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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 1-17 are pending in this application.
Claims 1 and 17 are presented as currently claims.
Claims 2-16 are presented as original or previously amended claims.
No claims are newly presented.
No claims are cancelled.
Examiner's Note
Examiner has cited particular paragraphs / columns and line numbers or figures in the references as applied to the claims below for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested from the applicant, in preparing the responses, to fully consider the references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the examiner. Applicant is reminded that the Examiner is entitled to give the broadest reasonable interpretation to the language of the claims. Furthermore, the Examiner is not limited to Applicants’ definition which is not specifically set forth in the claims.
Claim Interpretation
“Work Determining Unit” as recited in claim 9 is being interpreted as having structure described in Applicant’s specification ¶ 088 due to its inclusion in control device [50] at ¶ 088 and in Fig. 12 [60].
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-8, 11, and 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hageman-914 (US 20190026914 A1) in view of Hageman-893 (US 20200087893 A1) (the combination of which is referenced as “combination Hageman” hereinafter). As regards the individual claims:
Regarding claim 1, Hageman-914 teaches a control system of a loading machine:
the loading machine having working equipment including a bucket, the control system comprising: (Hageman-914: ¶ 026; an excavator, front loader, a scraper, below-ground mining equipment, or other type of machine) a control device, wherein the control device detects a first surface, which is one surface exposed from the bucket, of an excavated object excavated by the bucket during excavation work; (Hageman-914: ¶ 072; volume of the portion 1402 of material above the strike plane can be determined by detecting the top surface of the material, determining an angle of the strike plane, and calculating a volume of the portion 1402 of the material that is above the strike plane using the detected top surface of the material and angle of the strike plane.) calculates an under-excavation load angle indicating an angle of the first surface with respect to a horizontal plane on the basis of detection data of the first surface, (Hageman-914: ¶ 049; bucket angle data of the bucket with material in it can be received by a soil segmentation module 422, which can determine whether material represented in the image data is in the bucket or if it is in the background or another part of the image)(Hageman-914: Fig. 18; [showing reference to horizontal ground plane]) determines an angle of a second surface above the bucket of the excavated material excavated by the bucket, as an angle of repose of the excavated object with respect to the horizontal plane, (Hageman-914: ¶ 029; volume of a material can be estimated . . . include measuring 3D points that represent the surface of material carried by the container of a work vehicle using a sensor that does not contact the container or the material in the container. In some examples, the surface of the material can be extrapolated when the material is unobservable by the non-contact sensor by measuring an angle of repose of the material) determines an exposed portion of the excavated object based on the first surface, the second surface, and a length of the bucket, determines a cross sectional area of the exposed portion based on the under-excavation load angle, (Hageman-914: ¶ 059 height information for the points can be used to compute the volume of the points within the bucket, and thus the volume of the material in the bucket. In one example, the volume for each point is determined, and then the volume for the points in the bucket are summed to compute the volume for the material in the bucket.)(Hageman-914: ¶ 072; volume of the portion 1402 of material above the strike plane can be determined by detecting the top surface of the material, determining an angle of the strike plane, and calculating a volume of the portion 1402 of the material that is above the strike plane using the detected top surface of the material and angle of the strike plane.) the angle of repose, (Hageman-914: ¶ 029; measuring an angle of repose of the material)an opening angle of the bucket, and a bucket angle formed between a bottom plate portion and the horizontal plane, (Hageman-914: ¶ 028; surface of the soil can be compared to the model of the bucket and its rotation angle to determine the amount of material in the bucket and produce a volume estimation measurement) (Hageman-914: Fig. 18; [showing reference to horizontal ground plane])
Hageman-914 does not appear to explicitly teach: and estimates a weight of the excavated object on the basis of the cross sectional area; however, Hageman-893 does teach:
and estimates a weight of the excavated object on the basis of the cross sectional area. (Hageman-893: ¶ 015 weight of the contents can be determined by sensing the volume of the contents and multiplying the volume of the contents with an estimated density to estimate the weight or mass of the contents.)
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Hageman-893 with the teachings of Hageman-914 because doing so would predictably result in eliminating the known inaccuracies of “weighing sensor systems . . . during machine movement [which can cause] operation [to be] less efficient” (Hageman: ¶ 015).
Regarding claim 2, as detailed above, combination Hageman teaches the invention as detailed with respect to claim 1. Hageman-914 further teaches:
wherein the first surface is positioned outside a surface of an excavation object during the excavation work. (Hageman-914: ¶ 072; volume of the portion 1402 of material above the strike plane can be determined by detecting the top surface of the material, determining an angle of the strike plane, and calculating a volume of the portion 1402 of the material that is above the strike plane using the detected top surface of the material and angle of the strike plane.)
Regarding claim 3, as detailed above, combination Hageman teaches the invention as detailed with respect to claim 1. Hageman-914 further teaches:
wherein the bucket includes a blade tip, an upper end facing the blade tip, and an opening defined between the blade tip and the upper end, and the first surface is formed in such a manner as to be continuous with the upper end. (Hageman-914: Figs. 11-14)
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Regarding claim 4, as detailed above, combination Hageman teaches the invention as detailed with respect to claim 1. Hageman-893 further teaches:
wherein the control device stores characteristic data of the excavated object, and estimates the weight of the excavated object on the basis of the under-excavation load angle and the characteristic data. (Hageman-893: ¶ 039; Data store interaction logic 176 illustratively interacts with data store 178. Data store interaction logic 176 can store or retrieve data from data store 178. For example, data store interaction logic 176 retrieves machine parameters from data store 178 and sends this data to weight generator logic 164, volume generator logic 162, etc. Data store interaction logic 176 can also store calculated average density values in data store 178.)
Regarding claim 5, as detailed above, combination Hageman teaches the invention as detailed with respect to claim 4. Hageman-893 further teaches:
wherein the control device calculates the characteristic data on the basis of the excavated object held in the bucket after the excavation work, and the control device stores the characteristic data that has been calculated. (Hageman-893: ¶ 039; Data store interaction logic 176 can also store calculated average density values in data store 178.)
Regarding claim 6, as detailed above, combination Hageman teaches the invention as detailed with respect to claim 5. Hageman-914 further teaches:
wherein the characteristic data includes an angle of repose of the excavated object. (Hageman-914: ¶ 029; measuring an angle of repose of the material) (Hageman-914: ¶ 068; processor device can store the calibration data in a database for later use. The calibration process can be repeated for a variety of different containers to generate a default library of calibration data for the containers.)
Regarding claim 7, as detailed above, combination Hageman teaches the invention as detailed with respect to claim 6. Hageman-914 further teaches:
wherein the control device detects a second surface of the excavated object held in the bucket after the excavation work,(Hageman-914: ¶ 072; volume of the portion 1402 of material above the strike plane can be determined by detecting the top surface of the material, determining an angle of the strike plane, and calculating a volume of the portion 1402 of the material that is above the strike plane using the detected top surface of the material and angle of the strike plane.) and calculates the angle of repose (Hageman-914: ¶ 029; measuring an angle of repose of the material) with respect to the horizontal plane on the basis of detection data of the second surface. (Hageman-914: ¶ 028; surface of the soil can be compared to the model of the bucket and its rotation angle to determine the amount of material in the bucket and produce a volume estimation measurement) (Hageman-914: Fig. 18; [showing reference to horizontal ground plane])
Regarding claim 8, as detailed above, combination Hageman teaches the invention as detailed with respect to claim 7, and Hageman-914: teaches:
. . the control device detects the first surface of the excavated object held in the bucket after the excavation work,(Hageman-914: ¶ 072; volume of the portion 1402 of material above the strike plane can be determined by detecting the top surface of the material, determining an angle of the strike plane, and calculating a volume of the portion 1402 of the material that is above the strike plane using the detected top surface of the material and angle of the strike plane.) calculates a post-excavation load angle indicating an angle of the first surface with respect to the horizontal plane on the basis of the detection data of the first surface, (Hageman-914: ¶ 072; volume of the portion 1402 of material above the strike plane can be determined by detecting the top surface of the material, determining an angle of the strike plane, and calculating a volume of the portion 1402 of the material that is above the strike plane using the detected top surface of the material and angle of the strike plane.) (Hageman-914: ¶ 029; volume of a material can be estimated . . . include measuring 3D points that represent the surface of material carried by the container of a work vehicle using a sensor that does not contact the container or the material in the container. In some examples, the surface of the material can be extrapolated when the material is unobservable by the non-contact sensor by measuring an angle of repose of the material)calculates a bucket angle indicating an angle of the bucket with respect to the horizontal plane (Hageman-914: ¶ 049; bucket angle data of the bucket with material in it can be received by a soil segmentation module 422, which can determine whether material represented in the image data is in the bucket or if it is in the background or another part of the image)(Hageman-914: Fig. 18; [showing reference to horizontal ground plane])on the basis of detection data of an angle of a vehicle body of the loading machine supporting the working equipment and detection data of an angle of the working equipment, (Hageman-914: ¶ 028; surface of the soil can be compared to the model of the bucket and its rotation angle to determine the amount of material in the bucket and produce a volume estimation measurement) calculates a volume of the excavated object held in the bucket on the basis of the angle of repose, (Hageman-914: ¶ 029; measuring an angle of repose of the material)the post-excavation load angle, the bucket angle, and dimensions of the bucket, . . . (Hageman-914: ¶ 059 height information for the points can be used to compute the volume of the points within the bucket, and thus the volume of the material in the bucket. In one example, the volume for each point is determined, and then the volume for the points in the bucket are summed to compute the volume for the material in the bucket.)
And Hageman-893 further teaches
wherein the characteristic data includes a density of the excavated object, . . . and calculates the density on the basis of weight data of the excavated object held in the bucket and the volume (Hageman-893: ¶ 039; Data store interaction logic 176 can also store calculated average density values in data store 178.) . . . and calculates the density on the basis of weight data of the excavated object held in the bucket and the volume. (Hageman-893: ¶ 033; Density generator logic 166 determines a density of the contents based on a volume metric received from volume generator logic 162 and a weight metric received from weight generator logic 164.)
Regarding claim 11, as detailed above, combination Hageman teaches the invention as detailed with respect to claim 10. Hageman-914 does not explicitly teach:
wherein the attitude of the bucket includes a bucket angle indicating an angle of the bucket with respect to the horizontal plane. (Hageman-914: ¶ 049; bucket angle data of the bucket with material in it can be received by a soil segmentation module) (Hageman-914: Fig. 18; [showing reference to horizontal ground plane])
Regarding claim 16, as detailed above, combination Hageman teaches the invention as detailed with respect to claim 1. Hageman-914 further teaches:
comprising the control system of the loading machine according to claim 1 (Hageman-914: ¶ 060; processing module 702 can communicate data and control signals with each of the sensors 704, 706, 708. The processing module 702 can also process data, such as by determining a volume estimate of material in the implement, and transceive data with other components via a wired or wireless communication module 710. The other components can include a cloud-based module 712 for allowing the data to be accessible to other users or systems via a cloud storage facility, an on-board display module 714 for displaying the data to an operator of a work vehicle)
Regarding claim 17, Hageman-914 teaches a control method of
a loading machine having working equipment including a bucket, the control method comprising: (Hageman-914: ¶ 026; an excavator, front loader, a scraper, below-ground mining equipment, or other type of machine)detecting a first surface, which is one surface exposed from the bucket, of an excavated object excavated by the bucket during excavation work; (Hageman-914: ¶ 072; volume of the portion 1402 of material above the strike plane can be determined by detecting the top surface of the material, determining an angle of the strike plane, and calculating a volume of the portion 1402 of the material that is above the strike plane using the detected top surface of the material and angle of the strike plane.)calculating an under-excavation load angle indicating an angle of the first surface with respect to a horizontal plane on the basis of detection data of the first surface; (Hageman-914: ¶ 049; bucket angle data of the bucket with material in it can be received by a soil segmentation module 422, which can determine whether material represented in the image data is in the bucket or if it is in the background or another part of the image)(Hageman-914: Fig. 18; [showing reference to horizontal ground plane])determining an angle of a second surface above the bucket of the excavated material excavated by the bucket, as an angle of repose of the excavated object with respect to the horizontal plane, (Hageman-914: ¶ 029; volume of a material can be estimated . . . include measuring 3D points that represent the surface of material carried by the container of a work vehicle using a sensor that does not contact the container or the material in the container. In some examples, the surface of the material can be extrapolated when the material is unobservable by the non-contact sensor by measuring an angle of repose of the material)determining an exposed portion of the excavated object based on the first surface, the second surface, and a length of the bucket, determining a cross sectional area of the exposed portion based on the under-excavation load angle, (Hageman-914: ¶ 059 height information for the points can be used to compute the volume of the points within the bucket, and thus the volume of the material in the bucket. In one example, the volume for each point is determined, and then the volume for the points in the bucket are summed to compute the volume for the material in the bucket.)(Hageman-914: ¶ 072; volume of the portion 1402 of material above the strike plane can be determined by detecting the top surface of the material, determining an angle of the strike plane, and calculating a volume of the portion 1402 of the material that is above the strike plane using the detected top surface of the material and angle of the strike plane.) the angle of repose, (Hageman-914: ¶ 029; measuring an angle of repose of the material)an opening angle of the bucket, and a bucket angle formed between a bottom plate portion and the horizontal plane, (Hageman-914: ¶ 028; surface of the soil can be compared to the model of the bucket and its rotation angle to determine the amount of material in the bucket and produce a volume estimation measurement) (Hageman-914: Fig. 18; [showing reference to horizontal ground plane])
Hageman-914 does not appear to teach: and estimating a weight of the excavated object on the basis of the cross-sectional area; and outputting an estimation result of the weight; however, Hageman-893 does teach:
and estimating a weight of the excavated object on the basis of the cross-sectional area; (Hageman-893: ¶ 015 weight of the contents can be determined by sensing the volume of the contents and multiplying the volume of the contents with an estimated density to estimate the weight or mass of the contents.) and outputting an estimation result of the weight. (Hageman-893: ¶ 038; display generator logic 174 can include other indicators as well, such as but not limited to, the operator productivity, total moved contents in weight or volume, (over a period of time over a number of dig cycles, for this operator, over a shift, etc.)
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Hageman-893 with the teachings of Hageman-914 because doing so would predictably result in eliminating the known inaccuracies of “weighing sensor systems . . . during machine movement [which can cause] operation [to be] less efficient” (Hageman: ¶ 015).
Claims 10 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over combination Hageman as applied to claims 1 and 10 respectively above, and further in view of Aizawa (US 20200407939 A1).
Regarding claim 10, as detailed above, combination Hageman teaches the invention as detailed with respect to claim 1. Combination Hageman does not explicitly teach:
wherein the control device controls the attitude of the bucket such that the weight, which is estimated, reaches a target weight; however, Aizawa does teach:
wherein the control device controls the attitude of the bucket (Aizawa: ¶¶ 100-103; controller 27 causes the blade tip of the work implement 12 to move from the current position S2 to the digging start point 51 while rotating the rotating body 13 by the target rotation angle TA1 and operating the work implement 12. . . .executes automatic digging. Here, the controller 27 controls the work implement) such that the weight, which is estimated, reaches a target weight. (Aizawa: ¶ 090; controller 27 calculates the weight of the materials in the bucket 19 at each unloading onto the conveyance vehicle 2, whereby the controller 27 is able to understand the loading amount onto the conveyance vehicle) (Aizawa: Fig. 007; [S204-211])
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Aizawa with the teachings of Hageman-914 because doing so would result in the predicable benefit of improving the work efficiency of the work machine when under automatic control (Aizawa: ¶ 142).
Regarding claim 12, as detailed above, combination Hageman in view of Aizawa teaches the invention as detailed with respect to claim 10. Aizawa teaches:
wherein the control device stores a target load weight of the excavated object for a loading object, (Aizawa: ¶ 090; controller 27 stores the maximum load weight of the materials that can be loaded onto the conveyance vehicle 2. The controller 27 calculates the possible loading weight on the basis of the maximum load weight) and sets the target weight on the basis of the target load weight. (Aizawa: ¶ 094; if the controller 27 determines that the possible loading weight is not greater than the digging weight, the processing advances to step S503)
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over combination Hageman as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Cai (CN 110258711 A).
Regarding claim 9, as detailed above, combination Hageman teaches the invention as detailed with respect to claim 1. Combination Hageman does not explicitly teach:
comprising: a work determination unit that determines whether or not the bucket is performing the excavation work on the basis of a traveling direction of the loading machine and an attitude of the working equipment; however, Cai does teach:
comprising: a work determination unit that determines whether or not the bucket is performing the excavation work on the basis of a traveling direction of the loading machine and an attitude of the working equipment. (Cai: ¶ 012; automatic shovel loading triggering method of the loader, detecting and determining the state of the loader includes detecting the traveling direction of the loader, the bucket posture, the boom posture,).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Cai with the teachings of Hageman-914 because doing so would result in the predicable benefit of improving (Cai: ¶ 142).
Claims 13 and 14-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over combination Hageman as applied to claims 1 and 13 above, and further in view of Ueta et al. (US 20220341123 A1).
Regarding claim 13, as detailed above, combination Hageman teaches the invention as detailed with respect to claim 1. Combination Hageman does not explicitly teach:
wherein the control device outputs the weight that has been estimated to an output device; however, Ueta does teach:
wherein the control device outputs the weight that has been estimated to an output device. (Ueta: Fig. 006; [showing load and target load]).
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Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Ueta with the teachings of Hageman-914 because doing so would result in the predicable benefit of determining a weight of the bucket with cumbersome manual settings (Ueta: ¶ 004).
Regarding claim 14, as detailed above, combination Hageman in view of Ueta teaches the invention as detailed with respect to claim 13. Ueta teaches:
wherein the control device outputs notification data indicating that a difference between the weight that has been estimated and a target weight is less than or equal to a threshold value. (Ueta: ¶ 069; when the “loaded load” exceeds the “loading target”, the item “loaded load” may be prominently displayed)
Regarding claim 15, as detailed above, combination Hageman in view of Ueta teaches the invention as detailed with respect to claim 13. Ueta teaches:
wherein the output device is disposed at an operator's cab of the loading machine. (Ueta: ¶ 059; display device 70 may be arranged visibly by the operator in the cab)
Response to Arguments
Applicant's remarks filed August 26, 2025 with respect to independent claims 1 and 17 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Applicant argues that
Feng does not disclose determining an angle of a second surface above the bucket using the angle of repose of the excavated object. Nor does Feng disclose determining a cross-sectional area of the exposed portion of the excavated object based on the under-excavation load angle, the angle of repose, an opening angle of the bucket, and a bucket angle formed between a bottom plate portion and the horizontal plane as recited in amended Claim 1. Instead, it appears that 01-03 in Feng are simply linkage angles, (Applicant’s Arguments filed August 26, 2025, pg. 8).
Newly applied art Hageman-914 (US 20190026914 A1) and Hageman-893 (US 20200087893 A1) have been applied in lieu of Feng (CN 103900669 B) and Hageman-555 (US 20200040555 A1). Hageman-914 teaches a system in which a work machine uses a combination of (1) a touchless sensor with respect to the visible material surface and (2) the angle of repose with respect to any unseen material surface and (3) the angle of the bucket relative the ground surface to determine one of or both of (1) the shape of the volume of material above the strike plate of a bucket or (2) the volume of material in a bucket relative to the ground. Hageman-914 teaches using this volume in a control system to inform operators and protect the work machine from damage. However, Hageman-893 further teaches (1) estimating a material density from a database or (2) calculating a density from previous work operations and multiplying said material density with calculated volume to determine a bucket weight to inform operators and protect the work machine from damage. Consequently, the combination of Hageman-914 (US 20190026914 A1) and Hageman-893 (US 20200087893 A1) teaches the invention as claimed in the independent claims and the Applicant’s arguments and amendments are not persuasive.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure Claxton (US 20140019015 A1) which discloses a bucket of an excavator, the force sensing system sensing a magnitude of a force required to hold the bucket at a defined position with respect to a reference datum.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/C.P./Examiner, Art Unit 3663
/ANGELA Y ORTIZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3663