.e., aerosol source) to a second temperature in order to vaporize the second aerosol component ([0060, 0083]; controller controls the atomizing unit/heater to generate heat based on delivered power to generate a desired quantity of aerosol; achieving a second temperature via heat generation is implicit).
Regarding Claim 12, Hejazi further discloses the first aerosol generation mechanism includes a piezoelectric actuator (Piezoelectric ring 217A/B) configured to generate an ultrasonic vibration (Hejazi, Fig. 1; [0068, 0072]; the vibrating assembly is disclosed to also operate as an ultrasonic assembly);
and wherein the ultrasonic vibration vibrates a mesh screen (Mesh plate 219A/B) to vaporize the first aerosol component (Hejazi, Fig. 1; [0068-0069, 0072])
Hejazi does not explicitly disclose that the first aerosol/vibrating assembly vaporizes the first aerosol component without generating heat to change the first temperature of the first aerosol component.
However, it should be noted that the vibration assembly (i.e., aerosol generating mechanism) disclosed by Hejazi generates aerosols via vibrational means (Hejazi, [0068]) and not heating like the second aerosol generating mechanism in Modified Gill (Gill, [0079]; induction heating with a heating element).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art that the first aerosol generating mechanism will vaporize the first aerosol component without generating heat to change the first temperature, as it utilizes the vibrational assembly comprising a mesh and piezoelectric material/actuator to vaporize the first aerosol component wit ultrasonic energy instead of heat, absent evidence to the contrary.
Regarding Claim 13, Modified Nakano further discloses the piezoelectric actuator is included in a first vaporizer cartridge (Nakano, [0058]; Hejazi, [0068-0069]; implied as the heating element/mechanism is disclosed to be part of a cartridge as disclosed by Nakano, which has been modified to substitute the heater with the vibration assembly comprising the piezoelectric actuator disclosed by Hejazi; see Claim 1 rejection).
Regarding Claim 16, Nakano further discloses the mouthpiece (108) is configured to deliver, to a user, the first part of the aerosol (i.e., aerosol generated from the first reservoir) and the second part of the-aerosol (i.e., aerosol from the second reservoir) (Fig. 1; [0058, 0062]; aerosol generated from the first and second reservoir flows into the mouthpiece via the aerosol flow paths 110A/B);
the mouthpiece (108) including an aerosol outlet through which the first part of the aerosol and the second part of the aerosol exit the mouthpiece (see Figure 1; [0064]; the portion of the mouthpiece that is shown sticking out of the device is considered equivalent to an aerosol outlet; it is implied that that would be an outlet since the mouthpiece is disclosed to allow the aerosol to be released to the outside).
Regarding Claim 19, Nakano does not explicitly disclose the mixing chamber (118) having one or more features configured to combine the first part of the aerosol with the second part of the aerosol.
However, Rojo-Calderon, directed to an aerosol-generating device, discloses a mouthpiece (71) with a mixing chamber (704) to homogenize and blend an aerosol flow before it leaves the mouthpiece, which is accomplished by using an airflow alteration element (705) (Fig. 16; [0114-0115, 0172]; homogenizing the aerosol flow implies that the airflow alteration feature will combine a first and second aerosol if multiple aerosols flowed in the mixing chamber).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the mixing chamber (i.e., passageway) in Nakano, to include an airflow alteration element/feature in the mixing chamber as disclosed by Rojo-Calderon, as both are directed to a vaporizing/aerosolizing device, where Rojo-Calderon teaches the advantage of incorporating said mixing/airflow alteration feature to create a blending effect that homogenizes the aerosol before it leaves the mouthpiece.
Regarding Claim 20, Rojo-Calderon further discloses the one or more features include a non-linear flow path (0114-0115; airflow through mixing chamber is turbulent which is non-linear);
and/or an obstacle (Airflow alteration element 705) (Fig. 16; [0114-0115, 0172]; Alteration element changes the airflow, which is equivalent to being an obstacle to the existing airflow before it is changed/altered).
Regarding Claim 35, Nakano discloses a vaporizer device (Flavor inhaler 100) comprising:
a first reservoir (102A) containing or configured to contain a first vaporizable material (i.e., aerosol source) that includes at least one first aerosol component (Fig. 1; [0058-0060]; aerosol source is a liquid such as propylene glycol that can be vaporized to form an aerosol; liquid is considered equivalent to an aerosol component);
a first aerosol generation mechanism (First atomizing unit 104A) configured to create a first part of an aerosol that includes the at least one first aerosol component (Fig. 1; [0058-0060]; atomizing unit atomizes the aerosol source to generate aerosol);
a second reservoir (102B) containing or configured to contain a second vaporizable material (Fig. 1; [0058-0060]; aerosol source is a liquid such as propylene glycol that can be vaporized to form an aerosol; liquid is considered equivalent to an aerosol component);
and a second aerosol generation mechanism (Second atomizing unit 104B) configured to vaporize the second aerosol component of the second vaporizable material (i.e., aerosol source) to generate a second part of the aerosol (Fig. 1; [0058-0060]; atomizing unit atomizes the aerosol source to generate aerosol).
a mouthpiece (Mouthpiece member 108) (Fig. 8; [0058]);
wherein the first part of the aerosol enters the mouthpiece (108) through a first inlet (First aerosol flow path 110A) of a mixing chamber (118) (see Fig. 1; [0062-0063]);
and the second part of the aerosol enters the mouthpiece (108) through a second inlet (First aerosol flow path 110B) of a mixing chamber (118) (see Fig. 1; [0062-0063]);
such that the first part of the aerosol and the second part of the aerosol enter the mixing chamber without any mixing (see Fig. 1; [0062-0063] the first and second flow paths are shown as distinct and separate paths which implies that there is no mixing of the two aerosols prior to entering the mixing chamber;
and wherein the first part of the aerosol and the second part of the aerosol mix in a mixing chamber [0062-0063].
Nakano further discloses the mouthpiece (108) is downstream of the mixing chamber (118), and that instead of a heater, the atomizing unit(s) can be an ultrasonic-type atomizer that atomizes the aerosol source by ultrasonic vibration ([0060]; implies that the first aerosol generation mechanism/atomizing unit can be generated by vibrational forces).
Nakano does not explicitly disclose the following:
the first part of the aerosol being formed by a vibration generated by the first aerosol generation mechanism, the vibration forming the first aerosol component without causing delivery of heat to the first vaporizable material;
the first and second part of the aerosol enters the mouthpiece through a first and second inlet respectively, such that there is no mixing;
and the mixing chamber is within the mouthpiece.
Regarding (I), However, Hejazi, directed to an aerosol device, discloses a first and second reservoir (110A/110B) containing different liquids (112A/112B) which get aerosolized by a first and second atomization assembly (115A/115B) (Fig. 1; [0069]). The atomization assemblies are a vibrating assembly that vaporizes the liquid and forms aerosol particles utilizing ambient air (i.e., first temperature) drawn by the user without combusting or significant chemical alteration of said liquid ([0039, 0061, 0064, 0069]; as the aerosol is formed at ambient conditions without combusting, it implies that there was no heat generated that would elevate ambient conditions).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to substitute the first aerosol generating mechanism disclosed by Gill, with the vibration assembly (i.e., aerosol generating mechanism) disclosed by Hejazi, as both are directed to an aerosol/vaporizer device, where this is a substitution of a known aerosol generating mechanism using a heating element as disclosed by Gill, with another known aerosol generating mechanism using a vibrational ultrasonic assembly as disclosed by Hejazi, to a similar aerosol device to yield a predictable result that the modified aerosol device will be able to aerosolize an aerosol component using vibration energy instead of heat.
Regarding (II-III), Rojo-Calderon, directed to an aerosol-generating device, discloses a mouthpiece (71) comprising a mixing chamber (704) to homogenize and blend an aerosol flow before it leaves the mouthpiece, wherein said mixing chamber is shown to be located within the mouthpiece (see Figs. 15-16; [0114, 0173]).
Therefore, one ordinarily skilled in the art can reasonably take Rojo-Calderon’s disclosure and make the design choice to arrange the Nakano’s mixing chamber inside of the mouthpiece to predictably result in vapors generated from a first and second aerosol source to enter the mouthpiece (and mixing chamber) without mixing, and then mixes in the mixing chamber within the mouthpiece to produce one single airstream that enters the user’s mouth.
It should be noted that while Rojo-Calderon does not disclose a first and second aerosol part entering said mouthpiece/mixing chamber through a first and second inlet respectively such that there is no mixing prior to entering the mouthpiece, Nakano’s channels/outlets are already constructed to achieve this with the mixing chamber. As such, Rojo-Calderon’s disclosure is merely to shift the mixing chamber into the mouthpiece; when Nakano is modified by Rojo-Calderon in this manner, it is apparent that since the aerosols do not mix when entering Nakano’s mixing chamber, the same principle applies to the mouthpiece once the mixing chamber has been moved into the mouthpiece.
Regarding Claims 38 and 39, Modified Nakano does not disclose the mouthpiece further comprises an air inlet allowing ambient air to enter mouthpiece; wherein the ambient air enters the mixing chamber within the mouthpiece.
However, Rojo-Calderon, directed to an aerosol-generating device, discloses a mouthpiece (71) provided with air-inlet channels (702) at the distal end of the mouthpiece so that air from the environment (i.e., ambient air) through an aerosol-generating article into the mouthpiece (Fig. 15; [0174]). The environment/ambient air that flows through the article and mouthpiece ultimately passes through (i.e., enters) the mixing chamber (704) and alteration elements (705) to thoroughly mix the aerosol in the airflow before exiting the mouthpiece (Fig. 15; [0174]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the mouthpiece in Modified Nakano, to include an air inlet so that ambient air can enter the mouthpiece and mixing chamber as disclosed by Rojo-Calderon, as both are directed to a vaporizing/aerosolizing device, where one ordinarily skilled in the art would be capable of applying a known air inlet feature for a mouthpiece disclosed by Rojo-Calderon, to another similar mouthpiece disclosed by Nakano and predictably result in a mouthpiece that allows ambient air to enter the mouthpiece and its mixing chamber via the air inlets.
Claim 14 is rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Nakano (Publication No. US20190217028A1), in view of Hejazi (Publication No. US20210112881A1) and Rojo-Calderon et al (Publication No. US20180279681A1) as applied to Claim 1 above, and further in view of Kim et al (Publication No. US20090301472A1).
Regarding Claim 14, Modified Nakano does not disclose the following regarding the first aerosol generation mechanism:
a mechanical horn configured generate an ultrasonic vibration that vibrates a mesh screen to vaporize the first aerosol component
said horn vaporizes the first aerosol component without generating heat to change the first temperature of the first aerosol component.
Regarding (I), Kim, directed to an aerosol delivery system, discloses an aerosolizing element comprising a bias able plate (1008) and/or mesh element (1018) for producing an aerosol from an [aerosol] agent (Fig. 25A; [0123]). The aerosol/mesh element produces an aerosol through a force/energy applied to said element such as an acoustic/ultrasonic horn (1202) (i.e., mechanical horn) for biasing (i.e., creating force) the mesh element (Fig. 27; [0144]; mesh 1019 is considered equivalent to mesh element 1018).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art to modify the ultrasonic mesh assembly in Modified Nakano to include an acoustic horn as disclosed by Duchon, as both are directed to an aerosol delivery device/system, where one ordinarily skilled in the art would apply the known teaching of using an ultrasonic/mechanical horn to vibrate a mesh to produce aerosols as disclosed by Kim, to another known ultrasonic mesh assembly in a similar aerosol device in Modified Gill, with a reasonable expectation that the resulting ultrasonic assembly/aerosol generation mechanism will successfully produce vibrations in the mesh via acoustic/ultrasonic horn to produce an aerosol.
Regarding (II), it noted that the vibration assembly (i.e., aerosol generating mechanism) of Modified Nakano generates aerosols via vibrational means (Hejazi, [0068]) and not heating like the second aerosol generating mechanism (Nakano, [0060]; aerosol heated via heater).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art that the second temperature would be higher than the first temperature as the first aerosol generating mechanism does not involve any form of heating and can be operated at ambient conditions whereas the second aerosol generating mechanism requires heating to an optimal temperature for forming an aerosol and therefore would have a higher temperature in comparison to the first temperature.
Claim 37 is rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Nakano (Publication No. US20190217028A1) in view of Hejazi (Publication No. US20210112881A1) and Rojo-Calderon et al (Publication No. US20180279681A1) as applied to Claim 1, and in further view of Bruton (Publication No. US20210022400A1).
Regarding Claim 37, Modified Nakano discloses that the second aerosol generating mechanism (104B) comprises a heater that is arranged in contact with a wick in fluid communication with the second vaporizable material (i.e., aerosol source) in the second reservoir (102B) [0060].
Modified Nakano does not explicitly disclose the second aerosol generating mechanism (104B) is disposed at least partially around the wick in fluid communication with the second vaporizable material in the second reservoir.
However, Bruton, directed to an aerosol provision device with a first and second aerosol generation mechanism (Heating elements 43a/b) for generating a first and second aerosol, discloses the second aerosol generation mechanism (43b) is disposed at least partially around a wick (42b) in fluid communication with the second vaporizable material in the second reservoir (Fig. 2; [0041, 0057]; heating element wire is illustratively shown to be disposed around the wick element).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the second aerosol generating mechanism and its heater disclosed in Nakano, to have a heating element/wick configuration such that mechanism/heater is a wire that is disposed around a wick element as disclosed by Bruton, as both are directed to an aerosol generating device/vaporizer, where this involves applying a known heater/heating element and wick configuration disclosed by Bruton, to a similar heater and wick component disclosed by Nakano, to predictably result in a heater/heating element disposed around a wick that is capable of heating and generating an aerosol from an aerosol in a reservoir which is guided to the heater/heating element of an aerosol generating mechanism via wick components.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Selby et al (Publication No. US20230058955A1) – Hybrid aerosol generating device comprising a mouthpiece with a mixing chamber for combining aerosols generated from a HNB Stick and ECIG Pod aerosol source.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Vu P Pham whose telephone number is (703)756-4515. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th (7:30AM-4:00PM EST).
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/V.P./Examiner, Art Unit 1755 /PHILIP Y LOUIE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1755