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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 12 recites the limitation "the adjustment and release units" in lines 1 and 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim as claim 11 recited only one “adjustment and release unit”. It is unclear if the claim was intended to recite multiple units or not.
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.
Claims 1, 3, 4, 8, 9, 11, 13 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Van Hullebusch et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2017/0164560) in view of Kemmerer (US Patent Application Publication No. 2019/0254233).
In reference to claim 1, Van Hullebusch discloses an adjustment and release unit 17 (Fig. 3) for supporting a concave 6 beneath a threshing unit 5 of a combine harvester (Figs. 1 and 2), the adjustment and release unit 17 being adapted to be mounted over the concave 6 and comprising a first frame element 35 and a second frame element 40 pivotally connected together at a pivot connection 43, wherein the first and second frame elements 35 and 40 have first and second stable angular orientations (Figs. 7A and 7F) relative to each other,
wherein the first frame element 35 comprises:
a first mounting 31 for fixing the first frame element 35 to a control shaft 30;
a first connection point 37 for connection to a concave support arm 20 which extends to the concave (par. 0018), wherein an orientation of the control shaft 30 determines a depth of the concave 6 beneath the adjustment and release unit 17 (Fig. 3, par. 0019),
wherein the second frame element 40 comprises:
a second connection point 55 for connection to a concave height adjustment unit 50; and
a spring 42 for biasing the pivotal connection 37 between the first and second frame elements 35 and 40 towards the stable orientations,
wherein the adjustment and release unit 17 is adapted to be released from the first stable orientation (Fig. 7A) by a force applied at the first connection point 37 which is sufficient to overcome a biasing force of the spring 42, thereby to enable pivoting of the first and second frame elements 35 and 40 relative to each other into the second stable orientation (Figs. 7A-7F).
Van Hullebusch fails to disclose a rotary control shaft.
Kemmerer discloses a rotary control shaft 210 (par. 0022). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use a rotary control shaft in place of the control shaft disclosed by Van Hullebusch as it amounts to a substitution of equivalents to perform the same function, which is in this case to reposition a concave.
In reference to claim 3, Van Hullebusch discloses a height adjustment unit 50 connected to the second connection point 55 (Fig. 5).
In reference to claim 4, Van Hullebusch discloses that the height adjustment unit 50 is controllable to adjust the position of the second connection point 55 to reset the adjustment and release unit 17 from the second stable angular orientation to the first stable angular orientation (par. 0021).
In reference to claim 8, Van Hullebusch discloses an actuator 39 for setting a pre-bias of the spring 42 (par. 0020).
In reference to claim 9, Van Hullebusch discloses that the actuator 39 is for moving an end support 59 of the spring 42 (Fig. 5).
In reference to claim 11, Van Hullebusch discloses a threshing system for a combine harvester, comprising:
a threshing unit 5;
a concave 6 beneath the threshing unit 5 (Figs. 1 and 2); and
the adjustment and release unit 17 of any one of claim 1 (see above) for supporting the concave 6 beneath the threshing unit 5. In combination with the rotary control shaft 210 (par. 0022) of Kemmerer, this would result in the above structure with a rotary control shaft for controlling depth of the concave beneath the threshing unit.
In reference to claim 13, Van Hullebusch discloses two or more threshing units 5 (Fig. 2), wherein each threshing unit 5 has a respective associated concave 6 and a respective adjustment and release unit 17 of claim 1 (see above), wherein the adjustment and release units 17 are independently controllable (par. 0024, each unit 17 activates independently).
In reference to claim 14, Van Hullebusch discloses that the threshing units 5 comprise axial threshing cylinders (Figs. 1 and 2).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 5-7 and 10 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.
Claim 12 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 16, 17, 19, 20, 22 and 23 are allowed.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Broholm et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0221642) discloses a rotary shaft 46 (Fig. 3) for adjusting a concave 30/31 (Fig. 2); and Matousek et al. (US Patent No. 5,489,239) discloses a concave adjustment mechanism (Fig. 4).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRAD HARCOURT whose telephone number is (571)272-7303. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday, 9am to 6pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Doug Hutton can be reached at (571)272-4137. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRAD HARCOURT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3674
6/11/26
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