Eddy v. Dennis Dennis

APPEALS from the Circuit Court of the United States for the Northern District of New York.

This is a suit by Paul Dennis against Daniel Eddy, Walden Eddy, and Abram Reynolds, doing business as Eddy & Co., for an infringement of reissued letters-patent No. 1515, granted to the complainant Aug. 4, 1863, being a reissue of original letters No. 19,412, which bear date Feb. 23, 1858. The specification and drawings of the reissue are as follows:--

'To all whom it may concern:

'Be it known that I, Paul Dennis, of Bemis Heights, in the county of Saratoga, and State of New York, have invented a new and improved shovel-plow, and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which Fig. 1 is a side view of my invention; Fig. 2, a back view of the same; Fig. 3, a plan or top view of the same. Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

'This invention consists in a peculiar manner of constructing or forming the upper edge of the mould-board, with recesses, so that the earth, as the implement is drawn along, will pass over the top of the mould-board and drop into the furrow behind it, and partially or wholly fill the same, there leaving the earth in a level and also in a loose, light, or pliable state, permeable to air and moisture, and at the same time preventing earth, sods, stone, &c., being cast against the growing plants by the mould-board, a contingency of frequent occurrence in using the ordinary plows.

'The invention further consists in the employment or use of a gauge applied to the implement in such a manner as to admit of the mould-board penetrating the soil at a greater or less distance, as may be desired.

'To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct my invention, I will proceed to describe it.

'A represents a metallic bar, which is curved so that the front part will form the beam of the implement, and the back part an inclined portion to which the mould-board B is firmly attached. The form of the bar A is clearly shown in Fig. 1.

'To the bar A, near the centre of its curve or bend, the lower ends of handles c c are attached by a bolt, as shown at a. These handles are braced by a V-shaped support, D, the lower end of which is secured to the bar, A, as shown at b.

'The mould-board B is of shovel form, and is much like those usually made, with the exception that its upper edge or part is scalloped out so as to form a recess c at each side of the bar A, as shown clearly in Figs. 2 and 3, said recesses extending down nearly or about one-half the length of the mould-board. The mould-board may be constructed of malleable cast-iron.

'E is the point or share, which is constructed of steel, the lower end being pointed, and its sides slightly rounded or curved, so that the form of the mould-board and point or share, when connected together, will closely approximate to those which are cast in one piece, the recesses c being excepted. The point or share E may be attached to the mould-board B by bolts d, which are attached to the under side of the point or share, and pass through a projecting plate, e, at the under side of the mould-board. (See Figs. 1 and 2.)

'F is an adjustable metallic roller, which is attached to the bar A, just back of the mould-board B. The axis of the roller F is fitted or has its bearings in arms f f, which project obliquely from a plate g, said plate being slotted longitudinally, so that the bolts h h, which secure the mould-board to the bar, may pass through said slot, the bolts h having each a nut i on them, by screwing up which the plate g, and consequently the roller F, may be secured higher or lower, as desired.

'From the above description it will be seen that the point or share E and mould-board B may be made to penetrate the soil at a greater or less depth, as may be desired, by adjusting the roller F and draught-chain, said roller serving as a gauge or guide, and the draught-chain being adjusted at the end of the beam so that the draught may aid the roller, and the point or share be made to have a tendency to penetrate the soil or otherwise. This will be understood by referring to Fig. 1, in which it will be seen that, by depressing or lowering the roller on the bar, the mould-board will be less inclined, and, consequently, if the draught-chain or whiffletree be properly adjusted at the end of the beam, the point or share will have a greater tendency to penetrate the earth than if the roller were higher up on the bar, the roller always bearing upon the earth.

'The mould-board B does not cast the earth from either side as usual, but the earth, in consequence of the recesses c c, will pass over the top of the mould-board and drop behind it, so that no furrow will be formed or left behind the mould-board, but the soil will be left in a loose, light state, permeable to air and moisture, and all grass, weeds, roots, and the like perfectly cut up. The mould-board, by operating in this manner, does not, of course, cast earth, sods, or stones upon the growing plants, as is frequently the case in using the ordinary shovel-plows, which cast the earth from either side of them. This is an important feature of the invention.

'The point or share E, also, in consequence of being made separate, of steel, and attached to the mould-board, may be readily detached and sharpened; and, when much worn, a new one may be attached to the mould-board. The plow is, therefore, not only rendered far more durable, but it may always be kept in perfect order; for the mould-board will last an indefinite period of time, if not being subjected to much wear, and the plow will always be in order, provided the point or share is kept in proper condition. By my improvement this can be done; but it cannot be done when the mould-board and share are cast in one piece.

'The ordinary shovel-plows cannot be regulated by the draught-chain so as to regulate the depth of the furrow, for they have no guide, the point or share merely penetrating the soil. The roller F in my improvement diminishes friction, and serves as a more perfect guide than the land-side of ordinary plows.

'Having thus described my invention, I wish it distinctly understood that I do not claim broadly the idea of passing a portion of the earth over the mould-board into the furrow behind, as I am aware that this has before been done.

'Neither do I claim applying a movable mould-board to one of the outer edges of the share, as described in an application of J. Drummond, rejected Oct. 25, 1844.

'Neither do I claim the use of projecting blades at the outer ends of the share, as described in the patent of B. Langdon, granted June 22, 1842, and others; but,

'Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new therein and desire to secure by letters-patent is—

'1st, The inclined shovel mould-board B, formed and mounted substantially as described, and constructed highest at its outer edges, so as to form on each side of the standard A a recess, c, through which recesses a portion of the earth may, after rising upon the mould-board, descend into the furrow in the rear of the plow.

'2d, The combination with the beam A and mould-board B of the adjustable wheel F, arranged and operating substantially as and for the purposes specified.

'PAUL DENNIS.'

The court below, upon hearing, was of opinion that the defendants had infringed the first claim of the specification, but not the second. An injunction was thereupon issued against the defendants; and they were decreed to pay the complainant $596.50 damages, on account of gains and profits resulting from the infringement. Both parties appealed to this court: Eddy & Co. from so much of the decree as held them to be infringers, and Dennis from that part limiting his damages to the amount awarded him.

Mr. Esek Cowen for Eddy & Co.

Mr. E. F. Bullard for Dennis.

MR. JUSTICE HUNT delivered the opinion of the court.