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 1-18 are pending in the current application. All claims are eligible for examination. Applicant’s claim to foreign priority is accepted.
Claim Objections
Claims 6-8 are objected to because of the following informalities: in the first line of claim 6, “to or be” should probably have the “or” deleted; in the first line of claim 7, “are be” should like just be “are”; please add “the” before “threshold” in the first line of claim 8. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-3, 5-9, and 16-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hunt et al. (US 2020/0359562 hereinafter Hunt) in view of Urklinski et al. (US 2022/0335596 hereinafter Urklinski).
With respect to claim 1, Hunt discloses a system for monitoring the operation of an implement associated with an agricultural machine (in the abstract, Hunt discloses monitoring the header of a combine harvester to identify fault conditions), the system comprising:
one or more controllers (in paragraph 21, Hunt discloses a control system 220 that includes a controller) configured to:
receive sensor data from sensors (in paragraph 21, Hunt discloses that reading from sensors 210 and 212 are computed by control system 220, which anticipates receiving data);
determine, from the sensor data received, a location of one or more operational elements of the implement within the sensed region (in paragraphs 19-21, Hunt discloses that sensors 210 and 212 provide data about the agricultural header – the sensed data relates to different parts of the header – either its middle section 202 or one of the wings 204 or 206, which anticipates determining a location of the one or more operational elements);
determine, from the sensor data received from the sensors and in dependence on the respective location of the one or more operational elements, a characteristic associated with each of the one or more operational elements (in paragraphs 18-20, Hunt discloses that the sensors sense elevation and angle with respect to the portions of the header 202, 204, and 206); and
output one or more control signals for controlling operation of one or more systems of the agricultural machine in dependence on a determined characteristic (in figure 5 and the associated paragraphs 38-41, Hunt discloses that the system will change to a failsafe mode when a fault is detected in connection with one or more of the sensors – see element 504 and paragraph 40 in particular; the change to a failsafe mode anticipates outputting control signals).
Hunt does not disclose:
an imaging sensor having an imaging region at least partly covering the implement;
a thermal sensor having a sensing region which at least partly coincides with the imaging region of the imaging sensor; and
one or more controllers configured to:
receive sensor data from the imaging sensor and the thermal sensor;
determine, from the sensor data received from the imaging sensor, a location of one or more operational elements of the implement within the imaging region;
determine, from the sensor data received from the thermal sensor and in dependence on the respective location of the one or more operational elements, a thermal characteristic associated with each of the one or more operational elements; and
output one or more control signals for controlling operation of one or more systems of the agricultural machine in dependence on the determined thermal characteristic.
However, Urklinski discloses a system for problem detection comprising:
an imaging sensor having an imaging region at least partly covering the implement (in paragraph 27, Urklinski discloses a visible spectrum camera, which reads on an imaging sensor; Urlkinski’s system is meant to inspect locations which reads on the imaging sensor covering whatever is in the location – that something reads on an implement; in figure 600, Urklinski discloses the locations like windows or floors can be inspected, either of which correspond to an implement for Urklinski);
a thermal sensor having a sensing region which at least partly coincides with the imaging region of the imaging sensor (in paragraph 27, Urklinski discloses an infrared camera on the same device that houses the visible spectrum camera); and
one or more controllers (in paragraph 40, Urklinski discloses a processing component 320 which reads on a controller) configured to:
receive sensor data from the imaging sensor and the thermal sensor (in paragraph 27, Urklinski discloses that data from both the visible spectrum and the infrared spectrum can be captured);
determine, from the sensor data received from the imaging sensor, a location of one or more operational elements of the implement within the imaging region (in paragraph 39, Urklinski discloses aligning the infrared and visible spectrum images for problem detection);
determine, from the sensor data received from the thermal sensor and in dependence on the respective location of the one or more operational elements, a thermal characteristic associated with each of the one or more operational elements (in paragraph 39, Urklinski discloses an overlay of an infrared image and a visual spectrum image; the overlay renders obvious associating the infrared or thermal image with a physical feature – for Urklinski, this would be something like a defect in a specific location of a floor or air leakage from a specific location around a window – a determined thermal characteristic could be that a section of the floor is too hot or cold); and
output one or more control signals in dependence on the determined thermal characteristic (in figure 3, Urklinski discloses communications components 334 and display component 330, either of which renders obvious outputting control signals in dependence on the determined thermal characteristic).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the instant invention to substitute the problem detection system of Urklinski for the fault detection system of Hunt because the substituted components and their functions were known in the art. The predictable result of the substitution would be a fault detection system that occupies little space and provides clear depictions of the fault for an operator (see MPEP 2143(I)(B)). Note that Hunt provides a non-exhaustive list of potential sensor options in paragraphs 19 and 20. As such, it is appropriate to substitute a different set of sensors for those explicitly disclosed by Hunt.
With respect to claim 2, Hunt in view of Urklinski discloses the limitations of claim 1. Hunt in view of Urklinski further discloses the imaging sensor comprises a camera mounted or otherwise coupled to the front of the agricultural machine; and the thermal sensor comprises an infrared camera mounted or otherwise coupled to the front of the agricultural machine (in figure 2, Hunt discloses that the sensors 210 and 220 are part of the header, which is coupled to the front of the agricultural machine; as such, the sensors – visible spectrum and infrared due to the modification by Urklinski – are coupled to the front of the agricultural machine, albeit indirectly).
With respect to claim 3, Hunt in view of Urklinski discloses the limitations of claim 1. Hunt in view of Urklinski further discloses the thermal characteristic comprises a temperature (in paragraph 62, Hunt discloses that the system is assessing temperature).
With respect to claim 5, Hunt in view of Urklinski discloses the limitations of claim 1. Hunt in view of Urklinski further discloses the one or more systems of the agricultural machine controllable include a user interface, which provides information of the determined thermal characteristic (in figure 9, Urklinski discloses an user interface that provides information on the determined thermal characteristic).
With respect to claim 6, Hunt in view of Urklinski discloses the limitations of claim 5. Hunt in view of Urklinski further discloses the user interface is operable to be instructed by the one or more controllers to display or otherwise indicate an error state when the determined thermal characteristic differs from an expected level (in paragraph 62, Urklinski discloses an alert being included on the device – an example is shown as a warning sign in figure 9).
With respect to claim 7, Hunt in view of Urklinski discloses the limitations of claim 6. Hunt in view of Urklinski further discloses the one or more controllers are configured to compare the determined thermal characteristic with a threshold and control the user interface in dependence on said comparison (in paragraph 58, Urklinksi discloses using thresholds to identify problems; problems are identified on the user interface, as shown in Urklinski’s ninth figure).
With respect to claim 8, Hunt in view of Urklinski discloses the limitations of claim 7. Hunt in view of Urklinski further discloses the threshold is predetermined; or wherein the threshold comprises an average value of the thermal characteristic for a particular operational element in an operational mode (in paragraph 58, Urklinski discloses the threshold is a predetermined amount and gives 15 degrees as an example).
With respect to claim 9, Hunt in view of Urklinski discloses the limitations of claim 1. Hunt in view of Urklinski further discloses the one or more controllers are operable to control one or more operating parameters of the agricultural machine in dependence on the determined thermal characteristic (in figure 5 and the associated paragraphs 38-41, Hunt discloses that the system will change to a failsafe mode when a fault is detected in connection with one or more of the sensors – see element 504 and paragraph 40 in particular; the change to a failsafe mode anticipates outputting control signals).
With respect to claim 16, Hunt in view of Urklinski discloses the limitations of claim 1. Claim 16 is directed to the controllers of claim 1 and is thus rendered obvious by the same combination of Hunt in view of Urklinski.
With respect to claim 17, Hunt in view of Urklinski discloses the limitations of claim 1. Hunt in view of Urklinski further discloses an agricultural machine (in figure 1, Hunt discloses an agricultural machine 120).
With respect to claim 18, Hunt in view of Urklinski discloses the limitations of claim 1. Claim 18 is directed to a method for performing the actions of the system of claim 1 and is thus rendered obvious by the same combination of Hunt in view of Urklinski.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hunt in view of Urklinski as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Harvill et al. (US 2014/0193068 hereinafter Harvill).
With respect to claim 4, Hunt in view of Urklinski discloses the limitations of claim 1. Hunt in view of Urklinski does not disclose the one or more controllers are configured to determine an alignment of the imaging sensor and the thermal sensor through use of one or more markers visible to both sensors.
However Harvill discloses the one or more controllers are configured to determine an alignment of the imaging sensor and the thermal sensor through use of one or more markers visible to both sensors (in paragraph 83, Harvill discloses markers used to align infrared and visible light images).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the instant invention to use markers as taught by Harvill to align the infrared and visible spectrum images of Hunt in view of Urklinski with the motivation to “ensure that the markers are at the same location in both of the images after alignment” (Harvill, paragraph 83).
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hunt in view of Urklinski as applied to claim 9 above, and further in view of Desmarais (US 2023/0349793).
With respect to claim 10, Hunt in view of Urklinski discloses the limitations of claim 9. Hunt in view of Urklinski does not disclose the one or more operating parameters comprises a forward speed of the agricultural machine.
However Desmarais discloses the one or more operating parameters comprises a forward speed of the agricultural machine (in paragraph 78, Desmarais discloses controlling the speed of an agricultural vehicle based on detected temperatures).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the instant invention for the controller of Hunt in view of Urklinski to control speed as taught by Desmarais to with the motivation to “help prevent rapid wear” (Desmarais, paragraph 78).
Claims 11-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hunt in view of Urklinski as applied to claim 9 above, and further in view of Cross et al. (CA 2245731 hereinafter Cross).
With respect to claim 11, Hunt in view of Urklinski discloses the limitations of claim 9. Hunt in view of Urklinski does not disclose the one or more operating parameters include an operating setting of one or more sub-assemblies of the agricultural machine, including an operating speed of the implement.
However Cross discloses the one or more operating parameters include an operating setting of one or more sub-assemblies of the agricultural machine, including an operating speed of the implement (in figure 6 and lines 31-32 of page 15, Cross discloses turning off an header/feeder of a combine harvester in response to an indicator that the engine is overheating; the operating parameter here is whether the header/feeder is operating, the header/feeder is the implement, and when it is turned off the header/feeder’s speed has become zero; note that in lines 22-23 of page 4, Cross has discloses a rotating reel 160 as part of the header).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the instant invention for the controller of Hunt in view of Urklinski to control an implement of the combine harvester such as the header/feeder and its reel as taught by Cross to with the motivation to “prevent overheating of the engine” (Cross, line 32 of page 15).
With respect to claim 12, Hunt in view of Urklinski and Cross discloses the limitations of claim 11. Hunt in view of Urklinski and Cross further discloses the implement comprises a header for a harvesting machine, and the one or more controllers are operable to control a reel speed of the header (in figure 6 and lines 31-32 of page 15, Cross discloses turning off an header/feeder of a combine harvester; in lines 22-23 of page 4, Cross has discloses a rotating reel 160 as part of the header).
With respect to claim 13, Hunt in view of Urklinski discloses the limitations of claim 1. Hunt in view of Urklinski does not disclose the one or more controllers are configured to control output of one or more indicators of suggested operating parameter settings to change the determined thermal characteristic.
However Cross discloses the one or more controllers are configured to control output of one or more indicators of suggested operating parameter settings to change the determined thermal characteristic (in figure 6, Cross discloses several warnings including a lamp – step 23 - and an alarm - step 29 – that relate to an engine of a combine harvester overheating; the alarm and lamp read on indicators of suggested operating parameter settings; an operator can change the operation of the combine harvester, which reads on changing the determined thermal characteristic).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the instant invention for the controller of Hunt in view of Urklinski to provide a range of warnings as taught by Cross to with the motivation to “prevent overheating of the engine” (Cross, line 32 of page 15).
Claims 14-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hunt in view of Urklinski as applied to claim 9 above, and further in view of Du et al. (US 2022/0000023 hereinafter Du).
With respect to claim 14, Hunt in view of Urklinski discloses the limitations of claim 1. Hunt in view of Urklinski does not disclose one or more motion sensors; and wherein the one or more controllers are configured to: receive sensor data from the one or more motion sensors; and determine therefrom a motion parameter associated with the implement and/or one or more operating elements thereof.
However, Du discloses one or more motion sensors; and wherein the one or more controllers are configured to: receive sensor data from the one or more motion sensors; and determine therefrom a motion parameter associated with the implement and/or one or more operating elements thereof (in the abstract, Du discloses a rotating speed sensor that monitors the rotational speed of a combine harvester’s reel; the speed sensor reads on a motion sensor; a controller is disclosed in the abstract of Du; that controller receives the speed data from the speed sensor and is taught to adjust the speed of the reel).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the instant invention for the controller of Hunt in view of Urklinski to receive data from motion sensor of the reel and use it to automatically control the reel speed as taught by Du to with the motivation to “improve the operation efficiency and quality while ensuring the crop feed quantity” (Du, abstract).
With respect to claim 15, Hunt in view of Urklinski and Du discloses the limitations of claim 14. Hunt in view of Urklinski and Du further discloses the motion parameter comprises a measure of a frequency and/or amplitude of a vibration associated with the implement and/or one or more operating elements thereof; and/or or a measure of a rotational frequency or acceleration of one or more moveable operating elements of the implement (in the abstract, Du discloses measuring the rotational speed of an reel; the reel reads on a moveable operating element of the implement where the header is the implement; the speed of a reel is based on its revolutions, which reads on rotational frequency; because this claim is written in the alternative, the limitations of the claim are met, even though Du does not disclose monitoring vibrations).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Sokol et al. (US 4376298) discloses a combine harvester control system that monitors various temperatures, rotational speeds, and other variables – see lines 53-66 of column 4. Vian et al. (US 2010/0235037) discloses using infrared inspection to identify overheated components of a large vehicle, although the vehicle is an airplane, not a combine harvester, as disclosed in paragraph 123. Lamprecht (US 2022/0117158) discloses temperature sensors associated with different parts of a combine harvester meant to monitor the state of the combine in paragraph 38. Martin et al. (US 2021/0185880) discloses using infrared sensors and optical sensors to monitor the distance between an header and the field in paragraph 29.
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/DOUGLAS J MEISLAHN/Examiner, Art Unit 3671
/JOSEPH M ROCCA/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3671