Appeal No. 2002-1250 Page 13
Application No. 09/200,057
Romero discloses a head guard for a soccer player. The head guard minimizes
injury which can occur to the forehead of a player when contacted by a soccer ball. The
head guard also enables a player to more readily control a soccer ball when bunting the
ball with his head. Romero teaches (column 1, lines 27-46) that
During a game of soccer, a player has occasion to "bunt" an airborne,
rotating soccer ball with his forehead. Since a soccer ball typically moves through
the air at a substantial velocity, controlling the ball while it is bunted will the
forehead is difficult. After a player has been actively moving about a soccer field
during a match, perspiration on the head of the player increases the difficulty a
player has in controlling the ball during bunting. In addition, when a soccer ball
contacts the forehead of a player, the ball imparts compressive and shear forces
which can cause tears and can break capillaries in the flesh covering the skull
bone of the player.
Accordingly, it would be highly desirable to provide improved apparatus
which would, during bunting of a soccer ball, protect the head of a soccer player
and facilitate a player's controlling the soccer ball.
Therefore, it is a principal object of the invention to provide improved
apparatus for protecting the head of a player during bunting of a soccer ball.
In our view, the above-noted teachings of Ashinoff and Romero provide sufficient
motivation to have made it obvious at the time the invention was made to a person of
ordinary skill in the art to have used Ashinoff's forehead guard to head a soccer ball. In
that regard, Ashinoff specifically teaches that a sports player should wear the forehead
guard when the sports player fears reinjury to a recovering forehead and Romero
teaches and suggests that a head guard be worn to protect a soccer player heading a
Page: Previous 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007