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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on November 01, 2023, January 16, 2024, and February 13, 2026 have been considered by the examiner.
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.
Claims 1-4 and 8 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schipper et al. (US 20120285447 A1, hereinafter “Schipper”), in view of Yuki et al. (JP 6032533 B2, hereinafter “Yuki”).
Regarding Claim 1, Schipper discloses: A nebulizer that atomizes and ejects a liquid (Abstract, A nebulizer (10) comprises a head detachably coupled to a body. The head comprises nebulizing means (42, 40, 44), an air channel (50) and a flow sensor (52). A nebulized liquid is released in an air channel (50) that ends in a mouth piece 70 through which a user inhales (5) and exhales (7). The inhaling and exhaling causes a flow in the air channel which is detected with the flow sensor (52). The nebulizing means are controlled by control means (60, 62) included in the body), the nebulizer comprising:
a main body (Figure 1, body 30) being mounted with a power supply unit and an oscillation unit (Paragraph 0025, The head may comprise a receiver coil electrically coupled to the vibration source and the body may comprise a transmitter coil coupled to an AC current or AC voltage source, the receiver and transmitter coil being aligned such that when the head is attached to the body the transmitter and receiver coil are magnetically coupled. An AC current in the transmitter coil causes a magnetic field which on its turn causes a current in the receiver coil, thereby providing a wireless powering of the head),
the oscillation unit receiving power supply from the power supply unit and generating an oscillation output (Paragraph 0044, When the head is coupled to the body an electrical connection between the piezo driving circuit 60 and the vibration source 44 and between the flow sensor 52 and a processor 62 is obtained) including a predetermined frequency component (Paragraph 0028, In the head the receiver coil may be coupled to the vibration source, which for example is a piezo electric element. The number of windings of the receiver and transmitter coil may be different to obtain a predetermined driving voltage for the piezo electric element. In this embodiment the frequency of the AC current corresponds to the vibration frequency of the piezo), (Paragraph 0044, When the head is coupled to the body an electrical connection between the piezo driving circuit 60 and the vibration source 44 and between the flow sensor 52 and a processor 62 is obtained. The processor determines the driving frequency and duty cycle of a driving signal 45 which is provided by the driving circuit 60 to the vibration source 44);
Schipper does not explicitly disclose two separate predetermined frequencies, but is capable of incorporating a range of different frequency values through adjusting the processor controls and/or the AC current. However, if the Applicant is not convinced, Yuki does disclose a predetermined first frequency component and a predetermined second frequency component different from each other (Paragraph 0035, As shown in Figure 1, the control unit 1050 includes an oscillator circuit 1051 connected to the power supply unit 1030, a microprocessor 1052 connected to the oscillator circuit 1051, and a drive circuit 1053 connected to the microprocessor 1052. Of these, the oscillator circuit 1051 outputs a signal of a predetermined frequency and transmits it to the microprocessor 1052. The microprocessor 1052 generates drive signals for the vibration application unit 1020 to alternately execute low-frequency stage S1 and high-frequency stage S2 and outputs these signals to the drive circuit 1053. The drive circuit 1053 outputs power (signal) to vibrate the vibration-applying unit 1020 based on the drive signal from the microprocessor 1052. A known pulse generator may be used as the control unit 1050).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date to incorporate the teachings of Yuki’s low and high frequency stages with the nebulizer disclosed by Schipper, so as to better accommodate different viscosities of liquids (Paragraph 0012, This invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its main objective is to provide a spraying device that can sufficiently spray liquid even when the liquid used in the spraying device is changed to one with a different viscosity)
Schipper in view of Yuki further discloses: the oscillation unit of the main body generates the oscillation output including the additional frequency component in addition to the first and second frequency components (Schipper, Paragraph 0044, When the head is coupled to the body an electrical connection between the piezo driving circuit 60 and the vibration source 44 and between the flow sensor 52 and a processor 62 is obtained. The processor determines the driving frequency and duty cycle of a driving signal 45 which is provided by the driving circuit 60 to the vibration source 44)), (Yuki, Paragraph 0073, Furthermore, as shown in Figure 6(B), a zero-frequency stage S0 may be provided between the low-frequency stage S1 and the high-frequency stage S2, during which power is not supplied from the control unit 1050 to the vibration application unit 1020. In this zero-frequency stage S0, no ultrasonic vibration is applied from the vibration-applying unit 1020 to the mesh member 120), (Paragraph 0071, In Figure 6(A), the vibration-applying unit 1020 is shown to use two different frequencies alternately to perform ultrasonic vibrations, but it is not limited to this, and three or more different frequencies may be used repeatedly).
Schipper in view of Yuki further discloses:
a first replacement member (Figure 1, head 20) being mounted with an atomization unit configured to atomize, using the first frequency component, a first liquid that is supplied (Paragraph 0043, The head comprises a medication chamber 40, a vibration source 44 such as a piezo electric element, a mesh 42 and an air channel 50);
wherein the first replacement member and/or the second replacement member includes a functional unit configured to operate with a predetermined additional frequency component different from the first and second frequency components (Paragraph 0044, When the head is coupled to the body an electrical connection between the piezo driving circuit 60 and the vibration source 44 and between the flow sensor 52 and a processor 62 is obtained. The processor determines the driving frequency and duty cycle of a driving signal 45 which is provided by the driving circuit 60 to the vibration source 44),
and the first replacement member or the second replacement member is attached to the main body in a replaceable manner (Paragraph 0043, FIG. 1 shows a nebulizer 10 comprising a head 20 and a body 30 wherein the head is detachable from the body to facilitate for example steam cleaning of the head after use), and a replacement member attached to the main body receives the oscillation output including the first frequency component, the second frequency component, and the additional frequency component from the main body (Paragraph 0044, When the head is coupled to the body an electrical connection between the piezo driving circuit 60 and the vibration source 44 and between the flow sensor 52 and a processor 62 is obtained. The processor determines the driving frequency and duty cycle of a driving signal 45 which is provided by the driving circuit 60 to the vibration source 44).
Schipper does not explicitly disclose a second replacement member, but both Schipper and Yuki references teach the use of replaceable and detachable elements within a nebulizer (Schipper, Paragraph 0043, FIG. 1 shows a nebulizer 10 comprising a head 20 and a body 30 wherein the head is detachable from the body to facilitate for example steam cleaning of the head after use), (Yuki, Paragraph 0028, In this case, the liquid cartridge 100 is removably installed inside the housing 1010 via an insertion opening).
Yuki explicitly discloses: a second replacement member being mounted with an atomization unit configured to atomize, using the second frequency component, a second liquid that is supplied (Paragraph 0075, Next, the user removes the empty liquid cartridge 100 (mesh container 10) from the housing 1010 of the spraying device 1000 and discards it. Next, the user installs a new liquid cartridge 100 (for example, a liquid cartridge 100 with a different viscosity of liquid 130) into the housing 1010 of the spraying device 1000 as needed, and continues to use the spraying device 1000), (Paragraph 0029, The liquid 130 stored in the liquid cartridge 100 is atomized by a predetermined means, passes through the mesh member 120, and is sprayed out of the housing 1010 from the spray nozzle 1015. Figure 1 shows an example in which a mesh member 120 is vibrated by a vibration-applying unit 1020, and a fine mist is generated using this vibration)
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date to further incorporate the teachings of Yuki’s replaceable cartridges and corresponding frequencies with the nebulizer disclosed by Schipper, so as to provide a user with a nebulizer that can conveniently accommodate different viscosities of liquids while also providing effective mist generation (Yuki, Paragraphs 0006-007, However, conventional mist generators have a built-in mesh, as mentioned above, making it impossible to replace the mesh. Therefore, if maintenance after use is neglected, the active ingredients in the liquid may precipitate onto the mesh, and in some cases, bacteria may proliferate on parts of the mesh after prolonged use of the mist generator, which poses an undesirable hygienic problem. Furthermore, in conventional mist generators, the mesh is designed according to the type of liquid used, so the liquids that can be used with a given mist generator are predetermined. Therefore, users could not arbitrarily change the liquid being used, which lacked convenience), (Paragraph 0012, This invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its main objective is to provide a spraying device that can sufficiently spray liquid even when the liquid used in the spraying device is changed to one with a different viscosity)
Regarding Claim 2, Schipper in view of Yuki discloses all of the limitations of Claim 1. Schipper further discloses: wherein the main body includes a power transmission coil for transmitting the oscillation output on a side facing the replacement member that is attached, each of the first replacement member and the second replacement member includes a power reception coil for receiving the oscillation output on a side facing the main body, and the replacement member that is attached is configured to receive the oscillation output from the main body with a wireless power transmission system using magnetic coupling between the power transmission coil and the power reception coil (Paragraph 0025, The head may comprise a receiver coil electrically coupled to the vibration source and the body may comprise a transmitter coil coupled to an AC current or AC voltage source, the receiver and transmitter coil being aligned such that when the head is attached to the body the transmitter and receiver coil are magnetically coupled. An AC current in the transmitter coil causes a magnetic field which on its turn causes a current in the receiver coil, thereby providing a wireless powering of the head), (Paragraph 0028, In the head the receiver coil may be coupled to the vibration source, which for example is a piezo electric element. The number of windings of the receiver and transmitter coil may be different to obtain a predetermined driving voltage for the piezo electric element. In this embodiment the frequency of the AC current corresponds to the vibration frequency of the piezo).
Regarding Claim 3, Schipper in view of Yuki discloses all of the limitations of Claim 2. Schipper further discloses: wherein the main body includes a main body casing that accommodates the power supply unit and the oscillation unit (Figure 5, Paragraph 0044, When the head is coupled to the body an electrical connection between the piezo driving circuit 60 and the vibration source 44 and between the flow sensor 52 and a processor 62 is obtained. The processor determines the driving frequency and duty cycle of a driving signal 45 which is provided by the driving circuit 60 to the vibration source 44), and the power transmission coil is disposed in a specific region along an inner side of a wall surface forming the main body casing (Paragraph 0060, The magnetic field coupling comprises two U shaped cores 70, 71 of which the legs are aligned when the head is detachably coupled to the body. When aligned the two U shaped cores make up a split transformer having a primary winding 72 coupled to the driving circuit 60 and a secondary winding 73 coupled to the vibration source 44, which for example is a piezo electric element), and each of the first replacement member and the second replacement member includes an attachment casing that accommodates the atomization unit (Paragraph 0043, The head comprises a medication chamber 40, a vibration source 44 such as a piezo electric element, a mesh 42 and an air channel 50 […] To allow cleaning the head can be opened, for example along line 43, to allow access to the interior of the air channel as well as to the mesh 42. The mesh is detachable from the medication chamber such that also the interior of the medication chamber may be cleaned), and the power reception coil is disposed in a region corresponding to the specific region of the main body casing along an inner side of a wall surface forming the attachment casing (Figure 5, Paragraph 0060, The magnetic field coupling comprises two U shaped cores 70, 71 of which the legs are aligned when the head is detachably coupled to the body. When aligned the two U shaped cores make up a split transformer having a primary winding 72 coupled to the driving circuit 60 and a secondary winding 73 coupled to the vibration source 44, which for example is a piezo electric element).
Regarding Claim 4, Schipper in view of Yuki discloses all of the limitations of Claim 2. Schipper further discloses: wherein the first replacement member and/or the second replacement member including the functional unit include, as the power reception coil, a first power reception coil for the atomization unit and a second power reception coil for the functional unit, and the first and second power reception coils are concentrically wound around a same pole piece (Paragraph 0027, 0027] As an example each part of the split core may have a U shape. When the head is attached to the body the ends of the legs of the two U shaped cores face each other and have an air gap between them. The receiver and transmitter coils each are wound around their respective U shaped core. Other shaped cores like an E shape may also be used to have for example two pairs windings on the split transformer. A first pair comprises a primary winding at a first E core on the transmitter side in the body and a secondary winding at a second E core at the receiver side in the head and may be used to transfer a drive signal and energy for the vibration source. A second pair comprising a further primary winding at the first E core and a further secondary winding on the second E core may be used to transfer energy for a flow sensor supply which is included in the head to power the flow sensor circuitry).
Regarding Claim 8, Schipper in view of Yuki discloses all of the limitations of Claim 1. Schipper further discloses:
the atomization unit of the first replacement member includes a vibration unit including a vibration surface and operating using the first frequency component and a mesh member including a mesh portion disposed facing the vibration surface, the atomization unit of the first replacement member being configured to atomize, through the mesh portion, the first liquid supplied between the vibration surface and the mesh portion during operation (Paragraph 0043, The head comprises a medication chamber 40, a vibration source 44 such as a piezo electric element, a mesh 42 and an air channel 50. The vibration source is activated by the driving circuit 60 to cause a standing wave in the liquid. The liquid may for example comprise a medication dissolved in water and is also referred to as medication liquid. The standing wave between the vibration source and the mesh causes the ejection of droplets in the air channel. The air channel ends at one side in a mouthpiece 70 and at the other side in an ambient port 51 which is in open contact with ambient air),
and the atomization unit of the second replacement member includes a vibration unit including a vibration surface and operating using the second frequency component and a mesh member including a mesh portion disposed facing the vibration surface, the atomization unit of the second replacement member being configured to atomize, through the mesh portion, the second liquid supplied between the vibration surface and the mesh portion during operation (Paragraph 0022, In yet a further embodiment of the nebulizer the mesh is detachably coupled to the medication chamber. This enables a replacement of the mesh as well as a simple emptying of the medication chamber after use or during cleaning of the head. After frequent use the mesh performance may deteriorate, for example because residues obstruct some percentage of the many small holes of the mesh), (Paragraph 0043, FIG. 1 shows a nebulizer 10 comprising a head 20 and a body 30 wherein the head is detachable from the body to facilitate for example steam cleaning of the head after use), (Paragraph 0045, [0045] In FIG. 1 the nebulizing means may comprise a cylindrical shaped medication chamber 40 having a detachably coupled mesh at one side and a piezo electric element glued to it at the other side. The volume of the medication chamber is preferably small to prevent that a relatively large amount of left medicine needs to be removed when cleaning the head. The volume can be minimized by reducing the distance or gap between the mesh and the piezo electric element).
Claims 5-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schipper (US 20120285447 A1) in view of Yuki et al. (JP 6032533 B2, hereinafter “Yuki”), further in view Maeda et al. (US 20190209790 A1, hereinafter “Maeda”).
Regarding Claim 5, Schipper in view of Yuki discloses all of the limitations of Claim 1.
Schipper discloses a processor and sensors for assessing different flow variables and controlling the apparatus (Claims 3-4, A nebulizer according to claim 1 wherein the controlling is dependent on a signal received from the sensing means. A nebulizer according to claims 3 wherein the controlling means are arranged to energize the vibration source in dependence of the signal received from the sensing means), (Paragraph 0049, In a further embodiment the flow sensor comprises a thermal element and senses the flow caused by the inhaled and exhaled breath based on a temperature measurement. Such a flow sensor is referred to as a thermal flow sensor device and has the advantage of not comprising any moving parts).
Yuki further discloses a range of possible frequencies for the frequency components (Paragraph 0065, Furthermore, it is preferable that the first frequency f1 is a constant value that falls within the range of 50 kHz to 140 kHz. In particular, it is preferable that the first frequency f1 matches the resonance frequency of a predetermined mesh member 120 corresponding to the high-viscosity liquid 130. Furthermore, it is preferable that the second frequency f2 is a constant value that falls within the range of 110 kHz to 200 kHz. In particular, it is preferable that the second frequency f2 matches the resonance frequency of a predetermined mesh member 120 corresponding to the low-viscosity liquid 130), (Paragraph 0071, In Figure 6(A), the vibration-applying unit 1020 is shown to use two different frequencies alternately to perform ultrasonic vibrations, but it is not limited to this, and three or more different frequencies may be used repeatedly).
However, neither reference discloses the main body including a search unit.
Maeda does disclose: wherein the main body (Paragraph 0042, FIG. 2 shows a configuration of a nebulization unit of a mesh nebulizer (indicated overall by the reference numeral 1) in which an ultrasonic vibrator driving apparatus 1 of a preferred embodiment of the present invention is mounted. The mesh nebulizer 1 includes a main body 10 that includes an opening 18 in its upper portion, and a horn vibrator 40 defining and functioning as an ultrasonic vibrator built into the main body 10) includes a search unit (Paragraph 0050, The controller 61 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), controls the operation of the drive voltage generator 62 by functioning as a sweep controller, and controls the overall operation of the mesh nebulizer 1),
and the search unit sweeps an oscillation frequency generated by the oscillation unit in a certain frequency range during operation (Paragraph 0058, Essentially, as shown in FIG. 5A, the controller 61 repeatedly sweeps the frequency f of the drive voltage by predetermined sweep widths Δf1 and Δf2 and a predetermined sweep period ΔS so as to include the resonance frequency fr, based on the reference frequency fo set according to the resonance frequency fr of the horn vibrator 40 . Here, Δf1=Δf2>0 is set. In this example, in one sweep period ΔS, the frequency f of the drive voltage increases from the reference frequency fo to (fo+Δf1) toward the side of exceeding the reference frequency fo as time t elapses, and thereafter, the frequency f of the drive voltage linearly decreases to (fo-Δf2) toward the side of being less than the reference frequency fo, via the reference frequency fo, and furthermore linearly increases and returns to the reference frequency fo),
and thus obtains a target frequency for each of the frequency components based on a relationship between voltage and current supplied from the main body to the replacement member that is attached (Paragraph 0054, That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the controller 61 sequentially changes the frequency f of the drive voltage generated by the drive voltage generator 62 (more accurately, the variable frequency oscillator 63 ) by about 0.2 kHz at a time in a range of about 175 kHz to about 185 kHz in this example. Here, the range in which the frequency f=about 175 kHz to about 185 kHz is a range in which it is expected that the resonance frequency fr of the horn vibrator 40 mounted on the main body 10 is definitely included, considering the manufacturing variation and temperature dependency of the resonance frequency. In addition, the controller 61 receives the output of the current detector 65 and sequentially samples and inputs the current value (effective value) of the current flowing in the horn vibrator 40 . Furthermore, the controller 61 divides the voltage value (effective value) Ve of the drive voltage by the current value Ie to obtain the minimum value Zmin of the impedance Z of the horn vibrator 40 in the range in which the frequency f of the drive voltage is about 175 kHz to about 185 kHz, for example. Also, the frequency f when the minimum value Zmin is obtained is recognized as being the resonance frequency fr of the horn vibrator 40 . In this manner, the controller 61 searches for and obtains the resonance frequency fr. Also, in this example, the reference frequency fo is set according to the obtained resonance frequency fr, so as to match the resonance frequency fr. That is, it is set such that fo=fr).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date to incorporate the teachings of Maeda’s sweep controller with the nebulizer system disclosed by Schipper in view of Yuki, so as to effectively drive varying vibrating elements and accommodate changes in the conditions that may affect the frequencies (Paragraph 0003, an ultrasonic vibrator driving apparatus that can vary (sweep) the frequency of the driving voltage over time such that the resonance frequency of the ultrasonic vibrator is passed, in order to reduce the power consumption), (Paragraph 0008, preferred embodiments of the present invention provide ultrasonic vibrator driving apparatuses that each stably drive an ultrasonic vibrator having a manufacturing variation and temperature dependency of a resonance frequency, while suppressing or preventing a reduction of the driving efficiency. Also, preferred embodiments of the present invention provide mesh nebulizers each including such an ultrasonic vibrator driving apparatus).
Regarding Claim 6, Schipper in view of Yuki and Maeda discloses all of the limitations of Claim 5. Maeda further discloses: wherein the search unit sweeps the oscillation frequency generated by the oscillation unit in the certain frequency range during operation, and thus searches whether there is a new frequency component to be supplied to the replacement member that is attached (Paragraph 0055, Accordingly, even if the resonance frequencies fr of the individual horn vibrators 40 differ due to the manufacturing variation and temperature dependency of the horn vibrator 40, the reference frequency fo is able to be set appropriately according to the resonance frequencies fr of the individual horn vibrators 40) based on the relationship between voltage and current (Paragraph 0054, the controller 61 receives the output of the current detector 65 and sequentially samples and inputs the current value (effective value) of the current flowing in the horn vibrator 40. Furthermore, the controller 61 divides the voltage value (effective value) Ve of the drive voltage by the current value Ie to obtain the minimum value Zmin of the impedance Z of the horn vibrator 40 in the range in which the frequency f of the drive voltage is about 175 kHz to about 185 kHz, for example), and when the new frequency component is found, the oscillation unit includes the new frequency component in the oscillation output (Paragraph 0016, With the ultrasonic vibrator driving apparatus of this preferred embodiment, the reference frequency setter searches for and obtains the resonance frequency by sweeping the frequency of the driving voltage before the start of driving of the ultrasonic vibrator, and sets the reference frequency according to the obtained resonance frequency. Accordingly, even if the resonance frequencies of the individual ultrasonic vibrators are different due to the manufacturing variation and the temperature dependency of the ultrasonic vibrator, the reference frequency is able to be set appropriately according to the resonance frequencies of the individual ultrasonic vibrators), (Paragraph 0058, Essentially, as shown in FIG. 5A, the controller 61 repeatedly sweeps the frequency f of the drive voltage by predetermined sweep widths Δf1 and Δf2 and a predetermined sweep period ΔS so as to include the resonance frequency fr, based on the reference frequency fo set according to the resonance frequency fr of the horn vibrator 40).
Regarding Claim 7, Schipper in view of Yuki and Maeda discloses all of the limitations of Claim 5. Maeda further discloses: wherein the search unit sweeps the oscillation frequency generated by the oscillation unit in the certain frequency range during operation, and thus searches whether there is a frequency component that does not need to be supplied to the replacement member that is attached among the frequency components based on the relationship between voltage and current (Paragraph 0054, the controller 61 receives the output of the current detector 65 and sequentially samples and inputs the current value (effective value) of the current flowing in the horn vibrator 40. Furthermore, the controller 61 divides the voltage value (effective value) Ve of the drive voltage by the current value Ie to obtain the minimum value Zmin of the impedance Z of the horn vibrator 40 in the range in which the frequency f of the drive voltage is about 175 kHz to about 185 kHz, for example), and when it is found that there is the frequency component that does not need to be supplied (Paragraph 0055, Accordingly, even if the resonance frequencies fr of the individual horn vibrators 40 differ due to the manufacturing variation and temperature dependency of the horn vibrator 40, the reference frequency fo is able to be set appropriately according to the resonance frequencies fr of the individual horn vibrators 40) , the oscillation unit excludes the frequency component that does not need to be supplied from the oscillation output (Paragraph 0058, Essentially, as shown in FIG. 5A, the controller 61 repeatedly sweeps the frequency f of the drive voltage by predetermined sweep widths Δf1 and Δf2 and a predetermined sweep period ΔS so as to include the resonance frequency fr, based on the reference frequency fo set according to the resonance frequency fr of the horn vibrator 40), (Yuki, Paragraph 0073, Furthermore, as shown in Figure 6(B), a zero-frequency stage S0 may be provided between the low-frequency stage S1 and the high-frequency stage S2, during which power is not supplied from the control unit 1050 to the vibration application unit 1020. In this zero-frequency stage S0, no ultrasonic vibration is applied from the vibration-applying unit 1020 to the mesh member 120).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Cameron (US 20160330999 A1) discloses an electronic vapor device that incorporates conductive coils in its piezoelectric components and has removable cartridge elements
Luc et al. (US 20140014685 A1) discloses a volatile material dispensing device with two actuating devices for actuating two containers at two different frequencies
Paunescu et al. (US 20170128971 A1) discloses an aseptic aerosol misting device with a replaceable liquid reservoir and nozzle
Maeda et al. (US 20190210055 A1) discloses an ultrasonic vibrator driving apparatus and mesh nebulizer
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MISHAL Z HUSSAIN whose telephone number is (703)756-1206. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 8:30am - 5:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Brandy S. Lee can be reached at (571) 270-7410. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MISHAL HUSSAIN/
Examiner
Art Unit 3785
/BRANDY S LEE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3785
Prosecution Insights