DETAILED ACTION
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 11/17/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues “Reevell fails to disclose a tubular heater having open longitudinally opposing ends, as recited in Applicant's amended claim 24. Instead, in Reevell, the heating chamber 108 is cup-shaped, having a closed base 112.” The Examiner disagrees. Heater 124 of Reevell corresponds to the claimed heater. Heater 124 is a tubular heater having open longitudinally opposing ends, as shown in Figs. 2 and 2(a).
Applicant argues "Reevell also fails to disclose an aerosol-generating device further comprising a barrier to separate one or more of the plurality of layers of thermal insulation from an airflow pathway to convey aerosol to a user, as also recited in amended claim 24. The Office Action equated the side wall 126 of the heating chamber 108 to the barrier recited Applicant's previous claim 37, which has been incorporated into amended claim 24. However, the side wall 126 is part of the heating chamber 108 and does not constitute a separate barrier within the meaning of what is recited in Applicant's claim 24.” The Examiner disagrees. Side wall 126 is not part of heater 124 and thus does constitute a separate barrier within the broadest reasonable interpretation of what is recited in claim 24.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 24, 29-30, 32-33, 35-36, and 38 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Reevell (WO 2020/074601; see equivalent US 2021/0352966 for citation).
Regarding claim 24, Reevell [Figures 2 and 2a] teaches an aerosol-generating device 100, comprising: an outer casing 102/118 (outer housing) [0046, 0118]; a heater 124 configured to heat an aerosol-forming substrate [0114]; and a plurality of layers of thermal insulation arranged around at least a part of the heater, wherein the plurality of layers of thermal insulation comprises: a first thermal insulation layer 146 [0109], a second thermal insulation layer in the cavity 158 [0050], a radiation reflector layer coated on the inner wall of insulating side wall 154 [0140]. As the insulating side wall 154 is formed as a doubled walled tube [0051], the inner wall is adjacent to the first thermal insulation layer 146, and thus the radiation reflection layer is arranged between the first and the second thermal insulation layers. The outer casing comprising a layer of metal [0046], i.e. the device comprises a heat spreader layer comprising the outer housing of the aerosol-generating device. Reevell teaches the heater 124 is a tubular heater comprising open longitudinally opposing ends and an internal space arranged to receive at least a portion of an aerosol-generating article [Fig. 2a]. Reevell teaches a barrier 126 configured to separate one or more of the plurality of layers of thermal insulation from an airflow pathway for conveying aerosol to a user [Fig. 2].
Regarding claims 29-30, Reevell teaches a heating chamber 108 (cavity) configured to receive an aerosol-generating article [0069], wherein the cavity comprises the heater [0088].
Regarding claim 32, Reevell teaches the plurality of layers of thermal insulation surround substantially a whole of the cavity [Fig. 2].
Regarding claim 33, Reevell teaches a power source and control circuitry configured to control a supply of power to the heater [0114], wherein at least a portion of the plurality of layers of thermal insulation (insulating base 156) is arranged between the heater and the control circuitry 122 [0135, Fig. 2].
Regarding claims 35-36, Reevell teaches the tubular heater further comprises a tubular metallic layer (substrate) having a heating element is disposed on an external surface of the tubular substrate [0088; Fig. 2].
Regarding claim 38, Reevell teaches an aerosol-generating system, comprising: an aerosol-generating device according to claim 24; and an aerosol-generating article 114 comprising an aerosol-forming substrate [Fig. 3; 0067].
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claims 25, 28, and 31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Reevell.
Regarding claim 25, Reevell teaches the heat spreader layer is formed from a metal [0046]. Although Reevell is silent to the thermal conductivity of this metal, Reevell does teach that metallic layer 144 is formed from a metal having a thermal conductivity of 150 W/mK [0102], encompassing the claimed range. One of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that such a thermal conductivity would assist in preventing hot spots as desired in the heat spreader metal [0046] and would have found it obvious to apply to the heat spreader metal to achieve predictable results.
Regarding claim 28, Reevell is silent to an overall thickness of the plurality of layers. However, Reevell does teach an insulating side wall 154 thickness of merely 0.3 mm [0136]. Reevell further suggests minimizing the thickness to allow the aerosol generating device to be smaller, and therefore more easily portable for the user [0136]. One of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to minimize the overall thickness of the plurality of layers such that that it less than 2 mm for the above reasons. See also: In re Rose, 220 F.2d 459, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955) (Claims directed to a lumber package "of appreciable size and weight requiring handling by a lift truck" where held unpatentable over prior art lumber packages which could be lifted by hand because limitations relating to the size of the package were not sufficient to patentably distinguish over the prior art.); In re Rinehart, 531 F.2d 1048, 189 USPQ 143 (CCPA 1976) ("mere scaling up of a prior art process capable of being scaled up, if such were the case, would not establish patentability in a claim to an old process so scaled." 531 F.2d at 1053, 189 USPQ at 148.); In Gardner v. TEC Systems, Inc., 725 F.2d 1338, 220 USPQ 777 (Fed. Cir. 1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 830, 225 USPQ 232 (1984), the Federal Circuit held that, where the only difference between the prior art and the claims was a recitation of relative dimensions of the claimed device and a device having the claimed relative dimensions would not perform differently than the prior art device, the claimed device was not patentably distinct from the prior art device.
Regarding claim 31, although Reevell does not specifically teach all of the plurality of layers of thermal insulation are further arranged across a distal end of the cavity, Reevell does teach insulating base 156 arranged across a distal end of the cavity [Fig. 2; 0050]. As providing insulation at this location is suggested by Reevell, one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to include all of the plurality of layers of thermal insulation to achieve the full effect of the radiation reflector layer, heat spreader, and thermal insulation layers.
Claims 26-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Reevell as applied to claim 24 above, and further in view of Fraser (US 2023/0078670).
Reevell teaches the heat spreader layer prevents hot spots [0046]. It is not disclosed as being anistropic. Fraser teaches a heater assembly comprising a graphite (anistropic) layer that prevents hot spots [0026]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use graphite for the heat spreader layer of Reevell to achieve the same, predictable result of preventing hot spots. It is prima facie obvious to substitute art recognized equivalents known for the same purpose, see MPEP 2144.06. Thus, due to comprising the same material as claimed, a thermal conductivity in directions substantially parallel to the heat spreader layer is higher compared to a thermal conductivity in a direction substantially perpendicular to the heat spreader layer.
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 ERIC YAARY whose telephone number is (571)272-3273. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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/ERIC YAARY/Examiner, Art Unit 1755
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