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 .
Status of the Claims
Claims 1-19 are pending and subject to this Office Action. Claims 13-19 have been withdrawn. Claim 1 has been amended.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments, pages 5-8, filed 01 May 2026, have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Claim 1 has been amended to include the limitations: a thermocouple embedded in and in contact with the ceramic material of the electrical heater, and operable to provide a temperature-dependent voltage via the thermoelectric effect from which a temperature of the electrical heater can be determined.
Applicant argues, page 5-6, that Liu fails to teach a heating circuit that is printed on the ceramic surface and not embedded.
The Examiner acknowledges that Lui teaches that the conductive path may be formed by printing a resistance layer on the heating carrier via a circuit printer [0007] but also discloses that the resistance heating layer is disposed on or in the first main body [0006]. As such Liu envisages a design where the resistance heating layer is formed inside or embedded in the first main body.
Additionally, Lui teaches the first body includes a heating path and a conductive path formed inside the heating carrier. Liu teaches the heating carrier is completely formed of a dense ceramic. [0043] This formation inside the heating carrier is considered to read on the embedded limitation.
Applicant argues, page 6, that the heater of Boham does not comprise a ceramic material.
The materials used to form the heating element are taught by Liu. Boham is used to modify Liu and teaches the use of a thermocouple located along the length of the heating element that is use as a temperature sensor.
Boham teaches an exemplary design that teaches resistive heating element that uses screen printing or other conventional technique for forming resistive tracks as layers on a ceramic substrate. [0051] The thermocouple junction is located on the heating element used in conjunction with a ceramic substrate that is used as a wick. [0052] Boham teaches this thermocouple junction may be used for directly sensing the temperature of the heater during use. [0055] A person having ordinary skill would consider the teachings of Liu as being a conventional technique for forming the resistive tracks and would consider the formation of the resistive portion using those techniques.
Applicant also argues, page 6-7, that the thermocouple of Boham can be overlapping materials that form a junction, thus the heater itself forms the thermocouple that must be made from metal alloys.
The Examiner notes that the claim limitation does not require the thermocouple to be an independent and separable part. Thus any form of thermocouple that is located/embedded in the heating material and provides a temperature control for the heating element is considered to read on the limitation. Additionally, Boham teaches exemplary materials being different metal, specifically nickel, alloys. However, the prior art states in a broader teaching that the first and second materials are only required to be different materials that are joined to form the thermocouple junction. [0038] Thus a person having ordinary skill would consider two forms of ceramic material, similar to that taught by Liu, would also function as a thermocouple.
Applicant argues, page 7, the combination of Lui and Boham is not a workable combination.
The Examiner respectfully disagrees. Lui is used to teach a ceramic heating element that holds an electrically resistive heating track that is used to heat the ceramic material surrounding the resistive path and vaporizer a liquid component. Boham is used to modify the teaching of Liu to teach the use of a thermocouple located along the heating element, heating track, that is formed by the overlap/ junction of two types of resistive heating materials and located in the ceramic body.
The following is a modified rejection based on amendments made to the claims.
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.
Claims 1 and 3-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu, et al (WO2018201561A1, hereinafter referring to the English machine translation provided) and further in view of Boham (US20220312854A1).
Regarding claim 1, Liu teaches a composite ceramic heater and atomizer comprising a first body and a second body that are integrally formed. The first body comprises a conductive heating path and a second body for liquid conduction. [0006] Liu teaches that the first body is a ceramic material and that the heating path located on or in the first body is made from a ceramic powder material. [0011-0012] Lui teaches the first body includes a heating path and a conductive path formed inside the heating carrier. Liu teaches the heating carrier is completely formed of a dense ceramic. [0043] This formation inside the heating carrier is considered to read on the embedded limitation. The second body is formed of a porous ceramic material. [0015] The first body of Liu is considered to read on the electrical heater of the instant claim and the second body is considered to read on the transfer component for delivering an aerosol generating material to the heating element.
Liu is silent with respect to the specific use of the ceramic transfer component being used to transfer a source liquid to the heating body or the use of thermocouples in the heating carrier.
Boham, directed to the design of aerosol provisioning systems with heaters, teaches that a porous ceramic substrate may may provide a wicking function to draw liquid from a reservoir (not shown) towards the surface of the porous ceramic substrate on which the electric heater is formed for heat vaporization to form an aerosol. [0051]
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would be obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art to modify Liu by using the ceramic transfer element to transfer the source liquid from a reservoir/ storage container to the heating surface as taught by Boham because both Liu and Boham are directed to aerosol generating devices, Boham teaches this allows fluid to be transferred to the heating surface to be vaporized to form a usable aerosol [0051], and this involves the use of known technique to improve similar devices in the same way.
Further Boham teaches a heater that comprises a thermocouple junction that is located along the path of the heating element configured to take measurements of the temperature. (Abstract) the thermocouple is connected to control circuitry for monitoring and controlling the operation of the heating element. [0040-0042] Boham teaches that the junction can be on the surface but also acknowledges that the junction may not be visible. [0052] Boham teaches that the thermocouple junction occurs along the resistive heating material/ conductive path.
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would be obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art to modify Liu by using a thermocouple along the heating element as taught by Boham because both Liu and Boham are directed to aerosol generating devices, Boham teaches this allows control circuitry to be configured to take measurements of temperature for the electric heater using the thermocouple junction (Abstract), and this involves the use of known technique to improve similar devices in the same way.
Regarding claim 3, Liu teaches that the second body of the heating element can contain a porous ceramic material.( [0015], [0025], [0034])
Regarding claim 4, Liu teaches that the second body is integrally formed with the first body (heating portion) and is a porous ceramic used for transporting a liquid. [0006]
Regarding claim 5, As discussed in claim 1, Liu teaches that the atomizer is a composite ceramic heater that is formed for a porous body that is used for liquid conduction and a first body that contains the conductive path for heating and has a glazed side for allowing heat transfer while preventing liquid transport to the first body. Liu teaches that these two bodies are integrally formed. [0006]
Regarding claim 6, Liu teaches the resistance portion can be a layer that completely or partially covers the surface of the first body or the resistance layer can be placed inside the first body. ([0006], [0013]) The resistance layer being located in the first body is considered to read on the embedded limitation of the claim.
Boham teaches the thermocouple is located a position along the heating element. As such the thermocouple of Liu as modified by Boham could be located inside the first body.
Regarding claim 7, as discussed in claim 1, Liu teaches a composite ceramic atomizer where the second body is a porous ceramic material that is used for liquid conduction/transport. [0006]
Regarding claim 8, Liu teaches that the heating portion of the is wholly or partially formed of ceramic and that conductive path is composed of a ceramic powder combined with tungsten manganese slurry. ([0011-0012] The resistance portion can be a layer that completely or partially covers the surface of the first body or the resistance layer can be placed inside the first body. ([0006], [0013]) The teaching of the resistance layer that is located inside the first ceramic body is considered to read on the resistant heating element being embedded.
Liu does not specifically teach that the ceramic portion is of the first body is electrically insulating.
Boham, directed to the design of heaters for use with aerosol provision systems, teaches that the resistive material is formed on an electrically insulating ceramic substrate. [0051]
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would be obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art to modify Liu by using a thermocouple along the heating element as taught by Boham because both Liu and Boham are directed to aerosol generating devices, Boham teaches the resistive material is formed on an insulating substrate allows for the resistive heater to have a meandering/zig-zag pattern [0051], and this involves the use of known technique to improve similar devices in the same way.
Regarding claim 9, Liu teaches the conductive heating path is made from a ceramic material ([0006], [0011-0012]) and has a first contact portion and a second contact portion for connection to a power source. ([0006], [0014])
Regarding claim 10, Liu as modified by Boham teaches various possible locations for the thermocouple junction and specifically that the thermocouple junction can be located around the middle of the electric heater. (claim 13, [0043])
Regarding claim 11, Liu as modified by Boham teaches that the heating element can be made of multiple types of material and as such can have multiple thermocouple junction points [0038] where the different materials are joined.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu, et al (WO2018201561A1) and Boham (US20220312854A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Althorpe, et al (US20170367407A1).
Regarding claim 2, Liu teaches that the heating carrier portion is made entirely of a dense ceramic material [0035], [0043] and is then fired. However, Liu does not explicitly teach that the ceramic of the first body is non-porous.
Althorpe, directed to the design of heater for an electronic nicotine delivery device, teaches an electric heater that is encapsulated within a non-porous ceramic material. [0056]
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would be obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art to modify Liu and Boham by encapsulating the heating element portion of the heater as taught by Althorpe because both Liu and Boham and Althorpe are directed to aerosol generating devices, Althorpe teaches this minimizes the formation of localized hot spots on the electric heater surface that contact the nicotine solution. [0056-0057], and this involves the use of known technique of encapsulating the heating element portion of a heating device to improve similar devices in the same way.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu, et al (WO2018201561A1) and Boham (US20220312854A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Alarcon, et al (US20180020728A1).
Regarding claim 12, Boham teaches that the thermocouple can be attached to control circuitry but is silent with respect to the specifics of what constitutes the control circuitry.
Alarcon, directed to the design of electronic smoking articles, teaches a substrate that is comprised of a heating element and a thermopile (e.g., two or more thermocouples), including an upstream thermopile (or thermocouple) and a downstream thermopile (or thermocouple). [0056] The two thermopiles are positioned upstream and downstream of the heater element and generates an output voltage that is proportional to the temperature gradient between its hot and cold junctions generating an output voltage proportional to the temperature gradient across the substrate.[0057]
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would be obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art to modify Liu and Boham by encapsulating the heating element portion of the heater as taught by Alarcon because both Liu and Boham and Alarcon are directed to aerosol generating devices, Alarcon teaches the difference between the thermopiles is used to generate the voltage output that is proportional to the temperature gradient [0056], and this involves the use of known technique of encapsulating the heating element portion of a heating device to improve similar devices in the same way.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 VIRGINIA R BIEGER whose telephone number is (703)756-1014. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th: 7:30-4:30.
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/V.R.B./Examiner, Art Unit 1755 /PHILIP Y LOUIE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1755
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