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 16-26 and 29 are pending and are subject to this Office Action.
Claims 16 and 22 are amended.
Response to Amendment
The Examiner acknowledges Applicant’s response filed on 7/09/2026 containing
amendments and remarks to the claims.
The drawings submitted on 7/09/2026 are acceptable. The objection to the drawings has therefore been withdrawn.
The objection to claim 22 has been withdrawn due to the claim amendments.
The rejection of claim 22 under 35 USC 112(b) has been withdrawn due to the claim amendments.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 7/09/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
On pages 8-9 the Applicant argues the Office Action does not identify a teaching or suggestion in Chen or Williamson that would have led the person of ordinary skill in the art to modify Chen's movable atomizer so that Chen's heating element becomes an inductively heated susceptor while preserving Chen's movable heater assembly, piercing operation, liquid path, sealing engagement, and coupling to the power assembly.
The Examiner does not find this to be persuasive. Williamson teaches having an inductively heatable susceptor heating assembly instead of a conventional wick and heater improves manufacturability and efficiently heats the vapor generating liquid (page 1, third paragraph). Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to modify Chen’s heating element to have an inductively heatable susceptor heating assembly as this improves manufacturing and efficiently heats the vapor as taught by Williamson.
On page 10 the Applicant argues the substitution of Chen’s liquid absorbing element arrangement with Williamson’s heatable susceptor arrangement would not have been straightforward as Chen’s wire and liquid absorbing element works by resistive heating whereas William’s susceptor arrangement relies on inductive heating, and a person of ordinary skill in the art would not have treated the arrangement as readily interchangeable.
The Examiner does not find this to be persuasive. Chen teaches the atomizing component includes a liquid absorbing element 121 and a heating element coupled to the liquid absorbing element (para. [0052]) that heats and vaporizes the liquid in the liquid absorbing element 121 (para. [0053]) and it is apparent to those skilled in the art that a variety of modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention (para. [0071]). Williamson similarly teaches an atomizing component (vapor generating unit) with a liquid absorbing element (porous liquid transfer element) and a heating element (inductively heatable susceptor) coupled to the heating element (figs. 4 and 5) to heat and vaporize the vapor generating liquid (page 5, last paragraph). As both atomizing components of Chen and Williamson are for heating a liquid vaporizable material that is absorbed and transferred via a liquid absorbing element to the heating element, it would be in the ambit of one of ordinary skill in the art to configure the atomizing component of Chen to have the heatable susceptor arrangement of Williamson to yield the predictable result of heating and vaporizing a vapor generating liquid.
Further, the Office Action did not state mere substitution of Chen’s liquid absorbing element arrangement with Williamson’s heatable susceptor arrangement, but rather modifying the heating element of Chen to be a susceptor induction element as taught by Williamson. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to do so in order to improve manufacturability and efficiently heat the vapor generating liquid, and further this merely involves applying a known technique to a known device ready for improvement to yield predictable results.
On pages 10-11 the Applicant argues the devices of Chen and Williamson have different geometries and different configurations, the asserted modification would have required more than routine substitution of a known heater into a known device, and the Office Action does not identify where the cited references teach or suggest how to incorporate Williamson’s susceptor arrangement into Chen while maintaining the claimed movement, piecing, sealing liquid delivery, and inductive heating relationships.
The Examiner does not find this to be persuasive. A person of ordinary skill in the art is also a person of ordinary creativity, not an automaton, and in many cases a person of ordinary skill will be able to fit the teachings of multiple patents together like pieces of a puzzle. See MPEP § 2141.03. Therefore, the prior art does need to explicitly disclose how to incorporate Williamson’s susceptor arrangement into Chen while maintaining the claimed movement, piecing, sealing liquid delivery, and inductive heating relationships, as this is within the ambit of one of ordinary skill in the art.
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.
Claim(s) 16-18, 20, 22-26 and 29 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (US2016/0278163) in view of Williamson (WO2021/249912).
Regarding claim 16, Chen discloses:
An aerosol-generating system (inhaler), comprising: a cartridge (atomizing assembly 10) and a reusable device configured to couple to the cartridge (power assembly 20, [0035], figures 1-2).
Wherein the cartridge comprises a housing (100) containing a sealed liquid reservoir (closed liquid reservoir 102, [0038], figure 4).
And a heater assembly within the housing (lower end of atomizing assembly 10 comprising atomizer 120, second end of outer housing 116, and connecting element 109 as shown in figure 4), the heater assembly comprising a heating element (heating element, [0052]) and a piercing element (piercing element 135, [0051]).
Wherein the heater assembly is movable relative to the housing from a first position in which the piercing element is outside the sealed liquid reservoir to a second position in which the piercing element penetrates the liquid reservoir ([0051]: When the atomizer 120 moves towards the liquid reservoir 102 in the housing 100, the piercing element 135 on the core 130 is configured to pierce the liquid reservoir 102 and extend inside the liquid reservoir 102).
Wherein the heater assembly further comprises a sealing surface that forms a liquid-tight seal with the housing or the sealed liquid reservoir when the heater assembly is in the second position (fitting element 140 that forms a sealing engagement between the atomizer 120 and the housing 100 preventing leakage of the liquid after the liquid reservoir is opened, [0061]).
Wherein the reusable device comprises: a power supply configured to provide energy to the heating element ([0053]: The heating element is electrically coupled to the power assembly 20).
A cavity configured to receive at least a portion of the cartridge (portion of power supply 20 that receives connecting element 109, figures 3-4, [0044]).
And a contact surface at the distal end of the cavity that engages an engagement surface on the heater assembly when the cartridge is coupled to the reusable device ([0068]: connecting element 201 configured to cooperate with connecting element 109 to form a fixed connection between the power assembly 20 and the atomizing assembly 10) to urge the heater assembly into the second position, so that the heater assembly is moved from the first position to the second position as a consequence of the cartridge being coupled to the reusable device ([0057]: when the power assembly 20 is fixed to the atomizing assembly 10, the atomizer 120 will be forced by the power assembly 20 to move in the receiving cavity 112 towards the liquid reservoir 102, such that the sealing sheet 113 is pierced by the piercing element 135).
Chen does not disclose wherein the heating element comprises a susceptor element that is configured to be inductively heated.
Williamson, directed to a cartridge for a vapor generating device, teaches:
A cartridge for an aerosol generating system (cartridge 10) that comprises a heating element (vapor generating unit 28) comprising a susceptor element that is configured to be inductively heated (inductively heatable susceptors 54, figure 5, page 12, last paragraph).
The inductively heatable susceptors 54 are exposed to an alternating and time-varying electromagnetic field generated by an electromagnetic field generator 108 (e.g. an induction coil) of a vapor generating device 100 (page 13, third paragraph, figure 12).
Having an inductively heatable susceptor heating assembly instead of a conventional wick and heater improves manufacturability and efficiently heats the vapor generating liquid (page 1, third paragraph).
When modifying Chen to have the susceptor induction heating element of Williamson it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that the vapor generating device that the cartridge attaches to would have an induction coil to heat the susceptors as taught by Williamson.
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would be obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art to modify the heating element of Chen to be a susceptor induction heating element as taught by Williamson, because both Chen and Williamson are directed to cartridges for aerosol-generating devices for heating vapor generating liquid, Williamson teaches having an inductively heatable susceptor heating assembly instead of a conventional wick and heater improves manufacturability and efficiently heats the vapor generating liquid, and this merely involves applying a known technique to a known device ready for improvement to yield predictable results.
Regarding claims 17-18, modified Chen further teaches wherein the heater assembly further comprises a wicking material configured to convey liquid to a heating surface of the heating element, and wherein the heating element further comprises at least a portion of the wicking material (Williamson, porous liquid transfer element 56, figure 5, page 12, last paragraph and page 13, first paragraph).
Regarding claim 20, Chen further teaches wherein the heater assembly further comprises a gasket and wherein the sealing surface is provided by the gasket (fitting element 140 that is made of a soft material having sealing properties and forms a sealing engagement between the atomizer 120 and the housing 100 [0061], and therefore defines a gasket).
Regarding claim 22, Chen further teaches wherein the engagement surface faces away from the sealed liquid reservoir and is accessible from an exterior of the cartridge (connecting element 109, [0046]).
Regarding claim 23, Chen further teaches:
A mouth end configured to be placed in a user's mouth (top end of atomizing assembly as shown in figure 2 that the use can inhale from, [0035]) and a connection end opposite the mouth end (second end 116 comprising connecting element 119, figure 4).
Wherein the heater assembly in the first position is positioned at the connection end and moves closer to the mouth end to reach the second position (as the atomizer 120 moves towards the liquid reservoir 102 when it Is configured to pierce, [0051]).
Regarding claim 24, Chen further teaches wherein the sealed liquid reservoir comprises sealing foil (sealing sheet 113 that seals the liquid reservoir and can be made of aluminum foil, [0042]) and wherein in the second position the piercing element penetrates the sealing foil (the sealing sheet 113 is pierced by the piercing element, [0057]).
Regarding claim 25, Chen further teaches an airflow channel through the cartridge (airflow channel 101, air exhaust pipe 160, air intake pipe 150, [0064]), extending from an air inlet (air inlet 134), past the heating element (figures 4-6), to an air outlet (exit 110) when the heater assembly is in the second position (occurs in both positions, figures 4-6, [0057]).
Regarding claim 26, Chen further teaches wherein the sealed liquid reservoir surrounds a portion of the airflow channel (figure 4).
Regarding claim 29, modified Chen further teaches wherein the reusable device further comprises one or more inductor coils configured to generate a variable magnetic flux through the heating element (Williamson, the inductively heatable susceptors 54 are exposed to an alternating and time-varying electromagnetic field generated by an electromagnetic field generator 108 (e.g. an induction coil) of a vapor generating device 100 (page 13, third paragraph, figure 12)).
Claim(s) 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (US2016/0278163) in view of Williamson (WO2021/249912) as applied to claim 16 above, and further in view of Batista (US2017/0340014).
Regarding claim 19, Chen does not appear to explicitly disclose that the piercing element is hollow.
Batista, directed to an aerosol-generating device, teaches:
A hollow shaft portion that pierces an end of a cartridge inserted into the cavity, for example by piercing a frangible seal at the end of the cartridge ([0022]).
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would be obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art to make the piercing element of Chen be hollow as taught by Batista, because both Chen and Batista are directed to aerosol-generating devices with piercing elements for piercing a cartridge, and this merely involves incorporating a known type of piercing element (i.e. hollow) to a similar aerosol-generating device to yield predictable results.
Claim(s) 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (US2016/0278163) in view of Williamson (WO2021/249912) as applied to claim 20 above, and further in view of Qiu (WO2020/088602, citations will refer to the English equivalent US2021/0251298).
Regarding claim 21, Chen does not appear to disclose wherein the gasket comprises a plurality of sealing ribs, each rib providing a seal within the housing.
Qiu, directed to an electronic cigarette, teaches:
A sealing member configured for sealing the liquid storage chamber ([0051]).
The sealing member comprises multiple sealing ribs enhancing the sealing performance and further preventing leakage of the e-liquid (Qiu, [0117]), and thus defines a gasket with a plurality of sealing ribs, each rib providing a seal within a housing.
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would be obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art to modify the gasket of Chen by incorporating multiple sealing ribs as taught by Qiu, because both Chen and Qiu are directed to cartridges for aerosol-generating devices that comprise liquid storage chambers with gaskets for sealing, Qiu teaches multiple sealing ribs enhances the sealing performance, and this merely involves substitution of a known type of gasket for the same purpose of sealing liquids in a similar aerosol generation device to yield predictable results.
Conclusion
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 Nicole A Szumigalski whose telephone number is (703)756-1212. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday: 8:00 - 4:30 EST.
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/N.A.S./Examiner, Art Unit 1755 /PHILIP Y LOUIE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1755
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