Carman Industries, Inc. v. Wahl
| Decision Date | 27 December 1983 |
| Docket Number | No. 83-683,83-683 |
| Parties | CARMAN INDUSTRIES, INC., Appellant, v. Eugene A. WAHL and Vibra Screw, Inc., Appellees. Appeal |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Federal Circuit |
Thomas F. McWilliams, Chicago, Ill., argued, for appellant.
John W. Logan, Jr. and Thomas Ferrill, Jr., Fort Washington, Pa., argued, for appellees.
Before BENNETT, SMITH and NIES, Circuit Judges.
This appeal is from the December 22, 1982, judgment of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey holding U.S. patent No. 3,261,508 ('508) valid and infringed. Carman Industries, Inc. (Carman), appeals from that judgment. Carman commenced this action against Eugene A. Wahl and Vibra Screw, Inc. (Vibra), seeking a declaratory judgment that the '508 patent is invalid and not infringed. Vibra filed a counterclaim for patent infringement. The case was tried before the district court without a jury. After reviewing the record and briefs and, having heard oral argument, we find no clear error in the district court's findings of fact. The judgment is supported by the findings of fact. Thus, we affirm.
On January 24, 1964, Eugene A. Wahl filed an application for patent for a "Vibratory Bin Activator" apparatus. U.S. patent No. 3,261,508 issued on that application on July 19, 1966.
The invention relates to an apparatus that is attached to the base of a storage bin or hopper to promote the flow from the bin or hopper of solids that have poor flow characteristics. 1 Prior art approaches to the problem of promoting the flow of difficult-to-handle solids involve the use of sweep arms, screw conveyors, or like elements. Claims 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7 are involved in this appeal and are set forth below:
(c) means vibrationally suspending the material-receiving member from the hopper and in spaced position to the hopper wall, and
(d) means for vibrating the material-receiving member.
3. The invention as recited in claim 2, wherein the baffle member is of convex form and wherein the said means for vibrating the material-receiving member is a gyrator mechanically-coupled to the material-receiving member, said gyrator comprising an eccentrically-mounted weight rotatable by an electric motor.
4. The invention as recited in claim 3, wherein the eccentrically-mounted weight is rotatable in a plane substantially normal to the axis of the said material-receiving member.
(d) means vibrationally suspending the first concave member from the hopper, with the said cylindrical base portion spaced from the hopper wall, and
(e) means for vibrating the said three members as a unit.
7. The invention as recited in claim 6, wherein the said baffle member is an inverted dish-shaped member having a diameter substantially equal to the central opening in said first concave member.
The key point of contention with respect to the '508 patent is the compound concave surface limitations of claims 2 and 6, the only independent claims. The invention operates through a combination of three forces: the effects of the baffle member; the horizontal force supplied to the material particles through vibration of the material-receiving member; and gravity. The baffle forces the flow to proceed in an annular path down the concave surfaces of the material-receiving member. Through its vibration, the material-receiving member imparts horizontal motion to the flow, forcing the material into the void created below the baffle. In this manner the particles of material move down and in toward the center of the apparatus. The break in slope between the concave surfaces of the material-receiving member serves to "gather" the flow and accelerate the material through the central opening without competition between particles in the flow for position. Once the material passes this "break-slope," it proceeds rapidly to the lower concave surface. The break in slope between the concave surfaces serves to prevent the material from merely "crawling" down the side of the material-receiving member. Instead, the particles are presented with a sharp change in the forces being exerted on them, as indicated by the arrows in the following drawing:
NOTE: OPINION CONTAINS TABLE OR OTHER DATA THAT IS NOT VIEWABLE
Judge Meanor, in a careful and comprehensive opinion, found that Carman failed to overcome the presumption of validity and he therefore held the patent valid. He found that the patent is not literally infringed but that the accused infringing device is the legal equivalent of the invention. He also found that, under the proposed construction of the claims under the doctrine of equivalents, the claims would be valid and, accordingly, held that the '508 patent is infringed by Carman's bin discharger. 2 Relying on the Third Circuit's analysis of double patenting in Wahl v. Rexnord, Inc. 3 the district court additionally found that the '508 patent was not invalid for double patenting. Carman appeals.
Two principal issues are presented in this appeal:
(1) whether the '508 patent is invalid under 35 U.S.C. Sec. 102 or Sec. 103 or is invalid for double patenting in view of U.S.Des. patent No. 202,068 ('068); and
(2) whether the '508 patent is infringed under the doctrine of equivalents.
In determining these issues we must accept the findings of fact of the district court unless we find them to be clearly erroneous. 4
Carman argues that the "concave surfaces" limitation of claim 2 and the "concave member" limitations of claim 6 compel the conclusion that the '508 patent is not infringed by Carman's conical material-receiving member. If those limitations are interpreted to include a conical member, Carman contends that the claims would be obvious or anticipated and, therefore, the claims must be held invalid. 5 With respect to double patenting, Carman urges the correctness of the trial court's earlier finding of invalidity in Wahl v. Rexnord, Inc. 6
Vibra argues that it was error to conclude that the '508 patent was not literally infringed. Vibra contends that, in any event, the finding of infringement under the doctrine of equivalents should be affirmed. The '508 patent is valid in Vibra's view.
With respect to the issue of validity, three grounds of invalidity are argued: (1) that the invention is anticipated under section 102; (2) that the invention would have been obvious under section 103; and (3) that the '508 patent is invalid for double patenting in view of the earlier issued design patent to Wahl allegedly covering the same subject matter.
With respect to anticipation, Dumbaugh, U.S. patent No. 3,178,068 (Dumbaugh), is the closest prior art to the '508 patent. 7 Dumbaugh was before the examiner during prosecution of the '508 patent. That reference discloses a conical material-receiving member having a continuous slope. Reference is made in Dumbaugh to Lee, U.S. patent No. 3,071,297 for the teaching of material-receiving member walls made up of a combination of curves having a varying, yet continuous, slope. Thus, the slope disclosed in Dumbaugh, while either uniform or variable, is nonetheless continuous. Dumbaugh also employs a baffle plate in the lower portion of the material-receiving member to regulate the flow rate and to maintain flow. Additionally, the reference includes an agitation apparatus for inducing spiral flow to the material.
The district court found several differences between Dumbaugh and the '508 patent claims. While Dumbaugh employs a baffle plate as does the '508 patent, it does not disclose a break in slope between two or more compound curved sections. Judge Meanor found that element to be a critical feature of the claimed invention. Lacking an element of the claims, the reference cannot anticipate them under section 102.
We conclude that the trial court's findings with respect to anticipation are not clearly erroneous. Dumbaugh does not disclose all of the elements of the invention and, therefore, the invention is not anticipated under 35 U.S.C. Sec. 102.
Several prior art references are cited by Carman as establishing that the invention would have been obvious within the meaning of 35 U.S.C. Sec. 103. Dumbaugh and Lee, supra, are the most pertinent prior art references. Three additional prior art references were discussed by the court and are again propounded by Carman on appeal: Rouse, U.S. patent No. 3,012,697; British patent No. 508,528; and Wahl, U.S. patent No. 3,173,583. 8 None of these three references was before the examiner. Nonetheless, the district court found that Carman had not overcome the presumption of validity.
In a careful analysis, the court below assessed the scope and content of the prior art, the differences between the prior art and the invention, and the level of ordinary skill in the art as required under Graham v. John Deere Co. 9...
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