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 with traverse of Species I in the reply filed on 2/23/26 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that it has not been shown how the identified groups of inventions fail to relate to a single general inventive concept under PCT Rule 13.1. This is persuasive and the restriction requirement is withdrawn. Claims 1-20 are examined herein.
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.
Claims 1-5, 9, 10, 15, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Gimkiewicz et al. (US 2019/0008206).
Claim 1. Gimkiewicz et al. discloses an electrically heated smoking device 100 comprises a housing 10 and an aerosol-forming substrate 12 in a smoking article, for example a cigarette. The aerosol-forming substrate 12 is pushed inside a cavity in the housing 10 to come into thermal proximity with the heating element 14 ([0050]; Figure 1). The smoking article may comprise indicia or markings on an outer surface of the smoking article. The indicia may be a pattern, such as a checkerboard pattern. Alternatively, the indicia may comprise a one dimensional barcode or a two dimensional barcode. The indicia may extend fully around a perimeter of the smoking article ([0032]). Within the housing 10 there is an electrical energy supply 16, for example a rechargeable lithium ion battery. A microcontroller 18 is connected to the heating element 14, the electrical energy supply 16, and a user interface 20, for example a button or a display, or both a button and a display. The microcontroller 18 has embedded software to control the power supplied to the heating element 14 in order to regulate its temperature. An image sensing module 40 is also connected to the microcontroller, as will be described. The microcontroller 18 controls the power supplied to the heating element dependent on the data from the image sensing module following insertion of a smoking article into the device ([0051]; Figure 1). The sensing system comprises a sensor module 40 and a mirror 36 formed on an inside surface of the front housing 34. The sensor module comprises a pair of light emitting diodes (LEDs) for illuminating the surface of the smoking article and the mirror and an imaging lens and image detector for recording an image of the surface of the smoking article 12 ([0055]; Figure 5). The sensing module comprises a pair of LEDs 42 arranged on either side of an image detector 46. The image detector 46 and LEDs are mounted on the same printed circuit board 54. The lens 44 is provided in a shielding structure 50. The shielding structure 50 is opaque and is glued onto the circuit board 54. The shielding structure includes opaque spacer elements 52 that provide the required spacing between the lens 44 and the image detector 46. The shielding structure also includes apertures (pinholes) for light guides 48 that deflect light emitted by the LEDs to an angle oblique to the optical axis of the lens ([0057]; Figure 5).
Claim 2. Gimkiewicz et al. discloses that the sensing module comprises a pair of LEDs 42 ([0057]; Figure 5).
Claim 3. Gimkiewicz et al. discloses that the shielding structure includes 2 apertures (pinholes) for light guides 48 that deflect light emitted by the LEDs to an angle oblique to the optical axis of the lens ([0057]; Figure 5).
Claim 4. Gimkiewicz et al. discloses that the shielding structure includes 2 apertures (pinholes) for light guides 48 that deflect light emitted by the LEDs to an angle oblique to the optical axis of the lens. The apertures are provided at different longitudinal positions, one being adjacent to the aerosol-forming substrate 12 and the other adjacent the mirror 36 ([0057]; Figure 5).
Claim 5. Gimkiewicz et al. discloses that the shielding structure includes 2 apertures (pinholes) for light guides 48 that deflect light emitted by the LEDs to an angle oblique to the optical axis of the lens. The apertures are provided at the same axial position, on the same printed circuit board 54 ([0057]; Figure 5).
Claims 9, 10, and 17. Gimkiewicz et al. discloses that lens 44 is provided in a shielding structure 50. The shielding structure 50 is opaque and is glued onto the circuit board 54. The shielding structure also includes apertures (pinholes) for light guides 48 that deflect light emitted by the LEDs to an angle oblique to the optical axis of the lens ([0057]; Figure 5).
Claim 15. Gimkiewicz et al. discloses that the pair of LEDs 42 is positioned on a side of the smoking device facing the aerosol-forming substrate 12 when the aerosol-forming substrate 12 is received in the cavity (Figure 5).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
Claims 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gimkiewicz et al. (US 2019/0008206).
Claims 18-20. Gimkiewicz et al. discloses the device of claim 1 but does not explicitly disclose that the at least one pinhole includes an aperture having a diameter of 1 µm to 500 µm, that the pinhole includes a slit having a rectangular shape, or that the width of the rectangular shape of the slit is 1 µm to 500 µm.
However, changes in shape are considered a matter of choice which a person of ordinary skill in the art would have found obvious absent persuasive evidence that the particular configuration is significant (MPEP §2144.04(IV)(B)). Additionally, 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 (MPEP §2144.04(IV)(A)). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date that the apertures (pinholes) of Gimkiewicz et al. may be modified to have a pinhole with a diameter of 1 µm to 500 µm, or a rectangular shape where the slit is 1 µm to 500 µm as a matter of obvious design choice.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-8, 11-14, and 16 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 following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The closest prior art is Gimkiewicz et al. (US 2019/0008206).
Gimkiewicz et al. discloses the device of claim 1 but does not disclose or suggest wherein the at least one pinhole includes an array of pinholes provided parallel to the cavity axis; or wherein the at least one pinhole includes an array of pinholes provided parallel to the cavity axis, wherein the array of pinholes form one or more slits to provide an image in planes that are orthogonal to a length of a slit of the one or more slits.
Gimkiewicz et al. also does not disclose or suggest wherein the optical sensing system further comprises an integrated heater to provide a light source for illumination; wherein a size of each of the at least one pinhole is adjustable, forming a size-variable pinhole; or wherein said at least one pinhole is arranged on a ring that is slidable longitudinally in the cavity.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Katherine A Will whose telephone number is (571)270-0516. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 10:00AM-6:00PM(EST).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael 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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/KATHERINE A WILL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1747
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