Tyssowski v. Thayer
Tyssowski v. Thayer
Opinion of the Court
The bill herein was filed to restrain 3 patent 727,034, granted to Z. N. Tyssowski, May 5,1903, for a pyrographic tool. The claim reads as follows, viz.:
“3. A tool for pyrographic work, comprising a combined pyrographic point and a scorcher, said pyrographic point consisting of a hollow pointed instrument adapted to be brought into direct contact with the material operated on, and having an interior combustion-chamber by which it may be heated to incandescence, and said scorcher consisting of a nozzle having a passage-wav through it of such limited cross-section as to maintain the pressure and temperature of the escaping gases, whereby a hot fine jet of escaping gases, at charring temperature, from the combustion-chamber may be projected with precision, substantially as described.”
In the patent granted to Beach December 13, 1898, for a thermo cauter-lancet, the specification, lines 54 to 65, p. 1, reads:
“The improvements consist, lastly, in the provision, at the exhaust-orifice by wbicb the products of combustion are emitted from the combustion-chamber, of an adjustable jet-nozzle by which the blast products of combustion may be so directed with regard to the work or point of application of the instrument that the fumes arising from the charring of the substance operated on may be carried away by the induced current, and prevented from incommoding the visual or respiratory organs of the operator.”
Complainant’s nozzle is longer than that of Beach, and calls for what the patentee terms, “a fine issuing channel at its delivery end and is preferably made tapering at its inlet.” At lines 45 to 78, p. 2, of the specification in suit, he says:
“In my invention the size of the duct or channel-way in the nozzle must be very small or fine in relation to the outlet from the combustion-chamber or the combustion-chamber itself, so that there shall be maintained up to the point of final issue, and even beyond it, a proper compression and concentration of the hot gases, so as to maintain, conserve, and utilize their scorching temperature, without which no useful effect can be obtained. This effect is perfectly attained in my laterally-projecting concentrating-nozzle, and while I prefer the tapering duct within the same smallest at the outer end I do not confine myself to this tapering form of duct or passageway, it being only important that the issuing-orifice itself should be of such limited cross-section as to maintain the compression of the gases and their scorching temperature and at the same time so concentrate the energy of the fine hot escaping stream as to give it localization for purposes of delineatiozi and with the tool at a distance from the work far enough away to enable the operator to see the work while it is in progress of execution.
“It is to be distinctly understood that while I have described various preferred forms of my invention I do not limit myself thereby in any way, but consider as falling within my invention any structure which may be included within the scope of the appended claims.”
Defendants charge both invalidity and noninfringement upon the grounds (1) that the device of the patent is a mere aggregation; (2) that defendants’ nozzle is not the device of the patent in suit. From what has been said before, it is evident that claim 1 describes a mere assembling in one implement of two distinct devices of the prior art, each of which maintains its autonomy and works independently of the other in its accustomed manner, and having no influence upon the other or its operation. It comes fairly within the rule laid down in Reckendorfer v. Faber, 92 U. S. 347, 23 L. Ed. 719; Pickering v. McCullough, 104 U. S. 318, 26 L. Ed. 749; National Cash Register Co. v. American Cash Register Co., 53 Fed. 371, 3 C. C. A. 559.
As to infringement, unless complainant’s device is limited to a tapering nozzle, it would seem to be fairly covered by the Beach patent. It is admitted that the inner walls of defendants’ nozzle are parallel, viz., they do not taper. Whether or not the nozzle is made of so small a cross-section as to restrict the outward flow of hot gas is not made plain. There can hardly be said to be any patentable novelty, in view of the prior art, in lengthening the nozzle of the Beach patent to correspond with that of defendant. As the matter stands, there is nothing in the record deemed sufficient to overcome the judgment of the court on the application for preliminary injunction, and the bill is dismissed for want of equity.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- TYSSOWSKI v. THAYER
- Status
- Published