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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1, 7, 12 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by Johnson 2012/0215729.
The PG Pub to Johnson discloses a method and system for taking images of crop fields and applying an agrochemical to the fields by ground based tractors and drones as well as manned or unmanned aircraft as described in paragraphs 26, 37-45 and 71.
[0026] The present invention concerns methods and systems which collect, integrate, and process various types of data from various sources to generate a vegetation control plan that may be provided to and used by people engaged in vegetation control operations. Vegetation control plans generated in accordance with the present invention may include a variety of recommended treatment and control practices and projected outcomes resulting from the implementation of the recommended plan. In some embodiments, a user may be able to manipulate various aspects of a vegetation control plan in order to have the vegetation control plan generator hypothetically predict outcomes for implementation of various control practices. In this way, the user can anticipate the costs and/or impact of implementation of a particular treatment and control practice prior to its implementation in the "real world." The use of such "what-if" scenarios may help the user predict and manage bottlenecks, constraints, and risks associated with various vegetation control strategies and practices. A vegetation control treatment plan (or, simply, vegetation control plan), as the term is used herein, may be include a set of processes by which unwanted vegetation is identified and treated and all of the associated activities related to that process, such as the determination of treatment and control strategies as well as the application of treatments (e.g., chemical, biological, mechanical, etc.).
[0037] Database 120 may be one or a series of databases linked together and in communication with vegetation control plan generator 110. Database 120 may store data related to any facet of the vegetation control process including, for example, plant identification and characteristics (e.g., growth characteristics, existing research, etc.), budget information, site location including size and shape, soil characteristics, resource availability or utilization, unplanned events (e.g., weather, equipment breakdowns, illness, and other personnel issues, etc.), local knowledge (e.g., user preferences, user contractual obligations, and historical outcomes, etc.), regulatory requirements, and planned vegetation control events (e.g., personnel availability and scheduled treatment applications, etc.). Further details regarding the information stored in database 120 are discussed below with regard to FIG. 2.
[0038] Generating a vegetation control plan can involve the user 130 manually selecting or entering, for example, various preferences (e.g., starting date, targeted end date, starting locations, etc.), contractual obligations, legal, and other regulatory requirements, crop considerations for an existing or planned crop on the site, land data (e.g., visually determined conditions, features, site/field entry points, etc.), equipment type and conditions, transportation and relocation considerations (e.g., weight constraints, etc.), employee considerations, and/or local knowledge of vegetation that may be incorporated into a vegetation control plan. On some occasions, manually selected preferences and other user-entered information may be stored in database 120.
[0039] In some embodiments, a user may enter local knowledge (e.g., preferences) or requirements into vegetation control plan generator 110 for incorporation into a vegetation control plan. For example, a user may enter a period of time in which a particular resource is available or details of a required supply including its delivery and site/field entry points which may be incorporated into the vegetation control plan by vegetation control plan generator 110. Alternatively, vegetation control plans may be generated in a partially or wholly automated manner by vegetation control plan generator 110 analyzing, for example, historical, real-time, or known data relating to vegetation control. For example, vegetation control plan generator 110 may automatically include consideration of historically known climate conditions (e.g., average temperature or rainfall, etc.) for a geographic location when generating a vegetation control plan. Of course, many other forms of vegetation control plans can be generated, and such plans may include any type of data related to vegetation control.
[0040] Once the vegetation control plan is generated, vegetation control plan generator 110 provides information about the vegetation control plan to user 130. This may be done in a variety of ways, including through the use of an e-mail and/or a message relayed via a messaging system accessible through communication network 105 that includes hyperlinks to a portal at which details regarding the vegetation control plan are available. Other forms of communication, such as an instant message or a text message sent via short message service (SMS) to a user's or operator's mobile phone, or an automated phone call placed by the vegetation control plan generator 110, may also be used to, for example, indicate a vegetation control plan has been updated or an unplanned event has occurred. In FIG. 1, user interface 125 is meant to represent any device via which user 130 can be provided with information regarding the vegetation control plan. Exemplary interfaces 125 include computer systems, equipment interfaces as may be provided by, for example, a tractor, sprayer, aircraft and/or other equipment, mobile computing devices (including but not limited to so-called "smart phones"), televisions, tablet computing devices, and portable computing devices.
[0041] In some embodiments, one or more managers 145 may be enabled to access a vegetation control plan via manager interface 140 communicatively coupled to network 105. Manager interface 140 may be similar to user interface 125 and, on some occasions, may be resident on a piece of equipment 150 used to execute the treatment. Managers 145 may manage and monitor the activities of any number of employees and/or pieces of equipment and the deployment of resources in the execution of a vegetation control plan. Exemplary managers 145 include employees, managers, owners, equipment operators, suppliers, consultants, regulators, and others who assist user 130 in the determining, updating, and/or executing a vegetation control plan.
[0042] Vegetation control plan generator 110 may use historical vegetation control information in order to, for example, determine the stage of plant development for the unwanted vegetation, determine a period or number of growing degree days required for the unwanted vegetation to mature, and/or determine the point at which the treatment plan is the least risky (lesser opportunity of producing unintended results) and would best produce the desired and intended outcomes. These determinations may be used to create the vegetation control plan, including making product recommendations as well as predictions for outcomes.
[0043] In some embodiments, one or more pieces of equipment 150 will serve multiple functions, including for example, as an input device for the user 130 or the manager 145 to request generation and/or modification of plans, as an output device for the system to control the activity of the equipment according to the vegetation control plan generator's 110 instructions, for example controlling application rates and steering or flying the equipment, and as a status device reporting progress, activities, and outcomes.
[0044] Generating vegetation control plans may include modifying previously selected or recommended plans. For example, the vegetation control plan generator may be configured to update or modify a selected vegetation control plan according and responsive to information concerning other vegetation control projects, weather, new product data, new research data, new best practices information, unplanned events, and new regulatory information. Examples of such instances are described further below.
[0045] FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting exemplary sets of data or databases that may be included in database 120. For example, database 120 may include area data 205, resource data 210, unwanted plant data 215, planned events data 220, unplanned events data 225, local knowledge data 230, climate data 235, logistical data 240, best practices data 245, geologic/geographic data 250, supplier and supplies data 255, regulatory data 260, financial data 265, and/or buyer data 270. Information stored in database 120 may be received from, for example, a user, such as user 130, a data feed, such as data feed 115, a manager, such as manager 145, a piece of equipment, such as equipment 150, a remote sensor, such as remote sensor 135 via a communication network, such as communication network 105, and/or combinations of the foregoing.
[0071] Alternatively, the unwanted vegetation and/or site location (including its size and shape) may be determined through the use of a drone or unmanned aircraft 620 which would image the unwanted vegetation from the air and determine the location of same using its onboard navigation and camera sensors. Similar imaging and location determination could be performed by ground-based vehicles. Other examples of techniques to identify and locate unwanted vegetation may be through visual inspection, manned aircraft or marine vehicles (e.g., in the case of unwanted vegetation in lakes, rivers, reservoirs, etc.), and/or satellites.
(New) A method for applying an agrochemical product to an agricultural field, comprising:collecting a first set of images of the field, wherein the first set of images is obtained by a drone;generating, based on the first set of images, a sequence of applications of the agrochemical product to at least a portion of the field, wherein the sequence of applications comprises at least one ground-based application and at least one drone-based application; andexecuting the sequence of applications using a combination of ground-based equipment and drone-based equipment. . (see paragraphs 40 and 71 for ground based and air based application with images from the air.
7. (New) A method for applying an agrochemical product to an agricultural field, comprising:collecting a first set of images of the field, wherein the first set of images is obtained by a drone;generating, based on the first set of images, a sequence of applications of the agrochemical product to at least a portion of the field, wherein the sequence of applications comprises at least one ground-based application and at least one drone-based application; andexecuting the sequence of applications using a combination of ground-based equipment and drone-based equipment.(see paragraphs 40 and 71 for ground based and air based application with images from the air).
12. (New) A method for applying an agrochemical product to an agricultural field, comprising:collecting a set of low-resolution images of the field, wherein the set of low-resolution images is obtained by a first image capturing device;collecting a first set of high-resolution images of the field, wherein the set of high- resolution images is obtained by a second image capturing device;generating, based on the set of low-resolution images and the first set of high-resolution images of the field, a sequence of applications of the agrochemical product to at least a portion of the field; andexecuting the sequence of applications using at least one of ground-based equipment and drone-based equipment.(Follows from claim 2)
17. (New) A system for applying an agrochemical product to an agricultural field, comprising:a first image capturing device configured to collect a set of low-resolution images of the field;a second image capturing device configured to collect a first set of high-resolution images of the field;a sequence generating module comprising a processor coupled to a memory and configured to receive the set of low-resolution images and the first set of high-resolution images and generate a sequence of applications of the agrochemical product to at least a portion of the field based on the set of low-resolution images and the first set of high-resolution images; andat least one of ground-based equipment and drone-based equipment configured to execute the sequence of applications. (follows from claim 2)
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) 3-6, 8-11, 13-16 and 18-21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Johnson ‘729.
3. (New) The method of Claim 2, wherein a first application in the sequence of application is a ground-based application, and subsequent applications in the sequence of applications are drone-based applications.(obviously a design expedient that depends on the users preference)
4. (New) The method of Claim 3, wherein the ground-based application is performed prior to plant emergence, and the drone-based applications are performed subsequent to plant emergence. (obvious design expedients depending on the users preference)
5. (New) The method of Claim 2, further comprising: collecting, by the drone, at least a second set of images of the field, wherein the at least second set of images is collected after the ground-based application; and updating the sequence of applications of the agrochemical product based on the at least second set of images of the field. (more design expedients as follow up applications are old and well known to finish the job)
6. (New) The method of Claim 2, wherein generating the sequence of applications of the agrochemical product is further based on at least one of a return-on-investment determination, a weather forecast, a pre-determined number of applications of the agrochemical product, and a development cycle of a crop. ( a person having ordinary skill in the art would consider the monetary effects of timing of the application of agrochemicals to a field.)
Claims 8-11, 13-16 and 18-21 follow from the above rejection.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RICHARD M CAMBY whose telephone number is (571)272-6958. The examiner can normally be reached M - F flex.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Peter D Nolan can be reached at 571 270 7016. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RICHARD M CAMBY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3661
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