Felburn v. New York Central R. R.

225 F. Supp. 991, 140 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 126, 1964 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9053
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Ohio
DecidedJanuary 7, 1964
DocketCiv. A. No. 36021
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 225 F. Supp. 991 (Felburn v. New York Central R. R.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Felburn v. New York Central R. R., 225 F. Supp. 991, 140 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 126, 1964 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9053 (N.D. Ohio 1964).

Opinion

CONNELL, Chief Judge.

Findings of Fact

1. This is an action for infringement of two U. S. patents, Nos. 2,693,889 and 3,002,636, which were issued to and are owned by plaintiff, and which relate to freight handling equipment and methods. The Complaint charges infringement of both of the two patents in suit by the “Flexi-Van” freight handling system, in both its original and its modified “Mark III” versions, as used by defendant New York Central Railroad, employing equipment manufactured by defendant Frue-hauf Trailer Company.

2. The Answer denies infringement of both patents, and alleges .that both patents are invalid because the alleged inventions respectively covered thereby were not new and did not involve patentable invention.

3. The Fellabaum patent No. 2,693,-889, which was issued to plaintiff prior to his change of name from Fellabaum to Felburn, relates to a semi-trailer and tractor assembly the trailer portion of [993]*993which may be spotted for loading, unloading or repairs, independently of the tractor and the wheel assembly or bogie, thereby freeing the tractor and bogie for other uses.

The rear end of the trailer is provided with a depending cam surface which is engageable with a bumper block at the edge of a load carrying platform of a vertical height slightly above that of the trailer, so that the tractor may back the trailer against the bumper block to cam the rear portion of the trailer up onto the bumper block and remove its weight from the bogie. The undersurface of the trailer is provided with tracks extending the full length of the trailer to permit longitudinal sliding movement of the bogie. A hitch or draft means connects the front end of the bogie to the rear end of the tractor so that after the rear end of the trailer has been backed onto the bumper block, the tractor may be driven away, pulling the bogie along the tracks at the undersurface of the trailer and out from under the front end of the trailer. Removable jacks are provided to support the front end of the trailer after removal of the tractor and bogie, these jacks being spaced at the outer sides of the trailer to permit the bogie to be withdrawn between them.

Only one of the four claims of the patent, Claim 3, is here in suit. It is asserted against both the original “Flexi-Van” and the Mark III Systems.

4. The Felburn patent No. 3,002,636 relates to a method of transferring the trailer bed of a semi-trailer and tractor assembly having a detachable wheel assembly or bogie to a railway “flat car” by the successive steps of: backing the trailer bed by means of the tractor in a direction generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the flat ear to a position wherein the rear end of the bogie engages the side of the flat car; removing the locking pins in the tow bars to permit telescoping of the tow bars; backing the tractor to push the trailer smoothly over the bogie and onto the floor of the flat car to the point where a V-shaped slot at the bottom of the trailer is engaged with a kingpin projecting upwardly from the flat car to form a pivot for rotation of the trailer on the flat car; attaching a separate towing and lifting vehicle to the front of the trailer to relieve the weight of the trailer from the tractor and bogie and support the trailer solely upon the flat car and the towing vehicle; and swinging the trailer by the towing vehicle to a position wherein the trailer is aligned with the flat car.

Of the fifteen claims of the ’636 patent, three (Claims 11, 14 and 15) are charged to be infringed by the original Flexi-Van system, and seven (Claims 1, 3, 4, 11, 12, 14 and 15) are asserted against the Mark III system.

5. The original Flexi-Van system employs a specially built railroad car having a rotatable turntable which is raised and lowered by means of a hydraulic jack. The frame of the railroad ear consists of a single, relatively narrow girder, the ends of which rest upon the wheel trucks of the car and the central portion of which is recessed to receive the turntable. The bogie is slidable on rails extending lengthwise of the undersurface of rear portion only of the trailer. The turntable is provided at its upper surface with a pair of skids which are also adapted for sliding engagement with the rails on the trailer.

To load the trailer onto the railroad car, the turntable is rotated to orient the skids transversely of the car. The trailer is then backed by the tractor transversely of the railroad car to a point opposite the ends of the skids on the turntable. Then the bogie is unlocked from the trailer and the tractor is backed to push the trailer smoothly from the bogie onto the skids of the turntable to a position wherein the trailer is centered lengthwise on the turntable. Thereupon the tractor is disconnected from the trailer, and the turntable is raised by the hydraulic jack to lift the trailer off of the bogie. The turntable is then rotated by hand to align the trailer with the railroad car, whereupon the hydraulic jack is again actuated to lower the trailer to a [994]*994point where its two ends are supported •on the railroad car and the depending kingpin at the front end of the trailer is lowered into a recess on the railroad car to lock the trailer against rotation.

After the trailer has been lifted off the bogie and rotated parallel to the railroad car, the bogie may then be connected to the tractor and hauled away for other use. This is accomplished by a removable towbar which is temporarily attached to the bogie during the towing operation, and which is provided at its forwardly projecting end with a cam surface which is engaged by the tractor as the tractor is backed up toward the bogie, thereby raising the front wheels of the bogie off the ground to permit turning of the bogie without scrubbing of the tires.

6. In the Flexi-Van Mark III system, the railroad car is generally similar to that used in the original Flexi-Van, except that no hydraulic jack is provided for raising and lowering the turntable. Instead, the outer ends of the skids on the turntable are provided with inclined surfaces which engage the rear end of the trailer as it is backed onto the turntable by a special “Commando” tractor to cam the trailer up off of the bogie. The trailer is not backed to a balanced position on the turntable, as in the original Flexi-Van, but only to the point where its rear end is supported on the turntable. During this operation, the fifth wheel of the tractor is raised by a built-in hydraulic jack to lift the front end of the trailer up to the same height as its rear end. A transversely extending nose wheel mounted for vertical movement at the front end of the tractor is then lowered into contact with the ground, raising the regular front wheels of the tractor off the ground. This nose wheel is rotated to swing the front end of the tractor in a circular arc around to a position where the tractor is perpendicular to the front end of the trailer. Then the nose wheel is raised out of engagement with the ground, lowering the front wheels of the tractor again to the ground, and the tractor is backed to swing the front end of the trailer around to a position adjacent the railroad car. At that point, a special hydraulic ram on the tractor pushes the front end of the trailer the remaining short distance to the point where the trailer is parallel to the railroad car.

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Bluebook (online)
225 F. Supp. 991, 140 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 126, 1964 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9053, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/felburn-v-new-york-central-r-r-ohnd-1964.