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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because the view numbers are associated with brackets in violation of 37 CFR 1.84(p)(1). Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Regarding claim 7, the claim requires first and second electrical terminals that are not electrically connected to each other. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that this requires two separate electrical systems with different power sources, since, even if the terminals are located on different circuits, they would still be connected through a common power source such as a battery. However, applicant’s specification only discloses a single battery that supplies power to the other components in the device (figure 7, reference numeral 16) and is controlled by the controller ([0051], figure 7, reference numeral 17). The battery is connected to the first power terminal (figure 7, reference numeral 131) and the sensing terminal is connected to the controller ([143], figure 7, reference numeral 133).
Although applicant’s specification asserts that the power and sensing terminals are electrically disconnected from each other [0143], applicant’s specification does not provide sufficient guidance to one of ordinary skill in the art as to how this arrangement would work in practice. As stated above there is only one battery. It is clear that electrical power must be supplied to both the power and sensing terminals, since application of electrical power is required to generate the current flow that is necessary to measure electrical resistance, and there is no disclosure of a separate power source supplying either the sensing terminal or the controller. Applicant’s specification therefore fails to indicate how one of ordinary skill in the art would make the claimed invention of first and second electrical terminals that are not electrically connected to each other.
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 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.
Regarding claim 1, the claim recites the limitation “calculate a resistance of the resistance element” and “wherein the resistance of the resistive element exceeds the resistance of the heater.” It is unclear whether the second limitation presupposes the resistance value that will be calculated. What happens if, upon calculation of the resistance of the resistive element, that resistance is determined to be lower than the resistance of the heater? The claim is therefore indefinite. For the purpose of this Office action, the limitation will be interpreted as if it required the heater and resistive element to have any relative resistance. Claims 2-8 are indefinite by dependence.
Regarding claim 3, claim 1 requires the resistance of the heater to be determined. However, the instant claim sets forth a situation where it is apparently impossible to determine the resistance of the heater since the measured resistance value of the resistive element is not found in the data. It is therefore unclear how the limitations of claim 1 and the instant claim can be met simultaneously, rendering the claim indefinite. For the purposes of this Office action, the claim will be interpreted as if it did not limit claim 1.
Regarding claim 4, claim 1 requires the resistance of the resistive element to be calculated. However, the instant claim sets forth a situation in which the resistance of the resistive element cannot be calculated. It is unclear how the limitations of the instant claim and claim 1 can be simultaneously met, since they envision a scenario in which the resistance of the resistive element is both measured and impossible, a term which indicates that the resistance cannot be measured. The claim is therefore indefinite. For the purposes of this Office action, the claim will not be considered to limit claim 1.
Regarding claim 6, claim 1 requires the resistance of the resistive element to be calculated. However, the instant claim sets forth a situation in which the resistance of the resistive element cannot be calculated. It is unclear how the limitations of the instant claim and claim 1 can be simultaneously met, since they envision a scenario in which the resistance of the resistive element is both measured and impossible, a term which indicates that the resistance cannot be measured. The claim is therefore indefinite. For the purposes of this Office action, the claim will not be considered to limit claim 1.
Regarding claim 6, claim 1 requires the resistance of the resistive element to be calculated. However, the instant claim sets forth a situation in which the resistance of the resistive element cannot be calculated. It is unclear how the limitations of the instant claim and claim 1 can be simultaneously met, since they envision a scenario in which the resistance of the resistive element is both measured and impossible, a term which indicates that the resistance cannot be measured. The claim is therefore indefinite. For the purposes of this Office action, the claim will not be considered to require a device with any light emitting element.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-6 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
Regarding claim 1, the claim is directed to an aerosol generating device, which is considered to fall within the statutory category of machine. The claim recites the abstract idea of measuring the resistance of the resistive element and determine a resistance of the heating element using data stored in a memory, which are observations and evaluations that are mental processes, a type of abstract idea, and therefore fall within a judicial exception. See MPEP § 2106.04(a). The judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application since the claim does not require the results of the determining to be used to control the operation of the aerosol generating device in any way. The claim recites the additional elements of an aerosol generating device comprising a heater configured to heat an aerosol generating substance, a resistive element, a memory, and a controller that is capable of calculating the resistance of the resistive element. However, these features are well understood, routine, and conventional.
Niu (US 11,992,055) teaches an atomizer comprising a heating element (abstract) that evaporates ingredients of a medicine (column 4, lines 16-62). The device has a dummy load (figure 10, reference numeral 131), which is considered to meet the claim limitation of a resistive element, that is connected to a second micro control element that obtains a resistance value of the dummy load to determine the type of heating assembly (column 8, lines 19-52, figure 10, reference numeral 440). The atomizer has a memory (column 11, lines 1-19).
Liu (US 12,114,709) teaches a control device for controlling operation of a vaping apparatus (abstract) comprising a packaged flavor source having a built in heating element (column 2, lines 18-22) that generates vaping fumes (column 6, lines 33-53). A preset resistor functions to provide the vaping source with identification by having a specified resistance (column 11, lines 51-63). The resistance is determined by a control module (column 11, lines 64-67). The control device also has a memory circuit for data storage (abstract).
Sundberg (US 12,431,568) teaches a power supply assembly for an e vaping device that couples with a cartridge to configure the device to generate a vapor (abstract). The cartridge has a resistor in an identity circuit that has a specific resistance (column 27, lines 60-67, column 28, lines 1-3, figure 2, reference numeral 216). Control circuitry applies a voltage to the identity circuit (column 29, lines 25-35, figure 1C, reference numeral 176). Resistance data is stored in a set of entries in a look up table (column 35, lines 60-67, column 36, lines 1-27) that is read by the control circuitry (column 36, lines 39-52).
Regarding claims 2-3 and 6, the claims do not add additional limitations that affect the patentability analysis as set forth with respect to claim 1 above.
Regarding claim 4, the claim adds the additional limitations of a battery and a power supply circuit that controls power output from the battery. However, these limitations are also well understood, routine, and conventional.
Niu (US 11,992,055) teaches a power supply circuit that is configured to turn the heater on and off and is connected to a battery (column 8, lines 53-67, column 9, lines 1-27).
Liu (US 12,114,709) teaches that the electronic cigarette is powered by a battery (column 3, lines 46-57). Activation of the device is controlled by the control circuitry (abstract), which is considered to meet the claim limitation of a power supply circuit.
Sundberg (US 12,431,568) teaches that the device has a power supply in the form of a battery that is connected and disconnected to the heating element (column 15, lines 51-67, column 16, lines 1-2), which is considered to meet the claim limitation of a power supply circuit.
Regarding claim 5, the claim adds the additional limitations of a main body comprising the memory and a heater module comprising the heater and the resistive element, wherein the heater module is detachably mounted to the main body. However, these limitations are also well understood, routine, and conventional.
Niu (US 11,992,055) teaches that the atomizer has power supply assembly including a battery assembly, which is considered to meet the claim limitation of a main body, and a heating assembly containing a tobacco container (abstract), which is considered to meet the claim limitation of a heater module. The dummy load (column 2, lines 23-33) and the heating element are arranged on the outside of the tobacco container (column 2, lines 14-15). Each part can be disassembled and carried separately (abstract).
Liu (US 12,114,709) teaches a main housing (figure 1, reference numeral 110) which is configured to house the flavor source using a snap fit so that the flavor source is fitted inside the receptacle (column 3, lines 58-67, column 4, lines 1-2, figure 2, reference numeral 120), indicating that it is detachably connected. The main housing contains the electronic circuitry (column 3, lines 46-57, figure 2, reference numeral 140). The battery is also located within the circuitry (column 5, lines 23-38), indicating that it must also be within the main housing. The control circuitry contains the memory (column 2, lines 52-56), indicating that the memory is also within the main housing.
Sundberg (US 12,431,568) teaches that the electronic vaping device includes a replaceable cartridge (figure 1c, reference numeral 110) that is coupled to a reusable battery section (column 8, lines 4-19, figure 1c, reference numeral 170). The cartridge contains the vaporizing assembly (column 8, lines 4-19, figure 1c, reference numeral 140), and the resistor is located within a circuit that is also located within the cartridge (column 27, lines 60-67, column 28, lines 1-3, figure 1C, reference numeral 148). The control circuitry located in the battery section stores the look up table in memory (column 35, lines 53-59, figure 1C, reference numeral 176).
Regarding claim 8, the claim adds the additional limitations of the device having a light emitting element. However, this limitation is also well understood, routine, and conventional.
Niu (US 11,992,055) teaches that the device has an indicating light (column 11, lines 20-41).
Liu (US 12,114,709) teaches that the device has an LED that provides a visible indication to a user (column 5, lines 23-38).
Sundberg (US 12,431,568) teaches that the device emits channel light to an external environment (abstract).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RUSSELL E SPARKS whose telephone number is (571)270-1426. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 9:00 am-5 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Philip Louie can be reached at 571-270-1241. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RUSSELL E SPARKS/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1755
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