Atlantic Giant Powder Co. v. Parker

2 F. Cas. 141, 16 Blatchf. 281, 4 Ban. & A. 292, 1879 U.S. App. LEXIS 1704
CourtU.S. Circuit Court for the District of Southern New York
DecidedMay 5, 1879
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 2 F. Cas. 141 (Atlantic Giant Powder Co. v. Parker) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Southern New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Atlantic Giant Powder Co. v. Parker, 2 F. Cas. 141, 16 Blatchf. 281, 4 Ban. & A. 292, 1879 U.S. App. LEXIS 1704 (circtsdny 1879).

Opinion

BLATCHFORD, Circuit Judge.

This is an application for a preliminary injunction founded on reissued letters patent No. 5,799, granted to the Giant Powder Company, March 17th, 1874, the original patent having been granted to Julius Bandmann, as assignee of Alfred Nobel, the inventor, as No. 78,317, May 26th, 1868, being the same reissue considered in the case of the same plaintiff against Jasper R. Rand and others, [Case No. 626,] derided herewith. The powder of the defendants in the present case is known as Neptune powder, and is composed of •56 parts of nitrate of soda, 14 parts of charcoal, and 30 parts of nitro-glycerine. It is the same powder which was lield by this court, in May, 1878, in the case of the same plaintiff against the Neptune Powder Company, to be an infringement of No. 5,799. Many views now urged in defence in this case have been considered at length and overruled in the decision in the case against Rand. Those views were, “to some extent, presented and passed upon in the case against the Neptune Powder Company, but no written decision was given in that case, [nowhere reported.] There are, however, some points taken in the present case which are not discussed in the decision in the Rand case, and those points are also urged as grounds for dissolving the injunction granted in the case against the Neptune Powder ■Company.

Stress is laid on the fact that a compound made of 30 per cent, of nitro-glycerine and 70 per cent, of infusorial earth, will not explode, while the defendants' compound will explode, although it has but 30 per cent, •of nitro-glycerine, and its gunpowder ingredients will not absorb a greater amount •of nitro-glycerine. But, it is a plain direction •of the patent, that an absorbent must be used which will absorb and retain sufficient nitro-glycerine to make the compound explodable by detonation, at the place of designed use. The less the absorbing and holding ■capacity of the absorbent, the less the explosive force of the nitro-glycerine absorbed, because the less the quantity of nitro-glycer-ine absorbed. There is nothing in the patent which admits of the use of an absorbent which will not, with the nitro-glycerine, make a compound explodable by detonation, ■or of the use, with an absorbent which will Absorb and hold sufficient nitro-glycerine to make a compound explodable by detonation, of an insufficient quantity of nitroglycerine for such purpose. It is, therefore, of no consequence that a particular proportion of nitro-glycerine with a particular absorbent will not make a compound explodable by detonation, such compound being outside of the patent.

On the question of novelty, a book published in Germany, in the German language, is introduced, called Dingler’s Polytechnic Journal, volume 171, 1864, page 443, cviii. The particular article is headed: “On Nobel’s blasting powder, improved by addition of nitro-glycerine. By B. Turly, mining engineer.” The translation of the text is as follows: “W. Nobel, an engineer of Stockholm, has taken out a patent in different countries for an improved blasting and shooting powder. His improvement consists in making the ordinary powder considerably stronger by an addition of nitro-glycerine. As is known, nitro-glycerine is a very clear oleaginous liquid, is ignited at about 170° C., without exploding, but burns slowly away with a crackling and snapping noise. If this oil is poured on a solid foundation and struck heavily with an iron hammer, it explodes with a violent detonation, but only on the spot where the hammer touches the liquid, while all the rest of the mass of oil remains unchanged, that is, unexploded. The combustion of the liquid follows without the development of any gas perceptible by the odor. From this relation this much appears, that this mass, in and of itself, is quite harmless, and requires a strong concussion or blow to make it partially explode; that its employment has, at least, no greater danger than that of common powder. But, in combination with common powder, nitro-glycer-ine developes a very considerable strength, and this new nitro-glycerine powder is at least three to five times stronger than ordinary powder or blasting powder. In the fortress of Carlborg, on the Wetten Lake, Mr. Nobel has made experiments with his powder in the presence of a commission. Bomb shells with ordinary and the improved powder were bursted, and the effect of the latter is said to have been five to seven times that of the ordinary powder. The experiments of blasting rocks, performed in my presence, have, however, in general, shown only a three times greater development of strength, but always the result that merits the greatest attention. Besides, it is not to be left out of the consideration, that a bore hole can only be quite generally compared with a grenade or bomb; that, while these missiles consist of homogeneous cast iron, in which the strength must show itself proportionally much greater—in a bore hole in a rock, in most cases, a certain part of the foroe is uselessly lost, so that, consequently the effect will be proportionally a smaller one than in the former case. Nevertheless, this new powder is an essential improvement [143]*143on the old, and, when it passes a wholesale test, of which there is no present reason to doubt, it will find the greatest recognition and most extended employment by the mining public. The blasting experiments were performed as follows: The powder employed is distinguished from the blasting powder here in use by being much finer and not round but oblong and angular. Mr. Nobel shows this powder for common Swedish cannon powder, which has the same price as the mining powder of Nora. The improved powder was used in cartridge shells of sheet zinc, 18 millimetres in width, and in length of from 75 to 100 and 200 milli-metres. These zinc shells, which are open at one end, are filled with the ordinary cannon powder, and, when the filling is completed, as much nitro-glycerine is poured upon it as can find room in the interstices of the powder. The powder, moistened with the oil, has a 40 per cent. (?) greater weight. After the cartridge is filled with powder and oil, it is tightly closed with a stopper of cork 20'millimetres long. It will be better to solder the cartridge. The charging of the hole is performed as follows: The bore hole, which, at its lower end, must have a width 4 to 6 millimetres greater than the thickness of the cartridge, is, of course, made dry. The cartridge is so inserted in it that the cork comes towards the bottom, that is, touching the solid rock. The space between the cartridge and the wall of the bore hole is now filled up with cannon powder, so that the latter surrounds the cartridge as completely as possible, (according to Mr. Nobel, the soldering should offer no difficulties—perhaps it suffices to pour sulphur on the cartridge—) being, also, 15 to 30 millimetres over the cartridge. This powder serves only for the ignition of the charge, for the bursting of the cartridge. The fuse is then stuck into the touch-hole, and the hole is not filled quite as usual, only care must be taken not to injure the cartridge with the tamper, on which account the first tamping is only made very loosely. If the hole is sufficiently wide, the fuse may be fastened to the cartridge with a piece of thread, and then it is not necessary to take so much igniting powder. It seems better, however, not to be sparing with the latter, in order to insure the explosion of the blast. On the explosion of the blast it is found that the detonation is a much weaker one than with common mining powder. A few examples of the effect of this powder will here be sufficient: 1.

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Bluebook (online)
2 F. Cas. 141, 16 Blatchf. 281, 4 Ban. & A. 292, 1879 U.S. App. LEXIS 1704, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/atlantic-giant-powder-co-v-parker-circtsdny-1879.