Carty v. Lehigh Val Co

• Citation: 40 L.Ed. 358,16 S.Ct. 240,160 U.S. 110
• Decision Date: 02 December 1895
• Docket Number: No. 9,9
• Parties: McCARTY et al. v. LEHIGH VAL. R. CO
• Court: United States Supreme Court

160 U.S. 110

16 S.Ct. 240

40 L.Ed. 358

McCARTY et al.

v LEHIGH VAL. R. CO.

No. 9.

December 2, 1895.

This was a bill in equity for the infringement of two letters patent issued to McCarty for improvements in car trucks, viz. patent No. 314,459, dated March 24, 1885, and patent No. 339,913, dated April 13, 1886. The application for the first patent was filed June 5, 1884, and for the second patent, August 31, 1883, so that in reality the second patent represents the prior invention. Upon the hearing in this court, complainants abandoned their claims under the first patent, No. 314,459, and asked for a decree only upon the third and fourth claims of the second patent, No. 339,913.

The invention covered by this patent consists of a metallic bolster for car trucks, upon which the whole body of the car is carried by a swinging pivot, as shown in the following drawings:

Fig. 1 of these drawings represents a side view of the car truck between the wheels, the ends of the bolster resting upon the side irons, A, of this truck. Fig. 2 represents the bolster formed of a top iron bar, F, and a lower iron bar, G, the bar, F, being arched and bolted at its ends to the bar, G. Between the bars are the supporting metallic columns, H, which rest on the bar, G. The crown or central portion of the bar, F, rests upon these columns, the bars and columns being firmly bolted together. J represents the side bearings, which rest on and are bolted to the bar, F, and have connected with them the ends of the truss rods, K, which are of inverted arch form. These side bearings and truss rods, however, are immaterial in the present case. On the under side of the ends of the bar, G, are screwed the plates, P, whose sides are notched or grooved, as at a, to receive the columns, B, of the side irons, the plates thus forming the end guides or supports of the upper bolster. The ends of the bar, G, are turned upwardly, forming the flanges, Q, against which the ends of the bar, F, abut.

The third and fourth claims, the only ones in issue, were as follows:

'3. The lower bar, G, having flanges, Q, turned up on its ends, in combination with the arched upper bar, F, having its ends bearing against said flanges, the guide plates, P, bolted to the ends of said bars under the same, the stops or blocks, M, inserted between bars, F and G, near their ends, and the pillars, H, also interposed between said bars, as stated.'

'4. The upper bolster, composed of the bent bar, F, straight bar, G, and interposing columns, M, in combination with the plates, P, secured beneath the bars, F, G, at their ends, and notched or grooved on their sides at a, to receive the columns, B, of the side irons, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.'

The answer of the defendants denied that McCarty was the original inventor of the alleged improvements; averred that said improvements were not of any advantage to the public, that the inventions were not patentable, had been described in prior publications, and had been publicly used elsewhere.

Upon a hearing upon pleadings and proofs, the bill was dismissed, and complainants appealed to this court. 43 Fed. 384.

Jerome Carty and R. A. Parker, for appellants.

Robert J. Fisher, for appellee.

Mr. Justice BROWN, after stating the facts in the foregoing language, delivered the opinion of the court.

The specification of the patent in this case does not, as specifications ordinarily do, state the peculiar functions of the patented device, the defects it is designed to remedy, or the features that distinguish it from other similar devices. This omission, however, is supplied by the testimony, which shows that the invention was due to the frequent breaking of wooden bolsters, of the form in common use, in what were termed the 'diamond truck,' and other forms of car trucks. After some fruitless experiments, McCarty conceived the idea of using two iron plates, thereby forming a strong bolster, without the disadvantage found in the use of wood alone, or wood in connection with the iron plates. This resulted in the application for patent No. 339,913, for a bolster partly supported by truss rods. It soon appeared, however, that the form shown in the drawings of 339,913 possessed the requisite strength without the truss rods, which were accordingly dispensed with, and patent No. 314,459 subsequently applied for.

A few days after McCarty applied for his first patent, viz. September 10, 1883, one William H. Montz made application for a similar device, upon which a patent was granted, apparently by mistake of the patent office, and an interference then declared between them. Priority in invention was awarded to McCarty, February 24, 1886, neither party taking any testimony. In this connection there was much evidence tending to show that in October, 1882, a convention of master car builders was held at Niagara Falls, at which McCarty's model was exhibited and examined by car builders, among whom was Mr. Lentz, master car builder of the Lehigh company, defendant in this case. Shortly after this, Mr. Lentz wrote an official letter in behalf of the defendant, requesting McCarty to send a blue-print of his truck, as shown at Niagara Falls the week before. A blue-print was accordingly sent to him on October 24th, which cor- responded with the drawing annexed to patent No. 339,913, soon after which the defendant company began the manufacture of bolsters for use in their cars substantially after the form in the blue-print, and in the following year Montz made application for the patent upon which the interference was declared between him and McCarty, which resulted in awarding priority of invention to McCarty. But this question of priority, if not settled conclusively by the interference, becomes immaterial in this case, in view of the anticipating device set up as a defense, which, if sustained, would probably apply as well to the one patent as to the other.

Freight cars are generally, if not universally, constructed so as to ride upon two four-wheeled trucks, upon which the cars are supported by means of devices called bolsters. One of these devices is attached to the bottom of the car body, and is called a body bolster. The other is attached to the truck, and is called the truck bolster. The body bolster rests upon the truck bolster, and at the point of contact there is a device called the center bearing plate, which, acting in connection with a king bolt, permits the truck to conform to inequalities and curvatures in the track, regardless of the direction of the axis of the car body. Side supports, shown as J in Fig. 2, are also furnished, to secure stability of the car upon the truck, and prevent any tendency to upset, by limiting the rocking of the car body. Ordinarily, though, the weight is carried upon the center bearing plate, that the swiveling may be done as easily as possible, in order to avoid friction between the car and the side bearings, especially in hauling a heavy train around a curve.

Truck bolsters are sometimes set rigidly upon the truck frame. These, however, were found defective, since, in case of inequalities in the track, the sinking of bad...