Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 8.djvu/602

 588 FEDERAL REFOBTEB. �W. & E. T. PiTCH V. A. N. Bbagg & Co. �{Circuit Court, D. Oonneeticut. Auguat 6, 1881.) �1. Patent No. 47,764— Snap-Hooks — Vamditt— Infeingembnt. �Letters patent No. 47,764, granted May 16, 1865, to C. B. Bristol, for an improved snap-hook, hda-, valid, and infringed as to ita Jirst claim �2. Samb— Same— Inpringbmbnt. �Complainant's snap-hook, in 'which the tongue ia pivoted in a recess oetween two cheeks in the shank, with a coiled spring in the recess arranged around the pivot so that the two ends of the spring bear, one upon the tongue and the other upon the body of the hook, tending to press the tongue up against the end of the hook, but yet permitting the tongue to be depressed to open the hook, hdd, infringed by defendant'a device having a aimilarly constructed shank, and tongue similarly pivoted, with a substantially similar recess in its rear end, but in which the ends of the spring within the recess do not project forward towards the hook. �3. Patent— LiBBKAL Cokstrotion — Technioal Olaimb— Consthiiction. �Patents are to be liberally construed so as to give the owner of the patent his actual invention, if such favorable construction can fairly be made. Technical claims are to be construed with reference to the state of the art, so as to limlt the patentee to, and give him the full benefit of, the invention he bas made. �Eatabrook v. Buribar, 10 O. G. 909. �4. Same— CoiiBiNATioif— Beneficial Restjlt. �It is immaterial, in a patent for a combination, whether by means of the location of the parts they are severally beneflted or not, provided a new and beneficiai efiect is the lesult of the combination. �Hailea y.Van Wormer, 20 "Wall. 353. �Joseph S. Beach, for plaintiffs. �William E. Simonds, for defendants. �Shipman, D. J. This is a bill in equity, founded upon the alleged infringement by the defendants of lettejrs patent granted May 16, 1865, to Charles B. Bristol and others, assignees of said Bristol, for an improved snap-hook. The patent is owned by the plaintiffs. �Bristors invention [quoting from the testimony of Mr. Earle, the plaintiffs' expert] " is an improvement in that class of snap-hooks in which the tongue is pivoted in a recess between two cheeks in the shank. In this recess a coil- spring is arranged around the pivot so that the two ends of the spring bear, one upon the tongue and the other upon the body of the hook, tending to press the tongue up against the end of the hook, but yet permit the tongue to be depressed to open the hook. In this class of hooks, prier to Bristol, the tongue was cast with a recess upon its under side to form two cheeks eorresponding to the cheeks in the shank of the hook. The cheeks on the tongue were drilled eorresponding to the hole through the cheeks in the shank, so that a rivet could be inserted through the sides of the shank and both sides of the tongue, to foim the pivot on which the tongue would turn. The coil of the spring was arranged around the pivot, the two ends bearing, one upon the shank and one upon the hook, as before described." ��� �