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.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because Figs. 3 and 4 are in gray-scale rather than composed of solid line drawings. See 37 CFR 1.84(a)(1) and 37 CFR 1.84 (l). Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 3 are objected to because both claims include reference numerals that are not enclosed within parentheses. See 608.01(m). Appropriate correction is required.
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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sorensen et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2021/0120741) in view of Cook (US Patent Application Publication No. 2021/0163229).
In reference to claim 1, Sorensen discloses a harvesting header 112 (Fig. 6) having an endless belt 126 configured to form a closed loop to be routed around at least one draper roller 131 and a draper tensioner mechanism (Fig. 6) mounted to a header frame 508 for releasing and reapplying tension on the endless belt 126, the draper tensioner mechanism comprising:
a positioning control carriage 502 on which the draper roller 131 is mounted, the carriage 502 being moveable with respect to the header frame 508 along a direction that is perpendicular to a rotational axis of the roller 131 (Fig. 6);
a rockshaft 602 extending in a direction parallel with the roller 131 (Fig. 6, flange 604 extends in a direction parallel with the roller 131);
a tensioning linkage 512 connecting the carriage to the rockshaft 502, wherein the tensioning linkage 512 has a pivot arm 510 having a proximal end connected to the rockshaft 602 and a distal end connected to a first end of a positioning link 509 at pivot joint (Fig. 6), and wherein a second end of the positioning link 509 is connected to the carriage 502 such that rotation of the rockshaft 602 moves the pivot arm 510 about an axis of the rockshaft 602 so as to position the carriage 502;
a tensioning spring 614 mounted between a stop 620 on the frame 508 and an attachment mechanism 610 (Fig. 6);
wherein the pivot arm 510 rotates with the rockshaft 602 to pull the carriage 502 toward the rockshaft 602 with rotation of the rockshaft 602 taking the pivot arm 510, and thus the carriage 502 and connected tensioning spring 614.
Sorensen fails to disclose the spring mounted on the carriage and pulling past a center position with maximum spring force and then onward to an over-center position so that the tensioning spring holds the carriage in place in a maintenance position.
Cook discloses a spring 618 mounted on the carriage 622; and pulling past a center position with maximum spring force (Fig. 6B) and then onward to an over-center position so that the tensioning spring 618 holds the carriage in place in a maintenance position (Fig. 6C).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to mount the spring to the carriage with a reasonable expectation of success as it amounts to a rearrangement of the existing parts of the invention without altering their function.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to pull past a center position with maximum spring force and then onward to an over-center position so that the tensioning spring holds the carriage in place in a maintenance position with a reasonable expectation of success so that maintenance can be performed on the tensioner mechanism.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-6 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Modak et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 20250089618) discloses a tensioner 214 comprising a spring 216 attached to a carriage 218 (Fig. 2); Todderud et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0272901) discloses a shaft 1008 that rotates to tension a draper carriage 502 (Figs. 7 and 10); and Farley (US Patent Application Publication No. 2021/0144922) discloses a tensioner 500a comprising springs 514 and a carriage 508 (Fig. 5).
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.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
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
9/01/26
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