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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on May 7, 2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
This Office Action is in response to the Applicant’s amendment filed on April 13, 2026. Claims 1, 4, 13, 14, and 15 have been amended. Claim 20 has been withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-19 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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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.
Claims 1-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Grotelueschen et al. (US 2017/0027103 A1) in view of Schnaider et al. (US 9,763,437 B2).
With regard to claim 1, Grotelueschen discloses a system for controlling an operation of an agricultural sprayer, the system (10) comprising: a boom assembly (22) including a frame (20) and a boom arm (22/24) coupled to the frame (Fig. 1), the boom arm (22/24) extending in a lateral direction from a first end of the boom arm to a second end of the boom arm (Fig. 1), the lateral direction extending perpendicular to a travel direction of the agricultural sprayer (Fig. 1); a nozzle assembly (58) supported on the boom arm (Fig. 2), the nozzle assembly configured to dispense an agricultural substance onto an underlying field (12); a sensor (40/57) configured to generate data indicative of a position of the boom arm relative to the frame (P. 0029, 0043); and a computing system (80) communicatively coupled to the sensor (40/57), wherein the computing system determines a position of a portion of the boom arm relative to the frame in a plane defined by a longitudinal direction and a vertical direction based on the data generated by the sensor (40/57), the longitudinal direction being parallel to the travel direction and perpendicular to the lateral direction, the vertical direction being perpendicular to the lateral direction and the travel direction; and controls an operation of the nozzle assembly based on the position of the portion of the boom arm relative to the frame (Grotelueschen discloses a computing system communicatively coupled to one or more sensors disposed on the boom e.g., sensor elements 40 and controller, Par. [0004], [0022], [0029]. The sensors generate data indicative of a height and position of the boom sections as the sprayer travels through the field, and the controller determines the position of a portion of the boom relative to the center portion (i.e., the frame) based on the received sensor signals Par. [0022], [0029]. As disclosed , the sprayer moves in a direction of travel defining a longitudinal direction, while the sensors measure height in a vertical direction perpendicular to both the lateral direction and the travel direction Par. [0018, [0019], [0027], such that the position of the boom portion is determined in a plane defined by the longitudinal and vertical directions. The reference further discloses that the controller controls operation of the nozzle assembly, including regulating flow and pressure at the nozzles, based on the determined position of the boom sections in order to maintain consistent spray performance as terrain varies Par. [0030]).
Grotelueschen does not explicitly disclose that the system controls the operation of the nozzle assembly based on the position of the portion of the boom arm relative to the frame in the plane defined by the longitudinal direction and the vertical direction.
Schnaider teaches a system for controlling an operation of an agricultural sprayer comprising a computing system (118) determines a position of a portion of the boom arm (111/112) relative to frame (113) in a plane defined by a longitudinal direction and a vertical direction based on the data generated by the sensor (accelerometer sesnors 111a/112a, Fig. 4A-4B]), the longitudinal direction being parallel to the travel direction (arrows in Fig. 4B) and perpendicular to the lateral direction (y axis), the vertical direction (arrows in Fig. 4A) being perpendicular to the lateral direction and the travel direction (Fig. 3); and controls the operation of the spray boom based on the position of the portion of the boom arm relative to the frame in the plane defined by the longitudinal direction and the vertical direction (Abstract).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the computing system of Groteluescehn, by incorporating the accelerometer sensors (111a/112a) to generate data in terms of the longitudinal and vertical directions as taught by Schnaider, doing it would provide additional data to the controller to determine up-down movement and forward-back motion of the boom in order to mitigate uneven spray application (Col. 1 line 54 – Col. 2 line 3).
With regard to claim 2, the device of Grotelueschen as modified by Schnaider discloses the invention as disclosed in the rejection of claim 1 above. Grotelueschen further discloses that the portion of the boom arm corresponds to one of the first end of the boom arm or the second end of the boom arm (Figs. 2-4).
With regard to claim 3, the device of Grotelueschen as modified by Schnaider discloses the invention as disclosed in the rejection of claim 1 above. Grotelueschen further discloses that the portion of the boom arm corresponds to a joint (50/52) between a first section of the boom arm and a second section of the boom arm (Figs. 2-4).
With regard to claim 4, the device of Grotelueschen as modified by Schnaider discloses the invention as disclosed in the rejection of claim 1 above. Grotelueschen further discloses that the portion of the boom arm corresponds to a first portion and the plane defined by the longitudinal direction and the vertical direction corresponds to a first plane (Figs. 2-4), wherein the computing system (80) further determines a position of a second portion of the boom arm relative to the frame in a second plane defined by the longitudinal direction and the vertical direction based on the data generated by the sensor, the second plane being spaced apart from the first plane in the lateral direction; and controls the operation of the nozzle assembly based on the first portion of the boom arm relative to the frame and the position of the second portion of the boom arm relative to the frame in the plane defined by the longitudinal direction and the vertical direction (taught by Schanider).
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With regard to claim 5, the device of Grotelueschen as modified by Schnaider discloses the invention as disclosed in the rejection of claim 4 above. Grotelueschen further discloses that the computing system (80) determines a shape of the boom arm relative to the frame based on position of the first portion of the boom arm and the position of the second portion of the boom arm; and determines the position of the nozzle assembly relative to the frame based on the shape (“deflection” see P. 0029 and Figs. 2-6).
With regard to claim 6, the device of Grotelueschen as modified by Schnaider discloses the invention as disclosed in the rejection of claim 1 above. Grotelueschen further discloses that when determining the position of the portion of the boom arm, the computing system determines an angle (74) defined between the boom arm and the frame based on the data generated by the sensor; and determines the position of the portion of the boom arm relative to the frame in the plane defined by the longitudinal direction and the vertical direction based on the angle (P. 0042).
With regard to claim 7, the device of Grotelueschen as modified by Schnaider discloses the invention as disclosed in the rejection of claim 1 above. Grotelueschen further discloses that when controlling the operation of the nozzle assembly, the computing system determines a distance between the nozzle assembly and an underlying field surface or an underlying canopy surface based on the position of the portion of the boom arm relative to the frame; and controls an operating parameter of the nozzle assembly based on the distance (70, Figs. 2-4).
With regard to claim 8, the device of Grotelueschen as modified by Schnaider discloses the invention as disclosed in the rejection of claim 7 above. Grotelueschen further discloses that the operating parameter comprises at least one of a pressure of the agricultural substance being supplied to the nozzle assembly, a frequency at which the nozzle assembly is being operated, or a duty cycle at which the nozzle assembly is being operated (P. 0030).
With regard to claim 9, the device of Grotelueschen as modified by Schnaider discloses the invention as disclosed in the rejection of claim 1 above. Grotelueschen further discloses that the sensor comprises an imaging device configured to generate image data depicting at least a section of the boom arm (“infrared” P. 0026).
With regard to claim 10, the device of Grotelueschen as modified by Schnaider discloses the invention as disclosed in the rejection of claim 1 above. Grotelueschen further discloses that the portion of the boom arm corresponds to a target positioned on the boom arm (P. 0027).
With regard to claim 11, the device of Grotelueschen as modified by Schnaider discloses the invention as disclosed in the rejection of claim 1 above. Grotelueschen further discloses that the sensor comprises a movement sensor configured to generate movement data indicative of movement of the boom arm relative to the frame (P. 0027).
With regard to claim 12, the device of Grotelueschen as modified by Schnaider discloses the invention as disclosed in the rejection of claim 11 above. Grotelueschen further discloses that an imaging device (86) configured to generate image data depicting at least a section of the boom arm, wherein, when determining the position of the portion of the boom arm (P. 0039), the computing system (80) determines the portion of the boom arm relative to the frame in the plane defined by the longitudinal direction and the vertical direction based on the movement data generated by the movement sensor (40) and the image data generated by the imaging device (86).
With regard to claim 13, the device of Grotelueschen as modified by Schnaider discloses the invention as disclosed in the rejection of claim 1 above. Grotelueschen further discloses that the nozzle assembly (58) corresponds to a first nozzle assembly, the system further comprising: a second nozzle assembly supported on the boom arm and spaced apart from the first nozzle assembly in the lateral direction (Figs. 2-4), the second nozzle assembly configured to dispense the agricultural substance onto the underlying field (12), wherein the computing system (80) controls an operation of the second nozzle assembly independently of the first nozzle assembly based on the position of the portion of the boom arm relative to the frame in the plane defined by the longitudinal direction and the vertical direction (taught by Schanider).
With regards to claims 14-19, since the device of Grotelueschen as modified by Schnaider discloses all structure of the claimed invention in claims 1-13, in its use, the device of Grotelueschen will inherently perform all the method steps of claims 14-19.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOEL ZHOU whose telephone number is (571)270-1163. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9AM-5PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, ARTHUR HALL can be reached at 5712701814. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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JOEL . ZHOU
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3752
/QINGZHANG ZHOU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3752
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