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
Claims 1-21 are currently pending in this application. Claim 22 is canceled.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
Claims 1, 3, 11, 13, and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kemp et al. (GB-2303226-A) in view of VAN DE MEERENDONK (US-2021/0112769-A1).
With respect to claims 1 and 11, Kemp teaches a control unit and method (control generator 16, fig.1) arranged to control a flow of milk through a cooling system from a balance tank to a storage tank (control generator 16 arranged in the system as shown in fig.1 and fig.7, to control the level of liquid in a milk receiver tank 10 in a milking machine {fig.7} and to allow it to be cooled {via refrigerated milk storage tank 78, fig.7} and preventing overfilling the milk receiver tank 10, abstract, fig.1, and pages 6-15), the balance tank (the milk receiver tank 10, fig.7) receiving an input of milk from a number of milking points (input pipe 12 of multiple milk cups 70, fig.7 and pages 14-15), the control unit (the control generator 16, fig.1) configured to:
receive a first level-indicating signal reflecting a milk level in the balance tank (the control signal generator 16 receives signal from level sensor arrangement 14 includes sensor probes 22, 24, and 26 {fig.2} or several liquid detectors 28 {fig.3} mounted at different depths in the tank 10 responsive to liquid level rises, fig.1/7 and pages 3-4); and
generate, based on both the first level-indicating signal a first control signal to a milk pump in the cooling system, said milk pump arranged to cause the flow of milk to be pumped out from the balance tank at a flow rate determined by the first control signal (outlet 20 from the bottom of the tank {10} is connected to the input of the pump 18 which serves to pump liquid out of the tank at a rate which increases as a function of liquid depth as controlled by the control signal generator {16} in dependence upon the level sensor arrangement, fig.1/7 and page 3; outputs from the liquid level sensor are coupled to the control generator 16 of Figure 1 which generates a signal which varies in dependence thereon and which is suitable for varying the rate of delivery of the variable speed pump, page 4).
With respect to claim 1, Kemp teaches controlling a flow rate of milk to be pumped out from the balance tank by a first control signal based on the first level-indicating signal (Kemp: pages 3-4), but Kemp doesn’t teach controlling the flow rate is further based on a prediction parameter indicating an estimated future input of milk.
However, it is known by VAN DE MEERENDONK to teach of a milking system (MEERENDONK: figs.1-2) and a method to receive a prediction parameter indicating an estimated future input of milk from the number of milking points (MEERENDONK: calculate an expected milk production for the waiting animals…based on historical data, [0010]) and generate a first control signal to a milk pump (MEERENDONK: the control unit may be configured to determine, for example, the expected milk yield…On the basis thereof, the second flow rate could, for example, be adjusted, for example because the milk yield is so great that in case of an unmodified flow rate, the pump would still be active at the start of a subsequent milking, [0013]; the control unit 5 may be configured to control this pumping speed dynamically, for example on the basis of the expected waiting time. The expected waiting time may in turn be determined by the control unit by means of the time at which a subsequent dairy animal is identified and/or when a milking of the subsequent dairy animal starts and/or the expected milk yield of the subsequent dairy animal and on the basis thereof the expected duration of the milking, [0033]).
Because MEERENDONK’s teaching is also related to a milking system (MEERENDONK: figs.1-2; Kemp: figs.1/7), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to incorporate the teaching of controlling the flow rate of the milk to be pumped out from a tank with a prediction parameter indicating an estimated future input of milk as taught by MEERENDONK with the controlling of a flow rate of milk to be pumped out from the balance tank by a first control signal based on the first level-indicating signal as taught by Kemp for the purpose of better able to predict what the settings on the milking system have to be (MEERENDONK: [0010]).
With respect to claims 3 and 13, Kemp and MEERENDONK combined teaches wherein the prediction parameter (MINest) is based on at least one of: an opening and/or closing of an entrance gate (G1) in to a closed area where the number of milking points are located, an opening and/or closing of an exit gate (G2) out from the closed area where the number of milking points are located, information about a number of milking animals currently being attached to the number of milking points, information about a number of milking animals currently being detached from the number of milking points, information about a milk flow or milk yield from the milking animals currently delivering milk via the number of milking points, and information about a previous milk yield or milk flow curve of the milking animals currently delivering milk via the number of milking points (MEERENDONK: the control unit may be configured to determine, for example, the expected milk yield…On the basis thereof, the second flow rate could, for example, be adjusted, for example because the milk yield is so great that in case of an unmodified flow rate, the pump would still be active at the start of a subsequent milking, [0013]; the control unit 5 may be configured to control this pumping speed dynamically, for example on the basis of the expected waiting time. The expected waiting time may in turn be determined by the control unit by means of the time at which a subsequent dairy animal is identified and/or when a milking of the subsequent dairy animal starts and/or the expected milk yield of the subsequent dairy animal and on the basis thereof the expected duration of the milking, [0033]).
With respect to claim 21, Kemp and MEERENDONK combined teaches a non-volatile, non-transitory data carrier readable by a processing unit and having recorded thereon a computer program comprising software configured to execute the method according to claim 11 when the computer program is run on the processing unit (Kemp: memory and program executable by microcomputer device 60 to perform the method of claim 11, fig.6 and page 6).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 4-10, 12, and 14-20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to disclose or render obvious, which makes the following claims allowable over the prior art:
With respect to claims 2/1 and 12/11, wherein the prediction parameter (MINest) is based on a second level-indicating signal (s(LRT)) reflecting a milk level in a receiver tank (RT) in which the milk from at least one of the number of milking points is collected before being fed into the balance tank (120).
With respect to claims 4/1 and 14/11, wherein the prediction parameter (MINest) is based on at least one of: identity information relating to milking animals that are present in a closed area where the number of milking points are located, and temporal data indicating an extension of a period during which the milking animals have been present in the closed area where the number of milking points are located.
With respect to claims 5/1 and 15/11, wherein the control unit compares an indicated milk level (L) in the balance tank, determined from the first level-indicating signal (s(L)), to at least two predefined threshold levels, and generates the first control signal (C1) such that an indicated milk level (L) in the balance tank (120) above any one of the at least two predefined threshold levels causes the milk pump (150) to pump the flow of milk (F) out from the balance tank (120) at one of at least two flow rates, the at least two flow rates respectively corresponding to the at least two predefined threshold levels, a determination by the control unit that the indicated milk level (L) exceeds a first threshold level of the at least two predefined threshold levels causing the milk pump (150) to pump the flow of milk (F) at a first flow rate of the at least two flow rates, and a determination by the control unit that the indicated milk level (L) exceeds a second threshold level of the at least two predefined threshold levels causing the milk pump (150) to increase the flow of milk (F) from the first flow rate to a second flow rate of the at least two flow rates.
With respect to claims 6/5 and 16/15, wherein the control unit processes the prediction parameter (MINest) so that, when generating the first control signal (C1), the prediction parameter (MINest) overrides the first level-indicating signal (s(L)) so that an operation at the controller to cause the milk pump to increase to a higher one of the at least two flow rates due to an increased milk level (L) in the balance tank past a higher one of the at least two predefined threshold levels is overridden and the milk pump (150) continues to pump the flow of milk (F) out from the balance tank (120) at a lower one of the at least two flow rates corresponding to a lower one of the at least two predefined threshold levels if: the indicated milk level (L) in the balance tank (120) is above the higher one of the at least two predefined threshold levels, and the prediction parameter (MINest) indicates that the estimated future input (MIN) of milk from the number of milking points is decreasing.
With respect to claims 7/5 and 17/15, wherein the control unit processes the prediction parameter (MINest) so that, when generating the first control signal (C1), the prediction parameter (MINest) overrides the first level-indicating signal (s(L)) so that an operation at the controller to cause the milk pump to decrease to a lower one of the at least two flow rates due to a decreased milk level (L) in the balance tank below a higher one of the at least two predefined threshold levels is overridden and the milk pump (150) continues to pump the flow of milk (F) out from the balance tank (120) at a higher one of the at least two flow rates corresponding to a higher one of the at least two predefined threshold levels, if: the indicated milk level (L) in the balance tank (120) is below the higher one of the at least two predefined threshold levels, and the prediction parameter (MINest) indicates that the estimated future input (MIN) of milk from the number of milking points is increasing.
With respect to claims 10/5 and 20/15, wherein the cooling system (170) comprises a heat exchanger (160) configured to transfer heat energy from the flow of milk (F) to a coolant (C) being circulated in a chiller (167) by means of a coolant pump (165) operating in response to a second control signal (C2), and wherein the control unit (110) is further configured to generate the second control signal (C2) based on the first level-indicating signal (s(L)) so that: a flow of the coolant (C) and/or the cooling capacity of the chiller (167) increases if the prediction parameter (MINest) indicates that the estimated future input (MIN) of milk from the number of milking points will increase during a predefined future interval and the indicated milk level (L) exceeds any one of the at least two predefined threshold levels so as to cause the milk pump (150) to pump the flow of milk (F) out from the balance tank (120) at a higher flow rate, and the flow of the coolant (C) and/or the cooling capacity of the chiller (167) decreases if the prediction parameter (MINest) indicates that the estimated future input (MIN) of milk from the number of milking points will decrease during the predefined future interval and the indicated milk level (L) falls below any one of the at least two predefined threshold levels so as to cause the milk pump (150) to pump the flow of milk (F) out from the balance tank (120) at a lower flow rate.
With respect to claims 8/1 and 18/11, further configured to: receive a temperature-indicating signal (T) from a temperature sensor (140) measuring a temperature of the flow of milk (F) before entering the storage tank (130); and incorporate the temperature-indicating signal (T) in generating the first control signal (C1), such that a cooling capacity of the cooling system (170) is increased if the temperature-indicating signal (T) reflects a milk temperature above a set temperature.
With respect to claims 9/8 and 19/18, wherein the first control signal (C1) is generated such that the cooling capacity of the cooling system (170) is decreased if the temperature-indicating signal (T) reflects a milk temperature below the set temperature.
Conclusion
The additional prior arts made of record and have not been relied upon are considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure as follows: US-4034711-A, US-20070272158-A1, and US-20200008389-A1.
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/HIEN D KHUU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2116 January 30, 2026