Appeal No. 2002-1764 Page 3
Application No. 09/359,752
OPINION
In reaching our decision in this appeal, we have given careful consideration to
the appellants’ specification and claims, to the applied prior art references, and to the
respective positions articulated by the appellants and the examiner. As a consequence
of our review, we make the determinations which follow.
The examiner has rejected claims 1-3 as being unpatentable over the
combination of Okada in view of Herber and Cosby. Each of these claims recites a
sporting rod member using a solid rod, with the solid rod comprising a solid-state1 core
member and an outer layer formed of fiber reinforced resin.
Okada, the jumping-off point of the examiner’s rejection, discloses a tubular
member comprising a plurality of wound layers of prepreg for use as a fishing rod, a golf
club shaft or the like. Each of the prepreg layers is formed of carbon fiber and resin,
with the particular combination of carbon fibers being selected to achieve sufficient
flexibility and strength (see column 4, lines 51-64). Okada’s tubular member does not
include a solid core, as called for in each of claims 1-3.
Herber discloses a golf club shaft “constructed of any well known flexible
material having an acceptable shaft strength to flex ratio for use as a golf club” (column
4, lines 59-62). In a preferred embodiment, the shaft is a single piece of solid core
1 It is clear from the underlying disclosure that the “solid-state” core is a solid core member.
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