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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the hinge (claims 6, 11 and 17) must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 6, 11, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Where is the hinge located?
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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 4, 7, 9-10, 14-16, and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chen (2005/0197207). Claim 1, Chen discloses a golf club head comprising a strike face comprising a striking surface for impacting a golf ball. a body comprising a crown, a sole, a heel, a toe, and a rear end (fig 2). The strike face and body are coupled together to enclose an interior cavity and a resilient member disposed in the interior cavity and extending between the crown and the sole, the supporting member (resilient member) comprising a first end, coupled to the crown, and a second end, coupled to the sole; wherein the (resilient member) comprises a substantially curvilinear shape (fig 1). Wherein the resilient member is integrally formed with the body is a method of making. However, Chen discloses the body and supporting member care connected by welding, which satisfies the product of the limitation [0016]. Claim 2, Chen discloses the supporting member is configured to flex between a rest state prior to impact with the golf ball, in which the supporting member defines a first chord length, and a deflected state after impact with the golf ball, in which the supporting member defines a second chord length that is greater than the first chord length [0021]. The term elastic deformation inherently satisfies a difference in length between resting state and impact. Claim 4, figure 2 discloses the supporting member (20) is spaced rearwardly of the strike face by an off-set distance of at least 0.5 inches. Claim 7, the strike face comprises a face center, and the resilient member is positioned along a heel to toe direction such that the resilient member is aligned with the face center (fig 1). Claim 9, Chen discloses a golf club head comprising a strike face comprising a striking surface for impacting a golf ball. a body comprising a crown, a sole, a heel, a toe, and a rear end (fig 2). The strike face and body are coupled together to enclose an interior cavity and a resilient member disposed in the interior cavity and extending between the crown and the sole, the supporting member (resilient member) comprising a first end, coupled to the crown, and a second end, coupled to the sole; wherein the (resilient member) comprises a substantially curvilinear shape (fig 1). Wherein the supporting member is welded to the body [0016]. Claim 10, Chen discloses the supporting member is configured to flex between a rest state prior to impact with the golf ball, in which the supporting member defines a first chord length, and a deflected state after impact with the golf ball, in which the supporting member defines a second chord length that is greater than the first chord length [0021]. The term elastic deformation inherently satisfies a difference in length between resting state and impact. Claim 14, Chen discloses a golf club head comprising a body comprising a crown, a sole, a heel, a toe, and a rear (fig 1). The strike face coupled to the body to define an interior cavity, the strike face comprising a striking surface for impacting a golf ball and defining a face center (fig 1). An x-axis extending horizontally through the face center in a direction from the heel to the toe; a y-axis perpendicular to the x-axis and extending vertically through the face center in a direction from the sole to the crown; a z-axis perpendicular to the x-axis and the y-axis, and extending horizontally through the face center in a direction from the strike face to the rear; a supporting member (resilient member) disposed in the interior cavity and having a first end attached to the crown and a second end attached to the sole, the supporting member (resilient member) comprising a curvilinear shape, wherein the curvilinear shape, when viewed in an YZ-plane defined by the y-axis and the z-axis, is convex relative to the strike face (fig 1). Claim 15, the supporting member comprises a supporting member width measured along the x-axis; a supporting member height measured along the y-axis; and a supporting member depth measured along the z-axis; wherein the supporting member width is greater than the supporting member thickness. Claim 16, Chen discloses the supporting member is configured to flex between a rest state prior to impact with the golf ball, in which the supporting member defines a first chord length, and a deflected state after impact with the golf ball, in which the supporting member defines a second chord length that is greater than the first chord length [0021]. The term elastic deformation inherently satisfies a difference in length between resting state and impact. Claim 18, the supporting member is positioned along a heel to toe direction such that the resilient member is aligned with the face center.
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.
Claim(s) 5, 13, 19, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (2005/0197207). Claims 5, 13, 19, Chen does not disclose the dimensions of the supporting member (20). However, comparing the figs 5-6 of the instant invention with figs 1-2 od Chen reveals similar dimensions for both parts. Claim 20, the radius of curvature for the supporting member appears to the be between 3 and 10 inches as shown in figure 2. One of ordinary skill in the art would vary the dimensions for optimum results. "[W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation." In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955).
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (2005/0197207) in view of Fagot (2003/0190975). Chen discloses the supporting member may be made from elastic metals but does not disclose spring steel [0016]. Fagot teaches a supporting member (12) comprises a material such as spring steel [0041]. One of ordinary skill in the art would have modified the materials for the desired flexibility.
Claim(s) 8 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (2005/0197207) in view of Tsuchiya et al. (5,346,217). Chen does not disclose the thickness of the face. Tsuchiya teaches a face thickness from 2 to 4 mm (0.079-0.157 inch) (abstract). One of ordinary skill in the art would have modified the face thickness for the desired durability.
Conclusion
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/RAEANN GORDEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3711
June 23, 2025