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 § 102
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.
Claim(s) 1 and 13-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yunghanns (WO2016015088).
Regarding claims 1 and 14, Yunghanns discloses apparatus for conditioning soil by performing deep soil amendment, the apparatus comprising:
a shank (55) having a leading bow shaped edge operable to be dragged forward through the soil by a tractor (10) (pgph 0009);
lateral blades coupled to the shank; and
lateral walls (57) coupled to the lateral blades forming an open shoe/rigid hollow structure that extends a depth down below a surface of the soil,
a frame coupled to a tractor and disposed above and removably coupled to the shank, blades and shoe/hollow structure (Figure 6)
wherein the open shoe is operable to receive amendment and create a wake in the soil by the tractor, and wherein the wake substantially mixes the amendment with soil down to the depth (Figure 6, pgph 0063; pgph 0010 Yunghanns discloses natural collapse of channel which inherently results in mixing)
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[AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Lateral blades)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (shank)][AltContent: textbox (Lateral walls)]
Regarding claim 13, Yunghanns discloses that the amendment can be compost. (pgph 0049)
Claim(s) 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bauer (5,271,567).
Regarding claim 19, Bauer discloses an apparatus for deep soil amendment for treating two substantially parallel rows at the same time using injectors pulled by a tractor (10), the apparatus comprising:
A frame coupled to a tractor and to first and second injectors (26), wherein the first and second injectors (26) comprise open chutes (30) and are operable to create moving voids in the soil when pulled through the soil by the tractor
An amendment storage (12)
A first conveyor (18) that transports amendment from the amendment storage to a second conveyor (32) and a third conveyor (32), wherein the second conveyor and the third conveyor transport the amendment in substantially opposite directions (see Figures 2-3)
The second conveyor and the third conveyor operable to provide the amendment to the first and second injectors, respectively, wherein falls to the open chutes of the injectors and moving voids, and wherein first and second injectors company a week behind injectors that substantially mixes the amendment with the soil points collapse (column 10 lines 1-4)
Regarding claim 20, the amendment storage (12) comprises a trailer connected to the frame and pulled by the tractor (Figure 1).
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) 2-5 and 15-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yunghanns (WO2016015088) in view of Official Notice.
Regarding claims 2-5 and 15-16, Yunghanns discloses the invention as described above including a frame for connecting the shank to a tractor. Yunghanns fails to specifically disclose that the frame, shank and blades are made of steel or include carbide wear plates on the outer surfaces of the blades. The examiner takes official notice that utilizing steel and utilizing wear plates on earthworking and planting implements is old and well known and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to utilize a steel frame and wear plates in Yunghanns. Further, It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize a steel frame, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416. It is also common knowledge to choose a material that has sufficient strength, durability, flexibility, hardness, etc. for the application and intended use of that material.
Further, regarding claim 3, Yunghanns discloses the invention as described above including a shank that appears to be about 3 inches wide. It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to utilize a 3 inch wide shank, since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the size of a component. A change in size is generally recognized as being within the level or ordinary skill in the art. In re Rose, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955).
Claim(s) 6-7 and 17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yunghanns (WO2016015088) in view of Collin Jr. et al. (3,815,683).
Regarding claims 6-7 and 17-18, Yunghanns discloses the invention as described above including a running depth of 70 cm (27.5”) but fails to specifically disclose a running depth of 48 inches or an injection depth of 36 inches. Yunghanns does disclose, however, that the depths can/should be altered based on soil characteristics and depth of the clay subsoil (pgphs 0033-0036). Like Yunghanns, Collin, Jr. et al. also discloses a subsoil implement poultry the ground. Unlike Yunghanns, Collin, Jr. et al. discloses that depths up to 7 feet can be reached with the river as long as equipment of adequate strength and power is utilized (column 1 lines 9-22). It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize equipment of adequate strength and power in Yunghanns as taught by Collin to achieve the claimed that’s when soil characteristics require it 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)).
Claim(s) 8-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yunghanns (WO 2016/015088) as applied to claim 1 above and further in view of Sauer (4,116,139).
Regarding claim 8, Yunghanns discloses the invention as described above, but fails to disclose a conveyor to transport the amendment behind the injector, wherein the first conveyor is disposed substantially below the injector. Like Yunghanns, Sauer also discloses an injector for a subsoiler for adding amendments to soil through a chute. Unlike Yunghanns, Sauer further discloses the use of a conveyor (38) to aid in directing material that exits the chute rearwardly (column 3 lines 21-33). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include a conveyor/deflector plate in Yunghanns as taught by Sauer to direct the material rearwardly and along the trench as it exits the chute as it would be combining prior art devices according to known methods to obtain predictable results (KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 USPQ2d 1385 (2007)).
Regarding claim 9, the combination discloses that the amendment is supplied from a trailer (42) connected to the tractor (Yunghanns – Figure 3).
Claim(s) 10-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yunghanns (WO 2016/015088) in view of Sauer (4,116,139) as applied to claim 8 above and further in view of Danford (3,865,056).
Regarding claims 10-11, the combination of Yunghanns and Sauer discloses the invention as described above, but fails to disclose a truck that moves parallel to the tractor to supply amendment from the truck to the tractor via a conveyor. Like the combination of Yunghanns and Sauer, Danford also discloses a tractor row unit for delivering amendment to soil. Unlike the combination, Danford further discloses a tender tanker (26) that travels parallel to the tractor and utilizes a conveyor (32) to allow the tractor to provide amendment to the soil for longer periods without running out (column 2 line 60 through column 3 line 3). 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 tender tanker and second conveyor in the combination of Yunghanns and Sauer as taught by Danford 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)).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 12 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Way et al. (7,721,662) also discloses a primary conveyor and two oppositely running conveyors for a row unit. Finn (2,949,871) also discloses a subsoil ripper with a conveyor device.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jamie L McGowan whose telephone number is (571)272-5064. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday 9:00-5:00 CST.
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/JAMIE L MCGOWAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3671