Appeal No. 2001-2689
Application No. 09/215,021
Looking at the application disclosure, it is clear that
appellant’s machine is a complex structure that requires the
interaction of many elements in order to accomplish the patent
claim 1 preamble function of “automatically and controllably
forming sheet metal into panels for metal buildings having
combined wall and roof panels, at least a portion of which are
arched or curved.” By way of example, the application disclosure
makes clear that the functions expressly set forth in paragraphs
(c) through (e) of patent claim 1 require the utilization of a
considerable number of disclosed elements.4 The application
disclosure indicates that the crimping rolls 70, 72 for bending
small folds into the bottom portion of a formed panel are driven
by a chain drive arrangement, best seen in Figure 3, comprising a
variety of chains, sprockets and gears. As explained at column
6, lines 13-20, this chain drive is not merely a matter of
convenience, but rather it is provided for the specific purpose
4Paragraph (c) of patent claim 1 expressly call for, among
other things, “continuously crimping by bending small folds in
the bottom portion of [a] formed sheared panel . . . to provide a
curvature of the formed panels, the depth of the folds
establishing the curvature,” and paragraph (e) of patent claim 1
expressly calls for, among other things, “controlling the
crimping means [of paragraph (c)] to vary . . . the extent of
curvature of the formed panels by varying the depth of the
folds.”
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