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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 9-15 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 5/1/2026.
Applicant’s election without traverse of group I in the reply filed on 5/1/2026 is acknowledged.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claims 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Riva Reggiori (Riva) et al. (US 2020/0397054 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Riva teaches an aerosol-generating device (Fig. 1a, Ref. Num. 10) comprising a housing (Fig. 1a, Ref. Num. 22) with an accommodation space (Fig. 1a, Ref. Num. 24), a heater (Fig. 1a, Ref. Num. 26) to heat the aerosol generating article, a temperature sensor (Para. [0043]) to measure the temperate of the heater, a battery (Fig. 1a, Ref. Num. 30) to supply power, and a processor (Fig. 1a, Ref. Num. 38). The processor is fully capable of obtaining at least one of data associated with an initial temperature of the heater, which is measured through the temperature sensor and data associated with a final heating profile of the heater and control power supply from the battery to the heater based on the obtained data (Para. [0065]).
Regarding claim 2, Riva teaches that the aerosol-generating device comprises a memory storing data (Fig. 1a, Ref. Num. 36) associated with the temperature of the heater (Para. [0065]) and the processor is configured to control the power to the heater based on the temperature of the heating element (Para. [0072]) and would be capable of doing so when the heating profile is both under and above a preset temperature.
Regarding claim 3, Riva teaches that the processor is configured to control the power to the heater based on the temperature of the heating element (Para. [0072]) and would be capable of obtaining data regarding time to the temperature increase past the preset temperature.
Regarding claim 4, Riva teaches that the processor is configured to control the power to the heater based on the temperature of the heating element (Para. [0072]) and can use a second feedback loop (Para. [0074]) that can correspond to a second temperature profile.
Regarding claim 5, Riva teaches that the processor is configured to control the power to the heater based on the temperature of the heating element (Para. [0072]) and can use a second feedback loop (Para. [0074]) that can correspond to a second temperature profile and would be capable of the second temperature profile having a longer total preheating time than the first profile.
Regarding claim 6, Riva teaches that the processor is configured to control the power to the heater based on the temperature of the heating element (Para. [0072]) and can use a second feedback loop (Para. [0074]) that can correspond to a second temperature profile and would be capable of the second temperature profile having a shorter temperature decrease section than the final profile.
Regarding claim 7, Riva teaches that the processor is configured to control the power to the heater based on the temperature of the heating element (Para. [0072]) and would be capable of maintaining the initial temperature of the heater and then increase that temperature.
Regarding claim 8, Riva teaches that the processor obtains the first time through back-calculation (Para. [0092]), which is a type of wind-up controlling (Instant Specification; Para. [0135]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NICHOLAS J WEILER whose telephone number is (571)272-2664. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00am-5:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Katelyn Smith can be reached at (571) 270-5545. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/N.J.W./Examiner, Art Unit 1749
/KATELYN W SMITH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1749
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