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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the straight and inclined orientations of the blades relative to the radial geometrical axis, as per claim 8, must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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) 5-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Boll et al. EP 1040746 A1.
Independent Claim 5: Boll discloses an agricultural crop harvesting unit platform roll (2, 3) comprising a fin, knife or blade (18), the fin, knife or blade projecting radially along a longitudinal plane of the platform roll (as seen between Figs. 1 and 4),
Wherein the fin, knife or blade is formed from a raw metal plate (see lns. 3-4 of page 3 of the attached NPL document) and comprises a plurality of toothed indentations (see Fig. 6), wherein the raw metal plate is configured to conform and affix the fin, knife or blade to the roll (as seen in Fig. 2), and
wherein the roll is configured to rotate synchronously with another roll (the other of 2, 3, as seen in Fig. 1) such that a plant between the two rolls is pulled from top to bottom (see the rotation arrows in Fig. 1), as per claim 5.
Dependent Claims 6-7: Boll further discloses wherein the fin, knife or blade (18) is permanently affixed to the roll (see Fig. 3 and page 4, lines 15-16), as per claim 6;
wherein the fin, knife or blade (18) is thermally treated to increase surface hardness (see the final two lines of page 4 through lines 2 of page 5), as per claim 7.
Independent Claim 8: Boll discloses an agricultural crop harvesting unit platform rotor (2, 3) comprising an elongated circular section (14),
wherein the elongated circular section comprises a plurality of knives or blades (18) which project radially along a geometrical axis of the elongated circular section (seen between Figs. 1 and 4),
wherein the plurality of knives or blades alternate between being straight and being inclined relative to the radial geometrical axis (as seen in Fig. 6, see also lines 3-4 of page 5) of the elongated circular section, and
wherein the inclined plurality of knives or blades have cutting edges (see the final 7 lines of page 4 through lines 2 of page 5), as per claim 8.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claim(s) 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.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Alicia M. Torres whose telephone number is 571-272-6997. The examiner’s fax number is 571-273-6997. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m EST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joseph M. Rocca, can be reached at (571) 272-8971.
Any inquiry of a general nature or relating to the status of this application or proceeding should be directed to the group receptionist whose telephone number is 571-272-3600. The fax number for this Group is 571-273-8300.
/Alicia Torres/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3671 July 15, 2026
Prosecution Insights