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 .
Response to Amendment
Applicant's submission filed on 09/08/2026 has been entered. Claims 1, 4-8 and 10-12 remain(s) pending in the application. Applicant's amendments to the Claims are responsive to the rejections previously set forth in the Non-Final Office Action mailed 06/09/2026, hereinafter NFOA_b.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LEE; Seung Won et al. US 20210084980 A1, hereinafter Lee, in view of CAMPITELLI; Gennaro et al. US 20220007710 A1, have been fully considered and are persuasive. Specifically, the applicant’s argument that the modified device of Lee/Campitelli fail to disclose the limitation “the temperature control element comprises a threaded section… connected to the other lead, and wherein the heating medium is granular or powder, is accurate. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made over Lee in view of QI; ZUQIANG et al. US 20230189401 A1, in further view of Short; Jason M. et al. US 20230056177 A1.
The applicant made further arguments (as the language of claim 1 now comprises the language of former claims 3 and 9), that Lee and/or Qi fail to disclose claim limitations.
The applicant argues that Lee fails to disclose the limitation “a heating medium filled in the cavity”. In response, Lee states in [0057] “the heating element 111 may include a ferromagnetic substance for generating heat by receiving an external magnetic field… As the ferromagnetic substance is included in the heating element 111”. Furthermore, Lee states in [0067] “the heating element 111 further includes a hollow therein”. The argument that, the ‘shell is the heating medium’ is not persuasive because the disclosure of Lee is not constrained to that embodiment. Instead, as stated by [0057] and [0067], Lee discloses a heating element comprising a shell with a hollow therein and ‘the ferromagnetic substance is included in the heating element’, which includes all areas within the boundary of the heating element including the hollow.
The applicant argues that Qi fails to disclose “a temperature control element accommodated in the cavity and configured to measure a temperature”. In response, Qi discloses a temperature control element (2) as claimed, disclosed in [0026, 0033, 0034]. As Qi is merely relied upon to disclose the temperature control element, any other argument about its teaching is moot.
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 of this title, 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.
Claims 1, 4-8 and 10-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LEE; Seung Won et al. US 20210084980 A1, hereinafter Lee, in view of QI; ZUQIANG et al. US 20230189401 A1, in further view of Short; Jason M. et al. US 20230056177 A1. The references is/are considered analogous art to the claimed invention because the references is/are from the same field of endeavor as the claimed invention (aerosol generation devices); or the references is/are reasonably pertinent to the problem faced by the inventor (producing/providing a heating element). MPEP2141.01(a) I.
Regarding claim 1, Lee discloses (Fig. 1-8) a heating component (110) configured to be inserted into and vaporize an aerosol-forming medium, the heating component comprising:
a shell (111), provided with a cavity (“hollow” [0067]);
a heating medium (“ferromagnetic substance” [0057]) filled in the cavity (the heating element comprises (111) with the hollow therein and ‘the ferromagnetic substance is included in the heating element’, which includes all areas within the boundary of the heating element including the hollow) and configured for heating in an alternating magnetic field [0057]; and
a temperature control element (115) accommodated in the cavity and configured to measure a temperature [0066-0068].
Lee fails to explicitly state that the heating component further comprising two leads electrically connected to the temperature control element, wherein the temperature control element comprises a threaded section and a straight line section connected to each other, the straight line section extending through a middle of the threaded section and being connected to one of the leads, and an end portion of the threaded section being connected to the other lead. Instead, Lee is silent regarding the structure of temperature control element.
Qi discloses (Fig. 1-7) a heating component comprising:
a shell (3), provided with a cavity (31); and
a temperature control element (2, as a thermocouple) accommodated in the cavity and configured to measure a temperature [0026];
two leads (23, 24) electrically connected to the temperature control element [0033-0034],
wherein the temperature control element comprises a threaded section (21) and a straight line section (22) connected to each other, the straight line section extending through a middle of the threaded section and being connected to one of the leads, and an end portion of the threaded section being connected to the other lead [0033-0034].
One of ordinary skill in the art could have substituted one known element (temperature control element) for another (generic temperature control element), and the results of the substitution (measuring the temperature) would have been predictable. Because both Lee and Qi teach temperature control elements, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to substitute the specific temperature control element for the generic temperature control element to achieve the predictable result of measuring the temperature.
To further clarify the modification, the generic box (115) in the hollow of Lee is replaced by the temperature control element (2) comprising the two leads and associated supporting structures (1-5) of Qi.
Lee further fails to explicitly state that the heating medium is granular or powder. Instead, Lee fails to disclose the type/structure of the heating medium. Lee further states that the heating medium (“ferromagnetic substance”) is “in the heating element” [0057].
Short discloses (Fig. 7A) a heating component (400) comprising:
a shell (412), provided with a cavity (depicted hollow therein);
a heating medium (420, “ferromagnetic material”) filled in the cavity [0087] and configured for heating in an alternating magnetic field [0087];
wherein the heating medium is granular or powder [0087].
One of ordinary skill in the art could have substituted one known element (ferromagnetic powder) for another (generic ferromagnetic material), and the results of the substitution (heating in an alternating magnetic field) would have been predictable. Because both Lee and Short teach heating components for vaporizing an aerosol, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to substitute ferromagnetic powder for the generic ferromagnetic material to achieve the predictable result of heating in an alternating magnetic field.
Regarding claim 4, Qi discloses (Fig. 1-7) further comprising: a flange structure (5) fixed to the shell, the flange structure having an avoidance hole (511) for the leads to pass through [0040].
Regarding claim 5, the modified device of Lee/Qi discloses the claimed invention substantially as claimed, as set forth above for Claim 4.
Qi further discloses (Fig. 1-7) the flange structure (5) comprises ceramic [0039], or wherein the flange structure comprises plastic, and the flange structure is adhered to the shell by an adhesive.
The modified device of Lee/Qi fails to explicitly state that the flange structure is fixed to the shell by welding. Instead, Le and or Qi are silent to how the structure are adhered, but does state that they are indeed adhered [0040].
Even though product-by-process claims are limited by and defined by the process, determination of patentability is based on the product itself. The patentability of a product does not depend on its method of production (See MPEP 2113 I.). Therefore, as the welding process as claimed does not provide a structural difference in the product, adherence between components is all that is required to meet the bounds of the claim limitation. Stated another way, Qi discloses the flange structure is fixed to the shell and thereby reads upon the claim limitation.
Regarding claim 6, Qi discloses (Fig. 1-7) the shell comprises a first main body (331) and a second main body (3) provided with the cavity, the first main body is fixed to an end portion (33) of the second main body, an outer diameter of the first main body is less than an outer diameter of the second main body ([0037] states that (331) is inserted into (3) thereby stating that the outer diameter of (331) is smaller than in inner diameter of (3)), and the flange structure is fixed to an end (32) of the second main body away from the first main body [0040].
Regarding claim 7, Qi discloses (Fig. 1-7) the first main body (331) is conical (depicted as conical) and the second main body (3) is in a shape of a hollow cylinder (depicted as a hollow cylinder).
Regarding claim 8, Qi discloses (Fig. 1-7) the first main body (331) comprises ceramic or metal, and the second main body comprises ceramic (3) [0029].
Regarding claim 10, Lee discloses (Fig. 1-8) the heating medium comprises a ferromagnetic material (“ferromagnetic substance” [0057]).
Regarding claim 11, Lee discloses (Fig. 1-8) an electronic vaporization device (100), comprising: the heating component of claim 1 (110); and a power supply component (140) electrically connected to the heating component and configured to supply power to the heating component [0033-0034].
Regarding claim 12, Qi discloses (Fig. 1-7) the temperature control element (2) comprises at least one of a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) element, a negative temperature coefficient (NTC) element, or a thermocouple ([0026] discloses (2) operating as a thermocouple).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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.
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/MATTHEW WIBLIN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3745
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