DETAILED ACTION
Response to Amendment
In view of the amendments to claim 10, the rejection of claim 10 over Egoyants and Jones has been withdrawn. The prior art does not teach the new limitations.
In view of the amendments to claim 28, the rejection of claim 10 over Egoyants, Jones, and Kane has been withdrawn. The prior art does not teach the new limitations. However, upon further consideration, new grounds of rejection are made as detailed below.
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 28-29 and 31-39 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 28 and 39 recite the limitation "the portion of the vaporizable material". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claims. For examination purposes, “the portion of the vaporizable material” will be interpreted as “a portion of the vaporizable material”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim 28, 29, 31, 32, 38, and 39 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Egoyants (US 2014/0182608) in view of Liu (US 2014/0150783) and Kane (US 2014/0261490)
Regarding claims 28, 31, 38, and 39, Egoyants teaches an apparatus 1 (vaporizer device) [0082] comprising a cartomizer, the cartomizer comprising: a housing 7 (cartomizer body); smokable (vaporizable) material 5 disposed within the cartomizer body [0047-0048], the vaporizable material comprising dried tobacco [0046]; a heating element 3 that is disposed within the cartomizer body and extends about a perimeter all of (a portion or majority) vaporizable material 5 such that the heating element 3 is positioned between the vaporizable material 5 and the cartomizer body 7 [0063], the heating element configured to heat the vaporizable material. Egoyants teaches the cartomizer further comprises a mouthpiece 6 coupled to the mouthpiece end of the cartomizer,
Egoyants does not teach a battery portion having an outer shell and a chamber defined by the outer shell and the cartomizer body is configured for insertion into the chamber such that at least a part of the heating element is positioned in the chamber when the cartomizer body is inserted into the chamber. Liu teaches an electronic cigarette comprising a battery portion (combination of power rod 95 and connector 92) having an outer shell and a chamber (within casing 921) defined by the outer shell and the cartomizer body 91 is configured for insertion into the chamber such that at least a part of the heating element 21 is positioned in the chamber when the cartomizer body is inserted into the chamber and the mouthpiece end (end of main portion 11 adjacent mouthpiece/suction nozzle 4) and mouthpiece 4 are positioned outside the chamber when the cartomizer is connected to the battery portion, the cartomizer configured to be selectively inserted and removed from the chamber [Fig. 2, 3, 5, 7]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to apply this configuration to the apparatus of Egoyants to facilitate the installation, detachment and replacement of the cartomizer as suggested by Liu [0002].
The portion that ends just to the left of controller 12 in Fig. 3 is interpreted as being the opposite insertion end in modified Egoyants. The heating element 3 is positioned proximate to both ends. Modified Egoyants does not teach the heating element is positioned distal to the mouthpiece end. Kane teaches an electronic cigarette comprising a condensation chamber 150 at a downstream end to help formation of a smoke-like aerosol [0004; Fig. 1]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to include this condensation chamber within the cartomizer of Egoyants end to help formation of a smoke-like aerosol. Thus, the heating element would be further distanced away from the mouthpiece end and interpreted to be distal to the mouthpiece end.
Regarding claim 29, Egoyants teaches the mouthpiece is in fluid communication with the dry vaporizable material [0051; Fig. 3].
Regarding claim 32, Egoyants teaches the cartomizer further comprises one or more holes configured to allow air from the environment to pass therethrough and into the cartomizer body [0082].
Claims 33-37 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Egoyants, Liu, and Kane as applied to claim 28 above, and further in view of Alvarez (US 4,224,953).
Regarding claims 33-36, Egoyants does not teach a screen to contain the vaporizable material. Alvarez teaches a smoking pipe including 2 screens to keep the tobacco being smoked within the proper compartment and at the same time allow the smoke and air to go through [col. 2, l. 61-65]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to include such screens in the device of Egoyants, proximate both ends of the cartomizer, for the above reasons suggested by Alvarez.
Regarding claim 37, regarding the one screen being integral with the mouthpiece, the Courts have held that the use of a one-piece construction instead of the structure disclosed in [the prior art] would be merely a matter of obvious engineering choice."), see In re Larson, 340 F.2d 965, 968, 144 USPQ 347, 349 (CCPA 1965).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10-12 and 14-19 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: Egoyants teaches an apparatus 1 (vaporizer device) [0082] comprising a cartomizer, the cartomizer comprising: a housing 7 (cartomizer body); smokable (vaporizable) material 5 disposed within the cartomizer body [0047-0048], the vaporizable material comprising dried tobacco [0046]; a heating element 3 that is disposed within the cartomizer body and extends about a perimeter of a portion of the vaporizable material 5 such that the heating element 3 is positioned between a portion of the vaporizable material 5 and the cartomizer body 7 [0063], the heating element configured to heat the vaporizable material.
Jones [Fig. 6] teaches a vaporizer device a battery portion (lower portion of Fig. 6 including power supply 86) having an outer shell 72 and a chamber 76 defined by the outer shell and cartomizer body 38 is configured for insertion into the chamber 76 the entire cartomizer (i.e. including the heating element therein) is positioned in the chamber when the cartomizer body is inserted into the chamber [0030-0032].
There is no teaching or reasonable suggestion in the prior art to modify the device of Egoyants to include the configuration suggested by Jones further in combination with a bushing at an insertion end of the chamber, wherein the bushing is configured to stabilize and retain the cartomizer within the chamber.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
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/ERIC YAARY/Examiner, Art Unit 1755