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 .
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 3 and 9 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.
Both claims 3 and 9 recite the limitation of “acquired from recipe information”, however it is unclear what is meant by “recipe information”, or what “recipe information” includes. As Paragraph 0021 of Applicant’s specification describes recipe information as being information acquired from a memory, the Examiner has taken this limitation to mean any sort of information stored in a memory.
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.
Claim(s) 1-4, 7-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Gallagher et al. (US 2021/0244095 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Gallagher discloses a temperature control method (heating engine control algorithm 2300 used to control power level supplied to heating driver 2305, Figure 24 and Paragraph 0225; Abstract) of a vaporizer (e-vaping device 500 configured to generate a non-nicotine vapor, Paragraph 0093 and Figure 1) that is provided with a heater (heater 2215, Paragraph 0198) to heat and vaporize an inflowing chemical liquid (heater 2215 is actuated by the controller 2105 and transfers heat to at least a portion of the non-nicotine pre-vapor formulation in accordance with the commend profile from the controller to therefore vaporize, Paragraph 0197; the pre-vapor formulation may be a liquid including but not limited to, water, oils, emulsions, beads, solvents, active ingredients, ethanol, plant extracts (e.g., cannabinoids), natural or artificial flavors, and/or vapor formers such as glycerin and propylene glycol, Paragraph 0093)), the temperature control method comprising: determining an input power to the heater at a current time (the method of controlling the heater includes determining power information including a first operating point, Abstract; see also Paragraph 0029 describing the heating control method involving determining the input power of the heater at a current time), based on: an inflow rate of the chemical liquid into the vaporizer at each time in a first prediction interval from a current time to a first predetermined future time (the heating engine control algorithm 2300 may use one or more of a plurality of inputs to generate the power level supplied to the heating engine driver 2305, according to at least some example embodiments, inputs to the heating engine control algorithm 2300 may include, but are not necessarily limited to, a vaping mode generated by a buttonless vaping function 2310, one or more operating points generated by a first calibration mapping function 2320, a predicted temperature of the heating engine 2215 generated by a heating engine temperature prediction function 2330, heating engine temperature and electrical performance values provided by heating engine sensors 2222 (which may be included in the pod sensors 2220), airflow rate and wick wetness values provided by the pod sensors 2220, vaping profile information provided by an adult vaper vaping profile update function 2340, non-nicotine e-vapor device temperature information provided by device sensors 2125, non-nicotine pre-vapor formulation material level and/or flow rate information provided by a liquid level and flow rate prediction function 2350, Paragraph 0225); a measured temperature of the vaporizer at the current time (heating engine prediction function 2660 includes electrical temperature measurements from heating engine sensors 2222, Paragraph 0292); and a predicted temperature of the vaporizer at each time in the first prediction interval (predicted temperature of heating engine 2215 generated by the temperature prediction function 2330, Paragraph 0225 and Figure 24).
Regarding claim 2, Gallagher further discloses searching for a time series of an input power to the heater at each time in the first prediction interval, which minimizes change in a temperature of the vaporizer in the first prediction interval; and determining a first input power to the heater in the time series as the input power to the heater at the current time (see Paragraph 0294 describing the PID controller 2670 continuously correcting a level of the power control signal 2672 so as to control the third power waveform 2730 output by the second power level setting operation 2644 to the heating engine driver 2305 in such a manner that a difference (e.g., a magnitude of the difference) between the target temperature 2676 and the heating engine temperature estimate 2674 is reduced or, alternatively, minimized. The difference between the target temperature 2676 and the heating engine temperature estimate 2674 may also be viewed as an error value which the PID controller 2670 works to reduce or minimize. For example, according to at least some example embodiments, the second power level setting operation 2644 outputs the third power waveform 2730 such that levels of the third power waveform 2730 are controlled by the power control signal 2672)).
Regarding claim 3, Gallagher further discloses wherein the inflow rate of the chemical liquid into the vaporizer at each time in the first prediction interval is acquired from recipe information of processing executed by a processing apparatus including the vaporizer (controller 2105 may include a processor, Paragraph 0153; see Paragraph 0225 describing flow rate information provided by a liquid level and flow rate prediction function 2350 being used for the heating prediction function, Paragraph 0225; The Examiner notes the 112b rejection presented above with regards to the term “recipe information” – the Examiner noes Paragraphs 0259-0260 of Gallagher teach vaping profile information stored in a memory).
Regarding claim 4, Gallagher further discloses determining an input power to the heater at a next time, which is a time after a predetermined sampling time elapses from the current time (The data generated from the pod sensors 2220 may be sampled at a sample rate appropriate to the parameter being measured using a discrete, multi-channel analog-to-digital converter (ADC), based on: an inflow rate of the chemical liquid into the vaporizer at each time in a second prediction interval from the next time to a second predetermined future time; a measured temperature of the vaporizer at the next time; and a predicted temperature of the vaporizer at each time in the second prediction interval, wherein the measured temperature of the vaporizer at the next time is a result of inputting, to the heater, the determined input power to the heater at the current time (the heating engine control algorithm 2300 may use one or more of a plurality of inputs to generate the power level supplied to the heating engine driver 2305, according to at least some example embodiments, inputs to the heating engine control algorithm 2300 may include, but are not necessarily limited to, a vaping mode generated by a buttonless vaping function 2310, one or more operating points generated by a first calibration mapping function 2320, a predicted temperature of the heating engine 2215 generated by a heating engine temperature prediction function 2330, heating engine temperature and electrical performance values provided by heating engine sensors 2222 (which may be included in the pod sensors 2220), airflow rate and wick wetness values provided by the pod sensors 2220, vaping profile information provided by an adult vaper vaping profile update function 2340, non-nicotine e-vapor device temperature information provided by device sensors 2125, non-nicotine pre-vapor formulation material level and/or flow rate information provided by a liquid level and flow rate prediction function 2350, Paragraph 0225).
Regarding claim 7, Gallagher discloses a substrate processing apparatus including a vaporizer (e-vaping device 500 configured to generate a non-nicotine vapor, Paragraph 0093 and Figure 1; the material being a non-nicotine pre-vapor formulation or an aerosol-forming substrate) to which a temperature control method is applied (heating engine control algorithm 2300 used to control power level supplied to heating driver 2305, Figure 24 and Paragraph 0225; Abstract), wherein the vaporizer is provided with a heater (heater 2215, Paragraph 0198) to heat and vaporize an inflowing chemical liquid (heater 2215 is actuated by the controller 2105 and transfers heat to at least a portion of the non-nicotine pre-vapor formulation in accordance with the commend profile from eh controller to therefore vaporize, Paragraph 0197; the pre-vapor formulation may be a liquid including but not limited to, water, oils, emulsions, beads, solvents, active ingredients, ethanol, plant extracts (e.g., cannabinoids), natural or artificial flavors, and/or vapor formers such as glycerin and propylene glycol, Paragraph 0093)), and wherein the temperature control method includes: determining an input power to the heater at a current time (the method of controlling the heater includes determining power information including a first operating point, Abstract; see also Paragraph 0029 describing the heating control method involving determining the input power of the heater at a current time), based on: an inflow rate of the chemical liquid into the vaporizer at each time in a first prediction interval from a current time to a first predetermined future time (the heating engine control algorithm 2300 may use one or more of a plurality of inputs to generate the power level supplied to the heating engine driver 2305, according to at least some example embodiments, inputs to the heating engine control algorithm 2300 may include, but are not necessarily limited to, a vaping mode generated by a buttonless vaping function 2310, one or more operating points generated by a first calibration mapping function 2320, a predicted temperature of the heating engine 2215 generated by a heating engine temperature prediction function 2330, heating engine temperature and electrical performance values provided by heating engine sensors 2222 (which may be included in the pod sensors 2220), airflow rate and wick wetness values provided by the pod sensors 2220, vaping profile information provided by an adult vaper vaping profile update function 2340, non-nicotine e-vapor device temperature information provided by device sensors 2125, non-nicotine pre-vapor formulation material level and/or flow rate information provided by a liquid level and flow rate prediction function 2350, Paragraph 0225); a measured temperature of the vaporizer at the current time (heating engine prediction function 2660 includes electrical temperature measurements from heating engine sensors 2222, Paragraph 0292); and a predicted temperature of the vaporizer at each time in the first prediction interval (predicted temperature of heating engine 2215 generated by the temperature prediction function 2330, Paragraph 0225 and Figure 24).
Regarding claim 8, Gallagher further discloses wherein the temperature control method further includes: searching for a time series of an input power to the heater at each time in the first prediction interval, which minimizes change in a temperature of the vaporizer in the first prediction interval; and determining a first input power to the heater in the time series as the input power to the heater at the current time (see Paragraph 0294 describing the PID controller 2670 continuously correcting a level of the power control signal 2672 so as to control the third power waveform 2730 output by the second power level setting operation 2644 to the heating engine driver 2305 in such a manner that a difference (e.g., a magnitude of the difference) between the target temperature 2676 and the heating engine temperature estimate 2674 is reduced or, alternatively, minimized. The difference between the target temperature 2676 and the heating engine temperature estimate 2674 may also be viewed as an error value which the PID controller 2670 works to reduce or minimize. For example, according to at least some example embodiments, the second power level setting operation 2644 outputs the third power waveform 2730 such that levels of the third power waveform 2730 are controlled by the power control signal 2672)).
Regarding claim 9, Gallagher further discloses wherein the inflow rate of the chemical liquid into the vaporizer at each time in the first prediction interval is acquired from recipe information of processing executed by a processing apparatus including the vaporizer (controller 2105 may include a processor, Paragraph 0153; see Paragraph 0225 describing flow rate information provided by a liquid level and flow rate prediction function 2350 being used for the heating prediction function, Paragraph 0225; The Examiner notes the 112b rejection presented above with regards to the term “recipe information” – the Examiner noes Paragraphs 0259-0260 of Gallagher teach vaping profile information stored in a memory).
Regarding claim 10, Gallagher further discloses wherein the temperature control method further includes: determining an input power to the heater at a next time, which is a time after a predetermined sampling time elapses from the current time (The data generated from the pod sensors 2220 may be sampled at a sample rate appropriate to the parameter being measured using a discrete, multi-channel analog-to-digital converter (ADC), based on: an inflow rate of the chemical liquid into the vaporizer at each time in a second prediction interval from the next time to a second predetermined future time; a measured temperature of the vaporizer at the next time; and a predicted temperature of the vaporizer at each time in the second prediction interval, wherein the measured temperature of the vaporizer at the next time is a result of inputting, to the heater, the determined input power to the heater at the current time (the heating engine control algorithm 2300 may use one or more of a plurality of inputs to generate the power level supplied to the heating engine driver 2305, according to at least some example embodiments, inputs to the heating engine control algorithm 2300 may include, but are not necessarily limited to, a vaping mode generated by a buttonless vaping function 2310, one or more operating points generated by a first calibration mapping function 2320, a predicted temperature of the heating engine 2215 generated by a heating engine temperature prediction function 2330, heating engine temperature and electrical performance values provided by heating engine sensors 2222 (which may be included in the pod sensors 2220), airflow rate and wick wetness values provided by the pod sensors 2220, vaping profile information provided by an adult vaper vaping profile update function 2340, non-nicotine e-vapor device temperature information provided by device sensors 2125, non-nicotine pre-vapor formulation material level and/or flow rate information provided by a liquid level and flow rate prediction function 2350, Paragraph 0225).
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 5 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gallagher et al. (US 2021/0244095 A1) in view of Bowen et al. (US 2016/0157524 A1).
Regarding claim 5, Gallagher discloses the temperature control method of Claim 1, further teaching wherein the input power to the heater is determined using model predictive control (heating engine predictive temperature function 2330, Paragraph 0225 and Abstract), however doesn’t explicitly state wherein a predictive model for predicting the temperature of the vaporizer in the model predictive control is a discrete state equation.
However, Bowen teaches a vaporizing device (Abstract, Figure 1) wherein a predicative model for predicating the temperature of the vaporizer is a predictive model control involving a discrete state equation (vaporized dose predictor model utilities temperature profiles using discrete time intervals, thus involving the use of a discrete state equation, Paragraph 0048).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Gallagher’s predictive model such that it involves a discrete state equation, as taught by Bowen, as using a discrete state equation in a predictive model offers various benefits such as making calculations simpler and more efficient for digital systems, requires fewer computations, and easier optimization, and the use of discrete state equations is a well-known and art-recognized means of predictive modeling.
Regarding claim 11, Gallagher teaches the substrate processing apparatus of Claim 7, further teaching wherein the input power to the heater is determined using model predictive control (heating engine predictive temperature function 2330, Paragraph 0225 and Abstract), however doesn’t explicitly state wherein a predictive model for predicting the temperature of the vaporizer in the model predictive control is a discrete state equation.
However, Bowen teaches a vaporizing device (Abstract, Figure 1) wherein a predicative model for predicating the temperature of the vaporizer is a predictive model control involving a discrete state equation (vaporized dose predictor model utilities temperature profiles using discrete time intervals, thus involving the use of a discrete state equation, Paragraph 0048).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Gallagher’s predictive model such that it involves a discrete state equation, as taught by Bowen, as using a discrete state equation in a predictive model offers various benefits such as making calculations simpler and more efficient for digital systems, requires fewer computations, and easier optimization, and the use of discrete state equations is a well-known and art-recognized means of predictive modeling.
Claims 6 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gallagher et al. (US 2021/0244095 A1) in view of Yoshii et al. (US 2012/0064472 A1).
Regarding claim 5, Gallagher discloses the temperature control method of Claim 1, further teaching wherein the input power to the heater is determined using model predictive control (heating engine predictive temperature function 2330, Paragraph 0225 and Abstract), however doesn’t explicitly state wherein a predictive model for predicting the temperature of the vaporizer in the model predictive control is an ARX model.
However, Yoshii teaches a vapor producing apparatus (vapor production, Paragraph 0031 and Figure 1) wherein a predictive model for predicting the temperature is an ARX model (after the output data acquisition, temperature bands within a certain temperature range, are set at intervals, the acquired data is then used to establish an auto-regressive exogenous (ARX) model independently for each temperature band, Paragraph 0058)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Gallagher’s predictive model such that it involves an ARX predictive model, as taught by Yoshii, as using an ARX model in a predictive model offers various benefits such as making calculations simpler and more efficient for digital systems, requires fewer computations, and easier optimization, and the use of an ARX model is a well-known and art-recognized means of predictive modeling.
Regarding claim 12, Gallagher discloses the substrate processing apparatus of claim 7, further teaching wherein the input power to the heater is determined using model predictive control (heating engine predictive temperature function 2330, Paragraph 0225 and Abstract), however doesn’t explicitly state wherein a predictive model for predicting the temperature of the vaporizer in the model predictive control is an ARX model.
However, Yoshii teaches a vapor producing apparatus (vapor production, Paragraph 0031 and Figure 1) wherein a predictive model for predicting the temperature is an ARX model (after the output data acquisition, temperature bands within a certain temperature range, are set at intervals, the acquired data is then used to establish an auto-regressive exogenous (ARX) model independently for each temperature band, Paragraph 0058)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Gallagher’s predictive model such that it involves an ARX predictive model, as taught by Yoshii, as using an ARX model in a predictive model offers various benefits such as making calculations simpler and more efficient for digital systems, requires fewer computations, and easier optimization, and the use of an ARX model is a well-known and art-recognized means of predictive modeling.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: Woodbine et al. (US 2021/0161213 A1) and Moloney et al. (US 2021/0000184 A1).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SARAH B LEDERER whose telephone number is 571-272-7274. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday, 7:30 AM - 4:30 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Brandy Lee can be reached on (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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/SARAH B LEDERER/Examiner, Art Unit 3785
/MARGARET M LUARCA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3785
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