4 F. 635 | U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Southern New York | 1880
This suit is brought on two patents. One of them is a re-issue, No. 2,386, granted to the plaintiff, October 80, 1866, for an improvement in bottle stoppers, the original patent having been granted to Albert Albertson, as
The specification then describes two ways of supporting the-spring at its bottom. One is to enlarge the mouth or neck of the bottle from the bottom of the spring upward so as to form an edge or shoulder sufficient to support the spring. The other is not to enlarge the neck, but to clasp over the top
The first two claims of the patent are as follows: “First, a stopper which is inserted through the mouth of the bottle, or other vessel, and which, when inserted, is closed perfectly tight- against a seat found within the bottle itself by pressure in an upward direction; second, a prolongation of such stopper by means of a central stem, rod, or other extension of the stopper iff an outward direction, beyond the seat of the valve, for the purpose of affording facility for opening the stopper, or that of receiving the upward pressure of a spring, or other means of drawing the valve to its seat, substantially as herein specified.”
The stopper and bottle used by the defendants is that shown in “Codd No. 2.” It is not proved that they used any other. In the defendants’ arrangement, the stopper is a sphere of glass in a receptacle at the base of the neck of the bottle,
It is alleged that the first and second claims of this patent are infringed by Codd No. 2. As the sphere in the bottle cannot pass out through the mouth, and as it is not inserted through the mouth of the finished bottle, it is put in before the bottle is finished. The bottle is made with the receptacle and the neck, and then the sphere is put in through the neck, and then a ring of melted glass is put on the outer end of the neck to form the finished mouth. The first claim of the re-issue does not contain the words “substantially as specified,” but it must be construed as if those words were in it. Every claim of a patent has reference to the descriptive part of the specification. In the plaintiff’s bottle, the stopper can pass in through'the smallest part of the mouth of the finished bottle. This is dwelt on in the specification as “an important feature of the invention,” and is made an integral part of the first claim. This feature does not exist in Oodd No. 2. The stopper in that cannot pass in through the mouth of the finished bottle. The first claim is not a claim to any mechanism; but, if not a claim to a function, is a claim to a mode of operation. It amounts to a claim to inserting a stopper through, the mouth of a bottle, and .then pressing it upwards
As to the second claim the specification says: “I am aware that an internal flap, valve, or door, acted upon by a spring float or counterweight, has been used to close the orifice of vessels, as an ink-holder or oil vessel, to keep out dust, etc., but intended to give way on a very slight pressure. Such arrangement, however, could not make a stopper which would “be air-tight.” This statement shows that it was not now to press from without an internal valve closing the orifico of a vessel, such closing taking place by the action of a 'spring, and such pressure being made against the outer face of the valve to open the orifice. This being so, the second claim of the re-issue must be limited to substantially such a form of stopper as the specification shows, with substantially such a prolongation or extension in an outward direction, if, indeed, the claim can be made at all, in respect to the facility afforded for opening the stopper, in view of the admitted prior arrangement. Under this construction of the second, claim it is not infringed by Oodd No. 2.
The second patent sued on is No. 44,684, granted October 11, 1864, to J. N. Mclntire, on the invention of' Albert Albertson, for an improved method of stopping bottles. The sped fleation says:
“Previous to my invention several methods of stopping bottles have been suggested and patented, all having for a main object to dispense with the employment of ordinary corks, (which have to be renewed at each filling of the bottles,, and are expensive,) and avoid the labor involved in the use of them, especially in bottling gaseous liquids, where the cork*640 has to be tied or otherwise secured in the mouth of the bottle. Among the inventions suggested heretofore, having for their object the great desideratum of dispensing with the expensive and laborious system of corks and fastenings, the best method to my knowledge is that shown and described in letters patent granted to me on the twenty-sixth day of August, 1862. But experience and thorough practical tests have shown that in the method patented to me there are serious objections when put into general use; as, for instance, the liability of the mechanism to clog up, the necessity of an instrument for the purpose of readily opening the mouth of the bottle to empty it of its contents, and the liability of the necks of the bottles, from their necessarily weak form, to break during transportation or handling. These objections, and others, I propose to effectually overcome by my present invention, which has for a further object to produce a more economical, durable, and desirable method of stopping bottles than any heretofore known; and to these ends my invention consists in the employment of a stopper which may be inserted through the neck of the bottle, and so constructed that it can be brought into close contact with a suitable bearing surface or seat on the interior or neck of the bottle to close it, and be depressed or pushed down into the bottle to open it, as will be hereinafter more fully explained. And my invention consists further in so constructing the stopper and forming the seat or bearing surface in the neck of the bottle, that, while the stopper may be readily forced into the bottle, any tendency to force it out will only tighten the joint between the stopper and the seat in the bottle neck, as will be presently more fully explained? And my invention further consists in making the entire stopper of a length exceeding the diameter of the bottle in which it is to be used, so that the stopper, while resting in the body of the bottle, cannot turn round, but must always present itself right end foremost to the mouth of the bottle, as will be more fully described hereinafter. * * *
“Figure 1 is a vertical or longitudinal section of a bottle, with the stopper represented in the position in which it closes or stops the mouth of the bottle. Figure 2 is an elevation*641 of tlie same, (with the lower portion of the bottle broken out,) showing the position of the stopper after opening or unstopping the bottle to empty it. * * A is the bottle, (of any shape or design,) on the interior of the neck of which I propose to form a shoulder, as seen at *. The stopper is formed of a stem or rod, b, having a suitable knob portion, B, and having secured (or formed) on it a guita percha or other elastic or yielding valve or cork, e. I have represented the stem, b, as made of metal, and with a thimble or cover, e, of soft material, such as gutta percha, at its lower end, the object of which is to avoid any possibility of injuring the bottle by the sudden contact with the glass of the hard stem, when the latter is forced or drops down into the bottle in ‘opening.’ The valve portion, c, I have shown secured to the stem, b, by means of a band or collar, d, and an annular depression in the stem, b, into which the yielding stock of c isforced and held by the encircling collar, d; hut, in lieu of this mode of construction, the entire stopper may be formed, if found practicable and expedient, of rubber; the stem portion ‘hard,’ with its lower end ‘soft,’ and the conical valve portion, c, of the proper flexibility. The position of the valve portion, c, on the stem, b, is such as to allow the knob or upper end of the stopper to protrude a short distance beyond the mouth of the bottle when the valve, c, is in its seat— that is, when the bottle is closed — in order that the stopper may he readily forced down into the bottle by pressure or a blow with the hand, to open the bottle. The entire length of the stopper (its stem) is such that, when resting in the empty bottle, as shown at figure 2, it cannot turn over and get wrong end towards the month of the bottle. At figure 21 have shown in dotted lines the position of the projecting end of the stopper before the oottle is unclosed. I prefer to make the valve, c, as shown, conical, with upper end hollow, and provide the interior of the neck with a shoulder, x; for in this form of valve and seat the stopper' is readily forced down through the neck, hut, in being forced up against its seat or shoulder, the valve, c, will be bulged or upset, and cannot be forced out, which is a desideratum where the contents of the*642 bottle embrace gas or fixed air,- — as, for instance, when soda water is contained, — but ether forms of valve may be used without destroying the advantages of my invention. The valve, c, and neck of the bottle should, however, be so shaped, even when the shoulder, x, is employed, that the former will be compressed in the taper portion of the neck before it comes against the shoulder, in order to create friction sufficient to prevent the falling of the stopper when still liquors are contained in the bottle; as, for instance, a valve slightly conical on the upper end, and fitting into the neck of the bottle, shaped correspondingly, and without any shoulder. The operation of my new stopper for bottles, etc., may be thus explained :
“I may remark first, however, that the manipulation, in closing a bottle with my invention, is different somewhat when different liquors are to be bottled; that is, those which are bottled under pressure, such as soda-water, and those which are still liquors, or without gas or pressure. In all instances, however, the stopper is formed as shown, and is forced into the bottle as seen at figure 2. To bottle soda-water and other gaseous liquids, under pressure, I take the bottle, thus provided with its stopper, and place it in the filling machine, in which the given quantity of water and gas is supplied to the bottle, the stopper remaining, as seen at figure 2. I then invert the bottle while it is yet attached to the supply tube, which must for this purpose be flexible and have its cock arranged so as to admit of the bottle, while attached to the tube, being thus turned over, when the stopper falls into the neck of the bottle, the valve, c, resting in its seat, and: in this position I disconnect the bottle from the filling machine, when the pressure within the bottle retains the valve, c, against its seat and keeps the bottle effectually closed. When it is desired to empty the bottle a slight blow or pressure on top of the knob, b, will cause the stopper to descend to the bottom of the bottle, as seen at figure 2, and the liquid is poured out. The stopper being of a much greater specific gravity than the liquid, and being so long, will not impede the flow of the liquid from the bottle if it is gradually poured*643 out. In bottling still liquids, such as eider, porter, etc., which make more or less gas after being closed up, I take the bottle provided with its stopper, as before mentioned, and pour in the liquor in the usual manner; then, quickly inverting the bottle, cause the valve, e, to drop into its seat partially, and, taking hold of the protruding end or knob, b, I pull the valve, c, tight into its seat, when the mouth of the bottle will be effectually closed, and the compression of the valve, c, of elastic material, in the tapering portion of the neck, will insure the retention of the stopper; then the bottle is turned up again. The mode of unclosing is the same in all cases. * * *
“Wishing to he understood as not limiting my claims of invention to any particular materials o# precise forms of the parts so long as they embody the characteristic features of form, and the mode of operation involved in my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by letters patent is — Firstly, the employment in combination with a bottle, having the inferior of its neck suitably formed to receive it, of a stopper constructed to operate in closing and unclosing the bottle, substantially as described; secondly, I claim so constructing the valve, c, and the mouth of the bottle, that the former may be readily forced through the latter in one direction, and incapable of easy passage through it in the opposite direction, as herein before described, for the purpose set forth; thirdly, I claim making the entire stopper of such a length that it cannot turn over in the body of the bottle, as and for the purpose set forth.”
It is important to see what is the proper construction of the first claim of this patent. The specification describes the stopper as having a valve on it which is tobe elastic or yielding. It is indispensable that this valve shall he compressible. The stopper with the valve on it is described as a distinct tiling from the bearing surface or seat on the interior of the neck of the bottle with which the valve comes in contact to close the bottle. '
By the termsof the first claim the stopper is tobe “constructed to operate in closing and unclosing the bottle substantially as
In Codd No. 2 the stopper is a stopper of a different structure from the plaintiff’s stopper, and it does not have the features of construction or operation which the specification of No. 44,684 states to be, or which are, the characteristic features of the plaintiff’s stopper, so far as those features are not also characteristic of the stopper shown in' the Albertson patent of August 26, 1862. In Codd No. 2 the stopper cannot be inserted through the neck of the bottle, and is not of a length exceeding the diameter of the bottle, or receptacle in which it is placed; although it can be brought in close contact with a suitable bearing surface or seat on the interior of the neck of the bottle to close it, and be depressed or pushed down into the bottle to open it, and although any tendency to force it out only tightens the joint between the stopper and the seat. These features all of them existed in the patent of August 26, 1862, in reference to the stopper there
The bill is dismissed, with costs.