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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election with traverse of Species A and Species II in the reply filed on 2026 April 2 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground that examining all four species would not present a burden. However, as set forth in the restriction requirement of 2026 February 5, the species require different fields of search to capture mutually exclusive subject matter. Species A, fig. 4a shows the second segment surrounding the first segment, while Species B, fig. 4b shows the first segment surrounding the second segment. Species I, [applicant 137-139] describes that the heater heats the second segment, while Species II, [applicant 137-139] describes that the heater does not heat the second segment.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claim 15 is withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 2026 April 2.
In claims 18-20, the limitation “that heats part of a side of the columnar second segment” is withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 2026 April 2.
Claims 1-14 and 16-21 are presently examined.
Claim Objections
Claims 5 and 11-12 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 5: “stacked, and fill the inside” should be “stacked and fill the inside”.
Claims 11-12: “the tobacco material” should be “the one or more tobacco materials” to clearly point to the same term recited in claim 10.
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.
Claim 11 is 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 11: the term “flavor developing agent” is a subjective term which renders the claim indefinite. Whether an agent is a flavor can be evaluated by whether the agent activates taste buds and olfactory nerves for a majority of humans. However, whether an agent is a flavor developer is unclear. No objective test or example is disclosed to evaluate how an agent interacts with a flavor to develop said flavor. The term is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. The term “flavor developing agent” is interpreted as “flavor” to make the claim examinable.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 1-4, 6, 13-14, 16-18, and 20-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Jeong (WO 2020153829 A1 with reference made to national stage translation US 20220175015 A1).
Claim 1: Jeong teaches a heat-not-burn [51] flavor inhaling article (fig. 2 and [52], #50) comprising an aerosol-generating rod (56 and 58) and a mouthpiece segment (52 and 54),
wherein the aerosol-generating rod (56 and 58) includes a first segment (58) including an aerosol-source material ([76], #58 comprises glycerin and propylene glycol) and a second segment ([52], #56) including a flavor component ([56], the gel aerosol-forming substrate #56 comprises natural food flavor or fruit extract),
and the mouthpiece segment ([52], #52 and #54) includes a cooling segment ([94], #54 cools aerosol) and a filter segment ([52], #52).
Claim 2: Jeong teaches the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 1, wherein the aerosol-source material ([76], glycerin and propylene glycol) is at least one selected from the group consisting of glycerin and propylene glycol.
Claim 3: Jeong teaches the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 1, wherein the first segment (fig. 2 and [52], #58) further includes plant fibers (tobacco fibers).
Claim 4: Jeong teaches the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 3, wherein the first segment (fig. 2 and [52], #58) includes a cylindrical wrapper (62) and a nonwoven fabric ([74], #58 is a stuffed tobacco sheet) made up of the plant fibers (tobacco fibers) filling an inside of the wrapper (60), and the nonwoven fabric (tobacco sheet) contains the aerosol-source material ([76], glycerin and propylene glycol).
Claim 6: Jeong teaches the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 4, wherein the wrapper (fig. 2 and [86], #62) is a laminated sheet of metal foil and paper (metal thin film and wrapping paper laminated together).
Claim 13: Jeong teaches the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 1, wherein the second segment (fig. 2 and [52], #56) is disposed adjacent to the mouthpiece segment (52 and 54) with respect to the first segment (58).
Claim 14: Jeong teaches the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 1, wherein the columnar first segment (fig. 2 and [52], #58) is provided so as to extend in an axial direction of the aerosol-generating rod (56 and 58), and the second segment (56) is disposed on an outer periphery (outermost surface) of the first segment (58).
Claim 16: Jeong teaches the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 1, wherein the first segment (fig. 2 and [52], #58) and the second segment (56) are connected by being wrapped with an outer wrapper ([82], #60) including a heat transfer raw material ([86], #60 comprises a metal foil).
Claim 17: Jeong teaches a heat-not-burn [51] flavor inhaling system (fig. 10 and [136]) comprising: the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article (50) according to claim 1; and a heating device (100) including a heater (136) that heats the aerosol-generating rod (56 and 58) of the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article.
Claim 18: Jeong teaches the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling system according to claim 17, wherein the heater (fig. 10 and [136], #136) includes a first circumferential heater (136e) that heats an entire side of the columnar first segment (58) and that does not heat the second segment (56).
Claim 20: Jeong teaches the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling system according to claim 17, wherein the heater (fig. 10 and [136], #136) includes an internal heater (136b) that heats an inside of the columnar first segment (58) entirely in an axial direction and that does not heat the second segment (56).
Claim 21: Jeong teaches the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling system according to claim 17, wherein a heating temperature of the heater (fig. 10 and [136], #136) ranges from 250°C to 350°C [140].
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.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jeong (WO 2020153829 A1 with reference made to national stage translation US 20220175015 A1) as applied to claim 4 in view of Yamada (US 20200120981 A1).
Claim 5: Jeong teaches the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 4.
Jeong does not explicitly teach that multiple pieces of the sheet nonwoven fabric are stacked and fill the inside of the wrapper in a state of being folded in an S-shape.
Yamada teaches a heat-not-burn [5] flavor inhaling article (fig. 3 and [89]) comprising multiple pieces of a tobacco [58] sheet nonwoven fabric (fig. 2D and [79], #10) that are stacked and fill the inside of a wrapper ([53], wrapper) in a state of being folded in an S-shape (fig. 2D), such that the stacked pieces yield efficient heat transfer between contacting portions while maintaining efficient airflow [78].
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to stack Jeong’s tobacco sheet nonwoven fabric into Yamada’s S-shape folds, because doing so would yield efficient heat transfer between contacting portions while maintaining efficient airflow.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jeong (WO 2020153829 A1 with reference made to national stage translation US 20220175015 A1) as applied to claim 4 in view of Rosales (US 0829296 A).
Claim 7: Jeong teaches the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 4, wherein the wrapper (fig. 2 and [86], #62) is a laminated body of a paper layer (wrapping paper) forming an outer surface (in the example, #56a adjoins the metal foil, so the wrapping paper is an outer layer) and a liquid impermeable layer (metal thin film) forming an inner surface (in the example, #56a adjoins the metal foil, so the metal foil is an inner layer), the liquid impermeable layer is made up of a layer of a metal foil (metal thin film), and the wrapper (62) is formed in a cylindrical shape (fig. 2) in a manner such that the liquid impermeable layer (metal foil) of the wrapper (62).
Jeong does not explicitly teach that the wrapper is bonded at one end and the other end of the wrapper.
Rosales teaches an inhaling article (fig. 1) comprising a wrapper (lines 14-22, outer wrapper) bonded at a first end and a second end of the wrapper (the outer wrapper is adhered together), such that the wrapper contains and preserves a shape of material wrapped therein (lines 14-22).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to add Rosales’s bonding adhesive to a first end and a second end of Jeong’s wrapper, because doing so would help to contain and preserve a shape of material wrapped therein.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jeong (WO 2020153829 A1 with reference made to national stage translation US 20220175015 A1) as applied to claim 1 in view of Rich (US 2985175 A).
Claim 8: Jeong he heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 1.
Jeong does not explicitly teach that the first segment further contains a thickener.
Rich teaches an inhaling article (fig. 1-3) comprising a first segment that is an aerosol-source material (col. 2, lines 1-9, #8) comprising a thickener (binder material), such that the thickener strengthens the aerosol-source material in forming a sheet (lines 1-9).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to add Rich’s thickener to Jeong’s first segment comprising a tobacco sheet, because doing so would strengthen the tobacco sheet.
Claims 9-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jeong (WO 2020153829 A1 with reference made to national stage translation US 20220175015 A1) as applied to claim 1 in view of He (CN 110150762 A with reference made to machine translation).
Claims 9-11: Jeong teaches the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 1.
Jeong does not explicitly teach that the flavor component contains a tobacco component,
one or more tobacco materials selected from among a mesophyll, vein, stalk, flower, and root of a tobacco plant,
wherein the tobacco material contains a flavor.
He teaches an inhaling article (fig. 3 and [38-39]) comprising a gel (211) comprising a plant material exemplified as tobacco veins and stalks ([26], leaves and stems) which contain a flavor (tobacco contains flavor compounds), such that the tobacco gel generates a high amount of tobacco flavor [33].
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to add He’s tobacco veins and stalks which contain a flavor to Jeong’s gel, because doing so would enable the gel to generate a high amount of tobacco flavor.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jeong (WO 2020153829 A1 with reference made to national stage translation US 20220175015 A1) in view of He (CN 110150762 A with reference made to machine translation) as applied to claim 10 in further view of Ajithkumar (WO 2019122015 A1).
Claim 12: modified Jeong teaches the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 10.
Modified Jeong does not explicitly teach that the tobacco material contains a lipid.
Ajithkumar teaches an inhaling article (title) comprising a tobacco material (p. 6, lines 11-19, homogenized tobacco material) comprising a lipid (medium chain triglyceride oil), such that the lipid facilitates transfer of volatile compounds to a user (lines 11-19).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to add Ajithkumar’s lipid to Jeong’s tobacco material, because doing so would facilitate transfer of volatile compounds to a user.
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jeong (WO 2020153829 A1 with reference made to national stage translation US 20220175015 A1) as applied to claim 17 in view of Counts (US 5388594 A).
Claim 19: Jeong teaches the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling system according to claim 17, wherein the heater (fig. 10 and [136], #136) includes a second circumferential heater (136e) that heats an entire side of the columnar first segment (58) and that does not heat the second segment (56).
Jeong does not explicitly teach that the second circumferential heater heats an entire bottom of the columnar first segment.
Counts teaches a flavor inhaling system (fig. 3A and col. 11, lines 3-14) comprising a circumferential heater (89) that heats an entire bottom and an entire side (fig. 6) of a columnar inhaling article (fig. 1 and col. 4, lines 62-67, #23).
Jeong’s heater and Counts’s heater both conductively heat a columnar inhaling article to yield expectation to succeed. The heaters embody different shapes to achieve the same heating outcome.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to substitute Counts’s circumferential heater that heats a bottom and a side for Jeong’s circumferential heater that heats a side, because doing so would be a simple substitution of circumferential heaters between flavor inhaling systems.
Double Patenting
Claims 1, 3-4, 9-11, and 13-14 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 16 of copending Application No. 18/493285.
Claim 1: ‘285 recites a heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article (C15, heat-not-burn flavor inhaler) comprising an aerosol-generating rod (tobacco-containing segment) and a mouthpiece segment (mouthpiece segment), wherein the aerosol-generating rod (tobacco-containing segment) includes a first segment (first segment) including an aerosol-source material (aerosol generator) and a second segment (second segment) including a flavor component (tobacco sheet), and the mouthpiece segment (mouthpiece segment) includes a cooling segment (cooling segment) and a filter segment (filter segment).
Claim 3: ‘285 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 1, wherein the first segment (C16, first segment) further includes plant fibers.
Claim 4: ‘285 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 3, wherein the first segment (C16, first segment) includes a cylindrical wrapper and a nonwoven fabric made up of the plant fibers filling an inside of the wrapper, and the nonwoven fabric contains the aerosol-source material.
Claim 9: ‘285 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 1, wherein the flavor component (C15, tobacco sheet) contains a tobacco component.
Claim 10: ‘285 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 9, wherein the second segment (C15, second segment) includes one or more tobacco materials selected from among a mesophyll, vein, stalk, flower, and root of a tobacco plant (mesophyll, vein, stalk, flower, and root are essential components of tobacco; one of ordinary skill would immediately envisage a tobacco sheet comprising one or more of mesophyll, vein, stalk, flower, and root).
Claim 11: ‘285 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 10, wherein the tobacco material contains a flavoring (tobacco comprises volatile flavor compounds).
Claim 13: ‘285 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 1, wherein the second segment (C15, second segment) is disposed adjacent to (on the same device as) the mouthpiece segment (mouthpiece segment) with respect to the first segment (first segment).
Claim 14: ‘285 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 1, wherein the columnar first segment (C16, the first segment is wrapped in a cylinder) is provided so as to extend in an axial direction of the aerosol-generating rod (tobacco-containing segment), and the second segment (second segment) is disposed on an outer periphery of (outside the outermost edges of) the first segment (first segment).
Claim 2, 6, 16-18, and 20-21 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 16 of copending Application No. 18/493285 as applied to claims 1 and 4 in view of Jeong (WO 2020153829 A1 with reference made to national stage translation US 20220175015 A1).
Claim 2: ‘285 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 1.
‘285 does not recite that the aerosol-source material is at least one selected from the group consisting of glycerin, propylene glycol, and 1,3-butanediol.
One of ordinary skill would immediately envisage using, as the generic aerosol-source material, three commonplace aerosol-source materials of glycerin, propylene glycol, and/or 1,3-butanediol. For example, Jeong teaches an aerosol-source material comprising glycerin and/or propylene glycol [76].
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to use, as ‘285’s generic aerosol-source material, Jeong’s specific glycerin and/or propylene glycol, because doing so would be immediately envisaged by one of ordinary skill as generating aerosol.
Claims 6 and 16: ‘285 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 4.
‘285 does not recite a wrapper that is a metal foil, a laminated sheet of metal foil and paper, a polymer film, a laminated sheet of polymer film and paper, or paper on a surface of which a coating agent selected from the group consisting of modified cellulose, modified starch, polyvinyl alcohol, and vinyl acetate is applied,
and an outer wrapper connecting the first segment and the second segment and including a heat transfer raw material.
Jeong teaches a wrapper (fig. 2 and [86], #62) that is a laminated sheet of metal foil and paper (metal thin film and wrapping paper laminated together),
connecting a first segment (58) and a second segment (56) and including a heat transfer raw material (metal foil), such that the wrapper prevents a substrate wrapped therein from escaping [86].
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to use, as ‘285’s generic wrapper, Jeong’s specific wrapper of a laminated sheet of metal foil and paper, because doing so would prevent a substrate wrapped therein from escaping.
Claims 17-18 and 20-21: ‘285 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 1.
‘285 does not recite a heat-not-burn flavor inhaling system comprising the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 1 and a heating device including a heater that heats the aerosol-generating rod of the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article,
wherein the heater includes a first circumferential heater that heats an entire side of the columnar first segment and that does not heat the second segment,
wherein the heater includes an internal heater that heats an inside of the columnar first segment entirely in an axial direction and that does not heat the second segment,
wherein a heating temperature of the heater ranges from 200°C to 350°C.
Jeong teaches a heat-not-burn [51] flavor inhaling system (fig. 10 and [136]) comprising: a heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article (50); and a heating device (100) including a heater (136) that heats the aerosol-generating rod (56 and 58) of the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article,
wherein the heater (fig. 10 and [136], #136) includes a first circumferential heater (136e) that heats an entire side of the columnar first segment (58) and that does not heat the second segment (56),
wherein the heater (fig. 10 and [136], #136) includes an internal heater (136b) that heats an inside of the columnar first segment (58) entirely in an axial direction and that does not heat the second segment (56),
wherein a heating temperature of the heater (fig. 10 and [136], #136) ranges from 250°C to 350°C [140], such that the heater can heat the inhaling article without burning the inhaling article [51].
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to combine Jeong’s heat-not-burn flavor inhaling system comprising the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 1 and a heating device including a heater that heats the aerosol-generating rod of the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article,
wherein the heater includes a first circumferential heater that heats an entire side of the columnar first segment and that does not heat the second segment,
wherein the heater includes an internal heater that heats an inside of the columnar first segment entirely in an axial direction and that does not heat the second segment,
wherein a heating temperature of the heater ranges from 250°C to 350°C, because doing so would heat the inhaling article without burning the inhaling article.
Claim 5 is provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 16 of copending Application No. 18/493285 as applied to claim 4 in view of Yamada (US 20200120981 A1).
Claim 5: ‘285 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 4, wherein multiple pieces of the sheet nonwoven fabric are stacked (C16, the nonwoven fabric fills the wrapper, so the nonwoven fabric is stacked onto itself to some extent).
‘285 does not recite that the multiple pieces of the sheet nonwoven fabric are folded in an S-shape.
Yamada teaches a heat-not-burn [5] flavor inhaling article (fig. 3 and [89]) comprising multiple pieces of a tobacco [58] sheet nonwoven fabric (fig. 2D and [79], #10) that are stacked and fill the inside of a wrapper ([53], wrapper) in a state of being folded in an S-shape (fig. 2D), such that the stacked pieces yield efficient heat transfer between contacting portions while maintaining efficient airflow [78].
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to stack ‘285’s tobacco sheet nonwoven fabric into Yamada’s S-shape folds, because doing so would yield efficient heat transfer between contacting portions while maintaining efficient airflow.
Claim 7 is provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 16 of copending Application No. 18/493285 as applied to claim 4 in view of Jeong (WO 2020153829 A1 with reference made to national stage translation US 20220175015 A1) and Rosales (US 0829296 A).
Claims 7: ‘285 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 4.
‘285 does not recite a wrapper that is a laminated body of a paper layer forming an outer surface and a liquid impermeable layer forming an inner surface, the liquid impermeable layer is made up of a layer of a metal foil, a polymer film, or a layer of a coating agent selected from the group consisting of modified cellulose, modified starch, polyvinyl alcohol, and vinyl acetate, and the wrapper is formed in a cylindrical shape in a manner such that the liquid impermeable layer of the wrapper is bonded at one end and the other end of the wrapper.
Jeong teaches a wrapper (fig. 2 and [86], #62) that is a laminated sheet of metal foil and paper (metal thin film and wrapping paper laminated together), such that the wrapper prevents a substrate wrapped therein from escaping [86].
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to use, as ‘285’s generic wrapper, Jeong’s specific wrapper of a laminated sheet of metal foil and paper, because doing so would prevent a substrate wrapped therein from escaping.
Rosales teaches an inhaling article (fig. 1) comprising a wrapper (lines 14-22, outer wrapper) bonded at a first end and a second end of the wrapper (the outer wrapper is adhered together), such that the wrapper contains and preserves a shape of material wrapped therein (lines 14-22).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to add Rosales’s bonding adhesive to a first end and a second end of Jeong’s wrapper, because doing so would help to contain and preserve a shape of material wrapped therein.
Claim 8 is provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 16 of copending Application No. 18/493285 as applied to claim 1 in view of Rich (US 2985175 A).
Claim 8: ‘285 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 1.
‘285 does not recite that the first segment further contains a thickener.
Rich teaches an inhaling article (fig. 1-3) comprising a first segment that is an aerosol-source material (col. 2, lines 1-9, #8) comprising a thickener (binder material), such that the thickener strengthens the aerosol-source material in forming a sheet (lines 1-9).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to add Rich’s thickener to ‘285’s first segment comprising a tobacco sheet, because doing so would strengthen the tobacco sheet.
Claim 8 is provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 16 of copending Application No. 18/493285 as applied to claim 10 in view of Ajithkumar (WO 2019122015 A1).
Claim 12: ‘285 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 10.
‘285 does not recite that the tobacco material contains a lipid.
Ajithkumar teaches an inhaling article (title) comprising a tobacco material (p. 6, lines 11-19, homogenized tobacco material) comprising a lipid (medium chain triglyceride oil), such that the lipid facilitates transfer of volatile compounds to a user (lines 11-19).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to add Ajithkumar’s lipid to Jeong’s tobacco material, because doing so would facilitate transfer of volatile compounds to a user.
Claim 19 is provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 16 of copending Application No. 18/493285 in view of Jeong (WO 2020153829 A1 with reference made to national stage translation US 20220175015 A1) as applied to claim 17 in further view of Counts (US 5388594 A).
Claim 19: modified ‘285 teaches the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling system according to claim 17, wherein (claim 18) the heater includes a second circumferential heater that heats an entire side of the columnar first segment and that does not heat the second segment.
Modified ‘285 does not explicitly teach that the second circumferential heater heats an entire bottom of the columnar first segment.
Counts teaches a flavor inhaling system (fig. 3A and col. 11, lines 3-14) comprising a circumferential heater (89) that heats an entire bottom and an entire side (fig. 6) of a columnar inhaling article (fig. 1 and col. 4, lines 62-67, #23).
Jeong’s heater and Counts’s heater both conductively heat a columnar inhaling article to yield expectation to succeed. The heaters embody different shapes to achieve the same heating outcome.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to substitute Counts’s circumferential heater that heats a bottom and a side for Jeong’s circumferential heater that heats a side, because doing so would be a simple substitution of circumferential heaters between flavor inhaling systems.
Claims 1, 3-4, 9-11, and 13-14 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 12 of copending Application No. 18/493519.
Claim 1: ‘519 recites a heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article (C11, heat-not-burn flavor inhaler) comprising an aerosol-generating rod (tobacco-containing segment) and a mouthpiece segment (mouthpiece segment), wherein the aerosol-generating rod (tobacco-containing segment) includes a first segment (first segment) including an aerosol-source material (aerosol generator) and a second segment (second segment) including a flavor component (tobacco sheet), and the mouthpiece segment (mouthpiece segment) includes a cooling segment (cooling segment) and a filter segment (filter segment).
Claim 3: ‘519 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 1, wherein the first segment (C12, first segment) further includes plant fibers.
Claim 4: ‘519 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 3, wherein the first segment (C12, first segment) includes a cylindrical wrapper and a nonwoven fabric made up of the plant fibers filling an inside of the wrapper, and the nonwoven fabric contains the aerosol-source material.
Claim 9: ‘519 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 1, wherein the flavor component (C11, tobacco sheet) contains a tobacco component.
Claim 10: ‘519 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 9, wherein the second segment (C11, second segment) includes one or more tobacco materials selected from among a mesophyll, vein, stalk, flower, and root of a tobacco plant (mesophyll, vein, stalk, flower, and root are essential components of tobacco; one of ordinary skill would immediately envisage a tobacco sheet comprising one or more of mesophyll, vein, stalk, flower, and root).
Claim 11: ‘519 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 10, wherein the tobacco material contains a flavoring (tobacco comprises volatile flavor compounds).
Claim 13: ‘519 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 1, wherein the second segment (C11, second segment) is disposed adjacent to (on the same device as) the mouthpiece segment (mouthpiece segment) with respect to the first segment (first segment).
Claim 14: ‘519 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 1, wherein the columnar first segment (C12, the first segment is wrapped in a cylinder) is provided so as to extend in an axial direction of the aerosol-generating rod (tobacco-containing segment), and the second segment (second segment) is disposed on an outer periphery of (outside the outermost edges of) the first segment (first segment).
Claim 2, 6, 16-18, and 20-21 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 12 of copending Application No. 18/493519 as applied to claims 1 and 4 in view of Jeong (WO 2020153829 A1 with reference made to national stage translation US 20220175015 A1).
Claim 2: ‘519 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 1.
‘519 does not recite that the aerosol-source material is at least one selected from the group consisting of glycerin, propylene glycol, and 1,3-butanediol.
One of ordinary skill would immediately envisage using, as the generic aerosol-source material, three commonplace aerosol-source materials of glycerin, propylene glycol, and/or 1,3-butanediol. For example, Jeong teaches an aerosol-source material comprising glycerin and/or propylene glycol [76].
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to use, as ‘519’s generic aerosol-source material, Jeong’s specific glycerin and/or propylene glycol, because doing so would be immediately envisaged by one of ordinary skill as generating aerosol.
Claims 6 and 16: ‘519 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 4.
‘519 does not recite a wrapper that is a metal foil, a laminated sheet of metal foil and paper, a polymer film, a laminated sheet of polymer film and paper, or paper on a surface of which a coating agent selected from the group consisting of modified cellulose, modified starch, polyvinyl alcohol, and vinyl acetate is applied,
and an outer wrapper connecting the first segment and the second segment and including a heat transfer raw material.
Jeong teaches a wrapper (fig. 2 and [86], #62) that is a laminated sheet of metal foil and paper (metal thin film and wrapping paper laminated together),
connecting a first segment (58) and a second segment (56) and including a heat transfer raw material (metal foil), such that the wrapper prevents a substrate wrapped therein from escaping [86].
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to use, as ‘519’s generic wrapper, Jeong’s specific wrapper of a laminated sheet of metal foil and paper, because doing so would prevent a substrate wrapped therein from escaping.
Claims 17-18 and 20-21: ‘519 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 1.
‘519 does not recite a heat-not-burn flavor inhaling system comprising the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 1 and a heating device including a heater that heats the aerosol-generating rod of the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article,
wherein the heater includes a first circumferential heater that heats an entire side of the columnar first segment and that does not heat the second segment,
wherein the heater includes an internal heater that heats an inside of the columnar first segment entirely in an axial direction and that does not heat the second segment,
wherein a heating temperature of the heater ranges from 200°C to 350°C.
Jeong teaches a heat-not-burn [51] flavor inhaling system (fig. 10 and [136]) comprising: a heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article (50); and a heating device (100) including a heater (136) that heats the aerosol-generating rod (56 and 58) of the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article,
wherein the heater (fig. 10 and [136], #136) includes a first circumferential heater (136e) that heats an entire side of the columnar first segment (58) and that does not heat the second segment (56),
wherein the heater (fig. 10 and [136], #136) includes an internal heater (136b) that heats an inside of the columnar first segment (58) entirely in an axial direction and that does not heat the second segment (56),
wherein a heating temperature of the heater (fig. 10 and [136], #136) ranges from 250°C to 350°C [140], such that the heater can heat the inhaling article without burning the inhaling article [51].
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to combine Jeong’s heat-not-burn flavor inhaling system comprising the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 1 and a heating device including a heater that heats the aerosol-generating rod of the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article,
wherein the heater includes a first circumferential heater that heats an entire side of the columnar first segment and that does not heat the second segment,
wherein the heater includes an internal heater that heats an inside of the columnar first segment entirely in an axial direction and that does not heat the second segment,
wherein a heating temperature of the heater ranges from 250°C to 350°C, because doing so would heat the inhaling article without burning the inhaling article.
Claim 5 is provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 12 of copending Application No. 18/493519 as applied to claim 4 in view of Yamada (US 20200120981 A1).
Claim 5: ‘519 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 4, wherein multiple pieces of the sheet nonwoven fabric are stacked (C12, the nonwoven fabric fills the wrapper, so the nonwoven fabric is stacked onto itself to some extent).
‘519 does not recite that the multiple pieces of the sheet nonwoven fabric are folded in an S-shape.
Yamada teaches a heat-not-burn [5] flavor inhaling article (fig. 3 and [89]) comprising multiple pieces of a tobacco [58] sheet nonwoven fabric (fig. 2D and [79], #10) that are stacked and fill the inside of a wrapper ([53], wrapper) in a state of being folded in an S-shape (fig. 2D), such that the stacked pieces yield efficient heat transfer between contacting portions while maintaining efficient airflow [78].
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to stack ‘519’s tobacco sheet nonwoven fabric into Yamada’s S-shape folds, because doing so would yield efficient heat transfer between contacting portions while maintaining efficient airflow.
Claim 7 is provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 12 of copending Application No. 18/493519 as applied to claim 4 in view of Jeong (WO 2020153829 A1 with reference made to national stage translation US 20220175015 A1) and Rosales (US 0829296 A).
Claims 7: ‘519 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 4.
‘519 does not recite a wrapper that is a laminated body of a paper layer forming an outer surface and a liquid impermeable layer forming an inner surface, the liquid impermeable layer is made up of a layer of a metal foil, a polymer film, or a layer of a coating agent selected from the group consisting of modified cellulose, modified starch, polyvinyl alcohol, and vinyl acetate, and the wrapper is formed in a cylindrical shape in a manner such that the liquid impermeable layer of the wrapper is bonded at one end and the other end of the wrapper.
Jeong teaches a wrapper (fig. 2 and [86], #62) that is a laminated sheet of metal foil and paper (metal thin film and wrapping paper laminated together), such that the wrapper prevents a substrate wrapped therein from escaping [86].
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to use, as ‘519’s generic wrapper, Jeong’s specific wrapper of a laminated sheet of metal foil and paper, because doing so would prevent a substrate wrapped therein from escaping.
Rosales teaches an inhaling article (fig. 1) comprising a wrapper (lines 14-22, outer wrapper) bonded at a first end and a second end of the wrapper (the outer wrapper is adhered together), such that the wrapper contains and preserves a shape of material wrapped therein (lines 14-22).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to add Rosales’s bonding adhesive to a first end and a second end of Jeong’s wrapper, because doing so would help to contain and preserve a shape of material wrapped therein.
Claim 8 is provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 12 of copending Application No. 18/493519 as applied to claim 1 in view of Rich (US 2985175 A).
Claim 8: ‘519 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 1.
‘519 does not recite that the first segment further contains a thickener.
Rich teaches an inhaling article (fig. 1-3) comprising a first segment that is an aerosol-source material (col. 2, lines 1-9, #8) comprising a thickener (binder material), such that the thickener strengthens the aerosol-source material in forming a sheet (lines 1-9).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to add Rich’s thickener to ‘519’s first segment comprising a tobacco sheet, because doing so would strengthen the tobacco sheet.
Claim 8 is provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 12 of copending Application No. 18/493519 as applied to claim 10 in view of Ajithkumar (WO 2019122015 A1).
Claim 12: ‘519 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 10.
‘519 does not recite that the tobacco material contains a lipid.
Ajithkumar teaches an inhaling article (title) comprising a tobacco material (p. 6, lines 11-19, homogenized tobacco material) comprising a lipid (medium chain triglyceride oil), such that the lipid facilitates transfer of volatile compounds to a user (lines 11-19).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to add Ajithkumar’s lipid to Jeong’s tobacco material, because doing so would facilitate transfer of volatile compounds to a user.
Claim 19 is provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 12 of copending Application No. 18/493519 in view of Jeong (WO 2020153829 A1 with reference made to national stage translation US 20220175015 A1) as applied to claim 17 in further view of Counts (US 5388594 A).
Claim 19: modified ‘519 teaches the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling system according to claim 17, wherein (claim 18) the heater includes a second circumferential heater that heats an entire side of the columnar first segment and that does not heat the second segment.
Modified ‘519 does not explicitly teach that the second circumferential heater heats an entire bottom of the columnar first segment.
Counts teaches a flavor inhaling system (fig. 3A and col. 11, lines 3-14) comprising a circumferential heater (89) that heats an entire bottom and an entire side (fig. 6) of a columnar inhaling article (fig. 1 and col. 4, lines 62-67, #23).
Jeong’s heater and Counts’s heater both conductively heat a columnar inhaling article to yield expectation to succeed. The heaters embody different shapes to achieve the same heating outcome.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to substitute Counts’s circumferential heater that heats a bottom and a side for Jeong’s circumferential heater that heats a side, because doing so would be a simple substitution of circumferential heaters between flavor inhaling systems.
Claims 1, 3-4, 9-11, and 13-14 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 12 of copending Application No. 18/493525.
Claim 1: ‘525 recites a heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article (C11, heat-not-burn flavor inhaler) comprising an aerosol-generating rod (tobacco-containing segment) and a mouthpiece segment (mouthpiece segment), wherein the aerosol-generating rod (tobacco-containing segment) includes a first segment (first segment) including an aerosol-source material (aerosol generator) and a second segment (second segment) including a flavor component (tobacco sheet), and the mouthpiece segment (mouthpiece segment) includes a cooling segment (cooling segment) and a filter segment (filter segment).
Claim 3: ‘525 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 1, wherein the first segment (C12, first segment) further includes plant fibers.
Claim 4: ‘525 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 3, wherein the first segment (C12, first segment) includes a cylindrical wrapper and a nonwoven fabric made up of the plant fibers filling an inside of the wrapper, and the nonwoven fabric contains the aerosol-source material.
Claim 9: ‘525 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 1, wherein the flavor component (C11, tobacco sheet) contains a tobacco component.
Claim 10: ‘525 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 9, wherein the second segment (C11, second segment) includes one or more tobacco materials selected from among a mesophyll, vein, stalk, flower, and root of a tobacco plant (mesophyll, vein, stalk, flower, and root are essential components of tobacco; one of ordinary skill would immediately envisage a tobacco sheet comprising one or more of mesophyll, vein, stalk, flower, and root).
Claim 11: ‘525 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 10, wherein the tobacco material contains a flavoring (tobacco comprises volatile flavor compounds).
Claim 13: ‘525 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 1, wherein the second segment (C11, second segment) is disposed adjacent to (on the same device as) the mouthpiece segment (mouthpiece segment) with respect to the first segment (first segment).
Claim 14: ‘525 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 1, wherein the columnar first segment (C12, the first segment is wrapped in a cylinder) is provided so as to extend in an axial direction of the aerosol-generating rod (tobacco-containing segment), and the second segment (second segment) is disposed on an outer periphery of (outside the outermost edges of) the first segment (first segment).
Claim 2, 6, 16-18, and 20-21 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 12 of copending Application No. 18/493525 as applied to claims 1 and 4 in view of Jeong (WO 2020153829 A1 with reference made to national stage translation US 20220175015 A1).
Claim 2: ‘525 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 1.
‘525 does not recite that the aerosol-source material is at least one selected from the group consisting of glycerin, propylene glycol, and 1,3-butanediol.
One of ordinary skill would immediately envisage using, as the generic aerosol-source material, three commonplace aerosol-source materials of glycerin, propylene glycol, and/or 1,3-butanediol. For example, Jeong teaches an aerosol-source material comprising glycerin and/or propylene glycol [76].
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to use, as ‘525’s generic aerosol-source material, Jeong’s specific glycerin and/or propylene glycol, because doing so would be immediately envisaged by one of ordinary skill as generating aerosol.
Claims 6 and 16: ‘525 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 4.
‘525 does not recite a wrapper that is a metal foil, a laminated sheet of metal foil and paper, a polymer film, a laminated sheet of polymer film and paper, or paper on a surface of which a coating agent selected from the group consisting of modified cellulose, modified starch, polyvinyl alcohol, and vinyl acetate is applied,
and an outer wrapper connecting the first segment and the second segment and including a heat transfer raw material.
Jeong teaches a wrapper (fig. 2 and [86], #62) that is a laminated sheet of metal foil and paper (metal thin film and wrapping paper laminated together),
connecting a first segment (58) and a second segment (56) and including a heat transfer raw material (metal foil), such that the wrapper prevents a substrate wrapped therein from escaping [86].
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to use, as ‘525’s generic wrapper, Jeong’s specific wrapper of a laminated sheet of metal foil and paper, because doing so would prevent a substrate wrapped therein from escaping.
Claims 17-18 and 20-21: ‘525 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 1.
‘525 does not recite a heat-not-burn flavor inhaling system comprising the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 1 and a heating device including a heater that heats the aerosol-generating rod of the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article,
wherein the heater includes a first circumferential heater that heats an entire side of the columnar first segment and that does not heat the second segment,
wherein the heater includes an internal heater that heats an inside of the columnar first segment entirely in an axial direction and that does not heat the second segment,
wherein a heating temperature of the heater ranges from 200°C to 350°C.
Jeong teaches a heat-not-burn [51] flavor inhaling system (fig. 10 and [136]) comprising: a heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article (50); and a heating device (100) including a heater (136) that heats the aerosol-generating rod (56 and 58) of the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article,
wherein the heater (fig. 10 and [136], #136) includes a first circumferential heater (136e) that heats an entire side of the columnar first segment (58) and that does not heat the second segment (56),
wherein the heater (fig. 10 and [136], #136) includes an internal heater (136b) that heats an inside of the columnar first segment (58) entirely in an axial direction and that does not heat the second segment (56),
wherein a heating temperature of the heater (fig. 10 and [136], #136) ranges from 250°C to 350°C [140], such that the heater can heat the inhaling article without burning the inhaling article [51].
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to combine Jeong’s heat-not-burn flavor inhaling system comprising the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 1 and a heating device including a heater that heats the aerosol-generating rod of the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article,
wherein the heater includes a first circumferential heater that heats an entire side of the columnar first segment and that does not heat the second segment,
wherein the heater includes an internal heater that heats an inside of the columnar first segment entirely in an axial direction and that does not heat the second segment,
wherein a heating temperature of the heater ranges from 250°C to 350°C, because doing so would heat the inhaling article without burning the inhaling article.
Claim 5 is provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 12 of copending Application No. 18/493525 as applied to claim 4 in view of Yamada (US 20200120981 A1).
Claim 5: ‘525 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 4, wherein multiple pieces of the sheet nonwoven fabric are stacked (C12, the nonwoven fabric fills the wrapper, so the nonwoven fabric is stacked onto itself to some extent).
‘525 does not recite that the multiple pieces of the sheet nonwoven fabric are folded in an S-shape.
Yamada teaches a heat-not-burn [5] flavor inhaling article (fig. 3 and [89]) comprising multiple pieces of a tobacco [58] sheet nonwoven fabric (fig. 2D and [79], #10) that are stacked and fill the inside of a wrapper ([53], wrapper) in a state of being folded in an S-shape (fig. 2D), such that the stacked pieces yield efficient heat transfer between contacting portions while maintaining efficient airflow [78].
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to stack ‘525’s tobacco sheet nonwoven fabric into Yamada’s S-shape folds, because doing so would yield efficient heat transfer between contacting portions while maintaining efficient airflow.
Claim 7 is provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 12 of copending Application No. 18/493525 as applied to claim 4 in view of Jeong (WO 2020153829 A1 with reference made to national stage translation US 20220175015 A1) and Rosales (US 0829296 A).
Claims 7: ‘525 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 4.
‘525 does not recite a wrapper that is a laminated body of a paper layer forming an outer surface and a liquid impermeable layer forming an inner surface, the liquid impermeable layer is made up of a layer of a metal foil, a polymer film, or a layer of a coating agent selected from the group consisting of modified cellulose, modified starch, polyvinyl alcohol, and vinyl acetate, and the wrapper is formed in a cylindrical shape in a manner such that the liquid impermeable layer of the wrapper is bonded at one end and the other end of the wrapper.
Jeong teaches a wrapper (fig. 2 and [86], #62) that is a laminated sheet of metal foil and paper (metal thin film and wrapping paper laminated together), such that the wrapper prevents a substrate wrapped therein from escaping [86].
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to use, as ‘525’s generic wrapper, Jeong’s specific wrapper of a laminated sheet of metal foil and paper, because doing so would prevent a substrate wrapped therein from escaping.
Rosales teaches an inhaling article (fig. 1) comprising a wrapper (lines 14-22, outer wrapper) bonded at a first end and a second end of the wrapper (the outer wrapper is adhered together), such that the wrapper contains and preserves a shape of material wrapped therein (lines 14-22).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to add Rosales’s bonding adhesive to a first end and a second end of Jeong’s wrapper, because doing so would help to contain and preserve a shape of material wrapped therein.
Claim 8 is provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 12 of copending Application No. 18/493525 as applied to claim 1 in view of Rich (US 2985175 A).
Claim 8: ‘525 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 1.
‘525 does not recite that the first segment further contains a thickener.
Rich teaches an inhaling article (fig. 1-3) comprising a first segment that is an aerosol-source material (col. 2, lines 1-9, #8) comprising a thickener (binder material), such that the thickener strengthens the aerosol-source material in forming a sheet (lines 1-9).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to add Rich’s thickener to ‘525’s first segment comprising a tobacco sheet, because doing so would strengthen the tobacco sheet.
Claim 8 is provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 12 of copending Application No. 18/493525 as applied to claim 10 in view of Ajithkumar (WO 2019122015 A1).
Claim 12: ‘525 recites the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling article according to claim 10.
‘525 does not recite that the tobacco material contains a lipid.
Ajithkumar teaches an inhaling article (title) comprising a tobacco material (p. 6, lines 11-19, homogenized tobacco material) comprising a lipid (medium chain triglyceride oil), such that the lipid facilitates transfer of volatile compounds to a user (lines 11-19).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to add Ajithkumar’s lipid to Jeong’s tobacco material, because doing so would facilitate transfer of volatile compounds to a user.
Claim 19 is provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 12 of copending Application No. 18/493525 in view of Jeong (WO 2020153829 A1 with reference made to national stage translation US 20220175015 A1) as applied to claim 17 in further view of Counts (US 5388594 A).
Claim 19: modified ‘525 teaches the heat-not-burn flavor inhaling system according to claim 17, wherein (claim 18) the heater includes a second circumferential heater that heats an entire side of the columnar first segment and that does not heat the second segment.
Modified ‘525 does not explicitly teach that the second circumferential heater heats an entire bottom of the columnar first segment.
Counts teaches a flavor inhaling system (fig. 3A and col. 11, lines 3-14) comprising a circumferential heater (89) that heats an entire bottom and an entire side (fig. 6) of a columnar inhaling article (fig. 1 and col. 4, lines 62-67, #23).
Jeong’s heater and Counts’s heater both conductively heat a columnar inhaling article to yield expectation to succeed. The heaters embody different shapes to achieve the same heating outcome.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to substitute Counts’s circumferential heater that heats a bottom and a side for Jeong’s circumferential heater that heats a side, because doing so would be a simple substitution of circumferential heaters between flavor inhaling systems.
Conclusion
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/TOBEY C LE/Examiner, Art Unit 1747
/Michael H. Wilson/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1747
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