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
Claims 9-12 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.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 12/04/2025.
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 1-8 in the reply filed on 12/04/2025 is acknowledged.
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.
Claim(s) 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Reevell et al. (US 2021/0307390 A1), and further in view of Kadiric et al. (US 2019/0313691 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Reevell teaches an electric heating device for a heat-not-burn tobacco product, including a hollow tube heater defined to form a heating chamber allowing a heat-not-burn tobacco stick to be inserted therein (Reevell ¶¶[0076]–[0078]; Fig. 6).
Reevell further teaches that the hollow tube heater includes a compression cylinder configured to compress a tobacco substrate from an outer peripheral side when the tobacco substrate is inserted into the heating chamber. Specifically, Reevell discloses a side wall of the heating chamber having a plurality of inwardly extending protrusions that engage and compress the outer surface of the tobacco substrate (Reevell ¶¶[0078]–[0079]).
Reevell additionally teaches that the side wall of the heating chamber functions as a heating wall, such that at least part of the compression cylinder forms a heating wall configured to heat the tobacco substrate from the outer peripheral side while compressing the substrate (Reevell ¶¶[0078]–[0080]).
Thus, Reevell teaches:
an electric heating device,
a hollow tube heater defining a heating chamber,
a compression cylinder configured to compress a tobacco substrate from an outer peripheral side, and
a heating wall forming at least part of the compression cylinder and configured to heat the tobacco substrate from the outer peripheral side.
Reevell does not explicitly teach the structure of the heat-not-burn tobacco stick, including a tobacco rod portion wrapped with rolling paper, a mouthpiece portion wrapped with tipping paper, or a lip-release material coated on an outer surface of the tipping paper, as recited in claim 1.
However, Kadiric discloses a heat-not-burn aerosol-generating tobacco product comprising a tobacco rod portion including tobacco material wrapped with rolling paper, and a mouthpiece portion constantly coupled to the tobacco rod portion and wrapped with tipping paper (Kadiric ¶¶[0001], [0009], [0059]; Fig. 1).
Kadiric further discloses that part of an outer surface of the tipping paper is coated with a surface treatment comprising hydrophobic and/or low-surface-energy materials configured to reduce adhesion to moisture and prevent sticking to a user’s lips, thereby providing a lip-release material on the tipping paper (Kadiric ¶¶[0052]–[0056], [0061]).
Accordingly, Kadiric teaches:
a tobacco rod portion including shredded tobacco wrapped with rolling paper,
a mouthpiece portion wrapped with tipping paper, and
part of an outer surface of the tipping paper being coated with a lip-release material, as required by claim 1.
Reevell and Kadiric are directed to the same field of endeavor, namely heat-not-burn tobacco products and aerosol-generating systems.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to use the heat-not-burn tobacco stick of Kadiric together with the electric heating device of Reevell, because such a combination represents the predictable use of a known consumable tobacco rod with a known heat-not-burn heating device for their intended purpose (Reevell ¶¶[0076]–[0080]; Kadiric ¶¶[0001], [0009]).
When the tobacco rod of Kadiric is inserted into the heating chamber of Reevell to a prescribed insertion location, the lip-release material region on the outer surface of the tipping paper is located adjacent to the insertion port of the heating chamber with respect to at least the heating wall, as recited in claim 1, since the tipping paper defines the mouthpiece region of the tobacco rod and the heating wall of Reevell is positioned adjacent the insertion port upon insertion of the tobacco rod (Reevell ¶¶0076–0078; Kadiric ¶¶0052–0056).
Therefore, Reevell in view of Kadiric teaches or renders obvious all the limitations of claim 1.
Regarding claim 2, claim 2 depends from claim 1 and further recites that the cross-sectional area of the tobacco rod portion after insertion into the compression cylinder is greater than or equal to 40% and less than or equal to 99% of the cross-sectional area before insertion into the compression cylinder.
As discussed above with respect to claim 1, Reevell teaches an electric heating device including a heating chamber having inwardly extending protrusions formed on an inner wall surface of a cylindrical heating device, wherein the protrusions contact and compress an aerosol substrate inserted into the heating chamber (Reevell ¶¶[0078]–[0080]).
Reevell further teaches that the degree of compression of the aerosol substrate is intentionally controlled by adjusting parameters such as the height, width, number, and spacing of the protrusions, and that increasing protrusion height results in compression of the aerosol substrate, elimination of air gaps, and changes in draw resistance (Reevell ¶¶[0086]–[0089]). Reevell explains that these parameters are selected to balance conductive heating, convective heating, and airflow, thereby demonstrating that controlled deformation of the substrate is a predictable and adjustable design characteristic of the heating device.
Accordingly, a person of ordinary skill in the art would have understood that insertion of the tobacco rod portion into the compression cylinder of Reevell necessarily results in a reduction of the cross-sectional area of the tobacco rod portion, and that the extent of such reduction is determined by the selected dimensions and arrangement of the protrusions.
Selecting a cross-sectional area after insertion that is within the recited range of claim 2 represents a predictable design choice made in view of Reevell’s express teaching to adjust compression magnitude to achieve desired heating and draw characteristics.
Therefore, claim 2 is unpatentable over Reevell in view of Kadiric for the same reasons as claim 1, and for the additional reason that Reevell teaches controlled compression of the tobacco rod portion resulting in a predictable reduction of cross-sectional area within a selected range.
Regarding claim 3, claim 3 depends from claim 1 and further recites that the compression cylinder includes a pair of opposite sandwiching walls extending along an axial direction of the compression cylinder, and the tobacco rod portion inserted in the compression cylinder is compressed by inner wall surfaces of the sandwiching walls.
As discussed above with respect to claim 1, Reevell teaches an electric heating device including a heating chamber defined by a hollow tube having inner wall surfaces, wherein inwardly extending protrusions are formed on the inner surface of the side wall and extend toward the aerosol substrate when inserted into the heating chamber (Reevell ¶¶0078–0080).
Reevell further teaches that the protrusions are arranged around the inner perimeter of the side wall and are configured to contact and compress the aerosol substrate at multiple locations, including embodiments in which the substrate is pressed between opposing portions of the side wall via protrusions extending inward from opposite sides of the heating chamber (Reevell ¶¶0078–0081, FIGS. 6(a)–6(c)). In such embodiments, opposing inner wall surfaces act to sandwich and compress the aerosol substrate along an axial direction when the aerosol substrate is inserted (Reevell ¶¶0078–0081, FIGS. 6(a)–6(c)).
Accordingly, Reevell teaches a compression structure functionally equivalent to a pair of opposite sandwiching walls extending along an axial direction of the compression cylinder, wherein the tobacco rod portion is compressed by opposing inner wall surfaces.
Regarding claim 4, claim 4 depends from claim 3 and further recites that the inner wall surfaces of the pair of sandwiching walls are opposed parallel to each other. Reevell’s heating chamber is cylindrical, such that opposing inner wall surfaces extending along the axial direction are inherently parallel to one another. Therefore, the additional limitation of claim 4 is met by the same disclosure.
Therefore, claims 3 and 4 are unpatentable over Reevell in view of Kadiric for the same reasons as claim 1, and for the additional reasons set forth above.
Regarding claim 5, claim 5 depends from claim 4 and further recites that a diameter of the tobacco rod portion is defined to a dimension greater than or equal to 105% and less than or equal to 200% of a space between the inner wall surfaces of the pair of sandwiching walls.
As discussed above with respect to claims 1–4, Reevell teaches a cylindrical heating chamber having inner wall surfaces with inwardly extending protrusions configured to contact and compress an aerosol substrate inserted into the heating chamber (Reevell ¶¶[0078]–[0081]).
Reevell further teaches that the spacing between opposing inner wall portions, as well as the dimensions of the protrusions, are intentionally selected and adjusted to control the degree of compression of the substrate and the resulting heating and draw characteristics (Reevell ¶¶[0086]–[0089]).
Reevell expressly teaches that the available air gap between the side wall and the substrate carrier may be adjusted within specific dimensional ranges (e.g., approximately 0.2–0.4 mm or 0.2–0.3 mm), and that increasing protrusion height and width increases compression of the aerosol substrate while reducing air gaps (Reevell ¶¶[0086]–[0089]).
These teachings demonstrate that the relative size relationship between the substrate diameter and the spacing between opposing inner wall surfaces is a known and adjustable design parameter used to achieve a desired degree of compression.
Accordingly, selecting a tobacco rod diameter that is greater than the spacing between opposing inner wall surfaces, such that the rod is compressed upon insertion, as recited in claim 5, represents a predictable design choice made in view of Reevell’s express teaching to vary spacing and protrusion dimensions to control compression. The recited range of 105% to 200% reflects a degree of compression that falls within the scope of routine optimization of known dimensional relationships disclosed by Reevell.
Therefore, claim 5 is unpatentable over Reevell in view of Kadiric for the same reasons as claim 1, and for the additional reason that Reevell teaches selecting dimensional relationships between the substrate diameter and inner wall spacing to achieve controlled compression of the tobacco rod portion.
Regarding claims 6 and 7, claims 6 and 7 depend from claim 1 and further recite that, when the heat-not-burn tobacco stick is inserted to a prescribed location of the heating chamber, a whole of the tobacco rod portion and part of the mouthpiece portion are compressed by the inner wall surface of the compression cylinder, and that a cross-sectional area of the mouthpiece portion after insertion into the compression cylinder is greater than or equal to 60% and less than or equal to 99% of the cross-sectional area before insertion into the compression cylinder.
Reevell further teaches that the protrusions extend into the heating chamber along a longitudinal extent and engage the substrate carrier when the substrate is inserted to a prescribed position, thereby producing compression along a length of the inserted article rather than at a single point (Reevell ¶¶[0080]–[0081], FIGS. 6(a)–6(c)).
Because the aerosol substrate of Reevell includes a tobacco-containing portion and an adjacent upstream portion that are both inserted into the heating chamber when the substrate is fully inserted, compression by the inner wall surfaces necessarily includes compression of the whole tobacco rod portion and at least a portion of the mouthpiece-side portion.
Reevell additionally teaches that the degree of compression is controlled by adjusting the dimensions and arrangement of the inwardly extending protrusions, resulting in predictable deformation of the compressed portions of the substrate (Reevell ¶¶[0086]–[0089]).
Accordingly, selecting a degree of compression of the mouthpiece portion within the recited range of claim 7 represents a predictable design choice in view of Reevell’s express teaching to control compression magnitude to balance heating efficiency, airflow, and draw resistance.
Therefore, claims 6 and 7 are unpatentable over Reevell in view of Kadiric for the same reasons as claim 1, and for the additional reasons set forth above.
Regarding claim 8, Reevell further teaches that the dimensions of the heating chamber and the protrusions are selected such that the aerosol substrate is compressed upon insertion, including embodiments in which the available space within the heating chamber is smaller than the outer dimensions of the substrate prior to insertion, thereby eliminating air gaps and improving thermal contact (Reevell ¶¶[0086]–[0089]).
These teachings demonstrate that the effective inner cross-sectional area of the compression cylinder is smaller than the cross-sectional area of the tobacco rod portion prior to insertion, such that insertion of the tobacco rod necessarily results in radial compression by the inner wall surfaces of the compression cylinder. Reevell expressly teaches adjusting chamber dimensions and protrusion geometry to ensure such interference and compression in order to improve heating efficiency and aerosol generation (Reevell ¶¶[0086]–[0089]).
Accordingly, Reevell teaches or renders obvious defining the inner cross-sectional area of the compression cylinder to be smaller than the cross-sectional area of the tobacco rod portion before insertion, as recited in claim 8.
Therefore, claim 8 is unpatentable over Reevell in view of Kadiric for the same reasons as claim 1, and for the additional reasons set forth above.
Conclusion
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/JENNIFER A KESSIE/Examiner, Art Unit 1747