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 . Claims 1-20 have been examined.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 08/11/2023 and 03/21/2025 have been considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claims 1-16 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Vandike et al. (US 2022/0110262 A1) (Vandike hereinafter).
Regarding claim 1, Vandike discloses a system for adjusting gains for position control of a header of an agricultural harvester (Fig. 1, agricultural harvester 100), the system comprising:
a header of an agricultural harvester (Fig. 1, header 102);
an actuator configured to adjust a position of the header relative to a field (Fig. 1, actuator 107);
a computing system communicatively coupled to the actuator (Fig. 2, processors/servers 201), the computing system being configured to:
receive data indicative of a contour of the field forward of the agricultural harvester relative to a forward direction of travel of the agricultural harvester ([0062], in-situ sensors 208 include on-board sensors 222 that are mounted on-board agricultural harvester 100. Such sensors may include a perception sensor (e.g., a forward looking mono or stereo camera system and image processing system), image sensors that are internal to agricultural harvester 100 (such as the clean grain camera or cameras mounted to identify material that is exiting agricultural harvester 100 through the residue subsystem or from the cleaning subsystem). The in-situ sensors 208 also include remote in-situ sensors 224 that capture in-situ information. In-situ data include data taken from a sensor on-board the harvester or taken by any sensor where the data are detected during the harvesting operation; [0093], operator 260 can also edit the predictive map 264 or predictive control zone map 265 or both. The edits can change a value on the predictive map 264, change a size, shape, position, or existence of a control zone one predictive control zone map 265, or both);
determine an aggressiveness of the contour of the field based at least in part on the data indicative of the contour of the field; and adjust a gain for controlling the actuator based at least in part on the aggressiveness of the contour of the field ([0139]) and ([0210] – [0211]).
Regarding claims 2-3, Vandike discloses the system of claim 1, as stated above, wherein the computing system is further configured to compare the aggressiveness of the contour of the field to at least one threshold, each of the at least one threshold being associated with a respective gain setting, wherein the computing system is configured to adjust the gain for controlling the actuator by adjusting the gain to the gain setting associated with the aggressiveness of the contour of the field; and wherein the computing system is configured to adjust the gain for controlling the actuator to the gain setting associated with the aggressiveness of the contour of the field when the gain setting is within a gain range of the actuator ([0091]).
Regarding claim 4, Vandike discloses the system of claim 1, as stated above, wherein the computing system is configured to determine the aggressiveness of the contour of the field based at least in part on a derivative of a slope of the contour of the field ([0115] – [0116]).
Regarding claim 5, Vandike discloses the system of claim 1, as stated above, wherein the computing system is further configured to filter the data indicative of the contour of the field based at least in part on actuation of the header by the actuator, wherein the computing system is configured to determine the aggressiveness of the contour of the field based at least in part on the data after being filtered ([0157]).
Regarding claim 6, Vandike discloses the system of claim 1, as stated above, wherein the computing system is configured to determine the aggressiveness of the contour of the field based at least in part on the data indicative of the contour of the field and a current heading of the forward direction of travel of the agricultural harvester relative to the contour of the field ([0085]).
Regarding claim 7, Vandike discloses the system of claim 1, as stated above, wherein the computing system is configured to move the header relative to a chassis of the agricultural harvester to adjust the position of the header relative to the field ([0037]).
Regarding claim 8, Vandike discloses the system of claim 1, as stated above, further comprising a sensor positioned on the agricultural harvester, the sensor having a field of view directed towards the field forward of the agricultural harvester, the sensor being configured to generate the data indicative of the contour of the field, wherein the computing system is configured to receive the data indicative of the contour of the field generated by the sensor ([0062]).
Regarding claim 9, Vandike discloses the system of claim 8, as stated above, wherein the sensor comprises at least one of a radar sensor, a LIDAR device, a camera, or an ultrasonic sensor ([0051]).
Regarding claim 10, Vandike discloses the system of claim 1, as stated above, wherein the data indicative of the contour of the field is historical data generated before a current harvesting operation of the agricultural harvester within the field ([0058]).
Regarding claims 11-16, 18 and 20, the elements contained in claims 11-16, 18 and 20 are substantially similar to elements presented in claims 1-6, 8 and 10, respectively, except that it set forth the claimed invention as a method rather than a system and are rejected for the same reasons as applied above.
Regarding claim 19, Vandike discloses the method of claim 18, as stated above, wherein receiving the data generated by the sensor comprises receiving the data generated by the sensor when a ground speed of the agricultural harvester is less than a threshold speed ([0048]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 17 is 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.
Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure. See attached form PTO-892.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Luke Huynh whose telephone number is 571-270-5746. The examiner can normally be reached Mon 8-5, Tues 8-12, Thurs & Fri 8-2.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Hitesh Patel can be reached at 571-270-5442. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LUKE HUYNH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3667
01/20/2026