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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 2/10/26 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.
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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious ove FR 3015188 to Cruciani (Cruciani). Cruciani discloses:
With Respect to Claim 1
A vaporizer attachment device comprising: a vaporizer (electronic cigarette 10, see the Fig. 5A embodiment, noting that an electronic cigarette is a type of vaporizer, as well as the explicit disclosure that 10 includes a reservoir 12 to container a liquid that is heated by the atomizer 13 to generate the vapor to be inhaled, i.e. it vaporizes the liquid and is therefore a vaporizer); a first fastener (21, FIG. 5A) attachable to the vaporizer (see, e.g. FIGS. 1-3 showing this, the FIG. 5A embodiment is attached in the same fashion); and a second fastener comprising a second attachment fastener (216) fixedly attached to the first fastener; and wherein the first fastener is a semi-rigid sleeve (body 21 is disclosed as flexible, rigid, or semi-rigid, and so semi-rigid is explicitly disclosed, and FGIS. 2B-C demonstrate that the body is a sleeve); and wherein the second attachment fastener is a hook fastener (see FIG. 5A, as shown the fastening means 216 is a hook fastener).
Alternately, although Examiner maintains that a person of ordinary skill in the art would understand the body (21) of the FIG. 5A embodiment to be the same as that of the other embodiments other than the different fastener, to the degree that FIG. 5A is disclosed as a different embodiment and does not show its interior and so could arguably be formed as a structure other than a sleeve, it would have been obvious to form the body (21) of the FIG. 5A embodiment as a sleeve based on the disclosure of having the others formed in this fashion and/or as a mere selection of an art appropriate internal structure to use.
Claim 9 is rejected under under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious ove FR 3015188 to Cruciani (Cruciani) in view of and U.S. Patent #6,964,361 to Kathrein (Kathrein).
With Respect to Claim 9
Cruciani discloses a vaporizer attachment device comprising: a vaporizer (10, noting that an electronic cigarette is a type of vaporizer, as well as the explicit disclosure that 10 includes a reservoir 12 to container a liquid that is heated by the atomizer 13 to generate the vapor to be inhaled, i.e. it vaporizes the liquid and is therefore a vaporizer); a first fastener (21) attachable to the vaporizer and comprised of a first attachment fastener (21); and a second fastener (216) comprised of a second attachment fastener (216); and wherein the first fastener is a rigid sleeve (body 21 is disclosed as flexible, rigid, or semi-rigid and so rigid is explicitly disclosed, and is shown as a sleeve in e.g. FIGS. 2B-2C, it is Examiner’s position that the FIG 5A embodiment is also formed in this fashion or it is obvious to form it as such, see the rejection of claim 1 above for details); wherein the second attachment fastener is a hook (Fig. 5A shows 216 as a hook); but does not disclose that the second attachment fastener is removably attached to the first attachment fastener or wherein the first attachment fastener is a magnetic fastener.
However, Kathrein discloses removably attaching a personal device holder to any of a variety of user worn items using a first fastener (20 in combination with 12 and related structure) attachable to the personal device that comprises a first attachment fastener (12/13), a second fastener (either hook 44 of FIG. 16 or hook 46 of FIG. 14 in combination with 14 and related structure) comprised of a second attachment fastener (44/46) that is removably attached to the first attachment fastener, wherein the first attachment fastener is a magnetic fastener, and that this allows for secure coupling to the user's personal property (e.g., belt, bag or the like), while also permitting ready, relatively quick, and relatively easy removal of the personal item/device for use.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of this application, given the disclosure of Kathrein, to removably attach the tab (216) of Cruciani to the body (21) of Cruciani using a magnetic fastener as taught by Kathrein, for the benefits disclosed by Kathrein for its structure, to allow for separation for repair/removal/cleaning/replacement, and/or as doing so constitutes at most merely making separable which does not patentably distinguish over the prior art (MPEP 2144.04). With this modification, the second attachment fastener is removably attached to the first attachment fastener (via magnets per Kathrein) and wherein the first attachment fastener (taken to be the magnet on the first fastener added per Kathrein) is a magnetic fastener (24 alone or in combination with 12).
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over FR 3015188 to Cruciani (Cruciani) in view of U.S. Patent #6,367,672 to Lind (Lind) and U.S. Patent #5,865,357 to Goodwin (Goodwin), either alone or also in view of U.S. Patent #10,285,437 to Russell (Russell) and either U.S. Patent #11,399,621 to Derr (Derr) or U.S. Patent Publication #2006/0272890 to Harmon (Harmon).
With Respect to Claim 19
Cruciani in view of Lind (see the rejection of claims 1 for details of the combination) discloses a method of using a vaporizer attachment device, the method comprising the following steps: providing a vaporizer (10, noting that an electronic cigarette is a type of vaporizer, as well as the explicit disclosure that 10 includes a reservoir 12 to container a liquid that is heated by the atomizer 13 to generate the vapor to be inhaled, i.e. it vaporizes the liquid and is therefore a vaporizer); providing a vaporizer attachment device (21, 2161, and related structure) comprised of a first fastener (21) attached to a second fastener(2161); securing the first fastener to the vaporizer (see, e.g. FIG. 3 and description); securing the second fastener to a garment, an item, or a surface (pocket of a garment is disclosed, or the garment is an item, or the “thin object” is clearly a surface); removing the second fastener from the garment, the item, or the surface (It is Examiner’s position that this step is clearly obvious in order to attach the second fastener to a different location as desired and/or to allow for use of the vaporizer, noting the disclosure of transporting the vaporizer on various different structures, the attachment means being capable of attaching to multiple different structures, and/or using the vaporizer multiple times a day); using the vaporizer (noting disclosure that vaporizers are often carried and used multiple times a day); and resecuring the second fastener to the garment, the item, or the surface (it is Examiner’s position that returning the second fastener to its original position for storage after use is part of the obvious utility of such a removable attachment mechanism); and wherein the first fastener is a semi-rigid sleeve (21); and wherein the second fastener is a clamp (2161 is a clamp per Lind); but does not detail how the first and second fasteners attach together and so does not disclose wherein first fastener removably attaches to the second fastener via a snap button.
However, Goodwin discloses attaching a belt clip/second fastener to a similar personal item holder/first fastener using a snap button.
Russell discloses attaching a utility clip/belt clip/second fastener (1008) to a personal item holder/first fastener designed to attach to a vaporizer (102) by any suitable means including mechanical fasteners (it is noted that a snap button is a mechanical fastener).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of this application, given the disclosure of Goodwin, to attach the first fastener of Cruciani/the combination to the second fastener via a snap button, in order to allow for removal of the second fastener for repair/replacement/cleaning, as a mere selection of an art appropriate attachment mechanism to use, or as doing so constitutes at most merely making separable which does not patentably distinguish over the prior art (MPEP 2144.04). Alternately, Russell provides additional evidence of the obviousness of using a mechanical fastener such as a snap button to attach the tab/clip of the combination to the first fastener/sleeve.
Alternately, Derr discloses a method of using a vaporizer attachment device comprising providing a vaporizer attachment device comprised of a first fastener (1) attached to a second fastener (7 or 11 or 12); securing the first fastener (1) to a vaporizer (noting disclosure to attach to an electronic cigarette which is a vaporizer); securing the second fastener to a garment, an item, or a surface (any of the listed example external structures of key chains, backpacks, and handbags are an item and/or a surface); removing the second fastener from the garment, the item, or the surface (the disclosure that 11 allows for quick attachment and detachment inherently discloses the step of detaching/removing the second fastener, and 7 or 12 are also common quick attach/detach fasteners having the same functionality); using the vaporizer (it is Examiner’s position that the purpose of keeping an item such as an electronic cigarette with a person is to use it, and the step of using an item for its intended purpose is clearly obvious); and resecuring the second fastener to the garment, the item, or the surface (again, the disclosure of quick attachment and detachment inherently discloses attaching, or alternately to the degree that it could be argued that quick attachment/detachment refers to only a single use, re-attaching is obvious after detachment in order to provide the benefits of attachment such as hands free carrying or the like and/or other benefits disclosed by Derr).
Harmon discloses a similar attachment device for attaching an article/personal/electronic device to a user comprising a first fastener (34) for attachment to the article/electronic device and a second fastener (quick release key ring 32, similar to 11 of Derr) attached to a garment/item/surface (via the lanyard, see e.g. FIG. 2/3, or see other embodiments attached to purse or the like), and the steps of securing the second fastener to a garment, an item, or a surface (via the lanyard, see [0021]); removing the second fastener from the garment, the item, or the surface (see [0021]); using the electronic device/article (see [0021]); and resecuring the second fastener to the garment, the item, or the surface (via resecuring to the lanyard which is attached to it, see [0021]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of this application, given the disclosure of Derr or Harmon, to remove the second fastener, use the vaporizer, and resecure the second fastener as claimed, in order to allow for free use of the electronic cigarette unencumbered by the attachment, and/or as a mere selection of an art appropriate method of using the attachment device.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 2/10/26 have been fully considered but they are either not persuasive or are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
In response to Applicant’s arguments that Cruciani teaches an electronic cigarette rather than a vaporizer as recited in the amended claims, an electronic cigarette is a type of vaporizer; even if an electronic cigarette exists that is not a vaporizer (e.g. a light up toy cigarette), the electronic cigarette disclosed by Cruciani is clearly a vaporizer, noting the disclosure that the electronic cigarette 10 includes a reservoir 12 to container a liquid that is heated by the atomizer 13 to generate the vapor to be inhaled, i.e. it vaporizes the liquid and is therefore a vaporizer.
In response to Applicant’s arguments regarding the amended recitation that the second attachment fastener is a hook, see the rejection of claim 1 above for details, noting that Cruciani’s FIG. 5A embodiment has a second attachment fastener that is a hook. Examiner notes also that Kathrein discloses two second attachment fasteners that are hooks.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ADAM J WAGGENSPACK whose telephone number is (571)270-7418. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-4:30.
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, Nathan Newhouse can be reached at (571)272-4544. 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.
/ADAM J WAGGENSPACK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3734