[Strawbale] 1. Fwd: Re: Lego blocks from Straw (RT)

[Dave Howorth]

On Fri, 2009-12-18 at 13:07 +0100, Marc Huebner wrote:
> Hi
> 
> This idea is qite interesting.
> Does anybody know what kind of glue the guys from oryzatech are using?
> 
> I found a website:
> 
> http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/10/oryzatech-strawbale-lego-blocks-for-grown-ups.php
> 
> where they say that they are using "an undisclosed binding agent"...." are squished under pressure at temps of about 120 to 175 °C (250 to 350° F)" 

The patent says that the binder is optional, and says "the binder may
be selected from the group consisting of aluminum hydroxide, magnesium
hydroxide, clay, kaolin, bitumen, and most preferably borax (a natural
product composed of hydrated sodium borate, sometimes referred to as or
including sodium borate decahydrate, sodium diborate, tincal,
tincalconite, tincar, hydrated sodium boration, sodium tetraborate,
rasorite, or Sporax®). The moisture inhibitor may be selected from the
group consisting of paraffin wax, silica gel (a non-toxic,
non-corrosive form of silicon dioxide synthesized from sodium silicate
and sulfuric acid and processed into granular or beaded form),
molecular sieve (a uniform network of crystalline pores and empty
adsorption cavities derived from sodium, potassium or calcium
crystalline hydrated aluminosilicates), activated clay (a layered
structure of activated (bentonite) clay that is a naturally occurring,
non-hazardous and salt-free substance), bitumen, and most preferably
borax."

 http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6951080/description.html

An undisclosed binder would invalidate the patent, would it not? The
whole point of a patent is to gain complete disclosure of the invention.

It will be interesting to see if they apply for anything other than a
US patent. I'm not sure it is non-obvious enough for other regimes.

Cheers, Dave