Appeal No. 2004-2234
Application No. 09/881,361
than the aforementioned materials: copper (8.93
specific gravity); iron (7.64 specific gravity); zinc
(7.14 specific gravity); and titanium (4.5 specific
gravity). Weights 11 are not limited in the solid
form, but they can also be in a powder form such as a
tungsten powder or the like [translation, page 3,
paragraph 0010].
As conceded by the examiner (see page 4 in the main and
supplemental answers), Shimazaki does not respond to the
limitations in independent claim 1, or the corresponding
limitations in independent claims 8 and 16, requiring the hosel
plug to comprise a mixture of a metallic powder and a compliant
polymeric material in prescribed relative proportions wherein the
hosel plug is sized to fit snugly into the lower end of the hosel
cavity where it is secured in place by compression of its
compliant polymeric material.2 To supply these deficiencies, the
examiner looks to Kochevar and Tarlow.
Kochevar discloses a system for accurately weighting a golf
club by adding a weight capsule 11. The capsule consists of a
weight composition mass 13 at least partially encased within a
readily deformable or tearable sheath 15. The mass 13 has a
putty-like consistency which allows the capsule to be
2 The term “its compliant polymeric material” in claim 16
lacks a proper antecedent basis. This informality should be
corrected in the event of further prosecution before the
examiner.
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