In re Denning

108 F.2d 239, 27 C.C.P.A. 770, 44 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 36, 1939 CCPA LEXIS 68
CourtCourt of Customs and Patent Appeals
DecidedDecember 26, 1939
DocketNo. 4174
StatusPublished

This text of 108 F.2d 239 (In re Denning) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Customs and Patent Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Denning, 108 F.2d 239, 27 C.C.P.A. 770, 44 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 36, 1939 CCPA LEXIS 68 (ccpa 1939).

Opinion

BlaNd, Judge,

delivered the opinion of the court:

All the claims of appellant’s application for a patent for “Improvements in Frozen Food Products,” being claims numbered 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 12, were rejected by the Primary Examiner of the United States Patent Office for reasons hereinafter stated, and upon appeal the Board of Appeals, for substantially the same reasons as those assigned by the examiner, affirmed his decision. From the decision of the board, appeal has been taken here. At the hearing in this court, appellant moved that the appeal as to claims 3 and 4 be dismissed which motion will be granted.

The references relied upon are:

Zoller, 1,598,033, August 31, 1926.
Cosier, 1,659,723, February 21, 1928.
Maxwell, 1,760,654, May 27, 1930.
Turnbow, 1,939,326, December 12, 1933.

Claims 2, 7, 8, 10, 11, and 12, all the remaining claims on appeal, follow :

2. A product for making a frozen milk product consisting substantially of milk solids, sweetening material and flavoring, which contains an alkali caseinate, a soluble salt of an alkali base with a weak acid, and milk.
7. A product for the home freezing of milk products, containing a soluble edible casein, a salt of an alkali base with a weak acid for increasing the whipping properties of the product and milk or cream, said product having a small percentage of gelatine therein.
[771]*771■8. A milk product for the Rome freezing of ice cream, or ice milk, said product containing about half its milk solids in the form of a soluble edible casein and containing also a sodium citrate for increasing the whipping properties of the product.
10. The method of making an edible frozen milk product which consists in combining with milk a substantial portion of a soluble edible casein, adding to said product a sodium citrate for increasing the whipping properties thereof, freezing the product without agitation until crystals begin to form therein, whipping the product without freezing to incorporate air therein and thereafter freezing the product without whipping until it is completely frozen.
11. A powdered product adapted to be added to fresh milk and cream for the production of frozen milk products such as ice cream in the home refrigerator, said product comprising a milk powder containing a water soluble edible casein in combination with a salt of an alkali base with a weak acid and being substantially deficient in lactose.
12. The method of making a milk product capable of being whipped while exposed to air at normal room temperatures ■ when chilled to the point where it begins to freeze, and capable of retaining air so incorporated while being frozen without agitation, said method comprising the preparation of concentrated milk solids comprising water soluble edible casein and other milk solids which solids have been heated in the presence of a salt of an alkali base with a weak acid, mixing the concentrated solids with sugar and a small amount of stabilizer and dissolving the resultant product in fresh milk and heating the mixture to approximately 140° F.

■The nature of the alleged invention is described so accurately and with sufficient brevity in the board’s decision as to warrant the description being copied here:

The subject matter of the appealed claims relates to a composition and a method of making frozen milk products in the ice trays of the conventional electrical refrigerator. In making up appellant’s composition he takes milk and precipitates the casein by the usual acid method. This is then thoroughly washed and dissolved in an alkali to produce alkali caseinate. By these steps tlie lactose and inorganic milk salts are removed. It is well known that the addition of soluble salts to an aqueous bath lowers the freezing point of said material. By the removal of the lactose and salts the freezing point is raised and this is important for the reason that the temperatures prevailing in the freezing ci'5'pt of the average refrigerator is much higher than the temperatures used in making commercial ice cream.
A second portion of milk is treated with a soluble salt of an alkali base with a weak acid such as sodium citrate and this is then heated to about 145° F. The addition of this salt tends to materially increase the viscosity so as to make the material stand up better after it has been whipped. The two portions of milk mentioned plus sugar and flavoring material are added to fresh milk or cream to make up a mix to be placed in the freezing trays. In use, the mix is placed in the freezing compartment and when crystals begin to form the product is then whipped to incorporate air and then the product is permitted to freeze solid without further whipping.

It will be observed that claims 2, 7, 8, and 11 are directed to a product while claims 10 and 12 are devoted to a method of making the frozen dessert.

[772]*772The Zoller and Cosier patents teacli the use of an alkali caseinate in making commercial ice cream. Cosier heats his product to obtain a thickening elfect. Zoller also teaches the use of an alkali caseinate and removes the lactose and milk salts. Zoller recognizes that his process reduces the freezing time required and that no long waiting or aging period is necessary. Reduction of freezing time required is one of the functions of appellant’s process and no aging of the mix is shown to be needed by his process.

Turnbow teaches the use of a milk thickened by using sodium citrate and heat. The purpose of thickening is to increase the viscosity of the milk so that it will retain a large percentage of the air whipped into it. Appellant claims that in his process he has this desired characteristic. Turnbow shows the use of 6.17 per centum sodium citrate. Appellant prefers the use of approximately 6 per centum of the same. The temperatures of Turnbow are slightly higher than those of appellant’s 140° F. Appellant’s application, however, does not disclose the 140° F. as being critical.

Turnbow shows that he may dry his product and later incorporate it into an ice cream mix with a heating of 145° F. for 30 minutes. Appellant states that he may dry his product and incorporate it into an ice cream mix and heat the same to a temperature of 140° F. for 30 minutes.

The Maxwell patent, so far as is pertinent here, discloses a device for stirring frozen ice cream in an ordinary household electric refrigerator, which device consists of a stirrer which stirs the ice cream while it is freezing. Appellant teaches and claims 10 calls for “freezing the product without agitation until crystals begin to form therein” and then “whipping the product without freezing to incorporate air therein.” In other words, appellant takes his product out of the freezing pan, whips it and puts it back in the pan and freezes it without further whipping.

The examiner rejected all the claims except claim 10 as unpatentable over Zoller or Cosier in view of Turnbow. While some of the prior art cited to show the use of an alkali caseinate and a sodium citrate related to freezings in commercial ice cream making, it was the view of the examiner that it would not involve invention ta apply those teachings to the making of homemade ice cream.

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Bluebook (online)
108 F.2d 239, 27 C.C.P.A. 770, 44 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 36, 1939 CCPA LEXIS 68, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-denning-ccpa-1939.