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 .
Drawings
Figures 1 and 2 should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Information Disclosure Statement
The listing of references in the specification is not a proper information disclosure statement. 37 CFR 1.98(b) requires a list of all patents, publications, or other information submitted for consideration by the Office, and MPEP § 609.04(a) states, "the list may not be incorporated into the specification but must be submitted in a separate paper." Therefore, unless the references have been cited by the examiner on form PTO-892, they have not been considered.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 7, 9- 11, 16, and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Freed (USP 8,393,407).
With respect to claim 1, Freed disclose a conversion kit for a debris clearing device, comprising: a mounting frame (16, 18, 22) having a device section (22) for receipt of a seeding unit mounted debris clearing device (10); said device section having a first mount adapted for connection of a seeding unit mounted debris clearing device to said device section of said mounting frame (see column 5 lines 31-33); a tool bar section (16) spaced from said device section, said tool bar section having a second mount (20a, 20b) for attachment of said mounting frame to a tool bar (see figure 5); a central section (18) connecting said device section and said tool bar section; whereby a seeding unit mounted debris clearing device (10) is adapted to be mounted to said device section (22) of said conversion kit and then mounted to a tool bar (12) instead of a seeding unit of an agricultural device.
With respect to claim 2, Freed disclose wherein said central section includes first and second side members joining said device section and said tool bar section (wherein 16 attaches to a top side and 22 attaches to a front side).
With respect to claim 7, Freed disclose wherein said second mount includes at least one mounting bracket (20a, 20b) for mounting said mounting frame to a toolbar.
With respect to claim 9, Freed disclose further including a support brace (24a) extending between said central section and said device section.
With respect to claim 10, Freed disclose a debris clearing device conversion kit for a seeder, comprising: a seeder (256) having a seeding unit (262), a seeding unit mounted clearing device (278/10), and a tool bar (258/12); said conversion kit having a device section (22), said seeding unit mounted debris clearing device is mounted to said device section (see figure 5); a tool bar section (16) spaced from said device section, said tool bar section is mounted to said tool bar (via 20a, 20b); a central section (18) connecting said device section and said tool bar section (see figure 5); whereby a seeding unit mounted debris clearing device is mounted to said device section of said conversion kit instead of said seeding unit (see figure 5).
With respect to claim 11, Freed disclose wherein said central section includes first and second side members joining said device section and said tool bar section (wherein 16 attaches to a top side and 22 attaches to a front side).
With respect to claim 16, Freed disclose wherein said second mount includes at least one mounting bracket (20a, 20b) for mounting said mounting frame to a toolbar.
With respect to claim 18, Freed disclose further including a support brace (24a) extending between said central section and said device section.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-6, 8, 12-15, and 17 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.
With respect to claims 3 and 12, the prior art does not disclose “wherein said first and second side members are generally L-shaped” nor would it be obvious to modify them to include this shape in combination with the other limitations of the claim.
With respect to claims 4 and 13, the prior art does not disclose wherein each of said first and second side members has a leg portion and a foot portion, each of said foot portions being generally perpendicular to a respective one of said leg portions” in combination with the other limitations of the claim.
With respect to claims 6 and 15, the prior art does not disclose “further including cross braces interconnecting said first and second side members” in combination with the other limitations of the claim.
With respect to claims 8 and 17, the prior art does not disclose “wherein said at least one mounting bracket and said side members include slotted openings and apertures for adjustably mounting said mounting bracket with respect to said side member” in combination with the other limitations of the claim.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NICOLE A COY whose telephone number is (571)272-5405. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 6am-3:30pm.
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, John Fristoe, Jr can be reached at 571-272-4926. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Nicole Coy/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3672