Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 9.djvu/722

WESTERN BLEOTRIC MANU'fO C0> f . ANSONIA BRASS & OOPPEB CO. �The claim of the patent for the product is for "an insulated tele- graph wire, the covering of which has its pores filled and its surface polished, substantially as described." �The defect in the article coated with uncompressed paraffine was a leakage of electricity, which was probably owing to the shrinkage of the paraffine in the interstices pf the fibrous covering while the melted paraffine was cooling. The paraffine which was compressed while in a plastic state was thereby forced into the interstices of the fibers and the defect was obviated. �The defendants make and sell telegraph wire, which they say in there answer is "covered by braiding over the wire a fibrous covering, after which it is dipped in a preparation for the purpose of filling and closing the pores; after which the same is sand-papered and rubbed, and passed through revolving dies, for the purpose of scraping off the surplus material, and consolldating and smoothing the surface of said remaining covering." They further admit that both paraffine and wax are component parts of the material which is used for insu- lating their wire. �I shall spend no time upon the question of infringement, which I think vas clearly shown. The utility of the plaintiff's article was also proved. �The important question in the case is in regard to be patentability of the improvement, which consisted in compressing the plastic par- affine, by suitable machinery, after the fibrous covering and the par- affine had been applied. The meohanism for compressing was so well knownthat a description was unnecessary. The invention con- sisted in the discovery that compression of the plastic paraffine into the pores of the fibrous covering, by any well-known mechanical ap- pliances, would be advantageous. It did not consist in the discovery that covering with paraffine or wax would be desirable, for wire cov- ered with braided fibrous covering and dipped in wax was in common use ; but the invention simply related to the substitution, in place of a mere scraping off of the rough clots of wax, of a pressing operation for forcing the insulating material into more intimate contact with the fibrous material, and, so far as the product is concerned, the in- vention related to a wire insulated and polished upon its surface, by means of compression of the waxed covering, as distinguished from the insulation and surface which was the resuit of non-compression of the same covering. �Dundonald's British patent of 1851, No. 13,698, declares that he employed "bituminous material to cover and thus insulate the con- ��� �