Omark Industries, Inc. v. United States

703 F. Supp. 85, 12 Ct. Int'l Trade 791, 12 C.I.T. 791, 1988 Ct. Intl. Trade LEXIS 250
CourtUnited States Court of International Trade
DecidedAugust 31, 1988
DocketCourt 84-11-01595, 83-01-00028
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 703 F. Supp. 85 (Omark Industries, Inc. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of International Trade primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Omark Industries, Inc. v. United States, 703 F. Supp. 85, 12 Ct. Int'l Trade 791, 12 C.I.T. 791, 1988 Ct. Intl. Trade LEXIS 250 (cit 1988).

Opinion

DiCARLO, Judge:

This case concerns the proper tariff classification of sprockets, drums and attached hubs, and associated parts for use in gasoline-powered chain saws. Omark Industries, Inc. (Omark) imported the merchandise from Canada and the United States Customs Service (Customs) classified it under item 681.21 of the Tariff Schedules of the United States (TSUS), as “chain sprockets, clutches, universal joints and parts thereof”. Omark protested Customs’ classification and asserted the merchandise is properly classifiable under item 674.70, TSUS, as a part of a “hand directed or controlled tool with a pneumatic or self-contained non-electric motor”.

The Court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S. C. § 1581(a) (1982). The Court finds the merchandise is properly classifiable under item 681.21, TSUS, and affirms Customs’ classification.

The Merchandise

The imported drum and adaptor assemblies are used in gasoline-powered chain saws. The imported parts include Part No. 14027, consisting of a clutch drum or cup having a splined hub or adaptor, which is about 1h inch in length. Omark’s advertisements refer to the drum as a “clutch drum,” and the hub or adaptor as a “splined hub.” The hub is affixed to the clutch drum by brazing. Part No. 22211 consists of the clutch drum and hub which has several castellations cut in the end for connection to an oil pump drive. Part No. 26831 consists of the clutch drum and hub, a rim sprocket for mounting on the splined hub, and a bearing which is press-fitted into the bore of the hub. A dust seal and washer are also included in Part No. 26831 but their classifications are not in issue.

Omark sells the imported merchandise to distributors or dealers, who in turn resell the merchandise as replacement parts to owners of chain saws, or sometimes to manufacturers of chain saws. The chain saw employs a centrifugal clutch consisting of a driving member and a driven member. The driving member, which is firmly attached to the output shaft of the chain saw’s engine (drive shaft), has shoes connected to a spring or other flexible means of • restraint. The driven member is the clutch drum and hub.

As the drive shaft of the chain saw turns, it causes the driving member to turn. When the driving member reaches a certain speed, the shoes move outwardly under centrifugal force created by the rotational speed of the member to engage the inside of the rim of the clutch drum. The drum and hub will then turn along with the driving member under the twisting force (torque) caused by this engagement. Conversely, when the rotational speed of the driving member is reduced, the tension of the springs overcomes the lessened centrifugal force to cause the shoes to move inwardly, break contact with the rim, and disengage the clutch.

The hub, a circular projection about lh inch in length, extends from the wall of the clutch drum. A bore hole extends through the center of the drum for the length of the hub. A plurality of ridges (splines) are spaced around the hub.

The rim sprocket is designed with a number of slots that are keyed to the spacing of the splines to allow the sprocket to be mounted on the hub. When the clutch drum is engaged, torque is transmitted from the drum to the hub, and then to the sprocket which drives the chain around a guide bar to give the saw its cutting action. Since the thickness of the sprocket is somewhat less than the length of the hub, there is a small amount of play between the sprocket and the drum wall so that the sprocket can slide a little in either direction along the axis of the hub. This helps align the sprocket with the guide bar.

The splined hub of the clutch drum of exhibit PX 2A has square indentations or castellations in its end which connect to an oil pump. When the clutch drum turns, the pump will supply oil to the chain for lubrication.

The bearing is press-fitted (or force-fitted) by an arbor press into the bore of the *87 hub of exhibit PX 3 and cannot be removed by hand. The bearing has an aperture at the center to permit the drive shaft to pass through. The principal function of the bearing is to allow relative motion between the drive shaft and the clutch drum. Thus, when the engine of the chain saw is idling, the clutch is disengaged and the drive shaft and driving member of the. clutch are rotating while the clutch drum and hub, sprocket and chain remain stationary. Without the relative motion afforded by the bearing, the engine would have to be stopped every time it is necessary to stop the chain. The bearing also provides spacing or radial alignment between the clutch drum and drive shaft, transmits forces resulting from the cutting action of the saw to the output shaft, and supports the clutch. The clutch could not operate safely in the absence of the bearing.

Exhibit PX 3 includes a rim sprocket as part of the imported merchandise. The sprocket, when mounted on the splined hub, drives the chain to produce the saw’s cutting action. The sprocket is not part of the clutch and has an identity of its own.

Discussion

Customs classified the imported merchandise under item 681.21, TSUS:

Gear boxes and other speed changers with fixed, multiple, or variable ratios; pulleys and shaft couplings; pillow blocks; flange, take-up, cartridge, and hanger units; torque converters; chain sprockets; clutches and universal joints; all the foregoing (except parts of agricultural or horticultural machinery and implements provided for in item 666.00 and parts of motor vehicles, aircraft, and bicycles) and parts thereof (con.):
681.21 Chain sprockets, clutches, universal joints, and parts thereof____

Omark contends the parts should be classified under item 674.70, TSUS:

Hand-directed or -controlled tools with pneumatic or self-contained non-electric motor, and parts thereof;
674.70 Other....

Customs’ classifications are presumed to be correct and the burden of proving otherwise is upon the party challenging the classification, although that party need not establish that its proposed classification is correct. The court must ascertain the correct classification, both independently and in comparison with the importer’s alternative. 28 U.S.C. § 2639(a)(1) (1982); Brookside Veneers, Ltd. v. United States, 847 F.2d 786, 787 (Fed.Cir.1988); Jarvis Clark Co. v. United States, 2 Fed.Cir. (T) 70, 73-75, 733 F.2d 873, 876-78 (1984).

To be considered a “part,” an article must be an integral, constituent, or component part, without which the article that it is joined to could not function as that article. United States v. John A. Steer Co., 46 CCPA 132, 134, C.A.D. 715 (1969). The Court finds the imported clutch drums or cups in exhibits PX 1A, PX 2A, and PX 3A to be parts of a centrifugal clutch for three reasons.

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Related

Abitibi Price Sales Corp. v. United States
13 Ct. Int'l Trade 787 (Court of International Trade, 1989)
Omark Industries v. The United States
878 F.2d 1447 (Federal Circuit, 1989)

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Bluebook (online)
703 F. Supp. 85, 12 Ct. Int'l Trade 791, 12 C.I.T. 791, 1988 Ct. Intl. Trade LEXIS 250, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/omark-industries-inc-v-united-states-cit-1988.