Plax Corp. v. Elmer E. Mills Corp.
| Decision Date | 08 June 1953 |
| Docket Number | No. 10695.,10695. |
| Citation | 204 F.2d 302 |
| Parties | PLAX CORP. v. ELMER E. MILLS CORP. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit |
John A. Dienner, Edward C. Grelle, Carl S. Lloyd, Chicago, Ill., for appellant.
Charles L. Byron, Howard W. Clement, Chicago, Ill., Alfred C. Aurich, Philadelphia, Pa. (Synnestvedt & Lechner, Philadelphia, Pa., of counsel), for appellee.
Before DUFFY, LINDLEY and SWAIM, Circuit Judges.
In a suit for the infringement of certain patents owned by the plaintiff, the Plax Corporation, the District Court found that Claims 8, 19, 20, 21, 23 and 26 of Ferngren Patent No. 2,128,239, Claim 11 of Ferngren Patent No. 2,175,053, and Claim 6 of Kopitke Patent No. 2,349,177 were valid and infringed. The court entered judgment enjoining the defendant, the Elmer E. Mills Corporation, from further infringement and ordering an accounting for damages suffered by the plaintiff. From this judgment the defendant appeals.
All the claims in issue relate to processes for forming hollow articles, such as bottles and other types of containers, from material in a plastic state. In general, the patented processes consist of preshaping the plasticized material into tubular form by extrusion of the material through a die having an annular orifice; delivering the tube of plasticized material into a mold having a cavity which defines the shape of the completed article; expanding the tube to meet the confines of the mold cavity by blowing; and cooling or rigidifying the material so expanded, after which the article is removed from the mold.
In each of the patented processes the leading end of the tubular body is closed, either before it is delivered into the mold or upon contact with the bottom of the mold cavity. The compressed air or other distending medium is introduced directly into the tubular body of plasticized material through a blow pipe located within the extrusion tube. The combined extrusion and blowing mechanism is operative at a given time with respect to but a single mold and is monopolized by that mold for the period of time required to form the article within. A more detailed description of the patented processes is contained in the specifications, to which we shall refer later.
The accused process, in general, likewise consists of injecting compressed air into an extruded tube of plasticized material and distending the material to the confines of a mold cavity. More specifically, in carrying out this process a series of molds is arranged along the periphery of a continuously rotating, circular table. Each mold has a bottle forming cavity and is separable to provide upper and lower mold halves. The molds are opened consecutively to receive segments of the plastic tubing which is delivered continuously and at a constant rate from a conventional extruder with an annular die. Air at low pressure is admitted to the interior of the tubing in the region of discharge from the die so as to prevent the extruded tube from collapsing. The molds are positioned so that as they travel in their circular path the center line of each successive mold cavity becomes substantially parallel to the plastic tubing emanating from the extruder, whereby the plastic tubing is positioned between the open mold halves. The continuously traveling molds are placed so that the neck portion of the bottle-forming cavities lead, and the velocity of the molds is adjusted to be slightly greater than the rate at which the tubing is discharged from the extruder to effect a slight stretching of the tubular material. Guide posts are provided to align the plastic tubing along the center line of each of the mold cavities.
At opposite ends of the cavity in each mold half there are narrow lands. The plastic tubing settles upon the narrow lands of the lower mold half as the mold cavities successively reach the position of parallelism with the extruded tubing. Immediately thereafter the upper mold half is urged downwardly and closes tightly against the lower half. As the mold closes the lands at the ends of both the upper and lower halves pinch the tubing firmly together at both ends of the mold simultaneously. The segment of the tubing upon which the mold has closed is thus sealed off, and becomes a sealed fluid-tight chamber isolated from every other section and from the rest of the member of tubular material extending between the last mold to be closed and the parent mass of the plasticized material.
As the mold closes, the lower end of a hollow blowing needle, located within the leading end of the upper mold half, pierces that end of the plastic tubing as it is sealed within the mold. Compressed air is then forced through the needle into the sealed tubing, expanding it against the adjacent surfaces of the mold cavity to form a bottle blank. A cooling medium circulated through chambers in the mold rigidifies the material, after which the mold opens and the hollow molded article is removed by the operator who manually grasps that bottle blank and tears it off the string of bottle blanks.
On the question of infringement the District Court found both that the specified claims of the patents in suit described the defendant's process and that the accused process came within the principle of these claims. We have concluded that in this the District Court was clearly in error.
The Ferngren Patent No. 2,128,239, hereinafter sometimes referred to as "Ferngren-239," reveals that in the practice of the patented process an extrusion tube is used which consists of two concentric tubes, the inner tube furnishing a conduit for the blowing air while the annular orifice between the two tubes serves as a conduit for the plasticized material. This extrusion tube is inserted into a mold cavity so that the end of the tube is relatively close to the bottom of the mold. At the same time plasticized material is forced through and out of the combination blow pipe and extrusion tube and is thus caused to assume the form of a tubular plastic body. The open, forward end of the extruding plastic tube either will have been confluently closed by aid of suction within the blow pipe or other means before the extrusion tube is positioned relatively close to the bottom of the mold, or it is closed after the extrusion tube is so positioned upon contact between the plastic tubing and the bottom of the mold. As the plastic tubing is then extruded, a portion of the material is deposited upon the bottom of the mold cavity and caused to spread, thus forming a bottom wall for the hollow article subsequently to be formed.
The combination blow pipe and extrusion tube is then progressively elevated with respect to the bottom of the mold cavity. Concurrently with this withdrawal away from the bottom of the mold plastic tubing is extruded and the compressed air or other distending medium is introduced into the tubing from the blow pipe. The effect of this synchronized extrusion and distending operation is to form a gradually extruding plastic bag or hollow blank which swells laterally as it is being extruded. As the emitting point of the progressively extruding tubular body traverses the entire mold cavity, the simultaneous distending influence forces the expanding hollow blank into conformity with the confines of the mold cavity. The combination blow pipe and extrusion tube is progressively elevated and the plastic tube is progressively extruded at a rate and in a quantity proper to insure the desired thickness or strength of the container wall at all levels within the mold.
After the end of the combination blow pipe and extrusion tube has thus traversed the entire mold cavity, extrusion ceases and the hollow article thus formed is severed from the parent body of plastic material remaining in the extrusion tube. The article is then rigidified by a cooling medium and removed from the mold.
The specifications and drawings of Ferngren Patent No. 2,175,053, hereinafter sometimes referred to as "Ferngren-053," disclose that in the practice of that process here pertinent, plasticized material is forced under pressure into a combination blow pipe and extrusion nozzle, thereby forming the material into a tube within the nozzle. A sleeve surrounding the lower portion of the nozzle and serving as the closing valve at its orifice confines this tubular body within the nozzle. A cup mold to be used in closing the end of the plastic tube is then brought into position beneath the nozzle. An air tight contact is made between the peripheral portion of the cup mold and the lower portion of the sleeve, thereby lifting the sleeve and opening the nozzle orifice. Pressure applied within the extruder forces the plasticized material into the space between the lower end of the nozzle and the inner surface of the cup mold. This forms a closure over the end of the tube, which closure comprises the bottom or end wall for a tubular wall formation subsequently to be extruded and formed into a hollow article.
The end closing mold is removed and an article mold is brought into position beneath and into contact with the nozzle. The plasticized material in the form of a closed-ended tubular body is then extruded into the article mold. Simultaneously low pressure air is introduced into the tube through an air valve in the nozzle to prevent its collapse. Extrusion of the tubular body continues until the closed end reaches the bottom of the article mold. The sleeve surrounding the lower portion of the nozzle then closes the orifice to cut off extrusion and the closed-ended tubular plastic body is sealed within the article mold. High pressure air is then introduced through the valve in the nozzle and the plastic tube is expanded into conformity with the confines of the mold. After the article is rigidified by a cooling medium circulating in the mold the article is removed from the mold.
The specifications and drawings reveal that in the practice of...
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