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
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) 1-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Helmstetter et al. (USPN 6565452) in view of JP 3765864.
Regarding claim 1, Helmstetter et al. discloses a club head having a face portion 60 and an aft body 61 (See Figure 7). The face portion includes a striking face 72 and the aft body is located rearward of the face portion. The aft body also includes a crown portion 62, sole portion 64, and skirt portion 90 between the crown portion and sole portion. The aft body is also formed of a composite material having fibers (See Column 9, lines 26 through 35). Helmstetter et al. does not disclose the orientation of the fibers. JP 3765864 discloses a club head wherein different portions of the club head are made of fiber-reinforced resin. Figure 6d shows a club head wherein the fiber-orientation appears to wrap around the entire (100%) club head perimeter, which would equate to a hoop direction. Paragraph 0020 also notes that the unidirectional sheets being perpendicular to each other and intersecting each other. JP 3765864 notes that the orientation improves the hitting characteristics of the club head and further notes that it can be applied to woods, irons, and putters. One having ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to have the fibers oriented in a hoop direction, as taught by JP 3765864, in order to improve the hitting characteristics of the club head.
Regarding claim 2, Helmstetter et al. discloses the forwardmost portion of the composite material is located within 1.5 inches from the striking face (See Column 8, lines 30 through Column 9, line 20).
Regarding claim 3, see the above regarding claim 1.
Regarding claim 4, JP 3765864 discloses the composite material being a stack of unidirectional fiber plies (See Paragraph 0020).
Regarding claim 5, JP 3765864 discloses alternating stack of unidirectional fiber plies having fibers oriented perpendicular to the z-axis (See Paragraph 0020).
Regarding claim 6, JP 3765864 discloses the fibers oriented perpendicular to the z-axis being woven fiber plies.
Regarding claim 7, see the above regarding claim 1.
Regarding claim 8, see the above regarding claim 1. It should be noted that the heel-toe axis is perpendicular to the z-axis.
Regarding claim 9, see the above regarding claim 2.
Regarding claim 10, see the above regarding claim 1. JP 3765864 shows in Figure 6d the crown, face, and sole of the club head having fibers oriented perpendicular to the z-axis. Factoring in that Helmstetter et al. discloses the aft body made of a composite material would imply that the more than half of the fibers in the aft body would be perpendicular to the z-axis.
Regarding claim 11, see the above regarding claim 1.
Regarding claim 12, see the above regarding claim 4.
Regarding claim 13, see the above regarding claim 5.
Regarding claim 14, see the above regarding claim 6.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see remarks, filed 5/08/26, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-14 under DeMille et al. (US 2013/0344986) in view of Yamamoto (JP 2005-296626) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Helmstetter et al. in view of JP 3765864.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALVIN A HUNTER whose telephone number is (571)272-4411. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Friday from 7:30AM to 4:00PM Eastern Time.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Eugene Kim, can be reached at telephone number 571-272-4463. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ALVIN A HUNTER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3711
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