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 § 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, 2, 4-8, 12 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hamilton et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2023/0345878) in view of Hill et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0386533).
In reference to claim 1, Hamilton discloses a crop harvesting header 14 operable to form windrows (par. 0028), the crop harvesting header 14 comprising:
a carrier frame (Fig. 1, the structure connecting the header frame to the tractor 12) configured to be mounted to a tractor 12 (Fig. 1);
a header frame (Figs. 1-6, the structure supporting cutter bar 18 and discharge shaper 22/24) movably coupled to the carrier frame and defining a discharge opening (Fig. 5) on a rear side;
a cutter bar 18 coupled to the header frame and operable to cut crops (par. 0028); and
a discharge shaper assembly 22/24 comprising:
a height deflector 24 coupled to the header frame adjacent to the discharge opening and pivotable to control a height of a windrow formed from crops ejected through the discharge opening during operation (par. 0030).
Hamilton does not make explicitly clear if the discharge shaper assembly is coupled to the header frame. Hill discloses a discharge shaper assembly 218/220 coupled to a header frame 202 (Fig. 2). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to couple the discharge shaper assembly to the header frame with a reasonable expectation of success so that material from the cutter bar can be fed directly to the discharge shaper.
In reference to claim 2, Hamilton discloses that the header frame is arranged forwardly of the carrier frame (Fig. 1).
In reference to claim 4, Hamilton discloses that the discharge shaper assembly 22/24 further comprises a height limiting arm 28 coupled to the height deflector 24 and the header frame and configured to adjust an angle of the height deflector 24 to control a height of discharged crop (par. 0030).
In reference to claim 5, Hamilton discloses that the discharge shaper assembly 22/24 further comprises a first width deflector 22 and a second width deflector 22 each pivotably coupled to the header frame adjacent to the discharge opening (Fig. 5), wherein the first width deflector 22 and the second width deflector 22 are arranged on opposing sides of the height deflector 24 (Fig. 5).
In reference to claim 6, Hamilton discloses that the discharge shaper assembly 22/24 further comprises a width limiting arm 38 coupled to the first width deflector 22 and the header frame and configured to adjust an angle of the first width deflector 22 to control a width of discharged crop (Figs. 5 and 6).
In reference to claim 7, Hamilton discloses that the first width deflector 22 and the second width deflector 22 each include a wing portion 22c, wherein the wing portion 22c is curved toward the height deflector 24 and configured to facilitate forming the windrows (Fig. 5).
In reference to claim 8, Hamilton discloses that the wing portion 22c of the first width deflector 22 and the second width deflector 22 is further defined as an upper wing portion 22a and a lower wing portion 22b, and wherein the upper wing portion 22a and the lower wing portion 22b cooperate to define a c-shaped profile (Fig. 5, the midpoint between 22a and 22b defines a c-shaped profile) of each of the first width deflector 22 and the second width deflector 22.
In reference to claim 12, Hamilton discloses a pair of conditioner rolls 20 (Fig. 1) operably coupled to the header frame and arranged adjacent to the discharge opening for ejecting cut crops through the discharge opening (Fig. 5).
In reference to claim 13, Hamilton discloses that the discharge shaper assembly 22/24 extends rearwardly from the header frame toward the carrier frame (Fig. 1).
Claims 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hamilton et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2023/0345878) in view of Hill et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0386533) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Snider (US Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0221562).
In reference to claim 3, Hamilton fails to disclose that the discharge shaper assembly further comprises a height latch coupled between the height deflector and the header frame and configured to control the angle of the height deflector relative to the header frame.
Snider discloses a height latch 20 coupled between the height deflector 15 and the header frame and configured to control the angle of the height deflector 15 relative to the header frame (par. 0053). 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 height latch in place of the actuator disclosed by Hamilton with a reasonable expectation of success as it amounts to a substitution of equivalents to perform the same function, which is in this case to hold a deflector in a desired position.
Claims 9-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hamilton et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2023/0345878) in view of Hill et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0386533) as applied to claims 1 and 5 above, and further in view of Diederich et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0249763).
In reference to claims 9-11, Hamilton fails to disclose that the first width deflector and the second width deflector are formed from a flexible rubber or that the height deflector is formed from a flexible material. Diederich discloses that a deflector 50 can be formed from flexible rubber (par. 0035). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to form the deflectors from a flexible rubber material with a reasonable expectation of success so that the deflectors can flex to accommodate passing crop material.
Claims 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hamilton et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2023/0345878) in view of Hill et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0386533) as applied to claim 13 above, and further in view of Dunn et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2017/0071132).
In reference to claim 14, Hamilton fails to disclose that the discharge shaper assembly extends rearwardly beyond the carrier frame to a distance further from the header frame than the carrier frame. Dunn discloses a discharge shaper assembly 40 that extends rearwardly beyond the carrier frame 43E (Figs. 1 and 6). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to configure the discharge shaper to extend rearwardly beyond the carrier frame with a reasonable expectation of success so that the windrow is formed sufficiently far away from the header.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 15-19 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. Somarowthu et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2025/0031624) discloses a method of adjusting a windrow side (Fig. 6); Bollinger et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0205345) discloses a windrower with a height deflector 24 and a second height deflector 26 (Fig. 2A); and Dilts et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0066148) discloses a flexible deflector 128 (par. 0050).
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
9/16/26
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