DETAILED ACTION
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.
Claims 1-3 and 11-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over
Latina (US 4,192,018). Latina discloses a hybrid exposed edge stitched ball glove
including an outer shell with a front surface/ply/panel (3) aligned with a back
surface/ply/panel (5) shaped to form a plurality of fingers, a thumb, and a palm portion,
with the outer shell having an opening (9), col. 2, line 37 below the palm portion created
by an unjoined region of the front surface (3) and said back surface (5). Further, the
outer shell front surface (3) and back surface (5) are joined by hand stitching by lacing
along one or more key points at least one of one or more fingertips, col. 3, lines 27-34
and as shown in figure 1. The outer shell front surface and back surface are joined by
hand stitching by lacing along at least four fingertips (19a –19d) along four precut stitch
holes at each of the at least four fingertips as shown in figure 1. In addition, exposed
joints on the back surface are hand-stitched by lacing as shown in figures 1 and 2.
However, Latina does not show the outer shell front surface and back surface joined by
machine stitching.
Col. 2, lines 45-49 of Latina discloses the front surface/ply (3) and back
surface/ply (5) sewn together along a seam (37) at the side and ends of the thumb stall
(17) and finger stalls (19a-19d) to form the thumb stall, crotch portion and finger stalls.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention that the front surface/panel and back surface/panel of Latina sewn together by a seam can be attached but not limited to a machine stitching, etc. substantially along a perimeter thereof as known in the glove making art or as required for a particular application thereof.
With regard to claim 12, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art
before the effective date of the claimed invention that the front surface and back surface
of Latina sewn together by the seam as shown in figure 4 can include but not limited to at
least one of cross-stitch, baseball stitch, etc.to form the finger and thumb stalls as also
known in the glove making art.
With regard to claim 14, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art
before the effective date of the claimed invention that the front surface and back surface
of Latina attached together by lacing through stich holes at the one or more key points as
shown in figure 1 can include but not limited to being precut, etc. so that the glove is
easily assembled in an efficient manner or depending on end use thereof.
Claims 4, 6 , 9-10 and 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable
over Latina as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Barrett (US 1,545,998).
Latina discloses the invention as set forth above except for having the front and back
surface joined by hand stitching along at least three crotches.
Barrett discloses a glove having a front and back surface
joined by hand stitching along at least three crotches and to any desired degree, page 1,
col. 2, lines 4-9 and as shown in figure 1. Further, the hand stitching includes tips of the
fingers, including a pinky tip, ring fingertip, middle fingertip, pointer fingertip, and a
thumb tip as shown in figure 2. Also, a hinge crotch is formed between the pointer and
the thumb as also shown in figure 2.
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective
date of the claimed invention that the hybrid exposed edge stitched ball glove of Latina
can be provided with hand stitching of lacing along at least three crotches as taught by
Barrett for additional reinforcement or depending on end use thereof.
With regard to claims 9-10 and 15- 20, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention that the hybrid exposed edge stitched ball glove of Latina provided with hand stitching of lacing along any desired degree as taught by Barrett can include but not limited to eight or nine key points
including at least a crotch between a pinky and ring finger, a crotch between the ring and middle fingers, a crotch between the middle and pointer finger, and a hinge crotch between the pointer and a thumb so that the finger stall and crotch can be adjusted to desired flexibility when the glove is worn about different sized hand or depending on particular application thereof.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5 and 7-8 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. Claims 5 and 7-8 are allowable because the prior
art does not teach or suggest the recitation therein including an exposed stitched baseball
glove having front and back surfaces joined by hand stitching along exactly ten precut
stitch holes at each of at the finger crotches
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's
disclosure. Each of the prior art references cited on PTO-892 discloses baseball glove
having lacing about a perimeter portion thereof.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TEJASH PATEL whose telephone number is (571)272-4993. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 9am -5pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Clinton Ostrup can be reached at (571) 272-5559. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
January 7, 2026 /TAJASH D PATEL/ Primary Examiner,
Art Unit 3732