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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claims 1-6 and 11-14, in the reply filed on 1/20/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 7-10 and 15-19 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 1/20/2026.
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.
Claims 2, 4, 5, 11, 13 and 14 are 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.
Claims 2, 4 and 5 recite the limitation "the granularity". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claims. Appropriate correction is requested.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tan et al. (CN110282979A) [hereinafter Tan].
Tan discloses a carbon fiber reinforced ceramic atomizing core, comprising, by mass, the following materials: 30-70 parts of ceramic powder (aggregate; Example 3; paragraph [0060]; claims 1-2), 1-10 parts of carbon fibers (carbon fiber additive; Example 3; paragraph [0064]; claim 1), 10-50 parts of a sintering aid (sintering adhesive; Example 3; paragraph [0061]; claim 1), and 0-30 parts of a pore former (Example 3; paragraph [0062]; claim 1).
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.
Claims 1 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yu et al. (CN111205104A) [hereinafter Yu] in view of Tan et al. (CN110282979A) [hereinafter Tan].
Regarding claim 1, Yu teaches a ceramic atomizing core, comprising, by mass, the following materials: 30-70 parts of ceramic powder (abstract), 10-50 parts of a sintering aid (abstract), and 0-30 parts of a pore former (abstract).
Yu fails to teach the ceramic atomizing core comprising 1-10 parts of carbon fibers.
Tan teaches that it is well known in the porous ceramic art for electronic cigarettes to include 1-5% carbon fibers (additive; Example 3; claim 1) in the porous ceramic for the purpose of enhancing the activation ability of other components and to change the viscosity of the component (paragraph [0037]).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the porous ceramic of Yu to include 1-5 parts of carbon fibers as suggested by Tan in order to increase the activation ability of the other components and change the viscosity, thereby improving the ceramic atomizing core.
Regarding claim 6, Yu discloses the ceramic atomizing core further including 20-40 parts of paraffin (abstract).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 3 and 12 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The cited prior art, Tan (CN110282979) and Yu (CN111205104), both fail to teach or reasonably suggest the distinct features of “wherein the carbon fibers are active carbon fibers formed by carbonization at 1100oC-1200oC, and have a length of 0.05 mm-1 mm”.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CATHERINE A SIMONE whose telephone number is (571)272-1501. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-4pm.
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CATHERINE A. SIMONE
Examiner
Art Unit 1781
/Catherine A. Simone/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1781