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
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group II (claims 125-133) in the reply filed on 12/08/2025 is acknowledged. Non-elected claims 114-124 are withdrawn from consideration. The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
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) 125-127 and 133 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2020/043900A1, in view of WO 2020/064685A1 both previously cited. Regarding claim 125 and 133, WO 2020/043900A1 discloses an aerosol generating device (abstract) comprising a power source configured to provide s DC supply voltage and a DC current (page 10, lines 9-12, Figures 1, 2), and a controller configured to: performing, during a first heating phase during user operation of the aerosol- generating device for producing an aerosol (page 34, line 25 to page 35, line 8 and in particular page 35, lines 3-5), a calibration process comprising measuring one or more calibration values associated with a susceptor inductively coupled to the inductive heating arrangement (page 33, line 19 to page 34, line 14, Figure 5, wherein the calibration process consist on choosing one of the curves T/r), wherein the susceptor is configured to heat an aerosol-forming substrate (page 11, lines 4-22); and during a second heating phase during the user operation of the aerosol-generating device for producing the aerosol, controlling power provided to the inductive heating arrangement such that a temperature of the susceptor is adjusted based on the one or more calibration values (page 31, line 26 to page 32, line 25, wherein the temperature is determined based on the curve chosen during the calibration). However, WO 2020/043900A1 does not discloses power supply electronics connected to the power source, the power supply electronics comprising a DC/AC converter and an inductor connected to the DC/AC converter and being configured to generate an alternating magnetic field when energized by an alternating current from the DC/AC converter, the inductor being couplable to a susceptor, wherein the susceptor is configured to heat an aerosol-forming substrate. WO 2020/064685A1 discloses power supply electronics connected to the power source, the power supply electronics comprising a DC/AC converter and an inductor connected to the DC/AC converter and being configured to generate an alternating magnetic field when energized by an alternating current from the DC/AC converter, the inductor being couplable to a susceptor, wherein the susceptor is configured to heat an aerosol-forming substrate (page 17, lines 18-30 and page 18, lines 1-14). It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention was made to utilize in WO 2020/043900A1 power supply electronics connected to the power source, the power supply electronics comprising a DC/AC converter and an inductor connected to the DC/AC converter and being configured to generate an alternating magnetic field when energized by an alternating current from the DC/AC converter, the inductor being couplable to a susceptor, wherein the susceptor is configured to heat an aerosol-forming substrate as taught by WO 2020/064685A1 in order to provide power to heat an aerosol-forming substrate. Regarding claims 126-127, WO 2020/043900A1 discloses the steps of (i) controlling the power provided to the power supply electronics to cause an increase of the temperature of the susceptor (page 31, line 26 to page 32, line 25). WO 2020/043900A1 does not disclose the steps of (ii) monitoring a current value associated with the susceptor, (iii) interrupting provision of power to the power supply electronics when the current value reaches a maximum, wherein the current value at the maximum corresponds to a second calibration temperature of the susceptor, and (iv) monitoring the current value associated with the susceptor until the current value reaches a minimum, wherein the current value at the minimum corresponds to a first calibration temperature of the susceptor. WO 2020/064685A1 discloses the steps of (ii) monitoring a current value associated with the susceptor, (iii) interrupting provision of power to the power supply electronics when the current value reaches a maximum, wherein the current value at the maximum corresponds to a second calibration temperature of the susceptor, and (iv) monitoring the current value associated with the susceptor until the current value reaches a minimum, wherein the current value at the minimum corresponds to a first calibration temperature of the susceptor (page 29, lines 1 through page 30, line 29, Figure 4). It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention was made to utilize in WO 2020/043900A1 the steps of (ii) monitoring a current value associated with the susceptor, (iii) interrupting provision of power to the power supply electronics when the current value reaches a maximum, wherein the current value at the maximum corresponds to a second calibration temperature of the susceptor, and (iv) monitoring the current value associated with the susceptor until the current value reaches a minimum, wherein the current value at the minimum corresponds to a first calibration temperature of the susceptor as taught by WO 2020/064685A1 in order to optimum detect the temperature of the substrate.
Claims 128-132 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.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: Butin et al (US 2024/0057671) discloses a method for controlling aerosol production in an aerosol generating device.
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s arguments, filed 04/27/2026, with respect to claims 125-133 have been fully considered and are persuasive.
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/QUANG T VAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3761 June 9, 2026
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