Wise Soda Apparatus Co. v. Bishop-Babcock-Becker Co.

• Decision Date: 15 March 1917
• Docket Number: 2903.
• Citation: 240 F. 733
• Parties: WISE SODA APPARATUS CO. v. BISHOP-BABCOCK-BECKER CO.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

240 F. 733

WISE SODA APPARATUS CO. v. BISHOP-BABCOCK-BECKER CO.

No. 2903.

United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.

March 15, 1917

Obed C Billman, of Cleveland, Ohio, for appellant.

Jesse B. Fay, of Cleveland, Ohio, for appellee.

Before WARRINGTON, KNAPPEN, and DENISON, CIRCUIT Judges.

WARRINGTON Circuit Judge.

This appeal is from a decree adjudging letters patent No 1,002,950 null and void and dismissing the bill of complaint. The patent was granted September 12, 1911, to George W. Wise and Henry A. Wise, assignors of appellant. The pleadings present in the usual way the issues of validity and infringement, all the claims of the letters patent being involved. It is stated in the specification:

'Our invention relates to improvements in metallic frames for soda fountain counters and other analogous structures. The primary object of the invention is to entirely eliminate wood as a material in such structures, and to provide a generally improved metallic frame work for securing supporting, and reinforcing the marble walls, whereby a generally improved structure of great strength and durability is provided. * * * '

This clearly implies-- indeed, it is common knowledge-- that prior to this patent the frames used to sustain the exterior or inclosing parts of structures, such as soda fountain counters and the like, were composed in whole or in part of wood; and the prime object here is to use metal in place of these wooden parts, and so to add strength and durability to the structure. What the patentees did was to design an angle-bar structure comprising: (1) An upper and lower rectangular frame joined by four corner posts and four intermediate posts, with adjustable legs secured to the lower frame; (2) an angle-bar extending the length of the upper frame, suitably disposed between the side members, and fastened to the end members of the frame; (3) a container counter frame, polygonal in form, extending the entire length of the main frame and seated within a recess formed between the angle-bar before mentioned and the front side member of the upper frame; and (4) interior compartments, suitably disposed in the main frame and the container counter frame, and intended as receptacles for supplies and for means to keep them cool.

The framework thus generally described will be better understood by reference, for example, to the first claim of the patent, shown in the margin. ^[1] These frames are designed to be inclosed by and to support suitable materials, such as marble, glass, or slate, of appropriate dimensions. The complete structure may be illustrated in perspective by Fig. 1 of the drawings:

(Image Omitted)

The method of using the structure is sufficiently shown by four of its main features: 21 represents the usual counter slab; 23 the syrup container jars; 24 the storage cabinets; 25 an intermediate cooling chamber. So far as concerns the form of the structure and the materials composing it, save as to the metal, novelty cannot rightfully be claimed.

The idea disclosed here of grouping sales articles into compartments and of cooling the articles from a common source contained in the same structure was developed by Helbling in 1884 in his 'apparatus for cooling liquids,' patent No. 302,131. Duhm and his associates added a counter to the same sort of a structure, calling it a 'combined refrigerating counter and display case, ' in 1892, patent No. 469,010. Kade added to the latter ice-cream compartments calling the structure a 'soda-water dispensing apparatus' in 1900, patent No. 655,782. Butler's 'cooling case for soda fountains' patented in 1905, No. 802,969, contains all the...