Appeal No. 2006-0357
Application No. 10/743,501
Naumann fairly teaches adding elastomer to mixer A, and the
single apparatus as a whole, without preblending or pretreating
the elastomer. Also, we fully concur with the examiner that
Reggio establishes the obviousness of adding all the ingredients
of a chewing gum base to a single mixing zone without preblending
or pretreating the elastomer (see column 3, lines 34-36).
Accordingly, based on the collective teachings of Naumann and
Reggio, we are convinced that one of ordinary skill in the art
would have found it obvious to eschew preblending and pretreating
the elastomer before adding it to the initial mixing zone of a
continuous mixing apparatus having at least two mixing zones.
Appellants contend that “Naumann teaches away from the
process disclosed by Reggio because all of the components of the
gum base produced by the process in Naumann are not mixed in a
single mixer” (page 7 of principal brief). However, the claims
on appeal do not require a single mixer but, rather, “a single
continuous mixing apparatus” having at least two mixing zones,
and, as stated above, we find that Naumann fairly depicts a
single continuous mixing apparatus. Moreover, we find that
Reggio renders obvious the use of a single mixing zone for all
the components of a chewing gum base.
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