Letters patent No. 271,363, issued January 30, 1883, to James
Ritty and John Birch for a cash register and indicator, are valid,
and are infringed by the defendant's machine.
This was a bill in equity for the infringement of letters patent
No. 271,363, issued January 30, 1883, to James Ritty and John Birch
for a "cash register and indicator."
The invention, as stated in the specification,
"Relates to an improvement in cash registers and indicators
designed for the use of storekeepers and others as a means of
accurately registering the total cash receipts for any given period
of time -- as a day, for instance -- and for indicating to the
customers that the amount paid has been registered by disclosing to
their view such amounts upon figured tablets."
"The arrangements of the parts and operation of the machine are
such that no tablet can be exhibited without its value's being
counted upon the registering mechanism, and whenever any tablet is
disclosed, it remains so until the machine is operated to disclose
a second tablet."
"The novelty of our invention consists in the construction,
combinations, and arrangements of the various parts, as will be
herewith set forth and specifically claimed."
The following drawing exhibits such particulars of the patent as
are pertinent to this suit:
Page 156 U. S. 503
image:a
The material parts of the specifications are as follows:
"We provide any suitable box or case, A, ornamented as desired,
and of the general shape indicated, though its shape and
ornamentation may be varied infinitely. In this outer case is
fitted a metal framework consisting chiefly of two upright sides,
B, united by a crossbar, C, and by the shafts and bars which
support the operating mechanism."
"In the lower portion of the frame, and extending horizontally
across it, is a rod or shaft, D, supported by and aiding to connect
the sides, B, of the frame. Upon this shaft are hung a series of
parallel keys, E, of metal, made heavier in the rear so as to
remain in and return to the position indicated in Fig. 1 by their
gravity alone, without the use of springs or other devices. In the
present instance, twenty of these keys are shown, though any number
may be employed. Each key has upon its front end, which extends
through and projects from an opening in the front of the case or
frame, a button,
c, having marked upon it a figure to
correspond with the value intended
Page 156 U. S. 504
to be indicated and registered whenever that key is operated by
depressing the button. In a machine with twenty keys, the first
button to the left would be numbered 5, the second 10, and the
third 15, to represent five, ten, and fifteen cents, and so on
progressively. As these buttons are about three-quarters of an inch
in diameter, it would make the machine unnecessarily wide to
arrange the whole series side by side in one bank, so we have
arranged them in two banks, the one above the other. . . . The rear
end of each key is flattened and slotted at its outer end, so as to
embrace vertical guide-pins,
b, set in the bar, C, and
which aid the shaft, D, in preventing lateral play or twist of the
keys."
"Resting upon the flattened ends of the keys are vertical metal
rods, F -- one for each key -- which pass and have vertical play
through perforations in metal guide bars, G, extending across and
supported by the sides, B. These rods may be any shape in
cross-section, though we prefer to make them square, with square
perforations in the guide bars, G. The upper portion of each rod,
just above the upper bar, G, is bent to form a knuckle or shoulder,
d, upon its rear side, which has beveled or inclined
operating faces, for a purpose to be presently explained."
"Suitably secured to the top of each rod is a tablet, H, of thin
flat metal, and upon the face of each tablet is a number
corresponding with the number upon the key over whose rear end the
rod of that tablet rests."
"Thus, the tablet of the rod resting upon the key whose button
is marked '5' is likewise marked '5' and so on through the series.
In order to get the tablets into as narrow a space as possible, and
thus not make the machine wider than necessary, their stems are
bent so that the tablets can overlap each other, as shown in Fig.
4, and yet each can be operated without interfering with
another."
"In the upper portion of the case is a large horizontal opening
extending across the front of the case, and covered with
transparent glass,
e, Fig. 1, and when the keys are in
their normal position of rest, with the rods, F, resting upon their
rear ends, all of the tablets are hidden from view below the
lower
Page 156 U. S. 505
edge of the opening,
e, but when any key is pressed
down by means of its button, the rod of that key is raised and its
tablet exposed to view through the glass,
e."
"In Figs. 1 and 4, one of the tablets is thus shown raised up
and exposed to view. Now it is an important feature of our machine
that after a key has been operated and its tablet exposed to view,
such tablet shall remain up and exposed until another key is
operated, whereupon the first falls back out of view, and the
second remains exposed, and so on, thus always keeping in view the
tablet of the key last operated. To effect this result, we pivot,
by means of trunnions or a shaft extending between the sides, B, a
forwardly inclined wing, I, pivoted at its lower edge, as at
f, and resting at its upper edge against the rear sides of
the upper portions of the rods, F. This wing extends back of all of
the rods, and is free to vibrate on its pivotal axis,
f.
It is yieldingly held against the rods by any suitable spring, a
spiral spring being shown for that purpose in Fig. 2, secured at
one end of the wing and to the side, B, of the frame. Just on the
inner sides of the frames, B, and pivoted upon the shaft, D, are
flat arms, J, extending upward and rearward and downward and
forward of their pivotal points. The front ends of these arms
extend into the opening made for the keys in the front of the case,
A, and are connected by a bar, K, extending entirely across this
opening, and resting up against the under sides of all the keys. Of
course, when any one of the keys is depressed, the bar, K, is
likewise carried down, and the upper portions of the arms, J, are
vibrated forward. . . . To return the bar, J, when the key is
released, and to assist the key itself to return, any suitable
spring may be employed."
"Pivoted at
h, upon the right-hand side of the frame, B
(Fig. 1), is a bell crank tripping arm, L, with the rear end
rounded and resting against the upper portion of the front side of
the wing, I. Its vibration is limited by two pins or detents,
i, as shown, and upon the same pivot,
h, is hung
a follower,
j, whose lower end extends below the elbow of
the bell crank, and whose rear edge rests against a shoulder,
k, upon the bell crank. The lower end of this follower has
a beveled engaging
Page 156 U. S. 506
nose,
l, against which the upper end of a trigger,
m, pivoted at or near its middle, as at
o, to the
side, B, rests. The lower end of this trigger is connected to the
upper end of the arm, J, on that side of the machine by a link,
p. The opposite arm . . . is connected by a similar link
to similar tripping mechanism for operating the hammer of a bell or
gong, which is secured in any suitable manner to the side of the
frame."
"Now the operation of thus much of the machine is as follows:
when any key is pressed down, its rod and tablet are raised, and
the elbow,
d, of the rod, in rising, aids in pressing back
the wing, I; but to aid the elbow the arm, J, on the right, which,
as before explained, is drawn forward whenever a key is pressed,
imparts motion to the link,
p, and trigger,
m,
whose upper end, acting on the nose,
l, of the follower,
j, presses it back, and with it the bell crank, L, which
is thus forced against the wing, and presses it back. Now the parts
are so arranged that when the lower side of the elbow,
d,
is just above the top edge of the wing, the key has completed its
downward stroke, and is arrested by the front bar, N, of the case,
the trigger,
m, has passed beyond the nose,
l, of
the bell crank, so that the latter swings back out of the way, and
the spring,
a', draws the wing forward under the elbow,
d, so that the latter rests upon the upper edge, as seen
at
b' (Figs. 1 and 2), and there remains, thus retaining
the tablet and rod of the operated key elevated. Now upon releasing
the key, it falls backward to its normal position by gravity, and
is aided by the spring,
g (Fig. 2), which returns the bar,
K, and arms, J. The follower,
j, being free to swing
forward without moving the bell crank, permits the trigger,
m, to flip it up, and pass under its nose to its normal
position. During this operation, the opposite arm . . . has in like
manner actuated the hammer of the gong, which is sounded every time
a key is depressed to its furthest limit, and only then, and thus
gives notice to the customer that the machine has been properly
operated. Whenever the same key is successively operated, its rod
and the tablet remain up and exposed to view; but when a different
key is operated, the tablet of the previous
Page 156 U. S. 507
one is released, and falls back out of sight, and the tablet of
the operated key remains up and exposed."
The remainder of the specification relates to the registering or
recording mechanism, which is not in issue here. The only claim
alleged to have been infringed is the first, which reads as
follows:
"1. In a registering and indicating machine, the combination,
with a series of indicating tablets operated by a series of keys,
of a series of rods, each provided with a detent or shoulder, and
carrying one of the aforesaid tablets, and a supporting wing with
connecting mechanism whereby, upon operating anyone of the keys,
the wing is so moved as to permit the passage of the rod, and
whereby, upon the release of the keys, the wing engages with and
holds up the tablet rod and tablet, substantially as
described."
The answer put in issue principally the question of
infringement, and, upon a hearing upon pleadings and proofs, the
circuit court found this issue in favor of the defendant, and
dismissed the bill. Plaintiff thereupon appealed to this Court.
MR. JUSTICE BROWN, after stating the facts in the foregoing
language, delivered the opinion of the Court.
In the past 15 years, cash registers have become extensively
used in retail shops where each sale is small in amount, such as
drug stores, cigar stands, restaurants, and other small
establishments for the purpose of affording a convenient deposit
for the cash received and of preserving a record of every sale made
during each day, and of the amount received therefor. The
correspondence between the amount indicated by the register and the
amount in the drawer shows whether each sale has been properly
accounted for. It thus enables the
Page 156 U. S. 508
proprietor to ascertain at the close of each day's business the
amount of sales, and also operates as a check upon the dishonesty
of clerks, who are held accountable for the amount of money
indicated by the register.
To fulfill all its requirements, the cash register and indicator
should perform the following functions:
1. It should register the number of sales. This is done upon
somewhat the same principle as a steam engine records its own
revolutions.
2. It should also register the amount of each sale, and to this
end it is provided with a series of keys, representing different
amounts, from five cents to five dollars, by the pressure of which
keys a corresponding amount is registered, and added to the
previous aggregate of small amounts upon a revolving cylinder.
3. It should also indicate to the customer the proper amount of
his purchase by exposing a tablet containing such amount in large
figures, which tablet should remain in sight until the next sale is
made. If the amount of such sale is a dollar and a fraction of
another dollar, two such tablets are exposed, the aggregate of
which represents the proper amount. It is necessary in each case
that the tablet should remain exposed until another key is touched,
when it ought to disappear, that the next customer may recognize
the amount of his purchase. The customer is thus made to a certain
extent an involuntary detective of the action of the clerk making
the sale.
4. The pressure upon the key should also ring a bell, to call
the attention of the customer to the exposed indicator or
tablet.
5. The pressure of the key is also intended to unlock, and, by
the aid of a spring, to throw open, the money drawer, which should
be shoved back and closed after each sale is made.
6. In some machines, a record is made of the number of times the
lid is opened, that the proprietor may know whether the box has
been tampered with.
If the mechanism does its work properly, it should operate as a
complete check upon any attempt at embezzlement, by the salesman,
of the funds.
Page 156 U. S. 509
The patent in suit covers the registering or recording, as well
as the indicating mechanism, but as the only claim of the patent
alleged to be infringed deals with the indicating mechanism alone,
no further reference to the other features of the patent is
necessary. This mechanism consists of keys, E, having figures
representing values upon their front ends,
c, and hinged
upon a horizontal shaft, D, extending across the machine. The rear
end of each key is flattened and slotted to receive the lower ends
of vertical rods, F, carrying tablets, H, which are labeled with a
figure corresponding with that upon the key. The depression of the
front ends of the keys raises the rear ends, together with the rods
attached thereto, and brings the tablet into view. Back of these
rods is a wing, I, pivoted at its lower edge,
f, inclined
forward, and resting at its upper edge against the rear sides of
the upper parts of the rods, F. Each rod contains an elbow or
projection,
d, which, as the rod rises, presses back the
wing, I, and, when the pressure is taken off the key, the elbow
catches upon the upper side of the wing, and thus holds the tablet
up and exposed to view until the key is depressed again, when the
wing is again pressed back, the elbow is relieved, and the tablet
falls.
To secure a more perfect operation of this wing, a bar, K, is
extended across and directly underneath the front ends of the keys
so that whenever any key is depressed this bar is also depressed.
Connected with this bar is a train of mechanism, which appears in
the drawing and is described in the specification, but which is not
necessary to be set out here in full. This mechanism operates
directly upon the wing, I, and secures beyond peradventure the
falling of the tablet, before the elbow of the next tablet rod has
passed the upper edge of the wing. This subsidiary train of
mechanism, operating directly upon the wing and independently of
the elbow in the rods, is the special feature of the Ritty and
Birch patent.
To answer satisfactorily the question of infringement, it is
necessary to refer to the state of the art, and to distinguish that
which was already well known at the date of this patent, from that
which Ritty and Birch contributed by their invention. While the
novelty of their device is not directly attacked,
Page 156 U. S. 510
it is claimed that, in view of certain prior patents, their
patent is subject to limitations which affect materially the
construction of the first claim, and show defendant's machine not
to be an infringement.
The earliest patent to which our attention is called, and which
may be said to represent the infancy of the art, is that to James
Russell, October 10, 1829, for an improvement in bell hanging. This
patent, which was issued long before electricity was put to any
serviceable use, was intended to be employed in hotels or other
buildings, where a series or row of bells had theretofore been used
to connect each room with the office. These bells had been hung
upon wires or springs, and, when rung, oscillated long enough to
call the attention of the attendant to the number of the room with
which they were connected. The Russell patent substituted, for the
familiar row of bells in the office, a single bell, in a box, with
a series of indicators or tablets which protruded from grooves in
the box as each bell was sounded. These indicators were mounted
upon notched plates of metal, and, as each indicator was pulled out
by its wire, the plate was caught by a pivoted wing or bar, and the
tablet held outside of the box until the next bell was sounded,
when it fell back to its place. The wing cooperated with the notch
in the metallic plate of the tablet precisely as the wing in the
Ritty and Birch patent cooperates with the elbow of the tablet rod
and holds it up until the next tablet is raised. The wing is an
obvious anticipation of that in the Ritty and Birch patent, and the
whole device differs from it, in principle, only in the absence of
the connecting mechanism between the keys and the pivoted wing.
The British patent to Henry Pottin of May 28, 1877, for a cash
register, exhibits, in place of the pivoted wing of the Russell
patent, a sliding bar operated by keys. This sliding bar is moved
aside by a shoulder in each tablet rod as the rod is raised. After
the shoulder has passed a cooperating latch or trip-lever, pivoted
upon the bar, the latter is brought back to its position by a
spring and the tablet remains exposed to view. When the key is
again depressed, another tablet rod rises, but before its shoulder
has passed the cooperating latch,
Page 156 U. S. 511
the first tablet falls upon the latch, which gives way to allow
the rod to fall, when the last rod rises and remains exposed to
view. These latches are weighted in such manner as to remain in
place as the rod rises, but to give way when it is desired that the
rod shall fall. The device is an ingenious one, but is chiefly
valuable in this connection as showing that, prior to the Ritty and
Birch patent, the sliding bar was well known as an equivalent for
the pivoted wing. The device of the latches to aid in moving the
bar as the tablet rod rises, and to give way at the proper moment
to allow the rod to fall as the next one rises, contains a
suggestion of the connecting mechanism of the Ritty and Birch
patent, but is in no sense an anticipation of it. It was intended,
as in the Ritty and Birch machine, to release with certainty the
exposed tablet when another one was lifted, and it appears to
accomplish that result satisfactorily, but by a wholly different
means from that employed by Ritty and Birch. Each tablet rod
requires a separate weighted latch, and, in case of a large number
of keys, would take up too much room to be conveniently available
as a cash register. It is subject to another difficulty -- that if
two keys are depressed at once, and their corresponding rods are
lifted and caught upon the supporting bar, indicating a sale
represented by two tablets combined, a subsequent operation of
either one of these keys will fail to release either indicator, and
both will remain exposed to view. The shoulders of both rods are
above and resting upon the supporting bar, and as those shoulders
are the only thing that can move the bar, the latter can be moved
and the tablets allowed to fall only by the operation of some other
key.
The patent to Michael Campbell of February 14, 1882, exhibits a
modification of the Pottin sliding bar, the tablets consisting of
metal plates sliding up and down between grooves, each tablet
having at its upper end a horizontal finger, which engages with a
swinging hook. These books are all fitted in slots of a transverse
sliding bar, mounted at either end in guides upon the wall of the
casing, and actuated in one direction by a spring, and in the other
by the pressure of the hooks, which are thus caught by the
horizontal finger
Page 156 U. S. 512
of the tablet. The tablet rods are raised by the key levers,
with which they are connected by cords and pulleys at their rear
ends. Whenever any tablet is raised by depressing the front end of
the key, the finger on its upper end is caught by the hook above
it, the sliding bar moved against the spring, and the tablet
thereby held up. When another key is depressed and its tablet
lifted into engagement with its hook, the latter, through the
medium of the sliding bar connecting all the hooks, disengages the
first tablet and permits it to drop out of view. It differs from
the Pottin machine in the manner in which the sliding bar is
operated, and resembles the Ritty and Birch patent only in the fact
that the tablets are raised by the rear ends of the keys acting in
connection with the vertical rods, although even this connection is
indirect, through the intervention of cords and pulleys. It may
well be doubted whether this patent exhibits a practically
operative combination, since the mechanism is somewhat complicated,
and apparently liable to get out of order. The patent covers not
only this indicating device, but a mechanism for opening the drawer
automatically, and, although the patent is owned by the plaintiff,
it has never used its indicating mechanism, and the statement of
the inventor himself is that the original model is the only machine
containing such mechanism that was ever built.
Other patents were put in evidence by the defendant having a
relation more or less remote to the patent in suit, but designed
rather to show that some form of connecting mechanism had been
previously used for other purposes -- such, for instance, as
ringing the bell at the other side of the machine, moving the
carriage of a typewriter, or opening the cash drawer -- all by
means of a common bar extending above or beneath the whole line of
keys, the depression of any one of which not only performs its
individual function of raising a tablet, printing its particular
letter upon a typewriter, or registering an amount corresponding to
that indicated upon the face of the key, but also depresses a
common bar which operates this mechanism. Indeed it must be
admitted that it was no longer new in the art that each key should
perform
Page 156 U. S. 513
not only its individual work of adding, writing, or indicating,
but also that all the keys should perform some one common
operation. In none of the prior patents, however, is there such a
connecting mechanism for the purpose indicated in the Ritty and
Birch patent.
To sum up the state of the art, then, at the date of the Ritty
and Birch patent: the use of keys to raise vertical rods carrying
tablets was not only well known, but lies at the foundation of
every cash register to which our attention has been called. It was
also old to use a pivoted wing or bar to catch a projection or
elbow of the vertical rod for the purpose of holding the tablet
exposed to view until another tablet was raised. So too, the use of
a sliding bar actuated in one direction by a spring, and in the
other by a projection from the vertical rod or its tablet, was a
recognized equivalent of the pivoted wing. And finally, a
connecting mechanism, operated by each one of the keys by means of
a bar over or underneath them, had been previously used for ringing
the bell, opening the cash drawer, and in other machines for other
purposes.
What, then, was the contribution of this patent to the art? It
was found that not only must the machine be constructed with
extreme and almost impossible accuracy in order to operate as
desired, relying on the shoulders alone to move the wing, but that
when the machine was put to use, some of the keys would be used
much oftener than others, and the shoulders on the tablet rods
belonging to these keys would become worn so that when one of these
keys was operated immediately after one that was less frequently
used, the shoulder on its rod would not move the wing back far
enough to release the tablet rod of the infrequently used key,
which was resting on the wing. So too, any accumulation of dust,
dirt, or oil upon the projections or bar would render their
operation uncertain. The consequence was that two tablets might be
in view of the customer at the same time. This not only failed to
indicate to the customer the amount of his purchase, but afforded
to the salesman an opportunity of deceiving the proprietor as to
the actual amount of his sales. Indeed, it requires no expert to
see that where all the rods are constructed alike, and the
Page 156 U. S. 514
fall of one rod is made to depend exclusively upon the elevation
of another, the mechanism would soon become so worn as to be
inoperative. To obviate this, Ritty and Birch subdivided the power
exerted by the keys in the operation of the pivoted wing, and
caused such wing to be put in motion not only by the elbow of the
rod, but by the simultaneous, though wholly independent, action of
a bell-crank lever, which receives its impulse from the bar beneath
the keys, and, with its other arm, shoves back the upper side of
the wing far enough to permit the tablet to fall and resume its
original position in time to suffer the wing to fall back and catch
the elbow of the last tablet rod, and hold it up. It is insisted,
however, that as the connecting mechanism had been previously used
upon the other side of the machine to ring the bell and to open the
cash drawer, the employment of a similar mechanism for actuating
the pivoted wing was a case of mere double use, and if patentable
at all, must be restricted to the exact device used, and cannot be
construed to cover a similar train of mechanism for moving the
sliding bar.
It did, however, require thought to conceive the idea (1) that a
remedy for the existing defects in the machine lay in the
independent operation of the wing, and (2) that such operation
could be secured by a mechanical connection with the keys. Given
these conceptions, it was more a matter of mechanical skill than of
invention to devise such connection, since a similar train of
mechanism had been operated by the keys for other purposes. It is
insisted, however, that inasmuch as such mechanical connection was
well known before, and had been used for analogous purposes, it is
a mere case of double use to employ a similar contrivance to
actuate the wing. While the use was to a certain extent an
analogous one, and the mechanism was probably suggested by that
employed to ring the bell, there was nothing to suggest that the
object to be attained --
viz., the more perfect action of
the tablet rods -- could be accomplished by subdividing the force
exerted by the keys and bringing a portion of their power to bear
directly upon the wing itself, instead of devoting the whole of
such power to the act of raising the rods, and
Page 156 U. S. 515
depending solely upon the elbows of the rods to operate the
wing. There is no conflict here with the principle laid down by
this Court in
Knapp v. Morss, 150 U.
S. 221,
150 U. S. 227,
and
Wollensak v. Sargent, 151
U. S. 227, that the end or purpose sought to be
accomplished by a device is not the subject of a patent, but only
the new and useful means for obtaining that end, since the end or
purpose to be accomplished in this case was not the moving of the
wing, but the more perfect operation of the rods, and the means
used to accomplish it was a subdivision of the power exerted by the
keys, and the application of a portion of it directly to the wing
itself. The fallacy of defendants' argument in this connection lies
in the assumption that the object to be accomplished was the moving
of the wing, whereas this was only a means for the ultimate purpose
--
viz., the more satisfactory operation of the rods.
Indeed, this use of the connecting mechanism can hardly be termed
analogous to such as similar mechanisms had been previously used
for; but, even if it were, the results are so important, and the
ingenuity displayed to bring them about is such, that we are not
disposed to deny the patentees the merit of invention. The
combination described in the first claim was clearly new.
The cases cited by defendant upon the subject of double use are
not applicable -- such, for instance, as
Brown v. Piper,
91 U. S. 37, in
which a claim for preserving fish and other articles in a closed
chamber by means of a freezing mixture was held to have been
anticipated by a similar patent for preserving bodies and also by
the ordinary ice cream freezer;
Pennsylvania Railroad v.
Locomotive Truck Company, 110 U. S. 490, in
which a patent for employing a certain truck for locomotive engines
was held to be invalid in view of the employment of a similar truck
for railroad cars;
Aron v. Manhattan Railroad Co.,
132 U. S. 84,
wherein a patent for simultaneously opening two gates at the end of
two adjoining passenger coaches was held invalid in view of
previous patents for opening a single gate, and devices to open and
close apertures at a distance from the operator;
Wollensak v.
Sargent, 151 U. S. 221,
wherein a patent for opening and
Page 156 U. S. 516
closing a transom over a door by means of a vertical rod was
held to have been anticipated by a patent for opening and closing a
series of passenger car ventilators or transoms by a horizontal
rod;
Blake v. San Francisco, 113 U.
S. 679, wherein the adaptation of an automatic valve,
previously known and in use to a steam fire engine, was held not to
involve invention, and
St. Germain v. Brunswick,
135 U. S. 227,
wherein a revolving rack for billiard cues was held to be
anticipated by such revolving contrivances as dining tables and
bottle castors. In all these cases, the prior uses were such
obviously analogous ones that there could be no doubt of the
invalidity of the patent.
In the defendant's machine, the sliding bar of the Campbell and
Pottin patents is substituted for the pivoted wing of the Russell
and the Ritty and Birch patents. But, as before observed, they were
well known equivalents for each other, and the mechanism by which
they had theretofore been operated was also well known. They were
apparently subject to certain defects in their operation which
impaired their efficiency and required the use of an independent
means to secure the release of the first rod before the second one
was raised into place. Whether this were done by the simultaneous
action of the elbow of the rod and that of the connecting mechanism
upon the wing, as in the Ritty and Birch patent, or by the prior
action of such mechanism, as in defendant's device, is immaterial
so long as such action is independent of the action of the rods
themselves. We have already stated how this was accomplished by the
Ritty and Birch patent. Defendant also employed a universal bar
operated by each key, corresponding with the bar, K, of plaintiff's
patent, but located above the keys instead of beneath them, and
back of the shaft upon which the keys are pivoted instead of in
front of it. The operation of the keys is therefore to raise this
bar instead of depressing it. A rod projecting from the end of this
bar engages with the arm of a bell-crank lever, the other arm of
which is so connected with an arm of the sliding bar projecting
downwards that the depression of the key moves the bar to one side
far enough to release the tablet rod already
Page 156 U. S. 517
raised before the lug on the second or rising rod has passed the
sliding bar. When the second rod has risen to its full height, the
sliding bar is released from the action of the bell-crank lever,
and is drawn back to its place by a spring, in time to hold the
second rod up by a lug on the bar, corresponding to the lug on the
rod. The operation of the two devices is the same, except that in
the Ritty and Birch patent, the action of the connecting mechanism
in pushing back the pivoted wing is simultaneous with, and to a
certain extent aided by, the elbow of the rod, while in defendant's
device, the action of the connecting mechanism in moving the bar is
exclusive of any assistance from the rod. But as already observed,
this simultaneous action is a wholly immaterial feature of the
Ritty and Birch patent. While the details of the defendant's
machine are quite different from that of the plaintiff, the
underlying principle of releasing the first tablet before or
simultaneously with the elevation of the second tablet by the aid
of an independent train of mechanism put in motion by the
depression of the key is precisely the same. This principle being
already known, the contrivance of a connecting mechanism which
should operate to move a sliding bar, as the pivoted wing of the
Ritty and Birch patent was moved, was a comparatively easy matter,
though perhaps involving invention to a limited degree. In a word,
there were two known methods of accomplishing the same result -- a
pivoted wing and a sliding bar. Ritty and Birch invented a train of
mechanism to operate the pivoted wing; defendant adopted a similar
method to operate a sliding bar. Had defendant also invented the
sliding bar and applied this mechanism to it, the case would have
fallen within our ruling in
Aron v. Manhattan Railroad Co.
as the adoption of a different means of accomplishing the same
result. But the means in this case being well known equivalents for
each other, we think the charge of infringement is made out.
The decree of the court below is therefore
Reversed, and the case remanded for further proceedings in
conformity with this opinion.
