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 § 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) 1-6, 8, 11, 14 and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Pawlas et al. [US20160107017], hereinafter Pawlas.
Regarding claim 1, Pawlas discloses a ball training device (Fig. 1) for pitchers, comprising:
a ball; and at least one weight inside the ball extending along an axis, the weight configured to spin longitudinally when the ball training device is thrown by a pitcher (Fig. 1, “exercise weights 22”).
Regarding claim 2, Pawlas discloses the ball training device of claim 1, wherein the ball comprises a first ball portion configured to couple to a second ball portion (Fig. 1, [0027], “The shell main body 12 and the shell lid 14 (which may also be referred to simply as the “main body 12” and the “lid 14” can create an opening of any desired shape. For example, the opening could split the shell into two equal hemispheres creating a circular opening with a radius equal to the ball radius”).
Regarding claims 3, Pawlas discloses the ball training device of claim 2, wherein the first ball portion comprises a first weight aperture (Fig. 1, [0027], “For example, the opening could split the shell into two equal hemispheres creating a circular opening with a radius equal to the ball radius”).
Regarding claim 4, Pawlas discloses the ball training device of claim 3, wherein the second ball portion comprises a second weight aperture (Fig. 1, [0027], “For example, the opening could split the shell into two equal hemispheres creating a circular opening with a radius equal to the ball radius”).
Regarding claim 5, Pawlas discloses the ball training device of claim 2, wherein the first ball portion comprises a lip configured to mate with a groove in the second ball portion (Fig. 1, [0027], “The shell main body 12 and the shell lid 14 (which may also be referred to simply as the “main body 12” and the “lid 14” can create an opening of any desired shape. For example, the opening could split the shell into two equal hemispheres creating a circular opening with a radius equal to the ball radius”).
Regarding claim 6, Pawlas discloses the ball training device of claim 4, wherein the first ball portion comprises a lip configured to mate with a groove in the second ball portion (Fig. 1, [0027], “The shell main body 12 and the shell lid 14 (which may also be referred to simply as the “main body 12” and the “lid 14” can create an opening of any desired shape. For example, the opening could split the shell into two equal hemispheres creating a circular opening with a radius equal to the ball radius”).
Regarding claim 8, Pawlas discloses the ball training device of claim 1, wherein the at least one weight is removably couplable to the ball ([0026], “exercise weights 22 can be inserted or removed”).
Regarding claims 11, 14 and 15, please refer to the claim rejection of claims 1-4 and 6.
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) 7, 12 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pawlas, in view of Nesbitt et al. [US20030148823], hereinafter Nesbitt.
Regarding claim 7, Pawlas discloses the ball training device of claim 6. However, Pawlas does not explicitly disclose wherein the first and second ball portions each comprise a hollow portion to offset the weight of the weight, the ball training device having a regulation weight.
Nevertheless, Pawlas discloses using balance weights for a desired mass ([0029], “The second method to set the base or “empty” weight of the medicine ball in this embodiment is to include a number of balance weights 20 of a desired mass”) and Nesbitt teaches in a like invention, using hollow portions to offset the weight of the weight, the ball training device having a regulation weight ([0113], “The material used in forming the movable weight preferably has a mass approximately equivalent to the mass lost when the hollow channel is formed within the core in order to maintain the desired overall mass of the golf ball”).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the ball training device disclosed by Pawlas, to have the hollow portion to offset the weight of the weight, as taught by Nesbitt, in order to provide another way of getting to a regulation weight.
Regarding claims 12 and 13, please refer to the claim rejection of claim 7.
Claim(s) 9 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pawlas, in view of ALDRIDGE [GB2232895].
Regarding claims 9 and 10, Pawlas discloses the ball training device of claim 1. However, Pawlas does not explicitly disclose wherein the at least one weight comprises a first weight and a second weight positioned at opposite ends of an axis, and wherein the first and second weights are removably couplable to the ball.
Nevertheless, ALDRIDGE teaches in a like invention, wherein the at least one weight comprises a first weight and a second weight positioned at opposite ends of an axis, and wherein the first and second weights are removably couplable to the ball (Fig. 3, “FIGURE 3 represents a third embodiment of the golf ball 1'' which has a through bore 3'' provided as shown. The bore 3'' has shaped plugs 7' at either end and it is envisaged that weights of various sizes may be located at fixed positions within the bore, by any convenient means (for example one or more weights could be located in the bore by suitable spacer blocks - e.g. of high density foam), in order to vary the position of the centre of gravity of the ball along the axis of the bore in a manner which should readily be determinable”).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the ball training device disclosed by Pawlas, to have a first weight and a second weight positioned at opposite ends of an axis, and the first and second weights are removably couplable to the ball, as taught by ALDRIDGE , in order to provide more flexibility on arranging the weights.
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lenig [US20090137350], in view of Pawlas.
Regarding claim 11, Lenig discloses a method of pitch training using a ball training device, the method comprising: throwing a first ball training device corresponding to a two-seam fastball; and throwing a second ball training device corresponding to a four-seam fastball ([0009], “The four-seam fastball is gripped with the index and middle fingers extending across opposite sides of the "horseshoe" shaped section formed by the seams of a baseball. The four-seam fastball is typically thrown with backspin and has a straight trajectory. The four-seam fastball is named as such because as the ball rotates it appears to the batter that the ball has four parallel seams. The two-seam fastball is gripped with the index and middle fingers extending across the narrowest portion between two seams of the ball and it gets its name because the batter sees two parallel seams as the ball rotates”).
However, Lenig does not disclose a weight on a spin axis of the ball.
Nevertheless, Pawlas teaches in a like invention, a weight on a spin axis of the ball (Fig. 1).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of pitch training disclosed by Lenig, to have a weight on a spin axis of the ball, as taught by Pawlas, in order to further enhance the in flight movement.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YINGCHUAN ZHANG whose telephone number is (571)272-1375. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00 - 4:30 M-F.
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/YINGCHUAN ZHANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3711
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