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 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, 4, 5, 13, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lin et al. (US 2020/0323273).
Claim 1. Lin et al. discloses an automatically controlled heat-not-burn electronic cigarette device of the disclosure comprises a housing 1 (body), a housing lid 11, and a support frame 12 arranged in the housing 1. A heating tube 3 (oven) is mounted on the support frame 12, and a heat-generating conductor 30 is arranged in the heating tube 3, inside the wall of the tube. The housing lid 11 is provided with a cigarette insertion port 111 (opening), through which a cigarette (flavor release medium) may be inserted into the heating tube 3. An automatic lid opening and/or closing mechanism 5 (cover arrangement), which is arranged below the housing lid 11 (cover lid), comprises a cigarette insertion port lid 52 and a drive motor 51 (driver) for driving the cigarette insertion port lid 52 to move horizontally in order to open or close the cigarette insertion port 111. During use, the cigarette insertion port lid 52 is open to allow a cigarette to insert into the heating tube 3. When not in use, it is closed to prevent foreign matter from entering the heating tube 3. The support frame 12 is further arranged with a cigarette detecting mechanism 6, an intelligent control circuit board 7 (controller), and a battery 8 (power source). The cigarette detecting mechanism 6 comprises an upper holder 61, a detector circuit board 62, and a detector 63 disposed on the detector circuit board 62 (Figures 1-3; [0051]). The main control chip is configured to determine whether the time elapsed since the cigarette insertion port is opened by means of the automatic lid opening and/or closing mechanism 5 exceeds one minute (determine that the opening should be closed). If yes, the device enters an off state in which the heating tube 3 is closed by means of the automatic lid opening and/or closing mechanism 5 (control the driver to move the cover lid toward the closed position), and the main control chip and all circuits are deactivated ([0060]-[0075]).
Claim 4. Lin et al. discloses a button 2 (operation element) provided at the housing 1 and a button control module, wherein quickly pressing the button 2 three times sends an activation signal by means of a main control chip. The main control chip sends a command to an automatic lid opening and/or closing control module, and opening, by means of the automatic lid opening and/or closing control module through an automatic lid opening and/or closing mechanism 5, a cigarette insertion port 111 to allow insertion of cigarette ([0059]-[0062]). In the smoking operation mode, if the button 2 is quickly pressed three times the main control chip sends a stopping command to stop the smoking operation mode, and controls by means of the heating control module, the heating tube 3 to stop heating. If no cigarette is detected, then the device enters an off state in which the heating tube 3 is closed by means of the automatic lid opening and/or closing mechanism 5, and the main control chip and all circuits are deactivated ([0060]-[0075]).
Claim 5. Lin et al. discloses determining, by means of the main control chip, whether the time elapsed since entering the smoking operation mode exceeds three minutes and fifty seconds (predetermined time). If yes, then the main control chip sends a stopping command to stop the smoking operation mode, and controls by means of the heating control module, the heating tube 3 to stop heating. If no cigarette is then detected by the detector 63, the device enters an off state in which the heating tube 3 is closed by means of the automatic lid opening and/or closing mechanism 5, and the main control chip and all circuits are deactivated ([0060]-[0075]).
Claim 13. Lin et al. discloses that the device comprises a cigarette detecting mechanism 6 cigarette detecting mechanism 6 comprising an upper holder 61, a detector circuit board 62, and a detector 63 (presence sensor) disposed on the detector circuit board 62 ([0051]; Figures 1 and 2). The upper holder 61 is tube-shaped and is sleeved at an upper end of the heating tube 3 and is located below the cigarette insertion port 111. A cigarette may pass through the upper holder 61 and into the heating tube 3. A lower inner wall of upper holder 612 may abut an upper outer wall of the heating tube 3, and a lower outer wall of upper holder 614 may abut an upper inner wall of the heat-insulating tube 4. An upper wall of the upper holder 61 is provided with a viewing window 610. The viewing window 610 may be a circular through-hole. The detector 63 (presence sensor) may be arranged outward of the viewing window 610, to detect whether a cigarette is received in the heating tube 3 (oven) ([0053]; Figures 4 and 5).
Claim 14. Lin et al. discloses that the heating tube 3 (oven) is arranged to receive and accommodate a cigarette (replaceable article holding an amount of flavor release medium) through cigarette insertion port 111 (opening) (Figures 1-3; [0051]).
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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
Claims 2, 3, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin et al. (US 2020/0323273) in view of Bouchuiguir et al. (WO 2020/225105).
Claim 2. Lin et al. discloses the device of claim 1 but does not explicitly disclose a sensor arranged to detect at least an approximate position of the cover lid and to provide a corresponding position signal to the controller, the controller being configured to determine that the opening should be closed based on the position signal.
Bouchuiguir et al. discloses an aerosol generation device comprising: a casing; an aperture in the casing through which aerosol generating material is insertable into the aerosol generation device; a closure moveable relative to the aperture between a closed position in which the closure covers the aperture, an open position in which the aperture is unobstructed by the closure, and an activation position that is different from the open position; and a detector arranged to detect movement of the closure from the closed position to the open position and between the open position and the activation position. The detector may allow the closure (or door) position to be detected. This detection may be used to generate control signals for operating the aerosol generation device. The detector is configured to interact with a sensing element to perform the detection. The detector may be mounted on the casing and the sensing element may be mounted on the closure (Page 2, lines 14-32).
Bouchuiguir et al. teaches that the detector may allow the closure (or door) position to be detected. This detection may be used to generate control signals for operating the aerosol generation device. Advantageously, the detector may therefore allow a user to interact with the aerosol generation device via the closure. By detecting the movement of the closure between (e.g. arrival at or departure from) the open and closed positions and between the open and activation positions, at least two user inputs may be distinguished by the detector (Page 2, lines 22-28). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing to include a position detector in the device of Lin et al. in order to allow a user to interact with the aerosol generation device via the closure as taught by Bouchuiguir et al.
Claims 3 and 16. Modified Lin et al. discloses that the detector comprises a contactless sensor for detecting at least one of the movement of the closure from the closed position to the open position or from the open position to the activation position contactlessly. The contactless sensor is a Hall effect sensor and the sensing element comprises one or more magnetic elements (Bouchuiguir et al. Page 2, line 22 – Page 3, line 3).
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin et al. (US 2020/0323273) in view of Batista et al. (US 2021/0307399).
Claim 15. Lin et al. discloses the device of claim 1 but does not explicitly disclose wherein the oven comprises an induction heating arrangement adapted to detect presence of an amount of a flavour release medium by a change in ac response properties.
Batista et al. discloses a device 1 for generating an aerosol, the device comprising a heating chamber including first and second regions and being configured to receive an article for forming an aerosol, the first region being adjacent or spaced from the second region; a first induction coil configured to generate a magnetic field to heat the article received in the heating chamber, the first induction coil being arranged to selectively generate the magnetic field, in use, to heat or to induce heating of the heating chamber; a second induction coil configured to generate a magnetic field in the second region of the heating chamber; and electric circuitry configured to monitor performance of one or both of the first induction coil and the second induction coil (Abstract). If the article 3 is inserted incorrectly into the heating chamber 5, for example such that the first and second regions R1, R2 of the main part 3a of the article 3 are not aligned with the first and second regions R1, R2, respectively, of the heating chamber 5 the measured current in the induction coils 4a, 4b may be different. Where the first and second regions R1, R2 of the article 3 are misaligned with the first and second regions R1, R2 of the heating chamber the current monitoring sensor may measure currents through each induction coil 4a, 4b which are lower than the threshold amount of the expected or desired (e.g. reference) current data. Under this arrangement, the processor may therefore be operable to stop a magnetic field being generated in both induction coils 4a, 4b. Additionally, if a different article for forming a substrate having a different configuration is inserted into the heating chamber 5 (for example absent a susceptor S or having a susceptor in a different location) the processor may also stop generation of magnetic fields by one or both of the induction coils 4a, 4b ([0120]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the device of Lin et al. so that the heating mechanism is a first and second heating coil configured to generate a magnetic field to heat the article containing a susceptor received in the heating chamber as taught by Batista et al. because the inductive heating mechanism allows for a current monitoring sensor to detect when the article is misaligned or when an unauthorized article is inserted and thus may stop the heating process in those instances as taught by Batista et al. ([0120]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-12 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The closest prior art is Lin et al. (US 2020/0323273) in view of Bouchuiguir et al. (WO 2020/225105) which discloses the device of claim 2 but does not disclose wherein the controller is configured to determine that the opening cannot be closed based on the position signal, or wherein the controller is configured to determine that the opening cannot be closed when the position signal indicates a non-closed state of the cover lid after elapse of a predetermined first time span starting with the controlling the driver to move the cover lid toward the closed position. Lin et al. and Bouchuiguir et al. also do not disclose wherein the driver comprises a motor and a cam in mechanical interaction with the cover lid, wherein the cam is provided with a magnet on an excentre position.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Katherine A Will whose telephone number is (571)270-0516. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 10:00AM-6:00PM(EST).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael Wilson can be reached at (571)270-3882. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KATHERINE A WILL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1747
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