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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim foreign priority based on a application filed in FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY on 08/08/2023.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 08/08/24 and 12/18/2024 was filed. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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) 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Long et al (U.S. 2018/0070531) and further in view of Christian Fuchtling (U.S. 2023/01015797).
As per claims 1,11 Long disclosed a self-propelled combine harvester comprising:
a feed channel which is pivotably articulated to the combine harvester about a horizontal axis for height adjustment by at least one device [an exemplary embodiment of an agricultural machine 20 formed in accordance with the present invention is shown, including a header height control (HHC) system 22 operable for controlling height and tilting adjustment of a header 24 carried on a front end 26 of machine 20, as machine 20 moves over a ground surface 28, as denoted by arrow F. Harvesting machine 20 is a typical, self propelled combine harvester having a chassis 30 carrying a conventionally configured and operable engine and power train that drives tracks or wheels 32. The engine can power a cutter 40 of header 24, which can include a conventionally configured and operable sickle cutter] (Paragraph. 0028);
a draper positioned on the feed channel and including a center segment with a central frame segment and at least two side segments, each with an outer frame segment, wherein a respective side segment is pivotably connected to the center segment by a frame joint comprising a pivot axis, wherein the respective side segment is positionable relative to the center segment by one or more actuators [To control the height, lateral tilting and fore-aft tilting of the header 24, the chassis 30 carries an actuator system 34 with actuators 34A, 34B, and 34C which can be linked to a frame 36 of the header 24 and/or the feeder 46. One or more of the actuators 34A, 34B, 34C can also be mounted to the chassis 30, if desired. The actuators 34A, 34B, 34C can be pneumatic or hydraulic cylinders or other types of actuators that exert forces on the frame 36, or a component connected to the frame 36 such as the feeder 46, in order to lift, lower, and tilt the header 24 in a conventional manner] (Paragraph. 0030); and
a control unit configured to: automatically determine a height adjustment of the feed channel when lifting the draper [Harvesting machine 20 is a typical, self-propelled combine harvester having a chassis 30 carrying a conventionally configured and operable engine and power train that drives tracks or wheels 32. The engine can power a cutter 40 of header 24, which can include a conventionally configured and operable sickle cutter, disk cutters, or the like, as well as a reel 41, and gathering apparatus 44, which here is a draper belt system but could be an auger device, all of which are conventionally configured and operable] (Paragraph. 0028);
and
However Long did not explicitly disclosed automatically actuate the one or more actuators in order to align the at least two side segments relative to the center segment depending on the height adjustment of the feed channel when lifting the draper.
In the same field of endeavor Christian disclosed, “At least one potentiometer 30 is likewise arranged on the respective measuring shaft 31a, 31b, 32a, 32b. The measuring shafts 29a, 29b, 31a, 31b, 32a, 32b and the associated potentiometers 30 likewise form sensors 13, with which a vertical distance 12 of the draper header 20 from the ground 10 is determined in a manner known per se. The measuring shafts 29a, 29b, 31a, 31b, 32a, 32b, in a specific manner of operation of the draper header 20, in which the cutter bar 26 rests on the ground 10 across the entire width of the draper header 20, sense the position in which the respective support arm 27 that is pivotable about the axis extending transversely to the direction of travel FR is located relative to the frame 28 of the central portion 21 and of the side portions 22L, 22R. The segmented frame 28 is in this case guided by the raising and lowering of the pick-up apparatus 3 in a desired position with respect to the support arms 27, while the cutter bar 26 follows the ground contour. During operation in this specific manner of operation of the draper header 20, the distance of the segmented frame 28 from the ground 10 is determined for each frame segment by means of the measuring shafts 29a, 29b, 31a, 31b, 32a, 32b (Paragraph. 0036).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date was made to have incorporated At least one potentiometer 30 is likewise arranged on the respective measuring shaft 31a, 31b, 32a, 32b. The measuring shafts 29a, 29b, 31a, 31b, 32a, 32b and the associated potentiometers 30 likewise form sensors 13, with which a vertical distance 12 of the draper header 20 from the ground 10 is determined in a manner known per se. The measuring shafts 29a, 29b, 31a, 31b, 32a, 32b, in a specific manner of operation of the draper header 20, in which the cutter bar 26 rests on the ground 10 across the entire width of the draper header 20, sense the position in which the respective support arm 27 that is pivotable about the axis extending transversely to the direction of travel FR is located relative to the frame 28 of the central portion 21 and of the side portions 22L, 22R. The segmented frame 28 is in this case guided by the raising and lowering of the pick-up apparatus 3 in a desired position with respect to the support arms 27, while the cutter bar 26 follows the ground contour. During operation in this specific manner of operation of the draper header 20, the distance of the segmented frame 28 from the ground 10 is determined for each frame segment by means of the measuring shafts 29a, 29b, 31a, 31b, 32a, 32b as taught by Christian in the method and system of Long to overcome the disadvantages in the harvesting system.
4. As per claims 2,12 Long-Christian disclosed further comprising at least one sensor configured to generate one or more signals indicative of a pivot angle of the feed channel and to transmit the one or more signals to the control unit; and
wherein the control unit is configured to evaluate the one or more signals received from the at least one sensor) in order to determine the height adjustment of the feed channel (Long, Paragraph. 0007).
5. As per claims 3,13 Long-Christian disclosed wherein the control unit is configured to determine a height adjustment of the feed channel when lifting the draper by:
access a threshold value for a pivot angle (Long, Paragraph. 0003);
compare the pivot angle with the threshold value; and
responsive to determining that the pivot angle equals or exceeds the threshold value for the pivot angle, controlling the side segments into a deflected position in which the side segments are swiveled up at a predetermined angle relative to the center segment (Long, Paragraph. 0031).
6. As per claims 4,14 Long-Christian disclosed wherein the predetermined angle comprises a maximum assumable angle (Long, Paragraph. 0032).
7. As per claim 5 Long-Christian disclosed further comprising a sensor arrangement positioned on each of the frame joints at least two side segments and configured to monitor an angle arising between the center segment and each of the at least two side segments (Long, Paragraph. 0035).
8. As per claims 6,15,17 Long-Christian disclosed wherein the control unit is further configured to receive an indication of a manually-initiated lifting of the draper; and
wherein, responsive to the control unit determining receipt of the indication of a manually-initiated lifting of the draper, the control unit is configured to actuate the one or more actuators depending on the height adjustment of the feed channel (Long, Paragraph. 0028).
9. As per claims 7,16,18 Long-Christian disclosed wherein the control unit is further configured to receive an indication of operating in an automatic mode; and
wherein the control unit is configured to control the at least two side segments in the automatic mode based on at least a first target value for a first operation of the combine harvester and a second target value for a second operation of the combine harvester, wherein the second target value is greater than the first target value (Christian, Paragraph. 0041);
wherein, responsive to determining the combine harvester is operating in the first operation, the control unit is configured to control, based on the first target value, a position of the draper or a pivot angle of the feed channel (Long, Paragraph. 0028-0029); and wherein, responsive to determining the combine harvester is operating in the second operation, the control unit is configured to control, based on the second target value, the position of the draper or the pivot angle of the feed channel (Christian, Paragraph. 0036). Claims 7,16,18 have the same motivation as to claim 1.
11. As per claims 8,19 Long-Christian disclosed wherein the first operation of the combine harvester comprises picking up harvested material by the draper; and wherein the second operation of the combine harvester comprises one or both of reaching or driving a headland (Christian, Paragraph. 0036). Claims 8,19 have the same motivation as to claim 1.
12. As per claim 9 Long-Christian disclosed wherein the control unit is further configured to: receive a manual input indicative of an override; and responsive to receiving the override, override the automatic mode when operating in one or both of the first operation or the second operation (Christian, Paragraph. 0053). Claim 9 has the same motivation as to claim 1.
13. As per claims 10,20 Long-Christian disclosed wherein the control unit is further configured to: receive an indication of a manual input indicative of an override; and responsive to receiving the override, override the automatic mode when operating in both the first operation and the second operation (Christian, Paragraph. 0017). Claim 10 has the same motivation as to claim 1.
Conclusion
14. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communication from the
examiner should be directed to Adnan Mirza whose telephone number is (571)-272-3885.
15. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday to Friday during normal
business hours. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the
examiner’s supervisor, Faris Almatrahi can be reached on (313)-446-4821.
16. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the
Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published
applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status
information for un published applications is available through Private PAIR only. For
more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you
have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business
Center (EBC) at (866)-217-9197 (toll-free).
/ADNAN M MIRZA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3667
Prosecution Insights