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 § 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 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pereira (United States Patent Application US 2020/0128743A1) in view of Craig (United States Patent Application US 2021/0329840A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Pereira discloses An elevator assembly for a harvester, comprising: an elevator housing; an elevator extending within the elevator housing between a proximal end portion and a distal end portion, the elevator configured to carry harvested crops between the proximal end portion and the distal end portion; (Figure 1: Elevator housing 58 and elevator 60)and a discharge assembly operably coupled with the elevator housing, the discharge assembly comprising: a discharge housing defining a discharge outlet, (Figure 2: Discharge opening 82) and a deflector operably coupled with the discharge housing.(Figure 3: Shows storage hopper 100 closed by rear door 112).
However, Pereira does not disclose the discharge housing movable relative to the elevator housing.
Craig discloses a similar elevator assembly comprising a discharge housing movable relative to the elevator housing;(Paragraph 0030: "Rearward billet deflector 44 comprises a panel or other structure proximate the discharge end 34. Rearward billet deflector 40 is supported at a location such that the flow of billets flows between deflector 44 and deflector 40, a portion of the flow deflecting off of deflector 44 and being guided by deflector 44 as indicated by arrows 45. Rearward billet deflector 44 is movable relative to the discharge end 34 of elevator 30 so as to guide the flow of billets 27 to different locations within the receiving volume.")
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 Pereira to include the movable discharge housing as taught by Craig. The motivation for the modification would have been to allow for greater control over billets by automatically adjusting the positioning of deflectors based upon fill characteristics of a volume (Paragraph 0015).
Regarding Claim 2, Pereira in view of Craig discloses the elevator assembly of claim 1, as seen above. Craig further discloses further comprising: a discharge actuator operably coupled with the elevator housing and the discharge housing, .the discharge actuator configured to alter a position of the discharge housing relative to the elevator housing(Paragraph 0031: "Powered actuator 48 comprises a device operably coupled to rearward billet deflector 44 so as to move rearward billet deflector 44 relative to discharge end 34 and/or forward billet deflector 40 to adjust the direction in which the flow of billets is presently being discharged. In one implementation, powered actuator 48 may comprise a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder-piston assembly. In other implementations, powered actuator 48 may comprise an electric solenoid, an electric motor with an associated transmission or a mechanical linkage receiving power from an internal combustion engine. In some implementations, the powered actuator 48 may be controlled from a remote location, such as from an operator station of the sugarcane harvester 20, from the operator station of the tractor pulling the volume or the vehicle providing the volume or from a location remote to the current location of the sugarcane harvester 20 and the receiving volume.")
Regarding Claim 3, Pereira in view of Craig discloses the elevator assembly of claim 2, as seen above. Craig further discloses further comprising: a first link operably coupled with the elevator housing and the discharge actuator.(Paragraph 0031: "Powered actuator 48 comprises a device operably coupled to rearward billet deflector 44 so as to move rearward billet deflector 44 relative to discharge end 34 and/or forward billet deflector 40 to adjust the direction in which the flow of billets is presently being discharged. In one implementation, powered actuator 48 may comprise a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder-piston assembly. In other implementations, powered actuator 48 may comprise an electric solenoid, an electric motor with an associated transmission or a mechanical linkage receiving power from an internal combustion engine. In some implementations, the powered actuator 48 may be controlled from a remote location, such as from an operator station of the sugarcane harvester 20, from the operator station of the tractor pulling the volume or the vehicle providing the volume or from a location remote to the current location of the sugarcane harvester 20 and the receiving volume.")
Regarding Claim 4, Pereira in view of Craig discloses the elevator assembly of claim 2, as seen above. Craig further discloses further comprising: a second link operably coupled with the discharge housing and the discharge actuator.(Paragraph 0031: "Powered actuator 48 comprises a device operably coupled to rearward billet deflector 44 so as to move rearward billet deflector 44 relative to discharge end 34 and/or forward billet deflector 40 to adjust the direction in which the flow of billets is presently being discharged. In one implementation, powered actuator 48 may comprise a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder-piston assembly. In other implementations, powered actuator 48 may comprise an electric solenoid, an electric motor with an associated transmission or a mechanical linkage receiving power from an internal combustion engine. In some implementations, the powered actuator 48 may be controlled from a remote location, such as from an operator station of the sugarcane harvester 20, from the operator station of the tractor pulling the volume or the vehicle providing the volume or from a location remote to the current location of the sugarcane harvester 20 and the receiving volume.")
Regarding Claim 5, Pereira in view of Craig discloses the elevator assembly of claim 2, as seen above. Craig further discloses wherein the elevator housing defines an elevator opening, and wherein the discharge housing is positioned at least partially within the elevator opening.(Figure 1: Shows discharge end 34 positioned at end of elevator 30)
Regarding Claim 6, Pereira in view of Craig discloses the elevator assembly of claim 1, as seen above. Craig further discloses further comprising: a member operably coupled with the discharge housing; and a guide operably coupled with the elevator housing, wherein the guide is configured to direct a movement of the member along the guide.(Paragraph 0031: "Powered actuator 48 comprises a device operably coupled to rearward billet deflector 44 so as to move rearward billet deflector 44 relative to discharge end 34 and/or forward billet deflector 40 to adjust the direction in which the flow of billets is presently being discharged. In one implementation, powered actuator 48 may comprise a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder-piston assembly. In other implementations, powered actuator 48 may comprise an electric solenoid, an electric motor with an associated transmission or a mechanical linkage receiving power from an internal combustion engine. In some implementations, the powered actuator 48 may be controlled from a remote location, such as from an operator station of the sugarcane harvester 20, from the operator station of the tractor pulling the volume or the vehicle providing the volume or from a location remote to the current location of the sugarcane harvester 20 and the receiving volume.", wherein a hydraulic cylinder comprises a piston rod and cylinder, i.e. a member and guide)
Regarding Claim 7, Pereira in view of Craig discloses the elevator assembly of claim 1, as seen above. Pereira further discloses wherein the deflector may be positioned in a first position to direct harvested material in a defined direction downstream of the discharge housing and a second position to define a hopper.(Figure 2: Storage hopper 100)
Regarding Claim 8, Pereira in view of Craig discloses the elevator assembly of claim 1, as seen above. Craig further discloses wherein the discharge housing is positioned at a first angle relative to the elevator housing in a first position and at a second angle relative to the elevator housing in a second position, the first angle varied from the second angle.(Figures 1-3: Shows a variety of angles of the discharge housing)
Regarding Claim 9, Pereira in view of Craig discloses the elevator assembly of claim 1, as seen above. Craig further discloses further comprising: a computing system operably coupled with the discharge actuator; and an input device operably coupled with the computing system, wherein the computing system is configured to alter a position of the discharge housing relative to the elevator housing based on an input received through the input device.(Paragraph 0023: "Disclosed are example sugarcane harvesting instructions contained on a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The instructions may include volume fill evaluation instructions to direct a processor to determine a fill characteristic of a volume receiving sugarcane billets based upon the received fill signals. The instructions may further include billet deflector positioning instructions to direct the processor to output control signal to a powered actuator to position a billet deflector at an end of the elevator based upon the determined fill characteristics to control a discharge direction of the billets.")
Regarding Claim 10, Pereira discloses A method for operating a harvester, the harvester comprising an elevator assembly including an elevator extending between a proximal end portion and a distal end portion and a discharge assembly,(Figure 1: Elevator housing 58 and elevator 60 and Figure 2: Discharge opening 82)
However, Pereira does not disclose the method comprising: conveying a material along the elevator in a direction from the proximate end portion to the distal end portion; altering, with a discharge actuator, a position of a discharge housing of the discharge assembly relative to an elevator housing, the discharge assembly downstream of the elevator; and rotating a deflector operably coupled with the discharge housing.
Craig discloses a similar method for operating a harvester disclosing the method comprising: conveying a material along the elevator in a direction from the proximate end portion to the distal end portion; altering, with a discharge actuator, a position of a discharge housing of the discharge assembly relative to an elevator housing, the discharge assembly downstream of the elevator; and rotating a deflector operably coupled with the discharge housing.(Paragraph 0030: "Rearward billet deflector 44 comprises a panel or other structure proximate the discharge end 34. Rearward billet deflector 40 is supported at a location such that the flow of billets flows between deflector 44 and deflector 40, a portion of the flow deflecting off of deflector 44 and being guided by deflector 44 as indicated by arrows 45. Rearward billet deflector 44 is movable relative to the discharge end 34 of elevator 30 so as to guide the flow of billets 27 to different locations within the receiving volume.")
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 Pereira to include the movable discharge housing as taught by Craig. The motivation for the modification would have been to allow for greater control over billets by automatically adjusting the positioning of deflectors based upon fill characteristics of a volume (Paragraph 0015).
Regarding Claim 11, Pereira in view of Craig discloses the method of claim 10, as seen above. Craig further discloses further comprising: receiving, from an input device, an input to alter the position of the discharge housing relative to the elevator housing.(Paragraph 0039: "Processing unit 370 comprises a processor configured to carry out instructions contained in medium 372. Medium 372 comprises a persistent storage device or memory containing the instructions. The instructions may be in the form of software or may be in the form of circuitry or logic components, such as an application-specific integrated circuit. FIG. 5 is a block diagram schematically illustrating medium 372. As shown by FIG. 5, medium 372 comprises volume fill evaluation instructions 374 and billet deflector positioning instructions 376.")
Regarding Claim 12, Pereira in view of Craig discloses the method of claim 11, as seen above. Craig further discloses wherein the input device includes at least one of a user interface, an internal data source, an external data source, or a sensor system.(Paragraph 0040: "Volume fill evaluation instructions 374 direct processing unit 370 to determine a fill characteristic of volume 362. Examples of a fill characteristic include, but are not limited to, the relationship between the top surface of the mound or collection of billets 27 within volume 362 with respect to the top open edge or mouth of volume 362, the distribution of billets 27 within volume 362 and the like. In one implementation, instructions 374 direct processing unit 370 to evaluate fill signals 361 to determine the fill characteristic of volume 362. For example, instructions 374 may direct processing unit 370 to evaluate images of the mound of billets 27 within volume 362 captured by a sensor carried by elevator 30, carried by vehicle pulling volume 362, carried by a wagon providing volume 362 or otherwise provided. Such evaluation may involve optical recognition identifying the top edges of the container providing volume 362 and the top surface of billets 27 within volume 362. Such an evaluation may identify regions within volume 362 that are becoming full of billets (to avoid overfilling or spilling) and regions within volume 362 that have remaining capacity for receiving additional billets. Such an evaluation may comprise quantifying the distance of the billets from the top of the container in a region of the volume 362 that is currently receiving billets from elevator 30 or quantifying the percentage or volume of capacity in a region of the volume 362 that is currently receiving billets from elevator 30. Such an evaluation may also comprise determining the capacity in other “inactive” regions of the volume 362 that not currently receiving billets 27, wherein the fore-aft positioning of the elevator 530 relative to the volume 362 and/or the positioning of deflectors may be moved to subsequently deposit billets in the current inactive regions")
Regarding Claim 13, Pereira in view of Craig discloses the method of claim 10, as seen above. Pereira further discloses further comprising: rotating, with a deflector actuator, the deflector to a position in which at least a portion of a discharge outlet defined by the discharge housing is blocked by the deflector to define a storage harvesting mode(Figure 3: Shows storage hopper 100 closed by rear door 112)
Regarding Claim 14, Pereira in view of Craig discloses the method of claim 13, as seen above. Pereira further discloses further comprising: reducing a speed of a conveyor downstream of the elevator in the storage harvesting mode.(Paragraph 0035: "Moreover, when it is desired to operate the harvester 10 in its storage harvesting mode, the rear door 112 may be moved to its closed position. For instance, as shown in FIG. 3, when in the storage position, the rear door 112 may be pivoted relative to the rear side 110 of the hopper 100 towards both the bottom and front walls 110, 116 (e.g., in the direction of arrow 134) until the rear door 112 contacts or is otherwise positioned directly adjacent to the bottom wall 110, thereby covering the discharge opening 82 defined along the rear side 108 of the hopper 100. When the rear door 112 is located at such position, the storage hopper 100 may be configured to define a storage volume 104 for storing the billets expelled from the distal end 64 of the elevator 60. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the storage volume 104 may extend between a forward end 136 of the storage hopper 100 defined by the front wall 116 and the rear side 108 defined by the rear door 112. Additionally, the storage volume 104 may extend crosswise between the opposed sidewalls 114 of the hopper 100 and vertically between the secondary extractor 78 and the conveyor 102. Thus, billets expelled from the distal end 64 of the elevator 60 may fall downwardly onto the bottom of the storage volume 104 defined by the conveyor 102 and pile up vertically on the conveyor 102 and within the storage volume 104 between the front wall 116 and the rear door 112 and the opposed sidewalls 114. Additionally, as indicated above, when in the storage harvesting mode, the speed of the conveyor 102 may be reduced or the operation of the conveyor 102 may be halted to prevent movement of the billets toward the discharge opening 82. In one embodiment, the speed of the conveyor 102 may be reduced for a predetermined time period before the operation of the conveyor 102 is halted.")
Regarding Claim 15, Pereira in view of Craig discloses the method of claim 13, as seen above. Pereira further discloses further comprising: reducing an operating speed of the elevator in the storage harvesting mode.(Paragraph 0048: "Referring still to FIG. 4, at (210), the method 200 may also include, upon receipt of the operator input, reducing an operational speed of the elevator. Specifically, in addition to reducing the speed of and/or halting operation of the conveyor 102 and/or moving the rear door 112, the operational speed of the elevator 60 may be reduced from its normal operational speed (e.g., the operational speed of the elevator 60 when the harvester 10 is operated in its discharge harvesting mode) to a decreased operational speed. In one embodiment, the elevator speed may be reduced to a predetermined operational speed, such as a speed ranging from about 10% to about 25% of the normal operational speed of the elevator 60. Alternatively, the decreased operational speed of the elevator 60 may be determined as a function of one or more operational parameters of the harvester 10, such as the current yield of the harvester 10, the current feed rate of the harvester 10, and/or the current ground speed of the harvester 10. As indicated above, the operational speed of the elevator 60 may be automatically controlled by the vehicle's controller 142 (e.g., by controlling the operation of the elevator motor 76).")
Regarding Claim 16, Pereira in view of Craig discloses the method of claim 10, as seen above. Pereira further discloses wherein a position of the deflector is based at least in part on a distance between the elevator and the elevator housing.(Paragraph 0035: "Moreover, when it is desired to operate the harvester 10 in its storage harvesting mode, the rear door 112 may be moved to its closed position. For instance, as shown in FIG. 3, when in the storage position, the rear door 112 may be pivoted relative to the rear side 110 of the hopper 100 towards both the bottom and front walls 110, 116 (e.g., in the direction of arrow 134) until the rear door 112 contacts or is otherwise positioned directly adjacent to the bottom wall 110, thereby covering the discharge opening 82 defined along the rear side 108 of the hopper 100. When the rear door 112 is located at such position, the storage hopper 100 may be configured to define a storage volume 104 for storing the billets expelled from the distal end 64 of the elevator 60. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the storage volume 104 may extend between a forward end 136 of the storage hopper 100 defined by the front wall 116 and the rear side 108 defined by the rear door 112. Additionally, the storage volume 104 may extend crosswise between the opposed sidewalls 114 of the hopper 100 and vertically between the secondary extractor 78 and the conveyor 102. Thus, billets expelled from the distal end 64 of the elevator 60 may fall downwardly onto the bottom of the storage volume 104 defined by the conveyor 102 and pile up vertically on the conveyor 102 and within the storage volume 104 between the front wall 116 and the rear door 112 and the opposed sidewalls 114. Additionally, as indicated above, when in the storage harvesting mode, the speed of the conveyor 102 may be reduced or the operation of the conveyor 102 may be halted to prevent movement of the billets toward the discharge opening 82. In one embodiment, the speed of the conveyor 102 may be reduced for a predetermined time period before the operation of the conveyor 102 is halted.")
Regarding Claim 17, Pereira discloses An elevator assembly for a harvester, comprising: an elevator housing; an elevator configured to carry material there along;(Figure 1: Elevator housing 58 and elevator 60) and a discharge assembly operably coupled with the elevator housing, the discharge assembly comprising: a discharge housing defining a discharge outlet,(Figure 2: Discharge opening 82).
However, Pereira does not disclose the discharge housing movable relative to the elevator housing; and a discharge actuator operably coupled with the elevator housing and the discharge housing, the discharge actuator configured to alter a position of the discharge housing relative to the elevator housing.
Craig discloses a similar elevator assembly for a harvester comprising the discharge housing movable relative to the elevator housing;(Paragraph 0030: "Rearward billet deflector 44 comprises a panel or other structure proximate the discharge end 34. Rearward billet deflector 40 is supported at a location such that the flow of billets flows between deflector 44 and deflector 40, a portion of the flow deflecting off of deflector 44 and being guided by deflector 44 as indicated by arrows 45. Rearward billet deflector 44 is movable relative to the discharge end 34 of elevator 30 so as to guide the flow of billets 27 to different locations within the receiving volume.") and a discharge actuator operably coupled with the elevator housing and the discharge housing, the discharge actuator configured to alter a position of the discharge housing relative to the elevator housing.(Paragraph 0031: "Powered actuator 48 comprises a device operably coupled to rearward billet deflector 44 so as to move rearward billet deflector 44 relative to discharge end 34 and/or forward billet deflector 40 to adjust the direction in which the flow of billets is presently being discharged. In one implementation, powered actuator 48 may comprise a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder-piston assembly. In other implementations, powered actuator 48 may comprise an electric solenoid, an electric motor with an associated transmission or a mechanical linkage receiving power from an internal combustion engine. In some implementations, the powered actuator 48 may be controlled from a remote location, such as from an operator station of the sugarcane harvester 20, from the operator station of the tractor pulling the volume or the vehicle providing the volume or from a location remote to the current location of the sugarcane harvester 20 and the receiving volume.")
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 Pereira to include the movable discharge housing as taught by Craig. The motivation for the modification would have been to allow for greater control over billets by automatically adjusting the positioning of deflectors based upon fill characteristics of a volume (Paragraph 0015).
Regarding Claim 18, Pereira in view of Craig discloses the elevator assembly of claim 17, as seen above. Pereira further discloses further comprising: a deflector operably coupled with the discharge housing; and a deflector actuator configured to alter a position of the deflector relative to the discharge housing between a first position in which at least a portion of the discharge outlet is blocked by the deflector to define a storage harvesting mode and a second position in which at least a portion of the deflector is positioned vertically below the discharge housing.(Paragraph 0035: "Moreover, when it is desired to operate the harvester 10 in its storage harvesting mode, the rear door 112 may be moved to its closed position. For instance, as shown in FIG. 3, when in the storage position, the rear door 112 may be pivoted relative to the rear side 110 of the hopper 100 towards both the bottom and front walls 110, 116 (e.g., in the direction of arrow 134) until the rear door 112 contacts or is otherwise positioned directly adjacent to the bottom wall 110, thereby covering the discharge opening 82 defined along the rear side 108 of the hopper 100. When the rear door 112 is located at such position, the storage hopper 100 may be configured to define a storage volume 104 for storing the billets expelled from the distal end 64 of the elevator 60. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the storage volume 104 may extend between a forward end 136 of the storage hopper 100 defined by the front wall 116 and the rear side 108 defined by the rear door 112. Additionally, the storage volume 104 may extend crosswise between the opposed sidewalls 114 of the hopper 100 and vertically between the secondary extractor 78 and the conveyor 102. Thus, billets expelled from the distal end 64 of the elevator 60 may fall downwardly onto the bottom of the storage volume 104 defined by the conveyor 102 and pile up vertically on the conveyor 102 and within the storage volume 104 between the front wall 116 and the rear door 112 and the opposed sidewalls 114. Additionally, as indicated above, when in the storage harvesting mode, the speed of the conveyor 102 may be reduced or the operation of the conveyor 102 may be halted to prevent movement of the billets toward the discharge opening 82. In one embodiment, the speed of the conveyor 102 may be reduced for a predetermined time period before the operation of the conveyor 102 is halted.")
Regarding Claim 19, Pereira in view of Craig discloses the elevator assembly of claim 17, as seen above. Craig further discloses further comprising: a computing system operably coupled with the discharge actuator; and an input device operably coupled with the computing system, wherein the computing system is configured to alter a position of the discharge housing relative to the elevator housing based on an input received through the input device.(Paragraph 0039: "Processing unit 370 comprises a processor configured to carry out instructions contained in medium 372. Medium 372 comprises a persistent storage device or memory containing the instructions. The instructions may be in the form of software or may be in the form of circuitry or logic components, such as an application-specific integrated circuit. FIG. 5 is a block diagram schematically illustrating medium 372. As shown by FIG. 5, medium 372 comprises volume fill evaluation instructions 374 and billet deflector positioning instructions 376.")
Regarding Claim 20, Pereira in view of Craig discloses the elevator assembly of claim 19, as seen above. Craig further discloses wherein the input device includes at least one of a user interface, an internal data source, an external data source, or a sensor system.(Paragraph 0040: "Volume fill evaluation instructions 374 direct processing unit 370 to determine a fill characteristic of volume 362. Examples of a fill characteristic include, but are not limited to, the relationship between the top surface of the mound or collection of billets 27 within volume 362 with respect to the top open edge or mouth of volume 362, the distribution of billets 27 within volume 362 and the like. In one implementation, instructions 374 direct processing unit 370 to evaluate fill signals 361 to determine the fill characteristic of volume 362. For example, instructions 374 may direct processing unit 370 to evaluate images of the mound of billets 27 within volume 362 captured by a sensor carried by elevator 30, carried by vehicle pulling volume 362, carried by a wagon providing volume 362 or otherwise provided. Such evaluation may involve optical recognition identifying the top edges of the container providing volume 362 and the top surface of billets 27 within volume 362. Such an evaluation may identify regions within volume 362 that are becoming full of billets (to avoid overfilling or spilling) and regions within volume 362 that have remaining capacity for receiving additional billets. Such an evaluation may comprise quantifying the distance of the billets from the top of the container in a region of the volume 362 that is currently receiving billets from elevator 30 or quantifying the percentage or volume of capacity in a region of the volume 362 that is currently receiving billets from elevator 30. Such an evaluation may also comprise determining the capacity in other “inactive” regions of the volume 362 that not currently receiving billets 27, wherein the fore-aft positioning of the elevator 530 relative to the volume 362 and/or the positioning of deflectors may be moved to subsequently deposit billets in the current inactive regions")
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
United States Patent Application US 2022/0151155 A1 (Lynn, Levi): Lynn discloses a similar harvesting conveyor comprising a proximal portion, a distal portion, a hinged connection, wherein the distal portion is pivotable and able to be biased in alignment, as seen in Figure 3.
United States Patent Application US 2020/0178467 A1 (Dighton, John): Dighton discloses a similar adjustable actuator comprising conveyor and elevator systems, extractor and an actuator for repositioning the discharge path and angle, as seen in Figures 3-5.
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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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Gene Crawford can be reached at (571) 272-6911. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ABBY A JORGENSEN/ Examiner, Art Unit 3651
/GENE O CRAWFORD/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3651
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