Los Alamitos Sugar Co. v. Carroll

• Decision Date: 04 October 1909
• Docket Number: 1,701.
• Citation: 173 F. 280
• Parties: LOS ALAMITOS SUGAR CO. et al. v. CARROLL. [d]
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

173 F. 280

LOS ALAMITOS SUGAR CO. et al. v. CARROLL. ^[d]

No. 1,701.

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.

October 4, 1909

Miller & White and Lawler, Allen, Van Dyke & Jutten, for appellants.

Frederick S. Lyon, for appellee.

Before GILBERT and ROSS, Circuit Judges, and HUNT, District Judge.

ROSS Circuit Judge.

This suit was brought by the appellee in the court below for the alleged infringement of certain letters patent issued to him the first of which was for a load-dumping apparatus, numbered 561,485, and dated June 2, 1896, and the second of which was for alleged improvements therein, numbered 595,236, and dated December 7, 1897.

The complainant, who is the appellee here, alleged infringement of claims 1 and 2 of the first patent, and of claims 1, 6 and 7 of the second. The defendants denied any infringement and also set up in defense anticipation and lack of invention, laches, and also that the second patent was void on the ground that it does not disclose an operative apparatus.

In this court the appellants moved, and the appellee consented to the dismissal of the cause as to the appellant Clark, and an order to that effect was entered.

In the specification of the first patent Carroll said:

'In Southern California the raising and shipping of beets for manufacturing sugar requires the rapid unloading of large numbers of wagon loads of beets, for the reason that the beets must be weighed and sampled by the sugar manufacturers, and it is impracticable to unload except at the place where the sampling is done, because the samples must be taken at the time of unloading each load in order to get a fair average of the load. In order to handle these beets it has heretofore been customary to place a net in the wagonbed and to then load the beets upon the net, and at the place of unloading the net was lifted by a derrick and the load drawn out of the wagon and brought over the car, and one side of the net then released; but this system was not sufficiently rapid, and great inconvenience and delay resulted, it frequently occurring that 30 teamsters would have to leave their wagons loaded all night and wait their turn next morning to unload. One object of my invention is to avoid all this inconvenience and loss of time, and to provide means whereby a farm wagon loaded with beets can be dumped in a very short period of time. With my invention as high as 27 wagon loads of beets, weighing in the aggregate nearly 40 tons, have been dumped from one dump into railroad cars, thus loading 2 cars, in 30 minutes. The actual work of dumping a 4-horse wagon load of 5 tons can be done easily in half a minute. In practice I have found 30 seconds to be sufficient for dumping the load after the wagon has stopped in place on the dump platform. My invention relates more particularly to the appliances and combinations of parts by which I am enabled to so rapidly unload heavy and light wagons loaded with beets. It is very important that the apparatus shall work rapidly, that the team remain hitched to the wagon during the dumping, that the apparatus be so constructed and arranged that the wagon can be jolted, if required, to jar loose any beets that do not readily slide out of the wagon bed, and that the parts be so arranged that the wagon can be easily and quickly put into shape to be driven away as soon as the load is dumped. A further and very important consideration is to so construct and arrange the apparatus as to avoid any injurious strain on the wagon, and a peculiar and valuable feature of my invention is that I dump the load sidewise and fasten the vehicle to the tilting support by a chain or other suitable tie extending between and fastened to the tilting support and the bed of the vehicle. By this feature I make it possible to rapidly dump the load and not rack the wagon. In fact, by reason of this arrangement, the operation of dumping a load from a wagon does not rack or strain the vehicle in any part, except that strain comes upon that part of the bed to which the chain is fastened, and that part of the bed can easily be made strong enough to withstand the strain. No severe strain comes on the running gear, and this is of great importance. So far as I am aware, in all other appliances proposed for dumping wagons the vehicle is to be held by the running gear, and such appliances are not adapted for the work which my apparatus does. It is an object of my invention to accomplish the desired work of unloading wagon loads of beets as above stated, and to do it without straining or racking the wagon. This I have fully accomplished by my new invention. My invention is also applicable for dumping car loads of beets, and is also adapted for dumping from cars, wagons, and other vehicles bulk loads, such as coal, corn, etc., in loading vessels and for other purposes. My invention comprises the combination of a tilting vehicle support for the loaded vehicle, pivoted longitudinally to tilt sidewise, a longitudinal axis upon which the vehicle support is pivoted, means fastened to the tilting support and to the bed of the vehicle for holding the vehicle on the vehicle support, a lever for tilting the vehicle support sidewise and returning it to its horizontal position, a team support at the front of the vehicle support, on which the team can stand hitched to the vehicle while it is dumping, and a stop arranged to stop the tilting support on a slant and prevent it from tilting far enough to materially interfere with the team hitched to the vehicle. It also includes the vehicle support and various parts and combinations of parts hereinafter more fully specified. My invention also comprises the combination of a vehicle support arranged to tilt sidewise, a vehicle having a bed provided with a hinged side, and adapted and arranged to allow its load to be dumped off sidewise, and means extending between and fastened to the tilting support opposite that toward which the support tilts, and the stop arranged to stop the support when it has tipped sufficiently to cause the load to slide off sidewise. This is applicable either for railway cars, wagons, sleds, or any vehicle having a bed from which a load can slide sidewise when the vehicle is tipped. A distinctive feature of my invention as applied to wagons is the hinged side of the bed arranged wholly above the wheels and the dumping of the vehicle sidewise and stopping the tilting support on an incline, and thus dumping a large load without the necessity of unhitching the team, for by this means I avoid all the necessity of backing and of all other slow or complicated ways or means for dumping the load, which are necessary and which consume time in the case of wagons that dump endwise. By tilting the wagon sidewise I have made it much easier, quicker, and less expensive to unload the loads than is possible by any other means heretofore known. The driver of the team can drive across the tilting support and stop with his team upon the team support, and the dumpman can then dump the load while the team is hitched thereto, and the teamster can then drive on at once, so that there is but little stoppage of the team to dump the load. In carrying out my invention for dumping a wagon load of beets I raise the wagon bed above the wheels or arch the floor over the hind wheels, and I provide the wagon bed with a drop side, and provide such drop side wholly above the wheels with supports to hold it extended from the bed when dropped, so that the drop side serves as an apron to shoot the load onto the stationary apron which is provided at the side of the dump to shoot the load into the car.'

The applicant then set out drawings illustrating the alleged invention, with specific descriptions thereof, and made five claims, the first and second of which are as follows: '(1) The combination of a vehicle support arranged to tilt sidewise; means for tilting the support and returning it to a level position; a stop arranged to stop the support on a slant; a vehicle having a bed provided with a drop side wholly above the wheels and adapted to allow its load to be dumped off sidewise; means extending between and fastened to the tilting support and the vehicle bed for holding the vehicle on the vehicle support when it is tilted; a latch for holding the drop side in place and adapted to be released when the wagon is tilted; and means for supporting the drop side when it is dropped.

'(2) The combination of a vehicle support arranged to tilt sidewise; means for tilting the support and returning it to a level position; a stop arranged to stop the support on a slant; a vehicle having its bed adapted to allow its load to be dumped off sidewise; means extending between and fastened to the tilting support and the vehicle bed for holding the vehicle on the vehicle support when it is tilted; and a team holding support arranged at the front end of the tilting vehicle support and independent thereof, and adapted to allow the team to stand thereon hitched to the vehicle while the vehicle is being dumped.'

It is manifest, we think, that these claims are limited to the dumping of wagons; and it is so conceded by the counsel for the appellee. The great usefulness of the appellee's apparatus cannot be doubted, for the importance and magnitude of the sugar-beet industry is not only a matter of common knowledge, but is also shown by the evidence, which further shows that prior to it the beets were unloaded from wagons either by means of forks and shovels, or by nets first placed in the wagons upon which the beets were loaded, and...