IN RE HAPGOOD, 2877.

• Decision Date: 28 March 1932
• Docket Number: No. 2877.,2877.
• Parties: In re HAPGOOD.
• Court: U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals (CCPA)

56 F.2d 461 (1932)

In re HAPGOOD.

No. 2877.

Court of Customs and Patent Appeals.

March 28, 1932.

C. A. Marshall, of Washington, D. C. (A. V. Cushman, of Washington, D. C., of counsel), for appellant.

T. A. Hostetler, of Washington, D. C. (Howard S. Miller, of Washington, D. C., of counsel), for the Commissioner of Patents.

Before GRAHAM, Presiding Judge, and BLAND, HATFIELD, GARRETT, and LENROOT, Associate Judges.

HATFIELD, Associate Judge.

This is an appeal from the decision of the Board of Appeals of the United States Patent Office affirming the decision of the Primary Examiner denying all of the claims, 1, 2, 4, and 5, in appellant's application for a patent for an alleged invention relating to a bearing mounting adapted for use on weighing scales.

The alleged invention consists of an agate-bearing element, preferably a block of agate having a V-shaped groove at its upper side, about which is cast, as defined in claims 1, 2, and 4, or molded, as defined in claim 5, a clip of metal having a projecting stem; the axis of the stem being perpendicular "to the pivot bearing line of the element."

The agate bearings are designed to support pivots of hardened steel, and it is necessary, if the mechanism is to operate without binding, that the grooves in the agate bearings be accurately aligned. By casting the metal clip about the bearing element, it is held firmly in position.

Claims 1 and 5 are illustrative. They read:

"1. In a device of the class described, in combination, a non-metallic bearing element having a bearing line for a pivot, said bearing element being tightly gripped within a clip of metal which is cast about said element, said clip having a stem projecting therefrom, the axis of said stem being perpendicular to the pivot bearing line of the element."

"5. In a device of the class described, in combination, an agate bearing element having a bearing line for a pivot, said element being secured within a clip of material which is molded about said element so as to firmly grip it, said clip having a stem projecting therefrom, the axis of said stem being perpendicular to the pivot bearing line of the element."

The references relied upon by the Primary Examiner were:

Wennstrom, 856,007, June 4, 1907. Jankower, 1,290,564, January 7, 1919. Lee, 1,331,113, February 17, 1920. Hurt, 1,478,123, December 18, 1923.

The Board of Appeals held that the patents to Wennstrom and Lee, cited by the examiner, were not proper references, because they did not state how the clips were secured to the bearing elements.

The board relied upon the following references:

Robinson, 2,904, January 10, 1843. Krause, 704,874, October 6, 1903. Loesser, 1,088,233, February 24, 1914. Jankower, 1,290,564, January 7, 1919. Davids, 1,400,423, December 13, 1921. Hurt, 1,478,123, December 18, 1923.

And, with regard thereto, said: "A further search discloses the following patents which are held to be pertinent. Patent No. 2,904 to Robinson discloses a glass door knob about which is cast a metallic socket. Patent No. 740,874 to Krause discloses a drawing diamond embedded by casting in iron or steel alloys. ...