Appeal 2007-0103
Application 10/603,023
polyisoprene rubber, 3,4-polyisoprene rubber, styrene/butadiene copolymer
rubbers, isoprene/butadiene copolymer rubbers, styrene/isoprene copolymer
rubbers, styrene/isoprene/butadiene terpolymer rubbers, cis 1,4-
polybutadiene rubber and medium to high vinyl polybutadiene rubber having
a vinyl 1,2- content in a range of about 15 to about 85 percent and emulsion
polymerization prepared butadiene/acrylonitrile copolymers;
(B) from about 1 to about 60 phr of a starch/synthetic plasticizer
composite; and
(C) from about 0.1 to about 10 phr of an adduct of maleic anhydride
and polybutadiene.
The Examiner relies upon the following references as evidence of
obviousness:
Corvasce US 5,672,639 Sept. 30, 1997
Huynh-Tran US 2003/0152758 A1 Aug. 14, 2003
Appellants' claimed invention is directed to a tire tread comprising a
vulcanizable rubber composition that comprises, inter alia, an adduct of
maleic anhydride and polybutadiene. According to Appellants, "the present
specification includes evidence of unexpected results to obviate any finding
of obviousness" with respect to the inclusion of an adduct of maleic
anhydride and polybutadiene to the claimed vulcanizable rubber
composition (page 6 of Br., last paragraph).
Appealed claims 1-12 and 16 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a)
as being unpatentable over Corvasce in view of Huynh-Tran. The Examiner
acknowledges that Corvasce does not teach the use of the claimed adduct of
maleic anhydride and polybutadiene in the rubber compositions, but it is the
Examiner's position that it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill
in the art to incorporate the adduct, as taught by Huynh-Tran, in the rubber
2
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007