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
Applicant’s election without traverse of group I, claims 1, 3-8 and 10-15 in the reply filed on 8/3/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 2, 9, 23 and 47-50 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to nonelected groups II through VII, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 8/3/2026.
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, 3-4, 7-8, 10, 12-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Eusepi (EP3073845) as evidenced by Inagaki et al. (U.S 20110192408).
Regarding claim 1, Eusepi discloses an article for use with a non-combustible aerosol provision device (see figs. 1-3), the article comprising:
a mouth end segment (by reference sign F in D, fig. 6) to be received in a mouth of a user;
an aerosol-generating material configured to generate an aerosol when the article is received in the non-combustible aerosol provision device and the user draws on the mouth end segment (the aerosol-generating material of Eusepi is capable of being used in a non-combustible aerosol provision device as evidenced by Inagaki (Abstract and figs. 1-3)); and
a tubular cooling segment (6, figs. 5-6) having a longitudinal axis and being located between the aerosol-generating material and the mouth end segment through which the aerosol flows towards the mouth end segment;
wherein the tubular cooling segment comprises a ventilation region through which air is drawn into the tubular cooling segment, the ventilation region being configured such that a swirling flow is generated by air entering the tubular cooling segment through the ventilation region [0049].
Regarding claim 3, Eusepi discloses the ventilation region comprises a hole (9, figs. 2, 4-5) in the tubular cooling segment.
Regarding claim 4, Eusepi discloses the ventilation region comprises a plurality of holes (9, figs. 2, 4-5) spaced from each other around a circumference of the tubular cooling segment.
Regarding claim 7, Eusepi discloses the tubular cooling segment has an inner surface and at least one hole extends into the tubular cooling segment at a tangent to the inner surface (see F2,9 of figs. 2, 4 and 6 and [0044]).
Regarding claim 8. Eusepi discloses the tubular cooling segment has an inner surface and the hole extends into the tubular cooling segment in a direction which is parallel to, and offset from, a tangent to the inner surface and to a line intersecting the longitudinal axis of the tubular cooling segment that is parallel to the tangent (see F2, 9 of figs. 2, 4 and 6 and [0044]).
Regarding claim 10, Eusepi discloses the at least one hole is configured such that the air entering the tubular cooling segment flows in the same direction as the flow of the aerosol from the aerosol generating material towards the mouth end segment ([0044] and fig. 6).
Regarding claim 12, Eusepi discloses the at least one hole is at least one slot (see F2 of fig. 4 and 6 and [0044]).
Regarding claim 13, Eusepi discloses the at least one slot has a major dimension that extends in a direction of the longitudinal axis of the tubular cooling segment (see F2 of fig. 4 and 6 and [0044]).
Regarding claim 14, Eusepi discloses the at least one slot has a major dimension that extends in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the tubular cooling segment (see F2 of fig. 4 and 6 and [0044]).
Regarding claim 15, Eusepi discloses the at least one slot has a major dimension that extends in a direction that is angled between a position where the major dimension of the at least one slot extends in a direction of the longitudinal axis of the tubular cooling segment, and where the major dimension of the at least one slot extends in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the tubular cooling segment (see F2 of fig. 4 and 6 and [0044]).
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) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Eusepi (EP3073845) as evidenced by Inagaki et al. (U.S 20110192408).
Regarding claim 11, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to make the at least one hole tapers in a direction into the tubular cooling segment since changes in shape would be an obvious matter of engineering choice (see In reDailey, 357 F.2d 669, 149 USPQ 47 (CCPA 1966).
Claim(s) 5-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Eusepi (EP3073845) as evidenced by Inagaki et al. (U.S 20110192408) and further in view of England et al. (US 20190116874).
Regarding claim 5, Eusepi discloses a row of holes (9, figs. 2, 4-5) in the tubular cooling segment. Although Eusepi does not expressly disclose a plurality of rows of holes, mere duplication of parts has no patentable significance unless a new and unexpected result is produced (see In reHarza, 274 F.2d 669, 124 USPQ 378 (CCPA 1960)). Furthermore, England discloses an article having the ventilation region comprises a plurality of rows of holes, each row of the plurality of rows being spaced from its adjacent row in a direction extending along the longitudinal axis of the tubular cooling element (317, figs. 3 and 4 and [0042]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have multiple rows of holes wherein each row of the plurality of rows being spaced from its adjacent row in a direction extending along the longitudinal axis of the tubular cooling element to allow air into the device as taught by England (ventilation region comprises one or more rows of holes [0042]) .
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Eusepi and England taken together as a whole discloses the plurality of rows of holes are configured to generate opposing swirling flows within the tubular cooling segment ([0049], figs. 2 and 4 of Eusepi).
Conclusion
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/PHU H NGUYEN/ Examiner, Art Unit 1747
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