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
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. 17/551,306, filed on 12/15/2021.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 10 September 2024 were filed and are being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. 12,058,948.
Claims 1-20 of Patent ‘948 disclose the same subject matter of a multi-depth sensor having all the claimed limitations as shown in claims 1-20 of the instant application except for explicitly reciting physical sensors. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to include the physical sensors, but it’s well known in the art that the disclosed “agricultural sensors” are considered as similar to the claimed “physical sensors.”
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 (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 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 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Shakoor et al (US 11,116,154).
Shakoor et al disclose the following claimed features:
Regarding claim 1, a multi-depth sensor (Figures 1-6 and 13, element 20, 200) comprising: a global positioning sensor (120); at least two sets of physical sensors (26) located close to at least two different depths; a processing structure (Claim 17) executing a plurality of instructions stored on a tangible computer-readable memory, the instructions comprise: sampling at least one measurement from the at least two sets of physical sensors (26); and storing the at least one measurement on the memory (Figure 13).
Regarding claim 2, further comprising a pipe housing the at least two sets of physical sensors beneath a ground surface (Figure 1).
Regarding claim 3, further comprising an above-ground pipe (22); and a housing coupled thereto for holding at least the processing structure and the computer-readable memory (Figure 6).
Regarding claim 4, wherein the above-ground pipe comprises a striking surface (via spikes 102) for driving the pipe housing beneath the ground surface (Figure 1).
Regarding claim 5, wherein the at least two sets of physical sensors (26) are spaced at uniform depths beneath the ground surface (Figure 5).
Regarding claim 6, wherein the at least two sets of physical sensors (26) are spaced at varying depths beneath the ground surface (Figure 5).
Regarding claim 7, wherein the at least one physical sensor (26) is selected from at least one of: a moisture sensor, a temperature sensor, a nitrogen/phosphorus/potassium (NPK) sensor, a solar radiation sensor, a rain gauge, and a wind speed sensor (column 4, lines 47-50).
Regarding claim 8, wherein instructions further comprise: communicating the stored measurement via a wireless module (220) to at least one of: a stationary field monitor, a host server, and a mobile field monitor (Figure 13).
Regarding claim 9, a field monitor for use with a mobile platform (Figures 9 and 13), the field monitor comprising: a housing coupled to the mobile platform; a camera (46); a Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) sensor (20,200); a processing structure executing a plurality of instructions stored on a tangible computer-readable memory (Claim 17), the instructions comprise: capturing point data from the LiDAR sensor (20, 200); capturing image data from the camera (46); generating an above-ground field data from the image data and the point data; and determining crop characteristic data (column 6, lines 25-52).
Regarding claim 10, wherein the instructions further comprise: filtering the above-ground field data prior to determining the crop characteristic data (column 9, lined 21-52).
Regarding claim 11, wherein the instructions further comprise: filtering the point data set prior to generating the above-ground field data (column 9, lined 21-52).
Regarding claim 12, wherein the instructions further comprise: segmenting crop data points from the above-ground field data as part of the determining of the crop characteristic data (column 9, lined 21-52).
Regarding claim 013, wherein the processing structure comprises a graphical processing unit (GPU) (Figures 14-16, element 300).
Regarding claim 14, further comprising: a wireless transceiver (220); and wherein the instructions further comprise: receiving below-ground field data from at least one multi-depth sensor (Figure 13; column 9, lines 1-20).
Regarding claim 15, a field data collection system (Figures 1-6 and 13-16) comprising at least one of: a stationary field monitor and at least one mobile field monitor capturing above-ground field data (Figures1 and 13); the stationary field monitor and each of the at least one mobile field monitor having an associated GPS (120) therewith; each of the associated GPS providing GPS data; at least one multi-depth sensor (20, 200) capturing below-ground field data and communicating the below-ground field data to the stationary field monitor; and a GPU processing the above-ground field data and the GPS data to generate a point cloud data set (Figures 14-16, element 300; column 9, lined 21-52).
Regarding claim 16, wherein the stationary field monitor comprises a Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) sensor (26) and a camera (46); and each of the at least one mobile field monitor comprises an associated Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) sensor and an associated camera; the LiDAR sensor, the associated LiDAR sensors (26), the camera, and the associated cameras (46) together providing the above-ground field data.
Regarding claim 17, wherein the above-ground field data comprises image data and point data (column 6, lines 25-52).
Regarding claim 18, wherein the GPU filters the image data and the point data (Figures 14-16, element 300).
Regarding claim 19, wherein the GPU segments a plurality of crop data points from the cloud point data set to determine crop characteristic data (Figures 14-16, element 300).
Regarding claim 20, wherein the GPU adjusts the crop characteristic data in response to the below-ground field data (Figures 14-16, element 300).
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AN H DO whose telephone number is (571)272-2143. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 7:00am-4:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ricardo Magallanes can be reached on 571-272-5960. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/AN H DO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
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