Standard Oil Co. v. Southern Pac. Co.

• Decision Date: 31 March 1890
• Citation: 42 F. 295
• Parties: STANDARD OIL CO. v. SOUTHERN PAC. CO. et al.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

42 F. 295

STANDARD OIL CO. v. SOUTHERN PAC. CO. et al.

United States Circuit Court, N.D. California.

March 31, 1890

This suit was brought by the Standard Oil Company against the Southern Pacific Company and Whittier, Fuller & Co., to restrain the infringement of letters patent No. 216,506 issued to M. Campbell Brown on

June 17, 1889, for an improvement in oil-cars. In the specification it was said:

'My invention relates to cars, and especially to that class of cars designed for transporting merchandise and oil or other liquids; and it consists in the parts and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed, whereby oil or other liquids may be safely transported in the same car with miscellaneous merchandise. The object, as briefly above stated, of my device is to produce an improved form of car for the transportation of oils and liquids in bulk which shall also be adapted for the transportation of ordinary merchandise on roads where a load of oil or liquid cannot be obtained on return trip, thus obviating the necessity of hauling empty tank-cars over long distances, as is now commonly done; and to this end the construction of the ordinary freight-car is modified as follows: The car-space is divided into two or more compartments, but for the purpose of the present specification, we will suppose it to be divided into three. The central compartment would embrace about two-thirds of the entire length of the car, and is designed and adapted for ordinary storage, and for this purpose may be constructed in any proper manner. The two end compartments occupy each about one-sixth of the entire length of the car, are located in the ends thereof over the trucks, and are designed and constructed to contain metallic tanks, which tanks are adapted for safely containing and transporting oil or other liquid.'

It further appeared from the specification that partitions were provided between the compartments, extending from floor to roof, which were made removable and readily adjustable: that the floor of the central compartment was made level, while that of each end compartment was made slanting so as to afford reliable drainage: that the bottoms of the oil-tanks were made inclining, so as to fit on the bottoms of their compartments, and from the lowest point of each was a discharge-pipe: a filling-in opening was provided at the highest point on the top of the tank, which was also made on an incline, and this opening was made to register with an opening in the car-top. The claim of the patent was as follows:

'A car subdivided into two or more compartments, each end compartment containing an oil-tank, said tank constructed with an inclined or self-draining bottom and resting upon a floor formed in counterpart thereto, said tank also having a tapering or inclined top, with a filling opening placed at or near its highest point and in line with a filling opening in the car-top, and there being a removable partition separating said tank from the next adjacent compartment, all combined substantially as set forth.'

Langhorne & Miller and Pillsbury & Blanding, for complainant.

Frank Shay, for defendant Southern Pacific Co.

John L. Boone, for defendants Whittier, Fuller & Co.

Before SAWYER, Circuit Judge.

SAWYER J., (orally.)

I have looked over the question in this case. The main proposition raised on demurrer is, whether this patent presents a case of a mere aggregation of...