Rosen v. Kahlenberg

337 F. Supp. 1075, 171 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 386, 1971 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12099
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedAugust 10, 1971
Docket66-441 Civ. T
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 337 F. Supp. 1075 (Rosen v. Kahlenberg) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rosen v. Kahlenberg, 337 F. Supp. 1075, 171 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 386, 1971 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12099 (M.D. Fla. 1971).

Opinion

On Trial as to Liability

KRENTZMAN, District Judge.

FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

General Findings of Fact

1. Plaintiff, Sidney Rosen, is a resident of the State of Maryland.

2. Defendant, James F. Kahlenberg, is a resident of the State of Florida, and does business in the State of Florida as Kahlenberg-Globe Equipment Company.

3. Plaintiff is the owner of United States Patent 2,907,614.

Findings of Fact with Respect to Validity.

5. United States Patent, 2,907,614, contains one claim, which is set forth in Column 4 of the patent. The claim pertains to a pump assembly wherein a piston reciprocates within a cylinder.

*1077 6. The patented pump is characterized in the claim as follows:

“A pump assembly in which a piston is adapted to reciprocate within a cylinder for pumping fluids comprising, a cylinder, means at one end of the cylinder through which the fluid is received and discharged, the other end of the cylinder having an opening for slidably receiving a piston rod which extends partly within and without the cylinder, said piston rod comprising an inner rod member and an outer sleeve member, the inner rod member having fixed to its end within the cylinder the innermost end of a piston, the opposite end of the piston comprising a bushing having a central aperture slidably receivable over the inner piston rod member, each piston end being slightly less in diameter than the inner diameter of the cylinder, a shoulder fixed inwardly from the fixed innermost end of the piston and about the end of the inner piston rod adjacent the fixed end of the piston and of larger diameter than the piston rod for receiving a plurality of elastic compression rings in which at least the center rings are of V cross-sectional form with flat side surfaces, the rings being of such width as to fill the space between the shoulder and the inner surface of the wall of the piston, the bushing end of the piston having a recess in its surface adjacent the shoulder for receiving a portion of the shoulder adjacent thereto to allow the bushing to be moved inwardly over the shoulder for a pre-determined distance against the compression rings without interference from the shoulder, the sleeve member of the piston rod telescoping the inner rod member from the slidable bushing end of the piston to a point without the piston adjacent the outer end of the inner rod member having its end within the cylinder abutting the surface of the bushing end of the piston about the aperture and opposite the compression rings, the outer end of the inner piston rod member beyond the opening in the cylinder being provided with an external thread and the outer end of the sleeve piston rod member beyond the opening in the cylinder being provided with an internal thread for threadably receiving the threaded end of the inner rod member for fixing the threaded end of the inner rod member for fixing the two piston rod members relative to each other and means for locking the two piston rod members in adjusted position, whereby adjusting the sleeve member relatively to the inner member of the sleeve member moves the bushing end of the piston relative to the fixed end of the piston for regulating the pressure on the compression rings and means on the outer end of the inner piston rod member for connecting the same to a crank mechanism.”

7. A main advantage of the patented pump is that the structure described above provides the ability to adjust the internal seal of the pumps for wear or temperature gradients from the exterior of the pump without interference with the amount delivered per stroke. The seal is effected by rings in the piston head which are of a Teflon material. Teflon is a desirable material from a wearability standpoint, but has the disadvantage of having a coefficient of thermal expansion which is different than that of metal. Previously this caused leaks or sealing problems when Teflon material was employed. The structure of the pump permits adjustment of the seal because of temperature gradients without interference with the range of displacement of the structure or the distance between the roof of the cylinder and the top of the piston so that the delivered volume per stroke of the pump remains the same. Such adjustments do not interfere with batch sterility because removal of the piston assembly is not required.

8. The advantages of the structure of the patented pump were rapidly recognized. Soon after manufacture of the pump- was commenced, demand for filling machines using the new pump was *1078 such that plaintiff’s licensee, National Instrument Company, soon established a factory and sales have expanded progressively.

9. Defendant, James F. Kahlenberg, an attorney and an engineer, also recognized the advantages of the patented pump. Until he began manufacture of the accused device, defendant had been a substantial purchaser of plaintiff’s pump.

10. While the application for the patent in suit was pending in the United States Patent Office, the Examiner cited and considered the following United States patents:

United States Patent 2,807,213
United States Patent 1,474,201
United States Patent 1,744,565
United States Patent 1,806,078
United States Patent 2,420,929
United States Patent 2,600,061
United States Patent 2,757,994

These prior art patents were the subject of considerable testimony at the trial. These patents fall into two classes: First, pumps wherein an external adjustment is provided to vary the sealing surfaces of a piston head within the cylinder; and, second, the provision of a stack of rings which are adapted to be expanded for effecting a seal. Whether considered separately or collectively, these patents fail to anticipate or render obvious a structure such as the patented pump, which confirms the previous determination by the Patent Office.

11. The primary reference upon which the defendants based their case is a patent issued in 1916 for a syringe, United States Patent 1,222,424. United States Patent 1,222,424 is totally different in structure and in contemplated use from that of the continuously operating pump of the patent in suit. It is for use in one-shot injections, as opposed to a continuous high speed filling operation. United States Patent 1,222,424 specifies a piston head of soft rubbery material so that it can be pressed together. United States Patent 1,222,424 does not disclose a plurality of rings with vertically oriented, V-shaped mating surfaces, which nest within one another and permit circumferential expansion. Rather, the single piece plug is provided with horizontally oriented, A-shaped circumferential apexes which are spaced from one another.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
337 F. Supp. 1075, 171 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 386, 1971 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12099, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rosen-v-kahlenberg-flmd-1971.