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 § 102
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.
Claims 1, 7, 8, 14, 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being clearly anticipated by Childs et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2021/0207682).
In reference to claim 1, Childs an agricultural header 150 for an agricultural vehicle 15 (Fig. 1, par. 0028), comprising:
a header frame 101;
at least one cutter 111 carried by the header frame 101 and configured to cut crop material (par. 0029); and
a draper belt assembly carried by the header frame, the draper belt assembly comprising:
a roller (par. 0050) supported by the header frame 101;
a draper belt 140/540 wrapped around the roller such that rotation of the roller drives the draper belt 140/540 (par. 0050);
a roller mount coupling the roller to the header frame 101 (no roller mount is explicitly disclosed, but some roller mount inherently must be present for the roller to function); and
a seal 528 coupled to the roller mount such that adjustment of the roller mount causes a corresponding adjustment of both the roller and the seal 528 (par. 0050, “tensioner roller” as known in the art is used to apply tension to the draper belt; operation of the tensioner roller would result in adjusting the roller mount and the seal as tension applied to the belt would also apply to the seal 528).
In reference to claim 7, Childs discloses that the seal 528 comprises at least one of a polymer or rubber (par. 0044).
In reference to claim 8, Childs discloses an agricultural vehicle 15 (Fig. 1), comprising:
a chassis 13; and
a header 150 carried by the chassis 13, the header 150 comprising:
a header frame 101;
at least one cutter 111 carried by the header frame 101 and configured to cut crop material (par. 0029); and
a draper belt assembly carried by the header frame 101, the draper belt assembly comprising:
a roller (par. 0050) supported by the header frame 101;
a draper belt 140/540 wrapped around the roller such that rotation of the roller drives the draper belt 140/540 (par. 0050);
a roller mount coupling the roller to the header frame 101 (no roller mount is explicitly disclosed, but some roller mount inherently must be present for the roller to function); and
a seal 528 coupled to the roller mount such that adjustment of the roller mount causes a corresponding adjustment of both the roller and the seal 528 (par. 0050, “tensioner roller” as known in the art is used to apply tension to the draper belt; operation of the tensioner roller would result in adjusting the roller mount and the seal as tension applied to the belt would also apply to the seal 528).
In reference to claim 14, Childs discloses that the seal 528 comprises at least one of a polymer or rubber (par. 0044).
In reference to claim 15, Childs discloses a method of adjusting a roller (par. 0050) and a draper belt 140/540 of an agricultural header 150 comprising a header frame 101 and at least one cutter 111 carried by the header frame 101 and configured to cut crop material, the method comprising:
wrapping the draper belt 140/540 around the roller such that rotation of the roller drives the draper belt 140/540 (Fig. 1, par. 0050);
coupling the roller to the header frame 101 with a roller mount (no roller mount is explicitly disclosed, but some roller mount inherently must be present for the roller to function), the roller mount having a seal 528 coupled thereto; and
adjusting a position of the roller mount relative to the header frame 101 par. 0050), wherein adjusting the position of the roller mount also adjusts a corresponding position of both the roller and the seal (par. 0050, “tensioner roller” as known in the art is used to apply tension to the draper belt; operation of the tensioner roller would result in adjusting the roller mount and the seal as tension applied to the belt would also apply to the seal 528).
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 5, 12 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Childs et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2021/0207682) in view of Cook et al. (US Patent No. 10,920,851).
In reference to claims 5, 12 and 19, Childs fails to disclose that the roller defines an axis of rotation and the seal defines a longest dimension that extends in parallel with the axis of rotation.
Cook discloses a seal 200 that extends in a dimension that extends parallel with the axis of rotation of the roller (Figs. 1 and 2). 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 seal so that it extends in a direction parallel to the roller with a reasonable expectation of success as it amounts to a rearrangement of the existing parts of the invention without altering their function.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-4, 6, 9-11, 13, 16-18 and 20 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. White et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2021/0127579) discloses a seal 138 and a tensioner 110 for a roller 96 (Fig. 6) and Cook (US Patent Application Publication No. 2018/0338425) discloses a seal 100 for a roller 202 (Fig. 4).
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
9/18/26
