Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 9.djvu/309

 294 FEDERAL REPORTER. �Matthews, Justice. This was a bill in equity, filed May i, 1881, by the complainants, as assignees of Charles H. Parshall, of a patent granted to him May 22, 1877, for an improvement in lubricators, alleging an infringement by the defendants and praying for an injunction and an account. The defendants, by their answer, deny the alleged infringement, and claim the right to manufacture, use, and sell lubricators, such as it is shown in the proof they are engaged in making, by virtue of a patent to the defendants, J. Vincent Eenchard and John J. Eenchard, No. 184,e26, granted November 14, 1876, and insist that they, and not Parshall, are the true, first, and original inventors of the device now claim ed by the complainant ; and that the said Parshall surreptitiously and unjustly obtained the l«tters patent issued to him. It is also averred, by way of defence, that the improvements claimed in the Parshall patent. No. 191,171, are shown and described in certain earlier patents, viz. : No. 169,124, granted to W. P. Stevenson, October 26, 1875, and No. 187,964, granted to W. A. Clark, March 6, 1877. It is also alleged, as a defence, that the Parshall patent is void because the production of the device therein shown did not involve the exercise of invention or discovery, but only mechanical skill. �The inventions claimed as covered by the Parshall patent relate to certain improvements in lubricators for steam-engines, according to which they are of a construction peculiarly fitted to be readily and neatly applied to any form of engine, and also compacting the several parts into a close and simple body form. The supporting stem is provided with independent steam and oil ducts directly Con- necting the main steam-pipe of an engine with the respective water- condensing and oil-feeding chamber of the lubricator. A water-pipe connects the condenser with a glass indicating tube, located on the side of the lubricator opposite to that of the supporting stem, and is of Buch a construction as to both warm the oil in the body of the cup and at the sarae time act as an effective seal, guarding against the inflow of oil into the condenser. The indicator has free connection at both top and bottom extremities with the interior of the oil cup, while the upper extremity connection is free, and opens jointly into the oil cup and the water-pipe leading from ihe condenser, thus per- mitting the water and oil to pass respectively between the indicator and the water-pipe on the one hand, and the indicator and the oil cup on the other hand. The oil cup is made of metal, and is pro- vided with a check-valve, through which drop by drop the oil is forced into and through the duct leading into the steam-pipe, as drop by ��� �