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
This office action is in response to Applicant’s amendment filed on 12 June 2026:
Claims 1-10, 13-14, 16 and 19-20 are pending
Claims 1-9 are withdrawn
Claims 11, 12, 15, 17-18 and 21-23 are cancelled
Claims 10 and 16 are amended
Response to Amendment
Applicant's amendments to the claims filed 12 June 2026 have been acknowledged.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 05 January 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
On Pages 5-6 of Applicant’s Remarks, Applicant has amended the claims to further recite that the aerosol provision device/system is configured to move the guide element to selectively control the passage of the aerosol through different portions of the body of the substance region. Applicant argues that the sheathes disclosed in Karles creates paired portions that are simultaneously exposed and covered by the moveable sheathes. In the Applicant’s view, this does not meet the conditions of the amended claims where different portions are selectively controlled because both regions defined by the opening sheathes are exposed whereas the Applicant defines different regions being when one region is exposed while another is excluded.
Examiner disagrees, noting that while the paired portions may be moved together, the sheathes also defines a region that is not exposed while the pair portions are. Karles specifically notes that the fixed sheathes (208a/b) enclose portions of the flavor material (28) which, as seen in Figs. 2A-C, are not exposed when the movable sheathes are operated to expose other portions (i.e., Applicant’s claimed paired portions) of the flavor material [0150-0151]. Therefore, Karles’ disclosure would fulfill the new limitations in the amended claims per Applicant’s definition as the aerosol would only be exposed to specific portions of the material that is exposed, while excluding the portions that are covered by the fixed sheathes.
Furthermore, Karles also discloses additional embodiments where different portions of the flavor material that can be isolated (i.e., not exposed) through multiple movable sheathes, where Figure 4B shows that the sheathes cover specific portions of the flavor material while keeping other portions exposed. As previously noted, while there are a pair of portions that are exposed simultaneously, this is in conjunction with other portions of the flavor material being covered via sheathes which allows the device to have the aerosol selectively (i.e., adjustably) flow through specific portions of the flavor material; the portions covered by the sheathes are considered equivalent to the “different” portions that are distinct from the exposed portions not covered by the sheathes.
The following is a modified rejection based on the amended claims.
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.
(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 10, 13, 14, 16, 19 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Karles et al (Publication No. US20180007965A1).
Regarding Claim 10, Karles discloses an e-vaping (i.e., aerosol provision) device (Fig. 1A; e-vaping device 60) comprising:
a region (Space 40) configured for storage of a component (Flavor assembly 24) (see Figs. 1A-2B; [0088-0090]; flavor assembly is located in the pass-through space defined by the outer housing 16);
the material component (24) comprising a substance region (Flavor material 28) through which, in use, an aerosol (generated vapor 95) formed from the aerosol forming medium (i.e., pre-vapor formulation) passes (Figs. 1A-B; [0076-0077, 0089-0091]; discloses a cartridge 70 comprising a pre-vapor/aerosol forming formulation that is vaporized to form vapor/aerosol and passes through the flavor material 28 to flavor said vapor; material 28 is disclosed to carry flavorants/substance in said material and therefore is considered equivalent to the substance region);
wherein the device (60) further comprises a guide element (Control mechanism 26) arranged to be controllably movable to enable selective interaction of the aerosol (95) with different sections (232a/b) of a substance (i.e., flavorant) locatable in the substance region (28) (see Figs. 1A-2B; [0090-0091, 0097, 0111-0112, 0153-0156]; the control mechanism 26 comprises moveable sheathes 222a/b that operate to obscure or expose portions of the flavor material 28; the ability to control exposure of specific portions of the flavor material for pass through with the vapor is considered equivalent to selective interaction); and
wherein the aerosol provision device (60) is configured to move the guide element (26) to selectively control the passage of the aerosol through different portions of the body of the substance region (28) (Figs. 2A-B, 4A-B; [0150-0151, ]; the control mechanism 26 is designed with both moveable (232a/b) and fixed (208a/b) sheathes, wherein movement of the sheath exposes sections of the flavor material 28 while excluding exposure to the portions covered by the fixed sheathes which are different portions from the exposed portions; Karles also notes that the assembly can comprise of only movable sheathes as shown by Figure 4, wherein different regions are exposed between the sheathes; both embodiments are considered equivalent to selective control and exposure to different portions).
Regarding Claim 13, Karles further discloses a controller (Control circuitry 11) arranged to receive a signal relating to movement of the guide element (26) ([0111-0115, 0150-0151]; controller can track cumulative vaping quantity and duration information/signal from the vaporizer 22 and relate to increasing exposure of the substance material 28; increased exposure is achieved by the circuit operating the movement of the control mechanism 26 and its sheathes);
and arranged to control movement of the guide element (26) ([0150-0153, 0201-0203]; controller operates the control mechanism to move the sheathes via a motor).
Regarding Claim 14, Karles further discloses the guide element (26) is arranged adjacent to the region (40) configured for storage of the component (24) (see Fig. 1A; [0079]; the space 40 is where the flavor assembly 24 is located but should also note that it does not encompass the entirety of the space; the figures show that the portion of unoccupied space region is adjacent to the guide element).
Regarding Claim 16, Karles discloses an aerosol provision system (i.e., e-vaping device 60) comprising:
a region (Space 40) configured for storage of a component (Flavor assembly 24) (see Figs. 1A-2B; [0088-0090]; flavor assembly is located in the pass-through space defined by the outer housing 16);
the component (24) (Figs. 1A-B; [0088-0089]);
wherein the component (24) comprises a substance region (Flavor material 28) through which, in use, an aerosol (generated vapor 95) formed from the aerosol forming medium (i.e., pre-vapor formulation) passes (Figs. 1A-B; [0076-0077, 0089-0091]; discloses a cartridge 70 comprising a pre-vapor/aerosol forming formulation that is vaporized to form vapor/aerosol and passes through the flavor material 28 to flavor said vapor; material 28 is disclosed to carry flavorants/substance in said material and therefore is considered equivalent to the substance region);
wherein the component (28) further comprises a guide element (Control Mechanism 26) arranged to be controllably movable to enable selective interaction of the aerosol (95) with different sections (232a/b) of a substance (i.e., flavorant) locatable in the substance region (28) (see Figs. 1A-2B; [0090-0091, 0097, 0111-0112, 0153-0156]; the control mechanism 26 comprises moveable sheathes 222a/b that operate to obscure or expose portions of the flavor material 28; the ability to control exposure of specific portions of the flavor material for pass through with the vapor is considered equivalent to selective interaction) ; and
wherein the aerosol provision device (60) is configured to move the guide element (26) to selectively control the passage of the aerosol through different portions of the body of the substance region (28) (Figs. 2A-B, 4A-B; [0150-0151, ]; the control mechanism 26 is designed with both moveable (232a/b) and fixed (208a/b) sheathes, wherein movement of the sheath exposes sections of the flavor material 28 while excluding exposure to the portions covered by the fixed sheathes which are different portions from the exposed portions; Karles also notes that the assembly can comprise of only movable sheathes as shown by Figure 4, wherein different regions are exposed between the sheathes; both embodiments are considered equivalent to selective control and exposure to different portions).
Regarding Claim 19, Karles further discloses a controller (Control circuitry 11) arranged to receive a signal relating to movement of the guide element (26) ([0111-0115, 0150-0151]; controller can track cumulative vaping quantity and duration information/signal from the vaporizer 22 and relate to increasing exposure of the substance material 28; increased exposure is achieved by the circuit operating the movement of the control mechanism 26 and its sheathe);
and arranged to control movement of the guide element (26) ([0150-0153, 0201-0203]; controller operates the control mechanism to move the sheathes via a motor).
Regarding Claim 20, Karles further discloses the guide element (26) is arranged adjacent to the region (40) configured for storage of the component (24) (see Fig. 1A; [0079]; the space 40 is where the flavor assembly 24 is located but should also note that it does not encompass the entirety of the space; the figures show that the portion of unoccupied space region is adjacent to the guide element).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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
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