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 11 October 2025:
Claims 1-7, 9-10 and 13-18 are pending
Claims 8, 11-12 and 19-20 are cancelled
Claim 1 is amended
Response to Amendment
Applicant's amendments to the claims filed 11 October 2025 have been acknowledged. The rejection to Claims 8 and 11-12 under 35 U.S.C. 103 are withdrawn due to cancellation of the claims.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 11 October 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
On Pages 8-9 of Applicant’s Remarks, Applicant has amended Claim 1 with limitations drawn from Claims 8, 11 and 12 which have been cancelled. Applicant argues that the containing chamber is jointly bounded by the support cavity, heating portion concave side, and cover whereas Simpson’s “interior cavity” is bounded by a single-component space formed by a heating wire. Applicant claims that while the support merely provides a mounting base for the heating coil, it does not participate in defining the cavity that holds the liquid conducting member.
Examiner respectfully disagrees as the structure of the support base forms a space which, along with the heating element coil, defines an inner cavity in which the liquid conducting member is held. As shown in Figures 5A-B, a majority of the liquid conducting member (i.e., wick) is contained by both the wire and the support. Therefore, the containing chamber identified in Simpson can be considered to be bounded by both components and not just the heating element wire coil component.
On Pages 9-10 of Applicant’s Remarks, Applicant argues that Simpson’s slots are not liquid inlet holes as they merely provide a mechanical clearance to accommodate parts of the wick that protrudes out from the inner frame. There is no explicit or implicit disclosure that they have liquid-guiding functionality and additionally, Applicant has amended Claim 1 to specify that the liquid inlet holes are located on the cover.
Examiner respectfully disagrees, noting that while it is explicitly disclosed that the slots are included to allow the wick to extend out of the frame, there is implied functionality of liquid-guiding since the wick itself draws liquid. Thus, the slots are implicitly disclosed to have a liquid-guiding function by virtue of the portions of the wick that extends through the slots which will draw and guide liquid through the slots in which the wick is placed within.
Furthermore, it is noted that while Simpson does not disclose liquid inlet holes on a cover, Examiner did not rely solely on Simpson for the cover which was originally disclosed in Claim 12; Examiner relied upon Zhao for disclosing the cover, wherein Zhao also discloses a liquid through hole 41 (i.e., liquid inlet hole) on said cover.
Therefore, Examiner concludes that Simpson in view of Zhao would still read upon the limitations of amended Claim 1 in regards to the liquid inlet holes and cover.
On Pages 10-11 of Applicant’s Remarks, Applicant argues that Liu's wick and heating element designed is inverted compared to Simpson so it does not make sense to combine it with Simpson as they are structurally different and incompatible; Liu’s arc-shaped heating element, being designed for an inner position, would disrupt the liquid conduction path, making atomization impossible.
Examiner respectfully disagrees, noting that the change in form or shape, without any new or unexpected results, is an obvious engineering design (see MPEP § 2144.04.IV.B). In this case, Liu was not relied upon for the heating element-wick configuration. Simpson already discloses a configuration wherein the heating element is located on an outer-surface of a wick, wherein Liu was merely relied upon for altering the shape of Simpson’s heating element whose configuration with the wick is known to be capable of atomizing liquid drawn from said wick.
Since only the shape of Simpson’s wick is being changed in light of the known heating element shape disclosed by Liu, and not its heating element-wick configuration, it would be an obvious design choice for one ordinarily skilled in the art to change the shape Simpson’s heating element as disclosed by Liu to predictably result in a heating element capable of atomizing liquid from a wick unless evidence of the contrary is provided.
On Page 11 of Applicant’s Remarks, Applicant argues that relying on Zhao for the pressing plate is redundant as Simpson’s coil design alone would already ensure tightness.
Examiner respectfully disagrees, noting that though Simpson notes that alternatively, the heating element wire can be tightly wrapped to squeeze the wick fibers, it does not explicitly teach away or disclose that other alternatives cannot be used in conjunction with the coil design to create a press. Therefore, Zhao would be applicable.
On Page 12 of Applicant’s Remarks, Applicant argues that due to the wick and heating element configuration of Simpson and Liu being structurally different, one ordinarily skilled in the art would not treat this as a routine design adjustment. It appears that the Applicant is claiming that since Simpson’s wick-heating element configuration results in a fundamentally different airflow path than the wick-heating element configuration disclosed by Liu, modifying Simpson with Liu’s configuration would (and vice versa) would result in drastically different structure designs that would not be obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art.
Examiner respectfully disagrees, reiterating that Simpson’s wick-heating element configuration was never modified by Liu; Examiner maintained Simpson’s wick-heating element configuration wherein Liu provides an alternative design to the heating element shape alone, separate from the configuration of the heating element with the wick.
In this regard, the rearrangement is directed to Simpson’s heating element in relation to Simpson’s wick and does not rearrange or routinely optimize Simpson’s heating element and wick to be similar to Liu’s heating element and wick configuration. Examiner utilizes Liu purely for its teaching of an alternative heating element shape design alone, where one ordinarily skilled in the art is expected to be able to perform this design change to Simpson’s heating element and still predictably expect the heating element to be able to atomize liquid unless evidence of the contrary is provided.
Therefore, Simpson’s heating element-wick configuration (i.e., the orientation of the two components in relation to the device) and its airflow path is maintained. As such, the rearrangement is applied to only the modified heating element, wherein one ordinarily skilled in the art would find it an obvious design choice to simply rotate only the heating element around the wick such that the airflow communicates with the air vents as recited in amended Claim 1 and predictably expect that said heating element would still function to atomize liquid drawn from the wick.
The following is a modified rejection based on amendments to the claims.
Specification
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because it exceeds the 150-word limit. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
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.
Claims 1-5, 7, 9-10, and 13-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Simpson et al (Publication No. US20200352238A1) in view of Liu et al (Publication No. US20150305408A1), Zhu (Publication No. US20200196676A1) and Zhao et al (Publication No. CN112137177A cited in IDS dated 20 June 2025, see provided English translation).
Regarding Claim 1, Simpson discloses an atomizing unit (Cartomizer 200), comprising:
a support (Figs. 3, 4B; [0033-0038]; Primary seal 460 and inner frame 430 form a support structure around the wick and heating element components);
and a heating member (Heater coil 450) arranged on the support (Figs. 3, 4A-6B; [0033-0038]; Support forms an atomizer chamber 465 where the heating member/coil sits in, which is considered equivalent to being arranged on the support);
wherein the heating member comprises a heating portion (Wire 551), at least one electrode portion (Figs. 4A-4B; [0043]; Contacts 552A/B; contacts electrically connect the heating wire to terminals of a power supply, and therefore are considered equivalent to electrode portions);
wherein the heating portion comprises a heating circuit electrically connected with the at least one electrode portion (Contacts 552A/B) to generate heat when the at least one electrode portion is powered on (Figs. 4A-4B; [0032, 0035, 0043]; electrical contacts connect the heating portion to a circuit board and power supply to power on the heat 450; implies that there is a heating circuit formed from the electrical connection of said parts);
wherein the support is provided with a cavity (469) having an opening towards the first direction (see Figs. 4A-4B; the slot creates an opening in the vertical/first direction where the support can be placed in);
the heating member is arranged on the support (Figs. 3, 4A-4B; [0033-0038]; Support/seal forms an atomizer chamber 465 where the heating member/coil sits in, which is considered equivalent to being arranged on the support);
the heating portion (551) is arranged at the opening of the cavity (see Figs. 4A-4B; coiled wire/heating portion is shown to be inside the slot cavity);
wherein the concave side of the heating portion (i.e., inner space formed by the heating coils) faces the cavity, and defines, with the cavity (Slot 469), a containing chamber (i.e., interior cavity of the heating coil) configured for containing a liquid conducting member (Wick 500) and making the liquid conducting member contact the heating member (see Figs. 3, 4A-4B; [0033-0038]; the interior cavity formed by the coiled heating wire creates a space for inserting the wick which is in contact with the wire);
wherein the support is provided with at least one liquid inlet hole (Slots 569A/B) communicated to the containing chamber for a liquid to enter the containing chamber (Figs. 4A-4B, [0037, 0043-0045]; slots allow the wick to be in contact with a liquid reservoir to deliver liquid to the wick and implicitly the chamber defined by said wick);
and wherein the wire extends from a first (i.e., planar) direction to coil around a third (i.e., radial) direction that are not parallel to each other, thus, when the liquid conducting member (Wick 500) is provided in the containing chamber (i.e., interior of heating wire coil) and conducts the liquid from the at least one liquid inlet hole (Slots 569A/B) to the heating member (Heater coil 450), the heating member heats and atomizes the liquid (see annotated Fig. 4A, Fig. 4B, [0037, 0043-0045]; First and third directions are not parallel).
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the support (460/430) further comprises a base (462) and an inner frame (430), wherein the cavity (Atomizer chamber 465) is arranged in the base (see Figs. 5A-6B; [0037-0038]);
wherein two sides of the cavity in the third direction are open (see Figs. 5A-6B; [0037]); the cavity/chamber is opened on two opposing sides via the slots 569 which are shown to be open in the radial direction; the radial direction is considered equivalent to the third direction);
and the inner frame is arranged at another open position on the other side and covers the containing chamber (Atomizing chamber 465) (see Figs. 5A-5B; the frame has slots 669A/B which are considered equivalent to an open position; the inner frame forms the containing/atomizing chamber when it mates with the bottom base portion of the support).
Simpson further discloses additional liquid inlet holes (669A/B) which are below the liquid conducting member/wick (500), and subsequently facing upwards towards the heating element wrapped around said wick (see Figs. 4A-6B; [0050]). Simpson does not disclose the following:
the heating member comprises a heating portion that has two sides in a first direction bent in a third direction, so that one side of the heating portion in the third direction is concave and the other side of the heating portion in the third direction is arched;
the heating member further comprises a fixing portion;
at least one fixing portion is embedded in the support;
wherein the heating member (551) is arranged at an open position on one side
the at least one liquid inlet hole is arranged at a position facing the concave side of the heating portion;
a cover arranged at another open position on the other side and covers the containing chamber;
and wherein the liquid inlet hole is arranged on the cover.
Regarding (I-II), Liu, directed to an atomizer (i.e., atomizing unit), discloses a heating element (203) comprising of heating wires pressed into a sheet-shaped arc structure that is wrapped around a liquid guiding pipe 204 (i.e., liquid conducting member), creating a stable and reliable structure that will uniformly atomize a liquid which will improve the user experience (Figs. 4-6; [0010-0014, 0075-0080, 0088]).
The wire is pressed and bent in a radial direction (i.e., third direction) to form a cylindrical spiral spring shape which has two distinct sections that can be considered equivalent to a heating portion and a fixed portion (see annotated Figs. 4, 5-6; [0010-0012, 0087-0089]; the third direction is the bent radial direction).
The wire is bent in such a manner that two sides of the heating portion in a first direction is curved so that one side of the heating portion in the third direction is concave (i.e., inner side of the spiral shape) and the other side of the heating portion in the third direction is arched (i.e., outer side of the spiral shape) (see annotated Figs. 4, 5-6; [0010-0012, 0087-0089]; the first direction is the planar direction before the heating sheet is bent to form the arc-shape which runs perpendicular to the fixed portion when laid flat);
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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 heating element/wire coil disclosed by Simpson to be to be a sheet-shaped structure with a heating portion and a fixing portion, by pressing the wires as disclosed by Liu, as both are directed to an atomizer/atomizing unit for an atomizing device, where Liu teaches the advantage of pressing the heating element wires into a sheet structure to create a stable and reliable structure that will uniformly atomize a liquid which will improve the user experience [0088]; this also involves applying a known technique/teaching to a similar device to yield predictable results.
Regarding (III-IV), Zhu, directed to a heating element for electronic cigarettes (i.e., atomizing device), discloses a perimeter heater (10252) (i.e., atomizer) which includes a heating tube (10254) comprising a cylindrical heating element (25241) (i.e., heating member) and a heater base (25242) (i.e., supporting member), wherein the heating member is embedded in the heater base/support (Figs. 6-8; [0055, 0059, 0068]). Additionally
Though Zhu does not explicitly state that the fixing portion is embedded in the supporting member/base, it is implied that the entirety of the heating element is embedded in the supporting member/base and as such the fixing portion would be considered to be embedded by virtue of being a portion of the overall heating 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 heating element and supporting member disclosed by Simpson, to be embedded as disclosed by Zhu, as both are directed to an atomizer with heating element and supporting members, where one ordinarily skilled in the art could reasonably embed a heating element (and consequently a fixing portion of said heating element) to a base/supporting member as disclosed by Zhu, to a similar heating element and supporting member as disclosed by Simpson, and predictably yield an embedded heating member capable of heating an atomizing a liquid.
It should be further noted that when Simpson’s heating element has been modified to be embedded in the support on the base portion (460) side which has an open position equivalent to the slot on said base, the heating member (551) will also be arranged at an open position on one side.
Regarding (V), it should be noted that rearrangement of parts without modifying the operation of the device is held to be an obvious matter of design choice that gives predictable results (see MPEP § 2144.04.VI.C). In this case, Simpson has already disclosed that a coiled heating wire (551) is situated around a wick member, wherein the wick (500) (and subsequently the heating wire) is arranged below the liquid inlet holes (669A/B) (see Figs. 5A-6B). When Simpson’s heating wire is substituted for the arc-shaped heating element disclosed by Lin, said heating element will also be wrapped around a surface of the supporting element.
In such a situation, one ordinarily skilled in the art can readjust/rearrange the orientation of the arc-shaped heating element such that the bent portions in the third direction faces upwards towards the liquid inlet holes (Slots 669A/B), which would subsequently lead to the holes facing the inner (concave) part of the heating portions of the heating element (Liu, see Fig. 4; when the heating element is wrapped around Simpson’s wick in this orientation, the concave inner surface will directly face the liquid inlet holes below).
Therefore, one ordinarily skilled in the art could reasonably rearrange the heating element disclosed by modified Simpson such that the concave surface of the heating portion faces upwards towards the liquid inlet holes and predictably result in a heating element that is still wrapped around the supporting member and capable of generating heat to atomize a substance.
Regarding (VI-VII), Zhao, directed to a liquid-conducting heating structure for generating aerosols (i.e., atomizer), discloses a containing shell (i.e., chamber) (50) with a first and second stop portions 53/54 (i.e., open position), and a pressure plate 40 (i.e., cover) arranged against the second stop/opening (Figs. 1, 3; [0043]). The plate/cover has a through hole 41 (i.e., liquid inlet hole) and is used to press down on a liquid absorbent cotton 30 (i.e., liquid guiding member) to transport the liquid without causing the cotton from being too fluffy or loose in the assembly (Figs. 1-3; [0040]).
Though Zhao does not explicitly disclose the cover is located at another open position from that of the open position where the heating member is located, it should be noted that rearrangement of parts without modifying the operation of the device is held to be an obvious matter of design choice that gives predictable results (see MPEP § 2144.04.VI.C). In this case, modified Simpson has already disclosed that the heating element is located/embedded on the open position (i.e., slot) located on the bottom portion (460) of the supporting member.
The only open position/slot left is the one located on the upper inner frame (430) portion of the support member (Simpson, see Figs. 5A-5B). Therefore, it would be obvious for one ordinarily skilled in the art to modify the supporting base disclosed by modified Simpson to have Zhao’s cover located on the open position (i.e., slot) of the inner frame and not the other open position which already has the heating element disposed on it.
Therefore, one ordinarily skilled in the art could reasonably modify and arrange a pressure plate/cover with a liquid inlet hole as disclosed by Zhao, on the inner frame open position/slot disclosed by modified Simpson, as both are directed to a heating/atomizer assembly unit, where Zhao teaches the advantage of including a pressure plate/cover to transfer aerosolizing liquid while preventing the cotton conducting member/wick from being too loose in the assembly [0040]; this also involves applying a known technique/teaching to a similar device to yield predictable results.
Regarding Claim 2, Modified Simpson further discloses the two sides of the heating portion in the first direction are bent in the third direction, so that the heating portion is arc-shaped (Lin, see annotated Figs. 4, 5-6; [0010-0012, 0087-0089]; the heating element is bent in a radial direction, considered equivalent to a third direction, to form an arc-shaped heating element when viewed from the first direction of the heating element).
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Regarding Claim 3, Modified Simpson further discloses a second direction that is not parallel to the first and third direction (Lin, see annotated Fig. 5);
wherein at least one part of the heating portion is bent to what appears to be an acute angle along an axis of a second direction, so that the two sides of the heating portion in the first direction are bent in the third direction (Lin, see annotated Fig. 5; the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction and parallel to the fixed portions).
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Modified Simpson does not disclose the bent angle is a right or obtuse angle.
However, it should be noted that the change in form or shape, without any new or unexpected results, is an obvious engineering design (see MPEP § 2144.04.IV.B). In this case, modified Simpson already discloses that an arc-shaped heating element can be formed from a sheet material by bending it in a third radial direction to form a curvature at an angle from a second direction (see Lin, annotated Fig. 5 above).
In fact, Liu illustrates another embodiment of their disclosed heating element in Figure 8 where it seems that the heating portions are bent on two sides at what appears to be an obtuse angle or, at the very least, a less acute angle than that shown in the embodiment illustrated by Figure 5.
Therefore, one ordinarily skilled in the art could reasonably assume that the degree of bending can be adjusted such that the curvature of the arc-shape structure is at a right or obtuse angle instead of an acute angle as shown in annotated Figure 5 above, to predictably yield an arc-shaped heating element that is still capable of being connected to an electronic circuit to generate heat.
Regarding Claim 4, Simpson does not disclose two sides of the at least one electrode portion (552A/B) in the first direction are bent towards one side in the third direction.
However, Liu, directed to an atomizer (i.e., atomizing unit), discloses a heating element (203) comprising of heating wires pressed into a sheet-shaped arc structure that is wrapped around a liquid guiding pipe 204 (i.e., liquid conducting member), creating a stable and reliable structure that will uniformly atomize a liquid which will improve the user experience (Figs. 4-6; [0010-0014, 0075-0080, 0088]). The heating element is pressed and bent in a radial direction to form a cylindrical spiral spring shape which has two distinct sections that can be considered equivalent to a heating portion and a fixed portion (see annotated Figs. 4, 5-6; [0010-0012, 0087-0089]; the third direction is the bent radial direction, the first direction is the planar direction before the heating sheet is bent to form the arc-shape which runs perpendicular to the fixed portion when laid flat).
Furthermore, the heating element is electrically connected to electrodes (902/903) via wires attached to the ends of said heating element (i.e., electrode portions), wherein the ends are shown in Figure 8 to have a bent/slight curve in a first direction on both sides in a similar manner to the rest of the heating element (see annotated Fig. 8, Figs. 2, 5-6; connecting electrode ends in each figure are considered equivalent).
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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 heating element/wire coil disclosed by Simpson to be to be a sheet-shaped structure with a bent/arc-shaped electrode portion, by pressing the wires as disclosed by Liu, as both are directed to an atomizer/atomizing unit for an atomizing device, where Liu teaches the advantage of pressing the heating element wires into a sheet structure to create a stable and reliable structure that will uniformly atomize a liquid which will improve the user experience [0088]; this also involves applying a known technique/teaching to a similar device to yield predictable results.
Regarding Claim 5, Lin further discloses at least one fixing portion comprises at least two fixing portions that are arranged at peripheries of the heating portion (see annotated Fig. 4; the heating element is shown to have multiple fixing portions, where each fixing portion is arranged at a periphery end between two heating portions).
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Regarding Claim 7, Modified Simpson further discloses the at least one electrode portion comprises two electrode portions located on two sides of the heating portion in a second direction (Liu, see annotated Fig. 4; Simpson, see annotated Fig. 4A; [0043]; when substituting Simpson’s heating wire with Liu’s heating element, the electrode portions will be on two different sides of the second direction in a similar manner to Contacts 552A/B);
wherein each electrode portion extends outwards in a direction at an angle to the second direction (Liu, see annotated Figs. 4, Fig. 6; Liu discloses various embodiments of the heating element; it would be obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art to extend the electrodes shown in Figure 4 in an angled direction in a similar manner to that disclosed in Figure 6);
and wherein the second direction is not parallel to the first direction and the third direction (Simpson, see annotated Figs. 4A; second direction is the wick 500 extending direction, first direction is the width direction that is perpendicular to the second direction, and third direction is the radial direction that the heating wire coils around).
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Regarding Claim 8, Modified Simpson further discloses that the support (460/430) is provided with an air inlet (583) (see Figs. 3, 5A-6B, 8; [0035-0038, 0040, 0046]; the hole 583 is shown to be in a location that is under the air tube, implying that it is an air inlet equivalent to hole 471 shown in Fig. 3; air flows from the hole through the wick and atomizing chamber towards the air tube in the direction shown as airflow A);
wherein the air inlet is communicated with the at least one air vent (see annotated Fig. 8; [0040, 0058-0060]; discloses that the air flows around, over and past the wick 500 which would imply that there is a gap around the wick and the support structure; the gaps around the wick is considered equivalent to an air vent);
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Modified Simpson does not explicitly disclose the following: wherein the arched side of the heating portion faces the air inlet direction of the air inlet; and the two sides of the heating portion in the first direction correspond to the at least one air vent, to allow the airflow blowing to the arched side of the heating portion and flowing by the two sides of the heating portion in the first direction to take away the mist generated by the heating member.
However, it should be noted that rearrangement of parts without modifying the operation of the device is held to be an obvious matter of design choice that gives predictable results (see MPEP § 2144.04.VI.C). In this case, Simpson has already disclosed that a coiled heating wire (551) is situated around a wick member, wherein the wick (500) (and subsequently the heating wire) is arranged below the liquid inlet holes (669A/B) (see Figs. 5A-6B). When Simpson’s heating wire is substituted for the arc-shaped heating element disclosed by Lin, said heating element will also be wrapped around a surface of the supporting element.
In such a situation, one ordinarily skilled in the art can readjust/rearrange the orientation of the arc-shaped heating element such that the bent portions in the third direction faces upwards towards the liquid inlet holes (Slots 669A/B), which would subsequently lead to the curved heating portions of the heating element to face downwards towards the airflow A illustrated in Simpson’s Figure 8 (Liu, see Fig. 4; when the heating element is wrapped around Simpson’s wick in this orientation, the heating element portions will face downwards towards the air inlet hole).
Therefore, one ordinarily skilled in the art could reasonably rearrange the heating element disclosed by modified Simpson such that the heating portions of the heating elements face downwards towards the air inlet holes and predictably result in a heating element that is still wrapped around the supporting member and capable of generating heat to atomize a substance.
Regarding Claim 9, Modified Simpson further discloses the support (430/460) comprises a base (5462) and two extending portions (563) protruding from the base in a same direction (see Figs. 5A-5B; the extending portion of the lower portion 462 is located on either side of the atomizing chamber 465 and therefore each side portion is considered as a first and second portion);
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wherein the two extending portions (563) are spaced disposed in a second direction (see annotated Fig. 4B, Figs. 5A-5B; second direction is the wick extensions direction which is also the same direction where the two extending portions are disposed on either side of);
wherein the heating portion of the heating member (551) is disposed between the two extending portions (see Claim 1 for modification of the heating member; see Figs. 4A-5B; the heating member is around the wick which is shown to be located between the two extending portions);
wherein a space between the protruding ends of the two extending portions forms the air inlet (see Fig. 6A-6B; the air inlet hole 586 is shown to be located in the center of the base, which is between the two extending portions);
wherein an interval between the parts of the two extending portions (122) adjacent to the heating portion forms the at least one air vent (see annotated Fig. 8, Figs. 5A-6B; the air inlet is between the two extending portions which would imply that the interval where the air vent/gap is also in that interval be default of being around the wick located in the interval between said extending portions);
wherein the at least one air vent comprises two air vents respectively located on the two sides, in the first direction of the heating portion of the heating member (see annotated Fig. 8, Figs. 5A-6B; the first direction is considered the width planar direction of the heating element before it is bent into the radial/third direction so that it wraps around the wick; as shown in annotated Figure 8, the air vents are on either side of the wick and subsequently the heating element around said wick, equivalent to the first direction);
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and wherein the second direction is not parallel to the first direction and the third direction (see annotated Figs. 4A; second direction is the wick 500 extending direction, first direction is the width direction that is perpendicular to the second direction, and third direction is the radial direction that the heating wire coils around).
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Regarding Claim 10, Liu further discloses the at least one electrode portion comprises two electrode portions located on two sides of the heating portion in a second direction (Liu, see annotated Fig. 4; when Simpson’s heating wire is substituted with Liu’s heating element, Liu’s electrodes will be located in a second direction in a similar manner to Simpson’s electrode/contact portions 552A/B; Simpson, see annotated Figs. 4A, 4B; [0043]);
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Liu does not disclose the following:
The electrode portions extend into the extending portions
The electrode portions are respectively embedded in the extending portions on the two sides.
Regarding (I), it should be noted that changes in form or shape, without any new or unexpected results, is an obvious engineering design (see MPEP § 2144.04.IV.B). In this case, Simpson already discloses that the electrode portions (552A/B) extend below the primary seal (460) portion of the support member which appears to be located on the two extension portions (see Fig. 4B; [0045]; the electrode portions are shown to be located on the side away from the center of the base which appears to be where the first and second extension portions are located).
Therefore, it would be obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art to take the teachings of Simpson and extend the electrode portions of the heating element disclosed by Liu such that the extend into the extending portions, with a reasonably expectation that the resulting modified heating element will still be capable of being seated in the supporting member and operate normally to generate heat for the atomizer unit.
Regarding (II), Zhu, directed to a heating element for electronic cigarettes (i.e., atomizing device), discloses a perimeter heater (10252) (i.e., atomizer) which includes a heating tube (10254) comprising a cylindrical heating element (25241) (i.e., heating member), positive/negative terminals (251411/251412) (i.e., electrode portions) and a heater base (25242) (i.e., supporting member), wherein the heating member is embedded in the heater base/support (Figs. 6-8; [0048, 0055, 0059, 0068]).
Though Zhu does not explicitly state that the fixing portion is embedded in the supporting member/base, the figures imply that the entirety of the heating element is embedded in the supporting member/base and as such the electrode/terminal portions would be considered to be embedded by virtue of being a portion of the overall heating 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 heating element and supporting member disclosed by modified Simpson, to be embedded as disclosed by Zhu, as both are directed to an atomizer with heating element and supporting members, where one ordinarily skilled in the art could reasonably embed a heating element (and consequently a fixing portion of said heating element) to a base/supporting member as disclosed by Zhu, to a similar heating element and supporting member as disclosed by modified Simpson, and predictably yield an embedded heating member with electrode portions embedded in the extension portions, that is capable of heating an atomizing a liquid.
Regarding Claim 13, Modified Simpson further discloses the at least one liquid inlet hole (569) comprises two liquid inlet holes (Slots 569A/B) respectively located on two sides of the support (500) in a second direction (Simpson, Figs. 4A-4B, [0037, 0043-0045]; the second direction is considered the direction the wick/support extends from one inlet/slot to another inlet/slot);
Regarding Claim 14, Modified Simpson further discloses the liquid inlet holes (12d) are communicated with the containing chamber (i.e., interior of the heating coil/arc-shaped heating element) in a straight line (Simpson, see Figs. 3, 4A-4B; [0033-0038]; the wick/support extends straight in the second direction of the heating element/coil when it wraps around said support; the inlet holes are formed at the ends of the straight chamber formed by the heating element and thus are considered to be in communication with said chamber in a straight manner);
Regarding Claim 15, Simpson further discloses comprises a base (Simpson, Figs. 4A-5B; [0036]; Lower portion 462);
and a cavity wall (i.e., atomizing chamber walls) (Simpson, see Fig. 4A; [0036-0037]);
the cavity wall (123) is bent to form the cavity (Atomizing chamber 465) open to the third direction (Simpson, see Fig. 4A; [0036-0037]; walls are shaped/bent to form the slots open in a radial direction; the radial direction is considered the third direction).
Regarding Claim 16, Modified Simpson further discloses the support (460) is provided with an air outlet hole (Tube 432) (see Figs. 5A-5B; [0038, 0040]; the support/seal comprises an inner frame 430 with a tube that has holes, which are considered equivalent to outlet holes as it allows air to pass through the atomizing chamber to the user via the tube).
As shown in Figures 5A/5B, the air outlet is formed on the upper side of the support member (i.e., in the third radial direction upwards) while the heating element is wrapped around said support (see Claim 1 rejection; Simpson is modified to have Lin’s heating element wrap around Simpson’s supporting member.
Modified Simpson does not explicitly disclose the air outlet hole and the heating member are respectively arranged on two sides of the support in the third direction.
However, it should be noted that rearrangement of parts without modifying the operation of the device is held to be an obvious matter of design choice that gives predictable results (see MPEP § 2144.04.VI.C). In this case, Simpson has already disclosed that the air outlet hole (i.e., tub 432 outlet) is located on the top surface of the inner frame (430) portion of the support. The coiled heating wire is situated around a wick member, which sits and is in contact with the upper and bottom sides of the support member (i.e., the bottom of the frame 430, and the top of the primary plug 460). When Simpson’s heating wire is substituted for the arc-shaped heating element disclosed by Lin, said heating element will also be wrapped around a surface of the supporting element.
In such a situation, one ordinarily skilled in the art can readjust/rearrange the orientation of the arc-shaped heating element such that the bent portions in the third direction align with that of the air outlet holes (i.e., the first support side 430), which would subsequently cause the heating portions of said heating element to face the plug portion of the supporting member (i.e., second side 460), without impacting its overall location in regards to the support member and various other components (Liu, see Fig. 4; the described orientation above would essentially be flipping the element 203 so that the bent fixed portions face upwards instead of down like shown in Fig. 4).
Therefore, one ordinarily skilled in the art could reasonably rearrange the heating element disclosed by modified Simpson such that the air outlet hole and the heating member are respectively arranged on two sides of the support (i.e., the air outlet is on the top first surface of the inner frame portion and heating element is arranged on the seal/plug 460 bottom second surface) in the third direction and predictably result in a heating element that is still wrapped around the supporting member and capable of generating heat to atomize a substance.
Regarding Claim 17, Modified Simpson further discloses the cavity wall is provided with a through hole that is communicated with the cavity (465) (see annotated Fig. 5A, 5B; [0039]; discloses an air tube that extends upwardly from the top wall of the atomizing chamber/cavity; this implies that there is a through hole between the tube and cavity wall to allow airflow, which is considered equivalent to the communicating through hole). Modified Simpson also discloses that the wick can comprise of cotton material (Simpson, [0050]).
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Modified Simpson does not disclose the support further comprising a cover; and wherein the cover penetrates in the through hole and extends in the cavity, so that when the liquid conducting member is provided in the containing chamber, the cover presses the liquid conducting member to make the liquid conducting member contact the heating member.
However, Zhao, directed to a liquid-conducting heating structure for generating aerosols (i.e., atomizer), discloses a containing shell (i.e., chamber) (50) with a first and second stop portions 53/54 (i.e., open position), and a pressure plate 40 (i.e., cover) arranged against the second stop/opening (Figs. 1, 3; [0043]). The plate/cover is used to press down on a liquid absorbent cotton 30 (i.e., liquid guiding member) to transport the liquid without causing the cotton from being too fluffy or loose in the assembly (Figs. 1-3; [0040]).
Though Zhao does not explicitly disclose the cover penetrates in the through hole, the change in form or shape, without any new or unexpected results, is an obvious engineering design (see MPEP § 2144.04.IV.B). In this case, the pressure plate disclosed by Zhao is known to function as a pressing component on a liquid-conducting member (i.e., wick) [0040]. If the through hole is used to dispose the pressure plate and press it on the wick, it would be obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art to resize the pressure plate/cover so that it can be provided through the through hole, so long as the plate is still located and is pressing on the wick and/or liquid absorbing member.
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 supporting member disclosed by modified Simpson to include a pressure plate/cover as disclosed by Zhao, where Zhao teaches the advantage of including a pressure plate/cover to transfer aerosolizing liquid while preventing the cotton conducting member/wick from being too loose in the assembly [0040]; this also involves applying a known technique/teaching to a similar device to yield predictable results.
Claims 6 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Simpson et al (Publication No. US20200352238A1) in view of Liu et al (Publication No. US20150305408A1), Zhu (Publication No. US20200196676A1) and Zhao et al (Publication No. CN112137177A cited in IDS dated 20 June 2025, see provided English translation) as applied to Claim 1 above, and further in view of Phillips et al (Publication No. US20220183362A1).
Regarding Claim 6, Lin does not disclose the at least one fixing portion comprises a first portion extending outwards;
and a second portion connected with the first portion;
and wherein the second portion protrudes in a direction perpendicular to or inclined to an extending direction of the first portion.
However, Phillips, directed to a vaporizer (i.e., atomizer) heating element, discloses a heating element (250) comprising a central heating portion (253) with a plurality of peripheral support tabs (261) (i.e., fixing portions) (Fig. 12; [0052-0055]). The support tabs comprise a stem (267) (i.e., first portion) that is shown to extend outwards from the central heating portion, and a tab head (268) (i.e., second portion) shown to protrude from the stem portion in a perpendicular direction (see Fig. 12; [0055]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to construct and combine the heating member and support disclosed by Simpson through an in-mold injection process as disclosed by Phillips, as both are directed to a heating member and support for a vaporizer/atomizer unit, where one ordinarily skilled in the art could reasonably apply a known molding manufacturing technique for a heating element as disclosed by Phillips, to another similar heating element as disclosed by Simpson to predictable yield a heating element combined/embedded in a support/casing structure made of plastic.
Regarding Claim 18, Simpson further discloses that the support (460) is made of material that is slightly deformable [0036]. Simpson does not explicitly disclose that the support is made of plastic, and the heating member (551) is combined with the support through an in-mold injection.
However, Phillips, directed to a vaporizer (i.e., atomizer) heating element, discloses a heating assembly (100) comprising a heating element (150) that is embedded in a case structure (110) (i.e., support) (Figs. 2-6; [0032]). The heating assembly is constructed through an injection molding process (i.e., in-mold injection) wherein the heating element is positioned within an injection mold and the mold filled with molten plastic material to form the case structure around the heating element, thus embedding said heating element within the case structure [0059].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to construct and combine the heating member and support disclosed by Simpson through an in-mold injection process as disclosed by Phillips, as both are directed to a heating member and support for a vaporizer/atomizer unit, where one ordinarily skilled in the art could reasonably apply a known molding manufacturing technique for a heating element as disclosed by Phillips, to another similar heating element as disclosed by Simpson to predictable yield a heating element combined/embedded in a support/casing structure made of plastic.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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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