Independent Electric Co. v. Jeffrey Manuf'g Co.

76 F. 981, 1896 U.S. App. LEXIS 2928
CourtU.S. Circuit Court for the District of Southern Ohio
DecidedOctober 29, 1896
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 76 F. 981 (Independent Electric Co. v. Jeffrey Manuf'g Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Southern Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Independent Electric Co. v. Jeffrey Manuf'g Co., 76 F. 981, 1896 U.S. App. LEXIS 2928 (circtsdoh 1896).

Opinion

SAGE, District Judge.

This suit is for infringement of patent No. 432,754, granted July 22,1890, — application filed March 31,1890, — for mining machine to F. M. Lechner, assignor to the Electric Mining Machine Company of Columbus, Ohio, under which company by mesne assignments, complainant claims title. It describes a single chain cutter breast machine mounted on a traveling frame, which in operation is moved outwardly from the main or bed frame, and, as it is advanced, an endless belt cutter makes an incision, or kerf, extending into the vein or seam of coal to the desired distance. To hold the traveling frame against lateral movement in the operation of the cutting device, when the frame has been moved outwardly from the main frame, the specification sets forth that an additional or auxiliary cutter is provided, which is adapted to cut a channel immediately above the incision or kerf made by the endless belt cutter, and furnish on the traveling frame a holding projection, adapted to'engage in said channel as the frame is advanced, and thus prevent any side or lateral movement of the traveling frame. This is preferably accomplished by placing, immediately above and slightly back of the line or cut of the endless belt cutter, a cutter or chisel, having a bearing near its outer end in a bearing box, through which it is adapted to reciprocate, — the bearing box being-preferably formed rectangular in cross section, and of a size substantially equal to or slightly less than that of the reciprocating cutter, — to which a reciprocating motion is given by means of a connecting rod, which extends backwardly through a supporting stand, and is connected to an eccentric on the vertical shaft on the traveling frame. As the vertical shaft revolves to impart motion to the endless chain cutter, a reciprocating motion' is imparted to the reciprocating cutter through the medium of the eccentric. This cutter, operating against the seam or vein immediately above the kerf or incision formed by the endless belt cutter, produces a channel substantially rectangular [983]*983in shape, and opening into the kerf or incision, into which the projecting bearing enters as the traveling frame is advanced, thus holding the traveling frame firmly against lateral movement in the direction opposite to the thrust of the endless chain cutters as they are advanced into the coal. Then follow descriptions of methods of adjustment, and of connections and fastenings, which, being matters of detail, may be omitted, as unnecessary to the discussion of the questions involved in this case. In a. subsequent paragraph of the specification the inventor says:

“By the use of the supplemental cutter and the holding projection, adapted to follow in a channel made by said cutter, I am enabled to produce a machine in which a single endless cutting belt is adapted to perform all the operation of cutting.”

Complainant’s title to the patent is denied, upon the ground that it is within the terms of a contract made by F. M. Lechner, the inventor, on the 21st of October, 1876, with the defendants Francis 0. Sessions and Joseph A. Jeffrey, whereby he transferred to them 13/24 of his patent, No. 172,637, dated January 25, 1876, for an improvement in mining machines, and 1V24 of any a.nd all improvements which he might thereafter make, acquire, or invent, and patent, in “connection and in any way appertaining to the aforesaid improvement in mining machines.” By contract dated July 24, 1877, he assigned, transferred, and set over to the Lechner Mining Machine Company t70/iao of all his right, title, and interest in and to the same patented invention (which left to him r,0A>¡o), and in and to any further improvement (hat he might make or acquire. Each of these assignments was duly recorded in the patent office at Washington. The name "of the Lechner Mining Machine Company was subsequently changed to Jeffrey Manufacturing Company, one of the defendants herein. It appears, therefore, that whatever title either of these instruments conveyed is the property of one or the other of the defendants in this case.

The machine of patent No. 172,687 was a cutter-bar machine, by which the kerf or drift in the vein of coal was made by means of a horizontal cutter shaft, preferably square, — except where rounded to form bearings to turn in the metallic shoes, — and armed with cutting- teeth, the shanks of which were adjustably secured in the shaft by means of set screws. These teeth were of such width, upon their cutting edges, that, as the shaft revolved, and was advanced, there were but thin walls of coal left between them. To break these down in front of the bearings of the shaft, each shoe was armed at its lower side with a sharp, projecting, cutting spur. Tn operation, a rotary motion was imparted to the cutting teeth as they were forced directly forward into the coal. That machine had no cutting chains, had no lateral tendency, and needed no holding device to prevent lateral motion. In each of these respects it was radically different: from complainant’s machine, which is an entirely distinct machine, and not merely an improvement on (he machine covered by patent No. 172,637. To hold that the assignments in question would pass all of Lechner’s future mining machine patents would, as counsel for complainant suggests, “be equivalent to hold[984]*984ing that these two assignments constituted, in fact, a mortgage on Lechner’s brain, to bind all Ms future products, which is exactly the thing objected to by the court in Manufacturing Co. v. Gill, 32 Fed. 697.” In that case Justice Bradley made it clear that, under the rule in Littlefield v. Perry, 21 Wall. 226, only improvements on the particular machine secured by the patent would pass by an assignment of a patent with future Improvements. This rule is in accord with the acts of Lechner and Joseph A. Jeffrey, defendant, one of the assignees under the first assignment and president of the defendant company. From Jeffrey’s testimony it appears that he knew, as early as 1882, and from then until the date of his testimony, that Lechner was engaged in mining machines other than cutter-bar machines. In 1892 Lechner came to him, and described to him his chain machine, and he (Jeffrey), after considering the matter some little time, agreed, if his machine should prove successful, and better than any machine on the market, to manufacture it, and pay Lechner a royalty, provided the machine was free from infringing existing patents or inventions.

The patent in suit, as has already been stated, was issued to the Lechner Electric Machine Mining Company as the assignee of Lechner. Mr. Slade, the president of that company, acting in his official capacity, notified the defendants that his company would sue them for infringement if they manufactured the chain machines covered by the patent, as they were contemplating under their verbal arrangement with Lechner. The defendants claimed no interest in the invention, nor did they give Slade any notice thereof. The Lechner Electric Mining Machine Company failed. The patent was assigned to Dyer, and sold by him, as assignee, to Slade, for a valuable consideration, without notice of any claim on the part of the defendants, and he sold it to the complainant for a valuable consideration. It would seem that, under such circumstances, the defendants should be estopped from setting »up, as against the complainant, any claim of title to said letters patent by application of the rule that, if one was silent when it was his duty to speak, he shall not be permitted to speak when he should be silent. Pickard v. Sears, 6 Adol. & E. 469.

Defendants also produced in evidence a transcript of the proceedings in Brisbin v.

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Bluebook (online)
76 F. 981, 1896 U.S. App. LEXIS 2928, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/independent-electric-co-v-jeffrey-manufg-co-circtsdoh-1896.