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 .
Status of the Claims
Claims 1-14 are pending and are subject to this office action. This is the first Office Action on the merits of the claims.
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 12 and 13 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 12 recites the limitation "the aerosol generating " in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim because it is the first mention of an aerosol generating material. For the purposes of examination, “the aerosol generating material” in claim 12 will be interpreted as a wick configured to carry an aerosol generating material.
Claim 13 recites the limitation "the aerosol generating material" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For the purposes of examination, “the aerosol generating material” in claim 13 will be interpreted as a cartridge containing an aerosol generating material.
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 1-3 and 10-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Guduru (US-20190356110-A1).
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Regarding claim 1, Guduru, directed to an electronic vaporizing device (EVD), discloses:
A heater (3) configured to heat a wick (1, “an aerosol generating article”) to vaporize a vaporizable substance (2, Fig.3, [0035]), where the heater (3) comprises:
A conduit (37, “a substrate”) comprising an inner surface (“a first surface”) and an outer surface (36, “second surface”) opposite the inner surface (37, Fig.5, [0037]),
A cavity (35) defined by the first surface of the conduit (37) having a substantially constant curve, in the form of a cylinder ([0037-0038]).
A heating element (3, Fig.5, [0039]) that operates through surface plasmon resonance (SPR), where the metallic nanoparticles are disposed in the “inner surface” (conduit, 37) to generate heat.
An opening that allows light into the first end (40) of the “first surface”, also referred to as conduit (37), which is defined by its cylindrical shape (Fig.5, [0039]).
Regarding claim 2, Guduru, directed to an EVD, discloses the inner surface of the cylindrical conduit (37) a first surface (inner radius 1000 µm), and the outer surface of the tube (36) a second surface (outer radius 1200 µm), where the area of the first inner surface would be smaller than the area of the outer/second surface, making them “at least partially different” from each other ([0037]).
Regarding claim 3, Guduru, directed to an EVD, discloses an uncoiled Active Optical Cavity (AOC, 3, Fig.5) comprising a conduit (37) forming a cavity (35) within the conduit. The inner surface of the tubular conduit (37) is a cylindrical shape and is considered to be a substantially constant curved surface ([0037-0038]).
Regarding claim 10, Guduru directed to an EVD, discloses that the cavity (35, Fig.5A) may be coated in nanoparticles of different sizes to absorb specific wavelengths of light to generate heat ([0039]).
Regarding claim 11, Guduru, directed to an EVD, discloses a fiber-optic connector/physical contact (FC/PC) localized at the first end (40, Fig.3) to avoid the requirement of beam alignment ([0035]).
Regarding claim 12, Guduru, directed to an EVD, discloses a wicking material (1, Fig.7) that draws in the vaporizable substance (2) using capillary forces and vaporization achieved by heating the vaporizable substance (2) to its boiling point using the heat generated through the thermally coupled AOC (3), which is heated by SPR ([0040]).
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Regarding claim 13, Guduru, directed to an EVD, discloses a chamber (200, Fig.1) or “cartridge” that may be filled with vaporizable substance through its open top, or through its open bottom ([0029]). For the purpose of this examination, the chamber will be referred to as the cartridge. The cartridge (200) has a hole at the top which faces the atomizer assembly (230, Fig.2, [0030]). The opening (40, Fig.3, [0035]) is part of the atomizer and therefore the hole in the cartridge is considered to face the opening (40).
Regarding claim 14, Guduru, directed to an EVD, discloses a light source that may comprise a laser diode ([0035]) and a laser source configured to emit a light beam (9, Fig.9, [0063]).
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.
Claims 4-5 and 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Guduru (US-20190356110-A1) in view of Udrea (US-20190305175-A1).
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Regarding claim 4, Guduru discloses an electric vaporizing device (EVD) with a cavity defined by the first surface, a heating element that operates through surface plasmon resonance (SPR), and an opening that allows light into the cavity conduit (Fig. 5, 37, [0039]).
Guduru does not explicitly disclose the heater further comprising an absorbing layer disposed on the second surface and configured to absorb the light penetrating through the substrate.
However, Udrea, directed to micro-machined thermal infra-red (IR) devices, comprising plasmonic heaters (8, Fig.12), discloses:
An emissive/absorptive coating (13) provided on the outer surface of the heater for improving the amount of infrared radiation absorbed (Fig. 17, [0040, 0083]).
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would be obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art to modify Guduru by disposing an absorbing layer on the second surface (36, Fig.5) taught by Udrea, because both Guduru and Udrea are directed to a device comprising a plasmonic heater; Udrea teaches that disposing a layer of absorbing coating on the outer (second) surface increases the heat generated, and this involves finding a proper coating with the desired light absorbent properties to yield predictable results.
Regarding claim 5, Guduru discloses an electric vaporizing device (EVD) with a cavity defined by the first surface, a heating element that operates through surface plasmon resonance (SPR), and an opening that allows light into the cavity conduit (Fig. 5, 37, [0039]).
Guduru does not explicitly disclose the heater further comprising a reflective layer disposed on the second surface and configured to reflect the light penetrating through the substrate.
However, Udrea, directed to micro-machined thermal infra-red (IR) devices, comprising plasmonic heaters (8, Fig.12), discloses:
An emissive/absorptive coating (13, Fig.17) provided on the outer surface of the heater for improving the amount of infrared radiation emitted ([0040, 0083]).
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would be obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art to modify Guduru by disposing a reflective layer on the second surface (36, Fig.5) taught by Udrea, because both Guduru and Udrea are directed to a device comprising a plasmonic heater; Udrea teaches that disposing a layer of reflective/ emissive coating on the outer (second) surface increases the light reflected/emitted by the element, and this involves finding a proper coating with the desired light reflection/emission properties to yield predictable results.
Regarding claim 8, Guduru discloses an electric vaporizing device (EVD) with a cavity defined by the first surface, a heating element that operates through surface plasmon resonance (SPR), and an opening that allows light into the cavity conduit (Fig. 5, 37, [0039]).
Guduru does not explicitly disclose a plurality of prism areas configured to define the void area, arranged along the circumference of said void area.
However, Udrea, directed to micro-machined thermal infra-red (IR) devices, comprising plasmonic heaters (8, Fig.12), discloses:
That the plasmonic element is a patterned “periodic structure” wherein this term refers to the arrangement in which a patterned layer has a plurality of laterally spaced structures (10). This layer is arranged in a circumferential direction, as presented in the figure above, and the areas defining this “void” may be circular, squared, triangular, trapezoidal, or any other shape ([0035-0036], [0073], [0078]).
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would be obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art to modify Guduru by providing the nanoparticle coating in a pattern as taught by Udrea ([0078]), because both Guduru and Udrea are directed to a device comprising a plasmonic heater; Udrea teaches that a periodic structure for SPR increases its efficiency in heat generation and that the area for the metallic components may take any shape and form, and this involves etching the circumferential void area in a periodic pattern so the metallic pieces can define said void area to yield predictable results.
Regarding claim 9, Guduru discloses an electric vaporizing device (EVD) with a cavity defined by the first surface, a heating element that operates through surface plasmon resonance (SPR), and an opening that allows light into the cavity conduit (Fig. 5, 37, [0039]).
Guduru does not explicitly disclose a plurality of metal prisms configured to define the void area, arranged along the circumference of said void area.
However, Udrea, directed to micro-machined thermal infra-red (IR) devices, comprising plasmonic heaters (8, Fig.12), discloses:
That the plasmonic element (8) is a patterned “periodic structure” wherein this term refers to the arrangement in which a patterned layer has a plurality of laterally spaced structures (10). The areas defining this “void” may be circular, squared, triangular, trapezoidal, or any other shape ([0035-0036], [0078]). As presented in the figure above, metallic prisms (10) may also have a plasmonic “periodic structure” that extends along the entire circumference of the etched circles, defining the void area.
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would be obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art to modify Guduru by providing the nanoparticle coating in a pattern as taught by Udrea ([0073]), because both Guduru and Udrea are directed to a device comprising a plasmonic heater; Udrea teaches that the SPR heating element may be comprised of any shape of metallic nanoparticles, including prisms, to improve the plasmonic heater performance and this involves disposing the metallic prisms extending through the circumferential void area in a periodic structure to yield predictable results.
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Claims 6 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Guduru (US-20190356110-A1) in view of Jung (US-20210000185-A1).
Regarding claim 6, Guduru discloses an electric vaporizing device (EVD) with a cavity defined by the first surface, a heating element that operates through surface plasmon resonance (SPR), and an opening that allows light into the cavity conduit (37, Fig.5, [0039]).
Guduru does not explicitly disclose a heat transfer body disposed on the second surface and configured to transfer the generated heat.
However, Jung, directed to a heater in an aerosol-generating device (13, Fig.1), discloses:
An embodiment of an aerosol-generating device, a heater assembly (13) may include a heater and a heat transfer body. The heater is a heat source generating heat, and the heat transfer body, partially covering the heater, may transfer the heat generated to an aerosol generating material. In an example, the heat transfer body may be in the shape of a tube. The heat transfer tube may include a material capable of transferring heat, such as an alloy material and the like ([0086-0087]).
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would be obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art to modify Guduru, by disposing an alloy of two metals (i.e. copper, aluminum, nickel) capable of transferring the generated heat on the outer surface (36, Fig.5) of the plasmonic heater as taught by Jung because both Guduru and Jung are directed to aerosol-generating devices, Jung teaches that by using a tube shaped heat transfer body covering the outer surface of the heater, the generated heat would be efficiently transferred to heat the aerosol generating material ([0087]) to yield predictable results.
Regarding claim 7, Jung discloses the heat transfer body is formed of an alloy, meaning there are two different metals (i.e. copper, aluminum, nickel) and therefore have inherently different thermal properties.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JULIO E OCANA-ORTIZ whose telephone number is (571) 270-0806. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, PHILIP Y LOUIE can be reached at (571) 270-1241. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/J.E.O./Examiner, Art Unit 1755
/PHILIP Y LOUIE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1755
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