DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Status of the Claims
Claims 15-36 are pending and are subject to this Office Action. Claims 1-14 are canceled. Claims 34-36 are withdrawn. This is the first Office Action on the merits of the claims.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of Claims 15-33 in the reply filed on 02/27/2026 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because:
Reference character #117C in Figure 3 should read #17C
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the following reference sign(s) mentioned in the description:
Pg. 20, Line 19: Wicking Element 50
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description:
Fig. 6A: #40
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claim 27 is objected to because of the following informalities:
“first of the compartment wall” should read “first part of the compartment wall”
Appropriate correction is required.
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 15, 16, 18, 19, 30, 32, and 33 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Goch (US 20170071251 A1, as cited in IDS dated 08/10/2023).
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With regard to Claim 15, Goch, directed to a smoking device, teaches (i) a smoking device (Fig. 1) comprising a liquid evaporator module (Fig. 1: #12) comprising a reservoir (Fig. 1: #3) containing liquid [0029]. The liquid evaporator module (Fig. 1: #12) can be detached from the smoking device [0018]. (ii) The device comprises a chamber interior (Fig. 3: #6a), meeting the claim limitation of an aerosol generating article. (iii) The smoking device comprises a heating chamber (Fig. 3: #6) for accommodating the chamber interior (Fig. 3: #6a, [0030]), wherein the chamber interior (Fig. 3: #6a) may comprise a tobacco material [0048]. (iv) A chamber heating device (Fig. 3: #7) is configured to heat the chamber interior (Fig. 3: #6a) received in the heating chamber (Fig. 3: #6, [0030]).
(v) The chamber heating device (Fig. 3: #7) comprises a surrounding wall comprised of a lateral surface (Fig. 3: #30) and a base surface (Fig. 3: #31). (vi) The lateral surface (Fig. 3: #30) is located within the heating chamber (Fig. 3: #6). (ii) The base surface (Fig. 3: #31) is outside of the area of the heating chamber (Fig. 3: #6). (viii) A filling cap (Fig. 3: #28), part of the liquid evaporator module (Fig. 1: #12, [0049]), covers the heating chamber (Fig. 3: #6, [0048]). The base surface (Fig. 3: #31) helps to enclose the heating chamber (Fig. 3: #6, [0053]). Since the base surface (Fig. 3: #31) surrounds the heating chamber (Fig. 3: #6) and the filling cap (Fig. 3: #28) covers the heating chamber (Fig. 3: #6), it is inherent that the two components interact to define and enclose the heating chamber (Fig. 3: #6).
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With regard to Claim 16, Goch teaches wherein the sides of the base surface (Fig. 3: #31) extend downstream of the heating chamber (Fig. 3: #6).
With regard to Claim 18, Goch teaches (i) wherein the lateral surface (Fig. 3: #30) creates a chamber outlet opening (Fig. 3: #32b) on the internal surface of the lateral surface (Fig. 3: #30, [0054]). (ii) The chamber outlet opening (Fig. 3: #32b) is configured to receive the chamber interior (Fig. 3: #6a), as shown in Figure 3.
With regard to Claim 19, Goch teaches wherein the base surface (Fig. 3: #31) defines another heating area, separate from that of the lateral surface (Fig. 3: #30, [0059]).
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With regard to Claim 30, Goch teaches wherein the lateral surface (Fig. 3: #30) forms the cavity defined by the heating chamber (Fig. 6: #6, [0053]), to receive the chamber interior (Fig. 3: #6a) inside of the heating chamber (Fig. 6: #6), as shown in Figure 3.
With regard to Claim 32, Goch teaches wherein the device may comprise a separate mouthpiece module that may be configured to be attached to the liquid evaporator module in a flexible and releasable manner [0043].
With regard to Claim 33, Goch teaches (i) the device may comprise a separate mouthpiece module that may be configured to be attached to the liquid evaporator module in a flexible and releasable manner [0042-0043]. (ii) Since the base surface (Fig. 6: #31) is located at the bottom of the heating chamber (Fig. 6: #6) it would be inherent that if the mouthpiece module was placed at the top of the device, there would be space separating the mouthpiece and the base surface (Fig. 6: #31).
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.
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Goch (US 20170071251 A1, as cited in IDS dated 08/10/2023), as applied to claim 15 above, and further in view of An (US 20200390156 A1).
With regard to Claim 17, Goch teaches wherein the base surface may be used to heat a tobacco substance in the chamber interior (Fig. 3: #6a, [0059]). Goch teaches all the limitations of the claims as set forth above, however Goch is silent to:
Wherein the heating element is further configured to indirectly heat the second part of the compartment wall via one or both of heat conduction and heat convection
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An, directed to an aerosol generating device, teaches a coil (Fig. 7: #160) for applying an alternating magnetic field [0078]. The coil (Fig. 7: #160) transfers heat to a heating body [0078], which then heats the inner wall (Fig. 7: #130, [0156]) to promote controlled and efficient heat distribution [0054 & 0156]. The inner wall (Fig. 7: #130) may be integral with an outer wall (Fig. 7: #140, [0150]). One of ordinary skill in the art would understand that since the inner and outer walls are integrally formed, heat conducted into the inner wall would conduct through the continuous material to other portions of the wall structure, including the outer wall.
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the induction coil of modified Goch so the heating element is further configured to indirectly heat the second part of the compartment wall via one or both of heat conduction and heat convection because both Goch and An are directed to improving heat distribution in aerosol generating devices. An teaches an inductive coil that heats an inner wall integral with an outer wall to promote controlled and efficient heat distribution [0054 & 0156] and this merely involves applying a known heating technique to a heating element of a known aerosol generating device ready for improvement to yield predictable results.
Claims 21, 22, 23, and 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Goch (US 20170071251 A1, as cited in IDS dated 08/10/2023), as applied to claim 15 above, and further in view of Saisho (US 20160037587 A1).
With regard to Claim 21, modified Goch teaches all the limitations of the claims as set forth above, however modified Goch is silent to:
Wherein the heating element is an inductive heating element
Saisho, directed to an oil diffusion pump, teaches an induction coil used to vaporize oil [0007] to improve energy efficiency [0006] and provide faster heating for better performance [0081].
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the heating element of modified Goch to wherein the heating element is an inductive heating element because both Goch and Saisho are directed to vaporizing within a short response time to improve efficiency. Saisho teaches an induction coil to improve energy efficiency [0006] and provide faster heating for better performance [0081] and this merely involves simple substitution of one known heating element for another to obtain predictable results.
With regard to Claim 22, modified Goch teaches all the limitations of the claims as set forth above, however modified Goch is silent to:
Wherein the heating element comprises an induction coil
Saisho, directed to an oil diffusion pump, teaches an induction coil used to vaporize oil [0007] to improve energy efficiency [0006].
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the heating element of modified Goch to wherein the heating element comprises an induction coil because both Goch and Saisho are directed to vaporizing within a short response time to improve efficiency. Saisho teaches an induction coil to improve energy efficiency [0006] and this merely involves simple substitution of one known heating element for another to obtain predictable results.
With regard to Claim 23, modified Goch teaches all the limitations of the claims as set forth above, however modified Goch is silent to:
Wherein the compartment wall is a susceptor
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Saisho teaches an inner wall (Fig. 5: #71b) and outer wall (Fig. 5: #17b), forming the compartment wall of the claimed invention. The inner wall (Fig. 5: #71b) generates eddy currents to produce Joule heating from a magnetic flux [0078] to improve thermal response [0081]. One of ordinary skill in the art would understand that a susceptor is when a material is used for absorbing electromagnetic energy and the inner wall of Saisho absorbs electromagnetic energy and converts it to heat for vapor generation.
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the compartment wall of modified Goch to wherein the compartment wall is a susceptor because both Goch and Saisho are directed to lowering thermal response time to improve heating efficiency. Saisho teaches an inner wall that produces heat from a magnetic flux to improve thermal response [0081] and this merely involves applying a known heating technique to a compartment wall of a known vapor generating device ready for improvement to yield predictable results.
With regard to Claim 24, modified Goch teaches all the limitations of the claims as set forth above, however modified Goch is silent to:
Wherein the induction coil is configured to heat the first part of the compartment wall
Saisho teaches wherein the case inner wall (Fig. 3: #71b) is heated by applying current to the induction coil (Fig. 3: #75, [0078 & 0080] to improve heating efficiency and lower the risk of energy loss [0080].
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the induction coil of modified Goch to wherein the induction coil is configured to heat the first part of the compartment wall because both Goch and Saisho are directed to lowering thermal response time to improve heating efficiency. Saisho teaches an inner wall that produces heat from a magnetic flux received from an induction coil to improve heating efficiency [0080] and this merely involves applying a known heating technique to a compartment wall of a known vapor generating device ready for improvement to yield predictable results.
Claims 25 and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Goch (US 20170071251 A1, as cited in IDS dated 08/10/2023) and Saisho (US 20160037587 A1), as applied to claims 15 and 22 above, and further in view of An (US 20200390156 A1).
With regard to Claim 25, modified Goch teaches all the limitations of the claims as set forth above, however modified Goch is silent to:
Wherein the induction coil is configured to indirectly heat the second part of the compartment wall
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An, directed to an aerosol generating device, teaches a coil (Fig. 7: #160) for applying an alternating magnetic field [0078]. The coil (Fig. 7: #160) transfers heat to a heating body [0078], which then heats the inner wall (Fig. 7: #130, [0156]) to promote controlled and efficient heat distribution [0054 & 0156]. The inner wall (Fig. 7: #130) may be integral with an outer wall (Fig. 7: #140, [0150]). One of ordinary skill in the art would understand that since the inner and outer walls are integrally formed, heat conducted into the inner wall would conduct through the continuous material to other portions of the wall structure, including the outer wall.
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the induction coil of modified Goch to wherein the induction coil is configured to indirectly heat the second part of the compartment wall because both Goch and An are directed to improving heat distribution in aerosol generating devices. An teaches an inductive coil that heats an inner wall integral with an outer wall to promote controlled and efficient heat distribution [0054 & 0156] and this merely involves applying a known heating technique to a heating element of a known aerosol generating device ready for improvement to yield predictable results.
With regard to Claim 26, modified Goch teaches all the limitations of the claims as set forth above, however modified Goch is silent to:
Wherein the induction coil is configured to indirectly heat the second part of the compartment wall via heat conduction from the first part of the compartment wall to the second part of the compartment wall
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An, directed to an aerosol generating device, teaches a coil (Fig. 7: #160) for applying an alternating magnetic field [0078]. The coil (Fig. 7: #160) transfers heat to a heating body [0078], which then heats the inner wall (Fig. 7: #130, [0156]) to promote controlled and efficient heat distribution [0054 & 0156]. The inner wall (Fig. 7: #130) may be integral with an outer wall (Fig. 7: #140, [0150]). One of ordinary skill in the art would understand that since the inner and outer walls are integrally formed, heat conducted into the inner wall would conduct through the continuous material to other portions of the wall structure, including the outer wall.
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the induction coil of modified Goch to be configured to indirectly heat the second part of the compartment wall via heat conduction from the first part of the compartment wall to the second part of the compartment wall because both Goch and An are directed to improving heat distribution in aerosol generating devices. An teaches an inductive coil that heats an inner wall integral with an outer wall to promote controlled and efficient heat distribution [0054 & 0156] and this merely involves applying a known heating technique to a heating element of a known aerosol generating device ready for improvement to yield predictable results.
Claims 20, 27, 28, and 29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Goch (US 20170071251 A1, as cited in IDS dated 08/10/2023), as applied to claims 15 and 18 above, and further in view of Reevell (WO 2020074600 A1).
With regard to Claim 20, modified Goch teaches all the limitations of the claims as set forth above, however modified Goch is silent to:
Wherein the second part of the compartment wall comprises one or both of holes at least one porous section
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Reevell, directed to an aerosol generation device, teaches a base (Fig. 4: #112) and a side wall (Fig. 4: #126) of a heating chamber (Fig. 4: #108). The base (Fig. 4: #112) may comprise one or more holes to provide air flow channels to improve draw resistance and prevent blockage (Pg. 8, Lines 8-10 & Pg. 3, Lines 19-23).
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the second compartment wall of modified Goch to comprise one or both of holes and at least one porous section because both Goch and Reevell are directed to controlling and maintaining stable airflow behavior in aerosol generating devices. Reevell teaches a base with one or more holes to provide air flow channels to improve draw resistance and prevent blockage and this merely involves applying a known airflow technique to a known aerosol generating device ready for improvement to yield predictable results.
With regard to Claim 27, modified Goch teaches all the limitations of the claims as set forth above, however modified Goch is silent to:
Wherein the first of the compartment wall and the second part of the compartment wall are made of the same material
Reevell teaches wherein the base (Fig. 4: #112) and side wall (Fig. 4: #126) of the heating chamber (Fig. 4: #108) that are formed of the same material (Pg. 38, Lines 22-23) to promote uniform heating (Pg. 15, Lines 5-7).
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the first and second compartment wall of modified Goch to be made of the same material because both Goch and Reevell are directed to lowering the risk of burnt or bitter tastes delivered to the user during use. Reevell teaches a base and side wall formed of the same material to promote uniform heating (Pg. 15, Lines 5-7) and this merely involves applying a known material characteristic to a known aerosol generating device ready for improvement to yield predictable results.
With regard to Claim 28, modified Goch teaches all the limitations of the claims as set forth above, however modified Goch is silent to:
Wherein the first part of the compartment wall and the second part of the compartment wall are formed as a one-piece member
Reevell teaches wherein the base and side wall of the heating chamber are of unitary construction (Pg. 38, Lines 20-22) to promote uniform heating (Pg. 15, Lines 5-7).
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the first and second compartment wall of modified Goch to be formed as a one-piece member because both Goch and Reevell are directed to lowering the risk of burnt or bitter tastes delivered to the user during use. Reevell teaches a base and side wall formed of the same material to promote uniform heating (Pg. 15, Lines 5-7) and this merely involves applying a known structural characteristic to a known aerosol generating device ready for improvement to yield predictable results.
With regard to Claim 29, modified Goch teaches all the limitations of the claims as set forth above, however modified Goch is silent to:
Wherein the first part of the compartment wall and the second part of the compartment wall are connected in a thermally conductive manner
Reevell teaches wherein the base and the side wall of the heating chamber are of unitary construction (Pg. 38, Lines 20-22) and heat is transferred to the side wall from a heating element through conduction (Fig. 38, Pg. 38, Lines 8-9). One of ordinary skill in the art would understand that in a unitary structure formed of the same material, heat conducted in one portion would conduct through the continuous material to other portions of the structure, such as the base.
Claim 31 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Goch (US 20170071251 A1, as cited in IDS dated 08/10/2023), as applied to claims 15 above, and further in view of Xu (US 20180084830 A1).
With regard to Claim 31, modified Goch teaches all the limitations of the claims as set forth above, however modified Goch is silent to:
Wherein the cartridge further comprises a slidable sealing element and a liquid outlet configured to direct the liquid agent out of the cartridge
Wherein the slidable sealing element is configured to seal the liquid outlet when the cartridge is not connected to the aerosol-generating device
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Xu, directed to a disposable cartridge, teaches wherein (i) a cartridge (Fig. 7B: #700) comprises a resealable trapdoor comprising a slider (Fig. 7B: #730) and a spring (Fig. 7B: #732, [0060]). The cartridge further comprises a liquid opening (Fig. 7B: #724) for liquid to transfer out to a liquid intake passage [0060]. (ii) When the cartridge is not engaged, the slider (Fig. 7B: #730) acts as a seal and prevents liquid from leaking from the liquid opening (Fig. 7B: #724) of the cartridge [0061].
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the cartridge of modified Goch to comprise a slidable sealing element and a liquid outlet configured to direct the liquid agent out of the cartridge and wherein the slidable sealing element is configured to seal the liquid outlet when the cartridge is not connected to the aerosol-generating device because both Goch and Xu are directed to controlling liquid behavior within aerosol generating devices. Xu teaches a resealable trapdoor with a slider (Fig. 7B: #730) that acts as a seal to prevent liquid from leaking from a liquid opening [0061] and this merely involves applying a known sealing technique to a known cartridge ready for improvement to yield predictable results.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OLUWATOSIN O DIYAN whose telephone number is (571)270-0789. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 8:30 am - 6 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Philip Louie can be reached at 571-270-1241. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/O.O.D./Examiner, Art Unit 1755 /PHILIP Y LOUIE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1755
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