Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 22, 2026
Application No. 18/569,071

ULTRASONIC VIBRATION-BASED AEROSOL GENERATING DEVICE AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Dec 11, 2023
Priority
Oct 07, 2022 — RE 10-2022-0128906 +1 more
Examiner
GRAY, LINDA LAMEY
Art Unit
1745
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
KT&G Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
83%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 83% — above average
83%
Career Allowance Rate
674 granted / 816 resolved
+17.6% vs TC avg
Strong +17% interview lift
Without
With
+17.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
27 currently pending
Career history
845
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.2%
-39.8% vs TC avg
§103
37.4%
-2.6% vs TC avg
§102
20.5%
-19.5% vs TC avg
§112
36.9%
-3.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 816 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
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/Restriction Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 1-6 (drawn to a method of controlling a terminal) in the reply filed on 7-29-2026 is acknowledged. Claims 7-10 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention(s), there being no allowable generic or linking claim. 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. Claims 1-6 are 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 1 is considered to be indefinite in that it is unclear what is -- receiving the information about the cartridge liquid, transmitting the request, receiving information from the server, transmitting the control signal, receiving the inhalation completion notification, updating the operating control information. Also, the claim refers to controlling a terminal; however, the method steps appear to control an electronic device instead of a terminal. Claim 5 is considered to be indefinite in that “the operation” (Ln3) lacks antecedent and/or the antecedent is not clearly defined. Citation of Prior Art The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: Peleg teaches a controller for an aerosol delivery device which allows information about the device to be sent to an external controller. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-6 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: claim 1, the closest prior art of record to Moloney, alone or in combination with the other prior art of record, does not teach or fairly suggest transmitting a request for information about a cartridge liquid to a server, receiving the information about the cartridge liquid from the server, transmitting a control signal comprising the information about the cartridge liquid to the electronic device, and receiving an inhalation completion notification from the electronic device. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LINDA GRAY whose telephone number is (571) 272-5778. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9 AM to 5:30 PM. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Phil Tucker can be reached at (571) 272-1095. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /LINDA L GRAY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1745
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Dec 11, 2023
Application Filed
Oct 05, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12765603
HEATER FOR AEROSOL-GENERATING DEVICE WITH MULTIPLE SUSCEPTOR SETS
3y 5m to grant Granted Oct 20, 2026
Patent 12751485
EVAPORATOR DEVICE FOR AN INHALER, AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING AN INHALER
3y 5m to grant Granted Oct 06, 2026
Patent 12751493
SMOKING ARTICLE FOR IDENTIFYING AN ATTRIBUTE OF AN AEROSOL-GENERATING ELEMENT FOR ADAPTIVE POWER OUTPUT AND AN ASSOCIATED METHOD
3y 4m to grant Granted Oct 06, 2026
Patent 12740589
AROMATIC CARTRIDGE
2y 11m to grant Granted Sep 22, 2026
Patent 12740599
Aerosol Generation Device Power System
3y 5m to grant Granted Sep 22, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
83%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+17.2%)
2y 6m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 816 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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