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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 1-11 in the reply filed on 01/20/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 12-13 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected inventions, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 01/20/2026.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Reevell (US 2018/0214645).
Regarding claim 1, Reevell teaches:
A non-combustible aerosol provision device (device 1) for generating an aerosol from aerosol-forming material of a consumable [0139], [0151], [0153].
The device comprising:
A receptacle (receiving chamber 3) for receiving consumables 41 and 42 [0140], [0154].
An adaptor (bottom wall 34 including recesses 35, 36) configured to adapt the device by varying an effective length of the receptacle, the adaptor being bottom wall 34 provided with recesses 35 and 36 [0154], recess 36 forming a recess of recess 35 in a staggered manner [0154], thereby defining different axial seating depths within receiving chamber 3.
Such that each of a plurality of consumables (41, 42) of different lengths, the consumables differing in size including length [0147] and being individually receivable in receiving chamber 3 and seated within recesses 35 and 36 [0147], [0160].
When received in the receptacle for use, protrude from the device by substantially equal amounts, the proximal end of each consumable having the same level with respect to the outlet opening of receiving chamber 3 [0147] and being flush with the proximal end of housing 2 [0160].
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.
Claim(s) 2, 6 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Reevell (US 2018/0214645) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Dumen (US 2021/0219612).
Regarding claim 2, Reevell teaches the non-combustible aerosol provision device (device 1), receptacle (receiving chamber 3), and adaptor (bottom wall 34 including recesses 35, 36) as discussed above with respect to claim 1. Reevell further teaches the device comprises a housing (housing 2) in which the receiving chamber 3 is arranged [0149].
However, Reevell does not teach the adaptor being configurable to adopt a first operating configuration or a second operating configuration with respect to the housing, nor that the effective length of the receptacle in the first configuration of the adaptor is less than the effective length in the second configuration.
Dumen discloses a movable cavity bottom (cavity bottom 101) positioned within a receptacle (cavity 10), the cavity bottom being movable along the longitudinal axis of the cavity [0050].
Dumen further discloses the cavity bottom being positionable in a retracted position and an extended position [0052], the positions defining different distances between the cavity bottom and heating blade 13 [0053]. Movement between the retracted and extended positions varies the effective length of the receptacle to accommodate aerosol-forming substrates of different lengths [0053].
Dumen is in the same field of endeavor as Reevell, namely aerosol-generating devices configured to receive aerosol-forming substrates, and reasonably pertains to the problem addressed by Reevell of positioning substrates of different lengths within a device receptacle.
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the adaptor of Reevell to incorporate the movable cavity bottom disclosed by Dumen to allow the effective length of the receptacle to be adjusted for substrates of different lengths, thereby providing greater adaptability of the device to consumables of different sizes using a single configurable receptacle structure rather than fixed recess geometries.
Regarding claim 6, modified Reevell teaches the aerosol-generating device and adaptor as discussed above with respect to claim 2.
However, Reevell does not teach the adaptor being slidably attached to the proximal end of the device and transitioning between operating configurations by sliding relative to the housing.
Dumen discloses an aerosol-generating device having a movable cavity bottom configured to move longitudinally relative to the housing ([0005], [0007], [0056], [0070]). The movable cavity bottom is configured to slide along the heating element between multiple positions ([0053]) within the cavity (fig. 1).
Dumen is in the same field of endeavor, namely aerosol-generating devices configured to receive aerosol-forming substrates.
Therefore it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the adaptor of Reevell such that it transitions between configurations by sliding relative to the housing as disclosed by Dumen in order to allow positional adjustment of the adaptor relative to the device housing to accommodate different operating configurations, since applying a known technique to a known device ready for improvement yields predictable results. (See MPEP §2143(I)(D)).
Regarding claim 11, Reevell teaches the aerosol-generating device including a receptacle configured to receive a consumable and an adaptor configured to transition between operating configurations as discussed above with respect to claim 2.
However, Reevell does not teach a heating arrangement comprising two or more heating portions for providing heat to respective portions of the receptacle wherein additional heating portions may be activated in a different operating configuration.
Dumen discloses an aerosol-generating device having a heating element comprising two or more heating areas ([0012]) configured to provide heat to respective portions of the aerosol-forming substrate. Dumen further discloses that each heating area may be selectively activated or controlled individually ([0013]) and that different heating areas may be activated depending on the heating configuration ([0065]–[0069]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Reevell to include multiple selectively activatable heating portions as disclosed by Dumen in order to provide controlled heating of different portions of the aerosol-forming substrate, since applying a known technique to a known device ready for improvement yields predictable results. (See MPEP §2143(I)(D)).
Claim(s) 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Reevell (US 2018/0214645) and further in view of Dumen (US 2021/0219612) as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Reevell-2 (US 2021/0145057 A1).
Regarding claim 3, Reevell in view of Dumen, hereinafter modified Reevell, does not teach the adaptor being pivotably attached to a proximal end of the non-combustible aerosol provision device, the proximal end being the end nearest the user’s mouth when inhaling from the device, nor that the adaptor transitions between the first operating configuration and the second operating configuration by pivoting relative to the housing.
Reevell-2 discloses a capture element (140) disposed within the cavity of the device housing (110) and positioned proximally within the cavity adjacent the open end of the device ([0028]). The capture element retains the aerosol generating article within the cavity and interfaces with the article during operation ([0021]). The capture element is rotatable within the cavity relative to the housing ([0023]). The capture element is coupled to a shaft (145) and rotation element (160) such that rotation of the shaft causes rotation of the capture element relative to the device housing ([0024]). The capture element may be rotated by actuation of a user button (122) coupled to the rotation element ([0032]). The capture element therefore rotates relative to the housing between different operational positions as the device is used ([0053]).
Rotation of the capture element relative to the housing constitutes pivoting of the adaptor relative to the housing under the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim.
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Reevell in view of Dumen, as already modified, to incorporate the rotational adaptor structure disclosed by Reevell-2 so that the adaptor may pivot relative to the housing and transition between operating configurations. Applying a known technique to a known device to improve similar devices in the same way is obvious when the technique is recognized as workable for that purpose. See MPEP § 2143 I(D).
Such modification would allow the adaptor structure to rotate relative to the housing to reposition the aerosol generating article during operation and thereby expose different portions of the article to the heating element in a controlled manner as taught by Reevell-2 ([0032]). This improves control of heating and enables indexing of the aerosol generating article during use.
Claim(s) 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Reevell (US 2018/0214645) and further in view of Dumen (US 2021/0219612) as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Thorens (US 2018/0015237).
Regarding claims 9-10, modified Reevell does not teach that the adaptor is removable from the proximal end of the device such that in a first operating configuration the adaptor is not installed at the proximal end and in a second operating configuration the adaptor is installed at the proximal end, as recited in claim 9, nor does modified Reevell teach that when the adaptor is installed it is dimensioned and positioned relative to the receptacle such that the adaptor defines a centrally aligned insertion opening into the receptacle, as recited in claim 10.
Thorens teaches that a component of an aerosol-generating device, such as heat diffuser 500, may be removably coupled to the device ([0315]). Thorens further teaches insertion of an aerosol-generating article into cavity 320 of the device ([0311]; Fig. 3), thereby defining an insertion opening aligned with the receptacle for receiving the aerosol-generating article.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the adaptor of modified Reevell to be removably coupled to the proximal end of the device as taught by Thorens so that the adaptor may be selectively installed or removed depending on the desired operating configuration and to provide an aligned insertion opening for receiving the aerosol-generating article. Such modification merely applies a known technique to a known device ready for improvement. (See MPEP § 2143(I)(D)).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 4-5 and 7-8 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 of record, including Reevell, Dumen, and Reevell-2, fail to teach and or suggest the limitation of claim 4 requiring an adaptor comprising both a first opening and a second opening, where:
the first opening is aligned with the receptacle in a first operating configuration,
the second opening is aligned with the receptacle in a second operating configuration, and
the second opening commences at a greater distance from the receptacle toward the proximal end than the first opening.
In particular, the prior art devices accommodate aerosol generating articles of differing lengths by adjusting the position of internal components such as a cavity bottom or capture element, rather than by providing multiple adaptor openings positioned at different distances from the receptacle that selectively align with the receptacle depending on the operating configuration of the adaptor.
Claim 5, which depends from claim 4 and further limits the configuration of the first and second openings relative to the receptacle, is allowable for at least the same reasons.
The prior art of record, including Reevell and Dumen fails to teach or suggest the limitation recited in claim 7 requiring an adaptor comprising an insertion opening aligned with the receptacle, wherein the insertion opening is positioned closer to the receptacle in the first operating configuration than in the second operating configuration.
Reevell teaches an aerosol-generating device including an adaptor configured to accommodate aerosol-generating articles of different lengths by providing different operating configurations. However, Reevell does not teach or suggest an insertion opening whose position relative to the receptacle changes between operating configurations.
Dumen discloses an aerosol-generating device having a movable cavity bottom that can slide relative to a heating element in order to accommodate aerosol-forming substrates of different lengths (e.g., [0005], [0007], [0056], [0070]). However, Dumen does not disclose or suggest an adaptor having an insertion opening whose position relative to the receptacle changes between operating configurations.
Furthermore, even if Reevell were modified in view of Dumen, the resulting combination would merely provide a device having movable internal components to accommodate substrates of different lengths. Such a modification would not result in an adaptor having an insertion opening that is positioned closer to the receptacle in one operating configuration than another, as required by claim 7.
Accordingly, the prior art of record does not teach or suggest the claimed positional relationship between the insertion opening and the receptacle. Claim 8 is allowable because it depends from claim 7 and includes additional limitations not taught or suggested by the prior art of record.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JENNIFER KESSIE whose telephone number is (571)272-7739. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 7:00am - 5:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael H Wilson can be reached at (571) 270-3882. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JENNIFER A KESSIE/Examiner, Art Unit 1747
/Michael H. Wilson/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1747