Appeal No. 96-0610
Application 08/257,449
Appellants’ claimed invention relates to a collapsible
container having a bottom wall, a pair of sidewalls, and a 2
pair of end walls defining a generally rectangular periphery.
The sidewalls and the end walls are hinged to the bottom wall
or to what amounts to an upstanding rim portion of the bottom
wall. The vertical levels of the hinges permit a first one of
the sidewalls to initially be pivoted to a collapsed position
overlying the bottom wall, the second sidewall to be pivoted
to a collapsed position overlying the first sidewall, and the
two end walls to be pivoted to non-overlapping collapsed
positions overlying the second sidewall.
In independent claim 1, the second sidewall is recited to
overlie the first sidewall “in relatively flat
configuration.” Claim 1 further recites that the end walls3
lie parallel to and in engagement with the second sidewall
upon being pivoted to their overlying positions. Claim 17,
the only other independent claim on appeal, recites that the
2 Throughout appellants’ specification and pending claims, “sidewall”
is spelled as two words. According to Webster’s Third New International
Dictionary (G. & C. Merriam Company, 1971), “sidewall” is spelled as one word.
3 Consistent with appellants’ specification, we have interpreted this
phrase to mean that the second sidewall lies flat or parallel relative to the
first sidewall upon being pivoted to its overlying position.
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