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 § 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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 1-13, 15-16, 18, 19, and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schneider et al. (WO2014102092A1) in view of Brown (US 2016/0332754).
Claims 1 and 15. Schneider et al. discloses an electrically heated aerosol- generating system 100 comprising an aerosol- generating device having a housing 10 and an aerosol-forming article 12. The aerosol-forming article 12 includes an aerosol-forming substrate that is pushed inside the housing 10 (wherein housing 10 forms a cavity configured to selectively receive a distal end of the article 12) to come into thermal proximity with heater 14 (heating element located in the cavity of housing 10, the heating element being separated from the aerosol-forming substrate 30 (liquid retention section)) (Figure 2; Page 11, lines 21-28; Page 12, lines 4-10). The aerosol-generating article 12 comprises four elements: an aerosol-forming substrate 30 (liquid retention section), a support element, such as a hollow tube 40 (aerosol-generation section), a transfer section 50, and a mouthpiece filter 60. These four elements are arranged sequentially and in coaxial alignment and are assembled by a cigarette paper 70 (casing) to form a rod. The aerosol-forming substrate comprises a bundle of crimped cast-leaf tobacco wrapped in a filter paper (not shown) to form a plug. The cast-leaf tobacco includes one or more aerosol formers, such as glycerine (Page 12, lines 15-30; Figure 2). The aerosol-forming substrate may comprise both solid and liquid components (Page 8, lines 1-7).
Schneider et al. does not explicitly disclose that the aerosol-forming substrate 30 (liquid retention section) is refillable.
Brown discloses a refill bottle and system for an electronic cigarette which refills the reservoir of an electronic smoking device with liquid for vaporization (Abstract; [0003]). A refill system for an electronic cigarette can comprise a refill bottle. The refill bottle can comprise a bottle housing, a bottle cavity defined by the bottle housing, and a refill assembly coupled to the bottle housing. The refill assembly can comprise a bottle stopper, a movable assembly, a spring, a filling projection, and a projection opening. The refill assembly can be configured to cover the filling projection and the projection opening when no force is acting upon the refill assembly. The refill system can further comprise an electronic cigarette tank comprising a tank side wall, a tank reservoir defined by the tank side wall, and a self-sealing port coupled to the tank side wall ([0007]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add port to enable the aerosol-forming substrate 30 (liquid retention section) of Schneider to be refilled with aerosol former as needed.
Claim 2. Modified Schneider et al. discloses that the heater comprising an electrically resistive heating element and a heater substrate; wherein the heating element comprises a first portion formed from a first material and a second portion formed from a second material different to the first material, configured such that, when an electrical current is passed through the heating element the first portion is heated to a higher temperature than the second portion as a result of the electrical current (Page 2, line 11 – Page 5, line 29).
Claim 3. Modified Schneider et al. discloses that the aerosol-forming substrate (liquid retention section) comprises a bundle of crimped cast-leaf tobacco (liquid retention medium having a capacity) wrapped in a filter paper to form a plug. The cast-leaf tobacco includes one or more aerosol formers, such as glycerine (Schneider Page 12, lines 15-30; Figure 2).
Claim 4. Modified Schneider et al. discloses that the aerosol-generating article 12 comprises four elements: an aerosol-forming substrate 30 (liquid retention section), a support element, such as a hollow tube 40 (aerosol-generation section downstream of the aerosol-forming substrate 30 (liquid retention section)), a transfer section 50, and a mouthpiece filter 60. These four elements are arranged sequentially and in coaxial alignment and are assembled by a cigarette paper 70 (casing) to form a rod (Schneider Page 12, lines 15-30; Figure 2).
Claims 5 and 19. Modified Schneider et al. discloses that the aerosol-generating article 12 comprises four elements: an aerosol-forming substrate 30 (liquid retention section), a support element, such as a hollow tube 40 (aerosol-generation section downstream of the aerosol-forming substrate 30 (liquid retention section)), a transfer section 50, and a mouthpiece filter 60. These four elements are arranged sequentially and in coaxial alignment and are assembled by a cigarette paper 70 (casing) to form a rod. As a user draws on the mouthpiece filter 60, air is drawn into the aerosol-forming article and the volatile substances condense to form an inhalable aerosol. This aerosol passes through the mouthpiece filter 60 of the aerosol-forming article and into the user's mouth (Schneider Page 12, line 15 – Page 13, line 30; Figure 2).
Claims 6 and 7. Modified Schneider et al. discloses an electronic cigarette tank comprising a tank side wall, a tank reservoir defined by the tank side wall, and a self-sealing port coupled to the tank side wall (Brown [0007]).
Claim 8. Modified Schneider et al. discloses that the aerosol-generating article 12 comprises four elements: an aerosol-forming substrate 30 (liquid retention section), a support element, such as a hollow tube 40 (aerosol-generation section), a transfer section 50, and a mouthpiece filter 60. These four elements are arranged sequentially and in coaxial alignment and are assembled by a cigarette paper 70 (rigid casing) to form a rod (Page 12, lines 15-30; Figure 2).
Claim 9. Modified Schneider et al. discloses that the aerosol-forming substrate 30 (liquid retention section) comprises a bundle of crimped cast-leaf tobacco (absorbent material) wrapped in a filter paper to form a plug. The cast-leaf tobacco includes one or more aerosol formers, such as glycerine (Schneider Page 12, lines 15-30; Figure 2). As a user draws on the mouthpiece filter 60, air is drawn into the aerosol-forming article (and thus through the aerosol-forming substrate 30 (liquid retention section)) and the volatile substances condense to form an inhalable aerosol (Schneider Page 12, line 15 – Page 13, line 30; Figure 2).
Claim 10. Modified Schneider et al. discloses that the aerosol-forming substrate comprises a bundle of crimped cast-leaf tobacco (wherein cast-leaf tobacco comprises a polymeric binder) wrapped in a filter paper to form a plug. The cast-leaf tobacco includes one or more aerosol formers, such as glycerine (Schneider Page 12, lines 15-30; Figure 2).
Claim 11. Modified Schneider et al. discloses that the hollow tube 40 (aerosol-generation section) is an empty chamber (Schneider Figure 2). Schneider et al. teaches that the smoking article may have a total length between approximately 30 mm and approximately 100 mm (Page 7, lines 20-21) but does not explicitly disclose a length of the hollow tube 40 (aerosol-generation section). However, changes in size or the relative dimensions of a claimed element are not considered sufficient to patentably distinguish over the prior art (See MPEP § 2144.04(IV)(A)).
Claim 12. Modified Schneider et al. discloses that the aerosol-generating article 12 comprises four elements: an aerosol-forming substrate 30 (liquid retention section), a support element, such as a hollow tube 40 (aerosol-generation section), a transfer section 50 (aerosol-cooling element), and a mouthpiece filter 60 (Schneider Page 12, lines 15-30; Figure 2). Modified Schneider et al. does not explicitly disclose that the transfer section 50 (aerosol-cooling element) has a resistance to draw lower than 100 mm H2O, however, one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize resistance to draw as a result effective variable which would have been obvious to optimize (See MPEP §2144.05(II)),
Claim 13. Modified Schneider et al. discloses that the aerosol-generating article 12 comprises a filter plug. The filter plug may be located at a downstream end of the smoking article (Schneider Page 7, lines 22-23).
Claim 16. Modified Schneider et al. discloses that the aerosol-generating article can be configured to mate with a refill bottle (dispenser) (Brown [0083]; Figures 9A and 9b). Brown discloses a refill bottle and system for an electronic cigarette, the electronic cigarette having a self-sealing port 509 can be located on the sidewall 505 of the eCig tank 501 and can be configured to mate with a refill bottle. The refill bottle can be configured such that the refill cavity is sized to dispense the desired quantity of liquid (metered dose) (Brown [0077]; [0083]; Figures 9A and 9b).
Claim 18. Modified Schneider et al. discloses that the refill bottle can be configured such that the refill cavity is sized to dispense the desired quantity of liquid (metered dose) (Brown [0077]; [0083]; Figures 9A and 9b).
Modified Schneider et al. does not explicitly disclose that the metered dose is between 75% and 95% of a liquid volume required to fully saturate the liquid retention medium. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to select a metered dose which is close to the liquid volume required to fully saturate the liquid retention medium so that the liquid retention medium can be refilled when it is nearly depleted.
Claim 22. Modified Schneider et al. discloses that the distal most end of the heater 14 (heating element) is separated from an end of the aerosol-forming substrate 30 (liquid retention section) along a longitudinal length of the device when the distal portion is received in the cavity (Schneider Figure 2).
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schneider et al. (WO2014102092A1) in view of Brown (US 2016/0332754) and further in view of Sanchez et al. (US 2016/0143360).
Claim 17. Modified Schneider et al. discloses aerosol-generating kit of claim 16 but does not explicitly disclose that the aerosol-forming liquid comprises between 10 weight percent and 25 weight percent water, an aerosol former, and at least one flavorant.
Sanchez et al. discloses aerosol forming compositions comprising a glycerin, water (between 13 and 18 percent), and tobacco flavor solutions (Tables 1 and 2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date that the aerosol-forming liquid of Schneider et al. may be a composition known in the art, such as that of Sanchez et al., since simple substitution of one known element for another is considered obvious (See MPEP § 2143(I)(B)).
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schneider et al. (WO2014102092A1) in view of Brown (US 2016/0332754) and further in view of Fursa et al. (US 2017/0055585).
Claim 20. Modified Schneider et al. discloses the system of claim 15 but does not disclose an inductor configured to heat a susceptor.
Fursa discloses an inductive heating device for heating an aerosol forming substrate 20 comprising a susceptor 21. The inductive heating device according to the invention comprises: a device housing, a DC power source for in operation providing a DC supply voltage and a DC current, a power supply electronics configured to operate at high frequency, the power supply electronics comprising a DC/AC converter connected to the DC power source, the DC/AC converter comprising an LC load network configured to operate at low ohmic load, wherein the LC load network comprises a series connection of a capacitor and an inductor having an ohmic resistance, a cavity arranged in the device housing, the cavity having an internal surface shaped to accommodate at least a portion of the aerosol-forming substrate, the cavity being arranged such that upon accommodation of the portion of the aerosol-forming substrate in the cavity the inductor of the LC load network is inductively coupled to the susceptor of the aerosol-forming substrate during operation (Abstract; [0005]).
Fursa et al. discloses that the inductive heating device according to the invention provides for a small and easy to handle, efficient, clean and robust heating device due to the contactless heating of the substrate. For susceptors forming low ohmic loads as specified above while having an ohmic resistance significantly higher than the ohmic resistance of the inductor of the LC load network, it is thus possible to reach temperatures of the susceptor in the range of 300-400 degrees Celsius in five seconds only or in a time interval which is even less than five seconds, while at the same time the temperature of the inductor is low (due to a vast majority of the power being converted to heat in the susceptor) (0039]). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing that the heating mechanism of Modified Schneider et al. may be replaced with the inductor and susceptor of Fursa et al.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 14 and 21 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Modified Schneider et al. discloses the aerosol-generating device of claim 1 but does not disclose a heat diffuser configured to indirectly heat air drawn into the aerosol-generating device.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments concern claim amendments that are addressed in the rejections above.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Katherine A Will whose telephone number is (571)270-0516. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 10:00AM-6:00PM(EST).
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael Wilson can be reached on (571)270-3882. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/KATHERINE A WILL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1747