Appeal No. 95-2233
Application 07/978,014
§ 1.196(b) would be overcome.
OTHER ISSUES
Lost in the welter of issues in the prosecution history of
this application is a legitimate question of patentability, not
addressed by applicants or the examiner.
This invention relates to water dispersible granules (WDGs)
of active agricultural chemicals. In the specification, pages 1
and 2, applicants outline what was known in the art at the time
their invention was made respecting WDGs, as follows:
2. Description of the Prior Art
WDGs are important delivery vehicles for
active agricultural chemicals because they
are organic solvent-free, unlike emulsion
concentrates, do not have dusting problems
present with wettable powders, and can be
transported more economically than suspension
concentrates. WDGs are prepared by water-
bonding particles of the active component.
However, in the absence of a binder additive
in the system, the granules will gradually
lose cohesiveness as the water content is
reduced by evaporation. An effective binder
additive, therefore, must provide for
effective granular crush strength and low
friability, while enabling the granules to
form stable suspensions in water during use,
without deleterious foaming as a result
thereof, and to quickly dissipate its binding
action when immersed in water.
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