The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued patent number 7,151,123 covering Ecology Coatings, Inc.’s environmentally friendly, 100% solids UV-curable coating technology. The issued patent is the first of four recently allowed patents in the industrial coatings market.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued patent number 7,151,123 covering Ecology Coatings, Inc.’s environmentally friendly, 100% solids UV-curable coating technology. The issued patent is the first of four recently allowed patents in the industrial coatings market. Ecology Coatings’ patented products and methods are designed to integrate with the conventional finishing process to reduce energy use, hazardous emissions, time and space requirements for OEM manufacturers in a variety of sectors, including the automotive, plastics and metals markets.

The patented UV-curing, 100% solids formulations contain no water, hazardous solvents or other liquid components that typically require high heat or long evaporation to cure. Requiring only a few seconds of UV light exposure to form a durable barrier, the coatings reportedly can reduce the finishing process’s energy consumption by up to 75%. The patented products are compatible with room-temperature spray techniques and can be used on parts with mixed or temperature sensitive substrates, such as metal tanks with rubber seals. The high-performance formulations are also designed to be compatible for parts requiring flexibility, such as the leaf spring or plastic bumper of a car.

The nonpolluting formulations fall within Patent Office regulations that have allowed an accelerated approval process for inventions that contribute to environmental quality. Approval of all four patents was swift, in one case in less than the 18 months needed for publication.

For more information, visitwww.ecologycoatings.com.