Appeal No. 1997-2344
Application No. 08/273,550
temperatures approximating that of the butene-1 polymer
facilitates intimate mixing in conventional extrusion
compounding equipment. See Hwo at column 3, lines 28 through
31. Appellants indicate that conventional butene-1-ethylene
copolymers have melt indices ranging from about 0.2 to 1000
dg/min. See the specification at page 5, lines 4 through 6.
In light of these facts, one of ordinary skill in this art
would have been led to employ a polypropylene nucleating agent
having a viscosity (as defined by its melt index)
approximating the viscosity of the butene-1 polymer to
facilitate the intimate mixing of the polypropylene nucleating
agent with the butene-1 polymer in conventional extrusion
compounding equipment. Particularly, for butene-1-ethylene
copolymers having relatively high melt indices, e.g., from
about 8 to 1000 dg/min., one of ordinary skill in the art
would have necessarily used a propylene nucleating agent
having a viscosity as defined by a similar high melt index to
facilitate the mixing of these components.
Appellants’ fundamental argument on appeal in traversal
of the rejection over Hwo is that Hwo’s nucleating package
requires high density polyethylene as a required key
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