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 .
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.
(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.
Claims 1-15 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bonefas (Unites States Patent US 9,119,342 B2).
Regarding Claim 1, Bonefas teaches A system, comprising: an unloading conveyor for transferring agricultural material;(Figure 2: Unloading Auger 47)a stereo camera system positioned to capture image data corresponding to an outlet of the unloading conveyor and a target area; and(Figure 2: Stereo camera 10)a computing system, configured to:(Column 13, lines 59-65: "S501: Once the automated unloading system is tracking a trailer, it gathers inputs such as the images from the stereo camera, the current auger or spout rotation angle, static parameters (machine dimensions, mounting location and orientation of the stereo cameras, etc.) and operator inputs to the graphical user interface (desired fill strategy and desired fill height). See FIG. 6 for image processing details.")determining from the image data that at least a portion of the agricultural material will flow outside of the target area, and in response to determining that the at least a portion of the agricultural material will flow outside of the target area, generating a signal for communicating an alert to a user of a spillage event or for controlling the unloading process to direct the flow of the agricultural material to the target area to reduce or eliminate spillage of the spillage event.(Column 15, lines 13-60: "S505: Once the system determines that harvested material is being unloaded into the front most or rearmost zone of the cart, the system determines if it can rotate towards the center of the cart without exceeding the rotational limits. If the system cannot rotate towards the center without exceeding the rotational limits, there is an increased chance of grain spillage if the relative velocity of the trailer changes suddenly. For example, consider the scenario in which the system is filling the front most zone of the cart and the spout or auger is rotated to its lower rotational limit. If the ground speed of the trailer suddenly decreases, harvested material will over the front edge of the trailer, and the system can only turn off the auger drive on the combine to limit the spillage. However, if the auger or spout is not at its lower rotational limit as it unloads into the front most zone and the ground speed of the trailer suddenly increases, the system can rotate the auger or spout towards the rear of the trailer to mitigate or prevent spillage. S506: The system then considers the desired fill strategy to determine the next zone in the trailer that the system will unload into when the current zone reaches the desired fill level. The system calculates the auger or spout angle required to unload into the next fill zone. If the angle required to unload into the next zone violates the rotational limits, the system will not be able to rotate the spout when the zone that it is currently unloading into becomes filled to the desired fill level. On the combine, the system will be forced to turn off the auger drive when this occurs. On the SPFH, the system will overfill the zone that is currently being unloaded into until the next zone can be reached without violating the rotational limits of the spout. S507: The system then takes measure to adjust the relative fore/aft offset of the combine or SPFH to the trailer. If Machine Sync is present, the combine or SPFH can command the tractor to temporarily change its ground speed until the next fill zone is within the rotational limits or, in the case the that the system is unloading into the front most or rearmost zone of the trailer, the adjacent zone in the cart is within the rotational limits. If Machine Sync is not present, the system can adjust the ground speed of the combine or SPFH. If Machine Sync is not present and the system is unable to control the ground speed of the combine or the SPFH, the system can send a CAN message to the graphical user interface to sound an alert to notify the operator that the system has reached its rotational limits. The system or operator will shut off the auger drive (S508) if the fill strategy is complete or other limits are violated and would result in spill over if continued.")
Regarding Claim 2, Bonefas teaches the system of Claim 1, as seen above. Bonefas further discloses wherein the stereo camera system is configured to generate movement information associated with the agricultural material flowing out of the unloading conveyor based on the image data, and wherein the movement information comprises location data and velocity data of at least one particle of the agricultural material.(Columns 7-8, lines 47-23: " For example, the system 11,111, 211 executes a container filling strategy by changing the relative speed, velocity or acceleration of the harvesting vehicle and receiving vehicle (e.g., through the ISO Class 3 interface) to promote even or uniform filling of the container 4. As an illustrative example, for a "front-to-back" fill strategy, the system 11, 111, 211 has the receiving vehicle generally maintain a constant fore/aft distance relative to the harvesting vehicle (e.g., combine) such that the agricultural material is filling the front volume of the cart and putting weight on the tongue of the connection between the propulsion portion 6 and the storage portion. When the front volume of the container 4 becomes full or attains a target volume or mass of agricultural material, the system 11, 111, 211 can command the receiving vehicle to temporarily increase its speed or velocity, or accelerate, relative to the ground (or relative to the harvesting vehicle) via the propulsion controller 40 so that the agricultural material flowing from spout 47 drops or moves further toward the rear of the container 4 (e.g., from the force of acceleration on the receiving vehicle). During or in preparation for the acceleration, if warranted by the estimated alignment of the spout discharge end 13A and the container perimeter or edges from the alignment module 24 or the image processing module 18, the vehicle controller 46 may suspend rotation temporarily of the auger 47 to avoid spilling agricultural material or missing the container 4, or the alignment module 24 provides command data via the wireless communication devices 48, 148 such that the propulsion controller 40 of the harvesting vehicle accelerates simultaneously (e.g., with equal magnitude and direction to the receiving vehicle) to maintain alignment (e.g., substantially the same alignment) between the container perimeter or edge and the spout discharge end 13A. The system 11, 111, 211 or propulsion controller 40 can temporarily increase a relative speed of the receiving vehicle relative to the harvesting vehicle if the image processing module 18 senses that a front volume of the cart 4 is currently filled to a target level or until the entire storage portion 93 reaches the target fill level. For instance, the system 11, 111, 211 can repeat the process of temporarily increasing the speed or velocity of the receiving vehicle relative to the harvesting vehicle during each sampling interval that the image processing module 18 senses that the front volume of the container 4 is currently filled to a target level or until the entire container 4 reaches the desired fill level.")
Regarding Claim 3, Bonefas teaches the system of Claim 2, as seen above. Bonefas further discloses wherein the computing system is configured to determine the movement and speed of individual particles of the agricultural material based on the movement information to determine that the at least a portion of the agricultural material will flow outside of the target area.(Columns 7-8, lines 47-23: " For example, the system 11,111, 211 executes a container filling strategy by changing the relative speed, velocity or acceleration of the harvesting vehicle and receiving vehicle (e.g., through the ISO Class 3 interface) to promote even or uniform filling of the container 4. As an illustrative example, for a "front-to-back" fill strategy, the system 11, 111, 211 has the receiving vehicle generally maintain a constant fore/aft distance relative to the harvesting vehicle (e.g., combine) such that the agricultural material is filling the front volume of the cart and putting weight on the tongue of the connection between the propulsion portion 6 and the storage portion. When the front volume of the container 4 becomes full or attains a target volume or mass of agricultural material, the system 11, 111, 211 can command the receiving vehicle to temporarily increase its speed or velocity, or accelerate, relative to the ground (or relative to the harvesting vehicle) via the propulsion controller 40 so that the agricultural material flowing from spout 47 drops or moves further toward the rear of the container 4 (e.g., from the force of acceleration on the receiving vehicle). During or in preparation for the acceleration, if warranted by the estimated alignment of the spout discharge end 13A and the container perimeter or edges from the alignment module 24 or the image processing module 18, the vehicle controller 46 may suspend rotation temporarily of the auger 47 to avoid spilling agricultural material or missing the container 4, or the alignment module 24 provides command data via the wireless communication devices 48, 148 such that the propulsion controller 40 of the harvesting vehicle accelerates simultaneously (e.g., with equal magnitude and direction to the receiving vehicle) to maintain alignment (e.g., substantially the same alignment) between the container perimeter or edge and the spout discharge end 13A. The system 11, 111, 211 or propulsion controller 40 can temporarily increase a relative speed of the receiving vehicle relative to the harvesting vehicle if the image processing module 18 senses that a front volume of the cart 4 is currently filled to a target level or until the entire storage portion 93 reaches the target fill level. For instance, the system 11, 111, 211 can repeat the process of temporarily increasing the speed or velocity of the receiving vehicle relative to the harvesting vehicle during each sampling interval that the image processing module 18 senses that the front volume of the container 4 is currently filled to a target level or until the entire container 4 reaches the desired fill level.")
Regarding Claim 4, Bonefas teaches the system of Claim 1, as seen above. Bonefas further discloses wherein the computing system is configured to determine the movement and speed of individual particles of the agricultural material to determine that the at least a portion of the agricultural material will flow outside of the target area.(Columns 7-8, lines 47-23: " For example, the system 11,111, 211 executes a container filling strategy by changing the relative speed, velocity or acceleration of the harvesting vehicle and receiving vehicle (e.g., through the ISO Class 3 interface) to promote even or uniform filling of the container 4. As an illustrative example, for a "front-to-back" fill strategy, the system 11, 111, 211 has the receiving vehicle generally maintain a constant fore/aft distance relative to the harvesting vehicle (e.g., combine) such that the agricultural material is filling the front volume of the cart and putting weight on the tongue of the connection between the propulsion portion 6 and the storage portion. When the front volume of the container 4 becomes full or attains a target volume or mass of agricultural material, the system 11, 111, 211 can command the receiving vehicle to temporarily increase its speed or velocity, or accelerate, relative to the ground (or relative to the harvesting vehicle) via the propulsion controller 40 so that the agricultural material flowing from spout 47 drops or moves further toward the rear of the container 4 (e.g., from the force of acceleration on the receiving vehicle). During or in preparation for the acceleration, if warranted by the estimated alignment of the spout discharge end 13A and the container perimeter or edges from the alignment module 24 or the image processing module 18, the vehicle controller 46 may suspend rotation temporarily of the auger 47 to avoid spilling agricultural material or missing the container 4, or the alignment module 24 provides command data via the wireless communication devices 48, 148 such that the propulsion controller 40 of the harvesting vehicle accelerates simultaneously (e.g., with equal magnitude and direction to the receiving vehicle) to maintain alignment (e.g., substantially the same alignment) between the container perimeter or edge and the spout discharge end 13A. The system 11, 111, 211 or propulsion controller 40 can temporarily increase a relative speed of the receiving vehicle relative to the harvesting vehicle if the image processing module 18 senses that a front volume of the cart 4 is currently filled to a target level or until the entire storage portion 93 reaches the target fill level. For instance, the system 11, 111, 211 can repeat the process of temporarily increasing the speed or velocity of the receiving vehicle relative to the harvesting vehicle during each sampling interval that the image processing module 18 senses that the front volume of the container 4 is currently filled to a target level or until the entire container 4 reaches the desired fill level.")
Regarding Claim 5, Bonefas teaches the system of Claim 3, as seen above. Bonefas further discloses wherein the computing system is configured to estimate optical flow between successive camera frames of the image data to determine the movement and speed of the individual particles of the agricultural material.(Column 7, lines 37-46: "The image processing module 18 estimate a distance or range from the first imaging device 10, the second imaging device 12, or both to the pixels or points lying on the container perimeter or on the container edge. For example, the image processing module 18 may use the disparity map or image to estimate a distance or range from the first imaging device 10, the second imaging device 12, or both to the pixels or points lying on the container perimeter 81, the container edges 181, the container opening 83, in the vicinity of any of the foregoing items, or elsewhere.")
Regarding Claim 6, Bonefas teaches the system of Claim 5, as seen above. Bonefas further discloses wherein the computing system is configured to use a robust aligned feature transform process to estimate the optical flow between successive camera frames.(Columns 7-8, lines 47-23: " For example, the system 11,111, 211 executes a container filling strategy by changing the relative speed, velocity or acceleration of the harvesting vehicle and receiving vehicle (e.g., through the ISO Class 3 interface) to promote even or uniform filling of the container 4. As an illustrative example, for a "front-to-back" fill strategy, the system 11, 111, 211 has the receiving vehicle generally maintain a constant fore/aft distance relative to the harvesting vehicle (e.g., combine) such that the agricultural material is filling the front volume of the cart and putting weight on the tongue of the connection between the propulsion portion 6 and the storage portion. When the front volume of the container 4 becomes full or attains a target volume or mass of agricultural material, the system 11, 111, 211 can command the receiving vehicle to temporarily increase its speed or velocity, or accelerate, relative to the ground (or relative to the harvesting vehicle) via the propulsion controller 40 so that the agricultural material flowing from spout 47 drops or moves further toward the rear of the container 4 (e.g., from the force of acceleration on the receiving vehicle). During or in preparation for the acceleration, if warranted by the estimated alignment of the spout discharge end 13A and the container perimeter or edges from the alignment module 24 or the image processing module 18, the vehicle controller 46 may suspend rotation temporarily of the auger 47 to avoid spilling agricultural material or missing the container 4, or the alignment module 24 provides command data via the wireless communication devices 48, 148 such that the propulsion controller 40 of the harvesting vehicle accelerates simultaneously (e.g., with equal magnitude and direction to the receiving vehicle) to maintain alignment (e.g., substantially the same alignment) between the container perimeter or edge and the spout discharge end 13A. The system 11, 111, 211 or propulsion controller 40 can temporarily increase a relative speed of the receiving vehicle relative to the harvesting vehicle if the image processing module 18 senses that a front volume of the cart 4 is currently filled to a target level or until the entire storage portion 93 reaches the target fill level. For instance, the system 11, 111, 211 can repeat the process of temporarily increasing the speed or velocity of the receiving vehicle relative to the harvesting vehicle during each sampling interval that the image processing module 18 senses that the front volume of the container 4 is currently filled to a target level or until the entire container 4 reaches the desired fill level.")
Regarding Claim 7, Bonefas teaches the system of Claim 6, as seen above. Bonefas further discloses wherein the computing system is configured to use a scene flow process to combine depth information from the image data and optical flow data outputted by the robust aligned feature transform process to generate a three-dimensional motion analysis of the individual particles.(Columns 3-4, lines 64-6: "The container identification module 20 identifies a set of two-dimensional or three dimensional points (e.g., in Cartesian coordinates or Polar coordinates) in the real world that define at least a portion of the container perimeter (e.g., front edge or rear edge) of the storage portion (e.g., cart 4 in FIG. 1). The set of two-dimensional or three dimensional points correspond to pixel positions in images collected by the first imaging device 10, the second imaging device 12, or both. The container identification module 20 may use or retrieve container reference data.")
Regarding Claim 8, Bonefas teaches A system, comprising: an unloading conveyor configured to transfer agricultural material;(Figure 2: Unloading Auger 47)an image-capturing component configured to generate movement information associated with agricultural material flowing out of the unloading conveyor; and a computing system, configured to:(Figure 2: Stereo camera 10)predict an amount of the agricultural material that is likely to flow outside of a target area based on the movement information; and in response to the prediction of the computing system, generate a signal that communicates an alert that the amount of the agricultural material is likely to flow outside of the target area or that controls an unloading process to change direction of the flow of the agricultural material to reduce an extent that agricultural material flows outside of the target area.(Columns 7-8, lines 47-23: " For example, the system 11,111, 211 executes a container filling strategy by changing the relative speed, velocity or acceleration of the harvesting vehicle and receiving vehicle (e.g., through the ISO Class 3 interface) to promote even or uniform filling of the container 4. As an illustrative example, for a "front-to-back" fill strategy, the system 11, 111, 211 has the receiving vehicle generally maintain a constant fore/aft distance relative to the harvesting vehicle (e.g., combine) such that the agricultural material is filling the front volume of the cart and putting weight on the tongue of the connection between the propulsion portion 6 and the storage portion. When the front volume of the container 4 becomes full or attains a target volume or mass of agricultural material, the system 11, 111, 211 can command the receiving vehicle to temporarily increase its speed or velocity, or accelerate, relative to the ground (or relative to the harvesting vehicle) via the propulsion controller 40 so that the agricultural material flowing from spout 47 drops or moves further toward the rear of the container 4 (e.g., from the force of acceleration on the receiving vehicle). During or in preparation for the acceleration, if warranted by the estimated alignment of the spout discharge end 13A and the container perimeter or edges from the alignment module 24 or the image processing module 18, the vehicle controller 46 may suspend rotation temporarily of the auger 47 to avoid spilling agricultural material or missing the container 4, or the alignment module 24 provides command data via the wireless communication devices 48, 148 such that the propulsion controller 40 of the harvesting vehicle accelerates simultaneously (e.g., with equal magnitude and direction to the receiving vehicle) to maintain alignment (e.g., substantially the same alignment) between the container perimeter or edge and the spout discharge end 13A. The system 11, 111, 211 or propulsion controller 40 can temporarily increase a relative speed of the receiving vehicle relative to the harvesting vehicle if the image processing module 18 senses that a front volume of the cart 4 is currently filled to a target level or until the entire storage portion 93 reaches the target fill level. For instance, the system 11, 111, 211 can repeat the process of temporarily increasing the speed or velocity of the receiving vehicle relative to the harvesting vehicle during each sampling interval that the image processing module 18 senses that the front volume of the container 4 is currently filled to a target level or until the entire container 4 reaches the desired fill level.")
Regarding Claim 9, Bonefas teaches the system of Claim 8, as seen above. Bonefas further discloses wherein the image-capturing component comprises a stereo camera system positioned to capture image data corresponding to an outlet of the unloading conveyor and the target area.(Figure 2: Stereo camera 10)
Regarding Claim 10, Bonefas teaches the system of Claim 8, as seen above. Bonefas further discloses wherein the image-capturing component or the stereo camera system is configured to generate movement information associated with the agricultural material flowing out of the unloading conveyor based on the image data, and wherein the movement information comprises location data and velocity data of at least one particle of the agricultural material.(Columns 7-8, lines 47-23: " For example, the system 11,111, 211 executes a container filling strategy by changing the relative speed, velocity or acceleration of the harvesting vehicle and receiving vehicle (e.g., through the ISO Class 3 interface) to promote even or uniform filling of the container 4. As an illustrative example, for a "front-to-back" fill strategy, the system 11, 111, 211 has the receiving vehicle generally maintain a constant fore/aft distance relative to the harvesting vehicle (e.g., combine) such that the agricultural material is filling the front volume of the cart and putting weight on the tongue of the connection between the propulsion portion 6 and the storage portion. When the front volume of the container 4 becomes full or attains a target volume or mass of agricultural material, the system 11, 111, 211 can command the receiving vehicle to temporarily increase its speed or velocity, or accelerate, relative to the ground (or relative to the harvesting vehicle) via the propulsion controller 40 so that the agricultural material flowing from spout 47 drops or moves further toward the rear of the container 4 (e.g., from the force of acceleration on the receiving vehicle). During or in preparation for the acceleration, if warranted by the estimated alignment of the spout discharge end 13A and the container perimeter or edges from the alignment module 24 or the image processing module 18, the vehicle controller 46 may suspend rotation temporarily of the auger 47 to avoid spilling agricultural material or missing the container 4, or the alignment module 24 provides command data via the wireless communication devices 48, 148 such that the propulsion controller 40 of the harvesting vehicle accelerates simultaneously (e.g., with equal magnitude and direction to the receiving vehicle) to maintain alignment (e.g., substantially the same alignment) between the container perimeter or edge and the spout discharge end 13A. The system 11, 111, 211 or propulsion controller 40 can temporarily increase a relative speed of the receiving vehicle relative to the harvesting vehicle if the image processing module 18 senses that a front volume of the cart 4 is currently filled to a target level or until the entire storage portion 93 reaches the target fill level. For instance, the system 11, 111, 211 can repeat the process of temporarily increasing the speed or velocity of the receiving vehicle relative to the harvesting vehicle during each sampling interval that the image processing module 18 senses that the front volume of the container 4 is currently filled to a target level or until the entire container 4 reaches the desired fill level.")
Regarding Claim 11, Bonefas teaches the system of Claim 10, as seen above. Bonefas further discloses wherein the computing system is configured to determine the movement and speed of individual particles of the agricultural material based on the movement information to determine that the at least a portion of the agricultural material will flow outside of the target area.(Columns 7-8, lines 47-23: " For example, the system 11,111, 211 executes a container filling strategy by changing the relative speed, velocity or acceleration of the harvesting vehicle and receiving vehicle (e.g., through the ISO Class 3 interface) to promote even or uniform filling of the container 4. As an illustrative example, for a "front-to-back" fill strategy, the system 11, 111, 211 has the receiving vehicle generally maintain a constant fore/aft distance relative to the harvesting vehicle (e.g., combine) such that the agricultural material is filling the front volume of the cart and putting weight on the tongue of the connection between the propulsion portion 6 and the storage portion. When the front volume of the container 4 becomes full or attains a target volume or mass of agricultural material, the system 11, 111, 211 can command the receiving vehicle to temporarily increase its speed or velocity, or accelerate, relative to the ground (or relative to the harvesting vehicle) via the propulsion controller 40 so that the agricultural material flowing from spout 47 drops or moves further toward the rear of the container 4 (e.g., from the force of acceleration on the receiving vehicle). During or in preparation for the acceleration, if warranted by the estimated alignment of the spout discharge end 13A and the container perimeter or edges from the alignment module 24 or the image processing module 18, the vehicle controller 46 may suspend rotation temporarily of the auger 47 to avoid spilling agricultural material or missing the container 4, or the alignment module 24 provides command data via the wireless communication devices 48, 148 such that the propulsion controller 40 of the harvesting vehicle accelerates simultaneously (e.g., with equal magnitude and direction to the receiving vehicle) to maintain alignment (e.g., substantially the same alignment) between the container perimeter or edge and the spout discharge end 13A. The system 11, 111, 211 or propulsion controller 40 can temporarily increase a relative speed of the receiving vehicle relative to the harvesting vehicle if the image processing module 18 senses that a front volume of the cart 4 is currently filled to a target level or until the entire storage portion 93 reaches the target fill level. For instance, the system 11, 111, 211 can repeat the process of temporarily increasing the speed or velocity of the receiving vehicle relative to the harvesting vehicle during each sampling interval that the image processing module 18 senses that the front volume of the container 4 is currently filled to a target level or until the entire container 4 reaches the desired fill level.")
Regarding Claim 12, Bonefas teaches the system of Claim 11, as seen above. Bonefas further discloses wherein the computing system is configured to determine the movement and speed of individual particles of the agricultural material to determine that the at least a portion of the agricultural material will flow outside of the target area.(Columns 7-8, lines 47-23: " For example, the system 11,111, 211 executes a container filling strategy by changing the relative speed, velocity or acceleration of the harvesting vehicle and receiving vehicle (e.g., through the ISO Class 3 interface) to promote even or uniform filling of the container 4. As an illustrative example, for a "front-to-back" fill strategy, the system 11, 111, 211 has the receiving vehicle generally maintain a constant fore/aft distance relative to the harvesting vehicle (e.g., combine) such that the agricultural material is filling the front volume of the cart and putting weight on the tongue of the connection between the propulsion portion 6 and the storage portion. When the front volume of the container 4 becomes full or attains a target volume or mass of agricultural material, the system 11, 111, 211 can command the receiving vehicle to temporarily increase its speed or velocity, or accelerate, relative to the ground (or relative to the harvesting vehicle) via the propulsion controller 40 so that the agricultural material flowing from spout 47 drops or moves further toward the rear of the container 4 (e.g., from the force of acceleration on the receiving vehicle). During or in preparation for the acceleration, if warranted by the estimated alignment of the spout discharge end 13A and the container perimeter or edges from the alignment module 24 or the image processing module 18, the vehicle controller 46 may suspend rotation temporarily of the auger 47 to avoid spilling agricultural material or missing the container 4, or the alignment module 24 provides command data via the wireless communication devices 48, 148 such that the propulsion controller 40 of the harvesting vehicle accelerates simultaneously (e.g., with equal magnitude and direction to the receiving vehicle) to maintain alignment (e.g., substantially the same alignment) between the container perimeter or edge and the spout discharge end 13A. The system 11, 111, 211 or propulsion controller 40 can temporarily increase a relative speed of the receiving vehicle relative to the harvesting vehicle if the image processing module 18 senses that a front volume of the cart 4 is currently filled to a target level or until the entire storage portion 93 reaches the target fill level. For instance, the system 11, 111, 211 can repeat the process of temporarily increasing the speed or velocity of the receiving vehicle relative to the harvesting vehicle during each sampling interval that the image processing module 18 senses that the front volume of the container 4 is currently filled to a target level or until the entire container 4 reaches the desired fill level.")
Regarding Claim 13, Bonefas teaches the system of Claim 11, as seen above. Bonefas further discloses wherein the computing system is configured to estimate optical flow between successive camera frames of the image data to determine the movement and speed of the individual particles of the agricultural material,(Column 7, lines 37-46: "The image processing module 18 estimate a distance or range from the first imaging device 10, the second imaging device 12, or both to the pixels or points lying on the container perimeter or on the container edge. For example, the image processing module 18 may use the disparity map or image to estimate a distance or range from the first imaging device 10, the second imaging device 12, or both to the pixels or points lying on the container perimeter 81, the container edges 181, the container opening 83, in the vicinity of any of the foregoing items, or elsewhere.") and wherein the computing system is configured to use a robust aligned feature transform process to estimate the optical flow between successive camera frames.(Columns 7-8, lines 47-23: " For example, the system 11,111, 211 executes a container filling strategy by changing the relative speed, velocity or acceleration of the harvesting vehicle and receiving vehicle (e.g., through the ISO Class 3 interface) to promote even or uniform filling of the container 4. As an illustrative example, for a "front-to-back" fill strategy, the system 11, 111, 211 has the receiving vehicle generally maintain a constant fore/aft distance relative to the harvesting vehicle (e.g., combine) such that the agricultural material is filling the front volume of the cart and putting weight on the tongue of the connection between the propulsion portion 6 and the storage portion. When the front volume of the container 4 becomes full or attains a target volume or mass of agricultural material, the system 11, 111, 211 can command the receiving vehicle to temporarily increase its speed or velocity, or accelerate, relative to the ground (or relative to the harvesting vehicle) via the propulsion controller 40 so that the agricultural material flowing from spout 47 drops or moves further toward the rear of the container 4 (e.g., from the force of acceleration on the receiving vehicle). During or in preparation for the acceleration, if warranted by the estimated alignment of the spout discharge end 13A and the container perimeter or edges from the alignment module 24 or the image processing module 18, the vehicle controller 46 may suspend rotation temporarily of the auger 47 to avoid spilling agricultural material or missing the container 4, or the alignment module 24 provides command data via the wireless communication devices 48, 148 such that the propulsion controller 40 of the harvesting vehicle accelerates simultaneously (e.g., with equal magnitude and direction to the receiving vehicle) to maintain alignment (e.g., substantially the same alignment) between the container perimeter or edge and the spout discharge end 13A. The system 11, 111, 211 or propulsion controller 40 can temporarily increase a relative speed of the receiving vehicle relative to the harvesting vehicle if the image processing module 18 senses that a front volume of the cart 4 is currently filled to a target level or until the entire storage portion 93 reaches the target fill level. For instance, the system 11, 111, 211 can repeat the process of temporarily increasing the speed or velocity of the receiving vehicle relative to the harvesting vehicle during each sampling interval that the image processing module 18 senses that the front volume of the container 4 is currently filled to a target level or until the entire container 4 reaches the desired fill level.")
Regarding Claim 14, Bonefas teaches the system of Claim 13, as seen above. Bonefas further discloses wherein the computing system is configured to use a scene flow process to combine depth information from the image data and optical flow data outputted by the robust aligned feature transform process to generate a three-dimensional motion analysis of the individual particles.(Columns 3-4, lines 64-6: "The container identification module 20 identifies a set of two-dimensional or three dimensional points (e.g., in Cartesian coordinates or Polar coordinates) in the real world that define at least a portion of the container perimeter (e.g., front edge or rear edge) of the storage portion (e.g., cart 4 in FIG. 1). The set of two-dimensional or three dimensional points correspond to pixel positions in images collected by the first imaging device 10, the second imaging device 12, or both. The container identification module 20 may use or retrieve container reference data.")
Regarding Claim 15, Bonefas teaches the system of Claim 14, as seen above. Bonefas further discloses further comprising a positioning device for detecting a geographic location of the system, and wherein the computing system is configured to associate a geographic location determined from the positioning device with the spillage event.(Column 8, lines 56-62: " S1101: A GPS receiver that is mounted on the tractor transmits GPS location coordinates on tractor CAN bus. A controller on the tractor CAN bus that is connected to a wireless communications transceiver reads the tractor motion dynamics (GPS location, GPS heading, and yaw (turn) rate) from the CAN bus and transmits the motion dynamics data using the wireless transmitter.")
Regarding Claim 18, Bonefas teaches A method, comprising: transferring agricultural material by using an unloading conveyor of a farming machine (step 402);(Figure 2: Unloading Auger 47)generating movement information associated with agricultural material flowing out of the unloading conveyor by using an image-capturing component (step 404, or step 604); predicting, by a computing system, an amount of the agricultural material that is likely to flow outside of a target area based on the movement information (step 406); and(Figure 2: Stereo camera 10)in response to the prediction, generating, by a computing system, a signal that communicates an alert that the amount of the agricultural material is likely to flow outside of the target area or that controls an unloading process to change direction of the flow of the agricultural material to reduce an extent that agricultural material flows outside of the target area (step 408).(Columns 7-8, lines 47-23: " For example, the system 11,111, 211 executes a container filling strategy by changing the relative speed, velocity or acceleration of the harvesting vehicle and receiving vehicle (e.g., through the ISO Class 3 interface) to promote even or uniform filling of the container 4. As an illustrative example, for a "front-to-back" fill strategy, the system 11, 111, 211 has the receiving vehicle generally maintain a constant fore/aft distance relative to the harvesting vehicle (e.g., combine) such that the agricultural material is filling the front volume of the cart and putting weight on the tongue of the connection between the propulsion portion 6 and the storage portion. When the front volume of the container 4 becomes full or attains a target volume or mass of agricultural material, the system 11, 111, 211 can command the receiving vehicle to temporarily increase its speed or velocity, or accelerate, relative to the ground (or relative to the harvesting vehicle) via the propulsion controller 40 so that the agricultural material flowing from spout 47 drops or moves further toward the rear of the container 4 (e.g., from the force of acceleration on the receiving vehicle). During or in preparation for the acceleration, if warranted by the estimated alignment of the spout discharge end 13A and the container perimeter or edges from the alignment module 24 or the image processing module 18, the vehicle controller 46 may suspend rotation temporarily of the auger 47 to avoid spilling agricultural material or missing the container 4, or the alignment module 24 provides command data via the wireless communication devices 48, 148 such that the propulsion controller 40 of the harvesting vehicle accelerates simultaneously (e.g., with equal magnitude and direction to the receiving vehicle) to maintain alignment (e.g., substantially the same alignment) between the container perimeter or edge and the spout discharge end 13A. The system 11, 111, 211 or propulsion controller 40 can temporarily increase a relative speed of the receiving vehicle relative to the harvesting vehicle if the image processing module 18 senses that a front volume of the cart 4 is currently filled to a target level or until the entire storage portion 93 reaches the target fill level. For instance, the system 11, 111, 211 can repeat the process of temporarily increasing the speed or velocity of the receiving vehicle relative to the harvesting vehicle during each sampling interval that the image processing module 18 senses that the front volume of the container 4 is currently filled to a target level or until the entire container 4 reaches the desired fill level.").
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 16-17 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bonefas (Unites States Patent US 9,119,342 B2) in view of Vandike (United States Patent Application US 2023/0247939 A1).
Regarding Claim 16, Bonefas discloses the system of Claim 15, as seen above.
However, Bonefas does not disclose wherein the computing system is configured to generate a farming management information system (FMIS) map based on multiple iterations of the association of a determined geographic location with a spillage event, and wherein the FMIS map comprises levels of spillage at different sectors in the field.
Vandike discloses a similar agricultural system wherein the computing system is configured to generate a farming management information system (FMIS) map based on multiple iterations of the association of a determined geographic location with a spillage event, and wherein the FMIS map comprises levels of spillage at different sectors in the field.(Paragraph 0085: "In operation, material receptacle implement 203 receives material, such as harvested crop material, from a mobile machine, such as agricultural harvester 101, via a material transfer subsystem, such as material transfer subsystem 314 (shown below). The material receptacle implement 203 holds the received material within material receptacle 208 and is towed by towing vehicle 205 to a desired location. One or more material spill sensors 180 can detect material spill characteristics, such as the occurrence of spillage of material out of material receptacle 208, location(s) of occurred material spill(s), and the amount(s) of material spilled. While not shown in FIG. 2A, in some examples material receptacle implement 203 can include a material transfer subsystem (such as material transfer subsystem 314 shown below), such as an unloading auger, a chute, and a spout, as well as one or more actuators for actuating the auger and/or for actuating movement of the spout or the chute, or both. In this way, the material held by material receptacle implement 203 can be offloaded therefrom through use of a material transfer subsystem. In other examples, one or more actuatable doors may be disposed on a side of material receptacle implement 203, such as the bottom side of material receptacle implement 203, which, when actuated to an open position, allow the held material to exit material receptacle 208 via gravity. Material can be offloaded from material receptacle implement 203 in other ways as well.")
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified Bonefas to include the geographical location tracking as taught by Vandike. The motivation for the modification would have been to allow for a mobile agricultural machine to be operated based on information regarding when/where/amount of material spills to allow for better control of the machine as well as providing alerts or displays regarding the spills (Paragraph 0068).
Regarding Claim 17, Bonefas in view of Vandike discloses the system of Claim 16, as seen above. Bonefas further discloses wherein the stereo system comprises at least three cameras to reduce the parallax effect in the image data.(Column 16, lines 20-47: "Occasionally, the system may lose its ability to track the relative position of the combine to the grain cart or sense fill level. Multiple cameras are used to improve the accuracy and robustness of cart tracking and fill measurement. Each camera can be positioned on the body (chassis) of the combine or forage harvester or spout/auger end to optimize the system function for cart tracking and fill measurement. Data fusion algorithms are used to register and combine the output of the multiple cameras to product a single, accurate, and robust measurement of the cart position and fill level. All the information on the cart positions are integrated using a filtering algorithm, such as a Kalman filter, to produce the estimate on the cart position and orientation. While all the information on the fill level are integrated using a model based filter to produce an accurate measurement of the fill level. One embodiment of the present invention includes a built-in switchover to handle failure in one or more cameras. If one or more cameras fail and are disabled during operation, then the filtering and registration algorithms automatically uses information only from the remaining camera or Machine Sync data, if Machine Sync is available. The same switchover functionality can also be used to handle occlusion that blocks one or more camera views. Failure detection uses consistency in the measurements from multiple cameras. Use of the cart tracking information to perform selective stereo processing for fill measurement and better real-time performance. FIG. 6 illustrates the method process steps for one embodiment of the present invention.")
Regarding Claim 19, Bonefas discloses the method of Claim 18, as seen above.
However, Bonefas does not disclose a positioning device detecting a geographic location of the farming machine within a crop field (step 410); and the computing system associating a geographic location determined from the positioning device with a spillage event that includes the amount of the agricultural material that is likely to flow outside of the target area (step 412).
Vandike discloses a similar method comprising a positioning device detecting a geographic location of the farming machine within a crop field (step 410); and the computing system associating a geographic location determined from the positioning device with a spillage event that includes the amount of the agricultural material that is likely to flow outside of the target area (step 412).(Paragraph 0118: " Material spill control system 304 is configured to receive or otherwise obtain various data, such as sensor data, user or operator inputs, data from data stores, and various other types of data. Based on the data, control system 304 can make various determinations and generate various action signals. For example, based on sensor data provided by material spill sensors 180, material spill control system 304 can determine material spill characteristics such as the occurrence of material spill, that is, the spillage of material from material receptacle 307 and an amount of material spilled from material spill receptacle 307. Material spill control system 304 can also determine a geographic location of the detected material spills based on detected occurrence of material spill as indicated by sensor data provided by material spill sensors 180 and location data provided by geographic positions sensors 346. Further material spill control system 304 can determine a location of the material spills relative to the mobile machine 100, or a component of the mobile machine 100, such as material receptacle 307, based on detected occurrence of material spill as indicated by sensor data provided by material spill sensors 180 and a location of the material spill sensors on the mobile machine 100 or a location that the material spill sensors 180 are observing relative to the mobile machine. For instance, control system 304 can determine that the material spill occurred on the left, right, front, or back sides of the mobile machine 100 or material receptacle 307 and further a more precise location along each side. Material spill control system 304 can also generate action signals to generate indications, such as displays, alerts, recommendations, etc. such as on operator interfaces 360, user interfaces 364, at other mobile machines 370, at remote computing system 368, etc.").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified Bonefas to include the geographical location tracking as taught by Vandike. The motivation for the modification would have been to allow for a mobile agricultural machine to be operated based on information regarding when/where/amount of material spills to allow for better control of the machine as well as providing alerts or displays regarding the spills (Paragraph 0068).
Regarding Claim 20, Bonefas in view of Vandike discloses the method of Claim 19, as seen above. Vandike further discloses further comprising the computing system generating a farming management information system (FMIS) map based on multiple iterations of the association of a detected geographic location with a spillage event (step 414), and wherein the FMIS map comprises levels of spillage at different sectors in the field.(Paragraph 0118: " Material spill control system 304 is configured to receive or otherwise obtain various data, such as sensor data, user or operator inputs, data from data stores, and various other types of data. Based on the data, control system 304 can make various determinations and generate various action signals. For example, based on sensor data provided by material spill sensors 180, material spill control system 304 can determine material spill characteristics such as the occurrence of material spill, that is, the spillage of material from material receptacle 307 and an amount of material spilled from material spill receptacle 307. Material spill control system 304 can also determine a geographic location of the detected material spills based on detected occurrence of material spill as indicated by sensor data provided by material spill sensors 180 and location data provided by geographic positions sensors 346. Further material spill control system 304 can determine a location of the material spills relative to the mobile machine 100, or a component of the mobile machine 100, such as material receptacle 307, based on detected occurrence of material spill as indicated by sensor data provided by material spill sensors 180 and a location of the material spill sensors on the mobile machine 100 or a location that the material spill sensors 180 are observing relative to the mobile machine. For instance, control system 304 can determine that the material spill occurred on the left, right, front, or back sides of the mobile machine 100 or material receptacle 307 and further a more precise location along each side. Material spill control system 304 can also generate action signals to generate indications, such as displays, alerts, recommendations, etc. such as on operator interfaces 360, user interfaces 364, at other mobile machines 370, at remote computing system 368, etc.")
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
United States Patent Application US 2023/0180659 A1 (Grieshop, Dustan): Grieshop teaches a similar automated material filling system comprising a sensor, a processor, a receiving container, and a grain transfer element as seen in Figure 2.
United States Patent US 2022/0408645 A1 (O’Connor, Kellen): O’Connor teaches a similar harvester including a frame, spout, target landing point, control system and detection system as seen in Figure 1.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ABBY ALLURA JORGENSEN whose telephone number is (571)270-7124. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5:30.
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/ABBY A JORGENSEN/ Examiner, Art Unit 3651
/GENE O CRAWFORD/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3651
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