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 .
Specification
The following guidelines illustrate the preferred layout for the specification of a utility application. These guidelines are suggested for the applicant’s use.
Arrangement of the Specification
As provided in 37 CFR 1.77(b), the specification of a utility application should include the following sections in order. Each of the lettered items should appear in upper case, without underlining or bold type, as a section heading. If no text follows the section heading, the phrase “Not Applicable” should follow the section heading:
(a) TITLE OF THE INVENTION.
(b) CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS.
(c) STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT.
(d) THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT.
(e) INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A READ-ONLY OPTICAL DISC, AS A TEXT FILE OR AN XML FILE VIA THE PATENT ELECTRONIC SYSTEM.
(f) STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR A JOINT INVENTOR.
(g) BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION.
(1) Field of the Invention.
(2) Description of Related Art including information disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98.
(h) BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION.
(i) BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S).
(j) DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION.
(k) CLAIM OR CLAIMS (commencing on a separate sheet).
(l) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE (commencing on a separate sheet).
(m) SEQUENCE LISTING. (See MPEP § 2422.03 and 37 CFR 1.821 - 1.825). A “Sequence Listing” is required on paper if the application discloses a nucleotide or amino acid sequence as defined in 37 CFR 1.821(a) and if the required “Sequence Listing” is not submitted as an electronic document either on read-only optical disc or as a text file via the patent electronic system.
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: the section headings should not be underlined.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claims 6, 8, and 18 objected to because of the following informalities: In claim 6 line 1, the phrase “claim 1” should read –claim 5--, since claim 6 introduces a second detent without claiming a first detent, which is introduced in claim 5. in claim 8 line 1, the phrase “claim 1” should read –claim 7--, since claim 8 introduces a second mechanical stop without claiming a first mechanical stop, which is introduced in claim 7. In claim 18 line 5, the words “millimetres” should read –mm--. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1 and 5-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Li et al. (2017/0202268).
With regard to claim 1, Li ‘268 teaches, as shown in figures 1-4 and taught in paragraph 40: “An aerosol-generating device 100, comprising: a housing 101; a cavity 150 arranged to removably receive an aerosol-generating article (tobacco containing liquid described in paragraph 40); an aperture 111 at least partially defined by the housing 101, wherein the aperture 111 is positioned at an end of the cavity 150 and configured for insertion of an aerosol-generating article into the cavity 150 through the aperture 111; and a cover element 120 and 130 arranged for rotational movement with respect to the housing 101, wherein the cover element is rotatable between a closed position (shown in figure 1) in which the cover element entirely covers the aperture 111 and an open position (shown in figure 3) in which the aperture 111 is entirely uncovered, wherein the cover element comprises a cover portion 120 and a shaft portion 130 extending from the cover portion 120, wherein the cover portion 120 is arranged to entirely cover the aperture 111 when the cover element is in the closed position, and wherein the shaft portion 130 is received within the housing 101”.
With regard to claim 5, Li teaches: “The aerosol-generating device according to claim 1”, as shown above.
Li ‘268 also teaches, as shown in figures 1-4: “further comprising a first detent (portion of 110 accommodating the cover 120 in figure 3) arranged to retain the cover element 120 in the open position”.
With regard to claim 6, Li teaches: “The aerosol-generating device according to claim 1”, as shown above.
Li also teaches, as shown in figures 1-4: “further comprising a second detent (where 120 is accommodated in 1101 in figure 1) arranged to retain the cover element 120 in the closed position”.
With regard to claim 7, Li teaches: “The aerosol-generating device according to claim 1”, as shown above.
Li also teaches, as shown in figures 1-3: “further comprising a first mechanical stop (portion of 110 abutting the left side of 120 in figure 1) arranged to prevent rotation of the cover element 120 beyond the closed position when the cover element 120 is rotated from the open position to the closed position”.
With regard to claim 8, Li teaches: “The aerosol-generating device according to claim 1”, as shown above.
Li also teaches, as shown in figures 1-4: “further comprising a second mechanical stop (portion of 110 abutting the right curved side of 120 in figure 3) arranged to prevent rotation of the cover element 120 beyond the open position when the cover element 120 is rotated from the closed position to the open position”.
With regard to claim 9, Li teaches: “The aerosol-generating device according to claim 1”, as shown above.
Li also teaches, as shown in figures 1-4: “wherein the housing 101 comprises an end wall 110, wherein the aperture 111 extends through a first portion of the end wall, and wherein the cover element 120 is arranged to overlie a second portion (portion of 110 covered by 120 in figure 3) of the end wall 110 when the cover portion 120 is in the open position”.
With regard to claim 10, Li teaches: “The aerosol-generating device according to claim 1”, as shown above.
Li also teaches, as shown in figures 1-4 and taught in paragraphs 40 and 47: “further comprising a heater 160 arranged to heat an aerosol-generating article when the aerosol-generating article is received within the cavity 150”.
With regard to claim 11, Li teaches: “The aerosol-generating device according to claim 10”, as shown above.
Li also teaches, as shown in figures 1-4 and taught in paragraph s 40 and 47: “wherein the heater 160 comprises an electrical heater positioned within the cavity 150”.
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.
Claims 2-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al. (2017/0202268) in view of Chen (CN205695707U).
With regard to claim 2, Li teaches: “The aerosol-generating device according to claim 1”, as shown above.
Li does not teach: “further comprising a biasing mechanism arranged to bias the cover element away from the open position and towards the closed position”.
In the same field of endeavor before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, Chen teaches, as shown in figure 5: “further comprising a biasing mechanism 212 arranged to bias the cover element 21”. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the features of Chen with the invention of Li in order to bias the cover into the preferred position. Chen does not teach the biasing mechanism biasing the cover element “away from the open position and towards the closed position”. However, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to reverse the bias of the biasing mechanism to bias the cover element to the closed position in order to make it easier to contain what is inside the container being covered. Also, using springs to bias covers open or closed is well known in the art.
With regard to claim 3, Li as modified by Chen teaches: “The aerosol-generating device according to claim 2”, as shown above.
Chen also teaches, as shown in figure 5: “wherein the biasing mechanism 212 comprises a torsion spring”. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine this feature of Chen with the invention of Li ‘268 as modified by Chen in order to bias the cover into the preferred position.
Claims 12-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al. (2017/0202268) in view of Plojoux et al. (2014/0305449).
With regard to claim 12, Li teaches: “The aerosol-generating device according to claim 11”, as shown above.
Li does not teach: “wherein the electrical heater is arranged to extend around an outer surface of an aerosol-generating article received within the cavity”.
In the same field of endeavor before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, Plojoux teaches, as shown in figures 1-3c: “wherein the electrical heater 24 and 26 is arranged to extend around an outer surface of an aerosol-generating article 2 received within the cavity (interior of 20 in figure 1)”. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the features of Plojoux with the invention of Li in order to heat a larger surface area of the aerosol-generating article at once.
With regard to claim 13, Li teaches: “The aerosol-generating device according to claim 12”, as shown above.
Plojoux also teaches, as shown in figures 1 and 3c and taught in paragraph 60: “wherein the electrical heater 20 comprises an electrically insulating substrate and at least one resistive heating track on the electrically insulating substrate. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine these features of Plojoux with the invention of Li as modified by Plojoux in order to be able to monitor the temperature of the heater during operation (Plojoux, paragraph 22).
With regard to claim 14, Li teaches: “The aerosol-generating device according to claim 13”, as shown above.
Plojoux also teaches, as shown in figures 1-3c and taught in paragraph 60: “wherein the electrically insulating substrate comprises a flexible sheet”. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine these features of Plojoux with the invention of Li as modified by Plojoux in order to be able to monitor the temperature of the heater during operation (Plojoux, paragraph 22).
With regard to claim 15, Li teaches: “The aerosol-generating device according to claim 11”, as shown above.
Li does not teach: “wherein the electrical heater is an elongate electrical heater”.
In the same field of endeavor before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, Plojoux teaches, as shown in figures 1-3c: “wherein the electrical heater 22 is an elongate electrical heater 22”. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the features of Plojoux with the invention of Li in order to be able to have an increased heater temperature due to the heater being further from a user holding the device 100 (Plojoux, figures 1-2 and paragraph 64).
With regard to claim 16, Li teaches as modified by Plojoux teaches: “The aerosol-generating device according to claim 15”, as shown above.
Plojoux also teaches, as shown in figures 1-3c and taught in paragraph 57: “wherein the elongate electrical heater 22 is blade-shaped, pin-shaped, or cone-shaped”. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine this feature of Plojoux with the invention of Li as modified by Plojoux in order to easily insert in the aerosol-generating article (Plojoux, paragraph 57).
With regard to claim 17, Li as modified by Plojoux teaches: “The aerosol-generating device according to claim 15”, as shown above.
Plojoux also teaches, as shown in figures 1-3c and taught in paragraph 59: “wherein the elongate electrical heater 22 comprises: at least one resistive heating track, an electrically insulating substrate surrounding the at least one resistive heating track, and a tubular shell 52, and wherein the electrically insulating substrate is received within the tubular shell 52”. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine these features of Plojoux with the invention of Li as modified by Plojoux in order to minimize thermal contact (Plojoux, paragraph 63).
With regard to claim 18, Li teaches: “The aerosol-generating device according to claim 1”, as shown above.
Li also teaches, as shown in figures 1-4: “wherein the aperture 111 defines a first end (top end of 150 in figure 2) of the cavity 150, wherein the cavity 150 comprises a second end (bottom end of 150 in figure 2) opposite the first end”.
Li does not teach: “and wherein the cavity has a maximum length between the first end of the cavity and the second end of the cavity of between 20 millimetres and 70 millimetres".
In the same field of endeavor before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, Plojoux teaches, as shown in figures 1-3c and taught in paragraph 27-28: “and wherein the cavity (where the smoking article 2 in located in figure 2) has a maximum length between the first end (left end of the cavity in figure 2) of the cavity and the second end (right end of the cavity in figure 2) of the cavity of between 20 millimetres and 70 millimetres".
With regard to claim 19, Li teaches: “An aerosol-generating system comprising an aerosol-generating device according to claim 1 and an aerosol-generating article”, as shown above.
Li does not teach: “wherein the aerosol-generating article comprises an aerosol-forming substrate”.
In the same field of endeavor before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, Plojoux teaches, as shown in figures 1-3c and taught in paragraph 29-30: “wherein the aerosol-generating article 2 comprises an aerosol-forming substrate”. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the features of Plojoux with the invention of Li in order to use solid and liquid components for generating aerosol (Plojoux, paragraph 29).
With regard to claim 20, Li as modified by Plojoux teaches: “The aerosol-generating system according to claim 19”, as shown above.
Plojoux also teaches, as shown in figures 1-3c: “wherein the aerosol-generating article 2 is sized so that, when the aerosol-generating article 2 is fully inserted into the cavity (where 2 is located in figure 2) of the aerosol-generating device 100, a portion of the aerosol-generating article 2 extends out of the aerosol-generating device 100”. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the features of Plojoux with the invention of Li as modified by Plojoux in order to load more volume aerosol generating material at one time.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUSTIN M KRATT whose telephone number is (571)270-0277. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-6pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Abdullah A Riyami can be reached at (571)270-3119. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JUSTIN M KRATT/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2831
Prosecution Insights