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 .
The current application relates to a Foreign Application Priority DE-102022121569.5 filed on Aug. 25, 2022.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 2-8 & 17 for Group A filed on 03/30/2026. However, the current pending claims, as filed on 03/20/2026 are no longer subject to the restriction requirement because they do not present distinct inventions requiring restriction.
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) 1-3 & 5-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wieckhorst (20220000006) in view of Scarlett (6144910).
With regard to claim 1, Wieckhorst discloses a method for operating an agricultural work system for performing an agricultural work process, the agricultural work system comprising an agricultural production machine and an attachment, the agricultural production machine having at least two axles, at least one sensor assembly, at least one power lifter, and a driver assistance system comprising at least one processor, at least one memory, and at least one display, the attachment connected to the agricultural production machine using the power lifter a driver assistance system configured to control at least a part of operation of the agricultural production machine (tractor 1 comprises a driver assistance system 3, at least one a lifting mechanism 4, front and rear axles VA & HA, performing attachment 2, see [0045]-[0049]+), the method comprising:
automatically accessing information generated by the at least one sensor assembly, external information, and information stored in the at least one memory (receiving internal and external information which are saved in the memory, see [0042];
automatically determining, based on the information generated by the at least one sensor assembly, at least one axle load on at least one of the axles (the axles are assigned at least one sensor 19 which generat3es sensor data, see [0048]);
automatically determining an axle load ratio currently on the at least two axles, (the axle loads are sensed and calculated to form data, see [0103]+);
automatically generating, using one or ore of the actual data records, one or more instructions for actuating the at least one power lifter while simultaneously taking into account a plurality of mutually influencing optimization target variables (the n-dimensional characteristic map 54 is generated for the tractor to perform works, see [0066]-[0067]+); and
automatically controlling, using the one or more instructions, the at least one power lifter (the assistance system autonomously ascertain parameters for implementing the chosen regulation strategies and optimization target variables and to specify them to the control device of the tractor that influence the working parameter to be adjusted. The automatic lifting mechanism and its actuator for adjusting the upper link and lower link, see [0025]+ or the knowledge of the characteristic map allowed the automatic lifting mechanism 32 to automatically adjust the lifting, see [0070]+).
Wieckhorst fails to teach determining the axle load ratio based on the actual data records.
Scarlett discloses an agricultural tractor comprises a control apparatus which determines the vehicle’s axles loads ratio based on the actual data (see col 16, lines 40-67+).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA), before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include determining the vehicle’s axles loads ratio based on the actual data as taught by Scarlett for accuracy performance.
With regard to claim 2, Wieckhorst teaches that the method of claim 1, wherein one or more of a cyclically determined slip determination time-linked to execution of the agricultural work process, a determination of working depth of tools of the attachment designed as a soil cultivation device, or a determination of inner tire pressure of tires of the agricultural production machine is used to determine dynamically changing actual data records; and wherein the dynamically changing actual data records are used for automatically generating the one or more instructions for actuating the at least one power lifter (changing the lifting mechanism adjustment parameter 34 which effects on the placement of the tractive force based on the lifting mechanism position, working depth of the attachment, and etc., see [0071]-[0085]+).
With regard to claim 3, Scarlett teaches that the method of claim 2, further comprising: accessing target records, the target records being accessed based on at least one of: using a characteristic curve-based expert system; or based on a natural-language interactive dialog in order for an operator to provide input; and determining deviations between the actual data records and the target records; and wherein automatically generating the one or more instructions is based on the deviations between the actual data records and the target records in order to perform multi- objective control (see col 17-col 18 which Fig.10 illustrates the performance curves constituting the steady state model which defines a series of set point corresponding to various soil strength).
With regard to claim 5, Wieckhorst teaches that the method of claim 1, wherein the attachment comprises a soil cultivation device; wherein a cyclically determined slip determination time-linked to execution of the agricultural work process, a determination of working depth of tools of the soil cultivation device, and a determination of inner tire pressure of tires of the agricultural production machine are used to determine dynamically changing actual data records; and wherein the slip determination time-linked to execution of the agricultural work process, the working depth of tools of the soil cultivation device, and the inner tire pressure of tires of the agricultural production machine are used for automatically generating the one or more instructions for actuating the at least one power lifter (the work parameters are output such as power take off, slip between the soil, driving force behavior, and etc., see [0035]+).
With regard to claim 6, Wieckhorst teaches that the method of claim 1, wherein the axle loads arising on the at least two axles of the agricultural production machine and axle load ratio based thereon are determined cyclically time-linked to the execution of the agricultural work process; and wherein the one or more instructions for actuating the at least one power lifter are automatically generated using the axle loads and the axle load ratio taking into account configuration of the agricultural production machine and the attachment and one or more operating parameters (sensor apparatus 18 and the gearbox 13, see [0047]-[0049]+)
With regard to claim 7, Wieckhorst teaches that the method of claim 6, further comprising determining whether the attachment comprises a mounted attachment attached to the at least one power lifter or a trailed attachment; and wherein determining the axle loads and the axle load ratio is dependent on whether the attachment comprises the mounted attachment attached to the at least one power lifter or the trailed attachment (sensor apparatus 19 assigned for the attachment 2, see [0049]+).
With regard to claim 8, Wieckhorst teaches that the method of claim 7, wherein, responsive to determining that the attachment is the trailed attachment or the mounted attachment for soil cultivation, determining the axle loads and the axle load ratio by: in a first step, determining tool forces exerted on tools of the attachment via tractive power and current travel speed, wherein, responsive to determining that there is the mounted attachment, in the first step, a coupling torque from the attachment acting on the agricultural production machine and a vertical coupling force are also determined using attachment geometry and a moment equilibrium around at least one weight-supporting device of the attachment is determined; and in a second step when there is the trailed attachment or the mounted attachment, a vertical axle load acting on a rear axle is determined (see [0107]-[0108]+).
With regard to claim 9, Wieckhorst teaches that the method of claim 1, further comprising determining working depth of tools of the attachment based on position of the at least one power lifter; wherein the position of the at least one power lifter is determined by one or both of measurement or calculation; and wherein the working depth of the tools of the attachment are used to automatically generate the one or more instructions for actuating the at least one power lifter (see [0021] & [0035]+).
With regard to claim 10, Wieckhorst teaches that the method of claim 9, wherein determining the working depth of the tools of the attachment is based on sensor data of at least one working depth sensor on the attachment (sensor apparatus 19, see [0065]+).
With regard to claim 11, Wieckhorst teaches that the method of claim 1, further comprising determining slip determination based on vehicle speed of the agricultural production machine and a tire circumferential speed; and wherein the slip determination is used to automatically generate the one or more instructions for actuating the at least one power lifter (the slip between the wheels designed as soul engaged, the motor rotational speed, the driving speed, and etc., see [0102]+).
With regard to claim 12, Wieckhorst teaches that the method of claim 1, wherein a driver assistance system of the agricultural production machine automatically determines an optimum position for actuating the power lifter while simultaneously taking into account the plurality of mutually influencing optimization target variables (see [0044]-0045]+).
With regard to claim 13, Wieckhorst teaches that the method of claim 12, wherein the driver assistance system further automatically generates one or more instructions for automatically actuating one or more actuators of the attachment while simultaneously taking into account the plurality of mutually influencing optimization target variables (actuators 7, see [0044]-[0045]+).
With regard to claim 14, Wieckhorst teaches that the method of claim 13, wherein the one or more actuators of the attachment comprise one or both of at least one actuator of the at least one weight-supporting device or at least one actuator for adjusting working depth of tools of the attachment; and wherein the driver assistance system automatically generates the one or more instructions in order to control the one or both of the at least one actuator of the at least one weight-supporting device or the at least one actuator for adjusting the working depth of the tools of the attachment (see [0057]-[0060]+).
With regard to claim 15, Wieckhorst teaches that the method of claim 14, wherein the driver assistance system automatically generates the one or more instructions in order to perform a simultaneous height adjustment of the at least one power lifter and of the at least one weight-supporting device (see [0110]+).
With regard to claim 16, Wieckhorst discloses agricultural work system comprises: an agricultural production machine having at least two axles, at least one power lifter, at least one sensor assembly, and a driver assistance system; an attachment configured to connect to the agricultural production machine using the at least one power lifter, wherein the agricultural work system is configured to perform an agricultural work process (see Fig. 1 shown a tractor 1 comprises axles VA & HA, power lifter 4, sensor apparatus 18, 19, a driver assistance system 3, and an attachment 2);
wherein the driver assistance system comprises at least one processor, at least one memory, and an operating and display unit, wherein the driver assistance system is configured to:
automatically accessing information generated by the at least one sensor assembly, external information, and information stored in the at least one memory (receiving internal and external information which are saved in the memory, see [0042];
automatically determining, based on the information generated by the at least one sensor assembly, at least one axle load on at least one of the axles (the axles are assigned at least one sensor 19 which generat3es sensor data, see [0048]);
automatically determining an axle load ratio currently on the at least two axles, (the axle loads are sensed and calculated to form data, see [0103]+);
automatically generating, using one or ore of the actual data records, one or more instructions for actuating the at least one power lifter while simultaneously taking into account a plurality of mutually influencing optimization target variables (the n- dimensional characteristic map 54 is generated for the tractor to perform works, see [0066]-[0067]+); and
automatically controlling, using the one or more instructions, the at least one power lifter (the assistance system autonomously ascertain parameters for implementing the chosen regulation strategies and optimization target variables and to specify them to the control device of the tractor that influence the working parameter to be adjusted. The automatic lifting mechanism and its actuator for adjusting the upper link and lower link, see [0025]+ or the knowledge of the characteristic map allowed the automatic lifting mechanism 32 to automatically adjust the lifting, see [0070]+).
Wieckhorst fails to teach determining the axle load ratio based on the actual data records.
Scarlett discloses an agricultural tractor comprises a control apparatus which determines the vehicle’s axles loads ratio based on the actual data (see col 16, lines 40-67+).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA), before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include determining the vehicle’s axles loads ratio based on the actual data as taught by Scarlett for accuracy performance.
With regard to claim 17, Wieckhorst teaches that the agricultural work system of claim 16, wherein the attachment comprises a soil cultivation device; wherein the driver assistance system is configured to cyclically determine slip determination time-linked to execution of the agricultural work process, working depth of tools of the soil cultivation device, and inner tire pressure of tires of the agricultural production machine are used to determine dynamically changing actual data records; andwherein the driver assistance system is configured to use the slip determination time- linked to execution of the agricultural work process, the working depth of tools of the soil cultivation device, and the inner tire pressure of tires of the agricultural production machine to automatically generate the one or more instructions for actuating the at least one power lifter (changing the lifting mechanism adjustment parameter 34 which effects on the placement of the tractive force based on the lifting mechanism position, working depth of the attachment, and etc., see [0071]-[0085]+).
With regard to claim 18, Wieckhorst teaches that the agricultural work system of claim 16, wherein a driver assistance system of the agricultural production machine is configured to: automatically determine an optimum position for actuating the power lifter while simultaneously taking into account the plurality of mutually influencing optimization target variables; and automatically generate one or more instructions for automatically actuating one or more actuators of the attachment while simultaneously taking into account the plurality of mutually influencing optimization target variables (see [0044]-[0045]+).
With regard to claim 19, Wieckhorst teaches that the agricultural work system of claim 18, wherein the one or more actuators of the attachment comprise one or both of at least one actuator of the at least one weight-supporting device or at least one actuator for adjusting working depth of tools of the attachment; and
wherein the driver assistance system is configured to automatically generate the one or more instructions in order to control the one or both of the at least one actuator of the at least one weight-supporting device or the at least one actuator for adjusting the working depth of the tools of the attachment (actuator 7, see [0044]-[0050]+ & [0057]-[060]+).
With regard to claim 20, Wieckhorst teaches that the agricultural work system of claim 19, wherein the driver assistance system is configured to automatically generate the one or more instructions in order to perform a simultaneous height adjustment of the at least one power lifter and of the at least one weight- supporting device (see [0110]+).
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wieckhorst and Scarlett as applied to claim 3 above, and further in view of Schott (20180290696).
Regarding claim 4, Wieckhorst teaches accessing target records comprises accessing a target axle load ratio, a target load of at least one weight-supporting device on the attachment, a target working depth, a target slip limit value and a maximum axle load dependent on target internal tire pressure are determined as optimization target variables, (optimization target variables saved in the memory unit 26, see [0023] & [0061]-[0065]+);
Wieckhorst and Scarlett fail to teach “wherein determining deviations comprises determining deviations between: an axle load ratio and the target axle load ratio; a load of the at least one weight-supporting device on the attachment and the target load of the at least one weight-supporting device on the attachment; a working depth and the target working depth; a slip limit and the target slip limit value; and axle load and the maximum axle load; and wherein automatically generating the one or more instructions is based on the deviations of: the axle load ratio and the target axle load ratio; the load of the at least one weight-supporting device on the attachment and the target load of the at least one weight- supporting device on the attachment; the working depth and the target working depth; the slip limit and the target slip limit value; and the axle load and the maximum axle load”.
Schott discloses an agricultural tractor comprises a control unit 14 which determines deviations comprises determining deviations between: an axle load ratio and the target axle load ratio; a load of the at least one weight-supporting device on the attachment and the target load of the at least one weight-supporting device on the attachment; a working depth and the target working depth; a slip limit and the target slip limit value; and axle load and the maximum axle load (see [0024]+); and automatically generating the one or more instructions is based on the deviations of: the axle load ratio and the target axle load ratio; the load of the at least one weight-supporting device on the attachment and the target load of the at least one weight- supporting device on the attachment; the working depth and the target working depth; the slip limit and the target slip limit value; and the axle load and the maximum axle load (see [0025]+).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA), before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include determining the vehicle’s axles loads ratio based on the actual data as taught by Scarlett, and further the teaches of Schott above for balancing the tractor while performing works.
Conclusion
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NGA X. NGUYEN
Examiner
Art Unit 3662
/NGA X NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3662
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