Kinloch Tel. Co. v. Western Electric Co.

Citations

• 113 F. 652
• 51 C.C.A. 362
• 1902 U.S. App. LEXIS 3984

Syllabus

<p>L Patents — Device not Claimed Abandoned.</p> <p>Where a patentee has made his claim, he has thereby disclaimed and abandoned to the public all other combinations and improvements that are not mere invasions of the device, combination, or improvement which he claims. ■</p> <p>3. Same — Claim Secures Mechanical Equivalents.</p> <p>But one who claims and secures a patent for a new machine or combination thereby necessarily claims and secures a patent for every mechanical equivalent of that machine or combination, because, in the light of the patent law, every mechanical equivalent of a device is the same thing as the device itself.</p> <p>8. Same — Mechanical Equivalents.</p> <p>Where form is not the essence of the invention, machines or combinations which are constructed upon the same principle, which have the’ same mode of operation, and which accomplish the same result by the same or by equivalent mechanical means, are mechanical equivalents, within the meaning of the patent law, although they differ in form or In name. ■</p> <p>4. Same — Mechanical Equivalents.</p> <p>Shot and wax or other fusible material holding them in perforations in the faces of conducting plates until released by the heat of the plates, produced by a persistent arc between them, so that they will then run down between the plates and form a conducting link, are mechanical equivalents of the mass or plug of fusible material described in patent No. 438,788, when they are used in a potential discharger for the same purpose and perform the same function as that plug.</p> <p>(Syllabus by the Court.)</p>