Appeal No. 2000-0790
Application No. 08/992,637
Moreover, even if one of ordinary skill were to provide
the Notarmuzi accessory with jaws in view of Zink, we find no
teaching or suggestion in Zink that the jaws be "dimensioned
to be press fitted on a golf club shaft and not the grip" as
required by claim 1. The Zink jaws are designed to fit the
grip 13 of the club because the purpose of the Zink device is
to hold a golf club vertically, with the head uppermost. If
Zink's jaws 22 were dimensioned to fit the shaft rather than
the grip, they could not perform their intended function, and
it is not clear how they could support the club if they were
dimensioned to fit the shaft, because even if Zink's
disclosure were disregarded and the club positioned with the
head down, it appears that the club head would interfere with
the jaws. In our view, the examiner's conclusion that it
would have been obvious to space the jaws on the modified
Notarmuzi accessory to fit around the shaft of a club is not
supported by any evidence in the record and appears to be
based on impermissible hindsight gleaned from appellants' own
disclosure.
Accordingly, the rejection of claims 1 to 4 and 6 will
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