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 .
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-4 and 6-19 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-4, 6-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "one electrode" in line 5. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It is not clear if either of these electrodes is referring back to the first electrode. It is unclear if the specification provides for 3 electrode to be connected to the outer tube.
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) 1-2, 16, 19, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being Aronie et al by (US 2015/0136124).
Regarding claim 1, Aronie discloses, a vaporizer to produce a breathable vapor from an herbal substance such as tobacco or medical cannabis, and specifically discloses the following technical contents (see abstract of the specification, paragraphs [0003], [0033] to [0041], [0043] and figures 6 to 10 of the drawings of the specification): the vaporizer being characterized by a heater assembly having a pin heater component, the pin heater component having a pin heater in the shape of a thin rod, the pin heater has attached pin heater base and heat diffuser-mixer blades, the pin heater component being mounted in a housing component having the shape of a tubular cylinder, the heater assembly and housing component being configured such that the pin heater is centered within the tubular cylinder. The heater assembly 103 is comprised of a mouthpiece component 104, a screen component 112, an herb chamber 110, a housing chamber 122 (which is part of the housing 102), and a needle heater component 128, as shown in Figure 4. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, the pin heater component 128 is comprised of a housing heater base 132, a pin heater base 133, and a pin heater 140. When combined in a single component, the housing heater base 132 and the pin heater base 133 are referred to as a combined heater base 131. The pin heater 140 is comprised of an outer tube 142, a glass tube 146, a heating coil 148, a plug 144, a heating coil top lead 136, a heating coil bottom lead 134, a lead connector 138, and a heat spreader-mixer blade 130, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. A pin heater without a heat diffuser-mixer blade attached represents a rod member 135 having a rod shape. FIG. 8 shows the heating coil 148 embedded in the pin heater 140 with the heating coil bottom lead 134 and the lead connector 138. Figure 9 shows a cross-sectional view of the pin heater component 128 (heat spreading blade not shown). Figure 10 shows a detail of Figure 9. lead 134 (equivalent to the second electrode lead), and the lead connector 138 are all made of copper, the heating coil 148 is made of resistive wire for heating (equivalent to resistive wire), and the outer tube 142 is made of stainless steel (i.e. Can be electrically conductive), a glass tube 146 made of heat resistant glass is used as an insulator, thus there is an electrically conductive path from the heating coil bottom lead to the heating coil top lead, when an external power supply is applied over these wires, the heating coil will heat the outer tube and the heat diffuser-mixer blades 130, the heat diffuser-mixer blades 130 then radially heat the air and herbal substance in the herbal chamber, the temperature in the herbal chamber will depend on the amount of electrical power applied, with reference to Figure 9, thermistors 149 (equivalent to thermometry lines) located on the pin heater base 133 relay the temperature of the pin heater to the PCB leads 150, which then adjust the power level so that the requested temperature is maintained. Heating coil top leads 136 and heating coil bottom leads 134 receive appropriate power from battery 162 to heat pin heater 140 to a desired temperature (high, medium, low) selected by heat selection switch 156, thermistor 149 senses the temperature in housing heater base 132, and provides this data to PCB board 160 to regulate the temperature of pin heater 140.
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Regarding claim 16, Fig 9 shows a base 132 where the outer tube is inserted on the base.
Regarding claim 19, the device is an aerosol forming device.
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) 2-4, 17, 18, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aronie et al by (US 2015/0136124) in view of Oh (WO 2019/199010).
The teachings of Aronie have been discussed above. Aronie fails to disclose the PTC material and the temperature coefficient.
However, Oh discloses temperature detection circuit disposed in the external tube (paragraph [0074], lines 1046 - 1049, temperature sensing units 130 and 230, Figures 2 and 5); the temperature detection circuit is made of a metallic PTC material, or the temperature detection circuit comprises a thermocouple structure (paragraph [0011]). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, at the time of the invention to adapt Aronie in view of Oh to provide the PTC material for uniformly controlling the temperature of the heating device.
It would have been obvious to have a temperature coefficient of resistance being 1500-3500 ppm since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art and it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art.
Regarding claims 17 and 18, it would have been obvious to coat the base in a ceramic material as this is a known insulator and to place the tube during the ceramic coating for attachment to the base as ceramic paint is a common manner of applying a ceramic coating for insulating.
Claim(s) 6, 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aronie et al by (US 2015/0136124) and Huang et al (US 2019/0223259).
Regarding claim 6, Wang teaches the heating assembly according to claim 1, and wherein the first electrode lead wire is connected to an outside bottom of the external tube (Figure 2). Wang does not teach the first electrode lead wire is soldered to the external tube.
Huang teaches electrodes soldered to an external tube (paragraph [0022], lines 295-297, Figure 1 and Figure 2).
The courts have held that combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present application, see MPEP § 2143(I).
Examiner finds that Wang differs from the claim only in the combination of the soldering method of Huang to connect the electrode lead wire 4 to the external conductive tube 1 of Wang. Examiner finds that one of ordinary skill in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods, and that in combination, each element merely performs the same function as it does separately. Examiner notes that one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present application to combine the soldering method of Huang with the electrode and external conductive tube of Wang because it yields the predictable result of providing a stable structure (Huang paragraph [0014], line 158).
Regarding claim 15, Wang discloses, the outer tube is filled with an insulating material. (See Paragraph [0018]) Wang in combination with Huang teaches the heating assembly according to claim 7, wherein the protection layer comprises at least one of a ceramic coating layer (paragraph [0014], Figure 1, protective coating 7), wherein an oleophobic glass glaze. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use a ceramic coating, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice.
Claim(s) 7-12, 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aronie et al by (US 2015/0136124) in view of Herbich (US 8,191,555).
Regarding claims 7-8, Aronie teaches the heating assembly according to claim 1, wherein the heating assembly further comprises a needle arranged at the top of the external tube (Figure 1). Aronie does not teach than an upper end of the electrical resistance circuit is fit between the needle and the external tube, so as to be in contact and conductive connection with the external tube.
Herbich teaches, regarding claims 7-8 and 16 an upper end of the electrical resistance circuit is crimped (column 3, lines 30-33, Figure 2, front-side connector end 23) between the needle and the external tube, so as to be in contact and conductive connection with the external tube (column 3, lines 30-33, Figure 1 and 2).
The courts have yielded that simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present application, see MPEP § 2143(I).
Examiner finds that the heating assembly as described in Aronie differs only in the substitution of the heating body 2 and fixing base 3 with the heating device Figure 2 of Herbich. Examiner finds that one or ordinary skill in the art could have substituted one known element for another, and the results of the substitution would have been predictable. The heating device in Figure 2 of Herbich depicts the electrical resistance circuit crimped at the upper end to establish an electrical connection with the outer tube 17 and the inner tube 13 (column 3, lines 30-33). This has the advantage of forming a uniform heat output over a long period time (Column 4, lines 65-67, and column 5, lines 1-4).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present application to substitute the heating body 2 and fixing base 3 of Aronie with the heating device Figure 2 of Herbich because it yields the predictable result of forming a uniform heat output over a long period time (Column 4, lines 65-67, and column 5, lines 1-4).
Regarding claim 9, Aronie fails to disclose wherein the needle comprises a columnar insertion portion embedded in the outer tube and a conical guide portion connected above the insertion portion.
Herbich teaches the heating assembly further comprises a support bar (inner tube 13) disposed in the external tube, and the electrical resistance circuit (heating spiral 15) is disposed on the support bar (column 3, lines 1-6, Figure 1)
Examiner finds that the heating assembly as described in Aronie differs only in the substitution of the heating body 2 and fixing base 3 with the heating device Figure 2 of Herbich. Examiner finds that one or ordinary skill in the art could have substituted one known element for another, and the results of the substitution would have been predictable. This has the advantage of forming a uniform heat output over a long period time (Column 4, lines 65-67, and column 5, lines 1-4).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present application to substitute the heating body 2 and fixing base 3 of Aronie with the heating device Figure 2 of Herbich because it yields the predictable result of forming a uniform heat output over a long period time (Column 4, lines 65-67, and column 5, lines 1-4).
Regarding claims 10-12, Aronie discloses in combination with Herbich the heating assembly according to claim 1, wherein the electrical resistance circuit and/or the temperature detection circuit is helically wound around the support bar (Figure 2 of Herbich). Aronie teaches wherein a thermally conductive filler is filled between an internal surface of the external tube (paragraph [0041]). Aronie does not teach an external surface of the support bar. However, with the combination of Aronie and Herbich described previously, the filler would be disposed on the external surface of the support bar in the outer tube thus meeting all claim limitations. Dipping or spraying are obvious variants for applying insulating layers.
Claim(s) 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aronie et al by (US 2015/0136124) in view of and Atkins (US 2020/0120993).
Aronie fails to teach the temperature detection circuit in electrical connection with the first or second electrode lead wire and a third electrode lead wire.
Atkins teaches wherein an end of the temperature detection circuit is in electrical connection with the first electrode lead wire or the second electrode lead wire (paragraph [0043], output electrode 260ab, Figure 3);
and the heating assembly further comprises a third electrode lead wire in electrical connection with an opposite end of the temperature detection circuit (paragraph [0043], input electrode 260d, Figure 3).
The courts have yielded that combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present application, see MPEP § 2143(I).
Atkins teaches the second electrode wire in electrical connection with the temperature detection circuit, and a third electrode wire in electrical connection with an opposite end of the temperature detection circuit. Atkins states that the heating and temperature sensing assemblies described herein may also achieve a compact configuration and cost-effective manufacturing (paragraph 0019). Compact configuration is a technical problem that the applicant also looks to resolve with the claimed invention. Therefore, configuring the electrodes as described in Atkins to the temperature detection circuit as would have yielded predictable results and resulted in an improved system.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Aronie to incorporate the teachings of Atkins to provide the electrode electrical connections to the temperature detection circuit and the electrical resistance circuit. Doing so would achieve a compact configuration and limit the number or electrode wires needed.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRIAN W JENNISON whose telephone number is (571)270-5930. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 9-5.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ibrahime Abraham can be reached at 571-270-5569. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRIAN W JENNISON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3761 6/23/2026
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