Allis-Chalmers Mfg. Co. v. Columbus Electric & Power Co.

• Decision Date: 06 June 1927
• Docket Number: No. 4806.,4806.
• Citation: 19 F.2d 860
• Parties: ALLIS-CHALMERS MFG. CO. et al. v. COLUMBUS ELECTRIC & POWER CO. et al.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

19 F.2d 860 (1927)

ALLIS-CHALMERS MFG. CO. et al. v. COLUMBUS ELECTRIC & POWER CO. et al.

No. 4806.

Circuit Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

June 6, 1927.

Edgar Watkins, of Atlanta, Ga., Clifton V. Edwards, of New York City, and J. Blanc

Monroe and Monte M. Lemann, both of New Orleans, La. (George F. DeWein, of Milwaukee, Wis., Edwards, Sager & Bower, of New York City, and Monroe & Lemann, of New Orleans, La., on the brief), for appellants.

Robt. C. Alston, of Atlanta, Ga., and Charles H. Howson and William Abbe, both of New York City (Howson & Howson, of New York City, and Alston, Alston, Foster & Moise, of Atlanta, Ga., on the brief), for appellees.

Before WALKER, BRYAN, and FOSTER, Circuit Judges.

WALKER, Circuit Judge.

The bill in this case charged infringement of letters patent No. 1,076,617, granted to one of the appellants, William M. White, October 21, 1913, for a spiral casing, the specification of the patent stating: "This invention relates to improvements in the construction of spiral casings for machinery using a fluid medium, such as hydraulic turbines, centrifugal pumps, blowers and other similar machinery." The charges of infringement were based upon the installation of the inlet casings for hydraulic turbines in two water power plants, one referred to as the Goat Rock installation, and the other as the Bartlett's Ferry installation.

The claims asserted by the bill were resisted on the grounds that the patent was invalid, and that it was not infringed by the structures complained of. The opinion rendered by the District Judge shows that the dismissal of the bill was a result of the conclusion that infringement was not established. Doubt as to the validity of the patent was expressed, the opinion stating: "I have grave doubts whether any patentable novelty really existed, but I give the doubt in favor of the patent. In this court the appellees seek to support the decree appealed from on both the grounds set up in the court below, contending that the patent is invalid, and that, if it is valid, it was not infringed by the structures in question.

While the patent relates to casings for other machines as well as hydraulic turbines, it may be considered only in connection with turbines, as inlet casings for turbines are the only subjects of controversy in this suit. The casings in question are those which perform the function of directing the water against the wheel. Such casings surround the rings between which the turbine blades revolve, being attached to the rims of the parallel rings, and having no openings other than where the water enters the casing and where it escapes therefrom through the opening left between the rings, the casing, tapering or lessening in diameter from its inlet end to its other end, furnishing a conduit for water around the wheel until it escapes through the opening between the parallel rings of the wheel. The general statement of the nature and object of the invention contained in the specification of the patent in suit and illustrated in the accompanying drawings show that the principal object of the patentee was to introduce a type or form of inlet casing for hydraulic turbines different in construction in indicated respects from the types of such casing which theretofore had been used.

A feature of the types of casings previously in general use was a continuously curving interior surface, which avoided any obstacle to the flow of water after it entered the casing until it escaped therefrom through the opening between the rings to which the casing was attached. That feature is departed from in a casing embodying claims of the patent in suit by making the periphery of the casing a broken line one, instead of one continuously curving. This was effected by making the casing of a series of tubular sections of sheet material somewhat similar to the sections of a stovepipe elbow. Following the above-quoted statement of the specification, that part of the instrument contains the following:

"An object of the invention is to provide a casing for such machinery, which is simple in construction and efficient in operation. Casings for such machinery as heretofore constructed have been formed either of cast iron, concrete, or of plate steel with a rectangular cross section.

"It is an object of the present invention to substitute for these former constructions a casing built up of a series of tubular sections of sheet material. Such formation of the casing of a series of tubular sections of sheet material will permit the construction of a lighter and considerably stronger casing at greatly reduced cost.

"A clear conception of the invention as applied to a hydraulic turbine may be had by referring to the drawing accompanying and forming a part of this specification, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts in the several views.

"Figure 1 is a transverse vertical section through a sheet material hydraulic turbine spiral casing, showing a Francis runner in operating position therein. Fig. 2 is a top view, partly in section, of a sheet material hydraulic turbine spiral casing. * * *

"During the operation of the runner 7, the water under pressure is admitted to the spiral casing through the inlet 16 and passes from the chamber formed within the spiral casing through the guide vanes 8 and runner 7, from which it is discharged into the discharge 11. It will be noted that the reason for forming the spiral casing of progressively decreasing cross section is that the single inlet 16 supplies water to the entire periphery of the Francis turbine runner, and that the surplus amount of the water entering the casing near the inlet 16, which does not pass directly to the runner 7, passes on through the casing to a point where it is eventually freely admitted to the runner 7 of the turbine.

"The casing disclosed in the drawing is applied to a Francis type of hydraulic turbine, although it will be evident to those skilled in the art that a casing of this character might just as easily be applied to an impulse or any other type of turbine, centrifugal pump, or similar device.

"The sheet material sections 4 formed substantially cylindrical with circular cross sections and straight line elements, provide a very light casing adapted to withstand very high internal pressures which subject the casing walls to high tension strains. The formation of the lap joints between successive sections 4, also provides a casing which gradually guides the water to the turbine and prevents the formation of eddies or other undesirable undulations in the passing flow.

"It should be understood that it is not desired to be limited to the exact details herein shown and described for obvious modifications may occur to a person skilled in the art."

The following are the claims of the patent:

"1. A spiral casing, consisting of a series of tubular, sheet material, transverse sections, said sections having straight line generatrices extending in the direction of flow in said casing and said sections each having at least one portion extending to the end thereof at an angle to the remainder of said section and also having straight line generatrices to facilitate the union of said sections and said spiral casing having a continuous annular inwardly directed discharge passage.

"2. A spiral casing consisting of a series of tubular, sheet material, transverse sections, said sections successively decreasing in size and having straight line generatrices extending in the direction of flow in said casing and said sections each having at least one portion extending to the end thereof at an angle to the remainder of said section and also having straight line generatrices to facilitate the union of said sections and said spiral casing having a continuous annular inwardly directed discharge passage.

"3. A spiral casing consisting of a series of plate steel tubular sections, adjacent sections being at an angle to each other in the plane of said casing, said sections having straight line generatrices extending in the direction of flow in said casing and each having at least one edge at said angle to the remainder of said section and also having straight line generatrices to accommodate the angularity between said sections and said spiral casing having a continuous annular inwardly directed discharge passage.

"4. A spiral casing consisting of a plurality of spaced rings, and a series of sheet material sections having straight line generatrices extending in the direction of flow in said casing and having edges secured to said rings.

"5. A spiral casing consisting of a plurality of spaced rings, and a series of sheet material sections having straight line generatrices extending in the direction of flow in said casing and having overlapping ends and having edges secured to said rings.

"6. A spiral casing comprising a series of short tubular sections successively increasing in size and having adjacent ends secured together and said sections being of such form that linear elements thereof extending in the direction of flow of fluid in said casing are straight."

The following extract from the opinion rendered by the District Judge well states the problem the patentee dealt with when he undertook to provide a casing of simple and economical construction to take the place of the old cast iron, concrete, and rectangular plate constructions:

"Pressure boxes, which are really only the end of the penstock, and which were used for turbines when efficiency...