Tubelt Co. v. Friedman

• Decision Date: 08 January 1908
• Docket Number: 32.
• Citation: 158 F. 430
• Parties: TUBELT CO. v. FRIEDMAN et al.
• Court: United States Circuit Court, District of New York

158 F. 430

TUBELT CO. v. FRIEDMAN et al.

No. 32.

United States Circuit Court, D. New York.

January 8, 1908

T. F Bourne, for complainant.

Bartlett Brownell & Mitchell (H. B. Brownell, of counsel), for defendant.

RAY District Judge.

Claim 6 of the patent in suit, the claim in suit here, reads as follows:

'6. As a new article of manufacture, a waist-belt comprising material folded upon itself so that its edges meet and stitches joining said edges together, said stitches being looped together between apertures from which they pass whereby the edges of the material can aline or abut, the opposite walls or webs of said material being secured together, and a fastener attached to the belt, substantially as described.'

The patentee in the specifications states the object of his invention in the following language: 'The object of my invention is to produce a lined strap or waist-belt in such manner as to simplify and cheapen the manufacture, while at the same time providing an improved structure. In carrying out my invention, I take a strip of material of more than the width of the belt intended, fold the same so that its longitudinal edges will lap, stitch said edges together in such manner that they can be made to abut or meet, and then arrange the abutting or meeting edges of the material along one face of the belt, and I then flatten the material and secure the opposed walls or webs together, whereby one wall or web forms the exterior or wearing side of the belt, while the other wall or web forms the lining. The belt has a buckle or other fastening device for holding it around the waist. The invention also consists in the novel details of improvement, that will be more fully hereinafter set forth and then pointed out in the claims.'

He describes his mode or process of making his belt as follows:

'In forming the strap I take a piece of suitable material 3-- say leather-- of suitable length and of a width about double the width of the strap to be produced and fold the same upon itself longitudinally, so that its edges, 3a, 3b, will overlap (see Fig. 4), and I then stitch said edges together by such stitches as will allow the resulting tubular body to be flattened, so that the edges, 3a, 3b, will abut or meet (see Fig. 5)-- that is to say, after said edges are stitched together the material of the tubular body thus formed is rolled or pushed laterally to move the stitched edges to one side of the position in which the stitching was done, so as to bring said stitched edges between the outer edges of the body thus formed (see Fig. 5). The character of stitch, 4, that I have shown and found adapted to the purpose is one in which the threads pass from the respective apertures in the form of loops that are interlocked at 4a about in line with the abutting edges of the material 3, which stitch I have shown is commonly known as 'overseaming' or 'zigzag.' Such a stitch, while joining the lapped edges of the material, as shown in Fig. 4, enables said material to be flattened out in two parallel walls or webs, 3c, 3d, while the edges, 3a, 3b, can abut or meet and lie in substantially the same plane. (See Fig. 5.) After the edges of the body are stitched together and moved to one side of the outer edges of the body the opposed walls or webs, 3c, 3d, are secured together, which may be done by glue or the like; but I preferably run lines of stitches 6 along through the material near the outer edges of the body and beyond the stitches 4, which bind the webs, 3c, 3d, so that they will not slip, thus producing a firm structure. By the means described I produce a lined strap or the like, because one of the webs can be used as the exposed surface and the other can be used as a finish or lining to the raw side of the first-mentioned web. It will be seen that by having the edges of the webs abut and by stitching them together, as described, they lie flat in line with the surface of the opposite web.'

As to what he is enabled to do and does do, he says:

'By means of my improvements I am enabled to construct a strap, belt, or the like of double thickness, all made from a single piece of material, with finished edges, which are formed by the folded material, and the strap or belt is pliable and flexible and not liable to injury from folding or bending. It is evident that a strap or the like made in accordance with my invention can be used for various purposes, and while I have shown it arranged for a waist-belt I am not limited to such use.'

Then in regard to his stitches and their character he says:

'I do not limit my invention to the precise formation of stitches shown, nor to the use of such stitches on the inner face of the belt, as it is evident that they could appear on the outer side of the belt to provide an embellishment thereto; nor do I limit my invention to the various details shown and described, as they may be varied without departing from the spirit thereof.'

Therefore he may use any stitches which 'will allow the resulting tubular body to be flattened so that the edges, 3a, 3b, will abut or meet,' etc. These edges are the edges of the belt-strap before being brought together by sewing. In short, he takes a strip of flexible material of suitable length for a belt, it may be one or more inches in width, and sews the edges together by any stitches that will will allow the resulting tubular body to be flattened with the edges of the belt piece brought against each other, made to abut, and not with the one edge on top of or overlapping the other, thereby forming a ridge. He expressly says:

'The character of stitch, 4, that I have shown and found adapted to the purpose is one in which the threads pass from the respective apertures, 5, in the form of loops that are interlocked at 4a about in line with the abutting edges of the material, 3, which stitch I have shown is commonly known as 'overseaming' or 'zigzag."

Therefore there is no novelty in the stitch shown, and, further, he expressly says that any stitch that will permit the 'material to be flattened out in two parallel walls or webs while the edges can abut or meet and lie in substantially the same plane' may be used. As the stitch is old and well known, we will inquire whether or not there is anything new or novel in thus sewing the strap or piece of material into a tubular body, so that, when flattened out, the edges will abut and not overlap and then flattening it out, whether lined or unlined with some other suitable material either sewn or pasted to the main piece of material called in the patent a 'web or strap.' We do not need to go much further, as the patentee expressly says that the buckle or fastener may be attached to the belt in any desired manner, and that he does not confine his claims to the connection thereof to the belt in the manner shown. The buckle and manner of fastening it to the belt are old.

Waist-belts and similar articles were not a new article of manufacture when this patent was applied for, October 26, 1899. The art was old and crowded. This waist-belt comprises (1) material folded upon itself so that its edges meet; and (2) stitches joining said edges together; and (3) said stitches being looped together between apertures (holes in and near the edges of said strip or web of material) from which they pass, and whereby the edges of the material can aline or abut; and (4) the opposite walls or webs of said material (meaning the opposite walls or webs when pressed together, or when the belt is made of two strips and pressed together) being secured together; and (5) a fastener attached to the belt. The mode of attaching together the opposite or opposed walls or webs of the belt is thus stated:

'After the edges of the body (folded material) are stitched together and moved to one side of the outer edges of the body, the opposed walls or webs, 3c, 3d, are secured together, which may be done by glue or the like; but I preferably run lines of stitches, 6, along through the material near the outer edges of the body and beyond the stitches 4 (the looped or other stitches attaching the two edges of the material in the first instance) which bind the webs, 3c, 3d, so that they will not slip, thus producing a firm structure.'

In short, the two edges of the original strip or web of material having been sewed together, the edges abutting, so as to form a tubular body, the upper portion thereof is pressed down on the lower portion so as to form a double belt, or one having two thicknesses of material (opposed walls or webs), and we have in this new form two new edges ('the outer edges of the body thus formed'), and, as this 'body' has an upper layer or thickness of material and a lower one, and these are liable to move or slip, the one upon the other sidewise (not towards the end of the belt), and thus make a crooked unsightly belt, the upper layer ('wall or web') is gummed or glued to the lower or 'opposed wall or web' or stitched thereto as mentioned. This sewing or glueing of the two parts was old in the art, as we shall see.

It is well perhaps to repeat what the patentee claims to have accomplished. He says:

'By means of my improvements I am enabled to construct a strap, belt, or the like, of double thickness, all made from a single piece of material, with finished edges, which are formed by the folded material, and the strap or belt is pliable or flexible and not liable to injury from folding or bending.'

He also says, to repeat:

'By the means described I produce a lined strap or the like because one of the webs (folds) can be used as the exposed surface and the other can be used as a finish or lining to the raw side of the first-mentioned web. It will be seen that by having the edges of the webs (folds) abut and by...