American Ballast Co. v. Davy Burnt Clay Ballast Co.

• Decision Date: 05 January 1915
• Docket Number: 2006.
• Citation: 220 F. 890
• Parties: AMERICAN BALLAST CO. v. DAVY BURNT CLAY BALLAST CO.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

220 F. 890

AMERICAN BALLAST CO. v. DAVY BURNT CLAY BALLAST CO.

No. 2006.

United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.

January 5, 1915

Appeal from the District Court of the United States for the Northern District of Illinois; Kenesaw M. Landis, Judge.

Glenn S. Noble, of Chicago, Ill., for appellant.

Frank L. Belknap, of Chicago, Ill., for appellee.

Before BAKER, SEAMAN, and MACK, Circuit Judges.

MACK Circuit Judge.

Claims 1, 2 and 6 of the patent in suit, No. 686,964, issued to G M. Bennett and T. Forgham, November 19, 1901, for 'apparatus for use in producing burnt clay ballast,' were adjudged valid and infringed. On this appeal we deem it necessary to examine but one of the defenses, that of noninfringement.

The specifications contain the following recitals, descriptions and drawings:

'Our invention relates particularly to apparatus for use in the production of burnt clay ballast for mixing fresh fuel with that portion of the forming ballast which has not become thoroughly burned in the firing operation and for further use in other necessary handling of the heated mass. Our primary object is to provide means for accomplishing this part of the process of producing burnt clay ballast more cheaply, easily, and efficiently than heretofore.

'In the production of burnt clay ballast it is common to establish a bank of any desired length where the firing operation is carried on. It is usual to spread first a layer of fuel upon the ground and then to take clay from one side thereof and spread the same over the fuel, after which the mass is fired--as described, for instance, in patent to Butler & Simmons, No. 447,460, March 3, 1891. After firing there remains a crust of considerable depth, throughout which the clay is dried (kiln-dried) but not burned. It is necessary to break up this crust and mix fresh fuel with the same, after which other additional fuel and a fresh supply of clay are added. After a bank is established, one of whose sloping sides is in the same plane as one side of the adjacent ditch, the fresh supplies of fuel and clay are sprinkled over the top of the bank and the sloping surface, which extends from said top to the bottom of the ditch. In practice it is necessary to draw the unburned material at the top over onto the sloping bank, for the reason that it is impossible to develop sufficient heat near the surface to thoroughly burn the top layer of clay. Machines for distributing coal to the bank and supplying clay as required are now in common use.

'In the accompanying drawings is shown our improved apparatus for breaking up the surface layer at the bank, mixing fresh coal therewith, and moving the outer layer of the top of the bank, and by means of this apparatus what has heretofore been a laborious and expensive portion of the process of producing ballast of this nature is rendered very easy and comparatively inexpensive. In the drawings, Figure 1 is a view representing a cross-section of a bank for producing burnt clay ballast and apparatus for harrowing the bank, moving certain portions thereof, and mixing coal with the surface layer of the bank; Fig. 2, a broken view, showing another position of the harrowing device; Fig. 3, an enlarged view, in front elevation, of the harrowing device detached from its cables; Fig. 4, a plan view of said harrowing device; Fig. 5, a view in side elevation of the same; and Fig. 6, an illustration of a modification.

'A represents a combined harrowing device or drag and scraper, and B a mounted car of common construction, equipped in the usual manner with a mast B', a boom B2, and drums B3 and B4. From the drum B3 a cable a passes to the device A, and from the drum B4 a cable b passes about a sheave b' at the top of the mast B', thence about a sheave b2 at the end of the boom B2, and thence to the device A. The car is equipped with a suitable motor for rotating the drums B3 and B4. The device A comprises a central tongue or pole c, brace members c', formed integral with a back section c2, a companion back section c3, curved teeth c4, clamped between the sections c2 and c3, a curved metallic scraper plate c5, connected with the pole c and the braces c', a strengthening angle c6 at the upper margin of said plate c5, side braces c7, joining the braces c' and the extremities of the plate c5, intermediate braces c8, joining the back sections to the plate c5, eyes c9, connected with the braces c' in the rear of the plate c5, chain sections c10, connected therewith, a ring c11, connecting said chain sections, and a clevis c12, connected with the front end of the pole c and the adjacent ends of the braces c'.

'When it is desired to harrow the sloping side of the bank, the cable a is connected with the ring c11 of the device A and the cable b is connected with the clevis c12 thereon. This is illustrated in Fig. 1, from whence it will be seen that the cable b at this time serves as a draft cable and the cable a serves as a depth-regulating cable and also to return the harrowing device to the foot of the incline after it has been pulled up the incline by the cable b. When it is desired to draw the surface layer of the top of the bank over onto the inclined surface, the cable a is connected with the clevis c12 and the cable b is connected with the ring c11. When thus connected, the cable a becomes the draft cable and the cable b serves to regulate the depth and to retract the harrowing device. The pole and various members of the frame also serve to limit the depth of cut.

'The curved teeth c4 serve to hold the device down and cause the scraper to fill properly during the operation. (Illustrated Fig. 2.) From a view of Fig. 1 it will be understood that it is possible to thoroughly harrow the sloping surface of the bank from the base to the top. In practice, after a bank of fuel and clay is properly formed and the mass has been ignited, it is left to burn until the lower strata of clay are properly burned, after which there will remain a surface layer of dry, hard material which has not been properly burned. After the mass has burned the required length of time, coal is distributed over the top and sloping surface of the bank, after which the sloping surface is harrowed, as illustrated in Fig. 1. The surface layer of the top of the bank is then dragged over onto the sloping surface, as illustrated in Fig. 2. A layer of coal is then distributed to the sloping surface of the bank and to the top of the bank adjacent to the sloping surface, after which a layer of clay of the desired depth is added and the mass left to continue burning until the proper time to repeat the operation just described. It is preferable to drag the surface layer of the top of the bank over onto the sloping surface after each harrowing and mixing operation performed on the sloping surface.

'The car B is movable parallel to the bank in a manner now well understood, and the equipment of the car itself is now in common use for operating a shovel for supplying clay to the bank. By means of our improved device A, connected to cables disposed as described, it is possible to...