Appeal No. 1996-3472
Application 08/192,088
According to appellants, the invention is directed to an
abrasive tool which is a composite of sol-gel alumina abrasive
grains bonded together by a glass-ceramic bond material, which
composite has specified amounts of volume void spaces, volume
of bond material at the bond posts or in the coating, and a
volume proportion of bond to grain (Brief, page 2). 1
Illustrative claim 1 is reproduced below:
1. An abrasive tool that comprises sol-gel alumina
abrasive grains bonded together by a glass-ceramic bond
material, the tool comprising from about 35 to 65 % by volume
void spaces, wherein at least about 75% of the volume of the
bond material is located in the bond posts or in a coating on
the abrasive grains and in which the volume proportion of bond
to grain is from about 0.06 to 0.6.
The examiner has relied upon the following reference as
evidence of obviousness:
Clark et al. (Clark), “A Novel Technique for Producing a
Glass-Ceramic Bond in Alumina Abrasives,” Am. Ceram. Soc.
Bull., 65(11) 1506-12 (1986).
Appellants have relied upon the following references in
rebuttal of the examiner’s position:2
Rue 4,543,107 Sep. 24,
1985
1All reference and citation is from the revised Brief
dated Apr. 8, 1996, Paper No. 24.
2See the Brief, pages 2 and 7.
2
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