Appeal No. 1997-0228
Application No. 08/328,534
4.) Although FR ‘669 does not indicate the percent saturation of
argon in the liquid product, the reference discloses that the
sparging of the rare gas into the liquid results in deaeration.
(Page 3.) In addition, FR ‘669 teaches:
In order to ensure their stabilization, the
solutions which are distributed in conservation flasks
are subjected to sparging with pure argon at an ambient
temperature and at a moderate discharge in order to
prevent intense agitation but which sufficient [sic] to
ensure a regular injection of gas and intense and
uniform oxidation [sic] of the liquid. The containers
are then sealed in an argon atmosphere. [Id. at p. 4.]
Based on these teachings, we determine that one of ordinary skill
in the art would have found it prima facie obvious to apply the
preservation method (i.e., argon sparging) described in FR ‘669
to citrus juice, which was known in the art to be subject to the
problem of oxidative degradation, with the reasonable expectation
of substantially reducing or eliminating oxidative degradation of
various components in the citrus juice. In addition, we agree
with the examiner’s determination (examiner’s answer, page 5)
that it would have been prima facie obvious for one of ordinary
skill in the art to optimize the degree of argon saturation in FR
‘669 in order to maximize the stability of the product to
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