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 .
Priority
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 4/3/2026 has been entered.
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, 3-8 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Luo (WO2019192226) in view of Zhongni (CN112984569) or Hou (CN107504610). A copy of Luo (WO2019192226), Zhongni (CN112984569) and Hou (CN107504610) are provided with the Notice of Reference Cited (PTO-892).
With respect to the limitations of claim 1, Lou teaches a vaporization state recognition method performed by a controller (Figs 1-3, control component 400, 0036) of a vaporizer (aerosol generating article 20, 0034), comprising: obtaining, by the controller, a heating rate of an atomizing sheet (Figs 1, 2, heating component 300, 0038) of the vaporizer; and determining, by the controller, a vaporization state of the vaporizer according to the heating rate (0053, 0072), the determining the vaporization state of the vaporizer according to the heating rate comprises: obtaining, by the controller, a change of the heating rate in a predetermined vaporization time (0073, heating is performed at a certain power (e.g., maximum power) for a certain time (e.g., 80ms), the temperature of the resistance wire is detected, and the temperature change is calculated (equivalent to the slope of the temperature rise curve)); determining, by the controller, that the atomizing sheet is abnormal or the vaporizer is in a dry heating state in response to the heating rate being positive in the predetermined vaporization time (0073, if the temperature change rate exceeds a threshold, dry-burn is determined); and determining, by the controller, that the vaporizer enters a stable vaporization interval in the determined vaporization time in response to the heating rate being negative in the predetermined vaporization time (0073, otherwise, it is determined that dry-burn has not occurred). Lou discloses the claimed invention except for explicitly obtaining a rate of change of the heating rate.
However, Zhongni discloses obtaining a rate of change of the heating rate (0032, the heating rate can also be determined based on the rate of change of the heating rate, which is obtained by the second derivative of temperature with respect to time) is known in the art. It would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to adapt the vaporization state recognition method of Lou having an atomizing sheet with a controller obtaining a heating rate of the atomizing sheet silent to obtaining a rate of change of the heating rate with the obtaining a rate of change of the heating rate of Zhongni for the purpose of using a known second derivative rate of change method that allows changing trends of temperature information to be readily detected for preventing dry burning (0032).
Additionally, Hou also discloses obtaining a rate of change of the heating rate (0020, by comparing the working temperature rise rate Vw of the atomizing plate during operation with the preset temperature rise rate Vs; 0074, if multiple consecutive tests (Ks times) show that the operating temperature rise rate Vw of the atomizing plate 1 is greater than the preset temperature rise rate Vs, then an alarm signal will be issued) is known in the art. It would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to adapt the vaporization state recognition method of Lou having an atomizing sheet with a controller obtaining a heating rate of the atomizing sheet silent to obtaining a rate of change of the heating rate with the obtaining a rate of change of the heating rate of Hou for the purpose of using a known rate of change method that can improve the accuracy of dry burning detection (Abstract, 0074).
With respect to the limitations of claims 3, 4 and 5, Lou teaches after the determining that the vaporizer enters a stable vaporization interval in the determined vaporization time (0073, otherwise, it is determined that dry-burn has not occurred), the method further comprises: determining whether the heating rate in the stable vaporization interval is greater than or equal to a preset threshold; and determining that the vaporizer is in a dry heating state in response to the heating rate in the stable vaporization interval being greater than or equal to the preset threshold (0072, 0076, where the dry burning check is repeatedly checked between puffs if there are no dry burning faults);
determining whether the heating rate in the stable vaporization interval is greater than or equal to a preset threshold comprises: determining whether the heating rate in each different sub-interval in the stable vaporization interval is greater than or equal to the preset threshold corresponding to each sub- interval (0072, 0076, where the dry burning check is repeatedly checked between puffs if there are no dry burning faults);
the predetermined vaporization time is a time period of vaporization for 4 seconds to 12 seconds counted from a start of the vaporizer (period for 2nd puff vaporization time is 8~10 seconds = (first puff duration is 2 seconds + 6 second delay interval)).
With respect to the limitations of claim 6, Lou teaches a vaporization state recognition apparatus, comprising: an obtaining module (control component 400, 0036) configured to obtain a heating rate of an atomizing sheet (Figs 1-3, heating component 300, 0038) of a vaporizer (aerosol generating article 20, 0034); and a processing module (main control unit 420, 0052) configured to determine a vaporization state of the vaporizer according to the heating rate (0053, 0072), determining the vaporization state of the vaporizer according to the heating rate comprises: obtaining a changing heating rate in a predetermined vaporization time (0073, heating is performed at a certain power (e.g., maximum power) for a certain time (e.g., 80ms), the temperature of the resistance wire is detected, and the temperature change is calculated (equivalent to the slope of the temperature rise curve)); determining that the atomizing sheet is abnormal or the vaporizer is in a dry heating state in response to the changing heating rate being positive in the predetermined vaporization time (0073, if the temperature change rate exceeds a threshold, dry-burn is determined); and determining that the vaporizer enters a stable vaporization interval in the determined vaporization time in response to the changing heating rate being negative in the predetermined vaporization time (0073, otherwise, it is determined that dry-burn has not occurred). Lou discloses the claimed invention except for explicitly obtaining a rate of change of the heating rate.
However, Zhongni discloses obtaining a rate of change of the heating rate (0032, the heating rate can also be determined based on the rate of change of the heating rate, which is obtained by the second derivative of temperature with respect to time) is known in the art. It would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to adapt the vaporization state recognition apparatus of Lou having an atomizing sheet with a controller obtaining a heating rate of the atomizing sheet silent to obtaining a rate of change of the heating rate with the obtaining a rate of change of the heating rate of Zhongni for the purpose of using a known second derivative rate of change method that allows changing trends of temperature information to be readily detected for preventing dry burning (0032).
Additionally, Hou also discloses obtaining a rate of change of the heating rate (0020, by comparing the working temperature rise rate Vw of the atomizing plate during operation with the preset temperature rise rate Vs; 0074, if multiple consecutive tests (Ks times) show that the operating temperature rise rate Vw of the atomizing plate 1 is greater than the preset temperature rise rate Vs, then an alarm signal will be issued) is known in the art. It would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to adapt the vaporization state recognition method of Lou having an atomizing sheet with a controller obtaining a heating rate of the atomizing sheet silent to obtaining a rate of change of the heating rate with the obtaining a rate of change of the heating rate of Hou for the purpose of using a known rate of change method that can improve the accuracy of dry burning detection (Abstract, 0074).
With respect to the limitations of claim 7, Lou teaches an electronic device, comprising: a memory (Figs 1-3, storage unit 410, 0050); and a processor (main control unit 420, 0052) comprised in the controller (control component 400, 0036) of the vaporizer (aerosol generating article 20, 0034), the memory stores program instructions (0050, the storage unit also stores instructions), and the processor (420) is configured to read the program instructions from the memory (410) to execute the vaporization state recognition method of claim 1 (as set forth in the rejection of claim 1 above).
With respect to the limitations of claim 8, Lou teaches the electronic device comprises the vaporizer (aerosol generating article 20), the vaporizer comprises the atomizing sheet (heating component 300, 0038) and a temperature characteristic component (temperature sensor, 0039, 0049), and the temperature characteristic component is connected to the processor (420) and is configured to detect a temperature of the atomizing sheet (0039, 0049).
With respect to the limitations of claim 10, Lou teaches one or more non-transitory computer-readable mediums (Figs 1-3, storage unit 410, 0050) having processor-executable instructions stored thereon (0050, the storage unit also stores instructions), the processor-executable instructions, when executed, facilitate the vaporization state recognition method of claim 1 (0053, 0072).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Luo (WO2019192226) in view of Zhongni (CN112984569) or Hou (CN107504610) as applied to claims 1, 7 and 8, further in view of Davis (US 2021/0401061).
With respect to the limitations of claim 9, Lou in view of Zhongni or Hou discloses a temperature characteristic component but is silent to the temperature characteristic component comprises a positive temperature coefficient thermistor or a negative temperature coefficient thermistor. However, Davis discloses the temperature characteristic component comprises a positive temperature coefficient thermistor or a negative temperature coefficient thermistor (Fig 43, 0578, the PTC thermistor (RPTC) is thermally connected to the atomizer; 0579) is known in the art. It would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to adapt the electronic device of Lou in view of Zhongni or Hou having a atomizing sheet and temperature characteristic component connected to the processor silent to the type of temperature characteristic component with the temperature characteristic component comprises a positive temperature coefficient thermistor or a negative temperature coefficient thermistor of Davis for the purpose of using a known temperature sensor configuration that allows for regulation of power supplied to a heating element based on an increase or decrease in resistance of the sensor (0579), thereby improving the overall versatility of the device.
Response to Amendments
Claims 1 and 6 have been amended.
Claim 2 is cancelled.
Claims 1 and 3-10 are pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed on 4/3/2026 with respect to claims 1 and 3-10 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THIEN S TRAN whose telephone number is (571)270-7745. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday [8:00-4:00].
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/THIEN S TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3761 5/20/2026
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