Appeal No. 2002-2188
Application No. 09/442,970
Claims 1-20 [sic, claims 1 through 6, 8 through 15
and 17 through 20] are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)
based upon a public use or sale of the invention (see
Turf Management for Golf Courses, Beard, 1982 ISBN 0-
8087-2872-52). The examiner is given official notice
that the method and device of the applicant are well
known and currently in use.
Whenever divots are made on a golf course, or polo
grounds, it is common for the players, groundskeepers,
observers, etc to replace the divots caused by the
activity. As the applicant rightly pointed out in the
specification, many golf courses have instituted rules
requiring golfers to replace and or fill in divots with
sand provided by the course. The applicant also
pointed out that the sand in the bins is often soggy.
Soggy sand is known to clump, a trait that is often
used informing sand castles at the beach. Soggy,
clumped sand and soil also often dries into hardened,
formed clumps. Hydrous aluminum silicate is a form of
common clay and found naturally in many parts of the
world where there would be golf courses.
The claimed method and device are equivalent to
taking a clump of dirt, which may have grass seed,
sand, hydrous aluminum silicate, nutrients from the
groundskeepers or naturally, minerals or compounds
which would alter the pH of a substance, and placing
the clump of soil, probably with grass attached to the
clump of soil, and placing it in the divot hole and
smashing it until it conforms with the divot hole to be
repaired. The clumps can be found pre-formed on the
ground or in a bag or other container having the soil,
whether provided by the course or by the golfer.
Additionally, it is then common to cover this repair
with other bits of grass and dirt or sand, in whatever
form it may be (Beard pg 187-188).
It is also well known to use colorant with
material for filling divot holes and dressing golf
courses (Beard pg 225) to make the grounds more
appealing to the golfers [final rejection, Paper No. 5,
pages 2 and 3].
2 The record (see Paper No. 3) contains the following
citation of this reference on a Form PTO-892: “Beard, Turf
Management for Golf Courses, 1982, Burgess, pg 187-188, 225).”
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