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 Species A, the vaporizer 100 in the first embodiment as disclosed at [0006-11, 0047-62] and Figs. 1-6, allegedly encompassing claims 8-9, 11-13, and 16, with claims 1-7 and 17-19 being generic, in the reply filed on 01/12/2026 is acknowledged. After additional review of the application, the Examiner notes that claims 11-12 are also generic, in addition to claims 1-7 and 17-19 noted in the Restriction Requirement. However, claim 13 is directed to the third embodiment (see connecting portion 262 at [0065] and Figs. 10-13) which was not elected.
Claims 10 and 13-15 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 01/12/2026. Claims 1-19 remain pending, and claims 1-9, 11-12, and 16-19 are examined herein.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(4) because reference character “223” has been used to designate both a “communication airway” at [0053] and Fig. 5 (1st embodiment) and a “liquid absorbing structure” at [0064] and Fig. 9 (3rd embodiment).
Additionally, the drawings appear to the Examiner to contain the following typos:
Fig. 5 includes “23b”, which appears to be a typo of “231b” based on the description at [0054]. The part number “23b” does not appear in the written description;
Fig. 8 includes “252” twice – the right-most “252” appears to be a typo of “25” based on [0056-59], Fig. 6, and typical drawing conventions;
Fig. 8 includes “242”, which appears to be a typo of “2412” based on [0055, 0063] and Fig. 5. The part number “242” does not appear in the written description.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested: ELECTRONIC VAPORIZATION DEVICE AND VAPORIZER THEREOF WITH ISOLATING MEMBER.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1 and 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Guo (CN 206079042 U, provided in IDS dated 01/31/2024, translation attached herewith).
Regarding claim 1, Guo is directed to a conductive structure and split electronic cigarette using the conductive structure (Title), which reads on a “vaporizer” as claimed. The electronic cigarette includes an oil reservoir 104 (“liquid storage cavity”) and a heating element 107 (“heating assembly”) which has a surface (“first end surface”) opposed to the reservoir 104 ([0027-28], Figs. 1-3). A porous oil seepage body 106 (“isolation member”) blocks an opening 105 of the reservoir 104 and gradually permeates e-liquid therethrough to an oil-absorbing body 108 and then to the heating element 107 ([0028-29], Figs. 1-2). As shown in Fig. 1, the porous oil seepage body 106 is “covering” the surface of the heating element 107 which faces the reservoir 104, and the porous oil seepage body 106 is “isolating” the reservoir 104 from the heating element 107, as claimed.
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Regarding claim 18, the electronic cigarette includes the oil-absorbing body 108 (“porous body”) as set forth above. A lower surface (“vaporization surface”) of the oil-absorbing body 108 contacts the heating element 107 ([0029], Figs. 1-2).
Regarding claim 19, the electronic cigarette further includes a power supply assembly 20 (“power supply component”) ([0036], Fig. 4)
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 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-9, 11-12, and 16-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li (WO 2019/157650 A1, provided in IDS dated 01/31/2024, English translation attached) in view of Cui (CN 216292992 U, English translation attached).
Regarding claim 1, Li is directed to electronic cigarettes and their atomizers (Title), which reads on a “vaporizer” as claimed. The atomizer 1 includes a liquid storage cavity 23 (“liquid storage cavity”) ([0098, 0106], Figs. 28, 31). The atomizer 1 includes an atomizing assembly 10 with a heating component 12v (“heating assembly”) [0099], which has a surface (“first end surface”) opposing the liquid storage device 20 as shown in Figs. 29-32. Li further discloses a sealing sleeve 13, upper seat 14 with two liquid channels 144, and sleeve 15 with two liquid inlet holes 155, forming a liquid flow path between the heating component 12v and the liquid storage device 20 ([0099, 0104-0105], Figs. 29-32), but fails to disclose an “isolating member” as claimed.
Li discloses a potential for liquid leakage in the atomizing chamber 110 when the chamber 110 is filled too high (see [0115] disclosing a second air inlet 2120 being positioned higher than the chamber 110 to prevent such leakage). Furthermore, liquid leakage is generally a well-known problem in the art of electronic aerosolization devices. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to prevent such liquid leakage.
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Cui is directed to atomizers and electronic atomization devices (Title). The atomizer includes an oil control assembly 300 with a first oil guide body 301, a pressure mesh 302, and a second oil guide body 303 (the second oil guide body 303 reading on an “isolating member” and “isolating portion”) arranged above and contacting an atomizer head 700/701 ([n0068], Figs. 3, 5). Cui provides the oil control assembly 300 in order to regulate the speed of e-liquid flow [n0064, n0070], because current atomizers lack effective control over the flow rate [n0002, n0010]. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that Cui’s oil control assembly 300 could be used in Li, arranged above and contacting the heating component 12v, to regulate liquid speed and thus prevent liquid leakage due to excessive flow. Furthermore, when combining, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to adjust the size and/or shape of Cui’s oil control assembly 300, particularly the first oil guide body 301, in order to fit within Li’s sealing sleeve 13 and receive liquid through its center gap (see Li Fig. 29).
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Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art to modify Li by incorporating Cui’s oil control assembly 300 arranged above and contacting Li’s heating component 12v, because both Li and Cui are directed to atomization devices, Li teaches a potential problem of liquid leakage which is well-known in the art, Cui teaches the oil control assembly 300 for regulating liquid speed which a PHOSITA would recognize helps to prevent such liquid leakage, and this would involve combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results. See MPEP 2143(I); see also KSR Int'l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 415-421, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395-97 (2007).
Regarding claim 2, Li’s heating component 12v includes a groove 120v (“liquid absorbing groove”) formed on the liquid absorption side surface, making the whole body bowl-shaped (which reads on an “opening”) ([0096], compare groove 120v and center gap of heating component 12v in Fig. 29 with Applicant’s groove 2311 and opening 2312 in Fig. 5). In modified Li as set forth above, Cui’s second oil guide body 302 would be located on the upper surface of the heating component 12v and thus would cover the opening as claimed.
Regarding claim 3, modified Li has the second oil guide body 303 covering the heating component 12v and its center gap, as set forth above. It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to form the second oil guide body 303 with a size larger than the center gap, in order to ensure that all liquid entering the center gap first passes through the second oil guide body 303, and because Cui’s Figs. 3 and 5 show the second oil guide body 303 with size similar to the atomizing head 700/701, and further because this would be a mere change in size or proportion. See MPEP 2144.04(IV)(A); see also In re Rose, 220 F.2d 459, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955).
Regarding claim 4, the second oil guide body 303 includes a material with distributed fibers for guiding the liquid [n0069], which reads on a “liquid guide structure”.
Regarding claim 5, the second oil guide body 303 is porous with fibers that may be distributed vertically downward [n0069], which reads on “a plurality of liquid guide holes provided at intervals, the plurality of liquid guide holes being provided through a thickness direction of the isolating portion so as to guide the aerosol-forming substrate in the liquid storage cavity to the heating assembly”.
Regarding claim 6, Li discloses a liquid storage device 20 (“vaporization shell”) with a housing 21 (“housing”) and an airflow pipe 22 (“air outlet tube”) which define the liquid storage cavity 23 [0106] (compare Li’s Fig. 31 with Applicant’s Fig. 3 showing vaporization shell 10, housing 11, air outlet tube 12, and liquid storage cavity 13). In modified Li as set forth above, the second oil guide body 303 would be arranged vertically above the heating component 12v, which reads on “wherein the liquid guide structure is located in an extending direction of the air outlet tube”.
Regarding claim 7, the second oil guide body 303 is flat (Cui [n0069]). In combination, it would be obvious to form the second oil guide body 303 in a plate shape to match the shape of the top surface of the heating component 12v (see Li Fig. 29), and this modification would be a mere change in shape. See MPEP 2144.04(IV)(B); see also In re Dailey, 357 F.2d 669, 149 USPQ 47 (CCPA 1966).
Regarding claim 8, Li discloses the sealing sleeve 13 (“first seal member”) sleeved on the heating component 12v ([0099], Fig. 29) (compare Fig. 29 with Applicant’s Fig. 5 showing first seal member 24). In the combination, as set forth above, the second oil guide body 302 is arranged on the top of the heating component 12v, and thus would also be “arranged on” the sealing sleeve 13 as claimed.
Regarding claim 9, Li’s sealing sleeve 13 has a “hollow structure with two run-through ends, and an inner side thereof forms an accommodating cavity configured to accommodate” the heating component 12v (compare Fig. 29 with Applicant’s Fig. 5 showing first seal member 24). In the combination as set forth above, the second oil guide body 303 would be “accommodated in the accommodating cavity”. Furthermore, the second oil guide body 303 and sealing sleeve 13 are not disclosed as integrally formed components, and thus it would be obvious to make them separable from one another, for instance to allow replacement of the second oil guide body 303. See MPEP 2144.04(V)(C); see also In re Dulberg, 289 F.2d 522, 523, 129 USPQ 348, 349 (CCPA 1961).
Regarding claim 11, Li discloses the upper seat 14 (“upper base body”), with the heating component 12v being clamped between the upper seat 14 and a lower seat 11 ([0099], compare Fig. 29 with Applicant’s Fig. 5 showing upper base body 22). In the combination, the second oil guide body 303 is arranged on the top of the heating component 12v and thus would similarly be “mounted in” the upper seat 14 as claimed.
Regarding claim 12, Li discloses the sleeve 15 (“second seal member”) sleeved on the upper seat 14 ([0099], compare Fig. 29 with Applicant’s Fig. 5 showing second seal member 26). Li discloses components of the sleeve 15 cooperating with components of the upper seat 14 to form sealed air channels [0105].
Regarding claim 16, the upper seat 14 includes two liquid channels 144 (“liquid flowing hole”) extending from a top to a bottom of the upper seat 14 ([0104-0105], compare Fig. 29 with Applicant’s Fig. 5 showing liquid flowing hole 2222). In the combination, as set forth above, the second oil guide body 303 would be arranged on the top of the heating component 12v, which is below the upper seat 14 and “arranged in a liquid flowing direction” of the liquid channels 144 as claimed.
Regarding claim 17, Cui discloses the second oil guide body 303 preferably being formed of aramid fibers [n0069], which one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize refers to synthetic aromatic polyamide fibers, which reads on “plastic” as claimed. Alternatively, Cui discloses that the second oil guide 303 can be made of other materials and that high strength materials are preferred [n0069], and thus it would be obvious to use one or more high strength plastic polymers to form the second oil guide body 303.
Regarding claim 18, Li’s heating component 12v includes a porous body 121v and a heating element 122v disposed on a lower atomizing surface 1211v ([0096], Figs. 24-25), which reads on “a porous body and a heating structure, and wherein the porous body comprises at least one vaporization surface, the heating structure being arranged on the vaporization surface” (compare Figs. 24-25 with Applicant’s Fig. 5 showing porous body 231, vaporization surface 2313, and heating structure 232).
Regarding claim 19, Li discloses a battery assembly 2 (“power supply component”) for powering the atomizer 1 [0097].
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL PATRICK MULLEN whose telephone number is (571)272-2373. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10-7 ET.
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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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/MICHAEL PATRICK MULLEN/Examiner, Art Unit 1747
/Michael H. Wilson/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1747