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 .
Application Status
Claims 1-20 are pending in the current application. All claims are eligible for examination.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 17, 19, and 20 recite the limitation "the diverting bracket" in their third lines. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 18 recites the limitation "the rocking bracket" in its third line. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lyons et al. (US 2021/0307233 hereinafter Lyons).
With respect to claim 14, Lyons discloses a method for automatically locking and unlocking a header latch via successive full-raise actuations of a header (in figure 19, Lyons discloses a latch made of track 142 and pivot shaft 140 that is part of an header), the method comprising:
coupling the header to an agricultural vehicle (in figure 1, Lyons discloses the header connected to an agricultural vehicle);
in response to a first raising of the header, moving a pin from an operating position to a full-raise position (in figure 19, Lyons discloses the follower or pivot shaft 140 held within track 142 with the pivot shaft being connected to a wheel 31 – by gravity, when the header under which the wheel 31 is raised, the pivot shaft moves to the lower left part of the track 142; the pivot shaft 140 reads on a pin; the lowest part of the track 142 – its oriented to the left in figures 19-24 – reads on the full-raise position);
in response to a first lowering of the header, moving the pin from the full-raise position to a locked position (in figure 19 and paragraph 228, Lyons discloses the shaft 140 in the bottom end of the slots corresponding to the bottom end of the track 142, which is the transport position and reads on the locked position of the claim – the upwards curvature of the track 142 anticipates moving the shaft 140 into the transport position when the header is lowered);
in response to a second raising of the header, moving the pin from the locked position to the full-raise position (in figure 19, Lyons discloses the follower or pivot shaft 140 held within track 142 with the pivot shaft being connected to a wheel 31 – by gravity, when the header under which the wheel 31 is raised, the pivot shaft moves to the lower left part of the track 142; the pivot shaft 140 reads on a pin; the lowest part of the track 142 – its oriented to the left in figures 19-24 – reads on the full-raise position); and
in response to a second lowering of the header, moving the pin from the full-raise position to the operating position (in figure 19, Lyons discloses a top left portion of track 142 that provides the top portion of a z-shape and is described as a storage position in paragraph 230; it reads on an operating position for the pin because the header is generally operated when the wheel 31 is raised).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-13 are allowed.
Claims 15 and 16 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.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: the prior art neither discloses nor renders obvious an header latch for a combine harvester that uses a locking assembly that comprises first and second brackets hingedly connected to one another as disclosed in claims 1 and 8.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Cassou (US 2017/0234037) discloses a variety of latch arrangements that use at least one bracket. Ritter (US 9723785) discloses an header latch as described in the abstract.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DOUGLAS JAMES MEISLAHN whose telephone number is (703)756-1925. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30-5:30 EST M-Th, M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joseph Rocca can be reached at (571) 272-8971. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DOUGLAS J MEISLAHN/Examiner, Art Unit 3671
/JOSEPH M ROCCA/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3671