Appeal No. 2004-0380
Application No. 09/092,167
The reference to Korn et al[.] clearly shows how
lasagna is prepared for consumption. Even leaving the
teaching of the cookbook [i.e., the Korn reference] a side
[sic, aside], it is notoriously well known that lasagna is
typically consumed with a type of sauce and this is even
taught by [sic] in the article by Hanzel. The recipe for
lasagna in the article calls for topping with remaining
sauce and baking. If one were to freeze the lasagna, it
will again be prepared for consumption just the same way as
it would be prepared for consumption before freezing. This
would have been readily apparent to one skilled in the art
in view of the teaching of Korn et al. and what is well
known in the art about eating lasagna.
The deficiency of the examiner’s position is that, as
previously indicated, the applied references contain no teaching
or suggestion of topping frozen pasta product, such as lasagna
segments, with a sauce prior to heating the frozen pasta product.
In each of the respective processes of these references, the
sauce is always added to the pasta product before the product is
initially heated or cooked. For example, in the process taught
by the Hanzel reference, the lasagna ingredients including sauce
are combined, then baked, then frozen and then ultimately
reheated for consumption. Thus, while this process includes
topping the lasagna noodles with pasta sauce, this occurs prior
to the aforementioned baking, freezing and reheating steps. It
follows that neither Hanzel nor the other applied references
would have suggested topping frozen pasta product segments with a
pasta sauce prior to heating the segments for consumption.
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