Appeal No. 2002-0265 Page 4
Application No. 08/787745
control was obtained in the prior art by providing intentional discontinuities1 in the shaft,
which the appellants believe gives rise to certain disadvantages (specification, pages 1
and 2). The desired characteristics of transmitting a good “feel” the player’s hands
while providing the shaft with a high degree of controlled flexure are accomplished in
accordance with the invention by providing a shaft in which the diameter of the butt
section is reduced with respect to prior art shafts and which tapers without intervening
discontinuities to a tip portion, with the diameter of the butt end and the tip end being
within particular ranges.
The invention is expressed in claim 1 in the following manner:
1. A golf club shaft comprising:
an elongated tubular shaft comprising a plurality of layers of fibers
imbedded in a synthetic resin, said elongated shaft having a but end of
relatively larger cross sectional diameter tapering without intervening
discontinuities to a tip end of relatively smaller diameter, said tip end
having an outside diameter between .330 and .400 inches;
said butt end having an outside diameter of .400 to .540 inches.
Our understanding of the examiner’s rejection of claim 1 is that all of the subject matter
recited therein is disclosed in Akatsuka ‘450 in view of the fact that the ranges disclosed
in the reference in column 5, lines 62-68, encompass the ranges for the butt end recited
1The appellants have defined “discontinuity” in terms of providing examples by way of reference to
three prior art patents (specification, paragraph bridging pages 1 and 2). The examples of intentional
discontinuities discussed are (1) mismatching the elasticity of the materials making up the lower shaft and
the butt portion, (2) imposing a discontinuous flexible zone (bubble) between a rigid butt section and the
rest of the shaft, and (3) abruptly increasing the diameter of the shaft from a narrow butt to a wider section
immediately below the butt section.
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