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 .
Procedural Summary
This is responsive to the claims filed on 12/6/2022.
Claims 1-4 are pending.
The Drawings filed on 12/6/`/2022 are noted.
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 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Kinsinger (US 2020/0316445 A1) in view of Akira ( JP 2019217242 A).
As in claim 1, Kinsinger teaches of a table tennis paddle with a smoothed edge rectangular cross-sectioned handle, cut at 60° and attached along the longitudinal axis at 90° laterally to the blade so that it slopes past the tail end of the blade, figures 19, 20, and claim 1, wherein the handle 6 has a range between 20 and 70 degrees along the longitudinal axis at 90 degrees laterally to the blade, and 60 degrees falling within said range.
However Kinsinger is silent as to having approximate proportions: 17mm thick (laterally) x 40mm wide (longitudinally) x 45mm along the tip-side edge and 70mm along the tail-side edge. These approximate proportions are however well known in the art of table tennis paddles adapted to fit to the various sizes of a person’s hand, and would be an obvious design choice to fit a user’s hand.
Akira teaches of a table tennis paddle have similar approximate dimensions, paragraph 51, 52 and 74, figure 12. Wherein Akira states the appropriate length is found by adding the distal joint position difference between the index finger and the middle finger. In other words the approximate proportions are made according to the size and preference of the user’s hand. Akira teaches of corresponding approximate proportions, 20mm thick laterally (figure 10B), 40 wide longitudinally (paragraph 74), and 15mm along the tail side edge, which as shown by Kissinger, can be approximately 70mm, to accommodate more grip by the hand.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to the skilled artisan before the date of the invention, to modify the table tennis paddle of Kinsinger to the approximate proportions 17mm by 40mm by 70mm, because as taught by Airka, it represents an obvious design choice to fit a size of a person’s hand for comfortable grip of the table tennis paddle, as found in claim 1.
As in claim 2, for the same reasons of obviousness above in claim 1, Kissinger teaches of 55mm long tapering to the tail of the paddle so that it forms a continuous line at about 60° to the blade, figure 19, 22. The forefinger grip of Kissinger is positioned under the blade, figure 22 item 4.
However Kissinger fails to teaches of a rounded rectangular forefinger grip is attached on the top of the blade at the tail end along longitudinal axis, typically the same thickness as the handle, approximate proportions: 17mm thick, 20mm high and around.
In related prior art Airka, teaches of a table tennis paddle having said forefinger grip positioned above the blade and made to have the same thickness as the handle, figure 2.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to the skilled artisan before the date of the invention, to modify the table tennis paddle of Kisinger to the approximate proportions of Airka, because Airka teaches said configuration is useful gripping a tennis table paddle, as found in claim 2
As in claim 3, Kissinger in view of Akira teaches of a right-handed player the blade extends out to the left side of the forefinger grip so the blade can be gripped between thumb and middle finger, Kinsinger paragraph 22, for a left-handed player the blade would instead extend to the right side of the handle and fore-finger grip, paragraph 22, wherein the right and left table tennis paddles are a mirror reflection of each other.
Claims 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Kinsinger (US 2020/0316445 A1) in view of Akira ( JP 2019217242 A), further in view of Ryeol (KR KR-100817249-B1).
As in claims 4, for the same reasons of obviousness in claims 1-3, over Kinsinger in view of Airka, Kissinger teaches of a roughly quarter cylinder arc of wood or similar shape is added as a thumb grip adjacent to the forefinger grip (or moulded from the same piece of wood or plastic) rounded in the longitudinal direction and aligned with the tail of the blade and the edge of the blade extension mentioned in claim 3, figure 22 item 8.
Further, wherein in a related table tennis paddle, Ryeol teaches, the adjacent thumb support as taught by Kissinger, can be placed in an alternative adjacent position as taught by Ryeol, figure 12. As shown in figure 5, Ryeol also teaches of said approximately 60 degree grip handle. Wherein the combination of features from Ryeol’s figures 5 and 12, in combination with the 60 degree handle of Kinsinger, and the selection of appropriate proportions to fit a user’s hand, reads on the teachings of claims 1-4. Wherein it would have been obvious to the skilled artisan before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to chose known comfort features by Kinsinger, Akria, and Ryeol, for the purpose of providing a comfort grip on a table tennis paddle as found in claims 1-4.
Conclusion
Claims 1-4 are examined above.
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/David L Lewis/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3715