Appeal No. 1997-1059
Application No. 08/305,733
the coffee in order to saturate or substantially saturate
said coffee with said gas or gas mixture, it is possible
to substantially improve the flavor and/or the aroma
and/or the shelf life of said coffee, particularly when
said saturation or substantial saturation is maintained
throughout the volume of the closed space and during
substantially all the time that said coffee is stored in
said container.
The term “substantially saturate” means that it is
not necessary to completely and/or constantly saturate the
coffee with said gas or gas mixture (i.e., having the
maximum amount of gas solubilized in said coffee).
Usually, it is considered necessary to saturate said
coffee to more than 50% of its (full) saturation level . .
. [Emphases added; p. 7.]
Nevertheless, we observe that the above description in the
specification does not restrict any of the terms or phrases defining
step (a) to carry definitions other than the meanings that would be
normally attached to them in their ordinary usage. That is, the term
“injecting” as recited in appealed claim 53 is not limited to
“sparging” or any other specific method of injection. Thus, giving
the terms their broadegst reasonable meanings in their ordinary
usage, we determine that one skilled in the relevant art would
interpret step (a) as encompassing any step in which any of the
recited noble gas is simply injected into a closed space (e.g.,
impermeable packets) containing the coffee and the closed space
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