Saf-Gard Products, Inc. v. Service Parts, Inc.
| Decision Date | 11 January 1974 |
| Docket Number | No. Civ-70-455 Phx WEC.,Civ-70-455 Phx WEC. |
| Citation | 370 F. Supp. 257 |
| Parties | SAF-GARD PRODUCTS, INC., an Arizona corporation, Plaintiff, v. SERVICE PARTS, INC., an Indiana corporation, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Arizona |
Samuel J. Sutton, Jr., Cahill, Sutton & Thomas, Phoenix, Ariz., for plaintiff.
Eugene C. Knoblock, South Bend, Ind. and O'Connor Cavanagh, Anderson & Westover, Phoenix, Ariz., for defendants.
FINDINGS OF FACT, CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND JUDGMENT
The above entitled cause is one in which plaintiff asserts a patent infringement by defendants. The plaintiff, Saf-Gard Products, Inc., is an Arizona corporation, having its offices and production facilities in Tempe, Arizona. Plaintiff's sole business is the manufacture and sale of radiator accessory kits, which are used for converting standard automotive cooling systems to an improved cooling system, described and claimed in the litigated Patent No. 3,601,181.
The principal defendant, Service Parts, Inc., is an Indiana corporation, having its principal place of business in South Bend, Indiana. The defendant, Service Parts, Inc., manufactures and sells radiator accessory kits, substantially identical to plaintiff's patented product.
The remaining defendants to the action, Balkamp, Inc., an Indiana corporation, having its principal place of business in Indianapolis, Indiana; Genuine Parts Company, a Georgia corporation, having an office and place of business in Phoenix, Arizona; Town and Country Chrysler Plymouth, an Arizona corporation, having its principal place of business in Phoenix, Arizona; Marvin Hawkes, d/b/a Hawkes Radiator Service, having a place of business in Mesa, Arizona. These defendants distribute and resell radiator accessory kits manufactured by the defendant, Service Parts, Inc.
The action was properly instituted in this Court pursuant to Title 35 U.S.C. §§ 271 and 282 et seq., Title 28 U.S.C. § 1338, and Title 15 U.S.C. §§ 1121 and 1125 (a).
The action is primarily based upon the defendants' infringement on plaintiff's Patent No. 3,601,181. Plaintiff has specifically charged defendant Service Parts, Inc., with unfair competition and unjust enrichment.
The case was tried extensively to the Court on the issue of liability of the defendants. The issue as to damages was bifurcated to a subsequent date to be determined. The trial commenced on March 15, 1973.
Upon conclusion of the trial the matter was taken under advisement pending submission of memorandum by each of the parties. Memoranda having been received and reviewed by the Court, and the Court being fully advised in the premises reaches the following findings of fact and conclusions of law and judgment:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. The litigated Patent No. 3,601,181 entitled "Method and Apparatus for Purging Air from Internal Combustion Engine Cooling Systems," is a continuation of an application which matured into United States Patent No. 3,499,481, which was in turn a continuation in part of an application filed by the inventor Walter C. Avrea, November 15, 1967, and assigned Serial No. 683,223 in the United States Patent Office.
2. The plaintiff, Saf-Gard Products, Inc., is the owner of the entire right, title and interest in and to the litigated patent and all related patents and applications therefor.
3. The fundamental objective of the standard engine cooling system is to transfer excessive heat away from the engine to a point where it can be dissipated into the surrounding environment. This objective is almost universally achieved by circulating a liquid (water) through closed channels within the engine block. Figure I illustrates the components of a standard automobile engine cooling system.
4. While many attempts have been made to improve, modify or add to the various components in this fundamental cooling circuit, none of these attempts have achieved sufficiently significant results to justify their being permanently incorporated into the cooling systems used on mass produced vehicles. Thus, the standard cooling systems of the late 1960's were fundamentally the same as the cooling systems used at the beginning of the century.
5. Standard cooling systems are typically filled to a maximum level which is two to four inches below the top of the radiator (see Figure I). As the engine runs, the water and air in the cooling system undergo thermal expansion, i. e. their volume increases with increased temperature. In some cooling systems the pressure relief valve in the radiator cap is normally closed and serves to initially seal the cooling system. In such systems internal pressure builds up as the temperature rises and the internal fluids undergo thermal expansion. When the maximum desired internal pressure is exceeded, the pressure relief valve opens to allow excess amounts of air and water to be expelled through the overflow tube until the pressure within the cooling system drops below the maximum desired level.
6. In other cooling systems, the pressure relief valve in the radiator cap is normally open and does not seal the cooling system until boiling occurs. Boiling causes a sudden volumetric surge which closes the pressure valve, allowing internal pressure to build up to a point where the boiling is stopped or decreased. If the pressure increases beyond the maximum desired level, the pressure relief valve is opened and, after a sufficient quantity of air and liquid coolant has been expelled, the pressure declines to the desired level.
7. During the normal operation of a standard cooling system, the air at the top of the radiator is vigorously mixed with the circulating water, becomes entrained in the water and is circulated as a foam throughout the cooling system; i. e., through the radiator, connecting hoses, pump chamber and passageways in the engine. One of the results of this phenomenon is cavitation and boiling.
8. The actual formation of the bubbles, which constitute the physical indicia of cavitation and boiling, is enhanced to a significant extent by the presence of small nuclei which take the form of entrained air bubbles, small rust particles, or other non-liquid foreign matter which may circulate through the cooling system.
9. Cavitation and boiling may be eliminated or controlled through three principal techniques: (a) by decreasing the temperature of the liquid (which adversely affects engine efficiency); (b) by increasing the pressure of the liquid; or (c) by eliminating nuclei from the liquid.
10. The perennial presence of air in the standard internal combustion system has assured the corrosion and oxidation of internal rubber and metallic parts.
11. Another shortcoming inherent in the design and operation of the standard cooling system is the irreversible loss of liquid coolant. When the engine heats and the internal pressure builds to a point which exceeds the design value of the pressure cap, the main valve in the cap opens and a combination of air and coolant flows out through the overflow tube and onto the ground. As the engine cools, the remaining liquid coolant undergoes thermal contraction which creates a partial vacuum in the cooling system; air is drawn back into the radiator to relieve this vacuum. The net result is that the system contains less heat carrying liquid and more corrosion and cavitation inducing air. Persons refiling radiators are periodically exposed to the physical hazard of removing the radiator cap so that the necessary makeup coolant may be added to the system.
12. The various prior art patents considered by the Court (some 89 in number) included among their fundamental objectives: the improvement of engine cooling efficiency, the reduced incidence of boiling, the reduction of cavitation at the water pump, the conservation of liquid coolant, the provision of supplemental coolant reserves, the improvement of coolant circulation, the partial deaeration of the cooling system, the maintenance of appropriate coolant levels, and the improvement of cooling system pressurization and pressure maintenance.
13. Cooling system problems of boiling, cavitation, plugging, coolant loss, antifreeze deterioration, rust, corrosion and overall cooling efficiency have existed since the introduction of the automobile in this country, and certainly before the 1920's. A review of prior art patents also reveals the vast research and development effort which has been continually conducted over the past fifty years in an attempt to eliminate cooling system problems. The leaders in the automotive industry have actively and extensively participated in this effort.
14. In the litigated patent, what Mr. Avrea discovered was that if substantially all air and gaseous matter could be eliminated and prevented from re-entering the cooling system, and if the cooling system could be rapidly pressurized and maintained under pressure, then all of the aforementioned prior art problems could be eliminated, or their effects substantially mitigated. What Mr. Avrea invented was, as the title of his patent reveals, "A Method and Apparatus for Purging Air from Internal Combustion Engine Cooling Systems."
15. The claims in suit, which are reproduced in Appendix A, include method Claim 1, independent apparatus Claim 2 and dependent Claim 3. These claims serve to describe the patented invention both in a legal sense and in a technical sense.
16. The patented apparatus may be most simply described in terms of its installation on a standard automotive cooling system. A vented accumulator is mounted in the engine compartment. An overflow tube is connected between a low point in the accumulator and the overflow outlet on the radiator filler neck. Coolant is added to the accumulator so that it is filled above the low point where the overflow tube communicates with the interior portion of the accumulator. The existing radiator cap is removed and the radiator and engine block are filled as completely as possible...
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