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 Objections
Claim 7, 11 and 13 objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 7, line 3 "second" is --secondary--.
Claim 11, lines 3 and 8 "primary baffle assembly" is --first baffle assembly--.
Claim 13, line 1 "primary baffle assembly" is --first baffle assembly--.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-7, and 11-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Jespersen (EP 3162182 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Jespersen discloses a windrower (4) comprising:
a) a shredder (10) having a housing (44) surrounding a plurality of spinning knives (Jespersen Col. 6, lines 25-37; "Steel fails") adapted to process stover and discharge processed stover via a first airflow (crop flow when side deflector plates are fully extended 14') through an elongate discharge opening (18) in the housing (44); and
b) a wing (14) having;
i) a non-deposit end (front of 20);
ii) a deposit end (rear of 22); and
iii) a first baffle assembly (left part 22) forming a primary channel (when 22 is fully retracted), said primary channel (when 22 is fully retracted) having a top portion (38) and extending the length of the wing (14) between the non-deposit end (front of 20) and a deposit end (rear of 22) and open toward elongate discharge opening (18) and the deposit end (also rear of 22), wherein the non-deposit end (front of 20) of the wing (14) is positioned closer to the housing (44) than the deposit end (rear of 22) of the wing (14), and wherein said primary channel (when 22 is fully retracted) of the wing (14) is adapted to receive the first airflow (crop flow when side deflector plates are fully extended 14') and substantially all of the processed stover from the elongate discharge opening (18) and redirect the first airflow (crop flow when side deflector plates are fully extended 14') and substantially all of the processed stover through said primary channel (when 22 is fully retracted) and out the deposit end (rear of 22) of the wing (14) to deposit the processed stover in a windrow. Although Jespersen primarily describes a conditioner unit processing stalks of cut crop, such disclosure is understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to read on stover. Stover is a generic agricultural term encompassing the leaves, stalk, and remaining potions of cereal crops (including wheat, corn, barley, etc.) left in the field after harvesting grain. Further, depositing such material in a swath inherently forms a windrow or windrow-like arrangement of crop material.
Regarding claim 2, Jespersen discloses the windrower of claim 1 wherein said wing (14) further comprises a second baffle (right part 22) assembly adapted to direct toward the ground processed stover exiting said primary channel (when 22 is fully retracted) at the deposit end (also rear of 22) of the wing (14).
Regarding claim 3, Jespersen discloses the windrower of claim 1 wherein said first baffle assembly (left part 22) comprises a top plate (also 38) having a first proximal end (front of 22 for 38) and a first distal end (end of 22 for 38), a bottom plate (36) having a second proximal end (front of 22 for 36) and a second distal end (end of 22 for bottom plate 36) and a transition (transition happens on 34) extending between the first distal (end of 22 for 38) and second distal end (end of 22 for 36), wherein the bottom plate (36) is dimensionally wider than the top plate (38).
Regarding claim 4, Jespersen discloses the windrower of claim 1 wherein said wing (14) further comprises a subassembly (22) positioned within the top portion (top and rear end of 20) of the primary channel (when 22 is fully retracted) and adapted to form a secondary channel (when 22 is fully extended), said secondary channel extending the length of said wing (14) between the non-deposit end (front of 20) and the deposit end (rear of 22) and open toward a portion of the primary channel (when 22 is fully retracted; See Jespersen Fig. 10) and the deposit end (rear of 22), wherein said subassembly (22) is spaced from the transition (34 for 20) and bottom plate (36 for 20) creating a gap (between 20 and 22) and comprises a first wall portion (38 for 22) extending from the top plate (38 for 20) and a second wall portion (34 for 22) extending toward the transition (34 for 20).
Regarding claim 5, Jespersen discloses the windrower of claim 3 wherein the top plate (38) is positioned above the top of the discharge opening (18).
Regarding claim 6, Jespersen discloses the windrower of claim 4 wherein said gap (between 20 and 22) is above the discharge opening (18).
Regarding claim 7, Jespersen discloses the windrower of claim 4 wherein said subassembly (22) is configured to cause a portion of the first airflow (crop flow when side deflector plates are fully extended 14') and any of the stover entrained in said portion to enter the second channel (when 22 is fully extended) and cause said portion of the first airflow (crop flow when side deflector plates are fully extended 14') and any of the stover entrained in said portion to move in a longitudinal and rotational manner toward the deposit end (rear of 22) of the wing (14). The interaction of the stover with the angled surfaces of the wing (14) imparts a rotational or turning motion to the stover during operation.
Regarding claim 11, Jespersen discloses a wing for a windrow machine (4), said wing (14) comprising:
a) a non-deposit end (front of 20);
b) a deposit end (rear of 22);
c) a primary baffle assembly (left part 22) forming a primary channel (when 22 is fully retracted), said primary channel extending the length of the wing (14) between the non-deposit end (front of 20) and a deposit end (rear of 22) and open toward the deposit end (rear of 22); and
d) a secondary baffle assembly (right part 22) positioned within the primary channel (when 22 is fully retracted) and cooperating with the primary baffle assembly (left part 22) to form a secondary channel (when 22 is fully extended), said secondary channel extending the length of the wing (14) between the non- deposit end (front of 20) and a deposit end (rear of 22) and open toward a portion of the primary channel (when 22 is fully retracted) and the deposit end (rear of 22), wherein the wing (14) is adapted to be attached to a shredder (10) having a housing (44) surrounding a plurality of spinning knives (Jespersen Col. 6, lines 25-37; "Steel fails") adapted to process stover and discharge processed stover via a first airflow (crop flow when side deflector plates are fully extended 14') through an elongate discharge opening (18) in the housing (44), wherein said non-deposit end (front of 20) of the wing (14) is positioned closer to the housing (44) than the deposit end (rear of 22) of the wing (14), and wherein the primary (when 22 is fully retracted) and secondary-(when 22 is fully extended) channels of the wing (14) are adapted to receive the first airflow (crop flow when side deflector plates are fully extended 14') and substantially all of the processed stover from the elongate discharge opening (18) and redirect the first airflow (crop flow when side deflector plates are fully extended 14') and substantially all of the processed stover through the primary channel (when 22 is fully retracted) and secondary (when 22 is fully extended) channel toward and out the deposit end (rear of 22) of the wing (14) to deposit the processed stover in a windrow. Although Jespersen primarily describes a conditioner unit processing stalks of cut crop, such disclosure is understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to read on stover. Stover is a generic agricultural term encompassing the leaves, stalk, and remaining potions of cereal crops (including wheat, corn, barley, etc.) left in the field after harvesting grain. Further, depositing such material in a swath inherently forms a windrow or windrow-like arrangement of crop material.
Regarding claim 12, Jespersen discloses the wing of claim 11 further comprising a tertiary baffle assembly (16) at the deposit end (rear of 22) of the wing (14), said tertiary baffle assembly (16) adapted to direct toward the ground processed stover exiting the primary (when 22 is fully retracted) and secondary channels (when 22 is fully extended) at the deposit end (rear of 22) of the wing (14).
Regarding claim 13, Jespersen discloses the wing of claim 11 wherein said primary baffle assembly (left part 22) comprises a top plate (38) having a first proximal end (front of 22 for 38) and a first distal end (end of 22 for 38), a bottom plate (36) having a second proximal end and a second distal end (front of 22 for 36) and a transition (transition happens on 34) extending between the first distal end (end of 22 for top plate 38) and second distal end (end of 22 for bottom plate 36), wherein the bottom plate (36) is dimensionally wider than the top plate (38).
Regarding claim 14, Jespersen discloses the wing of claim 13 wherein said secondary baffle assembly (right part 22) comprises (i) a front portion (front of 22; See Fig. 6) descending from the top plate (38), and (ii) a bottom portion (36) extending from the front portion (front of 22; See Fig. 6) toward at least one of the bottom plate (36) and transition (34), and (iii) a gap (between 20 and 22) between the bottom portion and said at least one of the bottom plate (36) and transition (34).
Regarding claim 14, Jespersen discloses the wing of claim 13 wherein the top plate (38) is positioned above the top of the discharge opening (18).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8-10 and 16-20 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-7, and 11-15 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.
Further, Applicant’s argument that the cited prior art does not disclose a “windrower,” asserting that the prior art instead relates to a spreader or otherwise fails to deposit material in a windrow. This argument is not persuasive.
The rejection has been updated to rely on Jespersen, which discloses a swathing unit for an agricultural mower configured to cut crop material and deposit the cut material onto the field surface in a swath. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have understood that a swathing unit is specifically designed to arrange cut crop material into an elongated row on the ground.
Such an arrangement of crop material in a swath constitutes a row or line of deposited crop material, which is reasonably considered a windrow or windrow-like formation under the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim language.
The claims do not recite any structural or operational limitations that distinguish a “windrow” from a “swath,” nor do they require any specific mechanism beyond depositing crop material in a row. Accordingly, Jespersen’s disclosure of a swathing unit depositing cut crop material in a swath meets the claimed limitation of depositing processed stover in a windrow.
Conclusion
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSE ANTONIO MARTINEZ whose telephone number is (571)272-5896. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7-5.
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JOSE ANTONIO. MARTINEZ
Examiner
Art Unit 3671
/ADAM J BEHRENS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3671
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