Appeal No. 2004-1798
Application 08/883,387
end shearwalls respectively (see col. 10, lines 17-18),
but the exterior walls (94, 140) is unnecessary to
connect the floors (see col. 8, lines 36-38). The
exterior wall functions to enclose the ends of the
stories of the building construction. Since there is
no other support to the exterior wall, the exterior
wall is, therefore, considered to be vertically self-
supported along a vertical support plane to the
foundation, and the supporting framework such as the
end shearwalls provide all necessary lateral support
for the vertically self-supporting exterior wall.
Our reading of Livingston reveals that the method therein
for constructing a multi-story building structure (48) begins
with the installation of two vertically oriented, prestressed
concrete load bearing wall panels (50, 52), presumably on a
foundation, and proceeds with the installation of a pre-
fabricated service core (60) which, as seen in Figure 2 of
Livingston, is installed between the load bearing wall panels
(50, 52) and supported on members (56) projecting from a bottom
portion of the wall panels. The service core (60) comprises a
prestressed concrete pallet (62) and an enclosure (64) formed on
the concrete pallet. As noted at column 6, lines 59-65, the
enclosure (64) is formed from materials of the type used in
constructing conventional homes and similar buildings, i.e.,
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