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 § 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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 7, 10-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by RADO (US 2016/0183596).
Rado teaches an article for use as part of a non-combustible aerosol provision system, wherein the article comprises at least one aerosol outlet (254 in figure 8); and at least one airflow channel (airflow A and V in figure 8), wherein the at least one aerosol outlet is arranged in fluid communication with the at least one airflow channel (see figure 8), and wherein the at least one airflow channel has a longitudinal section (266, 162, 160, 250) and a lateral section (252) connected together via a joint section (252), wherein the joint section has a curved outer wall (see 252 in figure 12, circular opening).
Regarding claim 2, figure 10C shows there are multiple airflow channels (184).
Regarding claim 3, Rado teaches the article comprises an inner housing (180 in figure 9) defining a storage area for aerosol forming material (200) to be stored.
Regarding claim 7, Rado teaches the at least one airflow channel contains a further joint section with a curved outer wall (184 in figure 8).
Regarding claim 10, Rado teaches a non-combustible aerosol provision system comprising the article and a device comprising a power source (20) and a control unit (para. 0045).
Regarding claim 11, figure 6 shows the device and the article are separably connected.
Claim(s) 1,3-5, 10-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by WENSLEY et al. (US 2016/0213065).
Wensley teaches an article for use as part of a non-combustible aerosol provision system, wherein the article comprises at least one aerosol outlet (52); and at least one airflow channel (88), wherein the at least one aerosol outlet is arranged in fluid communication with the at least one airflow channel (see figure 6), and wherein the at least one airflow channel has a longitudinal section and a lateral section (see figure 6) connected together via a joint section, wherein the joint section has a curved outer wall (88 in figures).
Regarding claim 3, Wensley teaches the article comprises an inner housing (100 in figure 9) defining a storage area for aerosol forming material to be stored.
Regarding claim 4, figure 9 shows an outer housing, the at least one airflow channel (88) extending between the outer housing and the inner housing (100).
Regarding claim 5, figure 9 shows the curved outer wall of the joint section is formed by the outer housing.
Regarding claim 10, Wensley teaches a non-combustible aerosol provision system comprising the article and a device comprising a power source (34) and a control unit (46).
Regarding claim 11, Wensley teaches the device and the article are separably connected (para. 0064).
Regarding claim 12, Wensley teaches the device and the article are permanently connected (para. 0064).
Claim(s) 1, 3, 6 10-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by POTTER (WO 2020/002924).
Potter teaches an article for use as part of a non-combustible aerosol provision system, wherein the article comprises at least one aerosol outlet (118); and at least one airflow channel (see figure 8), wherein the at least one aerosol outlet is arranged in fluid communication with the at least one airflow channel (see figure 1), and wherein the at least one airflow channel has a longitudinal section and a lateral section (see figure 8) connected together via a joint section, wherein the joint section has a curved outer wall (180 in figure 8).
Regarding claim 3, Potter teaches the article comprises an inner housing (120 in figure 8) defining a storage area (110) for aerosol forming material to be stored.
Regarding claim 6, Potter teaches the joint section is a bend having a degree of bend of 90° or more (page 8 lines 28-29) which overlaps with the claimed range of between 80° and 100°.
Regarding claim 10, Potter teaches a non-combustible aerosol provision system comprising the article and a device comprising a power source (177) and a control unit (175).
Regarding claim 11, Potter teaches the device and the article are separably connected (page 6 line 1).
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(s) 8-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WENSLEY et al. (US 2016/0213065) in view of VO et al. (US 2019/0021396).
Wensley teaches an article for use as part of a non-combustible aerosol provision system, wherein the article comprises at least one aerosol outlet (52); and at least one airflow channel (88), wherein the at least one aerosol outlet is arranged in fluid communication with the at least one airflow channel (see figure 6), and wherein the at least one airflow channel has a longitudinal section and a lateral section (see figure 6) connected together via a joint section, wherein the joint section has a curved outer wall (88 in figures). Figure 3 shows that the outlet has a circular shape.
Vo teaches a non-combustible aerosol provision system comprising at least one aerosol outlet (104); and at least one airflow channel (612), wherein the at least one aerosol outlet is arranged in fluid communication with the at least one airflow channel (see figure 6) and wherein the at least one airflow channel has a longitudinal section and a lateral section (see figure 6) connected together via a joint section (514). Vo teaches the at least one outlet takes the form of at least one slot (see figure 1, para 0017). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to substitute the at least one slot of Vo for the circular outlet of Wensley because Vo teaches that they are known equivalents for outlet shapes (para. 0017).
Regarding claim 9, Wensley teaches that the heating assembly comprises slots having length of 8 mm (para. 0048), which falls into the claimed range of greater than 2mm. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use a similar length in the outlet slots of Wensley because Wensley teaches that this size is suitable for airflow through an aerosol provision system (para. 0048).
Conclusion
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/CYNTHIA SZEWCZYK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1741