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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 28 April 2026 has been entered.
Status of Claims
This action is in reply to the amendment filed on 28 April 2026.
Claim 15 has been cancelled.
Claim 21 has been added.
Claims 1-14 and 16-21 are currently pending and have been examined.
This action is made Non-FINAL.
Response to Arguments/Amendments
Applicant's arguments with respect to the objections to the claims have been fully considered and are persuasive. The objection to claim(s) 4-7, 9, 11, 13-18 and 20 has been withdrawn.
Applicant's arguments, see remarks at page(s) 9-12, filed 16 April 2026, with respect to the rejection of claim(s) 1-14 and 16-20 under 35 U.S.C. 103 over Christiansen et al. have been fully considered but are not persuasive. Specifically, Applicant argues:
that the Office Action has not shown where the cited references, alone or in combination teach or suggest a material transfer vehicle comprising “a receiving area, on the material transfer vehicle, that receives the material from a mobile machine”, “a material transfer subsystem configured to transfer material from the receiving area of the material transfer vehicle through an outlet end of an unloading spout to a landing point” and “a control system configured to control the material transfer vehicle to traverse a worksite in a transfer operation to transfer the material, received from the mobile machine to a haulage vehicle”
The Examiner’s Response
With respect to independent claim(s) 1 and 10, Applicant argues the limitation(s) “a receiving area, on the material transfer vehicle, that receives the material from a mobile machine”, “a material transfer subsystem configured to transfer material from the receiving area of the material transfer vehicle through an outlet end of an unloading spout to a landing point” and “a control system configured to control the material transfer vehicle to traverse a worksite in a transfer operation to transfer the material, received from the mobile machine to a haulage vehicle” is not taught or suggested by Christiansen or Krause. While Christiansen does not explicitly use the exact wording of the Applicant’s claim, Christiansen does suggest the limitations, as broadly interpreted. Christiansen teaches a clean grain tank (i.e., receiving area) that stores clean grain that has been processed after the header (i.e., mobile machine) cuts the crops. Then, unload conveyor 22 transfers grain from the clean grain tank 20 to a receiving vehicle (i.e., transfer material from the receiving area of the material transfer vehicle through an outlet end of an unloading spout to a landing point) (see ¶[0039]-[0040] of Christiansen). Additionally, Christiansen discloses fully automated movement of at least one of the harvester and the receiving vehicle (i.e., both having computing devices for the automated guidance system) to maintain the desired relative positions of the two vehicles during unload operations and synchronizing movement during unload operations (see ¶[0036] and [0048] of Christiansen). While the Examiner agrees that the exact language of the claim limitation is not present in the disclosure of Christiansen, the teachings of Christiansen does suggest Applicant’s limitation in the invention under a broadest reasonable interpretation.
Additionally, Applicant argues:
the rejection has not shown where Singh, alone or in combination, teaches or suggests “in response to the trigger criterion, controlling one or more of the propulsion subsystem, the steering subsystem, or the material transfer subsystem of the material transfer vehicle”
The Examiner’s Response
With respect to independent claim(s) 19, Applicant argues the limitation(s) “in response to the trigger criterion, controlling one or more of the propulsion subsystem, the steering subsystem, or the material transfer subsystem of the material transfer vehicle” is not taught or suggested by Christiansen, Krause or Singh. While Singh does not explicitly use the exact wording of the Applicant’s claim, Singh does suggest the limitations, as broadly interpreted. Singh teaches determining if a distance between the harvester and the haul vehicle is less than an engagement distance, the controller controls (i.e., by outputting a control signal) the steering control system and the speed control system to direct the haul vehicle toward the target position; once the haul vehicle substantially reaches the target position, the controller controls the steering control system and the speed control system to substantially maintain the target position and the target velocity, thereby facilitating transfer of agricultural product from the harvester to the storage compartment (see Singh at Col. 3, line 34, to Col. 4, line 52, and Col. 8, lines 23-38). While the Examiner agrees that the exact language of the claim limitation is not present in the disclosure of Singh, the teachings of Singh does suggest Applicant’s limitation in the invention under a broadest reasonable interpretation. Therefore, the rejections under 35 U.S.C. 103 over Christiansen are maintained. See updated rejections below.
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 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1-2, 4-11, 13-14, 16-18 and 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Christiansen et al. (US 20220019239 A1) in view of Krause et al. (US 10034427 B2).
Regarding claims 1 and 10, Christiansen teaches a method, comprising: receiving material, from a mobile machine, in a receiving area of a material transfer vehicle (¶[0039]-[0040] regarding a clean grain tank (i.e., receiving area) that stores clean grain that has been processed after the header (i.e., mobile machine) cuts the crops) that has a propulsion subsystem configured to provide propulsion to the material transfer vehicle (see at least ¶[0044] and [0090] regarding an engine and a self-propelled forage harvester), a steering subsystem configured to control a heading of the material transfer vehicle (see at least [0039], [0042], [0044], [0049] and [0092] regarding wheels and actuators), and a material transfer subsystem configured to transfer material from the material transfer vehicle through an outlet end of an unloading spout to a landing point (see abstract and at least ¶[0006]-[0007], [0037]-[0038], [0040]-[0041], [0044], [0055], [0062], [0064], [0067]-[0068] and [0090] regarding an unload conveyor or discharge chute; these also include determining where the spout 24 of the unload conveyor 22 is located relative to the edges of grain bin 38 in automatically controlling grain transfer to only transfer grain from the harvester 10 to the grain cart 36 while the spout 24 is over the grain bin; also, see [0039]-[0040] regarding an unload conveyor 22 transfers grain from the clean grain tank 20 to a receiving vehicle); controlling the material transfer vehicle to traverse a worksite in a transfer operation to transfer the material, received from the mobile machine, to a haulage vehicle (see ¶[0036] and [0048] regarding fully automated movement of at least one of the harvester and the receiving vehicle (i.e., both having computing devices for the automated guidance system) to maintain the desired relative positions of the two vehicles during unload operations and synchronizing movement during unload operations); detecting the haulage vehicle with a sensor on the material transfer vehicle (see abstract and at least ¶[0006]-[0007], [0037]-[0038] and [0059]-[0063] regarding a harvester including an electromagnetic detecting and ranging module and a camera for receiving first data from the electromagnetic detecting and ranging module, the first data indicating the location of the object relative to the agricultural harvester and receiving image data from the camera and using the image data to determine whether the object is a receiving vehicle); generating a sensor signal indicative of the detected haulage vehicle (see abstract and at least ¶[0006]-[0007], [0037]-[0038] and [0059]-[0063] regarding a harvester including an electromagnetic detecting and ranging module and a camera for receiving first data from the electromagnetic detecting and ranging module, the first data indicating the location of the object relative to the agricultural harvester and receiving image data from the camera and using the image data to determine whether the object is a receiving vehicle, if the object is a receiving vehicle, the one or more computing devices use the first data and the second data to generate graphic data defining a graphical representation illustrating the relative positions of the unload conveyor and the receiving vehicle (i.e., generating graphic data or “sensor signal”); identifying a location of the haulage vehicle relative to a location of the material transfer vehicle based on the sensor signal (see abstract and at least ¶[0006]-[0007], [0036], [0038], [0055], [0064] and [0068] regarding detecting the relative positions of the harvesters and receiving vehicles during unload operations and providing fully automated operation of at least one of the machines to synchronize movement during unload operations); detecting a fill level of material in the haulage vehicle based on the sensor signal (see at least ¶[0047], [0081]-[0089] and [0092] regarding detecting the fill level of crop material within the receiving vehicle); generating a transfer control signal based on the location of the haulage vehicle relative to the material transfer vehicle, based on the detected fill level, and based on a transfer strategy (see at least ¶[0047], [0081]-[0089] and [0092] regarding automatically controlling grain transfer to only transfer grain from the harvester 10 to the grain cart 36 while the spout 24 is over the grain bin 38 as well as the one or more computing devices determine a distribution of grain in the grain bin; a visual representation of the fill level of the grain bin allows the operator to see whether or not the receiving vehicle is full and to estimate how much time is required to completely fill the receiving the vehicle and the visual representation of the distribution of crop in the grain bin allows the operator to see which portions of the grain bin are full and to adjust the position of the receiving vehicle relative to the unload conveyor 22 of the harvester 10 to fill portions of the grain bin with less grain (i.e., the harvester unload operation is being controlled based on the spout being over the grain cart and a visual representation of fill level); additionally, see [0092] regarding the data collected by the module 128 and the camera 130 is used to generate a graphical representation of the unload conveyor 116 of the harvester 100 and the receiving vehicle that is presented to an operator of either the harvester 100 or the tractor 122 by way of a graphical user interface as explained above. Alternatively or additionally, the data collected by the module 128 and camera 130 may be used to generate guidance data used by at least one of the harvester 100 and the receiving vehicle to automatically guide at least one of the vehicles to maintain proper alignment of the unload conveyor 116 with the receiving vehicle); and generating control signals to control one or more of the propulsion subsystem, the steering subsystem, or the material transfer subsystem to automatically position the material transfer vehicle in an unloading position relative to the haulage vehicle and transfer material to the haulage vehicle according to the transfer strategy, based on the transfer control signal (see at least ¶[0036] and [0092] regarding using module 128, camera 130 and one or more computing devices to detect and track a location of a receiving vehicle (such as the wagon 120) and at least one of the fill level and content distribution of crop material within the receiving vehicle, the data collected by the module 128 and camera 130 may be used to generate guidance data used by at least one of the harvester 100 and the receiving vehicle to automatically guide at least one of the vehicles to maintain proper alignment of the unload conveyor 116 with the receiving vehicle; also see at least [0055] regarding the one or more computing devices use the dimensions of the grain cart 36 to determine where the spout 24 of the unload conveyor 22 is located relative to the edges of grain bin 38 in automatically controlling grain transfer to only transfer grain from the harvester 10 to the grain cart 36 while the spout 24 is over the grain bin 38).
Christiansen does not explicitly teach a transfer strategy that defines a progression of landing points in a receiving area of the haulage vehicle. However, Krause discloses a harvesting device and teaches a transfer strategy that defines a progression of landing points in a receiving area of the haulage vehicle (see at least Col. 1, lines 19-42, and Col. 8, lines 9-25, regarding crop transfer at a first impact point and continuing transfer at least a second impact point based on available volume; also, Col. 3, lines 31-36, discusses transfer strategy based on type of hauling vehicle).
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 the system and method of assisted or automated grain unload synchronization of Christiansen to provide, with a reasonable expectation of success, a transfer strategy that defines a progression of landing points in a receiving area of the haulage vehicle, as taught by Krause, to provide swiveling the transfer device such that the position of the impact point is varied in order to utilize all of the available hauling volume. (Krause at Col. 1, lines 32-35)
Regarding claims 2 and 11, Christiansen teaches wherein generating a transfer control signal comprises: detecting a trigger criterion to begin automated transfer control (see at least ¶[0055] regarding the one or more computing devices use the dimensions of the grain cart 36 to determine where the spout 24 of the unload conveyor 22 is located relative to the edges of grain bin 38 (i.e., trigger condition being when the spout is located over the edges of the grain bin) in automatically controlling grain transfer to only transfer grain from the harvester 10 to the grain cart 36 while the spout 24 is over the grain bin 38); and generating the transfer control signal responsive to the detected trigger criterion (see at least ¶[0055] regarding the one or more computing devices use the dimensions of the grain cart 36 to determine where the spout 24 of the unload conveyor 22 is located relative to the edges of grain bin 38 (i.e., trigger condition being when the spout is located over the edges of the grain bin) in automatically controlling grain transfer to only transfer grain from the harvester 10 to the grain cart 36 while the spout 24 is over the grain bin 38 (i.e., automatically controlling based on the spout being within the edges of the grain bins)).
Regarding claims 4 and 13, Christiansen teaches wherein detecting the haulage vehicle with the sensor comprises detecting a characteristic of the haulage vehicle (see at least ¶[0053], [0055], [0077] and [0080] regarding determine the dimensions (or approximate dimensions) of the grain cart 36 by identifying a front edge, rear edge and top edge of the point cloud 62), and identifying a location of the haulage vehicle relative to the location of the material transfer vehicle comprises: detecting a location and orientation of the sensor on the material transfer vehicle (see at least ¶[0050], [0052]-[0055] and [0058]-[0059] regarding field of view of the module 28 as well as data collected by the module 28 includes location information for each of a plurality of points making up a point cloud. The location information is relative to the module 28 or 32 (i.e., relative to the location of the sensor which is known in the coordinates) generating the data and may include a set of two-dimensional Cartesian coordinates, such as X and Y coordinates of the point relative to the module); and identifying a relative location of a receiving area in the haulage vehicle relative to the material transfer vehicle by localizing the characteristic of the haulage vehicle to a coordinate system corresponding to material transfer vehicle based on the location and orientation of the sensor (see at least ¶[0050], [0053] and [0058]-[0059] regarding field of view of the module 28 as well as data collected by the module 28 includes location information for each of a plurality of points making up a point cloud. The location information is relative to the module 28 or 32 (i.e., relative to the location of the sensor) generating the data and may include a set of two-dimensional Cartesian coordinates, such as X and Y coordinates of the point relative to the module; the electromagnetic detecting and ranging module 28 is positioned and configured for detecting the location and orientation of a receiving vehicle relative to the agricultural harvester).
Regarding claims 5 and 14, Christiansen teaches wherein generating a sensor signal comprises: capturing, with an image capture device, an image of the haulage vehicle (see abstract and at least ¶[0006]-[0007], [0037]-[0038] and [0062]-[0063] regarding receiving the image data from the camera, using the image data to determine the object is a receiving vehicle); and identifying a haulage vehicle parameter in the image (see at least ¶[0006]-[0007], [0038], [0063], [0065] and [0068] regarding use the first data and the image data to generate a graphical representation illustrating the relative positions of the unload conveyor and the grain bin; additionally, see at least ¶[0077] regarding the one or more computing devices may determine lateral distance of the grain cart 36 from the harvester 10 from the data generated by the modules 28 and the camera 32; additionally, see at least ¶[0050] and [0053] regarding the digital representation generated by the module 28 (e.g., LiDAR) includes distances to and relative locations of objects and surfaces within the field of view); and identifying the location of the haulage vehicle parameter identified in the image relative to the image capture device (see at least ¶[0006]-[0007], [0038], [0063], [0065] and [0068] regarding use the first data and the image data to generate a graphical representation illustrating the relative positions of the unload conveyor and the grain bin; additionally, see at least ¶[0077] regarding the one or more computing devices may determine lateral distance of the grain cart 36 from the harvester 10 from the data generated by the modules 28 and the camera 32; additionally, see at least ¶[0050] and [0053] regarding the digital representation generated by the module 28 (e.g., LiDAR) includes distances to and relative locations of objects and surfaces within the field of view).
Regarding claim 6, Christiansen teaches wherein the localization processor is configured to locate the haulage vehicle parameter identified in the image relative to the image capture device (see at least ¶[0050], [0053]-[0055] and [0058]-[0059] regarding field of view of the module 28 as well as data collected by the module 28 includes location information for each of a plurality of points making up a point cloud. The location information is relative to the module 28 or 32 (i.e., relative to the location of the sensor which is known in the coordinates) generating the data and may include a set of two-dimensional Cartesian coordinates, such as X and Y coordinates of the point relative to the module).
Regarding claims 7 and 16, Christiansen teaches wherein identifying a location of the haulage vehicle relative to a location of the material transfer vehicle comprises: accessing dimension information indicative of a location of the unloading spout on the material transfer vehicle (see at least ¶[0053], [0055], [0077] and [0080] regarding one or more computing devices use the data from the module 28 to determine the orientation and the dimensions of the receiving vehicle, the one or more computing devices determine the dimensions (or approximate dimensions) of the grain cart 36 by identifying a front edge, rear edge and top edge of the point cloud 62. The one or more computing devices may use the dimensions of the grain cart 36 in determining where the spout 24 of the unload conveyor 22 is located relative to the edges of grain bin 38); and locating the haulage vehicle parameter relative to the unloading spout based on the dimension information (see at least ¶[0053], [0055], [0077] and [0080] regarding one or more computing devices use the data from the module 28 to determine the orientation and the dimensions of the receiving vehicle, the one or more computing devices determine the dimensions (or approximate dimensions) of the grain cart 36 by identifying a front edge, rear edge and top edge of the point cloud 62. The one or more computing devices may use the dimensions of the grain cart 36 in determining where the spout 24 of the unload conveyor 22 is located relative to the edges of grain bin 38).
Regarding claims 8 and 17, Christiansen teaches wherein identifying a haulage vehicle parameter comprises: identifying, as the haulage vehicle parameter, an edge of a receiving area of the haulage vehicle, based on the sensor signal (see at least ¶[0055] and [0065] regarding the one or more computing devices determine the dimensions (or approximate dimensions) of the grain cart 36 by identifying a front edge, rear edge and top edge of the point cloud 62. The one or more computing devices may use the dimensions of the grain cart 36 in determining where the spout 24 of the unload conveyor 22 is located relative to the edges of grain bin 38).
Regarding claims 9 and 18, Christiansen teaches wherein generating control signals comprises: generating control signals to control the propulsion subsystem and the steering subsystem to automatically move the material transfer vehicle from the unloading position to a plurality of successive unloading positions relative to the haulage vehicle based on the fill level, to execute the transfer strategy (see at least ¶[0047], [0081]-[0089] and [0092] regarding automatically controlling grain transfer to only transfer grain from the harvester 10 to the grain cart 36 while the spout 24 is over the grain bin 38 as well as the one or more computing devices determine a distribution of grain in the grain bin; a visual representation of the fill level of the grain bin allows the operator to see whether or not the receiving vehicle is full and to estimate how much time is required to completely fill the receiving the vehicle and the visual representation of the distribution of crop in the grain bin allows the operator to see which portions of the grain bin are full and to adjust the position of the receiving vehicle relative to the unload conveyor 22 of the harvester 10 to fill portions of the grain bin with less grain (i.e., the harvester unload operation is being controlled based on the spout being over the grain cart and a visual representation of fill level to perform unloading at multiple locations in the receiving vehicle); additionally, see [0092] regarding the data collected by the module 128 and the camera 130 is used to generate a graphical representation of the unload conveyor 116 of the harvester 100 and the receiving vehicle that is presented to an operator of either the harvester 100 or the tractor 122 by way of a graphical user interface as explained above. Alternatively, or additionally, the data collected by the module 128 and camera 130 may be used to generate guidance data used by at least one of the harvester 100 and the receiving vehicle to automatically guide at least one of the vehicles to maintain proper alignment of the unload conveyor 116 with the receiving vehicle).
Regarding claim 21, Christiansen teaches wherein the material transfer vehicle comprises an agricultural grain cart (¶[0040] “grain cart”) and the mobile machine comprises a harvesting machine (¶[0037] “harvester”).
Claim(s) 3, 12 and 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Christiansen et al. (US 20220019239 A1) in view of Krause et al. (US 10034427 B2), as applied to claim 2 and 11 above, and in further view of Singh et al. (US 11635768 B2).
Regarding claims 3 and 12, the combination of Christiansen and Krause does not explicitly teach further comprising: detecting whether the haulage vehicle is within a threshold distance of the material transfer vehicle; and if so, outputting, as the trigger criterion, a vehicle proximity signal. However, Singh discloses a control system for coordinating control of multiple work vehicles and teaches further comprising: detecting whether the haulage vehicle is within a threshold distance of the material transfer vehicle (see at least Col. 4, lines 32-52, and Col. 8, lines 23-38, regarding if a distance between the harvester and the haul vehicle is less than an engagement distance, the controller controls the steering control system and the speed control system to direct the haul vehicle toward the target position); and if so, outputting, as the trigger criterion, a vehicle proximity signal (see at least Col. 3, line 34, to Col. 4, line 52, and Col. 8, lines 23-38, regarding if a distance between the harvester and the haul vehicle is less than an engagement distance, the controller controls the steering control system and the speed control system to direct the haul vehicle toward the target position; once the haul vehicle substantially reaches the target position, the controller controls the steering control system and the speed control system to substantially maintain the target position and the target velocity, thereby facilitating transfer of agricultural product from the harvester to the storage compartment; also, see at least Col. 13, line 53, to Col. 14, line 22, regarding outputting a control signal based on reaching a first target position).
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 the system and method of assisted or automated grain unload synchronization of Christiansen as modified by Krause to provide, with a reasonable expectation of success, detecting whether the haulage vehicle is within a threshold distance of the material transfer vehicle; and if so, outputting, as the trigger criterion, a vehicle proximity signal, as taught by Singh, to provide adjusting steering or speed if outside of engagement distance to substantially maintain the target position and the target velocity. (Singh at Col. 4, lines 32-52)
Regarding claim 19, Christiansen teaches a control system, comprising: a sensor configured to detect a characteristic of a haulage vehicle and generate a sensor signal indicative of the detected characteristic (see at least ¶[0050], [0053] and [0058]-[0059] regarding field of view of the module 28 as well as data collected by the module 28 includes location information for each of a plurality of points making up a point cloud. The location information is relative to the module 28 or 32 (i.e., relative to the location of the sensor) generating the data and may include a set of two-dimensional Cartesian coordinates, such as X and Y coordinates of the point relative to the module; the electromagnetic detecting and ranging module 28 is positioned and configured for detecting the location and orientation of a receiving vehicle relative to the agricultural harvester), the sensor being mounted on a material transfer vehicle (¶[0041] “electromagnetic detecting and ranging module 28 mounted on an exterior surface” and “the module 28 and the camera 32 are both mounted on the exterior surface”) that has a propulsion subsystem configured to provide propulsion to the material transfer vehicle (see at least ¶[0044] and [0090] regarding an engine and a self-propelled forage harvester), a steering subsystem configured to control a heading of the material transfer vehicle (see at least [0039], [0042], [0044], [0049] and [0092] regarding wheels and actuators), and a material transfer subsystem configured to transfer material from the material transfer vehicle through an outlet end of an unloading spout to a landing point (see abstract and at least ¶[0006]-[0007], [0037]-[0038], [0040]-[0041], [0044], [0055], [0062], [0064], [0067]-[0068] and [0090] regarding an unload conveyor or discharge chute; these also include determining where the spout 24 of the unload conveyor 22 is located relative to the edges of grain bin 38 in automatically controlling grain transfer to only transfer grain from the harvester 10 to the grain cart 36 while the spout 24 is over the grain bin; also, see [0039]-[0040] regarding an unload conveyor 22 transfers grain from the clean grain tank 20 to a receiving vehicle); at least one processor (¶[0045] “microprocessors”); and memory storing computer executable instructions (¶[0045] “memory elements”) which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform steps, comprising: identifying a location of a receiving area in the haulage vehicle relative to a location of the material transfer vehicle based on the sensor signal (see abstract and at least ¶[0006]-[0007], [0036], [0038], [0055], [0064] and [0068] regarding detecting the relative positions of the harvesters and receiving vehicles during unload operations and providing fully automated operation of at least one of the machines to synchronize movement during unload operations); detecting a fill level of material in the haulage vehicle based on the sensor signal (see at least ¶[0047], [0081]-[0089] and [0092] regarding detecting the fill level of crop material within the receiving vehicle); and transfer material to the haulage vehicle based on the location of the receiving area of the haulage vehicle relative to the material transfer vehicle, based on the detected fill level, and based on a transfer strategy (see at least ¶[0047], [0081]-[0089] and [0092] regarding automatically controlling grain transfer to only transfer grain from the harvester 10 to the grain cart 36 while the spout 24 is over the grain bin 38 as well as the one or more computing devices determine a distribution of grain in the grain bin; a visual representation of the fill level of the grain bin allows the operator to see whether or not the receiving vehicle is full and to estimate how much time is required to completely fill the receiving the vehicle and the visual representation of the distribution of crop in the grain bin allows the operator to see which portions of the grain bin are full and to adjust the position of the receiving vehicle relative to the unload conveyor 22 of the harvester 10 to fill portions of the grain bin with less grain (i.e., the harvester unload operation is being controlled based on the spout being over the grain cart and a visual representation of fill level); additionally, see [0092] regarding the data collected by the module 128 and the camera 130 is used to generate a graphical representation of the unload conveyor 116 of the harvester 100 and the receiving vehicle that is presented to an operator of either the harvester 100 or the tractor 122 by way of a graphical user interface as explained above. Alternatively or additionally, the data collected by the module 128 and camera 130 may be used to generate guidance data used by at least one of the harvester 100 and the receiving vehicle to automatically guide at least one of the vehicles to maintain proper alignment of the unload conveyor 116 with the receiving vehicle)
Christiansen does not explicitly teach a transfer strategy that defines a progression of landing points in a receiving area of the haulage vehicle. However, Krause discloses a harvesting device and teaches a transfer strategy that defines a progression of landing points in a receiving area of the haulage vehicle (see at least Col. 1, lines 19-42, and Col. 8, lines 9-25, regarding crop transfer at a first impact point and continuing transfer at least a second impact point based on available volume; also, Col. 3, lines 31-36, discusses transfer strategy based on type of hauling vehicle).
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 the system and method of assisted or automated grain unload synchronization of Christiansen to provide, with a reasonable expectation of success, a transfer strategy that defines a progression of landing points in a receiving area of the haulage vehicle, as taught by Krause, to provide swiveling the transfer device such that the position of the impact point is varied in order to utilize all of the available hauling volume. (Krause at Col. 1, lines 32-35)
The combination of Christiansen and Krause does not explicitly teach detecting that the haulage vehicle is within a threshold distance of the material transfer vehicle and generating, as a trigger criterion, a vehicle proximity signal indicating the haulage vehicle is within the threshold distance of the material transfer vehicle; and in response to the trigger criterion, controlling one or more of the propulsion subsystem, the steering subsystem, or the material transfer subsystem of the material transfer vehicle to automatically position the material transfer vehicle in an unloading position relative to the haulage vehicle. However, Singh discloses a control system for coordinating control of multiple work vehicles and teaches detecting that the haulage vehicle is within a threshold distance of the material transfer vehicle (see at least Col. 4, lines 32-52, and Col. 8, lines 23-38, regarding if a distance between the harvester and the haul vehicle is less than an engagement distance, the controller controls the steering control system and the speed control system to direct the haul vehicle toward the target position) and generating, as a trigger criterion, a vehicle proximity signal indicating the haulage vehicle is within the threshold distance of the material transfer vehicle (see at least Col. 3, line 34, to Col. 4, line 52, and Col. 8, lines 23-38, regarding if a distance between the harvester and the haul vehicle is less than an engagement distance, the controller controls the steering control system and the speed control system to direct the haul vehicle toward the target position; once the haul vehicle substantially reaches the target position, the controller controls the steering control system and the speed control system to substantially maintain the target position and the target velocity, thereby facilitating transfer of agricultural product from the harvester to the storage compartment; also, see at least Col. 13, line 53, to Col. 14, line 22, regarding outputting a control signal based on reaching a first target position); and in response to the trigger criterion, controlling one or more of the propulsion subsystem, the steering subsystem, or the material transfer subsystem of the material transfer vehicle to automatically position the material transfer vehicle in an unloading position relative to the haulage vehicle (see at least Col. 3, line 34, to Col. 4, line 52, and Col. 8, lines 23-38, regarding if a distance between the harvester and the haul vehicle is less than an engagement distance, the controller controls the steering control system and the speed control system to direct the haul vehicle toward the target position; once the haul vehicle substantially reaches the target position, the controller controls the steering control system and the speed control system to substantially maintain the target position and the target velocity, thereby facilitating transfer of agricultural product from the harvester to the storage compartment; also, see at least Col. 13, line 53, to Col. 14, line 22, regarding outputting a control signal based on reaching a first target position).
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 the system and method of assisted or automated grain unload synchronization of Christiansen as modified by Krause to provide, with a reasonable expectation of success, detecting that the haulage vehicle is within a threshold distance of the material transfer vehicle and generating, as a trigger criterion, a vehicle proximity signal indicating the haulage vehicle is within the threshold distance of the material transfer vehicle; and in response to the trigger criterion, controlling one or more of the propulsion subsystem, the steering subsystem, or the material transfer subsystem of the material transfer vehicle to automatically position the material transfer vehicle in an unloading position relative to the haulage vehicle, as taught by Singh, to provide adjusting steering or speed if outside of engagement distance to substantially maintain the target position and the target velocity. (Singh at Col. 4, lines 32-52)
Regarding claim 20, Christiansen teaches wherein identifying a location of a receiving area in the haulage vehicle relative to a location of the material transfer vehicle based on the sensor signal comprises identifying an edge of the receiving area of the haulage vehicle, based on the sensor signal (see at least ¶[0055] regarding the one or more computing devices use the dimensions of the grain cart 36 to determine where the spout 24 of the unload conveyor 22 is located relative to the edges of grain bin 38 (i.e., trigger condition being when the spout is located over the edges of the grain bin) in automatically controlling grain transfer to only transfer grain from the harvester 10 to the grain cart 36 while the spout 24 is over the grain bin 38), and wherein generating control signals comprises: generating control signals to control the propulsion subsystem and the steering subsystem to automatically move the material transfer vehicle from the unloading position to a plurality of successive unloading positions relative to the haulage vehicle based on the fill level, to execute the transfer strategy (see at least ¶[0047], [0081]-[0089] and [0092] regarding automatically controlling grain transfer to only transfer grain from the harvester 10 to the grain cart 36 while the spout 24 is over the grain bin 38 as well as the one or more computing devices determine a distribution of grain in the grain bin; a visual representation of the fill level of the grain bin allows the operator to see whether or not the receiving vehicle is full and to estimate how much time is required to completely fill the receiving the vehicle and the visual representation of the distribution of crop in the grain bin allows the operator to see which portions of the grain bin are full and to adjust the position of the receiving vehicle relative to the unload conveyor 22 of the harvester 10 to fill portions of the grain bin with less grain (i.e., the harvester unload operation is being controlled based on the spout being over the grain cart and a visual representation of fill level to perform unloading at multiple locations in the receiving vehicle); additionally, see [0092] regarding the data collected by the module 128 and the camera 130 is used to generate a graphical representation of the unload conveyor 116 of the harvester 100 and the receiving vehicle that is presented to an operator of either the harvester 100 or the tractor 122 by way of a graphical user interface as explained above. Alternatively, or additionally, the data collected by the module 128 and camera 130 may be used to generate guidance data used by at least one of the harvester 100 and the receiving vehicle to automatically guide at least one of the vehicles to maintain proper alignment of the unload conveyor 116 with the receiving vehicle).
Conclusion
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/C.L.K/Examiner, Art Unit 3666
/ANNE MARIE ANTONUCCI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3666
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