Chemical Construction Corp. v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp.

• Decision Date: 18 December 1962
• Docket Number: 13826.,No. 13825,13825
• Citation: 311 F.2d 367
• Parties: CHEMICAL CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. JONES & LAUGHLIN STEEL CORPORATION, Defendant-Appellee. CHEMICAL CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. JONES & LAUGHLIN STEEL CORPORATION, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit

311 F.2d 367 (1962)

CHEMICAL CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. JONES & LAUGHLIN STEEL CORPORATION, Defendant-Appellee.

CHEMICAL CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. JONES & LAUGHLIN STEEL CORPORATION, Defendant-Appellant.

Nos. 13825, 13826.

United States Court of Appeals Third Circuit.

Argued June 19, 1962.

Decided December 18, 1962.

Walter H. Free, New York City, (Brumbaugh, Free, Graves & Donohue, John W. Brumbaugh, James N. Buckner, New York City, on the brief), for Chemical Const. Corp.

Walter J. Blenko, Jr., Pittsburgh, Pa., (Walter J. Blenko, Gordon R. Harris, Blenko, Hoopes, Leonard & Buell, Pittsburgh, Pa., on the brief), for Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp.

Before BIGGS, Chief Judge, and GANEY and SMITH, Circuit Judges.

SMITH, Circuit Judge.

These appeals are from a judgment entered in an action for the infringement of Patent No. 2,604,185, granted in July of 1952, on an application filed by Johnstone and Anthony in November of 1946, and assigned to the Pease-Anthony Equipment Company prior to the grant thereof. The patent and all rights thereunder were later assigned to the plaintiff. The only claims in issue in the trial of the action were 5, 6, 8 and 9, which were held invalid and, if valid, not infringed. We consider initially only the questions raised on the plaintiff's appeal; the questions raised on the defendant's appeal will be separately considered.

PATENT IN SUIT

The patent in suit relates to improvements on the impingement method for the removal of particulate matter from industrial gases, and apparatus suitable for the practice of the methods. The method was well known in the art and had been highly developed long prior to the application for the patent. We direct our particular attention to Claims 9 and 6, which are admittedly typical.

The alleged invention of claim 9 is described as follows:

"The method of washing gases to remove finely divided matter therefrom which comprises directing the gas to be treated through a treating passage WHILE ACCELERATING THE GAS, CONTINUOUSLY MAINTAINING WITHIN THE ACCELERATED GAS STREAM and in spaced relation over the stream cross-section within the treating passage DISCRETE MASSES OF WASHING LIQUID, said masses of washing liquid being introduced transversely of the gas stream TO PENETRATE THE STREAM AND CAUSE THE ACCELERATED GAS AND SUSPENDED MATTER TO IMPINGE ON and disrupt the liquid masses in turbulent extended-surface contact between the gas and the liquid, and thereafter separating the suspended droplets from the gas." (Emphasis by the Court).

The alleged invention of claim 6 is described as follows:

"Apparatus for washing gases to remove finely divided matter therefrom, COMPRISING A VENTURI PAS SAGE WITHIN WHICH THE GAS IS ACCELERATED, and means for introducing washing liquid into THE ACCELERATED GAS STREAM WITHIN THE PASSAGE comprising a plurality of nozzles disposed in spaced relation around the Venturi passage, said nozzles having discharge apertures for discharging solid jets of washing liquid INWARDLY OF AND SUBSTANTIALLY NORMAL TO THE WALLS OF SAID PASSAGE IN PENETRATING RELATION to the accelerated gas streams TO CAUSE THE SAID GAS STREAM TO IMPINGE ON SAID JETS AT A RELATIVE VELOCITY SUBSTANTIALLY THAT OF THE ACCELERATED STREAM within the passage and thereby disrupt the liquid jets in turbulent extended-surface contact between the liquid and the gas." (Emphasis by the Court).

The venturi is essentially a cylinder, the internal surface of which consists of two truncated cones connected at the small ends. The venturi is employed in the alleged invention of claims 5 and 6 as a means to increase the velocity of the gas. There are several modifications of the structure found in the prior art.

The method of claim 9 comprises the following successive and concomitant steps: (1) the introduction of the gas through an inlet duct under the influence of a conventional blower; (2) the acceleration of the gas stream by means of a venturi; (3) the introduction of the washing liquid, through pressure-atomizing nozzles or other means, in the vicinity of the venturi throat and transversely of the gas stream; (4) the maintenance of the washing liquid in "discrete masses" within the accelerated gas stream; and (5) the separation of the droplets, on which the particulate matter is deposited, by conventional means. The claim to invention is limited to steps (2), (3) and (4), which embody the inventive concept.

The apparatus described in claim 6 comprises but two elements: (1) a venturi passage, hereinabove described; and (2) a plurality of nozzles annularly disposed in the vicinity of the venturi throat in the manner described in the claim. The specifications recommend utilization of a conventional blower as a means to introduce the gas into the chamber under pressure, a means admittedly well known in the art.

PRIOR ART

The impingement method for removal of particulate matter from industrial gases was in common use many years prior to the application for the patent in suit. It was common practice first, to introduce the gas under the influence of a suitable fan or blower; second, to accelerate the gas stream by directing it through an orifice or a venturi; and third, to introduce the water in the form of a fine spray and transversely of the gas stream. The advantages of this combination of operational steps were well known.

It was recognized that the removal of particulate matter could be accomplished by forcibly directing the gas stream against a film or sheet of water which entrained the inert matter while permitting free flow of the gas. It was well known that the introduction of the water across the gas stream in the form of a fine spray extended the effective surface of the water, thereby increasing the area of inter-facial friction. It was recognized that the effectiveness of the impingement method was dependent on not only the affinity of the dust particles for the washing liquid but also on the electrostatic influence produced by friction.

The Dye Patent, No. 420,378, dated January 28, 1890, covers an apparatus for the removal of particulate matter from illuminating gas. The relevant disclosure of this patent must be considered in the context of the state of the art as of the time of the cited patent. Illuminating gas was generated in a sealed retort from which it was discharged at a relatively high temperature which increased its volume and consequently its velocity. The cited patent describes an apparatus in which the water, introduced transversely of the gas stream, is trajected across the gas stream and against the inner surface of the conduit so as to rebound in the form of a fine spray. The gas stream, the velocity of which is relatively higher than that of the water, disrupts the sheet of water and produces atomization and an area of turbulence. The removal of the particulate matter, according to the specifications, is effected by the impingement of the gas stream against the "sheet of water" and "the diffused spray."

The British Patent to Danner and Kubelka, herein identified as the Danner Patent, No. 5689, accepted August 3, 1901, relates to a method and an apparatus for the removal of particulate matter from industrial gases. The patent covers two variants, one in which the gas is introduced concurrent with the water, and another in which the gas is introduced countercurrent to the water; the operative principle inherent in each method is essentially the same. We select for discussion the latter method.

The method of the cited reference comprises the following successive and concomitant steps: (1) the introduction of the gas into a chamber under the influence of a blower; (2) the acceleration of the gas stream by means of a venturi; (3) the introduction of the washing liquid through pressure atomizing nozzles or other means, in the vicinity of the venturi throat and countercurrent to the gas stream; (4) the maintenance of the washing liquid in the path of the gas stream and in the form of a finely divided spray; and (5) the separation of the droplets, on which the particulate matter is deposited, by conventional means.

The very essence of the invention, according to the specifications of the patent, resides in forcibly driving the gas stream against the finely divided spray of cleansing liquid with "great velocity," a velocity relatively higher than that of the cleansing liquid. The patent teaches that the impact of the gas stream, accelerated to a high velocity, extends the effective surface of the cleansing liquid, and thereby intensifies the cleaning action.

The apparatus employed in the described method comprises the following: (1) a blower of the conventional type; (2) a variant of the venturi passage; (3) a spray nozzle axially disposed in the vicinity of the venturi throat; and (4) conventional means for the collection of the particulate matter.

There is cited as prior art a "Venturi Dust Collector" constructed by the Bowen Research Corporation and installed in the plant of the Victor Chemical Works in 1940. This apparatus, which has been in continuous use since its installation, comprises the following: (1) a conventional blower fitted with a scroll; (2) a venturi passage of the type hereinabove described; and (3) a nozzle of the pressure atomizing type, axially disposed within the venturi passage. The apparatus and the principle of its operation were described in bulletins and advertising literature published and circulated long prior to 1946, when the application for the patent in suit was filed.

The method employed in the removal of the particulate matter, in the operation of the described apparatus, comprises the following steps: (1) the introduction of the gas through a scroll, under pressure and at high velocity; (2) the acceleration of the gas stream by means of a venturi; (3) the introduction of the washing liquid, through the pressure atomizing nozzle, and transversely of...