DETAILED ACTION
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 and 16 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In each of claims 2 and 16, line 2, it appears "has run-through hollow" should be --has a run-through hollow--
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 5 and 18 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.
Claims 5 and 18 each recite an inner wall of the vapor channel is "roughly flat." The instant specification depicts the vapor channel 1044 as a cylindrical channel where the inner walls are curved and slightly tapered towards one end (see Figs. 5-7, 10, and 11). It is unclear what is intended by the inner wall being "roughly flat," in particular, it is unclear whether "roughly flat" excludes the curved or tapered surface (i.e., flat being without slope or curvature) or whether it merely requires a smooth surface. For the purpose of examination, it is assumed to require the surface of the inner wall be smooth (allows for curvature/tapering).
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.
Claims 1-6, 8, 10, 12, 13, and 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zhang (CN 214317000, with English machine translation).
Regarding claim 1, Zhang discloses an ultrasonic atomizer, comprising a housing ([0006], see Fig. 3; oil cup 10), wherein the housing is internally provided with:
a liquid storage cavity, configured to store a liquid substrate (see oil storage tank 12);
a liquid guide element, configured to be in fluid communication with the liquid storage cavity to absorb the liquid substrate (see oil guiding cotton 51);
an ultrasonic atomization sheet, comprising an atomization surface, wherein the ultrasonic atomization sheet is configured to ultrasonically atomize the liquid substrate absorbed by the liquid guide element to generate an aerosol (see high frequency oscillating plate 41; [0048]); and
a sealing member, configured to seal at least a part of the liquid storage cavity (see sealing ring 52), wherein
the sealing member is further configured to stay in contact with at least a part of the liquid guide element and abut the at least a part of the liquid guide element against the atomization surface ([0049], see Fig. 5-6).
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Regarding claim 2, the sealing member has a hollow forming a vapor channel comprising a first end and a second end as claimed (see annotated Fig. 6).
Regarding claim 3, the inner wall of the vapor channel and the atomization surface jointly define an atomization chamber (see chamber 501 ([0048]).
Regarding claim 4, the inner wall is construed as roughly flat (relatively smooth).
Regarding claims 5 and 6, the end portion of the second end is locally recessed to form a notch groove and an airflow groove (see annotated figures 5 and 6 below which show rotated perspectives of the device).
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Regarding claim 8, the thickness of the vapor channel is gradually increased along the extension direction facing the first end from the second end (end is tapered such that thickness gradually increases at the second end towards the first).
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Regarding claim 10, the sealing member comprises an airflow guide portion (see air inlet 101 with air grooves 502 and 503 in Fig. 5) and an airflow guide surface that is obliquely arrange (the bottom corner the sealing member defining air passage groove 502 is inclined relative to the atomization surface, see Fig. 5).
Regarding claim 12, the sealing member comprises a through hole with part of liquid guide element extending therein (see through hole in which the guide element extends). A part of the through hole adjacent the liquid guide element comprises at least one avoidance space (see chamfered opening of the hole where the guide element exists the hole, these spaces are construed as avoidance spaces).
Regarding claim 13, the sealing member comprises an inclined surface which supports a liquid absorbing section of the liquid guide element (the rounded portion of the sealing member which supports the U-shaped bend of the guide element has an inclined surface).
Regarding claim 15, Zhang discloses connecting the atomizer to an e-cigarette rod such that the electrode is "powered on" ([0053])--the combination is a ultrasonic atomization device and it would inherently have a power supply assembly to power the electrode.
Regarding claim 16, the sealing member has a hollow forming a vapor channel comprising a first end and a second end as claimed (see annotated Fig. 6).
Regarding claim 17, the inner wall of the vapor channel and the atomization surface jointly define an atomization chamber (see chamber 501 ([0048]).
Regarding claim 18, the inner wall is construed as roughly flat (relatively smooth).
Regarding claims 19 and 20, the end portion of the second end is locally recessed to form a notch groove and an airflow groove (see annotated figures 5 and 6 below which show rotated perspectives of the device).
Claims 1-6, 9, 11, 12, 14, and 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Liu (CN 206025228, with English machine translation).
Regarding claim 1, Liu discloses an ultrasonic atomizer, comprising a housing (Fig. 4, housing 1, [0004]), wherein the housing is internally provided with:
a liquid storage cavity, configured to store a liquid substrate (see oil chamber 4);
a liquid guide element, configured to be in fluid communication with the liquid storage cavity to absorb the liquid substrate (see oil-guiding cotton and atomizing cotton 11);
an ultrasonic atomization sheet, comprising an atomization surface, wherein the ultrasonic atomization sheet is configured to ultrasonically atomize the liquid substrate absorbed by the liquid guide element to generate an aerosol (see atomizing plate 10); and
a sealing member, configured to seal at least a part of the liquid storage cavity (see base 7), wherein
the sealing member is further configured to stay in contact with at least a part of the liquid guide element and abut the at least a part of the liquid guide element against the atomization surface (see Fig. 4, [0042,0053]).
Regarding claim 2, the sealing member has run-through hollow to form a vapor channel comprising a first end and a second end where the second end is in contact with a part of the liquid guide element (see the prongs extending from bottom of base 7 and contacting guide element 11 in Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 3, the inner wall and atomization surface define an atomization chamber (Fig. 4, 5).
Regarding claim 4, the inner wall of the vapor channel is roughly flat (smooth).
Regarding claims 5 and 6, the end portion defines a notch groove / airflow groove (see notch/groove defining airflow in Fig. 5; claims do not particularly define the structure of the notch groove and airflow groove).
Regarding claim 9, the inner diameter of the vapor channel is consistent (see Fig. 5).
Regarding claim 11, the sealing member has a through hole that is in fluid communication with the liquid storage cavity and comprises part of the liquid guide element extending therein (see through hole comprising 11). The inner wall has a capillary trench (see grooves 72/73).
Regarding claim 12, the sealing member has a through hole that is in fluid communication with the liquid storage cavity and comprises part of the liquid guide element extending therein (see through hole comprising 11). The recitation of "avoidance space" is vague. The grooves/openings of the hole on the upper/lower end of the hole adjacent the liquid guide element can be construed as avoidance spaces.
Regarding claim 14, the liquid guide element comprises a first guide element (8) and a second guide element (11), see Fig. 4, 5.
Regarding claim 15, Liu teaches an electronic cigarette comprising the atomizer and a power supply ([0027]).
Regarding claim 16, the sealing member has run-through hollow to form a vapor channel comprising a first end and a second end where the second end is in contact with a part of the liquid guide element (see the prongs extending from bottom of base 7 and contacting guide element 11 in Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 17, the inner wall and atomization surface define an atomization chamber (Fig. 4, 5).
Regarding claim 18, the inner wall of the vapor channel is roughly flat (smooth).
Regarding claims 19 and 20, the end portion defines a notch groove / airflow groove (see notch/groove defining airflow in Fig. 5; claims do not particularly define the structure of the notch groove and airflow groove).
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 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang (CN 214317000, with English machine translation) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Simpson (US 20200376210).
Regarding claim 7, the end portion of the second end inherently has a thickness although Zhang is silent regarding the specific dimensions. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to have configured the thickness as 0.5 to 1.0 mm since (1) it is within the purview of a person having ordinary skill in the art to select a thickness for the sealing member that is appropriate for the size, space, and strength requirements of the product; and (2) the dimensions are consistent with conventional wall thickness in atomization devices; for example, see Simpson, similarly directed towards an aerosol generating device, which discloses forming an inner vapor channel tube (62) of the device with wall thickness of about 0.8 mm ([outer diameter-inner diameter] / 2 = [6.20-4.60]/2 = 0.8; see Fig. 3B) and one would have been motivated to select conventional wall thicknesses known to be suitable for the construction of vapor channels in aerosol-generation devices.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang (CN 214317000, with English machine translation) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Courbat (US 20230165305).
Regarding claim 11, the sealing member comprises a through hole with part of liquid guide element extending therein (see through hole in which the guide element extends). Zhang does not disclose an inner wall of the through hole comprises a capillary trench that is provided adjacent to the liquid storage cavity; however, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to have configured the inner wall with a capillary trench since Courbat, similarly directed towards an atomization device, teaches providing a plurality of lamellae 358 along the wall surface of a through-hole 352 containing wick 170/370 and connecting to reservoir 350, wherein the lamellae increase the surface area and capillary action of the through-hole ([0133]). The lamellae are construed as forming capillary trenches and are adjacent to the liquid storage cavity.
Claims 7 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu (CN 206025228, with English machine translation) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Simpson (US 20200376210).
Regarding claim 7, the end portion of the second end inherently has a thickness although Liu is silent regarding the specific dimensions. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to have configured the thickness as 0.5 to 1.0 mm since (1) it is within the purview of a person having ordinary skill in the art to select a thickness for the sealing member that is appropriate for the size, space, and strength requirements of the product; and (2) the dimensions are consistent with conventional wall thickness in atomization devices; for example, see Simpson, similarly directed towards an aerosol generating device, which discloses forming an inner vapor channel tube (62) of the device with wall thickness of about 0.8 mm ([outer diameter-inner diameter] / 2 = [6.20-4.60]/2 = 0.8; see Fig. 3B) and one would have been motivated to select conventional wall thicknesses known to be suitable for the construction of vapor channels in aerosol-generation devices.
Regarding claim 9, the inner diameter of the vapor channel is consistent (see Fig. 5).
Conclusion
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/ROBERT C DYE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3619
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