Non-Final Office 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. 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. Claim(s) 1 and 4-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 11,363,682 to Mironov et al. (hereinafter Mironov ) in view of JP 02 - 042318 to Nagasaka et al. (hereinafter Nagasaka ) and WO 2020/213916 to Cho et al. (hereinafter Cho ). -180975 343535 With respect to claims 1 , 2, 4, and 8-15 , Mironov teaches an aerosol generating device 100 including a housing 101 comprising an airflow passage (illustrated by arrows in Figure 1) ; a sensor unit 121 for detecting a puff of a user. See col.22, line 62 to col.23, line 3. Mironov further discloses that puffs may be measured by a change in inductance, determined by a control system. See col.29, lines 5-17. Mironov is silent to the sensor unit deforming in shape based on an airflow through the airflow passage or that a puff is detected based on the measured inductance value being maintain ed above a first predetermined threshold for a first predetermined time interval. 952500 689610 Nagasaka discloses a n air flow rate sensor 4 configured to deform in shape based on an airflow through airflow passage. The inductance of planar coils 6,7 changes depending on the displacement of the sensor. The sensor 4 is a panel that is configured to deform (deflect/displace) based on the airflow through the passage. Nagasaka further teaches a base 12,13 on which the panel and the inductor are disposed. As shown in Figure 1 above, the base comprises/includes a cantilever 10 protruding from an inner surface of the airflow passage. The base further includes a plurality of holes 1,2 and covering/enclosing a portion of the airflow passage. Cylindrical sensor chamber 3 , branches from the airflow passage so that the airflow enters and exits the sensor chamber from the airflow passage. A detection circuit determines the flow rate depending on the measured inductance, which is detected as a voltage difference. It would have been obvious to use the flow rate sensor of Nagasaka as the inductance sensor of Mironov, because Nagasaka teaches that operating resistance is small, measurement results are highly accurate, and the sensor is inexpensive. Cho teaches a method for counting pu ff s in an aerosol generator wherein a puff is detected based on a measured value being maintained above a first predetermined threshold for a first predetermined time interval and a second puff is detected based on the measured value being maintained above a second predetermined threshold for a second predetermined time interval . See Figure 12; paras [73-100]. Cho teaches that the puff detecting sensor may detect a flow change (para [73]) and the disclosed algorithm is applicable “regardless of the type of sensor mounted on the aerosol generating device 5.” See para [150]. Thus, it would have been obvious to a POSITA to apply the puff detecting algorithm of Cho to the combination of Mironov and Nagasaka as being a known and effective method of accurately detecting puffs in an aerosol generating device. Applying a known technique to a known device ready for improvement yields predictable results to a POSITA. See MPEP 2143 I. D. As to claim 5 , Mironov discloses the aerosol generating device may include a visual or auditory indicator. See col.18, lines 55-67. With respect to claim s 6 and 7 , Mironov teaches that on “detection of the start of a puff, the control system may be configured to supply power to the aerosol-generator” (heater). See col.7, lines 31-32 and col.15, lines 41-61. Thus, when the heater is activated, a puff is necessarily occurring. Allowable Subject Matter Claim 3 is 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: Cho describes measuring the predetermined value over various time intervals but does not teach or suggest that the second predetermined threshold is less than the first predetermined threshold, nor is there any teaching or suggestion to do so . Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT ELIZABETH L MCKANE whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-1275 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Mon-Thu 6:30a-4:30p EST . 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