Claim 1 of letters patent No. 140,250 granted to James D.
Cusenbary and James A. Mars, June 24, 1873, for an "improvement in
ore stamp feeders," namely, "The feeding cylinder I, mounted upon
the movable timber H H, substantially as and for the purpose above
described," is a claim only for making the timbers movable by
mounting them upon rollers, and does not involve a patentable
invention.
The defense of nonpatentability can be availed of without
setting it up in an answer.
There is no patentable combination, but merely an aggregation of
the rollers and the feeding cylinder.
The specification requires the feeding cylinder to have chambers
or depressions, and claim 1 does not cover a cylinder with a smooth
surface not formed into chambers.
This is a suit in equity, brought by Joshua Hendy against the
Golden State and Miners' Iron-Works, a corporation, and six
individual defendants, in the Circuit Court of the United States
for the District of California, for the infringement of
Page 127 U. S. 371
letters patent No. 140,250, granted June 24, 1873, to James D.
Cusenbary and James A. Mars, for an "improvement in ore stamp
feeders." The specification, claims, and drawings of the patent are
as follows:
"Our invention relates to improvements in that class of ore
feeders for quartz mills in which a pawl and ratchet are employed
to operate the feeder automatically by the drop of the stamp. Our
improvements consist first in mounting a feed cylinder upon a
movable frame or truck, so that it can be readily shifted from
place to place when it is desired to repair the mill, and lastly of
an improved arrangement for operating the pawl rod by the drop of
the stamp without the use of springs. In order to more fully
illustrate and explain our invention, reference is had to the
accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in
which Fig. 1 is a vertical section; Fig. 2 is a back view; Fig. 3
is a transverse section. A represents the frame of a stamp mill; B
is the stamp; C is the stamp stem, with its tappet D; F is the cam
shaft, and G the cam which lifts the stamp, all of which are
arranged in the ordinary manner of constructing a stamp battery. H
H, are the foundation timbers upon which the feeding cylinder is
mounted. These timbers are mounted upon rollers, so that the
cylinder and frame can be moved about as desired. The cylinder I is
made of cast metal, and has its outer surface formed into chambers
or depressions J J, which are separated from each other by
longitudinal partitions K. The cylinder and its carriage, when in
working position, are placed below the hopper L so that the ore
from the hopper will fall into the chambers upon an inclined apron
M, which directs it beneath the stamp. This feeding cylinder, being
made of cast metal, will not wear out like the endless belts
heretofore used in this class of machines, and, as it turns upon
journals, like any common roller or cylinder, it cannot become
clogged, as the endless belt is liable to do. To one end of the
cylinder a ratchet wheel, N, is secured, and this ratchet wheel is
operated by a pawl bar C to revolve the cylinder. In order to
operate the pawl bar from the tappet, a horizontal shaft
p
has its opposite ends supported in boxes, which are secured to
the
Page 127 U. S. 372
sides of the upright timbers of the frame, so that the shaft
will pass across directly in front of the tappet, transversely to
the movement of the stamp stem. A fixed arm
q extends
backwards from the shaft
p so that its extremity will
terminate below the tappet, in position to receive a blow from it
when the stamp falls. Another fixed arm
r extends forward
from the shaft directly over the ratchet wheel, and to the
extremity of this arm the upper end of the pawl bar
o is
attached by means of a trunnion block
t. This bar extends
down to the middle of the periphery of the ratchet wheel, and has
one or more upward projecting teeth on its lower end which serve to
engage with the teeth of the ratchet when the pawl is lifted by the
rock shaft, and thus rotate the feeding cylinder. It will therefore
be evident that at each drop of the stamp, the tappet will strike
the arm
q and carry it downward, thus giving the shaft
p a rocking motion; the weight of the pawl and its arm
r serving to rotate the shaft in an opposite direction,
thus feeding the ore automatically when it is needed. When there is
a sufficient quantity of ore beneath the stamp, the drop will not
be sufficient to operate the cylinder, but when the quantity of ore
beneath the stamp is reduced, the drop is greater, and consequently
the tappet strikes the arm
q and operates the
cylinder."
"Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire
to secure by letters patent is"
"1. The feeding cylinder I, mounted upon the movable timbers H
H, substantially as and for the purpose above described."
"2. The rock shaft
p with its fixed arms
q r,
in combination with the pawl bar
o, ratchet wheel N, and
feeding cylinder I, when arranged to be operated by the tappet D,
substantially as and for the purpose described. "
Page 127 U. S. 373
image:a
Page 127 U. S. 374
The answer denies infringement and sets up two patents on the
question of novelty, and denies the utility of the invention. After
replication, proofs were taken on both sides, and the circuit
court, on a hearing, dismissed the bill.
MR. JUSTICE BLATCHFORD, after stating the case, delivered the
opinion of the Court.
Infringement is alleged of only the first claim, namely: "The
feeding cylinder, I, mounted upon the movable timbers H H,
substantially as and for the purpose above described." The
specification states in regard to the subject of the first claim
that the improvement consists "in mounting a feed cylinder upon a
movable frame or truck so that it can be readily shifted from place
to place when it is desired to repair the mill." The specification
speaks of the timbers H H as being the foundation timbers upon
which the feeding cylinder is mounted, and it says that those
timbers "are mounted upon rollers, so that the cylinder and frame
can be moved about as desired." Therefore "the movable timbers H H"
of the claim are timbers made movable by being mounted upon
rollers. The specification also states that
"the cylinder I is made of cast metal, and has its outer surface
formed into chambers or depressions J J, which are separated from
each other by longitudinal partitions K."
It is contended in defense that claim 1 of the patent is really
a claim only for making the timbers movable by mounting them upon
rollers, so as to be able to move the cylinder and frame about as
desired, and that this required no exercise of any inventive
faculty. This seems to be the purport of the invention, as stated
in the specification. It is the movable character of the frame on
which the feed cylinder is mounted so that the cylinder and frame
may be readily shifted from place to place when repairs are desired
that is designated as
Page 127 U. S. 375
the invention. When the mill is in operation, the movable
feature is not brought into play. It is only when the mill is out
of operation that the movable feature is to be used. The first
claim does not appear to cover the functions or operation of the
feeding cylinder I as a part of the mill when in operation, and,
interpreting it by its own language as well as by that of the
description in the specification, it covers only the mounting upon
rollers of the timbers which carry the feeding cylinder. Merely
putting rollers under an article so as to make it movable when
without the rollers it would not be movable does not involve the
inventive faculty, and is not patentable.
Atlantic Works v.
Brady, 107 U. S. 192,
107 U. S. 200;
Thompson v. Boisselier, 114 U. S. 1,
114 U. S. 12, and
cases there cited;
Yale Lock Mfg. Co. v. Greenleaf,
117 U. S. 554,
117 U. S. 559;
Pomace Holder Co. v. Ferguson, 119 U.
S. 335,
119 U. S. 338,
and cases there cited.
This defense is one which can be availed of without setting it
up in an answer.
Dunbar v. Myers, 94 U. S.
187;
Slawson v. Grand Street Railroad Co.,
107 U. S. 649;
Mahn v. Harwood, 112 U. S. 354,
112 U. S.
358.
Moreover, there is no patentable combination between the rollers
which make the timbers movable and the feeding cylinder I mounted
upon the timbers. The union of parts is merely an aggregation. The
feeding cylinder, mounted upon timbers which have rollers, operates
no differently from what it does when mounted upon timbers which
have no rollers.
Hailes v. Van
Wormer, 20 Wall. 353,
87 U. S. 368;
Reckendorfer v. Faber, 92 U. S. 347,
92 U. S. 357;
Pickering v. McCullough, 104 U. S. 310,
104 U. S. 318;
Bussey Excelsior Mfg. Co., 110 U.
S. 131,
110 U. S. 146.
There is nothing patentable in the aggregation.
The defendants' machine has a smooth cylinder, and not a
cylinder with chambers or depressions. The specification of the
patent describes the cylinder I as having its outer surface formed
into chambers or depressions, separated from each other by
longitudinal partitions. The cylinder of claim 1 is "the feeding
cylinder I," and, to be such cylinder, must be a cylinder
substantially as described, and it is described specifically as
having chambers or depressions. The claim cannot
Page 127 U. S. 376
be construed to cover a cylinder with a smooth surface not
formed into chambers.
Fay v. Cordesman, 109 U.
S. 408,
109 U. S.
420-421;
Sargent v. Hall Safe & Lock Co.,
114 U. S. 63,
114 U. S. 86;
Shepard v. Carrigan, 116 U. S. 593,
116 U. S.
597-598;
White v. Dunbar, 119 U. S.
47,
119 U. S. 51-52;
Crawford v. Heysinger, 123 U. S. 589,
123 U. S.
606-607.
The decree of the circuit court is affirmed.