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 .
Status of Claims
This communication is in response to application No. 18/407,862 filed on January 09, 2025. Claims 1-34 are currently pending and have been examined. Claims 1-34 have been rejected as follows.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 02/05/2025, 05/22/2024, 04/12/2024 is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-34 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
101 Analysis – Step 1
. Claim 1, 7, 21 and 34 are directed to a method. Therefore, claims 1, 7, 21 and 34 are within at least one of the four statutory categories.
101 Analysis – Step 2A, Prong I
Regarding Prong I of the Step 2A analysis in the 2019 PEG, the claims are to be analyzed to determine whether they recite subject matter that falls within one of the follow groups of abstract ideas: a) mathematical concepts, b) certain methods of organizing human activity, and/or c) mental processes.
Independent claims 1, 7, 21 and 34 include limitations that recite an abstract idea (emphasized below) and claim 1 will be used as a representative claim for the remainder of the 101 rejection.
Claim 1 recites:
A method for evaluating farming equipment on a physically tangible agricultural field without requiring a user to actually operate the equipment on the physically tangible agricultural field, the method comprising:
providing field data representing actual geographic conditions for the physically tangible agricultural field on which a farming operation is to be performed;
providing specifications of existing farming equipment;
using the provided specifications and the provided field data to determine a first optimized path plan for the existing farming equipment on the physically tangible agricultural field;
retrieving specifications for at least one piece of other farming equipment from an equipment database;
using the retrieved specifications and the field data to determine a second optimized path plan for the at least one piece of other farming equipment on the physically tangible agricultural field;
calculating at least one of optimized path distance and optimized path travel time for the existing equipment on the first optimized path plan;
calculating at least one of optimized path distance and optimized path travel time for the at least one piece of other farming equipment; and
reporting results of a comparison between at least one of: the optimized path travel time for the existing equipment and the at least one piece of other farming equipment; and
the optimized path distance for the existing equipment and the at least one piece of other farming equipment.
The examiner submits that the foregoing bolded limitation(s) constitute a “mental process” because under its broadest reasonable interpretation, the claim covers performance of the limitation in the human mind. For example, “calculating...” in the context of this claim encompasses a person looking at data collected and forming a simple judgement. Accordingly, the claim recites at least one abstract idea.
101 Analysis – Step 2A, Prong II
Regarding Prong II of the Step 2A analysis in the 2019 PEG, the claims are to be analyzed to determine whether the claim, as a whole, integrates the abstract into a practical application. As noted in the 2019 PEG, it must be determined whether any additional elements in the claim beyond the abstract idea integrate the exception into a practical application in a manner that imposes a meaningful limit on the judicial exception. The courts have indicated that additional elements merely using a computer to implement an abstract idea, adding insignificant extra solution activity, or generally linking use of a judicial exception to a particular
technological environment or field of use do not integrate a judicial exception into a “practical application.”
In the present case, the additional limitations beyond the above-noted abstract idea are as follows (where the underlined portions are the “additional limitations” while the bolded portions continue to represent the “abstract idea”):
A method for evaluating farming equipment on a physically tangible agricultural field without requiring a user to actually operate the equipment on the physically tangible agricultural field, the method comprising:
providing field data representing actual geographic conditions for the physically tangible agricultural field on which a farming operation is to be performed;
providing specifications of existing farming equipment;
using the provided specifications and the provided field data to determine a first optimized path plan for the existing farming equipment on the physically tangible agricultural field;
retrieving specifications for at least one piece of other farming equipment from an equipment database;
using the retrieved specifications and the field data to determine a second optimized path plan for the at least one piece of other farming equipment on the physically tangible agricultural field;
calculating at least one of optimized path distance and optimized path travel time for the existing equipment on the first optimized path plan;
calculating at least one of optimized path distance and optimized path travel time for the at least one piece of other farming equipment; and
reporting results of a comparison between at least one of: the optimized path travel time for the existing equipment and the at least one piece of other farming equipment; and
the optimized path distance for the existing equipment and the at least one piece of other farming equipment.
For the following reason(s), the examiner submits that the above identified additional limitations do not integrate the above-noted abstract idea into a practical application.
Regarding the additional limitations of “receiving…” “reporting results…” the examiner submits that these limitations are insignificant extra-solution activities that merely use a computer to perform the process. In particular, the receiving steps from the sensors and from the external source are recited at a high level of generality and amounts to mere data gathering, which is a form of insignificant extra-solution activity. The reporting results step on the driver display console is also recited at a high level of generality and amounts to mere post solution displaying, which is a form of insignificant extra-solution activity.
Thus, taken alone, the additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application. Further, looking at the additional limitation(s) as an ordered combination or as a whole, the limitation(s) add nothing that is not already present when looking at the elements taken individually. For instance, there is no indication that the additional elements, when considered as a whole, reflect an improvement in the functioning of a computer or an improvement to another technology or technical field, apply or use the above-noted judicial exception to effect a particular treatment or prophylaxis for a disease or medical condition, implement/use the above-noted judicial exception with a particular machine or manufacture that is integral to the claim, effect a transformation or reduction of a particular article to a different state or thing, or apply or use the judicial exception in some other meaningful way beyond generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment, such that the claim as a whole is not more than a drafting effort designed to monopolize the exception (MPEP § 2106.05). Accordingly, the additional limitation(s) do/does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because it does not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea.
101 Analysis – Step 2B
Regarding Step 2B of the 2019 PEG, representative independent claim 1 does not include additional elements (considered both individually and as an ordered combination) that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception for the same reasons to those discussed above with respect to determining that the claim does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application. As discussed above, the additional limitations of “receiving…” “reporting results…” the examiner submits that these limitations are insignificant extra-solution activities.
Further, a conclusion that an additional element is insignificant extra-solution activity in Step 2A should be re-evaluated in Step 2B to determine if they are more than what is well-understood, routine, conventional activity in the field. The additional limitations of ““receiving…” “reporting results…” are well-understood, routine, and conventional activities.
Dependent claim(s) 2-6, 8-20, 22-33 do not recite any further limitations that cause the claim(s) to be patent eligible. Rather, the limitations of dependent claims are directed toward additional aspects of the judicial exception and/or well-understood, routine and conventional additional elements that do not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application. Therefore, dependent claims 2-6, 8-20, 22-33 are not patent eligible under the same rationale as provided for in the rejection of [independent claim].
Therefore, claim(s) 1-34 are ineligible under 35 USC §101.
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.
Claims 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C 103 as being unpatentable over Wolters (US 10368475 B2) in view of Foster (US 11672194 B2).
Regarding claim 1, Wolters 8475 teaches the method comprising:providing field data representing actual geographic conditions for the physically tangible agricultural field on which a farming operation is to be performed; (see at least [33]; "as it uses a particular field's unique geometric features as a starting focal point on which to base the optimization process, and to which specific physical parameters of the working machine and/or farm implements may be added.")
calculating at least one of optimized path distance and optimized path travel time for the existing equipment on the first optimized path plan; (see at least [24]; "These embodiments thus determine an optimal initial machine working direction(s) of travel by analyzing spatial field efficiency given the field specific information including field geography, and machine specific information, for use directly in the guidance/navigation of a working machine (e.g., farm tractor with tools or implements) for machine control.")
calculating at least one of optimized path distance and optimized path travel time for the at least one piece of other farming equipment; and (see at least [24]; "These embodiments thus determine an optimal initial machine working direction(s) of travel by analyzing spatial field efficiency given the field specific information including field geography, and machine specific information, for use directly in the guidance/navigation of a working machine (e.g., farm tractor with tools or implements) for machine control.")
reporting results of a comparison between at least one of: the optimized path travel time for the existing equipment and the at least one piece of other farming equipment; and (see at least [40]; "In particular embodiments, the inputs of effective machine working width 74, the number of headland passes 77, and the machine speed 75 are all used for simulation purposes of the path estimate.")
the optimized path distance for the existing equipment and the at least one piece of other farming equipment. (see at least [25]; " Particular embodiments use inputs such as field geography, including field boundary, its shape, size, and any interior obstacles, along with field specific information which may include the number of headland passes, the entrance and exit locations of the field, and also machine specific information such as the effective machine working width, machine speed, and machine description, to generate the travel path estimates. ")
Wolters 8475 does not explicitly disclose providing specifications of existing farming equipment; using the provided specifications and the provided field data to determine a first optimized path plan for the existing farming equipment on the physically tangible agricultural field; retrieving specifications for at least one piece of other farming equipment from an equipment database; using the retrieved specifications and the field data to determine a second optimized path plan for the at least one piece of other farming equipment on the physically tangible agricultural field;
However, Foster teaches providing specifications of existing farming equipment; (see at least [15]; "These equipment configuration code files may be default configuration code files, containing the dimensions (e.g., length, width, height, etc.) of the piece of equipment,") Foster
using the provided specifications and the provided field data to determine a first optimized path plan for the existing farming equipment on the physically tangible agricultural field; (see at least [17]; "The operator may then use the configuration code files via command and control system software to set up and control the one or more pieces of equipment 22, 26 during performance of an agricultural task on a field 28") Foster
retrieving specifications for at least one piece of other farming equipment from an equipment database; (see at least [17]; "The docking station 32 may then use a wired or wireless network connection at the barn 30, or a cellular network in order to access the library 12 and exchange (e.g., upload or download) configuration code files. This may be done using the command and control software, or a different software package. The docking station 32 may also enable the user to manage the configuration code files of the one or more pieces of equipment 22, 26.") Foster
using the retrieved specifications and the field data to determine a second optimized path plan for the at least one piece of other farming equipment on the physically tangible agricultural field; (see at least [17]; "The equipment configuration code file may include a mission plan or mission data for the next task, or the mission data may be added separately.") Foster
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate teachings of Foster which teaches providing specifications of farm equipment and using the provided specifications and field data to create an optimized path in order to be able to effectively plan for the most efficient harvesting based on the equipment.
Regarding claim 2, Wolters 8475 and Foster, in combination in combination, disclose limitations of claim 1 as discussed above, furthermore Wolters 8475 teaches The method of claim 1 wherein providing field data comprises providing field data representing at least a shape and size of the physically tangible agricultural filed. (see at least [0037]; " Particular embodiments use inputs such as field geography, including field boundary, its shape, size")
Regarding claim 4, Wolters 8475 and Foster, in combination in combination, disclose limitations of claim 1 as discussed above, furthermore Wolters 8475 does not explicitly teach The method of claim 1 wherein providing specifications of existing farming equipment comprises selecting at least some of the existing farming equipment from the equipment database.
However, Foster teaches The method of claim 1 wherein providing specifications of existing farming equipment comprises selecting at least some of the existing farming equipment from the equipment database. (see at least [20, 21]; "Each library may include a series of drop-down or nested options for a user to select. The various equipment libraries 102, 104, 106 may be organized by manufacturer, type of equipment, intended task, agricultural product, capability (horsepower, through-put, speed, etc.), model, trim level, compatibility with other pieces of equipment, etc. … In some embodiments, the libraries 12 available to a user 100 may include one or more “my fleet” libraries 108, in which a user may store configuration code files, standard or customized, for the pieces of equipment to which the user has access or owns. ") Foster
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate teachings of Foster which teaches providing specifications of farming equipment by selecting the equipment from a database in order to be able to select from different databases depending on the output desired - such as wanting to receive specifications on equipment on hand vs at the store.
Regarding claim 5, Wolters 8475 and Foster, in combination in combination, disclose limitations of claim 1 as discussed above, furthermore Wolters 8475 does not explicitly teach The method of claim 1 wherein retrieving specifications for at least one piece of other farming equipment further comprises retrieving specifications for at least some portion of the existing farming equipment.
However, Foster teaches The method of claim 1 wherein retrieving specifications for at least one piece of other farming equipment further comprises retrieving specifications for at least some portion of the existing farming equipment. (see at least [21]; "A user 100 may have multiple “my fleet” libraries 108. For example, if a user 100 is a large entity with multiple locations or a large number of pieces of equipment, the user 100 may find it easier to manage the equipment configuration code files for their equipment using multiple “my fleet” libraries 108. In such a case, the libraries 108 may be organized by agricultural location, equipment manufacturer, equipment type, or a combination thereof.") Foster
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate teachings of Foster which teaches providing specifications for farming equipment includes existing farming equipment in order to be able to provide an optimized path based on the equipment on hand.
Regarding claim 6, Wolters 8475 and Foster, in combination in combination, disclose limitations of claim 1 as discussed above, furthermore Wolters 8475 does not explicitly teach The method of claim 5 further comprising adjusting performance characteristics for the at least some portion of the existing farming equipment based on the retrieved specifications for the at least one piece of other farming equipment.
However, Foster teaches The method of claim 5 further comprising adjusting performance characteristics for the at least some portion of the existing farming equipment based on the retrieved specifications for the at least one piece of other farming equipment. (see at leasxt [49]; " FIG. 9 is a screenshot 600 from the command and control software showing information (which may be part of the equipment configuration code file 200) for a towed implement 24. For example, the displayed information includes the attachment type, the attachment method, row overlap, maximum speed, maximum engaged speed, maximum turn speed, minimum turn radius, working width, width, tongue length, length, and foredeck length.") Foster
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate teachings of Foster which teaches adjusting performance characteristics based on retrieved specifications in order to provide a comparison between the pieces of equipment to see what kind of performance they could provide.
Claims 7, 8, 9, 10 ,11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C 103 as being unpatentable over Wolters (US 10368475 B2) in view of Foster (US 11672194 B2) in further view of Marviyana (US 20210374161 A1).
Regarding claim 7, Wolters 8475 teaches A farming method for a physically tangible agricultural field, the method comprising: obtaining data representing at least a boundary of the physically tangible agricultural field; (see at least [10]; "The stored program is configured to capture a boundary and topographical features of the field,")
extracting line segments from boundary polygons of the obtained data; (see at least [38]; " In particular embodiments, the plurality of splayed options for initial working directions of travel include a series of straight lines superimposed onto polygon 52,")
Wotlers does not explicitly teach computing headings for the extracted line segments; clustering the line segments into a plurality of clusters based on the computed headings; ranking the plurality of clusters based on total length of line segments contained in each cluster; and reporting a heading for farming equipment to use to perform a farming operation, the heading associated with a line of best fit for a cluster having a largest total length of line segments.
However, Wolter 8363 teaches computing headings for the extracted line segments; (see at least Figure 11] Wolter 8363 depicts headings for groups of line segments.
clustering the line segments into a plurality of clusters based on the computed headings; (see at least [47]; " The data can then be aggregated and summarized in the geospatial data event creation algorithm 603 in order for the data events 305 of every field boundary 401 and/or location 402 to be created.") Wolter 6323 describes managing the boundary data, to include clustering the line segments into clusters based on the headings.
reporting a heading for farming equipment to use to perform a farming operation, (see at least [12]; "FIG. 11 is an example of the planned chronological list of equipment operation events for a field boundary.") Wolter 6323 depicts headings for faming equipment used to perform a farming operation.
the heading associated with a line of best fit for a cluster having a largest total length of line segments. (see at least [25]; "The algorithm is then able to aggregate and summarize the classified and assigned data in order to create summarized agricultural geospatial data events for each of the three classifications and for all known geospatial geometries….In this way field boundaries and/or significant locations associated with the farm may be evaluated. A temporal analysis may then be completed within the algorithm to aggregate the classified agricultural geospatial data and summarize the results in order for the generation of summarized geospatial data events.") Wolter 6323 outlines a heading associated with certain classifications used to cluster the data together, which could be used to identify the largest total length of line segments.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate the teachings of Wolters 8363 which teaches computing headings for clustered data and based on their features on order to categorize the clusters and determine how to most effectively harvest based on their boundary.
Wolter 8475 and Wolter 6323, in combination, do not explicitly disclose ranking the plurality of clusters based on total length of line segments contained in each cluster;
However, Marviyana teaches ranking the plurality of clusters based on total length of line segments contained in each cluster; and (see at least [23]; "By way of example, the explainable insights 212 may include a list of features that are ranked based on their relative importance for maximizing crop yield. ") Marviyana describes ranking a cluster of features based on relative importance, which could be considered the boundaries of each field.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate teachings of Marviyana which teaches ranking the clusters based on features in order to categorize the clusters and approach them based on a desired feature.
Regarding claim 8, Wolter 8475, Wolter 6232, and Marviyana, in combination, disclose limitations of claim 7 as discussed above, furthermore, Wolter 8475 does not explicitly disclose The method of claim 7 wherein clustering the line segments according to the computed headings comprises clustering the line segments according to computed headings with a heading threshold such that each line segment in a cluster need not have numerically identical heading values.
However, Wolter 6323 teaches The method of claim 7 wherein clustering the line segments according to the computed headings comprises clustering the line segments according to computed headings with a heading threshold such that each line segment in a cluster need not have numerically identical heading values. (see at least [47]; " The data can then be aggregated and summarized in the geospatial data event creation algorithm 603 in order for the data events 305 of every field boundary 401 and/or location 402 to be created.") Wolter 6323 describes managing the boundary data, to include clustering the line segments into clusters based on the headings, to include clustering the line segments according to the computed headings.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate teachings of Wolter 6323 which teaches Clustering the line segments according to computed headings to organize the data in a manner than can be useful when determining how to harvest the fields.
Regarding claim 9, Wolter 8475, Wolter 6232, and Marviyana, in combination, disclose limitations of claim 7 as discussed above, furthermore, Wolter 8475 teaches The method of claim 8 wherein the heading threshold can be user-defined. (see at least [48]; "These monitor/controller systems are, once again, well known and commercially available within the agricultural industry and contain user interface displays for the operator to interact with. ") Wolter 8475 outlines a user interface, which would allow the user to define the heading.
Regarding claim 10, Wolter 8475, Wolter 6232, and Marviyana, in combination, disclose limitations of claim 7 as discussed above, furthermore, Wolter 8475 does not explicitly teach The method of claim 8 wherein the margin of error is such that line segments within a cluster have headings that differ from one another by not more than 3 degrees.
However, Wolter 6323 teaches The method of claim 8 wherein the margin of error is such that line segments within a cluster have headings that differ from one another by not more than 3 degrees. (.see at least [47]; " The data can then be aggregated and summarized in the geospatial data event creation algorithm 603 in order for the data events 305 of every field boundary 401 and/or location 402 to be created.") Wolter 6323 describes aggregating the data with an algorithm, which could include reducing the margin of error to differ by not more than 3 degrees.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate teachings of Wolter 6323 which teaches providing summarized data to include margins of error less than 3 degrees in order to organize the data based on the desired output when determining how to traverse the field with equipment.
Regarding claim 11, Wolter 8475, Wolter 6232, and Marviyana, in combination, disclose limitations of claim 7 as discussed above, furthermore, Wolter 8475 does not explicitly teach The method of claim 7 wherein reporting a heading associated with line segments comprises reporting a heading comprising an average of headings for all line segments for the cluster having the largest total length of line segments.
However, Wolter 6323 teaches The method of claim 7 wherein reporting a heading associated with line segments comprises reporting a heading comprising an average of headings for all line segments for the cluster having the largest total length of line segments. (see at least [9]; "(9) FIG. 8 is an example of the summarized agricultural geospatial data events for a field boundary.") Wolter 6323
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate teachings of Wolter 6323 which teaches summarizing the events for a boundary such as clusters with the largest length of line segments in order to determine which field would likely have the longest operating time for the equipment.
Regarding claim 12, Wolter 8475, Wolter 6232, and Marviyana, in combination, disclose limitations of claim 7 as discussed above, furthermore, Wolter 8475 does not explicitly teach The method of claim 7 further comprising causing farming equipment to travel in a heading that is at least substantially equal to a heading of at least one of the line segments contained in the cluster having the largest total length of line segments.
However, Wolter 6323 teaches The method of claim 7 further comprising causing farming equipment to travel in a heading that is at least substantially equal to a heading of at least one of the line segments contained in the cluster having the largest total length of line segments. (see at least [12, 13]; "FIG. 11 is an example of the planned chronological list of equipment operation events for a field boundary. FIG. 12 is a detailed block diagram of the dynamic classification/matching algorithm that details the generation of actionable management information and insights.") Wolter 6323
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate teachings of Wolter 6323 which teaches the farming equipment taking action based on the collected data in order to efficiently approach the equipment traversing the boundary.
Regarding claim 13, Wolter 8475, Wolter 6232, and Marviyana, in combination, disclose limitations of claim 7 as discussed above, furthermore, Wolter 8475 does not explicitly teach The method of claim 7 further comprising causing a piece of farming equipment to travel in a heading that is at least substantially equal to a heading of at least one of the line segments contained in the cluster having the largest total length of line segments to perform a farming operating.
However, Wolter 6323 teaches The method of claim 7 further comprising causing a piece of farming equipment to travel in a heading that is at least substantially equal to a heading of at least one of the line segments contained in the cluster having the largest total length of line segments to perform a farming operating. (see at least [12, 13]; "FIG. 11 is an example of the planned chronological list of equipment operation events for a field boundary. FIG. 12 is a detailed block diagram of the dynamic classification/matching algorithm that details the generation of actionable management information and insights.") Wolter 6323
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate teachings of Wolter 6323 which teaches the farming equipment taking action based on the collected data in order to efficiently approach the equipment traversing the boundary.
Regarding claim 14, Wolter 8475, Wolter 6232, and Marviyana, in combination, disclose limitations of claim 7 as discussed above, furthermore, Wolter 8475 does not explicitly teach The method of claim 7 further comprising reporting a heading associated with line segments for a cluster having a second largest total length of line segments.
However, Wolter 6323 teaches The method of claim 7 further comprising reporting a heading associated with line segments for a cluster having a second largest total length of line segments. (see at least [12, 13]; "FIG. 11 is an example of the planned chronological list of equipment operation events for a field boundary. FIG. 12 is a detailed block diagram of the dynamic classification/matching algorithm that details the generation of actionable management information and insights.") Wolter 6323
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate teachings of Wolter 6323 which teaches the farming equipment taking action based on the collected data in order to efficiently approach the equipment traversing the boundary.
Regarding claim 15, Wolter 8475, Wolter 6232, and Marviyana, in combination, disclose limitations of claim 7 as discussed above, furthermore, Wolter 8475 does not explicitly teach The method of claim 14 further comprising selecting a heading associated with either the cluster having the largest total length of line segments or a heading associated with a cluster having a second largest total length of line segments and using the selected heading for planning a path for a farming equipment.
However, Wolter 6323 teaches The method of claim 14 further comprising selecting a heading associated with either the cluster having the largest total length of line segments or a heading associated with a cluster having a second largest total length of line segments and using the selected heading for planning a path for a farming equipment. (see at least [12, 13]; "FIG. 11 is an example of the planned chronological list of equipment operation events for a field boundary. FIG. 12 is a detailed block diagram of the dynamic classification/matching algorithm that details the generation of actionable management information and insights.") Wolter 6323
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate teachings of Wolter 6323 which teaches the farming equipment taking action based on the collected data in order to efficiently approach the equipment traversing the boundary.
Regarding claim 16, Wolter 8475, Wolter 6232, and Marviyana, in combination, disclose limitations of claim 7 as discussed above, furthermore, Wolter 8475 does not explicitly teach The method of claim 7 further comprising dividing at least some of the plurality clusters into a plurality of smaller clusters based on a distance threshold.
However, Wolter 6323 teaches The method of claim 7 further comprising dividing at least some of the plurality clusters into a plurality of smaller clusters based on a distance threshold. (see at least [40]; "For example, parameters such as engine speed, engine load, distance travelled, fuel usage, as well as other machine, agronomic, or monitor/controller data may be used to generate these operational directives.") Wolter 6323
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate teachings of Wolter 6323 which teaches dividing the data based on the distance threshold to adjudicate the appropriate equipment at the appropriate time for an efficient harvesting.
Regarding claim 17, Wolter 8475, Wolter 6232, and Marviyana, in combination, disclose limitations of claim 7 as discussed above, furthermore, Wolter 8475 does not explicitly teach The method of claim 7 wherein reporting a heading associated with line segments comprises calculating a regression line or line of best fit for line segments in the cluster having the largest total length of line segments
However, Wolter 6323 teaches The method of claim 7 wherein reporting a heading associated with line segments comprises calculating a regression line or line of best fit for line segments in the cluster having the largest total length of line segments (see at least [12, 13]; "FIG. 11 is an example of the planned chronological list of equipment operation events for a field boundary. FIG. 12 is a detailed block diagram of the dynamic classification/matching algorithm that details the generation of actionable management information and insights.") Wolter 6323
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate teachings of Wolter 6323 which teaches using an algorithm to manage the data such as calculating a regression line for the cluster having the largest total length of time in order to create a trajectory for the equipment to travel along the trajectory.
Regarding claim 18, Wolter 8475, Wolter 6232, and Marviyana, in combination, disclose limitations of claim 7 as discussed above, furthermore, Wolter 8475 does not explicitly teach The method of claim 7 further comprising generating a path plan for the physically tangible agricultural field based at least in part on a multi-line string that includes a plurality of parallel line strings having a heading that at least substantially corresponds with the reported heading.
However, Wolter 6323 teaches The method of claim 7 further comprising generating a path plan for the physically tangible agricultural field based at least in part on a multi-line string that includes a plurality of parallel line strings having a heading that at least substantially corresponds with the reported heading. . (see at least [12, 13]; "FIG. 11 is an example of the planned chronological list of equipment operation events for a field boundary. FIG. 12 is a detailed block diagram of the dynamic classification/matching algorithm that details the generation of actionable management information and insights.") Wolter 6323
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate teachings of Wolter 6323 which teaches generating a path plan in order for the equipment to be able to traverse the boundary.
Regarding claim 19, Wolter 8475, Wolter 6232, and Marviyana, in combination, disclose limitations of claim 7 as discussed above, furthermore, Wolter 8475 teaches .The method of claim 18 wherein generating a path plan for the physically tangible agricultural field further comprises: obtaining as inputs at least one of specifications of the agricultural equipment; (see at least [25]; " machine specific information such as the effective machine working width, machine speed, and machine description, to generate the travel path estimates. ") Wolter 8475
obtaining a number of perimeter passes inside an exterior boundary of the physically tangible agricultural field; and (see at least [29]; "These guiding waypoints 12 may be used by the system to make determinations about the machine operation in the field such as whether to circumnavigate the field in a clockwise or counter-clockwise fashion, the types of turns to make in a corner when faced with an acute, right, or obtuse angle, and even the order of occurrence of parallel swath passes.") Wolter 8475
avoiding boundaries of obstacles that are disposed at least partially within a perimeter of the physically tangible agricultural field. (see at least [35]; "Field boundary and topographic information 41 may include, but should not be limited to, coordinates that define the shape of the outside boundary of the field working area, and any topographical features such as defined inclusions that may represent impassable obstacles, any impassable concavities or convexities, or any other shape defining features that may limit the total farmable area of the field.") Wolter 8475
Claims 3, 20, 21, 22, 23 ,24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, and 33 are rejected under 35 U.S.C 103 as being unpatentable over Wolters (US 10368475 B2) in view of Foster (US 11672194 B2) in further view of Perry (US 20210224927 A1), Ethington (US 10667456 B2), Anohin (US 11672194 B2), and Sharma (US 11672194 B2).
Regarding claim 3, Wolters 8475 and Foster, in combination in combination, disclose limitations of claim 1 as discussed above, furthermore Wolters 8475 does not explicitly disclose The method of claim 1 wherein providing field data comprises providing data from a satellite image of the physically tangible agricultural field.
However, Perry teaches The method of claim 1 wherein providing field data comprises providing data from a satellite image of the physically tangible agricultural field. (see at least [0010]; " In an embodiment, accessing the field information comprises collecting images of the first portion of land from one or more a satellite, ") Perry
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate the teachings of Perry which teaches providing field data from satellite image in order to be able to collect visual data to be able to study the land to accurately map a path for the machinery.
Regarding claim 20, Wolter 8475, Wolter 6232, and Marviyana, in combination, disclose limitations of claim 7 as discussed above, furthermore, Wolter 8475 does not explicitly teach The method of claim 7 wherein obtaining data representing at least a boundary of a physically tangible agricultural field comprises obtaining satellite image data of the physically tangible agricultural field.
However, Perry Teaches The method of claim 7 wherein obtaining data representing at least a boundary of a physically tangible agricultural field comprises obtaining satellite image data of the physically tangible agricultural field. (see at least [0010]; " In an embodiment, accessing the field information comprises collecting images of the first portion of land from one or more a satellite, ") Perry
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Foster to incorporate the teachings of Perry which teaches providing field data from satellite image in order to be able to collect visual data to be able to study the land to accurately map a path for the machinery.
Regarding claim 21, smoothing the generated tracks to maintain steerability of the farming equipment when operating on the physically tangible agricultural field; and (see at least [47]; " Any adjustments that need to be made to correct the machine's proper trajectory to the optimal working direction(s) of travel 45 may be made with the agricultural work machine's automated steering control system 92. ") Wolters 8475
performing slope-distance analysis on the smoothed tracks to estimate at least one of:anticipated soil erosion that will be caused by the farming equipment when operating on the physically tangible agricultural field; and (see at least [95]; "It will be noted that agricultural characteristic confidence analyzer 1400, can implement or otherwise utilize a variety of techniques, such as various image processing techniques, statistical analysis techniques, various models (e.g., soil model, soil erosion model,")Wolters 8475
distance that will be traveled by the farming equipment when operating on the physically tangible agricultural field. (see at least [31]; "Moreover, as also mentioned above, an aspect of the invention was the realization by the instant inventors that conventional approaches for path/route planning, which focus on the shortest distance, the smallest number of turns, the shortest turning distance, the most fuel efficient, and/or the fastest route, etc., ") Wolters 8475
Wolter 8475 does not explicitly disclose A farming method for a physically tangible agricultural field, the method comprising:
obtaining raster data representing at least a boundary of the physically tangible agricultural field; clustering elevation data into a plurality of different clusters; creating cluster contour lines between the plurality of different clusters by detecting and extracting the cluster contour lines; ranking the created cluster contour lines based on at least one of: length; maximum gradient along a length of the respective cluster contour line;and maximum gradient on opposing sides of the respective cluster contour line; selecting at least one of the cluster contour lines from the ranked cluster contour lines; generating tracks by offsetting each of the smoothed selected at least one cluster contour lines.
However, Ethington teaches obtaining raster data representing at least a boundary of the physically tangible agricultural field; (see at least [106]; "As described above, in one embodiment agricultural intelligence computer system 150 utilizes a “grid” architectural model that subdivides land into grid sections that are 2.5 miles by 2.5 miles in dimension.") Ethington
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate teachings of Ethington which teaches obtaining raster, or grid, data representing the boundary of the physically tangible agricultural field in order to organize and address the field based on it's assigned grid number.
Ethington and Wolters 8475, in combination, do not explicitly teach clustering elevation data into a plurality of different clusters; creating cluster contour lines between the plurality of different clusters by detecting and extracting the cluster contour lines; ranking the created cluster contour lines based on at least one of: length; maximum gradient along a length of the respective cluster contour line;and maximum gradient on opposing sides of the respective cluster contour line; selecting at least one of the cluster contour lines from the ranked cluster contour lines; generating tracks by offsetting each of the smoothed selected at least one cluster contour lines.
However, Perry teaches clustering elevation data into a plurality of different clusters; (see at least [19]; "The first portion of land can be associated with multiple sub-portions of land, and the system applies the prediction model by identifying a cluster of the sub-portions with a threshold similarity,") Perry
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate teachings of Perry which teaches clustering similar data together, to include elevation data, into a plurality of different clusters to create a model based on the clustered data
Perry, Ethington, and Wolters 8475, in combination, do not teach creating cluster contour lines between the plurality of different clusters by detecting and extracting the cluster contour lines; ranking the created cluster contour lines based on at least one of: length; maximum gradient along a length of the respective cluster contour line;and maximum gradient on opposing sides of the respective cluster contour line; selecting at least one of the cluster contour lines from the ranked cluster contour lines; generating tracks by offsetting each of the smoothed selected at least one cluster contour lines.
However, Anohin teaches creating cluster contour lines between the plurality of different clusters by detecting and extracting the cluster contour lines; (see at least [11]; " dividing the original multispectral image into a plurality of images depending on the number of defined intermediate contours of agricultural fields ) Anohin
ranking the created cluster contour lines based on at least one of: length; maximum gradient along a length of the respective cluster contour line;and (see at least [0011]; "get the final contours of agricultural fields by choosing a division on a separate multispectral image with the maximum number of contours.") Anohin
maximum gradient on opposing sides of the respective cluster contour line; (see at least [0044]; "4. Module 14 filtering the contours of the fields for a given marking area. Module 14 is configured to filter the contours of agricultural fields only for a given marking area.") Anohin describes filtering the countour lines, to include the maximum gradient on opposing sides of the respective contour line.
selecting at least one of the cluster contour lines from the ranked cluster contour lines; (see at least [0072]; "Final field contours are obtained by selecting by Module 12 the result with a large separation") Anohin describes selecting one contour from a cluster of contour lines.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate teachings of Anohim which teaches creating contour lines, filtering the data and selecting at least one of the contour lines based on the ranking in order to create a representative value for the mapping of the land with regard to elevation.
Wolter 8475, Perry, Ethington, and Anohin, in combination do not explicitly teach generating tracks by offsetting each of the smoothed selected at least one cluster contour lines.
However, Sharma teaches generating tracks by offsetting each of the smoothed selected at least one cluster contour lines; (See at least [36]; "A rear-facing video camera may capture tire tracks in the soil created by the autonomous farming vehicle 140") Sharma
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate teachings of Sharma which teaches generating tracks in order to determine the stability of the soil erosion for the future traversing of agricultural equipment.
Regarding claim 22, Wolter 8475, Perry, Ethington, and Anohin, in combination, disclose limitations of claim 21 as discussed above, furthermore, Wolter 8475 does not explicitly disclose The method of claim 21 further comprising partitioning the physically tangible agricultural field into at least a first subfield and a second subfield based on at least one top-ranking cluster contour.
However, Anohin teaches The method of claim 21 further comprising partitioning the physically tangible agricultural field into at least a first subfield and a second subfield based on at least one top-ranking cluster contour. (see at least [0072]; "The original multispectral image is divided by Module 12 into many images depending on the number of intermediate contours of agricultural fields") Anohin
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate teachings of Anohin which teaches partitioning the contour data in order to further process the data and create a more accurate representation.
Regarding claim 23, Wolter 8475, Perry, Ethington, and Anohin in combination, disclose limitations of claim 21 as discussed above, furthermore, Wolter 8475 teaches The method of claim 22 further comprising generating a first path plan for the first subfield and generating a second path plan for the second subfield. (see at least [10]; "The program is further configured to identify a parallel pass start point along the field boundary, usable by the agricultural work machine to begin farming operations with parallel passes traversing the field, to generate a plurality of splayed options for initial directions of travel from the parallel pass start point, and to generate a plurality of path estimates for the agricultural work machine to travel to cover the total farmable field area.")
Regarding claim 24, Wolter 8475, Perry, Ethington, and Anohin in combination, disclose limitations of claim 21 as discussed above, furthermore, Wolter 8475 does not explicitly teach The method of claim 21 further comprising cropping the contours along a boundary of the physically tangible agricultural field.
However, Wolters 6323 teaches The method of claim 21 further comprising cropping the contours along a boundary of the physically tangible agricultural field. (see at least [45]; "The program is further configured to identify a parallel pass start point along the field boundary, usable by the agricultural work machine to begin farming operations with parallel passes traversing the field, to generate a plurality of splayed options for initial directions of travel from the parallel pass start point, and to generate a plurality of path estimates for the agricultural work machine to travel to cover the total farmable field area.") Wolters 6323
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate teachings of Wolters 6323 which teaches editing the contours along the boundary of the field in order to create an optimized path to be traversed by agricultural equipment.
Regarding claim 25, Wolter 8475, Perry, Ethington, and Anohin, in combination, disclose limitations of claim 21 as discussed above, furthermore, Wolter 8475 does not explicitly teach The method of claim 21 further comprising upsampling the raster data by interpolation.
However, Perry teaches The method of claim 21 further comprising upsampling the raster data by interpolation. (see at least [41]; " Interpolations for locations or regions in which historic data is not available based on nearby locations, county level data, and similar plots of land") Perry
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate teachings of Perry which teaches upsampling by interploation in order to enhance the existing data for path optimization.
Regarding claim 26, Wolter 8475, Perry, Ethington, and Anohin, in combination, disclose limitations of claim 21 as discussed above, furthermore, Wolter 8475 does not explicitly teach The method of claim 25 wherein upsampling the raster data by interpolation comprises upsampling the raster data by cubic spline interpolation.
However, Perry teaches The method of claim 25 wherein upsampling the raster data by interpolation comprises upsampling the raster data by cubic spline interpolation. (see at least [0145]; "In some embodiments, a crop prediction model can be a Bayesian model that includes Gaussian processes or splines,") Perry
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate teachings of Perry which teaches upsampling using spline interpolation in order to enhance the existing data for path optimization.
Regarding claim 27, Wolter 8475, Perry, Ethington, and Anohin, in combination, disclose limitations of claim 21 as discussed above, furthermore, Wolter 8475 does not explicitly teach The method of claim 21 wherein detecting and extracting the cluster contour lines comprises using a ]; "machine vision algorithm.
However, Anohin teaches The method of claim 21 wherein detecting and extracting the cluster contour lines comprises using a ]; "machine vision algorithm. (see at least [0008]; "In particular, to obtain the contours of the fields, a heuristic algorithm is used based on the comparison of the normalized vegetation index at different time periods for neighboring pixels.") Anohin
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate teachings of Anohin which teaches extracting contour lines with an algorithm to analyze the data for path optimization of the agricultural machines.
Regarding claim 28, Wolter 8475, Perry, Ethington, and Anohin, in combination, disclose limitations of claim 21 as discussed above, furthermore, Wolter 8475 does not explicitly teach . The method of claim 27 wherein the machine vision comprises a Canny edge detection algorithm.
However, Anohin teaches The method of claim 27 wherein the machine vision comprises a Canny edge detection algorithm. (see at least [0008]; "In particular, to obtain the contours of the fields, a heuristic algorithm is used based on the comparison of the normalized vegetation index at different time periods for neighboring pixels. ") Anohin
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate teachings of which teaches extracting contour lines with an algorithm to analyze the data for path optimization of the agricultural machines.
Regarding claim 29, Wolter 8475, Perry, Ethington, and Anohin, in combination, disclose limitations of claim 21 as discussed above, furthermore, Wolter 8475 does not explicitly teach The method of claim 21 wherein after extraction and prior to ranking, the cluster contour lines are cleaned to remove zig-zag and chain-line features by smoothing the contour lines along such features.
However, Anohin teaches The method of claim 21 wherein after extraction and prior to ranking, the cluster contour lines are cleaned to remove zig-zag and chain-line features by smoothing the contour lines along such features. (see at least [72]; "Based on the results of the application of the second neural network by Module 12, it is possible to obtain a more detailed division of the contours into separate subcircuits") Anohin
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate teachings of Anohin which teaches cleaning the data in order to create a smooth path for path optimization of the agricultural machines.
Regarding claim 30, Wolter 8475, Perry, Ethington, and Anohin, in combination, disclose limitations of claim 21 as discussed above, furthermore, Wolter 8475 does not explicitly teach The method of claim 29 wherein smoothing the cluster contour lines along such features comprises simplifying the cluster contour lines along such features by using a topology-preserving Douglas-Peucker simplification and then smoothing the cluster contour lines using a Taubin non- shrinking polyline smoothing function.
However, Anohin teaches The method of claim 29 wherein smoothing the cluster contour lines along such features comprises simplifying the cluster contour lines along such features by using a topology-preserving Douglas-Peucker simplification and then smoothing the cluster contour lines using a Taubin non- shrinking polyline smoothing function. (see at least [72]; "Based on the results of the application of the second neural network by Module 12, it is possible to obtain a more detailed division of the contours into separate subcircuits") Anohin
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate teachings of Anohin which teaches cleaning the data in order to create a smooth path for path optimization of the agricultural machines.
Regarding claim 32, Wolter 8475, Perry, Ethington, and Anohin, in combination, disclose limitations of claim 21 as discussed above, furthermore, Wolter 8475 does not explicitly teach The method of claim 21 wherein selecting at least one of the cluster contour lines comprises selecting at least one cluster contour line having a ranking that places it in the top 10% of ranked cluster contour lines.
However, Anohin teaches The method of claim 21 wherein selecting at least one of the cluster contour lines comprises selecting at least one cluster contour line having a ranking that places it in the top 10% of ranked cluster contour lines. (see at least [0072]; "Final field contours are obtained by selecting by Module 12 the result with a large separation") Anohin
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate teachings of Anohin which teaches selecting the cluster lines having a higher ranking in order to depict a more accurate representative mapping of the land the agricultural machine will have to traverse.
Regarding claim 33, Wolter 8475, Perry, Ethington, and Anohin, in combination, disclose limitations of claim 21 as discussed above, furthermore, Wolter 8475 does not explicitly teach The method of claim 21 wherein generating tracks by offsetting each of the selected at least one cluster contour lines comprises generating tracks by offsetting each of the selected at least one cluster contour lines after the selected at least one cluster contour lines have first been smoothed.
However, Sharma teaches The method of claim 21 wherein generating tracks by offsetting each of the selected at least one cluster contour lines comprises generating tracks by offsetting each of the selected at least one cluster contour lines after the selected at least one cluster contour lines have first been smoothed. (See at least [36]; "A rear-facing video camera may capture tire tracks in the soil created by the autonomous farming vehicle 140") Sharma
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate teachings of Sharma which teaches generating tracks in order to determine the stability of the soil erosion for the future traversing of agricultural equipment.
Regarding claim 34, Wolters 8475 teaches A farming method for a physically tangible agricultural field, the method comprising:providing field data representing actual geographic conditions for the physically tangible field on which a farming operation is to be performed, (see at least [33]; "as it uses a particular field's unique geometric features as a starting focal point on which to base the optimization process, and to which specific physical parameters of the working machine and/or farm implements may be added.")
smoothing the generated tracks to maintain steerability of the farming equipment when operating on the physically tangible agricultural field; (see at least [47]; " Any adjustments that need to be made to correct the machine's proper trajectory to the optimal working direction(s) of travel 45 may be made with the agricultural work machine's automated steering control system 92. ") Wolters 8475
returning the smoothed generated tracks as at least a portion of the field data; (see at least [10]; "The apparatus includes an agricultural work machine configured for traversing the field, a farm implement operationally engaged with, and operated by, the agricultural work machine to effect farming operations as the agricultural work machine traverses the field") Wolters 8475
calculating at least one of optimized path distance and optimized path travel time for the existing equipment on the first optimized path plan; (see at least [24]; "These embodiments thus determine an optimal initial machine working direction(s) of travel by analyzing spatial field efficiency given the field specific information including field geography, and machine specific information, for use directly in the guidance/navigation of a working machine (e.g., farm tractor with tools or implements) for machine control.") Wolters 8475
calculating at least one of optimized path distance and optimized path travel time for the at least one piece of other farming equipment; and (see at least [24]; "These embodiments thus determine an optimal initial machine working direction(s) of travel by analyzing spatial field efficiency given the field specific information including field geography, and machine specific information, for use directly in the guidance/navigation of a working machine (e.g., farm tractor with tools or implements) for machine control.") Wolters 8475
reporting results of a comparison between at least one of:the optimized path travel time for the existing equipment and the at least one piece of other farming equipment; and (see at least [40]; "In particular embodiments, the inputs of effective machine working width 74, the number of headland passes 77, and the machine speed 75 are all used for simulation purposes of the path estimate.") Wolters 8475
the optimized path distance for the existing equipment and the at least one piece of other farming equipment. (see at least [25]; " Particular embodiments use inputs such as field geography, including field boundary, its shape, size, and any interior obstacles, along with field specific information which may include the number of headland passes, the entrance and exit locations of the field, and also machine specific information such as the effective machine working width, machine speed, and machine description, to generate the travel path estimates. ") Wolters 8475
Wolters does not explicitly teach wherein providing field data comprises: obtaining raster data representing at least a boundary of the physically tangible agricultural field ;clustering elevation data into a plurality of different clusters; creating cluster contour lines between the plurality of different clusters by detecting and extracting the cluster contour lines; ranking the created cluster contour lines based on at least one of:length; maximum gradient along a length of the respective cluster contour line;and maximum gradient on opposing sides of the respective cluster contour line; selecting at least one of the cluster contour lines from the ranked cluster contour lines; generating tracks by offsetting each of the smoothed selected at least one cluster contour lines; providing specifications of existing farming equipment; using the provided specifications and the provided field data to determine a first optimized path plan for the existing farming equipment on the physically tangible field; retrieving specifications for at least one piece of other farming equipment from an equipment database; using the retrieved specifications and the field data to determine a second optimized path plan for the at least one piece of other farming equipment on the physically tangible field.
However, Ethington teaches wherein providing field data comprises: obtaining raster data representing at least a boundary of the physically tangible agricultural field (see at least [106]; "As described above, in one embodiment agricultural intelligence computer system 150 utilizes a “grid” architectural model that subdivides land into grid sections that are 2.5 miles by 2.5 miles in dimension.") Ethington
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate teachings of Ethington which teaches obtaining raster, or grid, data representing the boundary of the physically tangible agricultural field in order to organize and address the field based on it's assigned grid number.
Ethington and Wolters 8475 do not explicitly teach ;clustering elevation data into a plurality of different clusters; creating cluster contour lines between the plurality of different clusters by detecting and extracting the cluster contour lines; ranking the created cluster contour lines based on at least one of:length; maximum gradient along a length of the respective cluster contour line;and maximum gradient on opposing sides of the respective cluster contour line; selecting at least one of the cluster contour lines from the ranked cluster contour lines; generating tracks by offsetting each of the smoothed selected at least one cluster contour lines; providing specifications of existing farming equipment; using the provided specifications and the provided field data to determine a first optimized path plan for the existing farming equipment on the physically tangible field; retrieving specifications for at least one piece of other farming equipment from an equipment database; using the retrieved specifications and the field data to determine a second optimized path plan for the at least one piece of other farming equipment on the physically tangible field.
However, Perry teaches ;clustering elevation data into a plurality of different clusters; (see at least [19]; "The first portion of land can be associated with multiple sub-portions of land, and the system applies the prediction model by identifying a cluster of the sub-portions with a threshold similarity,") Perry
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate teachings of Perry which teaches clustering similar data together, to include elevation data, into a plurality of different clusters to create a model based on the clustered data.
Perry, Ethington and Wolters 8475 in combination do not explicitly teach creating cluster contour lines between the plurality of different clusters by detecting and extracting the cluster contour lines; ranking the created cluster contour lines based on at least one of:length; maximum gradient along a length of the respective cluster contour line;and maximum gradient on opposing sides of the respective cluster contour line; selecting at least one of the cluster contour lines from the ranked cluster contour lines; generating tracks by offsetting each of the smoothed selected at least one cluster contour lines; providing specifications of existing farming equipment; using the provided specifications and the provided field data to determine a first optimized path plan for the existing farming equipment on the physically tangible field; retrieving specifications for at least one piece of other farming equipment from an equipment database; using the retrieved specifications and the field data to determine a second optimized path plan for the at least one piece of other farming equipment on the physically tangible field.
However, Anohin teaches creating cluster contour lines between the plurality of different clusters by detecting and extracting the cluster contour lines; (see at least [11]; " dividing the original multispectral image into a plurality of images depending on the number of defined intermediate contours of agricultural fields ) Anohin
ranking the created cluster contour lines based on at least one of:length; maximum gradient along a length of the respective cluster contour line;and maximum gradient on opposing sides of the respective cluster contour line; (see at least [0011]; "get the final contours of agricultural fields by choosing a division on a separate multispectral image with the maximum number of contours.") Anohin
selecting at least one of the cluster contour lines from the ranked cluster contour lines; (see at least [0072]; "Final field contours are obtained by selecting by Module 12 the result with a large separation") Anohin describes selecting one contour from a cluster of contour lines.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate teachings of Anohim which teaches creating contour lines, filtering the data and selecting at least one of the contour lines based on the ranking in order to create a representative value for the mapping of the land with regard to elevation.
Wolter 8475, Perry, Ethington, and Anohin in combination do not explicitly teach generating tracks by offsetting each of the smoothed selected at least one cluster contour lines; providing specifications of existing farming equipment; using the provided specifications and the provided field data to determine a first optimized path plan for the existing farming equipment on the physically tangible field; retrieving specifications for at least one piece of other farming equipment from an equipment database; using the retrieved specifications and the field data to determine a second optimized path plan for the at least one piece of other farming equipment on the physically tangible field.
However, Sharma teaches generating tracks by offsetting each of the smoothed selected at least one cluster contour lines; (See at least [36]; "A rear-facing video camera may capture tire tracks in the soil created by the autonomous farming vehicle 140") Sharma
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate teachings of Sharma which teaches generating tracks in order to determine the stability of the soil erosion for the future traversing of agricultural equipment.
Sharma, Anohin, Perry, Ethington and Wolters 8475 do not explicitly teach providing specifications of existing farming equipment; however Foster teaches (see at least [15]; "These equipment configuration code files may be default configuration code files, containing the dimensions (e.g., length, width, height, etc.) of the piece of equipment,") Foster
also, Foster teaches using the provided specifications and the provided field data to determine a first optimized path plan for the existing farming equipment on the physically tangible field; (see at least [15]; "These equipment configuration code files may be default configuration code files, containing the dimensions (e.g., length, width, height, etc.) of the piece of equipment,") Foster
Furthermore, Foster teaches retrieving specifications for at least one piece of other farming equipment from an equipment database; (see at least [17]; "The docking station 32 may then use a wired or wireless network connection at the barn 30, or a cellular network in order to access the library 12 and exchange (e.g., upload or download) configuration code files. This may be done using the command and control software, or a different software package. The docking station 32 may also enable the user to manage the configuration code files of the one or more pieces of equipment 22, 26.") Foster
additionally, Foster teaches using the retrieved specifications and the field data to determine a second optimized path plan for the at least one piece of other farming equipment on the physically tangible field; (see at least [17]; "The equipment configuration code file may include a mission plan or mission data for the next task, or the mission data may be added separately.") Foster
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate teachings of Foster which teaches providing specifications of farm equipment and using the provided specifications and field data to create an optimized path in order to be able to effectively plan for the most efficient harvesting based on the equipment
Claim 31 is rejected under 35 U.S.C 103 as being unpatentable over Wolters (US 10368475 B2) in view of Foster (US 11672194 B2) in further view of Anderson (US 12364181 B2.
Regarding claim 31, Wolter 8475, Perry, Ethington, and Anohin, in combination, disclose limitations of claim 21 as discussed above, furthermore, Wolter 8475 does not explicitly teach The method of claim 21 further comprising splitting cluster contour lines that are closed loops or have at least 270 degrees of closure.
However, Anderson teaches The method of claim 21 further comprising splitting cluster contour lines that are closed loops or have at least 270 degrees of closure. (see at least [214]; "Corrected topographic map 630 can include topographic representations 637 which indicate the corrected elevation of the surface of worksite 602 relative to a reference level (e.g., sea level) and can also include corrected contour lines 634") Anderson
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wolters 8475 to incorporate teachings of Anderson which teaches splitting cluster contour lines that are closed loops in order to process the data for mapping of the geographic elevation.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HANA VICTORIA HALL whose telephone number is (571)272-5289. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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/HANA VICTORIA HALL/Examiner, Art Unit 3664
/RACHID BENDIDI/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3664