De Burgh v. KINDEL FURNITURE COMPANY, Civ. A. No. 1598.

• Decision Date: 19 October 1954
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 1598.
• Citation: 125 F. Supp. 468
• Parties: Maria Luisa DE BURGH, Executrix of the Estate of Albert R. DeBurgh, Deceased, Plaintiff, v. KINDEL FURNITURE COMPANY, Charles M. Kindel and the Rapids-Standard Company, Inc., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Michigan

125 F. Supp. 468

Maria Luisa DE BURGH, Executrix of the Estate of Albert R. DeBurgh, Deceased, Plaintiff, v. KINDEL FURNITURE COMPANY, Charles M. Kindel and the Rapids-Standard Company, Inc., Defendants.

Civ. A. No. 1598.

United States District Court W. D. Michigan, S. D.

October 19, 1954.

Roberts B. Larson, Washington, D. C., and Glenn B. Morse, Grand Rapids, Mich., for plaintiff.

Peter P. Price, Grand Rapids, Mich., Nathan C. Snyder, Grand Rapids, Mich., Frank E. Liverance, Jr., of counsel, Grand Rapids, Mich., for defendants.

STARR, Chief Judge.

Albert R. DeBurgh as the patentee and owner of United States Letters Patent No. 2,317,675 issued April 27, 1943, for a "conveyer system" filed complaint alleging infringement of said patent by defendants Kindel Furniture Company and Charles M. Kindel. DeBurgh asked for an injunction against further infringement, an accounting of profits, treble damages, costs, and attorney fees. On its motion, the Rapids-Standard Company, Inc., a Michigan corporation, was granted leave to intervene as a party defendant and file answer.¹ The defendants Kindel Company and Charles M. Kindel, and defendant Rapids-Standard, in their respective answers denied infringement and alleged that the DeBurgh patent was invalid because of prior art anticipation and lack of invention. In their supplemental answer the defendants asked for a declaratory judgment determining that the DeBurgh patent was invalid, and that the accused conveyer structure manufactured by defendant Rapids-Standard and used by the Kindel Company did not infringe.² The defendants' allegation of invalidity of patent and their request for a declaratory judgment of invalidity, put in issue the question of the validity of all claims of the patent in suit. Kawneer Co. v. Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co., D.C., 109 F.Supp. 228. Albert R. DeBurgh died December 24, 1952, and in pursuance of stipulation it was ordered that Maria Luisa DeBurgh, executrix of his estate, be substituted in his place as plaintiff.

In support of their claim of invalidity of patent because of prior art anticipation and lack of invention, the defendants cite the following patents: Fitzhenry 76,619 issued April 14, 1868; Eppelsheimer 166,975 issued Aug. 24, 1875; Aiken 393,051 issued Nov. 20, 1888; Hogg 519,630 issued May 8, 1894; Baker 907,116 issued Dec. 22, 1908; Rebstock 1,505,971 issued Aug. 26, 1924; Knight 1,540,021 issued June 2, 1925; Olson 1,732,376 issued Oct. 22, 1929; Howe 1,733,409 issued Oct. 29, 1929; Francis 1,792,533 issued Feb. 17, 1931; Baker 1,831,283 issued Nov. 10, 1931; Dahms 1,889,274 issued Nov. 29, 1932; Hormel 1,914,806 issued June 20, 1933; Kimball et al. 2,090,129 issued Aug. 17, 1937; and Landahl 2,187,498 issued Jan. 16, 1940. The file wrapper indicates that of the above, only the Hogg, Rebstock, Knight, Francis, Baker, Dahms, Kimball et al., and Landahl patents were cited as references by the examiner. In their second supplemental answer and their answers to plaintiff's interrogatories and in their notice of prior art, the defendants also cite in support of their claim of invalidity: Klinik et al. 382,043 issued May 1, 1888; Taylor et al. 815,986 issued Mar. 27, 1906; Hutton 1,448,119 issued Mar. 13, 1923; Stutsman 1,534,334 issued April 21, 1925; Prince 1,716,664 issued June 11, 1929; Anderson 1,825,038 issued Sept. 29, 1931; and Taylor 1,835,823 issued Dec. 8, 1931. The defendants also alleged that the DeBurgh patent is invalid because prior to the alleged invention and for more than two years prior to the filing of the application, all material and substantial parts and elements of the patent had been in public use and had been described in printed publications. Further, the defendants alleged that about 1928 or 1929 the Logan Company of Louisville, Kentucky, had designed and constructed a conveyer system which included the elements of the structure described and claimed in the patent in suit, and that the Logan conveyer was installed and thereafter operated in the plant of the Direct Action Stove division of the American Stove Company (now Magic Chef, Incorporated) at Lorain, Ohio.

As stated in the specifications, the patent in suit relates to a claimed improvement in the method of utilizing conveyers for the more expeditious and economical manufacture and finishing of furniture and other articles requiring a succession of operations, such as, for example, the sanding, staining, wiping, drying, sealing, decorating, lacquering, and varnishing of pieces of furniture. Claims 1, 3, 4, and 5, on which plaintiff bases her claim of infringement, and claim 11, which are reasonably illustrative of all claims, provide as follows:

"1. In combination, a conveyer means including a guideway leading through a succession of work stations, a work mounting pallet associated with the conveyer for guided travel therealong by the guideway through the work stations and means located at the work stations onto which the pallet will be directed by the guideway for a continuation of travel and for rotation while at the work stations without disassociation of the pallet from the guideway."

"3. In a system for (of) the character described, a conveyer means leading through a succession of work stations, work mounting pallets associated with the conveyer for travel in succession therealong, each independently of the others for variation in spacing and intermittent travel, and means located at the work stations onto which the pallets will be directed by the guideway and supported for continuation of travel and for rotation at the work stations."

"4. In a system of the character described, a conveyer means leading through a succession of work stations, a power driven belt operable along the conveyer means, work mounting pallets associated with the conveyer means for travel therealong, cooperating means on the belt and on the pallets for the advancement of the pallets, and supports at the work stations onto which the pallets will be directed for conveyance through the stations and on which they may be rotated without disassociation from the conveyer means."

"5. In a system of the character described, a continuous guideway leading through a succession of work stations, a continuously moving belt operable along the guideway, conveyer rollers mounted along the guideway between the stations, work mounting pallets associated with the guideway for support and travel on said rollers and for guidance by the guideway in travel, cooperating means on the belt and on the pallets for the advancement of the pallets along the guideway and permitting variation in their spacing within predetermined limits, and supports at the work stations onto which the pallets will be directed for their continuation of travel through the station and for rotation."

"11. In a system of the character described, a main trackway leading through a succession of work stations, and a plurality of receiving trackways, each with an end terminating adjacent the main trackway, a belt guideway extending along the main trackway, and having a longitudinal slot, a conveyer belt mounted for travel in the guideway and having abutments at spaced intervals therealong, a plurality of work mounting pallets mounted for travel on the trackways, a pivot and guide stud fixed to each pallet and extended downwardly therefrom into the guideway slot for engagement by a belt abutment for pushing the pallet along the trackway and for retaining the pallet against lateral displacement from the trackway, a caster bed located between the main trackway and the adjacent ends of the receiving trackways across which pallets may be transferred from the main trackway to any of the receiving trackways, and slotted guideways extending along the receiving trackways for reception of the pallet studs to retain the pallets against lateral displacement from these trackways while advanced therealong."

The patent in suit shows a combination of elements consisting of a trackway with mounted conveyer rollers, having a central guideway formed by two parallel spaced angle irons, within which travels a power driven chain belt extending throughout the full length of the conveyer. Attached to this moving belt are upright, spaced-apart lugs. Supported and traveling on the trackway are removably mounted work pallets or platforms upon which pieces of furniture or other articles are placed for transportation. These pallets or platforms are independent of each other and each has a central, fixed pin or stud extending down into the guideway to be engaged by the lugs on the power-driven belt, whereby the belt moves the pallets along the trackway without lateral displacement. The spacing between the lugs is considerably greater than the over-all length of each of the pallets. Located at different places along the conveyer are so-called work stations, and at each of these stations swivel casters replace the rollers on the trackway to facilitate the rotation of the pallets without their removal from the conveyer, and without their being lowered or raised from the level of the conveyer. These swivel casters support the pallets both for rotation and for travel through the work station, and means is provided for the transfer of the pallets from the main trackway to receiving trackways.

The accused conveyer structure manufactured by defendant Rapids-Standard Company and installed by defendant Kindel Company in its factory, consists primarily of a gravity conveyer system as distinguished from the powered conveyer system described in the claims of the DeBurgh patent and as shown in the drawings illustrating that patent.³ The defendants' conveyer structure comprises a track consisting of a pair of side rails upon which are mounted freely rotatable skate wheels. Removably mounted work pallets or platforms, upon which articles of furniture are placed for transportation, rest upon the skate wheels. The conveyer track, except at points where it is raised...