Perfection Cooler Co. v. Cordley

199 F. 440, 1912 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1201
CourtDistrict Court, D. Massachusetts
DecidedAugust 19, 1912
DocketNo. 83
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 199 F. 440 (Perfection Cooler Co. v. Cordley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Massachusetts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Perfection Cooler Co. v. Cordley, 199 F. 440, 1912 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1201 (D. Mass. 1912).

Opinion

COLT, Circuit Judge.

This is a suit for infringement of two patents granted to Isaiah Newell for improvements in water-coolers. The first patent, No. 895,781, was applied for July 22, 1902, [441]*441and issued August-11, 1908. The second patent, No. 895,782, was applied for September 26, 1903, and issued August 11, 1908.

The first patent is for a new type of water-cooler, and the second patent is for an improved form of this type.

The delay in the issuance of these patents was caused by interference proceedings, in which priority of invention was awarded to Newell. Rose v. Clifford, 31 App. D. C. 195, 197 (1903).

In the opinion in these interference proceedings, the Court of Appeals thus defines the invention:

“'The invention here in issue relates to an improvement on wafer-coolers, having a receptacle for water within a chamber for ice, so arranged that ¡lie receptacle containing the water is surrounded with ice. The water is drawn from the receptacle by means of a pipe, to which a faucet is attached. The receptacle is supplied with water from a bottle filled with water, and inverted so that the mouth of the bottle extends through a funnel, in which the inverted bottle rests, into the receptacle. The water passes from the bottle into the receptaré until it rises to a level with the mouth of the bottle, when the liquid seals the mouth of the bottle. When water is drawn from the faucet, the water is lowered in the receptacle until the air is permitted to enter the mouth of the bottle, when the water again Hows into the receptacle and so continues until it rises to the mouth of the bottle and seals It.”

In Cole v. Cordley, 167 Ned. 542, 93 C. C. A. 220, the Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in referring to the water-cooler described in the first Newell patent, speaks of it as “Newell’s fundamental invention,” and it describes the Newell type of cooler as one in which a large glass bottle containing pure, potable water is inverted upon a receptacle containing ice, which surrounds a conduit for the water located in the receptacle. In this way the water is kept cool, and may be drawn off by a faucet, in which the conduit terminates, at the bottom of the receptacle. In short, the water, after being cooled, is delivered to the drinker direct from the bottle.

There is no doubt upon this record that Newell invented a new type of water-cooler, which has met a public want, and which has gone into extensive use.

While the problem which Newell undertook to solve was a comparatively simple one, the evidence shows that he only attained success after repeated efforts; and it further appears that, although the Newell structure described in his first patent is a simple one, a number of patents have been issued for improvements or modifications of that structure; the first of these improvements being embodied in the second Newell patent in suit.

In his first patent, No. 895,781, Newell describes his invention as follows:

"My invention relates to improvements in water-coolers, and pertains to a construction which is adapted for users of mineral and distilled waters, whereby the same can be used directly in the cooler from the original package, bottle, or demijohn; the construction being simple for enabling the bottle to be placed in position or removed, and for the purpose of inserting ice within the cooler.
“By the use of my invention, the users of mineral and distilled waters are enabled to use the water directly from the original package, and thus absolutely prevent any contamination of the water by coming in contact [442]*442with the’ ice, or becoming contaminated by disease germs in any manner whatsoever, which insures the user that he is receiving the mineral or distilled water in its original pure condition, and at a proper cool temperature for pleasant drinking.”

The following drawing from the patent illustrates the Newell structure:

In describing this structure the specification says:

“Referring to the drawings, 1 is the main or body portion of the cooler, and in which the ice is placed. Located within the body portion is a water receiver, which extends upward to near the top thereof, and, as here shown, consists of either a diaphragm 2 as illustrated in Fig. 1, or a coil of pipe 3. As here shown, the pipe 8 extends upward to near the top of the body portion 1, and communicates with a receptacle 12. The water from the original package, bottle, demijohn, or other vessel 4, passes therefrom to the receptacle 12, thence through the pipe 8 and to the coil or diaphragm, at the bottom of the body portion 1.
“In the two forms of construction here shown for carrying out the invention, the cooled water is dispensed from either the coil pipe form 3, or the diaphragm form 2, through a pipe 5 which extends through the body portion 1 of the cooler, and carries a suitable faucet 6 at its outer end. The upper end of the pipe 8 is suitably supported at the inner side of the body portion, and is provided with a conically shaped opening 9, constituted of block tin, which may or may not have an inner rubber lining.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Perfection Cooler Co. v. Cordley
207 F. 769 (D. Massachusetts, 1913)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
199 F. 440, 1912 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1201, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/perfection-cooler-co-v-cordley-mad-1912.