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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5, 6, 8-11, 13, 14 and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Drennan (US 2,318,205 A) in view of Jagow (US 2009/0158981 A1).
CLAIM 1 Drennan ‘205 (“Drennan”) shows a row unit for an agricultural seeding implement, comprising:
a linkage assembly, comprising:
a head bracket (116, 117) configured to couple the row unit to a toolbar (124);
a top link (101) pivotally coupled to the head bracket (116, 117) and to a frame member (76 and 77); and
a bottom link (102) pivotally coupled to the head bracket (116, 117) and to the frame member (76 and 77);
a first opener assembly (202) pivotally coupled to one of the top link (via 278) or the bottom link (via 279) via a pivot joint positioned forward of the frame member (76 and 77) with respect to a direction of travel of the row unit;
a pivot control assembly (285, 286) configured to control rotation of the first opener assembly about the pivot joint;
a second opener assembly (70) coupled to the frame member (76 and 77); and
a packer wheel assembly (80, 81, 82, 83) movably coupled to the frame member (76 and 77).
Drennan fails to teach a body, as claimed, and the packer wheel assembly having the functionality to control the penetration depth. Jagow et al. ’981 (“Jagow”) shows a row unit comprising:
a linkage assembly that includes a head bracket (Fig. 3, beneath frame bar 5), a body (11), a top link (3, top) and a bottom link (bottom, 3); and
a packer wheel assembly (21 and 31) movably coupled to the body (11)([0036]), wherein the packer wheel assembly is configured to control a penetration depth of an opener assembly (via 39, 41, [0047]).
It would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have substituted a body (Jagow, 11) for the frame member (Drennan, 76, 77). The motivation would have been to provide simpler means for adjusting the first and second opener assemblies and the packer wheel, and to have done so with a reasonable expectation of success.
CLAIM 2 In the combination of Drennan and Jagow, the row unit comprises a downforce actuator (Drennan, 134) configured to urge the first opener assembly (Drennan, 202) and the second opener assembly (Drennan, 70) into soil.
CLAIM 3 In the combination of Drennan and Jagow, the downforce actuator (Drennan, 134) is pivotally coupled to the head bracket (Drennan, 117) and to the first opener assembly (Drennan, 202)(Fig. 2).
CLAIM 5 In the combination of Drennan and Jagow, Jagow discloses an opener non-pivotally coupled to the body (Jagow, 11)([0035], Fig. 3). It would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have coupled the second opener assembly (Drennan, 70) to the body (Jagow, 11) in a non-pivotal manner. The motivation for making the modification would have been to facilitate seeding at a consistent depth relative to the first opener assembly, and to have done so with reasonable expectation of success.
CLAIM 6 In the combination of Drennan and Jagow, the row unit further comprises a depth adjustment assembly (Jagow, 26, 27), wherein the packer wheel assembly (Drennan, 80, 81, 82, 83) is pivotally coupled to the body (Jagow, 11), and the depth adjustment assembly is configured to control an angle of the packer wheel assembly relative to the body.
CLAIM 8 In the combination of Drennan and Jagow, the first opener assembly (Drennan, 202) is pivotally coupled to the bottom link (Drennan, 102) via the pivot joint (Drennan, Fig. 1).
CLAIM 9 The limitations recited therein are taught by the combination of Drennan and Jagow, as applied above to claim 1. Additionally, the prior art combination teaches:
a first tube (Drennan, 266) coupled to the first opener knife, the first opener shank (267), or a combination thereof; and
a second tube (Drennan, 72) coupled to the second opener knife.
CLAIM 10 The limitations recited therein are taught by the combination of Drennan and Jagow, as applied above to claim 2.
CLAIM 11 The limitations recited therein are taught by the combination of Drennan and Jagow, as applied above to claim 3. Specifically, the downforce actuator (Drennan, 134) is coupled indirectly to the first opener shank (Drennan, Fig. 1).
CLAIM 13 The limitations recited therein are taught by the combination of Drennan and Jagow, as applied above to claim 5.
CLAIM 14 The limitations recited therein are taught by the combination of Drennan and Jagow, as applied above to claim 6.
CLAIM 16 In the prior art combination of Drennan and Jagow, the top link (Drennan, 101) comprises a plurality of link members, the bottom link comprises a plurality of link members, or a combination thereof (Drennan, Figs. 8, 10).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 7, 12 and 15 are 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.
Claims 17-20 are allowed.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Oehler (US 2,582,503 A) shows a row unit comprising a fertilizer assembly (127) and a seeding assembly (129).
Smith (US 3,348,505 A) shows a row unit comprising a fertilizer assembly and a seeding assembly (Fig. 1).
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/TARA MAYO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3671
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02 February 2026