Gates Iron Works v. Fraser

Citations

• 153 U.S. 332
• 14 S. Ct. 883
• 38 L. Ed. 734
• 1894 U.S. LEXIS 2187

Syllabus

<p>The claims covered by letters patent No. 56,793, issued July 31, 1866, to Henry Pearce for “ a new and useful machine for crushing and pulverizing quartz-rock, stone, and any description of ores,” were not infringed by the machine made by the defendants, and were, in some respects, anticipated by the invention patented to Jonathan F. Ostrander by letters patent No. 4478, dated April 25,1846; by the invention patented to George H. Wood by letters patent No. 28,031, dated April 24, 1860; and by the invention patented to James W. Rutter by reissued letters patent No. 3633, dated September 7. 1869.</p> <p>The invention patented to Charles M. Brown by letters patent No. 201,646, dated March 26, 1878, for “ a new and useful improvement in ore-crushers,” was in its general features a reproduction of the machine patented to James W. Rutter by reissued letters patent No. 3633, dated September 7, 1869; and, in view of the prior patents to Rutter and Tripp, must receive a narrow construction, which frees the defendants from the charge of infringing them.</p> <p>The invention patented to George Raymond and Albert Raymond by letters patent No. 237,320, dated February 1, 1881, for “ improvements in grinding mills,” was for a combination which included several features not found in the machines made by the defendants.</p> <p>The function of the safety pin in letters patent No. 110,397, issued to John H. Rusk, December 20, 1870, and antedated December 9, 1870, is practically the same as that of the pin in the combination patented to George and Albert Raymond.</p> <p>The claim in letters patent No. 243,343, issued June 21, 1881, to Philetus W. Gates for the segmental cast-bearing for the ball of the socket joint, having a form which gives it a bearing contact upon the ball, was anticipated by machines constructed by Charles M. Brown and in public use more than two years before Gates applied for his patent.</p> <p>The claim in letters patent No. 243,545, issued June 28, 1881, to P