Appeal No. 1997-2986
Application No. 08/260,784
accordance with two different program routines) in two
different areas of the pallet. Stacking identical plates made
from a sheet of stock in a single location is "optimal" in the
sense that it requires less space to accommodate the plates
made from a sheet of stock than if stacking were not allowed.
Storing plates of only one size at each location also avoids
any conflict about which size plate is to be stored at that
location. The corresponding limitation in claim 12 is
satisfied in the same way. Claim 21's recitation of
"partition[ing] the surface area of said unloading means into
different locations each having a dimension corresponding to
one of said dimensioned groups" is satisfied in the same way,
because it does not require one-to-one correspondence, i.e.,
it does not preclude (a) two dimensioned groups from including
pieces having the same dimension or, alternatively, (b) two
locations from corresponding to the same dimensioned group. 5
For the foregoing reasons, the "utilizing" limitations in
claims 1, 12, and 21 are satisfied by Levine and Taijonlahti
5Appellant's Figure 13B (steps 150, 152) discloses using
an additional location when the first location for a piece of
a given dimension becomes full.
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