Yale Lock Manuf Co v. Sargent

• Decision Date: 05 April 1886
• Citation: 29 L.Ed. 954,117 U.S. 536,6 S.Ct. 934
• Parties: YALE LOCK MANUF'G CO. v. SARGENT. Filed
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

6 S.Ct. 934

117 U.S. 536

29 L.Ed. 954

YALE LOCK MANUF'G CO. v. SARGENT.

Filed April 5, 1886.

Frederic H. Betts, for appellant.

Geo. T. Curtis and E. Wetmore, for appellee.

BLATCHFORD, J. This is a suit in equity, brought in the circuit court of the United States for the Southern district of New York, by James Sargent against the Yale Lock Manufacturing Company, to recover for the infringement of reissued letters patent No 4,696, granted to Sargent, January 2, 1872, for an 'improvement in locks,' on an application therefor filed September 25, 1871, (the original patent, No. 57,574, having been granted to him August 28, 1866.) The specification and drawings of the reissue are as follows:

'My invention consists in combining with the ordinary combination wheels, and the other working parts of a combination lock which has no sliding-bolt lock, a bolt turning on a pivot or bearing, which is so isolated or removed from contact with the said wheels as to receive any pressure or strain which may be applied through the separate bolt-work of the safe or vault door, and cut off the communication between the bolt-work of the door and the wheels or fence-lever of the lock, whereby the position of the slots in the wheels can be determined and the lock 'picked,' as can be done in most cases where the ordinary sliding bolt is used without some mechanical device to prevent.

'In the drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of my improved lock, with the back plate removed; Figs. 2 and 3, an elevation and top view, respectively, of the pivoted bolt, the combination wheels, the cam, and the lever work that connects them; Fig. 4, a perspective view of the pivoted bolt; Fig. 5, a similar view of the magnet and armatures; Fig. 6, a view showing the manner of applying the spindle and cam to a safe or vault door.

'A represents the plate of a safe door, and B the case of the lock which is applied thereto. C, C, C, are the combination wheels, and D the operating spindle. The spindle passes through a hollow stud, a, of the case, and has screwed upon its inner end the cam, E, as shown most clearly in Fig. 6. The wheels themselves rest on the stud, a. I is the bolt, turning on a pivot or bearing, q. Its location is such as to rest closely in the rear of the stem,t, of the heavy bolt-work of the door, and to hold it out when in one position, but to allow it to retract, to free the bolt-work, when in the other position; said bolt, I, turning on its pivot or bearing to allow this to be done. H is a sliding bar, which gives motion to the bolt as it is thrown forward or backward, being connected together by cog-teeth, p, r. The bar slides on studs, n, n, by which it keeps its horizontal position. G is a lever pivoted at f, to bar, H, and serving to throw the latter back. It has a hook, b, Fig. 2, which engages with the bit, d, of the cam, to draw the bar back. The forward motion is given by the cam striking the end, o, of the bar, H. L is a magnet of the form shown in Fig. 5, which is suspended on a pivot, i. Its open end rests between armatures, h, , which are separated by a brass pendant, l. The armature, h, is attached to the end of lever, G. When the magnet is in contact with the lower armature, h, the dog, g, will be held away from the wheels; but when raised and brought in contact with the upper armature, k, the lever is released, and the dog is then allowed to fall into the notches of the wheels, to release the bolt. The magnet is raised by a roller, c, of the cam, which strikes a bearing, m, of the magnet.

'In general principle the magnet is the same as that covered by the patent of Sargent and Covert, May 2, 1865; but the construction and arrangement of the magnet and armatures are much simpler and more effective, and constitute one feature of my present invention.

'An important feature in my invention is the employment of the bolt, I, turning on a pivot or bearing, instead of the sliding bolt heretofore in use. It is isolated, so to speak, from the combination wheels and the other main working parts of the lock, and therefore any strain which is brought to bear upon it by the heavy bolt-work will be expended on the bolt itself, and not upon the wheels. In the old form of lock the sliding bolt extends back so as to connect with or come near to the wheels, and any strain thereon is liable to disarrange the lock-works.

'Another important advantage of the isolation of the bolt is that it increases the difficulty of 'picking,' by being removed from all contact with the wheels. A common mode of picking ordinary locks is to force the bolt back, so as to get a contact with it and the edges of the wheels, by which their position is ascertained. In my lock this cannot occur, as the bolt simply turns on its bearing or pivot, and no back action can bring it or the lever-work against the wheels.

'The bolt may not only be of the circular form shown in the drawings, but of a segmental form, which will serve the same purpose.

'I am aware that the combination wheels themselves have been made with notches, and so arranged that the ordinary sliding bolt, which rests against their edges, may fall back, and within the notches, when they are all set. Such is not the equivalent of my invention, as my express purpose is to avoid all contact of the bolt with the edges of the wheels.'

The claims of the reissue, five in number, are as follows, but only claim 1 is alleged to have been infringed: '(1) In a combination lock for safe or vault doors, a bolt, I, which turns on a pivot or bearing, when said bolt, I, is used in a lock having no ordinary sliding lock-bolt, and in connection with the separate bolt-work of the door, and so arranged as to receive the pressure of the said bolt-work without transmitting it to the wheels or other equivalent works of the lock. (2) In a combination lock for safe and vault doors, I claim the combination of the bolt, I, bar, H, and cog connection, p, r, when said bolt, I, turns on a pivot or bearing, and receives the pressure of the bolt-work situated outside the lock-works, and intervenes between the bolt-work and the wheels. (3) I claim, in combination with the bolt, I, the bar, H, and lever, G, arranged and operating as herein set forth. (4) I claim, in combination with the vibrating magnet, L, the armatures, h, k, and pendant, l, arranged as herein described. (5) I claim the combination and arrangement of the wheels, C, C, cam, E, lever, G, bar, H, and bolt, I, as herein described.'

The defenses set up were want of novelty, non-infringment, and invalidity of the reissue. After a hearing on pleadings and proofs, an interlocutory decree was entered finding the reissued patent to be valid and to have been infringed, and awarding a perpetual injunction and an account of profits and damages. The master reported $7,771 damages in favor of the plaintiff. The defendant excepted to the report, but the exceptions were overruled by the court, and a final decree was entered for the plaintiff for $7,771 damages, and $650.17 costs. The defendant has appealed to this court.

It is contended that the first claim of the reissue is void for unlawful expansion, after unreasonable delay in applying for the reissue. The original patent had three claims, as follows: '(1) The rotating tumbler, I, when separated and isolated in action from the permutation wheels, and so arranged that any in ward pressure upon the bolt will be exerted on the bearing of said tumbler, and have no action nor effect upon the said permutation wheels, substantially as and for the purpose herein specified. (2) In combination with the turning tumbler, I, the cog-bar, H, and lever, G, arranged and operating as herein set forth. (3) The combination and arrangement of the combination wheels, C, cam-disk, E, pivoted lever, G, cog-bar, H, and turning tumbler, I, the whole operating as herein specified.' Claim 3 of the reissue is substantially the same as claim 2 of the original, and claim 5 of the reissue is substantially the same as claim 3 of the original, while claims 2 and 4 of the reissue are new claims.

The defendant directs attention to these facts: When Sargent applied originally for his patent, on February 6, 1866, he asked for claim 1 in this form: 'The turning bolt, I, resting on its bearing, q, in combination with the mechanism of a combination lock, in such manner as to practically isolate or disconnect it from the main operating parts, substantially as set forth.' Claim 1 having been rejected on the twenty-fourth of March, 1866, Sargent, on the twenty-ninth of June, 1866, changed the claim to the form it has in the original patent as issued, and his attorneys, at the same time, in a letter to the patent-office, explained the new form of claim thus: 'The substance of the first substituted claim consists essentially in providing a rotating tumbler in connection with the bearing on which it rests, and the stem of the bolt-work which rests against it, when said tumbler is isolated or disconnected from the combination wheels, so that any inward motion of the bolt against this tumbler will expend its force against the bearing on which the tumbler turns and rests, and will not reach or affect the permutation wheels.' The attorneys also said: 'In Mr. Sargent's device it will be observed that the combination or permutation wheels are on a different bearing, and located at a distance from the revolving tumbler, I, and never in contact therewith, so that the two are practically isolated from each other, and there is no connection between them except through the lever, H, which is not within the reach or influence of the pick-lock.' And the specification of the original patent contained this language: 'The principal advantage of this tumbler consists in its isolation, so to speak, from the combination wheels and the main working parts. It rests alone on its bearing, q, the only part connected being the cog-bar, H. In ordinary locks the sliding bolt extends back...