Ex parte MITCHELL et al. - Page 4




                 Appeal No. 1997-1069                                                                                                                   
                 Application No. 08/234,959                                                                                                             

                 as unpatentable over the disclosure of Furrer.2                                                                                        
                          We reverse.                                                                                                                   
                          The claimed subject matter is directed to a process for                                                                       
                 grafting a monomer onto a polyolefin which is capable of                                                                               
                 undergoing cross-linking in a molten state in the presence of                                                                          
                 an organic peroxide.  See claim 1.  The process involves                                                                               
                 admixing the polyolefin, the monomer and a carrier polymer                                                                             
                 coated with the organic peroxide in an extruder, heating the                                                                           
                 resulting mixture at a temperature above the melting point of                                                                          
                 both the polyolefin and the carrier polymer and extruding the                                                                          
                 resultant grafted polyolefin from the extruder. Id.  The                                                                               
                 carrier polymer is limited to only those polymers which can                                                                            
                 undergo "chain scission in preference to cross-linking in the                                                                          
                 presence of the organic peroxide at said [melting]                                                                                     
                 temperature."  Id.  According to appellants (the                                                                                       
                 specification, pages 7-9, example 1), the use of carrier                                                                               
                 polymers which undergo cross-linking in preference to chain                                                                            
                 scission in the presence of organic peroxides in the claimed                                                                           

                          2The examiner has withdrawn the rejection of claims 1                                                                         
                 through 12 under 35 U.S.C. § 102(e) as anticipated by the                                                                              
                 disclosure of Furrer as set forth in the final Office action                                                                           
                 dated December 21, 1995 (Paper No. 9).  See the Answer, page                                                                           
                 2.                                                                                                                                     
                                                                           4                                                                            





Page:  Previous  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  Next 

Last modified: November 3, 2007