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, a projected area of the thick wall portion is denoted by S1, and a projected area of the striking face is denoted by S2, then S1/S2 is greater than or equal to 5% and less than or equal to 45% (claim 9) must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). Specifically, S2 is not shown in the figures and the relationship with S2 is not present. 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 § 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, 3-4, 6-8, and 14-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kobayashi (4,489,945). Claim 1, Kobayashi discloses a golf club head comprising a face portion that includes a striking face (3); a sole portion (6); a crown portion (5); a hosel portion (9); and a head center of gravity (G), wherein the striking face (3) includes a face center and a sweet spot (P) (the center of the face and the sweet spot coincide, col. 1, lines 60-61) that is an intersection point between the striking face (3) and a straight line that passes through the head center of gravity (G) and is perpendicular to the striking face (3) (fig 9), when the face portion (3) is divided into an upper part and a lower part by a horizontal plane that passes through the sweet spot (see P in fig. 9), the lower part includes a thick wall portion (10) that has a wall thickness greater than a maximum wall thickness of the upper part (fig 9), at least a part of the thick wall portion is a thickest wall portion that has a maximum wall thickness in the face portion (10 is the thickest at the bottom), and when a width of 30% of an up-down directional width of the lower part at a position of the face center is referred to as an offset width, and, of the lower part, a region that has a width of the offset width and has a lower contour coinciding with a contour line of the striking face is defined as a lower peripheral region, then an entirety of the thick wall portion is disposed in the lower peripheral region (col. 3, lines 17-20) (fig 9). Claim 3, the entirety of the thick wall portion (10) is disposed on a lower side with respect to the head center of gravity (G) (fig 9) (col. 3, lines 35-36). Claim 4, the thick wall portion (10) includes a toe-side part and a heel-side part of the face portion (col. 3, lines 17-20). Claim 6, the face portion (3) is capable of being divided into a toe-side region that extends from a toe-most end of the face portion and has a toe-heel directional length of 30% of a face length, a heel-side region that extends from a heel-most end of the face portion and has a toe-heel directional length of 30% of the face length, and a central region that is located between the toe-side region and the heel-side region, then the thick wall portion extends from the toe-side region through the central region to the heel-side region (equivalent to dividing the face in three sections from the toe toward the heel). Claim 7, the wall thickness of the thick wall portion is less than or equal to 4.0 times the maximum wall thickness of the upper part. Figure 9 shows the thick portion greater than the thinner portion at the top but not more than 4 times the thickness. Claim 8, a boundary between the toe-side part and the heel-side part is a plane, the plane being perpendicular to a ground plane and containing the straight line that is perpendicular to the striking face and that passes through the head center of gravity (a perpendicular plane passing through the center of gravity is an inherent feature). Claim 14, Kobayashi discloses a driver (col. 1, lines 57-58) comprising a face portion that includes a striking face (3); a sole portion (6); a crown portion (5); a hosel portion (9); and a head center of gravity (G), wherein the striking face (3) includes a face center and a sweet spot (P) (the center of the face and the sweet spot coincide, col. 1, lines 60-61) that is an intersection point between the striking face (3) and a straight line that passes through the head center of gravity (G) and is perpendicular to the striking face (3) (fig 9), when the face portion (3) is divided into an upper part and a lower part by a horizontal plane that passes through the sweet spot (see P in fig. 9), the lower part includes a thick wall portion (10) that has a wall thickness greater than a maximum wall thickness of the upper part (fig 9), at least a part of the thick wall portion is a thickest wall portion that has a maximum wall thickness in the face portion (10 is the thickest at the bottom), and when a width of 30% of an up-down directional width of the lower part at a position of the face center is referred to as an offset width, and, of the lower part, a region that has a width of the offset width and has a lower contour coinciding with a contour line of the striking face is defined as a lower peripheral region, then an entirety of the thick wall portion is disposed in the lower peripheral region (col. 3, lines 17-20) (fig 9). Claim 15, the entirety of the thick wall portion (10) is disposed on a lower side with respect to the head center of gravity (G) (fig 9) (col. 3, lines 35-36).
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) 16-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kobayashi (4,489,945). Kobayashi discloses the location of the center of gravity (G), but does not provide the values for the height (33 mm or less) from the ground and the distance from the face (22 mm or less) (fig 9). However, the concentration of the mass at the bottom of the face indicates the center of gravity would be low and toward the face. It is believed the CG falls within the parameters claimed by applicant. One of ordinary skill in the would shift the center of gravity to influence the launch and spin. "[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) 2, 9-11, and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kobayashi (4,489,945) McKeighen (5,429,365). Claim 2, the thickest wall portion has a wall thickness of greater than or equal to 3.0 times a minimum wall thickness of the upper part is not disclosed by Kobayashi. McKeighen teaches a golf club head comprising a face with a thick portion at the bottom of the rear of the face (fig 9). The thickness at the bottom is at least three times larger than the thickness at the top (92, fig 9). One of ordinary skill in the art would vary the width of the thick portion to shift the center of gravity for the desired performance. Claim 9, Kobayashi discloses a golf club head comprising a face portion that includes a striking face (3); a sole portion (6); a crown portion (5); a hosel portion (9); and a head center of gravity (G), wherein the striking face (3) includes a face center and a sweet spot (P) (the center of the face and the sweet spot coincide, col. 1, lines 60-61) that is an intersection point between the striking face (3) and a straight line that passes through the head center of gravity (G) and is perpendicular to the striking face (3) (fig 9), when the face portion (3) is divided into an upper part and a lower part by a horizontal plane that passes through the sweet spot (see P in fig. 9), the lower part includes a thick wall portion (10) that has a wall thickness greater than a maximum wall thickness of the upper part (fig 9), at least a part of the thick wall portion is a thickest wall portion that has a maximum wall thickness in the face portion (10 is the thickest at the bottom), and when a width of 30% of an up-down directional width of the lower part at a position of the face center is referred to as an offset width, and, of the lower part, a region that has a width of the offset width and has a lower contour coinciding with a contour line of the striking face is defined as a lower peripheral region, then an entirety of the thick wall portion is disposed in the lower peripheral region (col. 3, lines 17-20) (fig 9). In a front elevation view of the golf club head, when a projected area of the thick wall portion is denoted by S1, and a projected area of the striking face is denoted by S2, then S1/S2 is greater than or equal to 5% and less than or equal to 45% refers to the percentage of the thick portion on the entire face between 5% and 45%. Kobayashi discloses the thick portion is from heel to toe of the face as shown above. The thick portion is between 5 and 45% of the total face because the height of the thick portion varies along the slope (fig 9), the height of the thick portion may be any position below the thin portion of the face. Kobayashi does not disclose the thickest wall portion has a wall thickness of greater than or equal to 3.00 times a minimum wall thickness of the upper part and less than or equal to 6.00 times the minimum wall thickness of the upper part. McKeighen teaches a golf club head comprising a face with a thick portion at the bottom of the rear of the face (fig 9). The thickness at the bottom is at least three times larger than the thickness at the top (92, fig 9). One of ordinary skill in the art would vary the width of the thick portion to shift the center of gravity for the desired performance. Claim 10, Kobayashi discloses the entirety of the thick wall portion (10) is disposed on a lower side with respect to the head center of gravity (G) (fig 9) (col. 3, lines35-36). Claim 11, Kobayashi discloses the thick wall portion (10) includes a toe-side part and a heel-side part of the face portion (col. 3, lines 17-20). Claim 13, Kobayashi discloses the face portion (3) is capable of being divided into a toe-side region that extends from a toe-most end of the face portion and has a toe-heel directional length of 30% of a face length, a heel-side region that extends from a heel-most end of the face portion and has a toe-heel directional length of 30% of the face length, and a central region that is located between the toe-side region and the heel-side region, then the thick wall portion extends from the toe-side region through the central region to the heel-side region (equivalent to dividing the face in three sections from the toe toward the heel). One of ordinary skill in the art would vary the width of the thick portion to shift the center of gravity for the desired performance. "[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).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5 and 12 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
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/RAEANN GORDEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3711
December 19, 2025