Statement of the case.

discharging end of the tunnel, one called the “hinged hood,” placed above, and the other called the "hinged flap," placed below. The hinged hood is shown in Fig. 1 at s, and the hinged flap at q.

Nothing was said in the original specification to lead one to suppose that any result whatever could be accomplished without the union of the bottom, the sides, and the top into this integral structure called the "chamber" or "tunnel;" and the interposition of that "tunnel" between the disintegrating brush, F, and the pervious vacuum cone, 0. Moreover it was not suggested in the original patent, nor was there anything to lead any one to suppose that if the tunnel or chamber was entirely removed the feeding mechanism and the disintegrating apparatus could in any useful way whatever co-operate with the pervious cone.

There were four claims of this patent relating to the mechanism.

The first claim of the original patent of 1846 pointed clearly to a combination of the peculiar feeding mechanism, bʊ, the disintegrating brush, F, and the tunnel or chamber, M, in front of the brush.

The second claim pointed at the combination of the chamber or tunnel, M, and the perforated cone, 0, in front of it. The third claim pointed at the combination of the tunnel or chamber, M, and the upper hinged hood, S.

The fourth claim pointed at the combination of the tunnel or chamber, M, with the lower hinged flap, q.

It will be observed that into each of the four combinations set out in the four claims above respectively, the entire tunnel or chamber (composed of a bottom, sides, and top, united together) entered as an integral device.

The first feature of invention claimed looked to the function which, as an integral device, this tunnel performed at its receiving end with reference to the feeding and disintegrating brush.

The second feature claimed looked to the function which this same tunnel as an integral device performed, at the discharging end, in reference to the perforated vacuum cone.

Statement of the case.

The third and fourth features claimed respectively concerned this sanie tunnel as an integral device, viewed in connection with the movable adjuncts at the upper and lower part of its discharging end.

In the several successive reissues of this patent, granted in 1856, April 17th, 1860, and December, 1860, this device was called a "tunnel or chamber," was uniformly described as an integral device, and no hint was given that it could be entirely removed or that it could be separated into its elementary parts, and that either of its several elementary parts could alone perform any useful purpose in connection with the disintegrating brush and cone. After the patent had been extended by Congress, the extended patent was reissued May 19th, 1868 (that is to say, twenty-two years after the date of the original patent), with specification No. 2942, presenting two distinct features of invention not exhibited in the original patent or in any prior reissue, viz. : 1st, that there existed in the Wells invention a direct combination between the feeding machinery, the disintegrating brush, and the pervious cone, independent of any intermediate device between the disintegrating brush and the cone. Such a combination would be represented to the mind by dropping out the chamber or tunnel from the Wells patent, drawing Fig. 1, at page 4, supra, and thus producing

FIG. 8.

A special claim, No. 4, was inserted in this reissue to point out and secure this combination to the representatives of Wells. It was in the following language:

Statement of the case.

FOURTH CLAIM.

"The combination of the feeding apron, on which the fur can be placed in separate batches as described, the rotating brush or picker substantially as described, the rotating cone, or 'former,' provided with an exhausting mechanism substantially as described; the said combination having a mode of operation substantially such as described."

The second marked change in this last reissue, No. 2942, from either of its predecessors was the omitting from the specification the words "tunnel or chamber" always theretofore present in the specifications, and employing no distinctive term as applicable thereto as an integral device. At the same time that all mention of this integral device theretofore called the "tunnel or chamber" disappeared from the specification, that device in the new description was split up into four parts, each of which parts was treated as if it was in itself an integral device; and a specific designation was given to each part. Thus, instead of it being stated as it had been done in the previous issues that there was a "tunnel or chamber" extending from the brush toward the cone, it was stated in the last reissue that "from the under part of the rotating brush x x, there is a plate f, which extends towards the pervious cone." Again, it was stated that "there is an upper guide or deflector r, which extends over the rotating brush forward of it toward the cone." Again, it was stated that "on each side there is a guide m, extending from the picker brush toward the cone." These devices, called respectively for the first time in this reissue "plate for bottom plate,' upper guide or top guide," and "guide m or side guides," had no names or designation by letters or otherwise whatsoever given to them in either of the prior reissues. Moreover, all statement of the function performed by the "tunnel or chamber" regarded as an integral device, which function had been theretofore regarded as the mode of operation of the Wells machine, disappeared in this reissue, and special functions were assigned to each of these parts, thus treated as integral devices in this reissue. Finally, in the claiming part of the specification, combinations between

99.66

Statement of the case.

each of these several newly recognized integers and the other parts of the machine were carved out. Thus, Claim 1 covered the combination of the disintegrating brush, the "bottom plate or guide ƒ ƒ," and the rotating pervious vacuum cone. This combination would be shown by

FIG. 4.

f

Claim 1 was in the following language:

"The combination of the rotating brush or picker, substantially such as described, the rotating pervious cone, provided with an exhausting mechanism substantially as described, and the bottom plate or guide substantially as described for directing the fur fibres towards the lower part of the cone, and preventing the fibres going to waste, the said combination having the mode of operation specified, and for the purpose set forth."

Claim 2 covered the combination of the feeding mechanism, the disintegrating brush or mechanism, the "top guide or deflector," and the pervious vacuum cone. This combination would be shown in Fig. 5.

This Claim 2 was in these words:

"The combination of the feed-apron, the rotating brush or

Statement of the case.

picker, substantially as described, the rotating pervious cone, provided with an exhausting mechanism, substantially as described, and the guide or deflector, for directing fur fibre on to the tip and upper part of the cone, substantially as described; the said combination having the mode of operation specified, and for the purpose set forth."

Claim 3 embraced the combination of the disintegrating mechanism, the "side guides or either of them," and the pervious vacuum cone. This combination in an alternate

FIG. 6.

m

form would be illustrated by Fig. 6, where only one side guide is involved, and by Fig. 7, where both side guides are shown.

"The combination of the rotating brush or picker, substantially as described, the rotating pervious cone provided with an exhausting mechanism, substantially as described, and the side guides, or either of them, substantially as described, to prevent fur fibres from getting out of the proper influence of the current travelling to the cone, and to protect the travelling fibres from disturbing currents; the said combination having the mod.. of operation specified, and for the purpose set forth."