Appeal No. 2002-2146
Application No. 09/428,261
gums, and mixtures thereof to keep at least 75% of the
supplement’s soluble calcium ion in solution for at
least about 2 days after said supplement is placed in
solution; and
(c) an edible acid component comprising a mixture of
citric acid and malic acid;
wherein the percentage of citric acid to total acid is at least
23% and not more than 75%; the weight ratio of acid equivalents
to base equivalents is from 0.5 to 1.8; and at least 75% of the
supplement’s soluble calcium ion remains in solution for at least
about 2 days after said supplemant is placed in solution.
The examiner relies upon Mehansho et al. (Mehansho), U.S.
Patent No. 4,992,282, issued Feb. 12, 1991, as evidence of
obviousness. Accordingly, the claims on appeal stand rejected
under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as unpatentable over Mehansho (Answer,
page 3).1 We affirm the examiner’s rejection essentially for the
reasons stated in the Answer, the reasons set forth in the
decision in related Appeal No. 1995-1058 (Paper No. 23 in
Application No. 07/906,638), and those reasons discussed below.
OPINION
A. Background
This application is a continuation of Application No.
07/906,638, now abandoned, where a merits panel of this Board
1The references to Gailley and Boncy et al., as applied in
the final Office action dated Aug. 28, 2001, Paper No. 13, have
not been repeated in the Answer (see pages 2-3). Accordingly, we
consider that the examiner has withdrawn these references.
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