Wenger Mfg. v. Coating Machinery

• Decision Date: 06 February 2001
• Citation: 239 F.3d 1225,57 USPQ2d 1679
• Parties: (Fed. Cir. 2001) WENGER MANUFACTURING, INC., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. COATING MACHINERY SYSTEMS, INC. and vECTOR CORPORATION, Defendants-Appellees. 00-1121 DECIDED:
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Federal Circuit

Page 1225

239 F.3d 1225 (Fed. Cir. 2001)

WENGER MANUFACTURING, INC., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. COATING MACHINERY SYSTEMS, INC. and vECTOR CORPORATION, Defendants-Appellees.

00-1121

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

DECIDED: February 6, 2001

Rehearing Denied: March 2, 2001.

Appealed from: United States District Court for the Southern, of DesDistrict of Iowa

Judge Robert W. Pratt

[Copyrighted Material Omitted]

[Copyrighted Material Omitted] John M. Collins, Hovey, Williams, Timmons & Collins, of Kansas City, Missouri, argued for plaintiff-appellant. With him on the brief were Scott R. Brown and Jill D. Singer.

Kirk M. Hartung, Zarley, McKee, Thomte, Voorhees & Sease, PLC, of Des Moines, Iowa, argued for defendants-appellees. With him on the brief was Jeffery D. Harty.

Before NEWMAN, LOURIE, and GAJARSA, Circuit Judges.

LOURIE, Circuit Judge.

Wenger Manufacturing, Inc. appeals from the decision of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa granting the motion of Coating Machinery Systems, Inc. and Vector Corporation (collectively "CMS") for summary judgment of noninfringement of U.S. Patent 5,100,683, and denying Wenger's cross-motion for partial summary judgment of infringement. Wenger Mfg., Inc. v. Coating Mach. Sys., Inc., No. 4-98-CV-90083 (S.D. Iowa Nov. 16, 1999) (final judgment) ("Wenger III"). Because the district court erred in granting summary judgment that the accused CMS machines do not infringe claims 1 and 2 of the '683 patent, and abused its discretion in denying summary judgment of infringement, we reverse and remand.

BACKGROUND

Wenger is the assignee of the '683 patent, which relates to an apparatus for coating and drying food products such as breakfast cereals and snack foods with sugar, salt, or other flavored coatings. The food products generally require drying prior to packaging and storage in order to prevent spoilage. '683 patent, col. 1, ll. 18-24. In the prior art, flavored coatings were typically applied to the food product in a separate machine located downstream from the product dryer. Id. at col. 1, ll. 30-32. Because it was applied in slurry form, the flavored coating added moisture to the food product and adversely affected the product by sealing in the added moisture after the surface of the coating dried. Id. at col. 1, ll. 39-43.

The '683 patent is directed to a method and apparatus for combined product coating and drying. The claimed apparatus includes "a combined dryer and spray unit which includes an axially rotatable reel provided with a perforate sidewall." Id. at col. 1, ll. 61-63. Inside the reel, at least one spray nozzle deposits the coating in slurry form onto the product. Id. at col. 1, ll. 63-66. The reel is surrounded by a housing that "includes a heat exchanger for heating the air and a circulating fan for forcing air through the perforations in the sidewall of the reel." Id. at col. 2, ll. 8-11. As the product passes through the rotating reel, air is circulated through the reel to dry the product. Id. at col. 1, l. 67 to col. 2, l. 1; Id. at col. 2, ll. 42-43. As a result, the product is coated and dried in a single operation and in an apparatus that occupies a minimum amount of floor space. Id. at col. 1, ll. 58-60.

The '683 patent contains eight claims, the first two of which are at issue. During prosecution, all of the original claims were rejected on various grounds. Paper No. 2 at 4. Claim 14, which later became claim 1, was initially rejected as anticipated by U.S. Patent 3,167,035 ("the Benson patent"), but was allowed by the examiner after an amendment. Paper No. 6 at 1. As amended, independent claim 1 reads as follows:

1. An apparatus for coating and drying a fooder No. 6 product comprising:

a dryer housing;

an elongated reel presenting a longitudinal axis and having an inlet, an outlet, and a sidewall defining an interior and presenting a plurality of perforations, said side wall being located substantially within said housing whereby said perforations are surrounded by said housing;

means for introducing the product into the interior of said reel through said inlet;

means for rotating said reel within said housing;

means for selectively inclining said reel with said inlet elevated relative to said outlet;

air circulating means associated with said dryer housing for circulating air through said reel, the air circulating means including means for drawing air from the interior of the reel into said housing in order to provide positive air flow through the apparatus; and

means defining a plurality of separate product coating zones longitudinally spaced along said reel, each of said zones including at least one spray nozzle directed toward said sidewall for pressurized spraying of a coating on the food product during passage of said food product from said inlet to said outlet.

'683 patent, col. 7, l. 23 to col. 8, l. 2 (emphasis added). Claim 2, which depends from claim 1, reads as follows:

2. An apparatus for coating and drying a food2, whichproduct as set forth in claim 1 including structure2, whichassociated with said housing defining a plenum therein2, whichfor receiving said air passing through saidumi2, whichperforations from the interior of said reel.

Id. at col. 8, ll. 3-7. In addition, claim 3, which depends from claim 2, reads as follows:

3. An apparatus for coating and drying a foodfrom claim 2,product as set forth in claim 2 including means fordfrom claim 2,exhausting a first portion of said air received in saidplenum and recirculating a second portion of said airaim 2,back into the interior of said reel.

Id. at col. 8, ll. 8-12 (emphasis added).

Figure 4 of the patent illustrates an embodiment of the claimed apparatus as follows [Tabular or Graphical Material Omitted]

As illustrated in Figure 4, the combined product coating and drying apparatus 10 has a rotatable reel 14 that is enclosed within a housing 12. Id. at col. 3, ll. 20-22. The housing 12 includes a spray unit 24 for depositing coating material such as sugar or salt slurry onto the food product as it passes through the reel 14. Id. at col. 4, ll. 33-35. The spray unit 24 includes individual nozzles 108 that maintain proper and equal pressure during spraying. Id. at col. 4, ll. 38-43. Above the housing 12, there is an air circulation unit 22 that "provides for the circulation of drying air across the reel 14 and through the product passing therethrough." Id. at col. 4, ll. 48-51. An exhaust flue 120 allows "moisture-laden" air to be removed from the apparatus 10, and an exhaust fan 122 ensures "positive airflow" through the apparatus 10. Id. at col. 4, ll. 55-58. As a result, "the drying air is channeled through apparatus 10 along routes defined by the housing 12 and the reel 14." Id. at col. 4, ll. 59-60.

Wenger filed suit against CMS, alleging that several of CMS's coating and drying machines literally infringed claims 1 and 2 of the '683 patent. Wenger Mfg., Inc. v. Coating Mach. Sys., Inc., No. 4-98-CV-90083 (S.D. Iowa Mar. 31, 1999) ("Wenger I"). CMS moved for summary judgment of noninfringement, and Wenger cross-moved for partial summary judgment of literal infringement. Id. at 1. The district court denied CMS's motion and granted Wenger's corresponding cross-motion after: (1) construing "air circulating means" as a means-plus-function limitation, requiring "structural features that allow air to be recirculated through the apparatus;" (2) concluding that the "means defining a plurality of separate product coating zones" is not a means-plus-function limitation, and includes "reels with alternating perforate and imperforate sections as well as fully perforate reels;" and (3) concluding that the accused machines literally met both of the disputed claim limitations. Id. at 7, 10-11, 15- 16.

CMS subsequently filed a motion for reconsideration, which the district court granted after concluding that the accused device did not have the same or equivalent structure as the claimed "air circulating means" because it lacked the ability to recirculate air. Wenger Mfg., Inc. v. Coating Mach. Sys., Inc., No. 4-98-CV-90083 (S.D. Iowa Sept. 30, 1999) ("Wenger II"). As a result, the court amended its previous order and on reconsideration, granted CMS's motion for summary judgment. Id. at 11.

Wenger appeals from the district court's entry of judgment of noninfringement in favor of CMS. Wenger III at 1. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1295(a)(1) (1994).

DISCUSSION

A. Principles of Law

Summary judgment is appropriate "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c). "The evidence of the nonmovant is to be believed, and all justifiable inferences are to be drawn in his favor." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255 (1986). We review a district court's grant of a motion for summary judgment de novo. Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. v. United States Surgical Corp., 149 F.3d 1309, 1315, 47 USPQ2d 1272, 1275 (Fed. Cir. 1998). "In reviewing a denial of a motion for summary judgment, we give considerable deference to the trial court, and will not disturb the trial court's denial of summary judgment unless we find that the court has indeed abused its discretion." Elekta Instrument S.A. v. O.U.R. Scientific Int'l, Inc., 214 F.3d 1302, 1306, 54 USPQ2d 1910, 1912 (Fed. Cir. 2000).

When both parties move for summary judgment, the court must evaluate each motion on its own merits, resolving all reasonable inferences against the party whose motion is under consideration. McKay v. United States, 199 F.3d 1376, 1380 (Fed. Cir. 1999). "If there are no material facts in dispute precluding summary judgment, our task is to determine whether the judgment granted is correct as a matter of...