Appeal 2007-2027
Application 10/210,269
athletic cups are designed to prevent injury to the area receiving the direct
impact, “[t]hey are not satisfactory in preventing collateral injury, nor are
they totally comfortable to wear due to the rigid construction” (id.).
The Specification discloses “an athletic cup made from a resilient
material having a quantity of gas pockets dispersed therein and a rigid
plastic cage supporting the resilient material to prevent collapse thereof” (id.
at 4). The resilient material is made by heating a mixture of a resilient
thermoplastic material, such as ethylene vinyl acetate, and a blowing agent,
such as p, p'-oxybis (benzenesulfonyl hydrazide) (id.). “The rigid plastic
cage is preferably formed from hard polymers and most preferably from
acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymers, hereinafter (ABS) having a high
degree of hardness” (id.).
DISCUSSION
1. CLAIMS
Claims 1, 3-11, and 13-20 are pending and on appeal. Claim 1 is
representative and reads as follows:
Claim 1. An athletic cup having a shape generally designed
to have a narrow portion fit between the legs of a user while an
upper or wider portion extends up over the area of the body
being protected, comprising:
a primary portion formed from a resilient thermoplastic
composition having a quantity of gas pockets dispersed therein,
said primary portion forming an inner segment for contact with
a user; and
a hard portion bonded to said primary portion shaped as
an open cage and forming an outer segment having an outer
face and a high degree of rigidity to prevent collapse on impact
from an object, said hard portion including a plurality of open
interstices across said face, whereby said primary portion
2
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Last modified: September 9, 2013