DETAILED ACTION
This non-final rejection is responsive to the RCE filed 18 February 2026. Claims 41-49 are pending. Claim 41 is an independent claim. Claims 21-27 and 29-40 are cancelled. Claims 41-49 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
Claim Rejections – 35 U.S.C. 103
Applicant’s prior art arguments have been fully considered and they are persuasive. Specifically, Applicant has amended the claims to include two articulated spans.
The new limitations have necessitated a new ground of rejections, as further detailed below.
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.
Claims 41, 42, and 44-46 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over J.Korus (US 2013/0299614 A1) hereinafter known as J.Korus in view of Davenport (US 2021/0051866 A1) hereinafter known as Davenport.
Regarding independent claim 41, J.Korus teaches:
a main section assembly extending outwardly from a water supply; (J.Korus: Figs. 1-8 and ¶[0030]; J.Korus teaches an irrigation system with support structures 16 that is comprised of pipes or conduits which are in communication with a water source.)
a first articulated span connected to the main section assembly by a first articulating joint assembly; (J.Korus: Fig. 2 and ¶[0042]-¶[0043]; J.Korus teaches a first span structure that is pivotable to the other spans via a joint 18.)
a second articulated span connected to the first articulated span by a second articulating joint assembly, the first and second articulated spans being connected in series; (J.Korus: Fig. 2 and ¶[0042]-¶[0043]; J.Korus teaches a second span structure that is pivotable to the first span via a joint 18.)
a plurality of drive towers supporting the main section assembly and the articulated spans; (J.Korus: Figs. 2-8 and ¶[0045]; J.Korus teaches plurality of towers 114, which are connected to the spans.)
wherein each articulating joint assembly comprises:
a cradle assembly configured to receive a structural member of an adjacent span, (J.Korus: ¶[0031]; J.Korus teaches joints 18 that join two of the support structures 16.)
a retaining assembly permitting angular displacement about a generally vertical axis, and (J.Korus: ¶[0031]; J.Korus teaches the joints 18 being configured to allow the support structures 16 to pivot or rotate in either direction in a horizontal plane, i.e. about the vertical axis.)
... ;
wherein at least two of the drive towers comprise independently steerable drive towers configured to alter angular relationships between adjacent spans during movement of the mobile irrigation machine. (J.Korus: Figs. 2-8 and ¶[0027] and ¶[0032]; J.Korus teaches towers 14 with steerable wheels with steering motors, allowing the towers to pivot one or more of the support structures 16 relative to others of the support structures 16 about joints 18.)
J.Korus does not explicitly teach but Davenport teaches:
at least one roller assembly permitting axial movement of one span relative to another while maintaining fluid communication between the spans; (Davenport: ¶[0052]; Davenport teaches utilizing a roller bearing to help facilitate the sliding of inner support structure by providing a low friction sliding surface.)
Davenport is in the same field of an expansion joint for a pivot irrigation system (Davenport, at Abstract) Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the filing date of this application to modify J.Korus system with a plurality of roller assemblies to provide axial variation between the main section and the span pipe as taught by Davenport because it allows the expandable center pivot irrigation system to navigate any bumps, grade changes, and/or other changes in the terrain during movement, and the drive unit is rotatable relative to the axle and/or wheels to enable freedom of movement in all directions (Davenport, at ¶ [0044]).
Regarding claim 42, J.Korus in view of Davenport further teaches the mobile irrigation machine of claim 41.
J.Korus further teaches:
wherein each independently steerable drive tower comprises: a wheel support frame; (J.Korus: Fig. 3; J.Korus teaches a support frame for the wheels.)
a steering actuator operatively coupled to at least one wheel; and (J.Korus: ¶[0027]; J.Korus teaches steerable wheels pivoted about upright axes by suitable steering motors.)
a controller configured to adjust wheel orientation independently from adjacent drive towers. (J.Korus: ¶[0043]; J.Korus teaches the actuation of the pivot occurring independently for the support structures. ¶[0032], ¶[0036]-¶[0037], and ¶[0039] further teach a control system to pivot the joints.)
Regarding claim 44, J.Korus in view of Davenport further teaches the mobile irrigation machine of claim 41.
Davenport further teaches:
wherein the roller assembly comprises a plurality of rollers positioned circumferentially about a fluid conduit to accommodate axial variation while preventing lateral disengagement of the conduit. (Davenport: Fig. 7B and ¶[0052]; Davenport teaches utilizing a roller bearing to help facilitate the sliding of inner support structure by providing a low friction sliding surface. The roller bearing 244 allows for movement in one direction (vertical in Fig. 7B) but not lateral.)
Regarding claim 45, J.Korus in view of Davenport further teaches the mobile irrigation machine of claim 44.
J.Korus further teaches:
further wherein the retaining assembly permits rotation about the generally vertical axis while restricting rotation about a horizontal axis. (J.Korus: ¶[0031]; J.Korus teaches the joints 18 being configured to allow the support structures 16 to pivot or rotate in either direction in a horizontal plane, i.e. about the vertical axis.)
Regarding claim 46, J.Korus in view of Davenport further teaches the mobile irrigation machine of claim 45.
J.Korus further teaches:
wherein the first and second articulated spans are configurable between a substantially linear alignment and an angled alignment relative to one another during irrigation movement. (J.Korus: Figs. 2-8; J.Korus teaches the spans being in an almost linear alignment or at an angle.)
Claim 43 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over J.Korus in view of Davenport in view of Tran (US 2020/0359582 A1) hereinafter known as Tran.
Regarding claim 43, J.Korus in view of Davenport further teaches the mobile irrigation machine of claim 42.
J.Korus in view of Davenport does not explicitly teach but Tran further teaches:
further comprising a central control system configured to receive machine sensor data and field condition data to identify specific conditions; (Tran: Fig. 2 and ¶[0052], ¶[0060], ¶[0073]; Tran teaches an alignment control system that contains alignment sensors, wind sensors, and gyroscopes.)
wherein the specific conditions are selected from the group of conditions comprising: an imbalance between the first and second articulated spans, and loss of traction by at least a first steerable driver tower. (Tran: ¶[0085]; Tran teaches monitoring how long it takes for the irrigation system to stop and managing whether to turn more or less tightly to mitigate wear. Further, ¶[0089] teaches checking height of the pivot span so that it doesn’t exceed a specific point.)
Tran is in the same field of endeavor as the present invention, since it is directed to navigating irrigation systems. 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 a self-propelled irrigation system as taught in J.Korus in view of Davenport with further sensors such as gyroscopes, alignment, and wind sensors to identify specific conditions as taught in Tran. As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the teachings of J.Korus and Davenport to include teachings of Tran, because it would allow better irrigation management, as suggested by Tran: ¶[0014].
Claims 47-49 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over J.Korus in view of Davenport in view of Korus (US 20060289676 A1) hereinafter known as Korus.
Regarding claim 47, J.Korus in view of Davenport further teaches the mobile irrigation machine of claim 46.
J.Korus in view of Davenport does not explicitly teach but Korus further teaches:
wherein the cradle assembly supports a fluid conduit of one span within a partially open structural housing that permits angular articulation without disconnection of the conduit. (Korus: Figs. 2-7 and ¶[0019]-¶[0028]; Korus teaches a joint assembly that allows flow-through.)
Korus is in the same field of endeavor as the present invention, since it is directed to navigating irrigation systems. 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 a self-propelled irrigation system with multiple articulated spans as taught in J.Korus in view of Davenport with further a cradle assembly that supports a flow-through fluid conduit as taught in Korus. As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the teachings of J.Korus and Davenport to include teachings of Korus, because it would allow flow-through joint without impairment, as suggested by Korus: ¶[0028].
Regarding claim 48, J.Korus in view of Davenport in view of Korus further teaches the mobile irrigation machine of claim 47.
Davenport further teaches:
wherein axial movement permitted by the roller assembly compensates for changes in distance between adjacent drive towers during angled movement of the articulated spans. (Davenport: Figs. 5A-5D and ¶[0048]-¶[0049]; Davenport teaches the expansion joints which allows the spans to move, dictated by the movement of the wheels.)
Regarding claim 49, J.Korus in view of Davenport in view of Korus further teaches the mobile irrigation machine of claim 48.
Davenport further teaches:
further comprising a control system configured to independently actuate steering of the at least two steerable drive towers to selectively form an angle between the first and second articulated spans while the irrigation machine is in motion. (J.Korus: Figs. 2-8 and ¶[0027] and ¶[0032]; J.Korus teaches towers 14 with steerable wheels with steering motors, allowing the towers to pivot one or more of the support structures 16 relative to others of the support structures 16 about joints 18 – as dictated by the control system.)
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.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Scott Baderman can be reached at 571-272-3644. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/ALEKSEY OLSHANNIKOV/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2118