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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 27 March 2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102/103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1-2, 5-8, 10-11 and 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Fink et al. (CA 2,343,256; hereinafter “Fink”).
In regard to claims 1 and 11, Fink discloses an aroma chemical presentation apparatus (odorant output device 110) comprising an encapsulation body supporting unit/tray (substrate 114) configured for supporting an aroma chemical encapsulation body/aroma chemical carrier (array of odorant sites 112) in which an aroma chemical material is encapsulated (odorant 116 in an enclosure 118; see Figure 4); an action body/portion (scratch implement 180 which is depicted as an alternate embodiment in Figure 4 and page 21) configured for physically acting upon the aroma chemical encapsulation body to cause the aroma chemical material in the aroma chemical encapsulation body to be emitted; and a derivation fan (fresh air supply 136 which is in the form of a fan as disclosed in lines 25-26 of page 8) configured for forming an air flow in a predetermined direction for deriving the emitted aroma chemical material, and a control circuit unit (controller 142) configured for controlling operations of the action body to physically contact the aroma chemical encapsulation body to adjust an intensity of odor of the aroma chemical material as emitted (the concentration vector generator 28 instructs the controller on how to mix odorants in order to create a desired output odor, thus the controller is configured for “controlling operations of the action body to physically contact the aroma chemical encapsulation body to adjust an intensity of odor” as the controller can cause the device to produce the desired odor in different intensities by contacting a desired number of odorant sites; see line 30 of page 10 through line 8 of page 11 and page 21, lines 1-24). See Figures 3-4 and pages 18-21.
In case it is viewed that Fink does not explicitly disclose that a fan can be used to form the fresh air supply 136, it is held that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have used a fan for form the fresh air supply as fans are extremely well known in the art to be capable of creating an air flow as evidenced by the disclosure of Fink in lines 25-26 of page 8.
In regard to claim 2, Fink discloses an outlet conduit 138 for exhausting the emitted aroma chemical material in a direction different from the predetermined direction of an air flow formed by the derivation fan. See Figure 3 and lines 4-9 of page 21.
Fink does not explicitly disclose that a fan can be used to channel and flow air and aroma through the outlet conduit 138. However, it is held that at least some structure, such as a fan, would be necessarily to cause air to flow through the outlet channel 138 as depicted in Figure 3. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have used another fan for causing the aroma and air in the outlet channel through known means as fans are extremely well known in the art to be capable of creating an air flow as evidenced by the disclosure of Fink in lines 25-26 of page 8.
In regard to claims 5-6, Fink discloses a driving unit (motion device 130 and/or motion device 134) that causes the encapsulation body supporting unit and the action body to move relative to each other by allowing the action body (scratch implement 180) to be placed over the desired odorant site in the array 112. See Figures 3-4 and lines 24-29 on page 20.
In regard to claim 7, Fink discloses wherein the aroma chemical encapsulation body (array of odorant sites 112) is configured to support a plurality of types of aroma chemicals thereon such that each one of the plurality of types of aroma chemicals is individually encapsulated at a predetermined portion of the aroma chemical encapsulation body, and the control circuit is further configured for selecting at least one of the plurality of types of aroma chemicals, and caused the driving unit to drive the action body to physically act upon the aroma chemical encapsulation body to cause the at least one of the plurality of types of aroma chemicals to be emitted as the controller 142 “determines which odorant sites 112 are triggered […] to release odors 116” (lines 16-18 of page 21). See Figure 3.
In regard to claims 8 and 14, Fink discloses wherein the encapsulation body supporting unit/tray (substrate 114) includes a biasing unit comprising a pressing body (the necessarily present spindle of the motion device 130) disposed in contact with the aroma chemical encapsulation body/aroma chemical carrier (array of odorant sites 112), and at least one elastic body (the arm of the scratching implement 180 and/or the necessarily present mechanical connection to cause the implement to press into and rupture the enclosure 118 which would necessarily have at least sone elastic deformation as all materials have an elastic modulus) configured to bias the pressing body and the aroma chemical carrier toward the action body/portion. See Figures 3-4 and lines 19-24 of page 21.
In regard to claims 10 and 13, Fink discloses wherein the action body/potion (scratch implement 180 ) is configured to contact the aroma chemical encapsulation body/aroma chemical carrier (array of odorant sites 112) and be moveable relative to the encapsulation body supporting unit/tray (substrate 114) such that the action body scratches the aroma chemical encapsulation body such that the aroma chemical is emitted via operation of the motion device 130 and/or motion device 134. See Figures 3-4 and lines 24-29 on page 20.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9 and 12 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 15-21 are allowed.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 27 March 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that Fink fails to teach that the control circuit unit is configured for controlling operations of the action body to “physically contact the aroma chemical encapsulation body to adjust an intensity of door of the aroma chemical as emitted” as “there is no teaching in Fink “on how the laser-based fragrance release mechanism would be used to physically contact the aroma chemical encapsulation body.” The Examiner has fully considered the argument but has not found it to be persuasive. The Examiner notes that the “laser-based fragrance release mechanism” of Fink was not relied upon to show anticipation or obviousness of the claimed invention. Rather, the alternative arrangement of a trigger comprising a scratch implement 180 of Figure 4 and page 21 was cited, which necessarily physically contacts the odorant sites 112 to release aroma chemical therefrom. Fink teaches that the controller 142 is connected to the trigger for determining “which odorant sites 112 are [to be] triggered by [the] trigger” (see lines 16-18 of page 21). Thus, Fink teaches that the controller 142 is configured for controller the operations of the scratch implement 180 to physically contact the odorant sites 112 on the substrate 114 to adjust an intensity of odor of the aroma chemical material as emitted by making the scratch implement contact a desired number of odorant sites 112.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TIMOTHY C CLEVELAND whose telephone number is (571)270-5041. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00-5:30.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Claire Wang can be reached at (571) 270-1051. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TIMOTHY C CLEVELAND/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1774
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