U.S. patents available from 1976 to present.
U.S. patent applications available from 2005 to present.

Icon_funbox Bizarre Patents

Patent No. 5823386

Reward Candy Dispenser for Personal Computers

A personal computer peripheral, battery powered reward candy dispenser which immediately presents students with a single candy for each problem completed correctly.

Newsletter  PatentStorm News

Make the Most of Our Site

See this month's Top Inventors and Most Cited Patents.

Stay on top of the latest innovations by subscribing to an RSS feed.

Registered users: Manage your profile.

 

Class 426 - Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products

RSS Feeds for this Class: Rss Patents   Rss Applications   What is RSS?
538 Subclasses


Subclasses list

Definition

This class provides in general for products and compositions in any physical form which are intended to be consumed by human being or lower animals in whole or part via the oral cavity.

Food and edible will be used synonymously and interchangeable herein only in those situations where the edible is intended to be consumed and is not merely in a nontoxic form which is ancillary to its ultimate and intended purpose, e.g., adhesive for stamps, etc. This class includes the following subject matter not provided for elsewhere.

A. EDIBLE PRODUCTS OR COMPOSITIONS

1. Products or compositions which historically have been considered to be a food, and products or compositions which contain a naturally occurring material (i.e., plant or animal tissue) which has been historically regarded as a food; e.g., milk, cheese, apples, bread, dough, bacon, whiskey, etc.

2. Products or compositions which are known to have or are disclosed as having nutritional effect.

3. Products or compositions which are closed or claimed as being edible or which; perfect, modify, treat, or are used in conjunction with an edible such as (1) or (2) above or with another edible, so as to become part of the edible composition or product, or which converts a nonedible to an edible form.

4. Plural inorganic elements or minerals for fortification.

5. Mixtures of enzymes which are edible, per se, or which are used in preparing a product or composition proper for this class.

6. Products or compositions proper for this class which contain a live micro-organism which enhances or perfects the digestive action of the intestinal tract, e.g., Bacillus acidophilus milk, etc.

7. Edible bait.

8. Edible products or compositions which have structural characteristics.

B. EDIBLE FOOD PRODUCTS IN COMBINATION with Nonfood Materials Which Are Generally:

1. Products or compositions of A. above in combination with a package structure, inedible casing, a liner or base, an infusion bag, etc.

2. Compounds which have the same function as in (A. 1-3) in combination with an inedible material.

3. Potable water in a package.

4. Chewing gum and chewing gum bases, per se.

C. THIS CLASS IS THE GENERIC CLASS FOR:

1. Flavoring compositions wherein at least one of the ingredients is not a carbohydrate type material.

2. Sweetening compositions wherein at least one of the ingredients is a noncarbohydrate type material.

D. GRIT AND OTHER MATERIALS which are consumed so as to aid in mastication of a food.

E. PROCESSES OF ADMINISTERING the products or composition of A-D above to an animal via the oral cavity.

F. PROCESSES OF ADMINISTERING a compound having the same function as the compositions or products of A-D above to an animal via the oral cavity.

G. Processes Of Treating live animals with a product, compound, or ferment that perfects the food made from said animal in combination with a butchering operation, or processes of removing a food product from a live animal followed by a treatment of the removed food, or a butchering operation followed by an operation that is proper for this class.

H. PROCESSES OF PREPARING treating or perfecting the products or compositions of A-D.

I. SINGLE USE INFUSION containers or receptacles which are specific for preparing a food and which are devoid of structure which specifically cooperates with a food apparatus.

J. COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS OF USE solely disclosed or claimed for treating or perfecting a food material.

CLASSIFICATION GUIDELINES FOR THIS CLASS:

Patents have been placed herein on the general rule of placing the patent as an original in the first appearing subclass of this class that provides for the claimed subject matter.

This class regards all ingredients or additives that are involved in preparing an edible as being proper herein.

Therefor each ingredient or additive used in food preparation, whether naturally occurring as a product of nature or synthetically produced, that becomes a part of an edible composition, or treats an edible composition or is either disclosed or claimed as being edible, is to be regarded as being edible.

Ingredient or additive does not include packaging materials, containers, paper products, etc. or any other material which would not reasonably be regarded as being edible. Further, water in any of its physical forms, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, the inert gases or mixtures composed thereof are not regarded as an additive or ingredient, except, wherein the same is specifically provided for by subclass title or definitions thereof, e.g., ice coated, etc.

Lines with other classes and within this class

A. LINES WITH RELATED COMPOUND CLASSES

1. A compound, per se, is classified in the compound class regardless of utility. However, a patent having only process claims for making a protein and reciting the step of texturizing or other food perfecting step will be classified in Class 426. Further a texturized protein is proper for Class 426:

a. Where a patent claims a composition in nominal terminology only, e.g., "a composition comprising an edible amount of compound X", and there are no claims to a method to use, the original has been placed in the compound class.

b. Where a patent contains at least one claim to a method of use, even if the method refers only to a particular ingredient as being edible, the patent has been placed herein as original, (except when another use is also claimed which is superior to Class 426).

c. Where a patent claims a composition wherein at least two materials are recited or wherein proportions are recited, the original has been placed in Class 426, e.g., at least X%, etc.

See References to Other Classes, below, for Related Compound Classes and the lines with Class 426.

B. LINES WITH RELATED COMPOSITION CLASSES.

1. The rules for determining Class placement of the Original Reference (OR) for claimed chemical compositions are set forth in the Class Definition of Class 252 in the section LINES WITH OTHER CLASSES AND WITHIN THIS CLASS, subsection COMPOSITION CLASS SUPERIORITY, which includes a hierarchical ORDER OF SUPERIORITY FOR COMPOSITION CLASSES.

2. Specific Class Lines:

See References to Other Classes for the line between Class 426 and Related Composition Classes

C. LINES WITH RELATED PROCESS CLASSES.

The following general rules only apply in those situations where the process claims are (1) equally comprehensive, (2) control ultimate classification, (3) and no specific note in Class 426 or some other class is applicable.

1. General Treating Classes

The following general classification rules apply between Class 426 and the General Treating Classes.

a. The process claims are silent as to the material treated, disclosure is specific to an edible, claims are limited to a sole separation performed in one of the General Treating Classes, classification is proper in the appropriate General Treating Class.

b. The process claims are silent as to the material treated, disclosure is specific to an edible, the claims are limited to combined operation provided for specifically in Class 426 and in a General Treating Class, classification is proper in Class 426, except for general treating Classes 241, Solid or Disintegration Material Comminution, subclasses 6+ and Class 62, Refrigeration, subclasses 68+.

c. The process claims are drawn to treating edibles and nonedibles, or are limited to edibles, the claims are limited to operation performed in one of the General Treating Classes, classification is proper in the appropriate General Treating Class.

d. The claims are classified in Class 426 when the claims are limited to an edible and the treating involves an operation that is provided for in Special Treating Class, e.g., molding, dyeing, etc.; or are operations that are proper subject matter for Class 426, per se, e.g., preparing a composition, etc.; or are operations that are provided for in a General Treating Class that are in combination with a Class 426 operation, e.g., drying and subsequently cooking, etc.; or are combinations of two or more General Treating Classes, e.g., cleaning and then cutting, etc., or are combinational operations that are specifically provided for in one of the General Treating Classes and in Class 426 as well, e.g., freezing and packaging, drying with cooling, except for Class 241, Solid Material Comminution or Disintegration, subclasses 6+ and Class 62, Refrigeration subclasses 68+ which specifically provide for edible materials.

e. The process claims are silent as to the material treated; disclosure includes both edibles and non-edibles; claims are not limited to subject matter for a single General Treating Class, classification is proper in the appropriate General or Special Treating Class that provides for the over-all combination.

f. The process claims are drawn to treating edibles and nonedibles; claims are not limited to subject matter for a single General Treating Class; classification is proper in the appropriate General or Special Treating Class that provides for the over-all combination.

g. In the event that an appropriate General or Special Treating Class is not available to handle the question of classification, then classification will be based on alternatives such as superiority of certain compositions over others (see the notes relating herein to compositions and to methods of preparing thereof, Section C) or will be based on superiority of types of technology (see DUPACS section 326).

See References to Other Classes, below, for examples of General Treating Classes in the following art areas (as well as the lines between Class 426 and these classes):

2. Special Treating Classes

The following classification rules apply between Class 426 and the Special Treating Classes.

a. The process claims are silent as to the material treated; disclosure is specific to a food, classification is appropriate in Class 426.

b. Claims are limited to an edible; classification is proper in Class 426.

c. The process claims are silent as to the material treated; the disclosure refers to edible and nonedibles; the claims are limited to operations performed in one special treating class; classification is proper therein.

d. There are individual process claims to treating an edible and a nonedible; the claims whether drawn to the edible or nonedible are limited to operations performed in one Special Treating Class; classification is proper therein.

e. The process claims are silent as to the material treated; disclosure includes both edibles and nonedibles; claims are not limited to subject matter for a single Special Treating Class; classification is proper in the appropriate General or Special Treating Class that provides for the overall combination.

f. Some classification as in (E) above when claims are presented which are drawn to edible and nonedible species, and claimed subject matter is not limited to a single Special Treating Class.

g. See 1 of this same section for a further discussion into the classification of processes between classes.

See References to Other Classes, below for examples of some of the Special Treating Classes and the lines between those classes and Class 426.

D. LINES WITH PRODUCT CLASSES

1. Package Classes

Class 206, Special Receptacles and Packages, provides for special receptacles adapted to contain an edible and for packaged products not elsewhere provided for. Class 426, provides for (1) a package which is solely disclosed or claimed as containing an edible therein, or (2) a nonedible package containing packaged material, therein, which material is additive in nature, said material being solely disclosed for treating or perfecting an edible and wherein the edible is not claimed in the package.

Class 221, Article Dispensing

Class 222, Dispensing, for processes and apparatus for dispensing not elsewhere classified.

Classes 221 and 222 provide for Class 206 subject matter having a significant dispensing feature.

Class 84, Music

2. Amusement And Music Classes

273, Amusement Devices: Games

446, Amusement Devices: Toys

The above classes provide for subject matter of their class not limited by the claims or the disclosure to the use of an edible ultimate consumption.

Class 426, provides for Class 84, Class 273 and Class 446, subject matter limited by the claims or disclosure to utilizing a Class 426 material which is ultimately intended to be consumed. Questions of doubt as to whether the article prepared from or containing a Class 426 material is ultimately to be consumed are to be resolved by classification into Class 426.

473, Amusement Devices: Games

3. General Article or Product Classes

See References to Other Classes below for General Article or Product Classes and the line with Class 426.

 
Sign InRegister
Username  
Password   
forgot password?