DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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(s) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu CN 112772062 A in view of Luo et al. CN 104938101 A.
Independent Claim 1: Xu discloses an integrated device for soybean sowing and fertilization, comprising
a mobile base (unnumbered base seen in annotated Fig. 1 below), wherein a fertilizer storage unit (9) is installed at a first end (the rear end) of an upper side of the mobile base, a sowing box (1) is installed at a second end (the front end) of the upper side of the mobile base,
a seed storage box (2) is connected to an upper end of the sowing box,
a sowing disc (4) is rotationally installed inside the sowing box,
a plurality of sowing troughs (5) are arranged at an outer edge of the sowing disc,
a sowing tube (18 from box 1) is installed at a bottom of the mobile base,
a fertilizing chamber (18 from unit 9) is installed at a bottom of the sowing tube (as seen in Fig. 1), and
the fertilizer storage unit is provided with a fertilizing mechanism (13, 14) for introducing fertilizer inside the fertilizer storage unit into the fertilizing chamber, as per claim 1.
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However, Xu fails to disclose a quantity adjustment plate slidably installed inside each of the plurality of sowing troughs, a quantity adjustment mechanism for changing a position of the quantity adjustment plate inside each of the plurality of sowing troughs is arranged on the sowing box; and
wherein the quantity adjustment mechanism comprises an empty groove set inside the sowing disc, a cam block is rotationally installed inside the empty groove, a snap-fit ball is contacted with an outer side of the cam block, a snap-fit plate is installed on the snap-fit ball, a snap-fit column is installed on the snap-fit plate, the snap-fit column passes through each of the plurality of sowing troughs the and is connected to the quantity adjustment plate, a snap-fit spring is sleeved on an outer side of the snap-fit column between the snap-fit plate and an inner wall of the empty groove, and the quantity adjustment mechanism further comprises a limiting assembly for driving a rotation of the cam block, as per claim 1.
Luo discloses a similar sowing device comprising a quantity adjustment plate (the outer end surface of 6) slidably installed inside each of the plurality of sowing troughs (the radial channels of disc 3), a quantity adjustment mechanism (2, 3, 6…) for changing a position of the quantity adjustment plate inside each of the plurality of sowing troughs is arranged on the sowing box; and
wherein the quantity adjustment mechanism comprises an empty groove (the interior space of disc 3) set inside the sowing disc (3), a cam block (2) is rotationally installed inside the empty groove, a snap-fit ball (the inner ends of 6) is contacted with an outer side of the cam block (see Figs. 1-2), a snap-fit plate (unnumbered spring loaded plate of 6 seen in Fig. 2) is installed on the snap-fit ball, a snap-fit column (6) is installed on the snap-fit plate, the snap-fit column passes through each of the plurality of sowing troughs and is connected to the quantity adjustment plate, a snap-fit spring (unnumbered springs seen in Fig. 2) is sleeved on an outer side of the snap-fit column between the snap-fit plate and an inner wall of the empty groove (as seen in Fig. 2), and the quantity adjustment mechanism further comprises a limiting assembly (1) for driving a rotation of the cam block, as per claim 1.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the quantity adjustment mechanism of Luo for that of Xu since references disclose means for metering and scattering seed and fertilizer and such a predictable result would be achieved.
Dependent Claims 2-4: Xu further discloses wherein mobile frames (unnumbered, seen in annotated Fig. 1 above) are fixedly installed at four corners of a lower end of the mobile base (seen above), as per claim 2;
wherein a sowing shaft (3) is fixedly connected to a center position of an end of the sowing disc (4), and an end of the sowing shaft away from the sowing disc passes through the sowing box (1) and is connected to an end position of one of the traveling shafts (shaft of wheel 602) through a first belt pulley set (601, 6), as per claim 3;
wherein the fertilizing mechanism (13, 14) comprises a fertilizing pump (13) installed outside the fertilizer storage unit (9, as seen between Figs. 1 and 5), an input end (the upper end of 13 with opening of 14) of the fertilizing pump is connected to a bottom of the fertilizer storage unit through a fertilizer inlet pipe (the top of the vertical pipe extending below unit 9 as seen in Fig. 1), an output end (the bottom end of 13 with opening 14) of the fertilizing pump is connected to the fertilizing chamber (18 from unit 9) through a fertilizer outlet pipe (the bottom portion of the vertical pipe extending below unit 9 as seen in Fig. 1), and a power end (the end of 13 at 10 as seen in Fig. 5) of the fertilizing pump is connected to the sowing shaft (3) through a second belt pulley set (7, 10), as per claim 4.
Luo discloses a similar device wherein traveling shafts (12) are rotationally installed between the mobile frames (when combined with Xu), and traveling wheels (11) are fixedly installed at both ends of the traveling shafts (see Fig. 3), as per claim 2.
Response to Arguments
Please see the updated art rejections above in light of applicant’s claim amendments.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5, 7-8 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Alicia M. Torres whose telephone number is 571-272-6997. The examiner’s fax number is 571-273-6997. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m EST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joseph M. Rocca, can be reached at (571) 272-8971.
Any inquiry of a general nature or relating to the status of this application or proceeding should be directed to the group receptionist whose telephone number is 571-272-3600. The fax number for this Group is 571-273-8300.
/Alicia Torres/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3671 July 20, 2026
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