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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This action is in response to the applicant’s filing on February 20, 2026. Claims 1-21 are pending.
Response to Amendment and Arguments
Applicant's arguments with respect to 35 USC 102 rejections of said previous office action has been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues with respect to claims 1, 8, and 15 that the prior art does not teach or suggest the claim limitation of “"detect or predict material stagnation in the agricultural header; and steer an agricultural header in a weaving pattern to reduce material stagnation in the agricultural header.”
However, the argument is not persuasive. The limitation as claimed is broadly corresponding to Wolff’s teaching a total of three sensors 50 are distributed over the width of the container 46, said sensors serving for detecting the diameter of the bale and/or for detecting the tension of the pressing apparatus, and which also contain information about the distribution of the harvested crops over the width of the container 46 [0025] and the implement 12 is designed in this case as a roundbaler but could also collect and bundle any other harvested crops which are different from hay or grass. Moreover, the desired orientation of the deposited bundled material does not necessarily (only) have to be adapted to the slope inclination but could be selected, for example, in flat terrain such that the bundled material is damaged as little as possible by the effects of weather or may be collected in more easily. Should the traction vehicle 10, instead of having steerable wheels 20, be designed as a vehicle with articulated steering or be provided with crawler drives, which for the steering are drivable at a different speed, the activation of the associated actuators is carried out in a manner similar to the above description [0037, 0040].
In other words, the vehicle with articulated steering or be provided with crawler drives, which for the steering are drivable at a different speed, the activation of the associated actuators based on the sensors 50 for detecting the bale size for initiating phases 1 to 3, the feedback sensor 70 for detecting the position of the drawbar 14 for controlling the offset in phases 2 and 3.
The Examiner believes that all the arguments of the Applicant have been properly addressed and explained. Thus, the rejections of all of the claims are maintained.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and/or 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Wolff et al. US2021/0188240 (“Wolff”).
Regarding claim(s) 1, 8, 15. Wolff discloses a material stagnation reduction system comprising:
an agricultural machine configured to move along a surface;
an agricultural header connected to the agricultural machine and configured to harvest crop material as the agricultural header is moved along the surface by the agricultural machine, the agricultural header comprising a frame supporting a plurality of row units (fig. 1, fig. 2, fig. 3);
one or more processors;
a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium coupled to the one or more processors and storing programming instructions for execution by the one or more processors, the programming instructions instruct the one or more processors to:
detect or predict material stagnation in at least one of the one or more row units ([0025] A total of three sensors 50 are distributed over the width of the container 46, said sensors serving for detecting the diameter of the bale and/or for detecting the tension of the pressing apparatus, and which also contain information about the distribution of the harvested crops over the width of the container 46. ; and
adjust a machine attribute of the agricultural header in response to the detection or prediction of material stagnation (para. 29, The steerable drawbar 14 between the implement 12 and the traction vehicle makes it possible—in combination with a suitable movement control of the traction vehicle 10—to simplify, to shorten and to automate the process of positioning the implement 12. The steerable drawbar 14 also has further advantages such as, for example, improved tracking on corners and the so-called “weaving” for optimized filling of the bale pressing chamber 44 without the operator of the traction vehicle 10 being continuously subjected to lateral movements.)
Regarding claim(s) 9, 16. Wolff discloses wherein the machine attribute includes any one of or any combination of: a steered position of the agricultural header with respect to a crop row, a ground speed, a header height, a header tilt, a gathering chain speed, a stalk roll speed, a deckplate position, a backshaft speed, an auger speed, or a header transmission system state (para. 26, A device for controlling the speed and direction of travel 74 controls the travel speed and direction of travel of the vehicle, i.e. the absolute value of the travel speed of the traction vehicle 10 and whether it travels forwards or backwards. The speed of the traction vehicle 10 and thus of the implement 12, selected from the device for controlling the speed and/or direction of travel 74 when producing the bale, may depend in a manner known per se on the dimensions and the density of the swath 40, which may be detected by the detection device 62 and optionally additional sensors, or may be stored in advance in the previous working process together with the coordinates of the swath 40.)
Regarding claim(s) 2. Wolff discloses wherein the agricultural header includes a frame supporting a plurality of row units, each of the row units having a width defined between directly adjacent crop dividers perpendicular to a direction of travel, the weaving pattern instructed by the programming instructions having an amplitude less than the width of the row unit ([0027] The mode of operation of the control device 52 when picking up the swath 40 is implemented in a manner known per se, such that when picking up the swath 40 the traction vehicle 10 is guided along the reference line 66. The implement 12, controlled by the control device 52 on the basis of the signals of the sensors 50 and optionally the detection device 62, is successively moved to the left and right relative to the traction vehicle 10 by the first actuator 54 and the optional second actuator 58, in order to fill the bale pressing chamber 44 equally over the width thereof since the width of the swath 40 is generally smaller than that of the bale pressing chamber 44. In this case, it is possible to proceed like European Patent Appl. No. EP 1 926 364 A1 or German Patent Application No. DE 10 2009 047 585 A1. FIG. 3 shows in phase 1 the conventional pick-up of the swath 44.)
Regarding claim(s) 3. Wolff discloses wherein a row of crop is off-center within one of the plurality of row units to both left and right sides of the one of the plurality of row units during execution of the weaving pattern ([0028] As soon as the bale is finished it is ejected out of the bale pressing chamber 44 by the door 48 being opened. In practice, the field from which the swath 40 is picked up and on which the finished bale is deposited may not be horizontal in all cases but may be inclined. In FIG. 3 it is assumed that the field is inclined to the left, thus the traction vehicle 10 travels exactly uphill. If the bale were to be ejected with the implement 12 being located with its longitudinal central axis in the direction of the slope inclination (as is the case in phase 1 of FIG. 3) it would ultimately roll down the slope, which is not desired for many reasons, amongst other things due to the danger ensuing therefrom.)
Regarding claim(s) 4. Wolff discloses wherein the weaving pattern instructed by the programming instructions includes at least one left-and-right-turn pair executed in immediate succession (para. 28-30 in combination with a suitable movement control of the traction vehicle 10—to simplify, to shorten and to automate the process of positioning the implement 12. The steerable drawbar 14 also has further advantages such as, for example, improved tracking on corners and the so-called “weaving” for optimized filling of the bale pressing chamber 44 without the operator of the traction vehicle 10 being continuously subjected to lateral movements.)
Regarding claim(s) 5. Wolff discloses wherein the weaving pattern instructed by the programming instructions includes at least two left-and-right-turn pairs executed in immediate succession (para. 28-30 in combination with a suitable movement control of the traction vehicle 10—to simplify, to shorten and to automate the process of positioning the implement 12. The steerable drawbar 14 also has further advantages such as, for example, improved tracking on corners and the so-called “weaving” for optimized filling of the bale pressing chamber 44 without the operator of the traction vehicle 10 being continuously subjected to lateral movements.)
Regarding claim(s) 10, 17. Wolff discloses a sensor system detecting material stagnation in the row unit, wherein the sensor system includes one or both of a contact sensor or a non-contact sensor ([0025] A total of three sensors 50 are distributed over the width of the container 46, said sensors serving for detecting the diameter of the bale and/or for detecting the tension of the pressing apparatus, and which also contain information about the distribution of the harvested crops over the width of the container 46.);`.
Regarding claim(s) 11, 18. Wolff discloses wherein the contact sensor includes one of or any combination of: a pressure sensor, a force sensor, a proximity sensor, a potentiometer, an electrical sensor, or a spring-loaded rod (fig. 1, fig. 2, fig. 3.)
Regarding claim(s) 12, 19. Wolff discloses wherein the non-contact sensor includes any one or of any combination of: a structured light camera, a RGB camera, a radar camera, a lidar camera, an ultrasonic camera, a ToF camera, a thermal camera, a radar emitter and receiver, or a laser emitter and receiver (para. 33, a camera system (for example the detection device 62) may be used in order to determine the width of the swath 44 and to transmit this to the control device 52, which provides the signals for the actuator 54 dimensioned in the described manner.)
Regarding claim(s) 6, 13, 20. Wolff discloses further comprising a machine learning system, wherein the programming instructions use the machine learning system to predict material stagnation (para. 37, the feedback sensor 70 for detecting the position of the drawbar 14 for controlling the offset in phases 2 and 3, and for changing from phase 6 to phase 7, as well as the sensor system for detecting the pitch angle of the implement 12 for terminating the sequence and for ejecting the bale. The different values may be directly detected by the sensors or the values are indirectly detected, for example by measuring covered distances or speeds and associated times and the steering angles.)
Regarding claim(s) 7, 14, 21. Wolff discloses wherein the machine learning system analyzes crop attributes, environmental attributes, or both to predict material stagnation ([0037] The above-described sequence which is passed through is based on the controller 52 activating the actuator system (actuator 54 of the drawbar, if required assisted by the optional actuator 58 for the steering of the wheels 34 of the implement 12 and the device for controlling the speed and direction of travel 74 of the traction vehicle 10) based on signals from sensors, namely the sensors 50 for detecting the bale size for initiating phases 1 to 3.)
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Inquiry
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TRUC M DO whose telephone number is (571)270-5962. The examiner can normally be reached on 9AM-6PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ramón Mercado, Ph.D. can be reached on (571) 270-5744. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TRUC M DO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3658
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