DETAILED ACTION
This Non-Final Office action is in response to Applicant’s filing on 04/29/2025. Claims 1-20 are pending. The effective filing date of the claimed invention is 12/23/2021.
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 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(s) 1-5, 7, 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by CN212590263U to Zhou (Zhou).
With regard to claim 1, 19, Zhou discloses an aerosol provision device comprising:
a heating assembly arranged to receive at least a portion of an article containing aerosol generating material (Zhou, e.g. 19);
a power supply (Zhou, e.g. 24);
a first housing enclosing at least part of the heating assembly (Zhou e.g. 32-35, base 12);
a second housing enclosing at least part of the power supply (Zhou e.g. 28-35, housing 4); and
a thermal conduction arrangement in thermal contact between the first housing and the second housing to dissipate heat from the first housing to the second housing (Zhou, e.g. 7, 26, 29, 31, 26 The heat sink 3 absorbs the remaining heat and distributes it evenly on the heat sink 3 , In order to achieve the effect of dispersing the accumulated heat.).
With regard to claim 2, Zhou further discloses where the thermal conduction arrangement comprises a conduction member (Zhou, e.g. 15-17).
With regard to claim 3, Zhou further discloses where the conduction member defines a direct conduction path between the first housing and the second housing (Zhou e.g. 29 30, at the piece 3, the housing 4 includes a bottom wall 41 and a cylindrical wall 42 extending along the end edge of the bottom wall 41 in a direction away from the bottom wall 41. The energized heating element is provided at one end of the cylindrical wall 42 away from the bottom wall 41 to dissipate heat. The piece 3 extends along at least a part of the inner wall of the barrel wall 42.).
With regard to claim 4, Zhou further discloses where the conduction member is in direct engagement with the first housing (Zhou e.g. 17, 27, 32, 23 It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being "fixed to" another element, it can be directly on the other element or a central element may also be present. When an element is considered to be "connected" to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or an intermediate element may be present at the same time.).
With regard to claim 5, Zhou further discloses where the first housing is mounted with the conduction member (Zhou e.g. 17, 27, 32 “may be connected”, 23 It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being "fixed to" another element, it can be directly on the other element or a central element may also be present. When an element is considered to be "connected" to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or an intermediate element may be present at the same time.).
With regard to claim 7, Zhou discloses a chassis arranged to retain the power supply (
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229
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).
With regard to claim 15, Zhou discloses the thermal conduction arrangement comprises a heat dissipation layer between the second housing and the power supply ([0026-29] [0033] Figs. 1-2).
With regard to claim 16, Zhou further discloses the heat dissipation layer is in thermal contact with the conduction member ([0026-29] [0033] Figs. 1-2).
With regard to claim 17, Zhou further discloses the heat dissipation layer defines a thermal conductive path between the conduction member and the second housing (35).
With regard to claim 18, Zhou further discloses the heat dissipation layer comprises a graphite liner (27).
With regard to claim 20, Zhou further discloses an article containing aerosol generating material arranged to be at least partially received in the aerosol provision device (22-25).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhou in view of US Pat Pub No 2021/0095932 to Poltorak (“Poltorak”).
With regard to claim 6, Zhou does not disclose claim 6. See Poltorak, [0004] [0012] teaches that the heat sink material and construction are thermal-performance design variables, that transferring heat into a larger volume reduces maximum surface temperature, and that an undersized heat sink may leave the object inadequately cooled and dangerously hot; [0031-32] Copper is also used since it has around twice the conductivity of aluminum, but is three times as heavy as aluminum.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the heat sink art before the effective filing date to configure Zhou’s heat-dissipation member 3 with sufficient volume and/or select a sufficiently dense heat-conductive material, such as copper, so that its material mass exceeds that of Zhou’s first housing/base 12. Poltorak expressly teaches that heat-sink size and material are thermal-performance variables, that transferring heat into a larger volume lowers maximum surface temperature, and that an undersized heat sink can produce inadequate cooling and dangerously high surface temperatures. The modification therefore predictably improves Zhou’s stated objective of distributing heater waste heat and preventing localized overheating, as described in Zhou [0003] and [0016].
Claim(s) 8-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhou in view of US Pat Pub No 2022/0338544 to Chan et al. (“Chan”).
With regard to claim 8-13, Zhou does not disclose these limitation. See Chan, [0021-24, [0108] Fig. 5 wherein the chassis comprises the conduction member [0108] Fig. 5. the chassis is arranged to act as a heat sink (Chan e.g. [0108]); the chassis comprises an insulation member (Chan e.g. [0079]); the insulation member and the conduction member are integrally formed (Chan e.g. [0079]); comprising an electrical module mounted on the insulation member (Chan e.g. [0043] [0046-50]).
Regarding claims 8–13, Zhou does not expressly disclose that the thermal-conduction member forms part of a chassis arranged to retain the power supply. Chan teaches a heat-conductive assembly 46 comprising a heat-conductive frame 52 arranged to at least partially surround and retain power supply 24 (Chan [0022]–[0023], [0057], [0106]). Frame 52 defines an end of the heat-conductive assembly and is connected to transverse conduction members 54, 58 through longitudinal arms 56, 60 ([0105]–[0107]). Chan further teaches that heat is conducted through the arms into frame 52, where it is dissipated into power supply 24 and inner housing 12 (¶¶[0061]–[0062], [0109]). Chan further teaches the insulation member electrically isolates the electrical module from the conduction member (e.g. [0079]) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to incorporate Chan’s heat-conductive battery-retaining frame into Zhou’s heat-dissipation member to facilitate component positioning and retention while providing an enlarged conductive structure through which heat is distributed and dissipated.
Claim(s) 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhou in view of US Pat Pub No 2022/0202088 to Bouchuiguir.
With regard to claim 14, Zhou further discloses where the electrical heating element is mounted within cylindrical base 12, which forms receiving cavity (31); the dissipation member 3 may be connected to the heating element, base 12, or both (31), member 3 may alternatively be adhered to base 12 (34). Zhou does not explicitly disclose that the heating assembly is retained or captured between the first housing and the conduction member. See Bouchuiguir, e.g. [0068-70], [0072-77] Fig. 7; [068] heating chamber 102 has an external heater and insulation 121 surrounds both the chamber and heater; [0069] chassis 107 contains a void that accommodates heating chamber 102 and insulation 121; [0073-77] metallic thermal bridge 119 conducts heat from the heating chamber toward casing 110.
Zhou does not expressly disclose that the heating assembly is retained between the first housing and the conduction member. Bouchuiguier teaches a heating chamber 102 and surrounding insulation 121 secured within chassis 107 by mounting element 108 and thermal bridge 119 (Bouchuiguier [0068]–[0069], [0072]). Thermal bridge 119 engages one surface of flange 116, while mounting element 108 engages the opposite surface, such that the flange is held between the thermal bridge and mounting element; the thermal bridge is mounted to chassis 107 and prevents movement of the heating chamber and insulation ([0072], Fig. 7). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to employ Bouchuiguier’s opposed retention arrangement in Zhou to securely retain the heating assembly within base 12, prevent axial movement, and concurrently conduct heat away from the heating assembly.
Conclusion
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/PETER LUDWIG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3627
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