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 .
Claim Objections
Claims 2, 6, and 14 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 2: in line 6, “an open mode or closed mode” is suggested to be “an open mode or a closed mode”.
Claim 6: in line 6, “the at least one” should be “the at least one of an amplitude, a frequency, and a waveform” to clearly point to the same term recited earlier in the claim.
Claim 14: in lines 3-4, “a preheating start mode or preheating completion mode” is suggested to be “a preheating start mode or a preheating completion mode”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
(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, 7-9, 12, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sumii (WO 2021220410 A1 with reference made to national stage translation EP 4144244 A1).
Claim 1: Sumii teaches an aerosol generating device (fig. 1b and [36-37], #10) comprising:
a housing (11a and 11b) forming an external shape of the aerosol generating device (10) and having a sound emission hole ([128], sound generated by speakers emits through holes such as [51], #15);
an accommodation portion (fig. 1b and [36-37], portion which receives #110) configured to accommodate a cigarette (110) through a hole (12a) formed on one side of the housing (11a and 11b);
a heater (fig. 2 and [48], #40) configured to heat the cigarette (110) accommodated in the accommodation portion (portion which receives 110);
a memory (fig. 4 and [66], #80) storing sound data ([127-128], the device generates vibration, vocalization, and sound to notify a user);
a sound output unit (60) configured to output the sound data (sound data);
and a controller (fig. 4 and [66], #50) configured to transmit the sound data (sound data) stored in the memory to the sound output unit (60).
Claim 2: Sumii teaches the aerosol generating device of claim 1, further comprising:
a cover (fig. 1b and [37-38], #12) configured to cover at least a part of the housing (11a and 11b) and open or close the hole (12a);
and a first sensor (fig. 4 and [86], #78) configured to detect whether the hole (12a) is opened or closed by the cover (12), wherein the controller selects sound data of an open mode or closed mode ([73 and 89], sound data corresponding to states of the device are sent from #70/8 to #60), stored in the memory, according to a result detected by the first sensor (78) and transmits the selected sound data (sound data are sent from 70/8 to 60) to the sound output unit (60).
Claim 3: Sumii teaches the aerosol generating device of claim 2, wherein the cover (fig. 1b and [37-38], #12) is movably coupled to one side of the housing (11a and 11b), opens the hole at a first position (fig. 1b), and closes the hole at a second position (fig. 1a) opposite to the first position (fig. 1b).
Claim 4: Sumii teaches the aerosol generating device of claim 3, wherein the first sensor (fig. 4 and [86], #78) detects that the hole is opened when the cover is closer to the first position (fig. 1b) than to the second position (fig. 1a), and detects that the hole is closed when the cover is closer to the second position (fig. 1a) than to the first position (fig. 1b).
Claim 7: Sumii teaches the aerosol generating device of claim 1, wherein the sound output unit ([127-128], #60) includes an amplifier (the speaker creates audible sound, so one of ordinary skill would immediately envisage that the speaker signal has been amplified) configured to amplify a signal of the sound data and a speaker (speaker) configured to output a signal amplified by the amplifier.
Claim 8: Sumii teaches the aerosol generating device of claim 7, wherein the sound output unit ([127-128], #60) further includes a decoder connected to the memory and configured to decode the sound data (the speaker decodes digital data retrieved from the memory into a control signal) stored in the memory.
Claim 9: Sumii teaches the aerosol generating device of claim 7, wherein the speaker (fig. 4, #60) is arranged between (11a/b fully surround 40 and 60, so 60 is arranged between 11a/b and 40 along at least one axis) the housing (fig. 2, #11a and #11b) and the heater (40), based on a direction crossing a longitudinal direction (longitudinal axis of 40) of the aerosol generating device (10).
Claim 12: Sumii teaches the aerosol generating device of claim 1, further comprising: a second sensor (fig. 4 and [84], #76) configured to detect whether power of the aerosol generating device is turned on or off ([84], #76 detects switching of #14; [39], #14 turns the device on or off), wherein the controller selects sound data of an on mode or off mode ([98], the device notifies a user through #62 that an operation mode has changed), stored in the memory, according to a result detected by the second sensor (76) and transmits the sound data that is selected to the sound output unit (60).
Claim 14: Sumii teaches the aerosol generating device of claim 1, further comprising: a fourth sensor (fig. 4 and [82], #72) configured to detect a temperature of the heater, wherein the controller selects sound data of a preheating completion mode ([66], the device notifies a user through #66 that preheating has completed), stored in the memory, according to a result detected by the fourth sensor ([108-109], the device uses temperature detected by #72 to determine preheating) and transmits the sound data that is selected to the sound output unit (60).
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.
Claims 5 and 10-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sumii (WO 2021220410 A1 with reference made to national stage translation EP 4144244 A1) as applied to claims 1 and 4 in view of Bouchuiguir (WO 2020225105 A1).
Claim 5: Sumii teaches the aerosol generating device of claim 4.
Sumii does not explicitly teach an elastic member having one side rotatably connected to the cover and the other side rotatably connected to the housing and configured to provide an elastic force to the cover.
Bouchuiguir teaches an aerosol generating device (title) comprising an elastic member (fig. 4 and p. 21, lines 4-12, spring-loaded device) having one side rotatably connected (as 106 rotates along the housing’s curve, the attached spring rotates in tandem) to a cover (106) and the other side rotatably connected (as 106 rotates along the housing’s curve, the attached spring rotates in tandem) to a housing (element between 106 and 110) and configured to provide an elastic force to the cover (106), such that the elastic member biases the cover into stable positions (p. 11, lines 14-18).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to add Bouchuiguir’s elastic member having one side rotatably connected to Sumii’s cover and the other side rotatably connected to Sumii’s housing and configured to provide an elastic force to the cover, because doing so would enable the elastic member to bias the cover into stable positions.
Claims 10-11: Sumii teaches the aerosol generating device of claim 1.
Sumii does not explicitly teach a sound input unit including a microphone receiving an external sound and an encoder configured to encode a sound input through the microphone,
and a communication module, wherein the controller receives a sound signal through the communication module and transmits the sound signal to the sound output unit.
Bouchuiguir teaches an aerosol generating device (title) comprising a sound input unit (fig. 4 and p. 21, lines 4-12, acoustic sensor) including a microphone (the acoustic sensor detects a sound) receiving an external sound and an encoder configured to encode a sound input (the acoustic sensor encodes an analog sound into digital data) through the microphone;
and a communication module (circuitry of acoustic sensor), wherein a controller receives a sound signal through the communication module (circuitry of acoustic sensor) and transmits the sound signal to an output unit (p. 12, line 13-15), such that the device can detect movement of a cover from a distance (p. 2, line 33 – p. 3, line 1).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to add, to Sumii’s electronics, Bouchuiguir’s sound input unit including a microphone receiving an external sound and an encoder configured to encode a sound input through the microphone and communication module, wherein the controller receives a sound signal through the communication module and transmits the sound signal to the sound output unit, because doing so would enable the device to detect movement of the cover from a distance.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sumii (WO 2021220410 A1 with reference made to national stage translation EP 4144244 A1) in view of Bouchuiguir (WO 2020225105 A1) as applied to claim 5 and as evidenced by “Understanding Sound” (National Park Service).
Modified Sumii teaches the aerosol generating device of claim 5.
Modified Sumii does not explicitly teach that the first sensor detects at least one of an amplitude, a frequency, and a waveform of a sound wave generated by the elastic member as the cover opens or closes the hole, and the controller determines whether the hole is opened or closed by determining whether the at least one of an amplitude, a frequency, and a waveform detected by the first sensor matches at least one of an amplitude, a frequency, and a waveform of the elastic member, which are previously stored.
Bouchuguir teaches an aerosol generating device (title) comprising a sensor (acoustic sensor) that detects a sound wave generated by the elastic member (spring-loaded device) as the cover (106) opens or closes a hole (hole which can be covered by 106), and a controller determines whether the hole is opened or closed by determining whether the sound wave detected by the sensor (acoustic sensor) matches a sound wave of the elastic member (p. 21, lines 4-12, the acoustic sensor detects a sound emitted by the spring-loaded device; p. 2, line 33 – p. 3, line 10, the acoustic sensor is a contactless sensor which detects a movement of the closure), which is previously stored, such that the device can detect movement of a cover from a distance (p. 2, line 33 – p. 3, line 1).
National Park Service teaches that a sound wave is measured by frequency and amplitude (p. 1).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to add, to Sumii’s first sensor functions, Bouchuguir’s sensor function of detecting a sound wave, measured by amplitude and frequency, generated by the elastic member as the cover opens or closes the hole, such that the controller determines whether the hole is opened or closed by determining whether the at least one of an amplitude, a frequency, and a waveform detected by the first sensor matches at least one of an amplitude, a frequency, and a waveform of the elastic member, which are previously stored, because doing so would enable the device to detect movement of the cover from a distance.
Claims 13 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sumii (WO 2021220410 A1 with reference made to national stage translation EP 4144244 A1) as applied to claim 1 in view of Courbat (WO 2021037403 A1).
Claim 13: Sumii teaches the aerosol generating device of claim 1.
Sumii does not explicitly teach a third sensor configured to detect whether the cigarette is accommodated, wherein the controller selects sound data of a cigarette accommodation mode or a cigarette separation mode, stored in the memory, according to a result detected by the third sensor and transmits the sound data that is selected to the sound output unit.
Courbat teaches an aerosol generating device (title) comprising a sensor (p. 15, lines 19-23, detector) configured to detect whether a cigarette (article) is accommodated, wherein a controller selects sound data of a cigarette accommodation mode (a haptic indication of insertion which makes some amount of sound) or cigarette separation mode (a haptic indication of extraction which makes some amount of sound), stored in a memory, according to a result detected by the sensor (detector) and transmits the sound data (haptic indication) that is selected to a sound output unit (haptic means), such that operation of the device is made more convenient (lines 19-23).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to add, to Sumii’s multiple sensors, Courbat’s sensor configured to detect whether the cigarette is accommodated, wherein the controller selects sound data of a cigarette accommodation mode or a cigarette separation mode, stored in the memory, according to a result detected by the third sensor and transmits the sound data that is selected to the sound output unit, because doing so would make operation of the device more convenient.
Claim 15: Sumii teaches the aerosol generating device of claim 1, further comprising: a fourth sensor (fig. 4 and [82], #72) configured to detect a temperature of the heater.
Sumii does not explicitly teach a third sensor configured to detect whether the cigarette is accommodated, and that when the fourth sensor detect that the heater is heating and at the same time, when the third sensor detects that the cigarette is separated from the accommodation portion, the controller transmits sound data stored in the memory as a heating-time cigarette separation mode to the sound output unit.
Courbat teaches an aerosol generating device (title) comprising a sensor (p. 15, lines 19-23, detector) configured to detect whether a cigarette (article) is accommodated, wherein a controller selects sound data of a cigarette accommodation mode (a haptic indication of insertion which makes some amount of sound) or cigarette separation mode (a haptic indication of extraction which makes some amount of sound), stored in a memory, according to a result detected by the sensor (detector) and transmits the sound data (haptic indication) that is selected to a sound output unit (haptic means), such that operation of the device is made more convenient (lines 19-23).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to add, to Sumii’s multiple sensors, Courbat’s sensor configured to detect whether the cigarette is accommodated, and to program the sensors such that when the fourth sensor detect that the heater is heating and at the same time, when the third sensor detects that the cigarette is separated from the accommodation portion, the controller transmits sound data stored in the memory as a heating-time cigarette separation mode to the sound output unit, because doing so would make operation of the device more convenient.
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sumii (WO 2021220410 A1 with reference made to national stage translation EP 4144244 A1) as applied to claims 1 in view of Kim (WO 2021145569 A1).
Claim 16: Sumii teaches the aerosol generating device of claim 1, further comprising: a fifth sensor (fig. 4 and [83], #74) configured to count a number of puffs of a user.
Sumii does not explicitly teach that when the number of puffs counted by the fifth sensor is determined to reach a preset number of puffs, the controller transmits sound data stored in the memory as a smoking end mode to the sound output unit.
Kim teaches an aerosol generating device (title) comprising a sensor ([100], puff detecting sensor) configured to count a number of puffs of a user, wherein when the number of puffs counted by the sensor is determined to reach a preset number of puffs (preset number), a controller transmits sound data stored in a memory as a smoking end mode (the device notifies a user through a speaker that smoking will end).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to program Sumii’s sensors such that when the number of puffs counted by the fifth sensor is determined to reach a preset number of puffs, the controller transmits sound data stored in the memory as a smoking end mode to the sound output unit, because doing so would be a simple combination of sensor functions between aerosol generating devices and would predictably indicate to a user when smoking will end.
Conclusion
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/TOBEY C LE/Examiner, Art Unit 1747
/Michael H. Wilson/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1747
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