Appeal No. 1997-4318
Application 08/469,806
We have carefully considered the record before us, and based thereon, find that we cannot
sustain the rejection of all of the appealed claims under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over
Jungk in view of Weldes et al., GB 948,258 (3M GB ‘258) and 948,259 (3M GB ‘259), Perry’s,
Sams et al., Spencer et al., Caswell, Freyhold and Ferrigno (answer, pages 3-5).3
The claims of this application involve a microgranulate inorganic pigment composition as
illustrated by claim 26:
26. A dispersible microgranulate inorganic pigment composition for colouring inorganic
particulate building materials, consisting essentially of;
(a) one or more inorganic pigments selected from the group consisting of iron, chromium,
manganese and titanium oxides;
(b) from about 0.05 to about 1 percent (%) by weight, calculated as oxide and based on the
quantity of pigment, of one or more boron, aluminum, silicon, titanium, zinc and tin compounds;
and
said microgranulates having an average particle size of between about 50 and about 500 µm, and being
substantially free of organic liquefiers, and being sufficiently unstable to shearing forces such that when
the microgranulates are combined with the inorganic building materials and mixed, the shearing forces of
mixing break down the microgranulates and intimately disperse the pigment throughout the building
materials to impart a final colour intensity to the building materials, substantially as if the pigment was not
microgranulated.
The microgranulate inorganic pigment compositions are used in a process for colouring building
materials as illustrated by claim 13:
13. A process for colouring building materials which comprises:
(a) combining particulate inorganic building materials with microgranulates of pigments, said
microgranulates
(i) being substantially free of organic liquefiers;
(ii) consisting essentially of one or more inorganic pigments selected from the group
consisting of iron, chromium, manganese and titanium oxides, and from about 0.05 to
about 1 percent (%) by weight, calculated as oxide and based on the quantity of
pigment, of one or more boron, aluminum, silicon, titanium, zinc and tin compounds;
(iii) having average particle size of between about 50 and about 500 µm; and
3 The references relied on by the examiner are listed at page 2 of the answer.
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