DETAILED ACTION
This non-final rejection is responsive to the RCE filed 08 September 2026. Claims 50-60 are pending. Claim 50 is an independent claim. Claims 41-49 are cancelled. Claims 50-60 are new.
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 .
Response to Remarks
Applicant has cancelled all the previous claims and filed new claims. The newly added claims necessitate a new ground of rejection.
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.
Claims 50 and 52-59 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Krieger (US 2004/0093912 A1) hereinafter known as Krieger in view of Meis (US 4,674,681 A) hereinafter known as Meis.
Regarding independent claim 50, Krieger teaches:
An articulating joint assembly for connecting an inboard irrigation span supporting a first fluid conduit to an articulating irrigation span supporting an articulating span pipe, the articulating joint assembly comprising: (Krieger: Fig. 3 and [0027]-¶[0028]; Krieger teaches a corner irrigator span with a conduit and a sliding joint 56.)
a cradle assembly configured to receive the articulating span pipe, wherein the cradle assembly comprises a left side wall, a central platform, a right side wall, and at least one roller assembly, wherein the central platform extends between the left side wall and the right side wall and defines a slotted channel; (Krieger: Fig. 4 and ¶[0028]; Krieger teaches housing 58 with walls (cradle assembly with the right side and left side walls), base 66 (central platform), and rollers 64.)
wherein the at least one roller assembly comprises a roller positioned to move within the slotted channel, the at least one roller assembly supporting the articulating span pipe and permitting axial movement of the articulating span pipe relative to the cradle assembly; (Krierger: Fig. 4 and ¶[0028]; Krieger teaches joint member 62 carrying the rollers. The span 42 moves linearly and radially within slot 60.)
a fixed retaining outlet; (Krieger: Fig. 4 and ¶[0028]; Krieger teaches a pivot 59.)
a securing assembly … secured to the cradle assembly and rotationally retained relative to the fixed retaining outlet, wherein the T-bar assembly permits rotation of the cradle assembly about a generally vertical axis of the fixed retaining outlet to permit articulation of the articulating irrigation span and permits rotation of the cradle assembly about a generally horizontal axis perpendicular to the articulating span pipe to accommodate elevation variation between the inboard irrigation span and the articulating irrigation span; (Krieger: Fig. 4 and ¶[0028]; Krieger teaches housing 58 pivots with the corner irrigator span 42 relative to the end irrigator span 44 about the pivot 59.)
a stub hose providing fluid communication between the first fluid conduit and the articulating span pipe during movement of the articulating span pipe relative to the cradle assembly; (Krieger: ¶[0027]-¶[0028]; Krieger teaches corner coupling 54 flexibly interconnects the conduit 36 from the end irrigator span 44 and the corner conduit 52.)
wherein the fixed retaining … ; and (Krieger: ¶[0028]; Kriger teaches housing 58 pivots with the corner irrigator span 42 relative to the end irrigator span 44 about the pivot 59.)
wherein the axial movement permitted by the at least one roller assembly compensates for a variance in speed between a drive unit supporting the inboard irrigation span and a drive unit supporting the articulating irrigation span as the irrigation spans move through a cultivation area. (Krierger: ¶[0034]; Krieger teaches corner irrigator span 42 maintains pace with the main irrigation portion 16 as both move about the center pivot tower 13.)
Kreiger does not explicitly teach but Meis teaches:
… comprising a T-bar assembly … ; (Meis: Fig. 8 and col. 4, lines 37-46; Meis teaches an extension 68 of the connecting span 38 has brackets 70 welded to the end thereof providing a pivot 72 for a pin 74 which is adapted to be mounted down in the socket 60.)
… outlet is fixed such that the cradle assembly is movable relative to the fixed retaining outlet through the T-bar assembly (Meis: col. 5, lines 1-12; Meis teaches a socket 88, like the socket 60 in Fig. 6, is mounted on the end of the free-standing span, as show in Fig. 11, to receive a pin 90.)
Krieger and Meis are in the same field of endeavor as the present invention, as the references are directed to irrigation machines. It would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person of ordinary skill in the art, to substitute the pivot 59 of Krieger with the T-bar assembly of Meis. As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the teachings of Krieger to include teachings of Meis, because the combination would allow articulation of the corner span, as suggested by Meis: col. 5, lines 1-25.
Regarding claim 52, Krieger in view of Meis further teaches the articulating joint assembly of claim 50.
Meis further teaches:
wherein the fixed retaining outlet is secured to a first stub assembly associated with the first fluid conduit. (Meis: Fig. 6 and col. 4, lines 33-59; Meis teaches the socket 60 sits on extension 62 at the end of the last main pipe. Nipple 78 is directly under socket 60.)
Regarding claim 53, Krieger in view of Meis further teaches the articulating joint assembly of claim 52.
Meis further teaches:
wherein the articulating span pipe comprises a receiving stub assembly, and wherein the stub hose extends between the first stub assembly and the receiving stub assembly to provide the fluid communication between the first fluid conduit and the articulating span pipe. (Meis: Fig. 6 and col. 4, lines 55-59 and col. 5, lines 17-22; Meis teaches nipple 78 on the inboard end, nipple 79 on the articulating span, hose risers between. Meis further teaches nipples 112 and 114 with a flexible pipe between them.)
Regarding claim 54, Krieger in view of Meis further teaches the articulating joint assembly of claim 50.
Krieger further teaches:
wherein the at least one roller assembly comprises first and second roller assemblies supporting the articulating span pipe and permitting the axial movement of the articulating span pipe relative to the cradle assembly. (Krieger: ¶[0028]; Krieger teaches rollers 64 positioned on opposite sides of the joint member 62.)
Regarding claim 55, Krieger in view of Meis further teaches the articulating joint assembly of claim 50.
Krieger further teaches:
wherein the axial movement comprises axial variation between the articulating span pipe and a span pipe of the inboard irrigation span. (Krieger: ¶[0028]; Krieger teaches corner irrigator span 42 moves linearly relative to the end irrigator span 44, as well as radially.)
Regarding claim 56, Krieger in view of Meis further teaches the articulating joint assembly of claim 50.
Meis further teaches:
wherein the generally horizontal axis is perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the articulating span pipe. (Meis: Fig. 10 and col. 5, lines 1-25; Meis teaches pivot 92 as a circle in side view, so its axis runs across the span.)
Regarding claim 57, Krieger in view of Meis further teaches the articulating joint assembly of claim 50.
Meis further teaches:
wherein rotation about the generally horizontal axis accommodates an elevation variation between the drive unit supporting the inboard irrigation span and the drive unit supporting the articulating irrigation span. (Meis: Fig. 10 and col. 4, lines 33-54; Meis teaches providing a pivot 72 for a pin 74.)
Regarding claim 58, Krieger in view of Meis further teaches the articulating joint assembly of claim 50.
Krieger further teaches:
wherein the drive unit supporting the articulating irrigation span comprises a steerable drive unit. (Krieger: ¶[0031]; Krieger teaches steering moto 84 pivots the drive wheels 78 to steer the corner irrigator span 42 along the outer boundary.)
Regarding claim 59, Krieger in view of Meis further teaches the articulating joint assembly of claim 58.
Krieger further teaches:
wherein the drive unit supporting the inboard irrigation span comprises a fixed drive unit, and wherein the axial movement permitted by the at least one roller assembly compensates for the variance in speed between the fixed drive unit and the steerable drive unit. (Krieger: ¶[0023]; Krieger teaches each drive system 20 comprises a drive motor 22, a pair of gearboxes, two drive wheels 26, and a variable frequency drive module 28 to control the speed of the drive motor 22. A drive tower 30 supports each of the drive systems 20. ¶[0034] further teaches that this ensures that the corner irrigator span 42 maintains pace with the main irrigation portion 15 as both move about the center pivot tower 13 to irrigate the region A.)
Claim 51 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Krieger in view of Meis in view of Korus (US 5,695,129 A) hereinafter known as Korus.
Regarding claim 51, Krieger in view of Meis further teaches the articulating joint assembly of claim 50.
Krieger does not explicitly teach but Korus teaches:
wherein the securing assembly further comprises a plurality of retaining washers through which the T-bar assembly is secured to the fixed retaining outlet. (Korus: col. 6, lines 9-17 and col. 3, lines 43-57 Korus teaches a pair of plastic washers 96 between the top flange 30 of the socket and the spindle flange 32 inside the ring 94.)
Korus is in the same field of endeavor as the present invention, since it is directed to irrigation machines. It would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person of ordinary skill in the art, to combine the socket and pin pivot as taught in Krieger in view of Meis with the pair of plastic washers as taught in Korus. As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the teachings of Krieger and Meis to include teachings of Korus, because the combination would allow free rotation of the two surfaces, as suggested by Korus: col. 6, lines 9-17.
Claim 60 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Krieger in view of Meis in view of J. Korus (US 2013/0299614 A1) hereinafter known as J. Korus.
Regarding claim 60, Krieger in view of Meis further teaches the articulating joint assembly of claim 58.
Krieger further teaches:
… and wherein the axial movement permitted by the at least one roller assembly compensates for the variance in speed between the steerable drive unit and the second steerable drive unit. (Krieger: ¶[0031]; Krieger teaches steering motor 84 pivots the drive wheels 78 to steer the corner irrigator span 42 along the outer boundary B.)
Krieger does not explicitly teach but J.Korus teaches:
wherein the drive unit supporting the inboard irrigation span comprises a second steerable drive unit, and … . (J.Korus: ¶[0027]; J. Korus teaches some or all of the towers 14 may be equipped with steerable wheels pivoted about upright axes by suitable steering motors.)
J.Korus is in the same field of endeavor as the present invention, since it is directed to irrigation machines. It would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person of ordinary skill in the art, to combine the steerable corner drive unit as taught in Krieger in view of Meis with some or all of the towers equipped with steerable wheels pivoted by steering motoes as taught in Korus. As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the teachings of Krieger and Meis to include teachings of J.Korus, because the combination would allow the towers to pivot one or more of the support structures relative to others of the support structures about one of the joints, as suggested by J.Korus: ¶[0027].
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALEX OLSHANNIKOV whose telephone number is (571)270-0667. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30-6.
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/ALEKSEY OLSHANNIKOV/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2118
