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 .
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
(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 and 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Mizuno (EP 3138380).
Regarding claim 1, Mizuno discloses a harvesting method performed by a harvesting device, the harvesting device including:
an upper harvest ring [8] having an upper through hole (as seen in the annotated Fig. 2 below) through which a fruit can be passed, and a lower harvest ring [9] disposed below the upper harvest ring [8] and having a lower through hole (as seen in the annotated Fig. 2 below) through which the fruit can be passed, wherein the harvest method comprising:
by the harvesting device [100], moving the upper harvest ring [8] and the lower harvest ring [9] along a surface shape of the fruit [50] to position a fruit stalk [51] of the fruit [50] or the fruit [50] inside each of the upper through hole (as seen in the annotated Fig. 2 below) and the lower through hole (as seen in the annotated Fig. 2 below) (Figures 14-15 show the surface of the fruit [50] moving along the upper harvesting ring and the lower harvesting ring.);
and moving the upper harvest ring [8] relative to the lower harvest ring [9] to harvest the fruit (Column 7 section 0041 lines discloses 24-34 Step 6 discloses the upper harvesting ring [8] is pulled back as the lower harvesting ring remains stationary to harvest the fruit. Therefore the upper harvesting ring is moving relative to the lower harvesting ring.).
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Regarding claim 2, Mizuno discloses the harvesting method according to Claim 1, wherein the moving of the upper harvest ring and the lowest harvest ring along the surface shape of the fruit includes:
moving the upper harvest ring [8] and the lower harvest ring [9] such that a distal end portion closest to the fruit in the upper harvest ring [8] and the lower harvest ring [9] in a posture in which the upper through hole and the lower through hole face upward reaches (Fig. 13 shows the distal end of the upper harvest ring and lower harvest ring closest to the fruit in a posture in which the upper through hole and the lower through hole face upward reaches),
from a start point facing the fruit to an end point (as seen in the annotated Fig. 14) opposite to the start point with respect to the fruit [50] through a lowest point lower than a lower end of the fruit (The annotated Fig. 14 below shows the end point is opposite to the start point. The upper and lower harvesting rings would need to go through a point lower than the lowest end of the fruit to reach the end point.).
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Regarding claim 3, Mizuno discloses the harvesting method according to Claim 2, wherein the start point is a center of the fruit in a height direction or a position lower than the center (The annotated Fig. 10 discloses the start point is in a position lower than the center of the fruit in a height direction.).
Regarding claim 4, Mizuno discloses the harvesting method according to Claim 2, wherein the end point (seen in a position higher than the upper end of the fruit in the annotated Fig. 14 above) is a position higher than an upper end of the fruit [50].
Regarding claim 7, Mizuno discloses the harvesting method according to Claim 1, wherein the fruit is a tomato (Column 3, section [011], lines 4-8).
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.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mizuno (EP 3138380) in view of CN 106818040.
Regarding claim 6, Mizuno discloses the harvesting method according to Claim 1.
However, Mizuno does not disclose wherein the moving of the upper harvest ring and the lowest harvest ring along the surface shape of the fruit includes:
calculating the surface shape of the fruit based on a captured image of the fruit, and moving the upper harvest ring and the lower harvest ring along the calculated surface shape.
Zhang discloses a camera [1209] attached to a harvesting device (as seen in Fig. 1) that observes the curvature and shape of the produce and then adjusts a component of the harvesting device (as seen in Fig. 1) (Section [0019] lines 6-8).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply Zhang’s teaching of using a camera to capture the image of the fruit/produce and adjust the harvesting components of the harvesting device to Mizuno’s harvesting device in order to improve the harvesting efficiency.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5 and 8 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Wang (CN 114731845 A) discloses a mobile type navel orange picking and receiving equipment. Handa (JP 2021087389 A) discloses an end effector for harvesting crop and crop harvesting system.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ASHLEY A KAERCHER whose telephone number is (571)270-0128. The examiner can normally be reached M-F (8-4:30).
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/ASHLEY A KAERCHER/Examiner, Art Unit 3671 1/12/2026
/JOSEPH M ROCCA/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3671