Appeal No. 2002-2317
Application No. 09/025,607
The appellants’ specification states:
The present invention relates to hot-melt adhesive
compositions. In particular, hot-melt adhesive blends
and methods for their preparation and use are taught by
the present invention. [page 1, lines 8-10]
* * *
Hot-melt adhesives of the present invention
comprise a blend of at least one acidic polymer and at
least one basic polymer. Preferably, at least one of
the acidic polymer and the basic polymer is a hot-melt
adhesive (i.e., having properties of a hot-melt
adhesive). The following description of such hot-melt
adhesive blends and their use will make reference to
terms which are hereinafter defined as follows:
“Pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs)” are well
known to one of ordinary skill in the art to possess
properties including the following: (1) aggressive and
permanent tack, (2) adherence with no more than finger
pressure, (3) sufficient ability to hold onto an
adherend, and (4) sufficient cohesive strength to be
removed cleanly from the adherend. PSAs are one
example of a preferred hot-melt adhesive blend in
accordance with the present invention.
“Heat-activatable adhesive systems” are another
preferred hot-melt adhesive blend in accordance with
the present invention. Heat-activatable adhesives are
substantially nontacky at room temperature, but become
tacky upon heating. Heat-activatable systems, unlike
PSA systems, rely on a combination of pressure and heat
to bond to a surface. [page 9, lines 13-28]
Thus, the appellants’ specification teaches that the invention is
not merely an composition comprising the disclosed components
but, rather, is a hot-melt adhesive composition. Moreover, the
statement in the specification that pressure-sensitive adhesives
8
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007