DETAILED ACTION
This Final Office action is in response to Applicant’s Amendment on 04/03/2026. Claims 1-21 are pending. The effective filing date of the claimed invention is 02/09/2021.
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 § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
For the amendments to the claims (04/03/2026) Applicant indicates the following:
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Remarks, 04/03/2026, page 8/11. However, Applicant’s [0070] and corresponding Fig. 2 mention nothing about the amended language. The amendments to exemplary claim 1 are the following:
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Contrary to Applicant’s arguments, neither Applicant’s own [0070] nor any other paragraph of Applicant’s Specification/Drawings/entire disclosure mentions “a plurality of feedback signals corresponding to the sweeping of the microwave within the preset microwave frequency range.” Applicant’s disclosure does not mention “a plurality of feedback signals.” Applicant’s disclosure does not even mention “signals.” Applicant’s Specification repeatedly refers to a signal, as originally claimed in claim 1. Accordingly, all of the amendments of claim 1, claim 2, and all other claims that include this new matter are found to be similarly rejected. Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-21 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 (and similarly 8 and 18) recites the limitation “the sweeping of the microwave within the preset microwave frequency range” in lines 11-12. However, Applicant does not recite “a sweeping of the microwave within the preset frequency range” prior to this, therefore there is a lack of proper antecedent basis in the claim language. This renders the claim indefinite. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Claims 1, 8, 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO2020/015223 to Li et al. (“Li”) and U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2020/0116821 to Yang et al. (“Yang”).
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With regard to claim 1 and 8, Li discloses the claimed electronic vaporization device for heating and vaporizing an aerosol-forming substrate (see e.g. Fig. 1 (to the right) [0007] ), comprising:
a vaporization cavity configured to accommodate the aerosol-forming substrate (e.g. [0011] cylindrical atomization unit, microwave resonant cavity 221; see e-liquid at e.g. [0010-11] as claimed aerosol-forming substrate);
a microwave generating circuit configured to generate a microwave according to a preset microwave frequency (see e.g. [0008] [0036] The microwave generator 13 preferably uses a magnetron with an operating frequency of 915MHz or 2450MHz, is powered by the battery 11, and generates microwaves under the action of the controller 12.);
a microwave transmitting antenna connected to the microwave generating circuit configured for sweeping and transmitting the microwave within a preset microwave frequency range, and transmitting the microwave to the vaporization cavity to heat the aerosol-forming substrate (see Li e.g. [0011] the side wall of the microwave resonant cavity 221 has a coupling hole 225, and the outer side wall of the resonant cavity 221 with the coupling hole 225 is covered by an energy coupler 224, which is connected to the microwave generator 13 through a microwave transmission line 131 (where the examiner finds the microwave transmission line to be the claimed antenna); [0020] The microwaves are transmitted to the energy coupler 224 via the microwave transmission line 131 and fed into the resonant cavity 221 through the coupling hole 225 to make it resonate. This causes the e-liquid in the second oil guide 223 to absorb the waves and generate heat. For the sweeping, see Li at [0036] The main housing 14 is provided with a gear switch 141 for adjusting microwave power intensity on the upper part. Li does not explicitly disclose the sweeping function. Yang teaches a microwave transmission system including microwave source 10, sampling device 12 and coupler 13 that feeds microwaves to a load. See Yang Abstract [0036-38] [0006-12] [0045-51] core teaching of tuning frequencies of the microwave source based on feedback, via steps a-f, provides the frequency-sweeping /tuning behavior over a range that can be implemented in the transmitting path of Li’s device (i.e. a transmitting antenna and/or coupler that sweeps frequencies into the cavity through the hole));
a feedback acquisition circuit configured to acquire a plurality of feedback signals corresponding to the sweeping of the microwave within the preset microwave frequency range (Li does not disclose this limitation. However, Yang teaches at e.g. [6-8] [36-39] [46-49] sampling device that collects reflection frequencies of a load according to a pre-set sampling rate, sampling device measures reflection frequencies via a coupler and can be implemented with a power meter or measuring circuit; Yang core teaching of tuning frequencies of the microwave source based on feedback, via steps a-f, provides the frequency-sweeping /tuning behavior over a range that can be implemented in the transmitting path of Li’s device (i.e. a transmitting antenna and/or coupler that sweeps frequencies into the cavity through the hole); Yang abstract collecting reflection frequencies of a load, etc. (note frequencies), [0018] collecting reflection frequencies according to a pre-set sampling rate, and the controlling device compares the reflection frequencies and the change rate with the reflection frequency threshold and the change rate threshold saved in the controlling device respectively to output the control signals for tuning the transmitting frequencies.); and
a microwave control circuit connected to the microwave generating circuit and the feedback acquisition circuit, respectively, the microwave control circuit being configured to determine the preset microwave frequency and control the microwave generating circuit to generate the microwave according to the preset microwave frequency (Li at e.g. [8] [20] [36] has a controller 12 connected to the microwave generator 13 causing it to generate microwaves, with power set by gear switch 141. Li does not disclose where controller is connected to feedback circuit/loop, and does not disclose “determine the preset microwave frequency”. Yang teaches at e.g. [18] [36-41] controlling device 11 that is explicitly connected to both the sampling device 12 and the microwave source 10 forming a feedback loop. The controlling device receives refraction frequencies [6-7] [38-40], calculates a change rate of the reflection techniques ([6-7], [38-40]), compares with stored reflection frequency and change rate thresholds ([9-10] [43]), outputs control signals that control and tune the transmitting frequencies of the microwave source ([11-12] [41-43] [50-51]),
wherein the microwave control circuit is configured to select a microwave transmitting frequency according to the plurality of feedback signals to maintain or modify the preset microwave frequency (Li does not disclose frequency selection based on feedback. Li also does not disclose maintaining or modifying a preset frequency based on measurements reflected power/frequency, etc. Yang explicitly uses feedback (reflection techniques and change rate) to decide when to send control signals to tune the transmitting frequencies, in particular [6-12], [45-51] if thresholds exceeded, send control signals to tune transmitting frequencies, otherwise keep operating effectively maintain the current frequency). In Yang the controlling device 11 thereby selects and adjusts the transmitting frequency based on the feedback to protect the source and maintain efficient heating [0034]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the microwave device art before the effective filing date to modify the microwave generating device of Li, to include such method of controlling transmitting frequencies of microwave source and microwave transmission system thereof, as disclosed by Yang, as the benefit are shown to include protecting the source from overheating and maintain efficient heating, as shown in Yang at e.g. [0034]. See Yang Abstract, [0050-52] The present invention can be applied in controlling microwave source consists of single magnetron tube or multiple magnetron tubes. [0052] The present invention is especially smart for microwave sources adopting magnetron tubes, such as microwave heating device, microwave reactor, microwave measuring system and etc. The present invention shows great advantages in high power microwave system with more than two magnetron tubes.
With regard to claim 15, Li further discloses: a microwave aggregation apparatus, wherein the microwave transmitting antenna is located in the microwave aggregation apparatus, and wherein the microwave aggregation apparatus is configured to aggregate at least a part of the microwave transmitted by the microwave transmitting antenna to the vaporization cavity (see e.g. [0020] The microwaves are transmitted to the energy coupler 224 via the microwave transmission line 131 and fed into the resonant cavity 221 through the coupling hole 225 to make it resonate.).
Claims 2-5, 9-12, 18-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li, Yang, and further in view of U.S. Pat. No. 6,222,170 to Tucker et al. (“Tucker”) .
With regard to claim 2-5, 9-12,18-20, Li further discloses [7-12] (main housing 14 with battery 11, controller 12, microwave generator 13, resonant cavity 221 with e-liquid in second oil guide 223). Li does not disclose the feedback circuit, any feedback signal in the form of current, voltage, capacitance, temperature. See Tucker at e.g. col 7, ln 60 – col 8, ln 20, temperature sensor in loop. For claims 3, 4, 10, 11, see Tucker at col 6, ln 50-67, directional coupler 24 and second power meter to measure reflected power from the cavity, the magnitude of the reflected power is used to determine the efficiency of the instant frequency with lower reflected power indicating a more efficient operating frequency. For 5 and 12, see Tucker at col 6, ln 40-col. 7, ln. 20. For 18-20, see the combination of Li and Yang, in combination with the feedback circuit of Tucker, as combined above. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the microwave heating art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Li to include such as feedback circuit and other features in order to determine the efficiency of the instant frequency, as shown in Tucker.
With regard to claim 21, Li further discloses before step Sl, the method further comprises:S101: receiving, by the microwave control circuit, a microwave frequency selection instruction; or S 102: receiving, by the microwave control circuit, an aerosol-forming substrate installation completion instruction (the e liquid would be loaded before it was heated, and the completion performed); or S 103: receiving, by the microwave control circuit, an inhalation instruction; or S 104: presetting, by the microwave control circuit, an inhalation time every interval.
Claims 6, 7, 13, 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li, Yang, and further in view of U.S. Pat. No. 12,082,615 to Emmett et al. (“Emmett”) .
For claims 6, 7 and 13, 14, Li has a microwave generating circuit driving an antenna, but does not explicitly distinguish between the oscillator and a separate power amplifier block that is controlled based on feedback. Emmett teaches at e.g. Fig. 1 a power amplifier,
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wherein an output end of the microwave generating circuit is connected to a first input end of the power amplifier, wherein an output end of the power amplifier is connected to the microwave transmitting antenna, and wherein the microwave control circuit is connected to the power amplifier and configured to adjust the power amplifier according to the feedback signal. See Fig. 1, where the amplifier 12 is connected to both the generator 10 and antenna 16. For claims 7, 14, see col. 8, ln. 49-55, where the amplification functions can be performed by multiple components, where one is considered the amplifier and the other is considered the regulator. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the vaporizer art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Li to include such amplifier, as shown in Emmett, where one of the advantages is providing uniform heating. See Emmett, col. 1, ln 40-67.
Claims 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li, Yang, and further in view of U.S. Pat. No. 4,728,762 to Roth et al. (“Roth”).
With regard to claim 16-17, Li further discloses an inner layer of the microwave aggregation apparatus comprises a microwave reflective layer (see [0020] “to make it resonate”). Li does not go into the details of the inner layer and outer layer of microwave aggregation apparatus. Roth teach this two layer inner reflective and outer shielding/absorbing at e.g. col. 2, ln. 57-67. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the microwave art before the effective filing date to include such inner reflective, outer absorbant/shield, where the advantages are shown in Roth at e.g. col. 3, ln. 33-47; minimize heat transfer at col. 5, ln. 25-45, etc.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 04/03/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
For the 103 rejection Applicant argues that the cited references do not teach
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The examiner respectfully disagrees. The examiner has refers to the above combination of Li an Yang to teach these limitations. The examiner makes a full explanation above in regard to claim 1 and similar claims. Further, the examiner refers to the 112(a) and (b) rejections surrounding the added and argued limitations.
Conclusion
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/PETER LUDWIG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3627
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