Curtiss-Wright Flow Control Corp. v. Velan, Inc.

• Decision Date: 15 February 2006
• Docket Number: No. 05-1373.,05-1373.
• Citation: 438 F.3d 1374
• Parties: CURTISS-WRIGHT FLOW CONTROL CORP., Plaintiff-Appellee, v. VELAN, INC., Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Federal Circuit

438 F.3d 1374

CURTISS-WRIGHT FLOW CONTROL CORP., Plaintiff-Appellee, v. VELAN, INC., Defendant-Appellant.

No. 05-1373.

United States Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit.

February 15, 2006.

Mark M. Supko, Crowell & Moring LLP, of Washington, DC, argued for plaintiff-appellee. With him on the brief were Mark H. Neblett and John R. Perkins, Jr.

Willem G. Schuurman, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P., of Austin, Texas, argued for defendant-appellant. With him on the brief were Michael J. Smith, Adam V. Floyd, Michael A. Valek and H. Kenneth Prol.

Before RADER, Circuit Judge, FRIEDMAN, Senior Circuit Judge, and DYK, Circuit Judge.

RADER, Circuit Judge.

The United States District Court for the Western District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction in favor of Curtiss-Wright Flow Control Corporation (Curtiss-Wright). After construing claims of U.S. Patent No. 6,565,714 (the '714 patent), the trial court determined that Curtiss-Wright had shown a likelihood of success on the merits of its infringement action against Velan, Inc. Curtiss-Wright Flow Control Corp. v. Velan, Inc., Civil Action No. SA-04-CA-1157-OG, slip op. at 18 (W.D.Tex. 2005) (Preliminary Injunction Order). Because the district court erred in its construction of the term "adjustable," this court vacates the preliminary injunction and remands.

I.

As described in the '714 patent, petroleum refineries recover valuable products from the heavy residual oil that is a by-product of the refining process. '714 patent, col. 1, ll. 20-60. That recovery process is known as "delayed coking." Id. Delayed coking heats the liquid petroleum residue to very high temperatures and then feeds the heated residue into a "coke drum." In the drum, cracking and polymerization converts the liquid residue into valuable distillates and solid coke. Id. A typical coke drum might be 120 feet high and 30 feet in diameter with openings at the top and bottom. These openings have large, flanged metal plates known as "heads." When the drum is full, the operators purge the byproducts and "de-head" the drum. During de-heading, the operators manually remove the top and bottom heads to remove the solid coke. Id. De-heading is both difficult and dangerous. Coke drums are very hot and the heads can weigh four tons. During removal, heated residues and coke can spill out and injure nearby workers. Id.

Curtiss-Wright's '714 patent claims a system and a method that de-heads the coke drum without manually removing the heads. '714 patent, col. 3, ll. 45-60. Instead, the de-heading system of the '714 patent includes a dual seated, linear motion, blind gate valve, i.e., a "de-header valve." Id. The upper and lower seats have aligned circular openings that make a single hole at, for example, the bottom of the coke drum. The blind moves linearly, horizontally between the two seats to open and close the hole at the base of the coke drum.

Figure 2 of a related patent, U.S. Patent No. 6,660,131 (the '131 patent),¹ shows this type of de-header valve 12 attached to a coke drum 18. Figure 11 of the '131 patent, also reproduced below, shows the internal details of the de-header valve 12.² In these figures, the de-header valve 12 has a body 46 and upper and lower seats 34 and 38. The upper and lower seats 34 and 38 are large metal rings whose openings line up to form a single hole. The upper seat 34 is a dynamic, live loaded seat, while the lower seat 38 is static. '714 patent, col. 8, ll. 51-62. Although not shown in figure 2, the blind, element 106 in figure 11, moves laterally within element 54. When the blind moves to the left, it opens the hole between seats 34 and 38. Thus, when the circular opening in the blind lines up with the openings in the seats, the blind is open.

NOTE: OPINION CONTAINING TABLE OR OTHER DATA THAT IS NOT VIEWABLE

NOTE: OPINION CONTAINING TABLE OR OTHER DATA THAT IS NOT VIEWABLE

The '714 patent describes the upper and lower seats, with reference to figure 2, as follows:

In the preferred embodiment, the static seat is a one piece seat that is securely fastened to de-header valve 12 and is preferably non-adjustable. . . . In contrast to the static seat, dynamic, live loaded seat is a moveable and adjustable seat that is energized from without the process stream via live seat adjustment mechanism. The function of the dynamic, live loaded seat is to provide point to point fine tuning of the system, and particularly the blind as it is sealed between upper and lower seats 34 and 38.

'714 patent, col. 9, ll. 9-19. Thus, as the blind moves between the top and bottom seats, the dynamic, live loaded seat (closest to the drum interior) exerts force downward on the blind. The invention adjusts that force to allow linear movement of the blind between the seats while keeping a tight seal on the drum. See id. at col. 4, ll. 17-67. In the preferred embodiment, the invention accomplishes this vital adjustment with an adjustment mechanism (the circled element in the upper-left-hand portion of figure 11). Id. at col. 13, ll. 43-50. The adjustment mechanism of the '714 patent functions to facilitate operation of the de-header system. See, e.g., id. at col. 14, ll. 50-55.

On December 16, 2004, Curtiss-Wright sued Velan, claiming that a Velan valve infringed the '714 patent. On March 1, 2005, Curtiss-Wright sought a preliminary injunction to prevent Velan from launching a new valve at an upcoming industry conference, alleging infringement of claims 14, 33 and 36 of the '714 patent. Velan's valves do not include adjustment mechanisms like those disclosed in the '714 patent. Instead, Velan's valves include upper dynamic, live loaded seats with internal biasing springs. These springs modulate the pressure on the seat to allow the blind to move. Velan designed its seats to allow replacement of these biasing springs. To change the biasing force in Velan's dynamic, live loaded seats, an operator must replace these internal biasing springs. Thus, Velan's system envisions removal of the valves from the coke drum. Preliminary Injunction Order, slip op. at 16-17.

Claim 14 of the '714 patent recites:

14. A coke drum bottom de-heading system comprising:

at least one coke drum containing manufactured coke therein, said at least one coke drum having a flanged bottom orifice;

a de-header valve removably coupled to said coke drum to facilitate the removal of said coke from said at least one coke drum by de-heading said at least one coke drum, said de-header valve comprising:

a main body having an [sic] flanged orifice therein for removably coupling said de-header valve to said flanged bottom orifice of said coke drum;

an upper and lower bonnet coupled to said main body;

an adjustable dynamic, live loaded seat coupled to said main body;

a static seat coupled to said main body in opposition to said dynamic, live loaded seat; and

a blind coupled to said main body and actuated by an actuator, said blind capable of moving in a bi-directional manner within said de-header valve between said dynamic, live loaded and static seats to control the opening and closing of said de-header valve, said blind providing a seal between said dynamic, live loaded seat and said static seat, said coke drum is de-headed, thus preparing said coke drum for the removal of said coke, by actuating said blind from a closed, sealed position, to an open position thereby causing said coke that has accumulated on said blind and within said valve to be sheared from said blind.

'714 patent, claim 14 (emphasis added).

According to the trial court, the term "adjustable" in claim 14 means that the bias force on the live loaded seat can be changed in a manner that is "not limited by any time, place, manner, or means of adjustment." Preliminary Injunction Order, slip op. at 16. Based on that construction, the trial court concluded that Curtiss-Wright had shown a reasonable likelihood of success on the merits of its infringement claim. Id., slip op. at 18. The trial court observed that Velan can "adjust" the bias force by replacing the springs in its de-header valve. Id. After further considering irreparable harm, the balance of hardships, and the public interest, the district court granted Curtiss-Wright's motion for a preliminary injunction. Id., slip op. at 21. Velan appeals.

II.

"The grant of a preliminary injunction under 35 U.S.C. § 283 is within the discretion of the district court. This court reviews a preliminary injunction decision for an abuse of discretion." Gillette Co. v. Energizer Holdings, Inc., 405 F.3d 1367, 1370 (Fed.Cir.2005) (citing Novo Nordisk of N. Am., Inc. v. Genentech, Inc., 77 F.3d 1364, 1367 (Fed.Cir.1996)). "The court's determination can be overturned only on a showing that it abused its discretion, committed an error of law, or seriously misjudged the evidence." We Care, Inc. v. Ultra-Mark Int'l Corp., 930 F.2d 1567, 1570 (Fed.Cir.1991) (citing H.H. Robertson, Co. v. United Steel Deck, Inc., 820 F.2d 384, 387 (Fed.Cir.1987)). This court reviews claim construction without deference. Collegenet, Inc. v. Applyyourself, Inc., 418 F.3d 1225, 1230 (citing Cybor Corp. v. FAS Techs., Inc., 138 F.3d 1448, 1456 (Fed.Cir.1998) (en banc)); Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc., 52 F.3d 967, 979 (Fed.Cir.1995), aff'd, 517 U.S. 370, 116 S.Ct. 1384, 134 L.Ed.2d 577 (1996).

The trial court's claim construction followed a logical path. The court first set forth the ordinary meaning of "adjustable": "capable of making a change to something or capable of being changed." Preliminary Injunction Order, slip op. at 10. The court then determined that a narrower construction of "adjustable" would be inconsistent with other claims in the '714 patent, which recite an adjustment mechanism that allows adjustment while the device is in use or operation. Id. at 11-13. In other words, the district court relied on claim differentiation during its claim construction. Finally, the district court explained that any construction of the term "adjus...