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
Claims 1-6 remain withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 05/04/2026.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed 09/08/2026 in response to the prior rejection have been fully considered but are moot in view of the present amendment. In particular, Applicant amended independent claim 7 to recite additional limitations directed to the structure of the second filter segment, including that the filter member comprises a filter sheet folded multiple times, wherein the medium pulp is disposed in spaces between folded parts of the filter sheet.
Because the amended claim now includes limitations that materially change the scope of the claimed medium receiving rod, the prior rejection has not been maintained in the same form. Instead, the present Office action applies newly cited prior art to address the newly added folded filter-sheet structure and the placement of the medium pulp in spaces between folded parts of the filter sheet. Accordingly, Applicant’s arguments directed to the prior rejection do not address the rejection as presently formulated and are therefore moot.
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection over the claims of co-pending Application No. 18/567,844 is withdrawn. The instant claims have been amended to recite that the filter member comprises a filter sheet folded multiple times and that the medium pulp is disposed in spaces between folded parts of the filter sheet. The co-pending claims recite a medium receiving rod having a cavity segment disposed between first and second filter segments, with medium pulp in the cavity segment, but do not claim or otherwise require the folded filter-sheet structure now recited in the instant claims. Accordingly, the instant claims are patentably distinct from the co-pending claims.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 7-9, 11, and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Zhuang (US 2011/0155154 A1) in view of Chida (US 2013/0160779 A1) and further in view of Koller et al. (US 6,209,547 B1).
Regarding claim 7, Zhuang teaches a medium receiving rod, comprising: (filter 104 of smoking article 100C; Fig. 3; ¶ [0047]),
a first filter segment disposed at an upstream end of the medium receiving rod; and (CA plug 126 at the upstream/tobacco-rod end of filter 104; Fig. 3; ¶ [0047]),
a second filter segment disposed downstream of the first filter segment and including medium pulp and a filter member (CA plug 122 downstream of CA plug 126 and containing tobacco beads dispersed among fibers of the plug; Fig. 3; ¶ [0047]).
Zhuang further teaches that the tobacco beads comprise tobacco particles and water and may further include cellulosic material, binders, flavorants, and fillers, corresponding to the claimed medium pulp (tobacco beads comprising tobacco particles; ¶ [0042]).
Zhuang does not teach that the second filter segment includes a pH adjuster.
Chida is in the same field of endeavor as Zhuang because both references concern tobacco-flavor-releasing material in smoking or tobacco-flavor inhalation articles. Zhuang teaches tobacco beads as a flavor-releasing component located in a filter segment of a smoking article (¶¶ [0011], [0042]), and Chida teaches a non-heating type tobacco flavor inhalator including tobacco-flavor-releasing material placed in an air flow path (Chida, ¶ [0048]).
Chida teaches tobacco-flavor-releasing granules containing ground tobacco material, water, a moisturizing agent, a pH-adjusting agent selected from potassium carbonate and sodium hydrogencarbonate, and a binder (¶ [0014]). Chida further teaches that the pH-adjusting agent adjusts the granules to the alkali side and facilitates release of the flavor ingredient from the tobacco-flavor-releasing granule (¶ [0021]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to modify Zhuang’s tobacco beads in CA plug 122 to include Chida’s pH-adjusting agent because Chida teaches that alkaline pH adjustment facilitates release of tobacco flavor from tobacco-flavor-releasing granules, with the predictable result of improving flavor release from Zhuang’s tobacco beads positioned in the filter airflow path.
Zhuang in view of Chida, hereinafter modified Zhuang, teaches a second filter segment disposed downstream of the first filter segment and including medium pulp, a filter member, and a pH adjuster (CA plug 122 containing tobacco beads dispersed among fibers of the plug, modified to include Chida’s pH-adjusting agent; Zhuang, Fig. 3; ¶ [0047]; Chida, ¶ [0014]).
Modified Zhuang does not teach the filter member comprising a filter sheet folded multiple times, wherein the medium pulp is disposed in spaces between folded parts of the filter sheet.
Koller is in the same field of endeavor as modified Zhuang because both concern filter structures for smoking articles. Zhuang teaches tobacco medium material carried within a cigarette filter segment (Zhuang, Fig. 3; ¶ [0047]), and Koller teaches a cigarette filter including particulate reagent carried by folded paper located in the filter portion of a cigarette (Koller, Fig. 1; col. 3, lines 51-59).
Koller teaches loading particulate reagent onto lightly or tightly folded paper inserted into a cigarette filter, where the support is preferably sheet material such as crepe paper, filter paper, or tipping paper (Koller, col. 3, lines 7-14). Koller further teaches that the folded paper support can be located in the filter portion and that the amount of particulate material can be controlled by coated amount, coated area, and total coated-paper area (Koller, col. 3, lines 16-23).
It has been held that the use of a known technique to improve similar devices in the same way is obvious where the technique has been used to improve one device and a person of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that it would improve similar devices in the same way. MPEP § 2143.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to modify modified Zhuang’s CA plug 122 by replacing or supplementing the fibrous plug support with Koller’s folded filter-paper support and arranging the pH-adjusted tobacco medium material on the folded filter sheet, so that the medium material is disposed in spaces between folded parts of the filter sheet, because Koller teaches a known folded-paper support for controllably loading particulate material in a cigarette filter, with the predictable result of retaining and controllably loading the pH-adjusted tobacco medium material within Zhuang’s downstream filter segment.
Regarding claim 8, modified Zhuang as set forth in the rejection of claim 7 teaches wherein the second filter segment is formed by applying a binder to one surface of the filter member, placing a plurality of particles of the medium pulp on the one surface of the filter member applied with the binder, folding the filter member multiple times, and wrapping the folded filter member with a wrapper to the extent the product-by-process limitation requires the resulting second filter segment structure having medium pulp particles associated with a folded filter member and wrapped as a filter segment.
Product-by-process limitations are not entitled to patentable weight unless they impart a structural difference to the claimed product. MPEP § 2113. Modified Zhuang teaches the resulting structure because Zhuang teaches a second filter segment including tobacco beads incorporated in a filter segment wrapped in paper (CA plug 122 containing tobacco beads dispersed among fibers of the plug and wrapped in paper; Zhuang, Fig. 3; ¶ [0047]), and Koller teaches particulate material loaded onto lightly or tightly folded filter paper inserted into a cigarette filter (Koller, col. 3, lines 7-14). Accordingly, modified Zhuang teaches the same or substantially the same resulting article.
Regarding claim 9, modified Zhuang as set forth in the rejection of claim 7 teaches wherein the pH adjuster comprises an alkaline salt (pH-adjusting agent selected from potassium carbonate and sodium hydrogencarbonate; Chida, ¶ [0014]). Chida further teaches that the pH-adjusting agent adjusts the granules to the alkali side and facilitates release of the flavor ingredient from the tobacco-flavor-releasing granule (Chida, ¶ [0021]).
Regarding claim 11, modified Zhuang as set forth in the rejection of claim 7 teaches wherein the first filter segment comprises an acetate material (CA plug 126, wherein CA denotes cellulose acetate; Zhuang, Fig. 3; ¶ [0047]).
Regarding claim 12, modified Zhuang as set forth in the rejection of claim 7 teaches wherein the medium pulp is tobacco pulp (tobacco beads comprising tobacco particles and water; Zhuang, ¶ [0042]).
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Zhuang (US 2011/0155154 A1) in view of Chida (US 2013/0160779 A1) and Koller et al. (US 6,209,547 B1), as applied to claim 7 above, and further in view of Zuber et al. (US 2014/0305448 A1).
Regarding claim 10, modified Zhuang as set forth in the rejection of claim 7 does not teach a filter rod disposed downstream of the second filter segment and comprising a cooling segment and a mouthpiece segment.
Zuber is in the same field of endeavor as modified Zhuang because both concern smoking or aerosol-generating articles having rod and filter structures through which smoke or aerosol passes before inhalation. Zuber teaches a filter rod comprising a cooling segment and a mouthpiece segment (aerosol-cooling element 40 and mouthpiece 50; Zuber, Fig. 1; ¶¶ [0178], [0183]). Zuber further teaches that aerosol-cooling element 40 cools aerosol prior to inhalation and that mouthpiece 50 delivers the aerosol to the user (Zuber, ¶¶ [0182], [0192]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to modify modified Zhuang’s medium receiving rod to include Zuber’s downstream filter rod having an aerosol-cooling element and mouthpiece because Zuber teaches a known downstream cooling-and-mouthpiece filter arrangement for aerosol/smoke delivery articles, with the predictable result of cooling the aerosol before inhalation and delivering the aerosol to the user through a mouthpiece.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JENNIFER KESSIE whose telephone number is (571)272-7739. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 7:00am - 5:00pm.
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/JENNIFER A KESSIE/Examiner, Art Unit 1747
/Michael H. Wilson/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1747
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