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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Species A and Species I in the reply filed on 2026 July 15 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground that amended claim 1’s “a valve” is generic to both a single valve and a plurality of valves. The restriction requirement between Species A and B is withdrawn.
With respect to Species I and II, because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
Claim 9 is withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Claims 1-8 and 10-15 are presently examined.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
Abstract and [5-7 and 26]: as in the below 35 U.S.C. 112(b) analysis, the disclosure that the valve is configured such that “flow of fluid is prevented through the valve in a direction towards the first end of the chamber” appears to contradict functionality of the invention whereby flow of fluid (fig. 2A and [46], air #109) is permitted through the valve in a direction towards the first end of the chamber. If flow of fluid is in fact prevented, then confusion arises as to how air enters the sealed device and facilitates aerosolization. The term “fluid” is interpreted as “liquid” for the purpose of examination.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 2-4, and 6 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1:
In lines 9-11 under the subheading “a seal”, the limitation “a fluidic seal between a consumable cartridge” should be “a fluidic seal between the consumable cartridge” to point to the same consumable cartridge recited earlier in the claim.
In lines 12-13 under the subheading “a valve”, the limitation “a valve, the valve configured such that, flow of fluid” should be “a valve, the valve configured such that flow of fluid” or just “a valve configured such that flow of fluid”.
Claims 2-4: “is comprised of” is suggested to be “comprising”, per MPEP 2111.03.
Claim 6:
In line 2, “a plane” should be “the plane” to point to the same plane recited in claim 5.
In line 5, “provide a seal between the seal and the internal side wall” should be “seal between the seal and the internal side wall” to avoid confusing the sealing structure (the seal) and the sealing effect (a seal) formed thereby.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-8 and 10-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1: in lines 12-13 under the subheading “a valve”, the limitation that the valve is configured such that “flow of fluid is prevented through the valve in a direction towards the first end of the chamber” appears to contradict the instant specification which discloses that flow of fluid (fig. 2A and [46], air #109) is permitted through the valve in a direction towards the first end of the chamber. If flow of fluid is in fact prevented, then confusion arises as to how air enters the sealed device and facilitates aerosolization. The term “fluid” is interpreted as “liquid” to make the claim examinable in a manner consistent with the specification.
Claims 2-8 and 10-15 are rejected by dependence on claim 1.
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 1-3, 5-7, 10-11, and 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Mironov (US 20160345630 A1).
Claim 1: Mironov teaches an aerosol generation device (fig. 1a-d and [110], #10) comprising:
a chamber (18) for receiving a consumable cartridge (chamber 18 is capable of receiving a cartridge such as 20), the chamber (18) comprising:
a first end (topmost end of 18) through which a consumable cartridge (20) is configured to be received;
a second end (bottommost end of 18);
and an internal side wall (interior wall of 18) extending from the first end (topmost end of 18) to the second end (bottommost end of 18), the internal side wall (interior wall of 18) defining the chamber (18) between the first and second ends (topmost and bottommost ends of 18);
and a seal ([115], #12 comprises an elastomeric element) located in the chamber (18), the seal (12) configured to provide a fluidic seal between the consumable cartridge (20), when received in the chamber (18), and the internal side wall (internal wall of 18) of the chamber, the seal (12) comprising:
a valve ([110], inlet #13; [46], inlets can instead be one-way valves) configured such that flow of liquid is prevented through the valve in a direction towards the first end of the chamber (fig. 1d, when the consumable cartridge #20 is received, air is prevented from flowing downwards through #13 towards #18 and #20).
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Claim 2: Mironov teaches the aerosol generation device of claim 1, wherein the seal (fig. 1a-d and [115], #12) comprises a plastic material ([53], the system’s housing is PEEK).
Claim 3: Mironov teaches the aerosol generation device of claim 1, wherein the seal (fig. 1a-d and [115], #12) comprises Polyether ether ketone (PEEK) ([53], the system’s housing is PEEK).
Claim 5: Mironov teaches the aerosol generation device of claim 1, wherein a first axis (fig. 1a-d and [110], vertical axis) is defined between the first and second ends (topmost and bottommost ends of 18) of the chamber, and wherein the chamber has a width perpendicular to the first axis (vertical axis), wherein the seal (12) has a cross section in a plane (plane where 12 abuts 11) perpendicular to the first axis (vertical axis), the cross section having an outline that is substantially matched to the width of the chamber (18) thereby to provide a seal between the seal (12) and the internal side wall (interior wall of 18) of the chamber.
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Claim 6: Mironov teaches the aerosol generation device of claim 5, wherein the seal (fig. 1a-d and [110], #12) has an annular cross section in the plane (plane where 12 abuts 11) perpendicular to the first axis (vertical axis), the annular cross section comprising an inner diameter that is configured to receive the consumable cartridge ([115], an annular part of #12 engages the cartridge #20), and comprising an outer diameter that is substantially matched to the width of the chamber (18) thereby to seal between the seal (20) and the internal side wall (interior wall of 18) of the chamber.
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Claim 7: Mironov teaches the aerosol generation device of claim 1, wherein the valve ([47], one-way valve) is a check valve (LMS check valve).
Claim 10: Mironov teaches the aerosol generation device of claim 1, wherein the seal (fig. 1a-d and [110], #12) comprises a plurality of valves ([110], inlets #13; [46], inlets can instead be one-way valves).
Claim 11: Mironov teaches the aerosol generation device of claim 10, wherein the plurality of valves (fig. 1a-d and [110], inlets #13; [46], inlets can instead be one-way valves) are positioned around a circumference of the seal (instances of 13 are positioned around a circumference of 12 with respect to 12’s longitudinal axis).
Claim 13: Mironov teaches the aerosol generation device of claim 1, wherein the aerosol generating device (fig. 1a-d and [110], #10) is an electronic cigarette ([56], the device can deliver tobacco; [117], the device can deliver nicotine).
Claim 14: Mironov teaches the aerosol generation device of claim 1, further comprising a consumable cartridge (fig. 1a-d and [110], #20).
Claim 15: Mironov teaches the aerosol generation device of claim 14, wherein the consumable cartridge (fig. 1a-d and [110], #20) comprises an aerosol generating material ([109], #20 contains an aerosol-forming substrate).
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 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mironov (US 20160345630 A1) as applied to claim 1 in view of Buehler (US 20200197637 A1).
Claim 4: Mironov teaches the aerosol generation device of claim 1.
Mironov does not explicitly teach that the seal comprises silicone.
Buehler teaches an aerosol generation device (title) comprising a seal ([29], air sealing element) that can be alternatives of PEEK and silicone [29].
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 substitute Buehler’s silicone for Mironov’s PEEK, because doing so would be a simple substitution of sealing materials between aerosol generation devices to achieve the same sealing outcome.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mironov (US 20160345630 A1) as applied to claim 7 in view of Bremer (US 20140318557 A1).
Claim 8: Mironov teaches the aerosol generation of claim 7.
Mironov does not explicitly teach that the check valve is a ball check valve.
Bremer teaches an aerosol generation device (title) comprising a one-way valve (fig. 2 and [35], #60) that is a ball check valve (ball valve), such that the ball check valve can automatically open and close [35].
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 use, as Mironov’s generic check valve, Bremer’s specific ball check valve, because doing so would enable the check valve to automatically open and close.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mironov (US 20160345630 A1) as applied to claim 1 in view of Potter (WO 2020161489 A1).
Claim 12: Mironov teaches the aerosol generation device of claim 1, further comprising a heater (fig. 1a-d and [118], #30), wherein the seal (12) is located between a first end of the device (topmost end of 10) and the heater (30).
Mironov does not explicitly teach that the chamber extends to the first end of the device such that the first end of the device is the first end of the chamber.
Potter teaches an aerosol generation device (title) comprising a chamber (fig. 5 and p. 14, lines 20-29, #54) into which an insert (8) is configured to be received and retained (p. 6, lines 5-9), wherein a first end (50) of the device is a first end (50) of the chamber (54), such that the wider first end of the chamber encourages air to disperse (p. 13, lines 32-35) in order to more effectively infiltrate a substrate (p. 14, lines 1-6) and reduce pockets of oversaturation in the generated aerosol (lines 11-12).
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 widen Mironov’s outlet channel such that the first end of the device is the first end of the chamber as taught by Potter, because doing so would encourage air to disperse through the outlet channel in order to more effectively infiltrate a substrate and reduce pockets of oversaturation in the generated aerosol.
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Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Tobey C. Le whose telephone number is (703)756-5516. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thu 8:30-18:30 ET.
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/TOBEY C LE/Examiner, Art Unit 1747
/Michael H. Wilson/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1747
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