Epcon Gas Systems, Inc. v. Bauer Compressors, Inc.
| Decision Date | 01 February 2002 |
| Docket Number | No. 01-1043.,No. 01-1071.,01-1043.,01-1071. |
| Citation | 279 F.3d 1022 |
| Parties | EPCON GAS SYSTEMS, INC. and Norman S. Loren, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. BAUER COMPRESSORS, INC., Defendant-Cross Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Federal Circuit |
Gerald E. McGlynn, III, Bliss McGlynn, P.C., of Troy, MI, argued for plaintiffs-appellants.
John A. Artz, Artz & Artz P.C., of Southfield, MI, argued for defendant-cross appellant. With him on the brief were John S. Artz and Robert P. Renke.
Before MAYER, Chief Judge, CLEVENGER, and LINN, Circuit Judges.
Epcon Gas Systems, Inc. and Norman S. Loren ("Epcon") appeal the decision of the district court granting summary judgment of non-infringement in favor of Bauer Compressors, Inc. ("Bauer"). Because the district court erred in its construction of claim 2 and summary judgment of non-infringement was improperly granted as a result, we reverse the grant of summary judgment and remand for trial. We affirm the denial of Bauer's motion to declare this case exceptional.
U.S. Patent No. 5,118,455 ("the '455 patent") issued on June 2, 1992 with claims directed to a method and apparatus for providing gas assistance to an injection molding process. Claims 2 and 16 have been asserted by Epcon, the exclusive licensee of the '455 patent, against Bauer, its competitor in the injection molding accessory business.
Claim 2 recites a method:
2. A method of providing gas assistance to a resin injection molding process of the type in which hot resin is injected into a mold, gas is injected into the mold to displace a portion of the resin in the mold, the resin cools, the gas is vented and the mold is opened to remove the molded part, a supply of stored as [sic, gas] is provided, the gas is injected into the mold to displace the resin in the mold cavity at a pressure that is at all times during the gas injection cycle substantially below the pressure of the stored gas supply, the improvement wherein, following the initial injection of the gas into the mold and prior to the venting of the gas from the mold, the gas pressure within the mold is selectively increased, decreased, or held substantially constant depending upon the particular requirements of the molding process.
Claim 16 recites an apparatus:
16. An apparatus for providing gas assistance to a resin injection molding process of the type in which hot resin is injected into a mold cavity, gas is injected into the mold to displace a portion of the resin in the mold, the resin cools, the gas is vented and the mold is opened to remove the molded part, the improvement wherein a supply of stored gas is provided and the apparatus includes control means which are operative to inject gas into the mold to fill out the mold cavity at a pressure that is at all times during the gas injection cycle substantially below the pressure of the stored gas supply and which are further operative, following the initial injection of gas into the mold and prior to the venting of the gas from the mold, to selectively increase the gas pressure within the mold, decrease the gas pressure within the mold, or maintain the gas pressure within the mold at a particular value.
Figure 19 and a portion of Figure 1B from the '455 patent illustrate exemplary components of a gas-assisted injection molding apparatus:
NOTE: OPINION CONTAINING TABLE OR OTHER DATA THAT IS NOT VIEWABLE
The gas is introduced into an injection nozzle 10 connected to an injection molding machine 12 which is actuated to force resin through the nozzle outlet 14 so as to inject a quantity of hot resin 16 into a mold cavity 18. The mold cavity 18 is defined, for example, by first and second mold halves 19 and 20. The resin 16 passes successively through a runner 22 and a gate 23 into the mold cavity 18. The quantity of resin 16 injected is typically a "short shot," i.e., less than the amount required to totally fill the mold cavity 18.
Following the introduction of the resin 16 into the mold cavity 18, pressurized gas is introduced into the mold via a gas injection conduit 40 through a central nozzle aperture 25 (FIG.19) to fill out the mold cavity 18 with resin 16. The invention of the '455 patent provides an improved method and apparatus for selectively controlling the pressure of the gas delivered to the mold. Figure 2 illustrates one embodiment of the method of claim 2:
NOTE: OPINION CONTAINING TABLE OR OTHER DATA THAT IS NOT VIEWABLE
The control means of the invention allows the gas pressure within the mold, following the initial injection of gas into the mold and prior to the venting of the gas from the mold, to be selectively increased, decreased or held substantially constant, depending upon the particular requirements of the molding operation. In the exemplary gas pressure profile illustrated in FIG. 2, the gas is injected at a relatively constant pressure to displace the resin in the mold (A), then the gas pressure is reduced to a lower level (B), where-after the gas pressure is selectively varied during the resin cooling cycle (C), and finally the gas pressure is vented (D) and the mold is opened to remove the molded part.
Gas assistance in injection molding is desirable because it forces the molten resin against the mold cavity in order to fill or "pack out" the mold during processing. This permits the formation of parts having a better surface finish and thinner walls, resulting in parts of lesser mass and reduced material cost. The preferred gas used in gas-assisted injection molding is nitrogen. '455 patent, col. 1, ll. 26-27.
In 1998, Bauer began making a "nitrogen control unit" ("NCU") suitable for use in gas assisted injection molding and opened an office in Michigan to sell equipment to businesses practicing gas-assisted injection molding. The new Bauer office also sold gas supplies, including bottled nitrogen and nitrogen generators/compressors.
Epcon filed suit for infringement in the Eastern District of Michigan alleging, inter alia, that Bauer's activities in connection with its NCU infringed claims 2 and 16 of the '455 patent. Bauer moved for summary judgment of non-infringement and invalidity of the '455 patent and to declare this case exceptional. The district court held a Markman hearing concerning the interpretation of claims 2 and 16 on February 28, 2000. On September 19, 2000, the district court construed the disputed limitations of claims 2 and 16, granted summary judgment of non-infringement in favor of Bauer, declined to rule on Bauer's motion for summary judgment of invalidity, and denied the motion to declare the case exceptional.
Epcon appeals the grant of summary judgment of non-infringement, and Bauer cross-appeals the denial of its motion to declare the case exceptional. Although both parties stated in their briefs that our jurisdiction in this case is based on 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(1), we have jurisdiction of this case pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1295(a)(1).
We review de novo a district court's grant of summary judgment. Conroy v. Reebok Int'l, Ltd., 14 F.3d 1570, 1575, 29 USPQ2d 1373, 1377 (Fed.Cir. 1994). Summary judgment is appropriate when there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c); Johnston v. IVAC Corp., 885 F.2d 1574, 1576-77, 12 USPQ2d 1382, 1383 (Fed.Cir.1989). In determining whether there is a genuine issue of material fact, the evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion, with doubts resolved in favor of the nonmovant. Transmatic, Inc. v. Gulton Indus., Inc., 53 F.3d 1270, 1274, 35 USPQ2d 1035, 1037 (Fed. Cir.1994).
Claim interpretation raises issues of law that this court reviews de novo. Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc., 52 F.3d 967, 977, 34 USPQ2d 1321, 1329 (Fed.Cir.1995) (en banc), aff'd, 517 U.S. 370, 116 S.Ct. 1384, 134 L.Ed.2d 577 (1996). This court reviews factual findings by the district court for clear error. Molins PLC v. Textron, Inc., 48 F.3d 1172, 1186, 33 USPQ2d 1823, 1833 (Fed.Cir. 1995). If these factual underpinnings withstand scrutiny, we review a determination as to awarding attorney fees, i.e., whether the award was appropriate and the amount reasonable, for abuse of discretion. Id.
The district court found that both claims 2 and 16 were subject to § 112, paragraph 6 because they are in "step plus function" and "means plus function" form, respectively. Epcon does not contest that the apparatus claim 16 includes a limitation in means plus function form ("control means"). However, Epcon argues that no limitations of claim 2 are in "step plus function" form and that the court erred in interpreting claim 2 according to § 112, paragraph 6.
Following the preamble and the transition, claim 2 recites:
following the initial injection of the gas into the mold and prior to the venting of the gas from the mold, the gas pressure within the mold is selectively increased, decreased, or held substantially constant depending upon the particular requirements of the molding process.
'455 patent, col. 17, ll. 13-18. For a method claim, § 112, paragraph 6 is implicated only when steps plus function without acts are present. O.I. Corp. v. Tekmar Co. Inc., 115 F.3d 1576, 1583, 42 USPQ2d 1777, 1782 (Fed.Cir.1997). Merely claiming a step by itself, or a series of steps, without recital of a function does not trigger the application of § 112, paragraph 6. Id. Furthermore, method claims that "parallel," or have limitations similar to, apparatus claims admittedly subject to § 112, paragraph 6 are not necessarily subject to the requirements of § 112, paragraph 6. Id. "Each claim must be independently reviewed in order to determine if it is subject to the requirements of § 112, paragraph 6." Id.
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