iFEDlmALltEPORTER I
vol. 43."
j",(i)ur()OIiclusion'hetedoes notcob6ictitith the dMision in"CG1nmercial U ·. S..176,10S.UB- Ct. Rep. In below Rep. 78) and In the suprltme ItSto the Identity of the Ulllted States patent with the Austrian patent. Upon this branch of the case, then, our j\1dg:ment is favorable to the plain tiff j but, for the reasons expressea ,in our original opinion, the decree must be for the defendant. ' ;Let. it.idecree be draWindismissing the bill of complaint, with costs., I
McKENNANj , "\ 'I:
J., concurs.
WESTINGHOUSE et' al.
'V., OUABTIERS
VAL.
GAB
00.
(Oircuit,OIYUf"t, W. D. Pen1l.8y1mania.
August 28, 1890.) ,
,'Cllatmsl and 2 of letterspo.tent No. 845;46S,;dated July 18,18861 granted to George VV Jr., assignee of Morris, So, relating, to pIpe joints alld lines poilvOYlng liquids and gases, and, more ,particularly, natural gas, namely: .. (1) " Theootnbination of a pipe-Une composed of sections of pipe connected at the joints ,by qqu.,.pllngs',wl,th. a se,pa, ra"te gas·tight Cham,be,r surroulld.ing a single joint thereof, 3dapted to receivt'l any leakage therefrom, and a vent pipe leading from such ohamberi substantially ali 'and for the purpose set forth;' (2) In combination with a 1$I\1n pipe-line comp08ed'Of sections of,pipes connected at the joints by couplings, indepe'ndent gas-tiglit chambers inclosing, respectively, single joints thereof, and a " vent pipe tll''' pipes leading from such chambers, substantially as and for the pur: fortb;,:'...,....were destitute of patentll'qle novelty,\ and,moreover, do not, upon construction, poyer the deVIce. I >
t
PATli:riS 'POB INVENTIONs-l'l'uURAL GAs'LINBS-WANT O'P, NOVELTY.
2,;
,' ,Ill'a suit for iafrinl/;ement, upon We f!illtte whether the plaintiffs' assignor was orlglJ:!.1\1 a,nq first inveq.tor, of the thing alleged ,to be within the claims of the patent in aprl!)!' and stlll pending application of a third person for letters pat' 'ent'lis c.ompet8ntevldence.
"
,
'
!
In EqiUity:. , , Geor.f/t: H. Ohristey and J. Sllowdsn Bell, for plaintiffs. JameS I. Ka'/I! fJeorgt; Harding, and Ftancis T. Chambers, for defendant. j :
"ACHll:SON,:J. ThisJsa suit in equity by Geor,ge Westinghouse, Jr., and his the Philadelphia Company, against the Chartiers Valley Gas Company, for the infringement of letters patent No. 345,463, dated July 13, 1886, granted to Westinghouse as assignee of Morris S. Verner,the inventor. Verner's invention was made in July, 1884, about the'15th of the month, ,and his application for letters patent was filed August 6,.,1884. ,But in,fact: he had not then reduced the invention to any practioaluse, and!he never did 'so. Pending his application, on Februany ,2], 1885 t he assigned his rights to Westinghouse. The inven.. relates, to')pipe joints and Hqes for conducting liquids and gases, those :usedJior conveying natural gas." The specification recites letters patent No. 301,191, foJ' improvements in
WESTINGlIOUSB 11. CRARTlBRS VAL. GA.S CO.
583'
systems of conveying and utilizing gas under pressure, which hildbean granted to George WeStinghouse, Jr., onJuly 1,1884, and points 'out' cel'tain superior which appertain to Vqrner's invention over, Westinghouse's system ,as set forth thatpatent. To understand" then, what Verner's improvement really was,' it is necessary to refer to the specifiCfltion of the Westinghouse patent, No. 301,191. Mr. house therein states that, owing to the high pressure under which natural gas is conveyed through pipes, it makes its way through comparatively', tight joints, and through pores, cracks, and other minute openings, add, being extremely subtle, and usually destitute both of color and odor, its leakage is difficult of detection; and the gas, when mixed withatmospheric air, being highly explosive, such leakage, in addition to the waste which it entails, life and property in the vicinity of the line of conveyance to the risk of serious accidents, against which it is very portant, particularly within city limits, to provide an efficient safeguard. It is further stated that the employment of the gas for household and light manufacturing purposes is desirable and practicable only at pressures practically constant, and materially lower than that which is' ex-; erted in the main line of the conducting pipe. To meet these requirements is the declared object of Mr. Westinghouse's invention, which conconductsists (his specification sets forth) in indosing the pipe or main within' a tight protecting casing of diameter, so as to form around tpe main a ,charilberor receptacle which receives, alid retains for use any leakage from the main, and is also designed to be continuously charged with gas at low pressure, delivered from the main by means oJ communicating pressure regulating valves. ,It is stated that said chamber or receptacle is, by preference, made in arate sections," "of any desired or convenient length," thus forming' a. series' of "independent chambers," each inclosing a series of the connected sections of the main, and each compartment or chamber being prpvided with "a vent or escape pipe" leading therefrom to a point at which gaS may be discharged into the atmosphere, said being closed by a. safety-valve which is IOlldedso as to open upon any excess of pressure above a determined point. The VerI1er specificati.on, while admitting that Westinghouse's outer casing, if properly made,wiIlsuffice vent the escape of gas, two objections to his form of conduit, viz. : Jilirat, "that the outer pipe prevents access to the inclosed highpressure main, except at long' intervals, where the latter is exposed tween the compartments;" and, secondly, the great cost involved in. providing an exterior pipe so large in diameter as would be'necessary.' and so long. The declared object of Verner's im"ention is to provide anefficient and inexpensive pipe joint and conduit, whereby the ,OJ gas from the high"pressure main into thegl'ound may be prevented, and, if desired, the gas leaking from its joints maybe retained in a small low.. preSsure parallel pipe for uti'lization,or be permitted to escape into the air M points." while direct connections may be made with the main at all points along the conduif. The s'pecificationthen proceeds thus: '
, REPORTER,. v:ol.
43.
·.· To thls,eIidmy. 'invention, generally stated, consists in the combination a single joint of with a main pipe;line, of a gas-tight chambe,r said and a, vent-pipe leading out. of. said chamber, and also in the combination,with the main pipe.line, of a serres of such chambers, each surrOlilldinga joint of the line, and a supplemental pipe-line formed of sections of liuhing cOlllltlunicating with the chambers surrounding the joints, thus constituting a low-pressure line, from which connections can be made for any desired purpose, ,or from which gas may be allowed to escape at determined points." ( By Verner1sconstructioa, as. described with minute detail in his specification, and illustrated by the accompanying drawings, his supplemental pipe is connected with the several chambers surrounding the joints of the high-pressure main either directly, at each end of each ohamber, or through the intermediation of T joints, the vertical member thereof opening out of each chamber into the supplementalpipe,and no other vent,pipe leading out of the chamber is described or shown. After explaining how gas at low-pressure may be drawn for use from the supplemental pipe, the specification adds:. "Or from which, at suitable intervals,.,pipes may be led to points above the surface of the ground to allow the escape of gaa."Again it is stated: .. As all'the chambers communicate with the snpplemental pipe-line, m, a fHlbstantially unifQrro presaure is ml,\intained therein, whether all the them, and the chambe,rs around the joints form reservoirs to store the gas at low pressure. In case sufficient gas does not escape into the supplemental' Une, SUitable valVE> connections may be arranged between the two I,in,esto maintain the therein." . ., , The pateut in snit has :five claims" but the only ones the defendant is alleged to infringe are, the first and second, which ate as follows: ,. , (1 },The of a pipe-Une composed of sections of pipeoonllected by couplings; with a. .separate gas-tight chamber surrounding a' single' J6fnt thereof, adapted to receive 8/1Y leakage therefrom, and a vent-pipe leading from' such chamber, Bubstantikllyas and for the purpose set forth. (4!) Incombiltation with a thain pipe-dine composed of sections of pipe connected atthef)Qints by gas-tight chambers inclosing, joints,thereuf, ,linda vent pipe or pipes leading.frotn such chambers, foi-the set forth." The sections of the defendant company's natural-gas main are not united:by the screw couplings shown and described in the Vemerpatent, but by the bowl and spigot joint made tight by a lead packing, outside of which is placed a ring or sleeve with plaster ofParis packing,between it'and the pipes. There is thus formed a small cavity around the lead-packed joint to catch any leakage t!).erefrorn that may possibly an escape orifice is formed in the ripg, and a vent-pipe is connected therewith, leading above ground into the open air" without connecting with any low-pressure pipe, but simply for the free ,discharge of any leakage of gas·. : This venting device is uBedat each jointiof the defendant's n1ain, and Qonstitutes the alleged infringemeJilt of'the Verner patent. . In this connection it is a fact worthy of mentiop that the frat practical application ever made Qf a freely-vented joint cas.
WESTINGHOUSE II. CBARTIERS VAL. GAS CO.
585
ingwas upon the defendant's lines. This was in January, 1885, when DavidE. Adams, by the company's leave, placed, and for some time kept, on its gas-conducting main, a device consisting of a jacket tightly fitting around each joint, with a vent-pipe therefrom leading into the open air. Adams was an original inventor, but his invention was not . made until about November, 1884. 'fwo questions lie on the surface of the case, viz.: (1) Whether the claims of the patent here involved disclose any patentable subject-matter in view of the prior state of the art; and (2) whether the defendant's device comes within the scope of those claims upon any allowable construction of the same. These questions are closely related, and, under the proofs, are to be considered rather together than apart. Now, avowedly, Verner was an improver upon Mr. Westinghouse's system for the conveyance and utilization of natural gas. as set forth in his letters patent of July 1, 1884, and, upon a careful examination of Verner's entire specification, even in the form which it finally took after numerous amen(lJ. ments, it is not difficult to see that his substantial invention consisted in dispensing with the enveloping casing along the body of the highpressure main, and confining the inclosing cham bers to the several joints of the main, and in providing an auxiliary parallel low-pressure pipe communicating with those chambers. The venting into the open air, of the leaking gas, was a mere incident of the improvement, while the important matter of the ascertainment of the exact location of a leak not mentioned at all in the specification. I do not overlook the opening clause oHhe general statement of the invention hereinbefore quoted at length.. But the language there employed, especially when read, must be, in connection with the context, does not disclose nor suggest a system in which a vent-pipe leads from each inclosing chamber directly to the open air. Verner illustrates the application of his invention with different fQrms of chambers by no less than eight drawings or 'figures, but not one of them shows any vent-pipe leading out of the chamber other than the supplllmentallow-pressure .pipe itself, or the small perpendicular pipe of the T joint, which opens into the supplemental pipe. Unmistakably Verner's invention contemplates the venting of the inclos':' ing chaUlbers through the supplementallow-pressure pipe, and not otherwise. According to his de<;;cribed method, the gas leaking from the joints, if not utilized; is to be permitted to escape into the air, not at points where the joints of the main occur, but at "suitable determined 'n, points." As already se after describing the supplemental pipe, and stating its function as a low-pressure supply line, the specification adds: "Or from which gas can be allowed to escape at determined' points." And elsewhere it is said: "From which,at suitable intervalS, pipes may be led to points above the surface of the ground, to allow the escape of gas." Again, in a passage above quoted it is stated that, as all the chambers communicate with the supplemental pipe-line, the pressure therein is substantially the same "whether all the joints leak or only some of them." Thus is it manifest that, in the practice of Verner's invention, as he conceived and describes it, the leakap;es aUth )
J'EDERAL REPORTER.
voL 48.
in the firstdnstance, into the low-pressure line as a common for use, if but if not, then to, be vented 'into the open a)r pip,esleading from ,that line to the surface of the ground "at suitpoints."'; It;follows, then, that unless the patentee is to rights ,than the invention disclosed by the patent, as to restrict them to a the first and second claims must be SD in which the'CllJilings, or chambers surrounding the joints of the throllghasupplemental pipe-line, substantially. as set forth in. :ihe specificationl . " d3ut"the necessity ofso:limiting those claims, if they are to be sustained,.at NI, becomes the more evident when we look, beyond the patent, ftl:ld"regard theprioJ:. state of the art. As already noticed, Mr. Westii;lghouse's patent of July 1, 1884; .efficient means against of the gas into. the ground, and ,the consequent dangers. theretrQll}, bY'Burroundingthe. conducting main with a made in 4Qmpa.rtments,or chambers, "'each of· which: is furnished .w,iu" a "vent .or .escape: leading ther.efrom to a point above ground, 4t which (to quote th&llanguage of the specification) ".gasmay be diswithout injury,or inconvenience, into the atmosphere." True, I:LCh as; in .this sys{,em the .gas' is·' to be utilized· as part of tJ,le low;-preS$ure supply, .Mr. kept closed, t Py ,ft loaded, safety-va}ve, w hichwill open on;lyto apressnre beyond a .But it can scarcely be asserted, 'seriously, that htvolve:inventlon tQunload the valve,and. pet:mitthe free esc(l.p6ofthe gas :leakagelintothe atmosphere: if thili!, should bethought 111deed, the language Just cited frOID' the specification Bug;. ,very. idea.··· ·But··besidesthe priorpatentjustt:eNlrred,to',·let.. ters patent ,No.J80IhM6"lfor, all> invention, of means ,whereby,the partioular leakimg'll3ay be determined,and each joint independently :vepted,:were granteditoGeorge:Westinghouse; Jr;, on: 1884, ,/illieapplication for this·; patent was filed after ,. QnA ugust21; .1884 jbut:it is'an admitted fact ,that thi$, by Westinghouse preceded ,that of Verner. The,'declared object thereo{'is the ready· detection of thai existence, locatiQn,land ex,tentof leaks from a gas-main, to the end of preventing accidents. by explosions; and, 8.sset.forth. in the specification and claim of the patent,it in,the combination, with' an linder-ground gasmain,of bodies Of packing composed of loose fragments of solid material, such as broken stones,' small scrap metal, or the like, .surrounding tl1e severlujoints.of ,the main, and inclosed by the ground in which the main is laid,and:.a series ofdetector ,pipes,each leading from one of said bodies; of: packing to a: ,point above ground, so that; 'in the event of a of the main, the escaping gas :will permeate the in,ten,;tices of. the loose paeking, and pass therefrom up through the detector into ,the air..It is within comIDonknowledge that theeartht:is,tammed hard around.a gas-main in thetrenbh in which it is lil.idHlti4 as these bodies of packing are connected respectively with the attl:lQsph,ere by open pipes, there would be no pressure to cause the leak-
joints
WESTINGnOU8Jc fl. CHABTIERSVALi GAS CO.
ing gas to work ita way. through the ground, but it would pass up freely' through the. pipes into the open air. Now, with these two 'Westinghouse inventions already oCcupying the field, (even if they were tile only prior ones,) Verner was necessarily restricted to his specific mechanical construction; arid it was not open to him to Bet up any bl1oad' claims which woulderubarrass other independent improvers, and subject them.to tribute. Railway Co. v. Sayles,97 U. S. 554, 556. Moreover, what in.;" vention would be involved in reducing a compartment of the exterior casing of Mr. Westinghouse's first patent to a· size adapted to cover only a single joint of the main, .and substituting each casing for the surround.i ing boely of packing of his second patent? Edward S. Renwick, the plaintiffs' expert, states that the Westinghouse patent of October 14, 1884, "undoubtedly contliinsthe germ of the Verner invention." But: that patent is much more than this language imports.. It discloses a practical system for locating leaks at the joints of a gas-main, sDd for the safe and free escape of the leaking gas into the open air, by surroundjoint with an incasement with which a separate vent-pipe is connected. Upon this system a skilled mechanic or engineer might ingraft but they could 'scarcely rise to the plane of invention. At any rate-it may be safely affirmed that Verner's method of venting through an intermediate supplemental pipe-line, would not amount to apatentable imprp:vement. .' " . . .· But again, on :Jrebruary 17, 1885, letters patent No. 312,470, fordm-, provemelltsinsystems fOF distributing.gas under pressure, were granted to William A.Hoeveler and Thomas J. McTighenpon an application filedAl}gust 28, 1884; which was 22 days atter Ver!1er'sl1pplication\V88 filed. There is, ho\vever, satisfactory evidence to shbw that the inven-' tion of ;Illd McTighe was earlier in date thanVetner's invention. In their accompanyingdniwings they show anddeseribe' two separate .parallel pipes or conduits, one for the conveyance of gas under high, and .the other under low, pressure, these conduits being' conuected at intervals pipes having automatic pressure regulating, valves. In their specification the inventors state: . "We also inclose theji>ints of the Iligh-plessure conduit in cl1singsor'boxes which lire connected to the pipt's leading. to thelow-!,I'essnre "onduits, or directly to the hitter, w.!lereLJy any Ipakage of the joint is utilized all a 8ol,\rce of supply for the 10w-vressUl'e conduit." : .' And again : ..At PIlch of the high-pressure condnits, A. we place bOKes. I, which entirely surround sl1ld joints. and are packed car"fully 80 as to guard. as mucb IlS sible against Jeaking. and we connpct each of the hoxes by a.pipe, i, with,the escape' low-pressure CODd uit, U. to, as to lead off any. gas Which the joints .of the high-pressure pipe." . . " ., I . , , The patent has no claim for the box or casing, I, by: itself, but it, has a claim for.acombinatioll of which the easing, It is a constituent. "Furthermore, tbis ,patent shows a lamp-post connected to· the low-pressure: conduit pipe, to which is attached a weighted valve tOaUow' the gas to fl()w to the burner of.the lamP-P08t when the pressure illtbe.
588
FEDERAL REPORTER,
vol. 43.
low-pressure conduit passes a determined point. Certainly, then, we find in the Hoeveler and McTighe patent everything which appertains . to Verner's apparatus except express provision for the free escape of the leaking gas into the air when it is not to be utilized. Here is a tight chamber. surrounding a single joint of the high-pressure main to receive any leakage therefrom, with an open pipe from the chamber leading into a]ow.pressure conduit. ,Now, in the face of this prior invention, how is it possible to sustain Verner's far-reaching pretensions? In my judgll)ent,. it would not be patentable .change to disconnect Hoeveler and McTighe IS pipe, i, from the low-pressure conduit, and provide for the free escape of the gas from the box or casing, I, into the open air. . ,Once 'more, on Jam,lary 10, 1884, John Nicholson, Jr., filed in the an. application ,for for an improvement for gaspipe protection. In the specification accompanying this application, 3'.wi part thereof, the. invention is described as' consisting in combining with a gas conduit pipe an exterior pipe, box" case, or cover in W'.qichito,collectsuoh gas as may escape from the conduit pipe proper, sucbotltei'box, case, or,coverbeingptovided with extending up through the surface of the ground to carry off the escaping gas. After a' padicu,lar description of his structure, the specification contains the following "I do not limit myself to a construction in which the Quter pipe, box, or case ex:tends cuntinuously tbtough the entire length ola gas conduit pipe, since it will be ,within my.invention to apply this system or method of protect9Jl,ny,desired ijf.such pipe. wl)ether the same be long or short, chambefs,properly .vented to the separate joints of the gas or $,ince at ,the joint danger of -exists." Such i plloceedingswerehad in the patent-office' thatiln interference was declared between Nicholson and Verner, and others; on Decemher26,1885, as between Nicholson and Verner, judgment of priority of iuventionwas rendered in' favor of Nicholson, from which there was no appeaL But letters patent have not yet actually issued under Nicholson's application. ,·Theplaintiffs contend that the Nicholson application is inadmissible asevidehctt,. Isth-is a Bound position? That a rejected or withdrawn appli<lRtion is not a prior publication, within the Dleaning of the statute, nor of itself a bar to a patent to an independent inventor, is settled. Lyman V. R. OJ. v. Lalor, 12 Blatchf. 303; Fire Ex. Co. v. Phila.delphi'lFireEx. Co" 60. G. 34; The Oom-Plante1· Patent, 23 WaH.18I. But it. by no means follows that Nicholson's application is not to be received for anYipurpose. It has neither been withdrawn nor rejected. AbandOliment byhitil cannot be alleged. In the interferEmce proceeding he was awarded priority of invention over Verner.1'hathe was prior to , Verner-is under the proofs before the'oourt; The utility of the device in question is demonstrated. It wonld then be most eXtraordinary,Jf Nicholson's application could not be shown as affecting Vernerl& title: 'Ito, the monoplyhere set up against the defendant and the publie..ddhin.k the cases of Northwestern Fire 'Ex. Co.' v; Philadelphia Fire
and
WESTINGHOUSE V. CHARTIERS VAL. GAB 00.
589
Ex. Co.,tmpra, and The Cora-Planter Patent, 8upra, are direct authorities
to show that the Nicholson application is competent evidence as bearing on the question whether Verner was in fact the original and first inventor of the thing alleged to be within the first and second claims of his patent. And I have only to add that, in my opinion, Nicholson's application clearly described the identical mechanical construction or combi'nation here claimed to be covered by the Verner patent. But much stress is laid upon thefact thatVerner's inclosingchambers are made" gas-tight," and the plaintiffs' expert, Mr. Renwick, finds in this feature, which he assumes to be peculiar to Verner's construction, an essential distinction between his device and Nicholson's. As a matter offact the term "gas-tight" was' first brought into Verner's specification and claims by an amendment made June 23, 1886, when it was certainly too late to enlarge their scope, in view of what other improvers had been doing. Railway Co. v. Sayles, Bupra. But I do not deem this amendment as of any special importance, for it is to be supposed that it was the intention of Verner from the stInt to make hia cham ber sufficIently gas-tight to answer the purpose for which it was designed. And the same reasonable presumption is to be entertained in behalf of others who had devised protecting casings or boxes to catch the lE'aking gas. In Mr. Westing., Wuse's earlier patent, his enveloping or outer pipe is deScribed as "tight casing," commenting upon which Verner in his specification says: "The pressure in the pipe being conJparatively low, the ordinary joints,when properly made, will suffice to prevent the escape of gas therefrom." .For the same reason, and because of the open vent-pipe, even the earthen walls' of the incasements of Mr. Westinghouse's second patent are sufficient to hold the leaking gas. Hoeveler and McTighe describe their boxes or. casings which surround the syveral joints as " packed. carefully so as to gilard as much as possible against leaking." AndNicholson says that if the inclosure is made of wood it may" be. packed or luted at the joints." After all, the quality of tightness to restrain the leaking of gas Jrom the inclosing chamber is a mere matter of degree, and a variation in that regard would not amount to a patentable difference. . About the time of Verner's application for a patent, before and afterwards, a number of persons were engaged, simultaneously and independently of each other, in devising safely applianoos against leakage in pipes used in the then comparatively new business of conveying natural gas long distances. and the remarks of Judge BRADLEY, inAtlantic Wotk8 v. Brady, 107 U. S. 192, 199, 2 Sup. Ct. Rep. 225, apply with great . force to the present case: "The process of dllvelopment ·in manufactures [says that learned and experienced jurist] creates a constant demand for new appliances, which the skill of ordinary head workmen and engineers is generally adequate to devise, and which, indet'd, are the natural and proper outgrowth of such development. Each step forward prepares the way for the next, and each is usually taken by spontaneous trials and attempts in a hundred different places. 'ro grant to a single party a monopoly of every slight advance made, except where the pxel'cise of invention somewhat above ordinary mechanical or engineering
sJ[Dl: '<:fi',
,lsunjust'lnpJinciple andlnjurlou.s In Its " " "
OQDB. .
And· now, iib,only remains for me to 'as the result of my examina-, tion and study, 'of the proofs bearing upon the questions I have her& that, bwny judgment, the device used by the defendant company,doesnot . infr-inge either the first or second claim of the patent in suit, upon any construction of those claims which is permissible.; and I am further of the 'opinion that said claims are destitute of patentable novelty. end the case, and I am ·thus relieved of the necessity of considering some other questions which the counsel for the respl:''Ctivepmces, discussr.d with so much zeal,and with suc.bsignal ability. Letaldecree be drawn dismisSing the bill of complaint, with
costs.
.GmNNELL t1.
WALwoa'Q:
MANUJ"G
Co.' '
, (circUit Oourt, D. MallBChuletta. AUgu8t·ln,1890."· " ." , ',!. I ': ' " '
P.a....1ft'I 'i'O.,lmlfTlo1'l'..-..NoniIrT-ll'mll.E%Tl1fGl1JSIIBB. I
'. Let1oe1'll 827, 25. lI'rederiok Glinnen, fol''' bnprovemen't iil lI.utomaf.lo ....exthigut8hers. 18 void for want of novelt1. ilinet the aUI'.Ied 'Improvement merely con8ists in applying to an automatic ut.iJlpl.Ue:o · hall been lD Oil hand ;"
In EqiHt '. . ' ". . .' , ;,' ,BfIn)'amijlF.' ThurBthn WilnmrtAH. Thurston, .for complainant.
..
,';
,.
l .·'"
",
Jatna J. ,
jfym, {or defendant.
.1jiis,8uittsbrt>ught for the infringement of lettel'!lpatent 25, 1881, to the complainant, ap inautomatic fire-extinguishers. The specifieationSll)'s:' .' .' '.' '. " '
No.
pipes. which is retained by mt'Rns of'a seaf,!ecured by Ii solder made of a material fusible at a low temper-ature,ad ,tbatby the :*cticm of heat on the solder the seal is released and the pressure,of the water. The invention consists in secur'"ealeda by whieb. the wllter rushing ,I, distributed over alarJte area. as willbt" mor& fUlly Sl',t forth herl'lnafter. "D\strlblitprs f(lr automatic han tieen hl'retoforei provided'Wiih perforations 'through which the water is discharged. Such perforations are liable to become obstructed by sediment It the device, ,is (:oDS'.tltntly tilled with water., ,or they are:. as liable .to ,be obsUucted; more particularly 8.0, in factories wheretbe airis To avoid all these defects and the object of this invention. * * ., Having thus:pe&cribed'Qly,'invention.,I claim as Dewand desire to ,ecureby leUefa,plltent./lo.,anautl)matio,ijre·elttinguisher. the combination. with the outlet, Uliaiqefteot()l1,thceli' in front of, tbe.outlet.and constructed to dlspertle the watel,"9'Ver,ft audalleal. held bya Bolder fuaiWe at a low temperature, as deacrilJed. Of
an I'mproveml'nt hi devices for distrlbut.