Appeal No. 2000-1202 Page 3
Application No. 08/982616
OPINION
In reaching our decision in this appeal, we have given careful consideration to the
appellant's specification and claims, the applied prior art references, the respective
positions articulated by the appellant and the examiner, and the guidance provided by our
reviewing court. As a consequence of our review, we make the determinations which
follow.
The Rejection Under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b)
The invention before us is directed to the sorting and packing of panels such as
vinyl siding in corrugated paper boxes. According to the appellants, in the prior art these
endeavors were accomplished essentially by hand in several locations, and it is the
objective of their invention to provide a combined sorting and box folding machine that
automatically folds and positions a box adjacent to a panel receiving station (specification,
pages 2 and 3). In furtherance of this objective, independent claim 1 is directed to a
“unitary” packing and folding machine which comprises a panel receiving station for
positioning in line with a panel extrusion production line, and a box folding section
positioned “generally adjacent said panel receiving station” and having “means for folding
a corrugated paper box blank” along predetermined fold lines to form a container for the
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