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 .
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.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 3-4, 6, 8-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Holoubek et al. (2021/0153421).
Regarding claims 1 and 8, Holoubek et al. discloses a method and apparatus for planting with a row unit comprising:
A frame configured to be coupled to a toolbar (Figure 2, 3A)
A seed trench opening assembly (22) carried by the frame and configured to form a seed trench (104) (Figure 3A,3B)
A seed delivery mechanism (28) carried by the frame and configured to deliver seeds to the seed trench (106) (Figure 3A)
A covering device (30,34,44) carried by the frame and configured to penetrate a wall of the seed trench and cover the seeds with soil (108) (pgph 0053)
A seed trench closing assembly (24) carried by the frame and configured to close the seed trench (110) (pgph 0054);
wherein the method of planting comprises
Seed is dispensed from an outlet of the seed delivery mechanism (106)
A wall of the seed trench is penetrated to aid in covering the seed with soil (108) (pgph 0053)
The seed trench is closed with the seed trench closing assembly (110)(pgph 0054)
Regarding claims 3 and 9, Holoubek discloses that the covering device (30) that penetrates the seed trench is a knife (44) (Figure 6A, 9A; pgph 0057).
Regarding claims 4 and 10, Holoubek discloses that the covering device that penetrates the wall of the seed disc can be a disc (34) (Figure 7A) (pgph 0061).
Regarding claim 6, Holoubek discloses that penetrating a wall of the see trench with a covering device comprises transferring soil from the wall of the seed trench to a bottom of the seed trench (pgph 0053).
Regarding claim 11, Holoubek discloses that the seed delivery mechanism comprises an extension configured to extend into the seed trench formed by the seed trench opening assembly (Figure 9A shows the outlet located in the trench).
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) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Holoubek et al. (2021/0153421).
Regarding claim 7, Holoubek discloses the invention as described above including contacting the wall of the seed trench with the covering device in close proximity of a point at which the seed first contacts the bottom of the seed trench (Figure 9A shows the wings (44) of covering device (30) in close proximity to the initial placement of the seed at the bottom of the trench), but fails to specifically disclose the claimed range. While it appears that Holoubek discloses the claimed range due to the size of the seed in relation to the location of the covering device (30,44), it is not specifically disclosed. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to contrive any number of desirable ranges for the location limitation disclosed by Applicant, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Holoubek et al. (2021/0153421) as applied to claim 1 above and further in view of Fernandez (EP3777505).
Regarding claim 2, Holoubek discloses the invention as described above, but fails to disclose depositing the seed in the trench in a specific orientation. Like Holoubek, Fernandez also discloses a seed delivery mechanism for a seeder. Unlike Holoubek, Fernandez deisclsoes that it is desirable to control the orientation of the seed when depositing from the seed delivery mechanism to allow for more homogenous growth (pgph 0021). It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize a seed delivery mechanism in Holoubek as taught by Fernandez to control the orientation of the seed when planting for homogenous growth as the use of a known technique to improve similar devices in the same way (KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 USPQ2d 1385 (2007)).
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Holoubek et al. (2021/0153421) as applied to claim 1 above and further in view of Anderson (6,178,901).
Regarding claim 5, Holoubek discloses the invention as described above, but fails to disclose an extension of the seed delivery mechanism extending into the trench such that the outlet that is covered by the covering device. Like Holoubek, Anderson also discloses a seed delivery mechanism for a seeder. Unlike Holoubek, Anderson discloses an extension on the seed tube (27) such that the seed tube (plus extension) extends into the trench such that the outlet (at the end of the extension) is covered by soil (Figure 7). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize a seed tube extension that allows for the outlet to be covered by soil and therefore ensures that the seeds are covered by soil immediately as they are deposited to ensure that their desired position is maintained as it would be combining prior art elements according to known methods to obtain predictable results (KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 USPQ2d 1385 (2007)).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Schaffert (6,283,050) also discloses a seed tube extension.
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/JAMIE L MCGOWAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3671