Appeal No. 2002-1533
Application No. 09/055,377
claim 1 that the outer shell of the receptacle has a foam
insulating layer defining at least a portion of the inner surface
of the outer shell. The examiner’s reliance on Staggs to
overcome this deficiency is not well founded.
Staggs pertains to a container designed to rapidly transform
its contents into a congealed or very low temperature liquid
condition. The device comprises an inner container enclosed
within a larger outer cup and a water based refrigerant in the
space therebetween. For use, “the device in [sic, is] placed in
a refrigerator freezer until the refrigerant is solidified. The
contents are then poured into the container and cooled as heat is
absorbed by the refrigerant through the walls of the inner
container” (abstract). Staggs states that the concepts of the
invention may also be applied in the design of containers to
heat, rather than cool their contents (column 29, lines 26-33).
Looking at the construction of the Staggs device in detail,
Figures 1-3, 10 and 11 show that the container includes an
exterior cup 14 (which forms the large outer cup) and a cold cell
assembly 12 (which forms the inner container), with the exterior
cup 14 and cold cell assembly 12 being joined at their upper ends
by a mouthpiece 10 and sealing arrangement 24. The cold cell
assembly 12 is a double walled structure defined by an outer wall
4
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Last modified: November 3, 2007