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 .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
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(s) 1-2,4-5, 7-9 and 11-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Borgmann et al. (2015/0101517) in view of Bahr et al. (2014/0027011).
Regarding claims 1, 2 and 13, Borgmann et al. discloses a method and apparatus for controlling the operation of a planter for planting seedlings of potatoes (58) or other tuberous or bulbous plants, wherein seedlings are fed from a bunker (26) to a planting element (24), thereby passing a feed opening (34) via a feed device (41) and at least one feed parameter of the feed of seedlings is recorded by at least one feed sensor (45) wherein an evaluation device generates a feed adjusting signal based on a data set of the recorded feed parameter for adjusting the feed for adjusting the quantity of seedlings allowed to pass from the bunker towards the planting element (pgph 0036)Borgmann discloses the invention as described above but fails to disclose that the feed adjustment mechanism can include one or more delimiters for delimiting a feed opening and an actuator for adjusting the position of the one or more delimiters based on the feed adjusting signal for adjusting the feed. Like Borgmann, Bahr et al. also discloses a feed conveyor (40) with a sensor and an evaluation device for controlling feed rate of seed along a conveyor. Unlike Borgmann, Bahr further discloses a feed gate (70) located between the bunker (20) and the conveyor (40) for adjusting a feed opening via an actuator (pgph 0059) to further control the rate of seed movement (pgph 0059) based on the amount of seed on the conveyor. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize both the conveyor adjuster and the feed gate in Borgmann as taught by Bahr to provide more precise control of the feed rate into the planting element as it would be combining prior art elements according to known methods to obtain predictable results (KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 USPQ2d 1385 (2007)).
Regarding claims 4 and 14, the combination discloses a control unit (90) adapted to control the actuator based on the feed opening adjusting signal (Bahr – pgph 0059).
Regarding claim 5, the combination discloses that the planter is a cup planter (Borgmann - 33).
Regarding claim 7, the combination discloses that the feed sensor is a volume sensor for measuring a volume parameter of the volume of seedlings fed from the bunker towards the planting element as the feed parameter (Borgmann – pgph 0036).
Regarding claims 8 and 9, the combination discloses the invention as described above and discloses that the feed sensor (45) is positioned behind the feed opening (34) and before the planting element (24) (Borgmann – figure 6).
Regarding claims 11-12, the combination discloses a computer program product with a computer readable code and storage medium that operates the planter (Borgmann – pgph 0043).
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Borgmann et al. (2015/0101517) in view of Bahr et al. (2014/0027011) as applied to claim 5 above and further in view of Wollman (2006/0283363).
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Borgmann and Bahr discloses the invention as described above including a feed sensor but fails to specifically disclose that the feed parameter that the sensor measures is the quantity of seeds in each cup. Like the combination, Wollman et al. also discloses a sensor for a potato planter. Unlike the combination, Wollman discloses that feed sensors can be utilized to monitor the actual planting cups to ensure there are no skips (pgph 0055). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize a planter cup sensor to monitor to seeds in the combination as taught by Wollman as it would be combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results (KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 USPQ2d 1385 (2007)).
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Borgmann et al. (2015/0101517) in view of Bahr et al. (2014/0027011) as applied to claim 5 above and further in view of Borgmann et al. (2021/0137000).
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Borgmann and Bahr discloses the invention as described above including a vibration device (43,47). The combination fails to specifically disclose that the vibration device is controlled by the evaluation device such that the evaluation device is adjusted for generating a vibration setting parameter based on the data set of the feed parameter for adjusting the vibration device. Like the combination, Borgmann et al. (‘000) also discloses a feed sensor for a potato planter and a vibration device for aiding in singulating seeds (pgph 0038). Unlike the combination, Borgmann ‘000 specifically discloses that the vibration mechanism is integrated with the control system. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to integrate the vibration device of Borgmann and Bahr with the control system as taught by Borgmann ‘000 to provide increased control of the system as the use of a known technique to improve similar devices in the same way (KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 USPQ2d 1385 (2007)).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Heiss Jr. (2008/0141914) also discloses a sensor for monitoring potato seeds. Harriston Cup Potato Planter also discloses a sensor system for controlling the feed rate of a potato planter (pages 19-20).
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/JAMIE L MCGOWAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3671