Appeal No. 96-3376
Application 08/164,889
25mm per inch), and preferably is between 10mm and 200mm, or up
to 4 inches in length.
Since Carre clearly discloses embodiments of the mixer
therein which have a ring sized and positioned like that broadly
set forth in appellants' claims 28, 31 and 32 on appeal, we are
of the opinion that Carre (Figures 7 and 8) actually anticipates
the subject matter of appellants' claims. As has been made clear
on numerous occasions, anticipation or lack of novelty is the
ultimate or epitome of obviousness. See, in this regard, In re
Fracalossi, 681 F.2d 792, 794, 215 USPQ 569, 571 (CCPA 1982);
In re Pearson, 494 F.2d 1399, 1402, 181 USPQ 641, 644 (CCPA
1974). Accordingly, we will sustain the examiner's rejection
of claims 28, 31 and 32 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 based on Carre.
As for the examiner's rejections of dependent
claims 27, 29 and 34 under 35 U.S.C. § 103, we will sustain
these rejections also. In our opinion, one of ordinary skill
in the art would have realized from the collective teachings of
Carre and Gullichsen that under certain conditions it is
desirable to remove gas from the fiber suspension during the
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