Appeal No. 2004-2047
Application 09/817,419
We find that Whitney would have disclosed to one of ordinary skill in this art that grains
“are cooked in water to gelatinize the starch content,” and a disadvantage of batch cooking wheat
grains or berries “is the inconsistency of cook of the wheat which is often observed . . . within a
batch” including “variations in the degree of cooking,” describing the results of under- and
overcooked berries (col. 1, ll. 16-53). To address these problems, Whitney discloses a
continuous process utilizing two stages, wherein in the first or pre-cooking stage, the grain is
hydrated under specified conditions “allowing a substantial amount of starch to remain
ungelatinized,” and in the second stage, the pre-cooked grain is heated in water under specified
conditions “to substantially fully cook said grains” (col. 1, l. 66, to col. 2, l. 13). Whitney further
acknowledges that grain “cooked in water to gelatinize the starch content” can be “shredded”
(col. 1, ll. 16-19) and would have taught one of ordinary skill that the disclosed process provides
cooked and substantially cooked grain berries which can be shredded (col. 2, ll. 17-21). Among
the illustrative examples of cereal grain that can be processed are wheat, rice, barley and maize
(col. 2, ll. 21-23).
In the parts of the disclosure cited by appellants, Whitney states that “[t]he cooked grain
has the advantageous properties of consistency in moisture content and gelatinization of starch
and the process can be operated continuously to provide berries which are both evenly and
completely cooked,” and describes the parameters of the first or pre-cooking stage which would
not cause a “detriment to the effectiveness of the second stage of fully cooking the berries” (col.
2, ll. 28-32 and 59-64). In the pre-cooking stage, the grain berries are hydrated to about 28-36%
and, as measured by differential scanning calorimetry, have a degree of gelatinization of below
60% (col. 2, ll. 33-67).
Whitney would have further disclosed that “[i]n the second stage, the partially hydrated
berries, such as wheat berries, are heated until they are substantially fully cooked” at a
temperature of about 95-100°C “for a time sufficient to achieve substantially consistent and even
gelatinization throughout the berry,” which depends “at least in part upon a number of variables
including the type and variety of grain berry, the relative hardness, the proportion of damaged or
broken berries and on whether the batch contains any berries which have sprouted” as well as
weather conditions at the time of harvest (col. 3, ll. 1-13). Whitney teaches that generally, the
- 8 -
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007