Appeal No. 2001-2533 Page 3
Application No. 09/372,988
OPINION
In reaching our decision in this appeal, we have given careful consideration to
the appellant's specification and claims, to the applied prior art references, and to the
respective positions articulated by the appellant and the examiner. As a consequence
of our review, we make the determinations which follow.
The appellant’s invention relates to improvements in tubular bodies for items
such as golf club shafts and fishing rods which are constructed of body layers formed of
fibers and resin. According to the appellant, in such items, where bending stress,
torsional stress and impact force are applied, separation of layers and damage tend to
occur in portions where parts are attached to the shaft. The invention overcomes these
problems by utilizing layers of fibers impregnated in resin wherein the “ratio2 of
impregnation of synthetic fiber” in each layer have particular values and relationships to
one another, and wherein there is a relationship between the modulus of elasticity of
certain layers.
Claim 1
A tubular body comprising: rolled layers of prepeg formed of
reinforcing fibers impregnated with synthetic resin, wherein a ratio of
impregnation of synthetic resin contained in a skew fiber body on which
fibers are arranged on a skew direction and a ratio of impregnation of
synthetic resin contained in an axial fiber body layer on which fibers are
arranged in an axial direction, are each in a range from a value within a
2As we understand the appellant’s invention, “ratio” should be interpreted to mean the percent of
resin that is present in the layer of prepeg.
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