DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: 101’, 103’ (fig. 1). Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 1, the phrase "i.e." in line 9 renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitations following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
Claims 2-21 are rejected are rejected as they depend upon claim 1.
Claim 5 reads “wherein the first device part and the second device part are… rotatable relative to each other about an axis of rotation parallel to the longitudinal axis and displaceable relative to each other in a displacement direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis.” However, from fig. 4A-4B, it appears that the disclosure supports embodiments wherein the first device part and the second device part are rotatable relative to each other about an axis of rotation parallel to the longitudinal axis or displaceable relative to each other in a displacement direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-2, 4, 6, 10, 14, 16, 18, 20-25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Cornelis (WO 2005058013 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Cornelis discloses: A harvesting device (10) for harvesting horticultural produce, side shoots and/or leaves from plant stems in greenhouse cultivation (page 1, lines 5-10), the device comprising:
a guiding member (18a, 18b), which defines a through plant passage and which is configured to surround the plant stem (20) at least partially in the plant passage during use (page 8 lines 1-11), and
a cutting member (24), which is attached to the guiding member and which is configured to cut peduncles of the produce (21), the side shoots (30) and/or petioles of the leaves that are attached to the plant stems, to separate them from the plant stems,
wherein the plant stems are configured to be guided inside the guiding member (18a, b) upon relative movements of the harvesting device along the plant stem along a longitudinal axis in an upward vertical direction (page 10 lines 9-15, fig. 3),
wherein the cutting member is configured to cut the peduncles, the side shoots and/or the petioles that pass the guiding member during movement of the harvesting device (page 10 lines 9-10), and
wherein the harvesting device further comprises:
a storage member (34a, 34b), which surrounds the guiding member at least partially and which is configured to collect the produce that is separated from the plant stems.
Regarding claim 2, Cornelis discloses: The harvesting device according to claim 1, wherein the storage member (34a, 34b) is rotatable relative to the guiding member and/or the cutting member about the longitudinal axis (see fig. 2a-2b).
Regarding claim 4, Cornelis discloses: The harvesting device according to claim 1, wherein the guiding member, the cutting member and the storage member are together, seen in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, subdivided in:
a first device part, comprising a first guiding member part (18a), a first cutting member part (24) and a first storage member part (34a), and in
a second device part, comprising a second guiding member part (18b), a second cutting member part (24) and a second storage member part (34b),
wherein the first device part and the second device part can be moved away from each other in an opened configuration to allow entry in and exit from the plant stem in the plant passage in a radial direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (see fig. 2a-2b), and
wherein the first device part and the second device part can be moved towards each other in a closed configuration to fully enclose the plant passage (see fig. 2a-2b).
Regarding claim 6, Cornelis discloses: The harvesting device according to claim 1, further comprising a side aperture, which provides access to the plant passage in an access direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis to allow entry in and exit from the plant stem in the plant passage in the access direction (see fig. 2a-2b).
Regarding claim 10, Cornelis discloses: The harvesting device according to claim 1 wherein the cutting member is, seen in the radial direction, spaced at a distance from the plant passage (see fig. 2a-2b)
Regarding claim 14, Cornelis discloses: The harvesting device according to
Regarding claim 16, Cornelis discloses: The harvesting device according to claim 1, further comprising a sensor device, which is configured to detect the presence of horticultural produce (page 5 lines 27-page 6 line 10)
Regarding claim 18, Cornelis discloses: The harvesting device according to claim 1, further comprising a release device, which is configured to allow for unloading of the storage member (page 12 lines 15-19).
Regarding claim 20, Cornelis discloses: The harvesting apparatus, comprising a base, the harvesting device according to claim 1 and an actuator device, configured to move the harvesting device relative to the base to move the harvesting device relative to the plant stem along the longitudinal axis (page 16 lines 27-34, page 17 lines 6-9).
Regarding claim 21, Cornelis discloses: The harvesting apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the harvesting devices comprises a sensor device, which is configured to detect the presence of horticultural produce, the harvesting apparatus further comprising a control unit, which is configured to control movement of the harvesting device by the actuator device on the basis of sensor signals from the sensor device (page 17 lines 6-9).
Regarding claim 22, Cornelis discloses a method of harvesting horticultural produce, side shoots and leaves from plant stems in greenhouse cultivation, comprising the steps of:
surrounding the plant stem at least partially in a plant passage by a guiding member (18a, 18b) of a harvesting device,
moving the harvesting device along the plant stem along a longitudinal axis,
guiding peduncles of the produce, the side shoots and/or petioles of the leaves that are attached to the plant stem by the guiding member (page 8 lines 1-11),
cutting the peduncles, the side shoots and/or the leaves by means of a cutting member (24) of the harvesting device, to separate them from the plant stem (page 10 lines 9-10), and
collecting the produce that is separated from the plant stems in a storage member (34a, 34b) of the harvesting device.
Regarding claim 23, Cornelis discloses: The method according to claim 22, further comprising the step of dropping off the side shoots and leaves with the harvesting device (page 5 lines 18-25).
Regarding claim 24, Cornelis discloses: The method according to claim 22, further comprising the step of rotating the storage member relative to the plant stem (see fig. 2a-2b).
Regarding claim 25, Cornelis discloses: The method according to claim 24, further comprising the step of detecting a location of a piece of produce that is to be harvested and of emitting a position sensor signal representing the position of that piece of produce (page 5 lines 27-page 6 line 10), and
wherein the step of rotating the storage member comprising rotating of the storage member in dependence of the position sensor signal (page 16 lines 27-34, page 17 lines 6-9).
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.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cornelis (WO 2005058013 A1) in view of Jan (NL 1024702 C2).
Regarding claim 3, Cornelis discloses: The harvesting device according to claim 1.
Cornelis does not disclose a rocking mechanism, which is configured to tilt the harvesting device with respect to a horizontal tilting axis.
In the same field of endeavor, Jan discloses a harvesting device having a rocking mechanism (5).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have provided Cornelius with a rocking mechanism as disclosed by Jan so that the harvester may be placed relative to a stem more precisely.
Claims 11-13, 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cornelis (WO 2005058013 A1) in view of Zoega (EP 1891852 A1).
Regarding claim 11, Cornelis discloses: The harvesting device according to claim 1,
Cornelis does not disclose wherein the guiding member is crown-shaped, comprising:
a plurality of tips, which are aligned upwardly and substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis and which are spaced around the circumference of the plant passage, and
a respective tapered guiding valley in between each two adjacent tips.
In the same field of endeavor, Zoega discloses a crown-shaped guiding member (see fig. 4-5), comprising:
a plurality of tips (56), which are aligned upwardly and substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis and which are spaced around the circumference of the plant passage, and
a respective tapered guiding valley (60) in between each two adjacent tips.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have provided Cornelis with a crown shaped and tipped guiding member, as disclosed by Zoega, to cleanly sever crops from the stem of the plant to be harvested (paragraph 0053).
Regarding claim 12, Zoega of the resultant combination discloses: The harvesting device according to claim 11, wherein the guiding valleys are U-shaped or V-shaped, seen in the radial direction (see fig. 4-5).
Regarding claim 13, Zoega of the resultant combination discloses: The harvesting device according claim 11 wherein the cutting member comprises a respective cutting device (57) in each of the guiding valleys (60).
Regarding claim 26, Cornelis discloses: A harvesting device for harvesting horticultural produce, side shoots and leaves from plant stems in greenhouse cultivation, the device comprising:
a guiding member (18a, 18b), which defines a through plant passage and which is configured to surround the plant stem at least partially in the plant passage during use, and
a cutting member (24), which is attached to the guiding member and which is configured to cut peduncles of the produce, the side shoots and petioles of the leaves that are attached to the plant stems, to separate them from the plant stems,
wherein the plant stems are configured to be guided inside the guiding member upon relative movements of the harvesting device along the plant stem along a longitudinal axis (page 8 lines 1-11),
wherein the cutting member is configured to cut the peduncles, the side shoots and the petioles that pass the guiding member during movement of the harvesting device (page 10 lines 9-15, fig. 3).
Cornelis does not disclose wherein the cutting member is a rotary cutting member.
In the same field of endeavor, Zoega discloses a rotary cutting member (53, 58).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have provided Cornelis with a rotary cutting member, as disclosed by Zoega, to cleanly sever crops from the stem of the plant to be harvested (paragraph 0053).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7-9, 17, 19 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MADELINE RUNCO whose telephone number is (469)295-9123. The examiner can normally be reached 8-4:30 M-F.
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/MADELINE I RUNCO/ Examiner, Art Unit 3671