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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 8-13-2026 has been entered.
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.
(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 1-4 and 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Hatrick (WO 2014/048745 A1).
Claim 1: Hatrick teaches aerosol generating device 1 configured to generate an aerosol for inhalation by a user (Abstract; pg4 ¶2), comprising:
●cavity 3 (“smokable material heating chamber”) in which aerosol forming substance 2
(“smokable material”) can be received (pg4 ¶2 Lns1-3)
●a heater (comprising at least heating material 5) configured to heat aerosol forming
substance 2 received in cavity 3 (pg4 ¶3)
●vacuum insulator 14 (“thermal insulation”) provided around the heater (pg10 ¶3
Lns1-7).
An external surface of vacuum insulator 14 is an outer surface of aerosol generating device 1 (pg11 ¶3 Lns5-7) wherein the outer surface can be held by the user, in use. The external surface is substantially uncovered by another surface (Fig1 Fig2).
Claim 2: Hatrick teaches aerosol generating device 1 of claim 1, further comprising an outer casing 9 (“magnetic field generator”) (pg8 ¶1 Lns1-3) that partially encloses vacuum insulator 14 (Fig1 Fig2).
Claim 3: Hatrick teaches aerosol generating device 1 of claim 1, wherein the external surface of vacuum insulator 14 is the outer surface of aerosol generating device 1 around a full circumference of aerosol generating device 1 (Fig1).
Claim 4: Hatrick teaches aerosol generating device 1 of claim 1, wherein the external surface of vacuum insulator 14 is the outer surface of aerosol generating device 1 along a full length of aerosol generating device 1 (Fig1).
Claim 6: Hatrick teaches aerosol generating device 1 of claim 1, wherein such is configured to receive a consumable (the aerosol forming substrate 2) which comprises tobacco within cavity 3 (pg4 ¶2 Lns1-3).
Claim 7: Hatrick teaches aerosol generating device 1 of claim 1, wherein vacuum insulator 14 has an annular cylindrical shape (Fig2).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hatrick as applied to claims 1-4 and 6-7 above, and further in view of Egoyants (WO 2013/034456 A1).
Claim 5: Hatrick teaches aerosol generating device 1 of claim 1 – but does not teach that vacuum insulator 14 comprises metal.
However, it is conventional and well-known in the art that a vacuum insulator includes metal as illustrated by Egoyants. Egoyants teaches an aerosol generating device (Fig1 annotated below) configured to generate an aerosol for inhalation by a user, comprising:
● cavity 4 in which aerosol forming substance 5 can be received
●heater 3 configured to heat aerosol forming substance 5 received in cavity 4 (pg5
Lns19-32)
●vacuum insulator 18 provided around heater 3 (pg20 Lns18-20; pg21 Lns9-12; pg6
Lns11-14).
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The aerosol generating device comprises outer casing 7 that partially encloses vacuum insulator 18 (pg20 Lns7-9). Vacuum insulator 18 is around a substantially full circumference of the aerosol generating device (Fig3 Fig5 as examples; pg4 Lns4-6 Lns10-12). Vacuum insulator 18 is along a substantially full length of the aerosol generating device (Fig1 annotated above). Vacuum insulator 18 comprises metal (pg20 Lns18-20).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to have Hatrick that vacuum insulator 14 comprises metal in that such is conventional and well-known in the art, as taught by Egoyants, where it is obvious to replace one material of a vacuum insulator (that of Hatrick) with another art alternative material of a vacuum insulator (that of Egoyants: metal) where successful results have been demonstrated.
Prior Art of Record
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
●Stanley teaches a heat insulating receptacle having a vacuum insulator provided around a cavity into which a substance can be received;
●Blandino teaches a device used for heating a smokable material having a vacuum insulator;
●Zojirushi explains vacuum insulation;
●Wagner discusses vaping device TH-cartridges having insulation.
Conclusion
The comments and amendments filed 8-13-2026 have been entered and fully considered – the results of which are provided herein.
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.
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/LINDA L GRAY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1745
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