Appeal No. 1998-3301 Page 13
Application No. 08/784,361
To support a rejection of a claim under 35 U.S.C. §
102(b), it must be shown that each element of the claim is
found, either expressly described or under principles of
inherency, in a single prior art reference. See Kalman v.
Kimberly-Clark Corp., 713 F.2d 760, 772, 218 USPQ 781, 789
(Fed. Cir. 1983), cert. denied, 465 U.S. 1026 (1984).
The claims (i.e., claims 2, 4 through 7, 12 through 15
and 25) recite a drive-up mail distribution, storage and pick-
up assembly comprising, inter alia, a plurality of mail boxes
and a driveway. The claims further recite that (1) the mail
boxes are arranged in horizontal rows and retained in a frame
including a front panel, (2) each mail box includes a lockable
front door opening from the front panel, and (3) the driveway
is arranged in such close proximity to the front panel that a
driver of a vehicle can reach out from the vehicle and open
and close the mail box front door without having to leave the
vehicle.
The appellant argues (brief, pp. 10-12, and reply brief,
pp. 2-3) that the claimed driveway in close proximity to the
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