Appeal No. 2006-0930
Application No. 09/905,540
of the snack piece. This two-dimensional cross-
sectional “footprint” of the snack piece forms a
projected area that can be determined either by
area calculations of a known geometry, a curve
5 integrator, superimposing the actual drawn area
on grid paper with predetermined area markings,
or by comparing the weight of a piece of paper
cut to the footprint outline to a weight of
similar paper with a known area. To measure the
10 projected area of the individual snack piece, the
snack piece to be measured is placed in an
orientation that will yield the largest possible
projected area. [Emphasis added.]
15 13. The subject specification defines the expression
“space efficiency” as the ratio of the total net
weight (net wt.) of the product contained within the
kit, to the total exterior kit or package volume (ext.
vol.). (Specification at 1, lines 25-28.)
20 14. The subject specification states (specification at 2,
lines 1-13):
Snack food pieces, such as potato chips (or
“crisps”) or tortilla chips, and dip-condiments
(hereinafter “dips”), such as chip dips or salsa,
25 have individually been available for years and
consumers enjoy them together as a combination
food item. However, the majority of snack chip
packages and dips are sold separately. This
individual retailing of the snack chips separate
30 from the dip creates several problems. First,
the majority of snack piece packaging, i.e., bags
already have low space efficiency and package
density. Second, due to the packaging of the
snack pieces and the dip in separate packages,
35 the space efficiency and bulk density of snack
pieces and dip as a food combination is even
7
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