Appeal No. 1996-1992
Application 07/898,373
DECISION ON APPEAL
This is an appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 134 from the examiner’s decision refusing to
allow claims 1-54, 57-61, and 63-68, all of the claims pending in the application. Claims 1,
57, 63, and 66 are illustrative of the subject matter on appeal and read as follows:
1. A cellulosic food casing comprising an elongated cellulosic thin walled tube
having a moisture content of less than 100 wt.% based upon the weight of bone dry
cellulose (BDC), said tube having first and second longitudinal portions and a colorant or
opacifier which is longitudinally and continuously dispersed in at least said first portion
throughout said tube wall to provide said portion with optical values which are different
from said other portion, said portions having a surface area ratio of said first portion to
said second portion of at least about 1:1 or greater and wherein said first and second
portions have Hunter L, a, b values and opacity values which values meet at least one of
the following conditions:
i) an average opacity value of said first portion that is at least about 0.5 greater
than the average opacity value of said second portion;
ii) a difference in average opacity between said first portion and said second
portion which is less than 10, and a difference between said first and second
portions in their respective averages of either said L values or said a values
or said b values of at least about 5; or
iii) a difference of at least about 10 or greater in average opacity between said
first portion and said second portion, and the sum of the absolute values of a
and b of the first portion following extraction of said casing with water and
methanol is at least 10.
57. A food casing comprising a shirred elongated tube of at least 50 feet in length
having adjacent first and second longitudinal portions of at least four inches in length
wherein at least one colorant or opacifier is dispersed in at least one of said portions
throughout a wall of said tube to provided it with optical values which are different from the
other portion, and wherein the second portion has a transverse width less than or equal to
that for said first portion and said first and second portions have Hunter L, a, b values and
opacity values meeting at least one of the following conditions:
2
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007