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'AURORA WATCH.
CO. ., : i.
COi1'cuit Court, N. D. Illinois. July 81,189(1.)
Claims 1 to 4 of patent No. 825,506 to Charles P. Corliss for "a stem winding and setting watch" are for a deviee·-which watch movement when taken out of the case from falling into the hands-setting engagement, and keeps it in the Winding engagement. The shifting engagements are obtained t,hrough a rising and falling pini,on! and hands,-settin,gengagement ill,rel;ldered inoperative while the movement IS III the'· tlaiIEi 'by)a.shoft; 'lug):iresairlg 'sgalllst the case and on the spring which tends to throw the watch into the hands-setting engagement. When the move\ll,l!nt, ilil ,tait,eQ from ttole Cl;\s61 tJ;L.l.$. ,Pressul:e o,n the spring, iii! released, and it becomes-'\vhb1l1 tn: the hands-setting engagement, while the winding engagement remains operative. Held, this claim was not . infringed, by device which accomplishes the'same result as to .the' MIidB-Bett.ing .' blltin whlebtM of 8vtbrilting yoke car! ,', tying. 'I1tn)inions Mi eitller end; for tbepurp()e Of the wmding anli setting engage" ,,'Jii61it8?'Witll'its 'IJarts:so 'arranged by itJeans of adjusted springs that when the . ··'''1ll.0vetiulilt istaken','(iut of<thecase thewindisg'8nd; setting pinions are ,both thrown liO that neither tlle:halia.setting ,liar winding engagement is operative.
INVENTIONS-WHAT CONSTITUTBS
',The' bill in thiscasEl seeks: an injunction and account-thtJ·alleged infringement:of the 6,rst four claims of patent granted September 1,J885,. tQ Charle.s P·. Corliss for "a stem w.inp.ing ,anq, setting watch.·" The featu.reof the patent involved in this is :;1; . thedeviqe,llsprQvides that when a watch mo,vement which is I)OrmaVy mechanism from fOJ: t,be into engagemeIit'wtll become inoperative; and the watch will remain in the winding engagement;;';':, . ' . ' ........',., ".' . '..... ' . The Claims '..now in question are: . .' :!: ", /. , ..,' '. _' . " '. " "(1).# an imprpvement. in stem winding and bands-setting watches. a winding traIn which is adapted to be place<iin engagement thewhtdmg-wheel by the of a stem-arbor. and is normally ill e.ngagemeilt with the dial-Wheels only "when the movement is in a case, stanlially, aaa'nd for the purpose specUied. (2) As an improvement in stern wateh,es, a winding and hands-setting train which is phlAed in. witl)' the. winding-wheel. by the,movement l)f and IS held nor,mally III engagement with the wheels. bl'a, which is operative for purpose only when. tJ'Je movement is 'hi a:case, SUbstantially as and forthe purpose shown. (3) As an provernent'ln stem winding <and setting Wat('hes, the combination. with a willdiuK andhands"setting train. of a spring which operates tohold said train normi\lIy:in.lilllgagement with, the when the movem.ent is in a case, for such purpostl &jfoid movement is removed frQrnits a$ and for the purpose $h(jwn.and described. (4) As an :Instem winding and setting' a 'winding and setting train which, when the movement is cased; is normally held in ment with the dial-wheels, and when said movement isremoved from its case · ,: I0 _ _ \ _
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and free'to'etlgllge with the <island fqr, the purpose specified. ". are . The defenses.of, want ofpateiltable novelty and relied upo.n, and. have been much discussed, in the testimony gdments of counsel, but I propose to consider 0111y the question ofnoninfringement. The Corliss watch, as dascribed in the patent now under consideration , is a stem"winding and stem hands-setting watch, where the shifting mechanism is a rising and falling pinion, and the descriptions in the patent of the device now in question apply toa mechanism where the shilting and falling pinion. The deengagements are obtained througb a fendant manufiwtures a and stetu-setting watch, where the shifting mechanism consists of a vibrating yoke carrying the pinions at tiither end, for' the purpose of the setting and winding engagements. In the patent in question the spring which tends to throw thewatchirito the hands-setting engagement is rendered inoJlerativeby means ora short lug,or 'fin,l1pon the backo! the spring, Which passes outside of the movemept"andabiJts against a portion of the case, so ithat when the watch is in the case this fin puts the spring under constraint, and causes it to operate as,lhavestntedi'but when the rnovementis removed from the case;tbe:pressure of the side oftba case upon this fin being released, the spring becQmes wholly inol'el'ntive, and, the which operates to keep the watch in winding engagement being operative, the watch. is helli in winding engagement. The deJendnnt's watoh, having ushilting mechanism carried upon a.vibrating yoke, has ,its parts so arrauged as that when the. movement is .taken out of the case the. winding alldsetting piniOlls are, both thrown out of engagement, and remain intermediate, between the wiriding and settingengllgement. is accomplished by the adjustment of the springs, .which tbrowthe watch. into .the. ditierent engagemellts·. baJunce.d ngainsteach other that, when, the pressure. of the stem-arbor is' removed, the .yoke is at once; .thrown into the intermediate of which I have spoken, where IH'ither the winding nor setting pinions are in 'engagement. This seeJll!:! to me an entirely ditlerent organization from that of the Corliss watch, and to have no operative parts in common with the operative parts of the plltent, so 1ilr as the device in question is concerned. The clnilJls of the patent which I have quoted are most cunningly and art,ully drawn. llnd seem to me to ha\'e been intended, if possible, to cover, not the device which is described in and shown by the patent, Lut the results of the action of this device; but, in my opinion, the only manner in which these claims can be supported and the patent held vlllid at all is by holding that the claim is limited to the deviee described ill the specification. Guided by an examination of the description given in the specifications of the device now in question for relieving the wateh of its normal tendency to go into the setting engagement, when removed from the case, we find that it is organized solely to opemte ill connection with the rising Rnd falling pinions by which the shiJting engagements are oblained, and we find nothing that suggellts the mechanillill used by the deJendant. is
.J'EIXERAL.·REPORTER ,:voL .4130'
Corliss 'bad tbeundoubt(jd right to cover his own device, if new,by a patent, but not the right to take possession of a.nd hold the 'whole field againstll.llsubaequent Inventorswbo reach the s8meresult he does but by different devices. And it is not claimed in this case that defendant· use!:! any oftheinstrumentlllities 'used or suggested by Corliss, except:that the stem-arbor of defendant's watch holds the shifting yoke in the setting position when the movement is in the case,and.it is argued that the stemarbor is a part of the case,but in the defendant's watch the stem-arbol' acts on a different element in the organization, and hence, as it seems to me, does not.make out the claim 'of infringement. It is true that complainant has introduced in evidence, as exhibits, complainant's watch No. 2 and complainant's watch No.3, where the fin-backed spring of the patent is applied to the vibrating .yoke carrying the winding and. handssetting pinions; but the proof alsosbows that Corliss himself so far understood that qis inventioncovel'ed by the.patent now under' consider.. ation didnotcoverthese two watches that he took out a patent, in July, 1886,' substantially covering the application of :the fin-backed spring .to thill vibrating :yoke. The application for and obtaining oftbis patent, I , think, is a clear Ildmission on the part of Corlis8!thathe did not consider , the mechanism covered by this subsequent patent as covered by ,his patent of September, 1885, and,if Corliss is concluded by this admission; it seems tom:e·the com plainant, as the assignee of Corliss, is also concluded. 1 dQ .not, however;.intend to place the decision ofthiscase t\pon the fact that Corliss obtained a new patent for a device applicable tl> the vibrating' stem-winding, arrangement, but prefer to rely' upon the factor non-infringement, as it'seems palpable to me that a watch movement like the defendant's,which is neither in the hands-setting nor stem-winding,engagement when out of the 'case; is not an infringement of the Corliss patent on which thissuitisbrougbt.. A decreemay.therefore be prepared finding that the defendant does'not in'" fringe, and dismissing the bill for want of equity. ,. ,1
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· . IIARMON fl. STRUTHERS.
4.87
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t1. STRUTHERS
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(Circuit Court, W. D. PennsyZvanw.. August 18, 1890.) 1. PATENTS FOR INVENTIONS-PATENTABILITY.
Letters patent No. 248,277, granted to Frank L. Bliss, October 18; 1881, for an improvement in reversing gear for steam-engines, sbow an invention especiallyapplicable to engines for drilling and operating oil-wells, consisting in the combination of an elbow a lifting-bar havinlf a sloloted connection with the stoll on the englne frame for supportmg the lever, whereby the lever lS relleved from an jar or vibration due to the movement of the reversing link. HeW, that· the .inventionwas one of great merit and of a primary character,and the patent should be liberally construed, and the patentee accorded the full benefit. of .the doctrine of e q u i v a l e n t s . . . , . . . . ..
In the defendants' device, instead of a stop on the engine. frame, the .end of the horizentalarm of the elbow lever is provided witJl a downward projection or l!IP-' pimdage, w,hieh engages the. engine frame, and, in lieu of. a slot in the lifting-paJ;', Whereby Bliss'slotJ;ed connectic;m is made, tbe upper end pf the defendants' liftmgbar'is reduced in diameter,andfasses loosely through a hole in a swiveled eyebolt " attaohedto the borizontal arm 0 the lever, and thus :b.as,free vertical playfoT ,th.e , purpose of taking 'up the Vibration and relieving the lever of all jar when. resting. ,." on the engine frame. HeZd, that the defendants' device infringed the Bliss patent. S; USE. " ' . , . ¥or£l than two years before his application for a patent, the inventor, Bliss t with-, , out profl.t tOhi.mself,and solely for the purpose of testing the effiCiency of nis in'vention.bypractical use in the oil-field, placelthis.device, then in the form of·a pusb. reverse, upon engines manufactured by his emplqyers, who 'sold all those engines to'a brother'in-Iawofone of the vlllldors,'on excePtional terms,' the subi ··stantial purpoae being with ·a view to experimental use;' HeW, that this was. not a pUPlic use or sale, within the meaning of the patent law, ''-
2.
SAME-INFRINGEMENT.
4:-SimL
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'l'he push reverse embodied the combination described bland covered by the patent,:but the expe.rimental use in oil-field proved that, as an oPllrative reversing " gear, it was nota practical success; and thereupon, after turtherexperimenting, ..' Bliss changed the device so as to convert it into a pull reverse of the form described , in his specification and drawings. Iield1 that the two-years priol',public use,un'del' the statute; did not begin to run until he had thus made tiis device practically , emoient. .
_In Equity. D.
Bill to restrain infringement of patent. for defendants.
W. Bakewell <to Sons, for complainants. ACHESON,S. The defendants are charged with the infringement of letters patent No. 248,277, for an improvement in reversing gear for steam-engines, ,granted to Frank L. Bliss, October 18,1881, upon an application filed March 8, 1881, the title to which letters patent became ve13ted in the plaintiffs by assignment from the patentee, dated, 1887. The s,pecification states that the invention isespeciallyapplicable to engines employed in drilling and pumping oil-wells. These engines, the proofs show, are operated under conditions. The epgine is necessarily located. at a distance, usuaHy about 70 feet, from vrhere, the operator is required to be. .In practice, an . gineer is not employed, but the driller standing in the derrick handles It is very important that the engine shouldbe 4tall times, uqder his ready control, as it is otten necessB,Tythat it instantly i'sinotlon reversed.. In oil OPerations, sucbenginesare n]B,ved ·vlnce . <10 qp.on, qF '