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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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.
Claim(s) 1-9 and 11-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2016/ 0157523) in view of Memari (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2015/ 0245662) and Goldis (U.S. Patent 5,635,962).
Regarding claim 1, Liu discloses a cartridge (¶0005, a cartridge) for an aerosol-generating system (Liu, fig. 3), the cartridge comprising:
a capacitor (Liu, ¶0037, sensor that takes capacitance) including,
a storage portion (Liu, ¶0016, Fig. 1, first hollow compartment 136 adapted to hold a supply of flavoured liquid) configured to store an aerosol-forming substrate,
a wick (figs. 1-2, wick 155) in communication with the storage portion, at least a portion of the wick extending perpendicular to the central air passage;
a vaporizer in the central air passage (Liu, figs. 1-2, heater wire 152 connected to contact terminals T1, T2), the vaporizer surrounding at least a portion of the wick (Liu 138 surrounds wick 155 and 154); and
a controller configured to, based on a measured capacitance of the capacitor, calculate a remaining amount of the aerosol-forming substrate (Liu, electronic controller, ¶0065, controls based on sensor output), .
However, Liu does not teach, explicitly, the capacitor having “a first capacitor plate defining a central air passage, and a second capacitor plate”.
However, as noted above, Liu does teach measuring capacitance (of the circuit) in order to measure “whether the remaining level of the flavoured liquid has dropped to a threshold minimum” (¶0037). Liu also suggests that the part detecting the electrical properties may be modified depending on what other parameters it is detecting (¶0037). Memari teaches, in his e-cigarette, a conventional way of making a capacitive sensor is by having “concentric circles of conductors are kept in a vertical position, a height change in e-liquid will result in a proportional change in capacitance between the conductors. This can be fed to a circuit which can detect the change and thereby a change in e-liquid level” (¶0514). And for completeness, Goldis teaches, and it is conventional that it is the change in length of the liquid between two capacitor plates that determines how much material is left (Goldis, figs. 2(a)-2(d’)). Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Liu with the teachings of Memari and Goldis to have conductive plates in “concentric circles”, as taught in Memari, in order to be able to tell more specifically the level of the liquid, rather than just the threshold level, as now taught in Liu, and Liu already teaches the vaporizable material between the outside of an inner cylinder, inside which is an air passage, and an outer cylinder, making up an outside of the cartridge (Liu, outer peripheral wall 132, and inner peripheral wall 134, ¶0017).
Regarding claim 2, Liu in view of Memari and Goldis teaches all the limitations of claim 1, and further teaches a cartridge wherein the storage portion comprises: a capillary medium configured to store the aerosol-forming substrate (Liu, ¶0024, “capillary or similar affects will cause the strand of glass fibres to wick and replenish the flavoured liquid from the reservoir”; the “capillary medium” must, in some way, be within the storage portion to bring out liquid).
Regarding claim 3, Liu in view of Memari and Goldis teaches all the limitations of claim 1, as above, and further teaches a cartridge wherein the first capacitor plate and the second capacitor plate each have a generally cylindrical shape (already in the combination above, the first and second plate are concentric, Memari, and cylindrical like Lui, 132 and 134).
Regarding claim 4, Liu in view of Memari and Goldis teaches all the limitations of claim 3, as above, and further teaches a cartridge wherein the first capacitor plate is located within a volume defined by the second capacitor plate (already in the combination above, the first and second plate are concentric, Memari, and cylindrical like Lui, 132 and 134, ¶0017,). .
Regarding claim 5, Liu in view of Memari and Goldis teaches all the limitations of claim 1, as above, and further teaches a cartridge wherein the first capacitor plate and the second capacitor plate are concentric (already in the combination above, the first and second plate are concentric, Memari, and cylindrical like Lui, 132 and 134, ¶0017, “concentric”).
Regarding claim 6, Liu in view of Memari and Goldis teaches all the limitations of claim 1, as above, and further teaches a cartridge comprising: a sensor
configured to measure a capacitance of the capacitor; and wherein the controller is configured to determine a volume of the storage portion dependent on an output of the sensor (Goldis, claim 1, at least; this is how this device work and would have been part of the combination above; it is described by Goldis as “the capacitance measurements directly corresponds to the ink remaining in the bag”).
Regarding claim 7, Liu in view of Memari and Goldis teaches all the limitations of claim 1, as above, and further teaches a cartridge wherein a permittivity of the storage portion is configured to change upon a change of a volume of the aerosol-forming substrate held in the storage portion (Memari, ¶514, this is how the concentric conductors work and it would have been combined in the combination above).
Regarding claim 8, Liu in view of Memari and Goldis teaches all the limitations of claim 1, as above, and further teaches a cartridge wherein the aerosol-forming substrate within the storage portion is free flowing (Liu, Abstract, the substance is a “liquid”, and there is no barrier to its flow).
Regarding claim 9, Liu in view of Memari and Goldis teaches all the limitations of claim 1, as above, but does not further teach, in this combination, a cartridge further comprising: a tilt sensor configured to sense whether the aerosol-forming substrate held in the storage portion has a level that is perpendicular to the first capacitor plate and the second capacitor plate. However, Memari further teaches a “tilt sensor” configured to sense whether the aerosol-forming substrate held in the storage portion has a level that is perpendicular to the first capacitor plate and the second capacitor plate (Memari, ¶0514). Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the Invention, to modify Liu in view of Memari and Goldis with a further teaching of Memari, to have a tilt sensor, in order to figure out if the liquid is perpendicular to the capacitor plates, in order to properly determine the volume of the liquid if the cartridge is in any orientation, and the liquid might be configured differently, and this would make for a more robust device, knowing the remaining liquid when the device is in any orientation, not just perfectly straight up and down.
Regarding claim 11, Liu discloses an aerosol-generating system comprising:
a main unit including,
a power supply (¶0060, “power supply”); and
a cartridge removably coupled to the main unit (Liu, ¶0019, “disposal cartridge for attachment to main body”), the cartridge including,
a capacitor including,
a storage portion (Liu, ¶0016, Fig. 1, first hollow compartment 136 adapted to hold a supply of flavoured liquid) configured to store an aerosol-forming substrate, the storage portion between the first capacitor plate and the second capacitor plate,
a wick (figs. 1-2, wick 155) in communication with the storage portion, at least a portion of the wick extending perpendicular to the central air passage and
a vaporizer (Liu, figs. 1-2, heater wire 152 connected to contact terminals T1, T2) in the central air passage and surrounding at least a portion of the wick,
a controller configured to, based on a measured capacitance of the capacitor, calculate a remaining amount of the aerosol-forming substrate (Liu, electronic controller, ¶0065, controls based on sensor output), and
However, Liu does not teach, explicitly, the capacitor having “a first capacitor plate defining a central air passage, and a second capacitor plate” nor a “memory”.
Regarding the memory, Memari, in his e-cigarette, teaches electrical components, including a “memory” (Memari, ¶0121). Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to Modify Liu with the teaching of Memari, to add a memory to the electrical components, for look up tables for easy calculations, of volume, for instance, based on a determined parameter, or, remembering a parameter for display or indication to the user.
And while Liu in view of Memari teaches all the limitations above, it still does not teach “the capacitor having “a first capacitor plate defining a central air passage, and a second capacitor plate” and “at least a portion of the wick between the first capacitor plate and the second capacitor plate.”
However, as noted above, Liu does teach measuring capacitance (of the circuit) in order to measure “whether the remaining level of the flavoured liquid has dropped to a threshold minimum” (¶0037). Liu also suggests that the part detecting the electrical properties may be modified depending on what other parameters it is detecting (¶0037). Memari teaches, in his e-cigarette, a conventional way of making a capacitive sensor is by having “concentric circles of conductors are kept in a vertical position, a height change in e-liquid will result in a proportional change in capacitance between the conductors. This can be fed to a circuit which can detect the change and thereby a change in e-liquid level” (¶0514). And for completeness, Goldis teaches, and it is conventional that it is the change in length of the liquid between two capacitor plates that determines how much material is left (Goldis, figs. 2(a)-2(d’)). Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Liu with the teachings of Memari and Goldis to have conductive plates in “concentric circles”, as taught in Memari, and even to have “at least a portion of the wick between the first capacitor plate and the second capacitor plate, “ in order to be able to tell more specifically the level of the liquid, rather than just the threshold level, as now taught in Liu, and Liu already teaches the vaporizable material between the outside of an inner cylinder, the wick (Liu,155) being within the storage container (136) and is perpendicular to an air passage, and an outer cylinder, making up an outside of the cartridge (Liu, outer peripheral wall 132, and inner peripheral wall 134, ¶0017).
Regarding claim 12, Liu in view of Memari and Goldis teaches all the limitations of claim 11, and further teaches an aerosol-generating system wherein the storage portion comprises: a capillary medium configured to store the aerosol-forming substrate (Liu, ¶0024, “capillary or similar affects will cause the strand of glass fibres to wick and replenish the flavoured liquid from the reservoir”; the “capillary medium” must, in some way, be within the storage portion to bring out liquid).
Regarding claim 13, Liu in view of Memari and Goldis teaches all the limitations of claim 11, and further teaches an aerosol-generating system wherein the first capacitor plate and the second capacitor plate each have a generally cylindrical shape (already in the combination above, the first and second plate are concentric, Memari, and cylindrical like Lui, 132 and 134).
Regarding claim 14, Liu in view of Memari and Goldis teaches all the limitations of claim 13, and further teaches an aerosol-generating system wherein the first capacitor plate is located within a volume defined by the second capacitor plate (already in the combination above, the first and second plate are concentric, Memari, and cylindrical like Lui, 132 and 134, ¶0017,). .
Regarding claim 15, Liu in view of Memari and Goldis teaches all the limitations of claim 11, and further teaches an aerosol-generating system wherein the first capacitor plate and the second capacitor plate are concentric (already in the combination above, the first and second plate are concentric, Memari, and cylindrical like Lui, 132 and 134, ¶0017, “concentric”). .
Regarding claim 16, Liu in view of Memari and Goldis teaches all the limitations of claim 11, and further teaches an aerosol-generating system comprising: a sensor configured to measure a capacitance of the capacitor; and wherein the controller is configured to determine a volume of the storage portion dependent on an output of the sensor (Goldis, claim 1, at least; this is how this device work and would have been part of the combination above; it is described by Goldis as “the capacitance measurements directly corresponds to the ink remaining in the bag”).
Regarding claim 17, Liu in view of Memari and Goldis teaches all the limitations of claim 11, and further teaches an aerosol-generating system wherein a permittivity of the storage portion is configured to change upon a change of a volume of the aerosol-forming substrate held in the storage portion (Memari, ¶514, “Permittivity” this is how the concentric conductors work and it would have been combined in the combination above).
Regarding claim 18, Liu in view of Memari and Goldis teaches all the limitations of claim 11, and further teaches an aerosol-generating system wherein the aerosol-forming substrate within the storage portion is free flowing (Liu, Abstract, the substance is a “liquid”, and there is no barrier to its flow, hence “free flowing”, within a reasonable broad interpretation).
Regarding claim 19, Liu in view of Memari and Goldis teaches all the limitations of claim 11, but does not further teach, in this combination an aerosol-generating system comprising: a tilt sensor configured to sense whether the aerosol-forming substrate held in the storage portion has a level that is perpendicular to the first capacitor plate and the second capacitor plate. However, Memari further teaches a “tilt sensor” configured to sense whether the aerosol-forming substrate held in the storage portion has a level that is perpendicular to the first capacitor plate and the second capacitor plate (Memari, ¶0514). Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the Invention, to modify Liu in view of Memari and Goldis with a further teaching of Memari, to have a tilt sensor, in order to figure out if the liquid is perpendicular to the capacitor plates, in order to properly determine the volume of the liquid if the cartridge is in any orientation, and the liquid might be configured differently, and this would make for a more robust device, knowing the remaining liquid when the device is in any orientation, not just perfectly straight up and down.
Claim(s) 10, 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2016/ 0157523) in view of Memari (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2015/ 0245662) and Goldis (U.S. Patent 5,635,962) and further in view of Monsees (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2014/ 0366898)
Regarding claim 10, Liu in view of Memari and Goldis teaches all the limitations of claim 1, as above, but does not further teach a cartridge wherein ends of the wick are between the first capacitor plate and the second capacitor plate. It cannot be seen in Liu be seen exactly where the ends of the wick end (Liu, fig. 2, go into 136 and no other indication is given). However, Monsees teaches wherein ends of the wick are between the first [inner cylinder] and the second [outer cylinder] (Monsees, Fig. 1). This would allow some of the liquid to move into the wick but not to have too much unnecessary wicking material. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to modify Liu in view of Memari and Goldis with the teachings of Monsees, to have the wick stick in between the first capacitor plate and the second capacitor plate, or the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder, in order to have the wick, in a conventional way, bring in the liquid from the storage portion, without too much material, in order to affect, in a conventional way, heating the volatizable material without unexpected results.
Regarding claim 20, Liu in view of Memari and Goldis teaches all the limitations of claim 11, as above, but does not further teach an aerosol-generating system wherein ends of the wick are between the first capacitor plate and the second capacitor plate. It cannot be seen in Liu be seen exactly where the ends of the wick end (Liu, fig. 2, go into 136 and no other indication is given). However, Monsees teaches wherein ends of the wick are between the first [inner cylinder] and the second [outer cylinder] (Monsees, Fig. 1). This would allow some of the liquid to move into the wick but not to have too much unnecessary wicking material. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to modify Liu in view of Memari and Goldis with the teachings of Monsees, to have the wick stick in between the first capacitor plate and the second capacitor plate, or the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder, in order to have the wick, in a conventional way, bring in the liquid from the storage portion, without too much material, in order to affect, in a conventional way, heating the volatizable material without unexpected results.
Response to Arguments
Receipt of the Terminal Disclaimer is acknowledged. The Double Patenting rejection is withdrawn.
Applicant's arguments filed 23 December 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The rejections of the claims are maintained. Regarding claim 11, the claim is rejected as obvious over Liu in view of Memari and Goldis. Applicant argues that the following:
Claim 1 describes, in part, a wick in communication with the storage portion, at least a portion of the wick extending perpendicular to the central air passage. Claim 11, in addition to describing that that a portion of the wick extends perpendicular to the central air passage, also describes that a portion of the wick extends between the plates which form the capacitor. None of the cited patent documents teach these features. In Liu, wick 155 is parallel to the hollow compartment 138 that forms the airflow passage. Neither Goldis, nor Memari possess any teachings that would make up for the shortcomings of Liu. (Remarks, p. 8, last paragraph)
Examiner disagrees. Liu, the primary reference, describing an e-cigarette (fig. 3), teaches at least a portion of the wick extends perpendicular to the central air passage (Figs. 1-2, wick 155, which lies horizontally in fig. 1 is perpendicular to the air passage 110 which moves vertically). While it is true that Liu does not teach, with regard to claim 11, a portion of the wick extends “between the first capacitor plate and the second capacitor plate” (using the language of the claim). However, Liu does teach that the wick extends into the storage portion (Liu, 155 goes into 136, fig. 2). But Liu does not teach the concentric capacitor plates storing the aerosol forming substrate. However, Memari teaches a “[c]apacitive sensor. As the e-liquid has a different permittivity with respect to air, if concentric circles of conductors are kept in a vertical position, a height change in the -e-liquid will result in a proportional change in capacitance between the conductors” (Memari, ¶0514, emphasis added). And although this is describing “concentric circles” of conductors within an e-cigarette holder, the principle remains the same and may obviously be adapted to capacitance detector concentric plates within an e-cigarette. And while it may not be precise how the concentric plates measure the capacitance; Goldis is brought to show that as the substance between two plates changes, so does the capacitance. Thus, giving the teachings of Liu, and how the storage space is between the concentric circle around the central pathway, it would have been obvious to modify the storage area with concentric circles of capacitor plates in order to take the capacitance between those plate, and by the change in capacitance calculate the remaining volatile material, seeing the teachings of Memari and Goldis.
And it is noted that while these arguments were presented at the interview, and Liu was looked it, it was noted at the time that fuller consideration needed to be given to the secondary references, their teachings and how a combination might work (See Examiner Interview Summary Record filed 31 December 2026.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Please see previously attached PTO-892.
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 LAWRENCE H SAMUELS whose telephone number is (571)272-2683. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-5PM M-F.
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/LAWRENCE H SAMUELS/Examiner, Art Unit 3761
/IBRAHIME A ABRAHAM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3761