Opinion
Lyon & Lyon, Lewis E. Lyon, Reginald E. Caughey, Los Angeles, Calif., for the plaintiff.
Fulwider, Mattingly & Huntley, Robert W. Fulwider, Los Angeles, Calif., and George F. Smyth, Inglewood, Calif., for defendant.
YANKWICH, Chief Judge.
The above-entitled cause heretofore tried, argued and submitted, is now decided as follows:
Judgment will be for the plaintiff adjudging the patent in suit to be valid and infringed, with injunction against further infringement and accounting for damages pursuant to Section 70 of Title 35 U.S.C. Reference to Leslie S. Bowden to take accounting and determine damages. Costs to the plaintiff.
Now 35 U.S.C.A. §§ 283-286, 290.
Findings and Judgment to be prepared by counsel for the plaintiff under Local Rule 7.
Comment
The action is for infringement of Patent No. 2646115 issued Leon R. Bucher and Omar K. Skiver on July 21, 1953, on application filed January 24, 1952. The patent relates to a new type of venetian blind, the object of which is to achieve 'full closure.' The scope of the invention and the problem which the present invention was intended to meet is stated in the specifications in this manner:
'In a conventional blind, the crowned sheet metal slats are prevented from closing tightly together by the lift cords, which pass through cord holes in the slats. The cord limits the angle to which the slat can be tilted, owing to the fact that in the extreme tilted position of the slat, the cord engages one end of the cord hole and the opposite outer edge of the slat. Thus, there is a gap left between the bottom edge of one slat and the top surface of the next lower surface, of the same width as the thickness of the cord. Light leaking through these gaps between slats prevents the conventional blind from darkening a room sufficiently for projection purposes.
'In the present invention, the slats are notched in one edge along side the cord hole, so that in the extreme tilted position of the slat, the cord engages the bottom of the notch and the top end of the cord hole. However, the bottom edge of the slat on either side of the notch extends further down toward the slat below by a distance equal to the depth of the notch. Owing to the curvature of the downwardly concave slat, the direction in which the bottom edge of the slat extends is directly toward the slat below. Hence, the gap between the slats when the blind is closed is materially reduced, and may be eliminated altogether if the notch is made somewhat deeper than the thickness of the cord. Better closure is also obtained if the notch is made wider than the cross bars of the ladder tape, and the cord hole is offset laterally from the center-line of the slat to the side opposite the notch, which permits the slat to drop down slightly in the fully tilted position toward the slat below.'
Venetian blinds at all times have had as one of their objects the exclusion of a quantity of light. Only with the development of audio-visual education calling for the use of motion pictures, slides, television and the like, and the darkening of classrooms and auditoriums in order that these visual aids be utilized, did the need arise for a 'full closure' blind that would make it possible to darken a room to an extremely low level of illumination at any time of the day. This is achieved in the patented invention by notching the slats on one edge alongside the cord hole.
More specifically, the invention of the patent in suit solved the problem by permitting the slats of the Venetian blind to be easily and simply moved to a position of full closure and achieved this result by the combination of elements as defined in claims 1 and 2 of the Letters Patent in suit wherein a crowned slat blind was so assembled with respect to the operating ladder and lift cord as to permit the arched slats when actuated to a closed position to move in an arcuate path so that the lower edge of each crowned slat engages the curved surface of a slat immediately underlying it to obtain full closure.
The mode of operation of the full closure blind of the patent is that, on closing, the crowned sheet metal slats, as they are supported upon the cross bars of the ladders, are rotated and due to the position of the lift cord hold and the edge notch formed in the edge of the slat in its position with relation to the cross bars and side tabs of the ladder, the slats in being moved to a vertical position follow and move in a curved path in dropping to their full closure position. The result is that the forward edge of each slat engages the curved surface of slat immediately below it to attain a full closure position.
The mode of operation of the blind and slats of the blind of the Letters Patent in suit as defined in claims 1 and 2 of said Letters Patent was new and novel and attained a new and novel result not found in any of the prior art.
The defendants have challenged the validity of the patent, citing as the prior anticipatory art the following patents: Nos. 2,662,592-- (J. H. Bierlich); 2,573,700-- (H. W. Ferguson et al.); 175,563-- (Peter Huhn); 2,495,973--(Griffith Jones); 2,283,640-- (D. Kwon); 62,348-- (Freeman Little); 2,410,549-- (E. A. Olson); 167,942-- (John Seaman); 2,572,224-- (B. Walker); 2,504,771-- (W. H. West). Of these, only Jones was cited as a reference by the Examiner.
It is not to be denied that the patent in suit achieves a full closure. None of the patents in the prior art, not even Kwon No. 2,283,640 and Bierlich No. 2,662,592, which are designated as 'the best references', achieve this result. The patent in suit is the only one that met stated problem efficiently. It is invention over the prior art, and therefore, valid. Pointer v. Six Wheel Corp., 9 Cir., 1949, 177 F.2d 153, 158-162. (See drawings and full text of specifications at end of opinion. (Exhibit A.))
A study of the accused device and the demonstrations in the courtroom lead to the conclusion that the defendant's device infringes both claims of the patent in suit. The record shows that because of the impatience of some of the school authorities with the slowness with which the plaintiff was introducing its invention into the market, the defendant, at the urging of some school authorities, studied a model embodying plaintiff's invention and proceeded to duplicate it.
The two claims in suit are:
The defendant's blind employs alternate notches in the slats for the alternate cross bars of the ladder as distinguished from the long edged notches formed in the edges of the slats of the patent in suit. The slats of the defendant's manufacture have each and every element of the slat of the patent in suit and operate in the same way to produce the same result as the patented device.
The alternate edge slots used by the defendant are the complete equivalent of the edge slots shown in and claimed in the patent in suit. At most, the defendant has eliminated or multiplied elements.
Multiplication of elements does not avoid infringement. 3 Walker on Patents, Deller's Ed., 1937, Sec. 462; Samson-United Corp. v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 2 Cir., 1939, 103 F.2d 312, 315; Ace Patents Corp. v. Exhibit Supply Co., 7 Cir., 1941, 119 F.2d 349, 353. Nor does the omission of one element of an invention avoid infringement when an equivalent is substituted for it. Edwards v. Hychex Products, 7 Cir., 1948, 171 F.2d 259, 260. The combination of two elements into one which performs the function of both in substantially the same manner does not avoid infringement. Royal Typewriter Co. v. Remington Rand, Inc., 2 Cir., 1948, 168 F.2d 691, 693. This is all that the defendant has done.
Whether the plaintiff's invention be considered primary or not, the defendant's device constitutes no departure from the patent in suit. More, there is in it identity of function and result with the patented article. This is infringement. Sanitary Refri1gerator Co. v. Winters, 1929, 280 U.S. 30, 41-42, 50 S.Ct. 9, 74 L.Ed. 147; Graver Tank & Mfg. Co. v. Linde Air Products Co., 1950, 339 U.S. 605, 607-609, 70 S.Ct. 854, 94 L.Ed. 1097; Baker-Cammack Hosiery Mills v. Davis Co., 4 Cir., 1950, 181 F.2d 550, 557; Pointer v. Six Wheel Corp., 9 Cir., 1949, 177 F.2d 153, 162-163; Patterson-Ballagh Corp., v. Moss, 9 Cir., 1953, 201 F.2d 403, 406. The fact that the defendant's device eliminates what has been called the occasional 'flutter' of the blind does not help the defendant if, as we are satisfied, the device also achieves the same function in the same manner as the plaintiff's invention. 3 Walker on Patents, Deller's Ed., 1937, Sec. 467, p. 1704; Rockwood v. General Fire Extinguisher Co., 2 Cir., 1925, 8 F.2d 682, 688; Cleveland Automatic Machinery Co. v. National Acme Co., 6 Cir., 1931, 52 F.2d 769, 772; Johns Manville Corp. v. National Tank & Seal Co., 10 Cir., 1931, 49 F.2d 142, 146. Hence the ruling above made. EXHIBIT A
(Image Omitted)
Patented July 21, 1953
2,646,115
UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE
2,646,115
VENETIAN BLIND
Leon R. Bucher and Omar K. Skiver, Riverside, Calif., assignors to Hunter Douglas Corporation, Riverside, Calif., a corporation of Delaware
Application January 24, 1952, Serial No. 267,952
2 Claims. (Cl. 160-173)
The present invention relates to Venetian blinds, and more particularly to a new and improved type of slat which is so constructed and arranged as to permit the blind to be closed more tightly than has heretofore been possible, with adjoining slats in actual contact with another. The full-closure blind of the present invention thus makes it possible to darken a room to an extremely low level of illumination, even in midday, and is therefore ideally suited for use is school classrooms or auditoriums, to permit full utilization of all the visual aids employed in present day teaching methods which require room darkening, such as motion pictures, slides, television, and the like. The present invention provides the optimum conditions for visual aid teaching, inasmuch as it not only darkens the room for projection purposes, but at the same time spreads a diffused, uniformly distributed, illumination of very low intensity over the entire room, of the order of 1/2 foot-candle or less for a classroom of average size and modern construction, which is just sufficient for note-taking purposes.
In a conventional blind, the crowned sheet metal slats are prevented from closing tightly together by the lift cords, which pass through cord holes in the slats. The cord limits the angle to which the slat can be 'tilted, owing to the fact that in the extreme titled position of the slat, the cord engages one end of the cord hole and the opposite outer edge of the slat. Thus, there is a gap left between the bottom edge of one slat and the top surface of the next lower surface, of the same width as the thickness of the cord. Light leaking through these gaps between slats prevents the conventional blind from darkening a room sufficiently for projection purposes.
In the present invention, the slats are notched in one edge along side the cord hole, so that in the extreme tilted position of the slat, the cord engages the bottom of the notch and the top end of the cord hole. However, the bottom edge of the slat on either side of the notch extends further down toward the slat below by a distance equal to the depth of the notch. Owing to the curvature of the downwardly concave slat, the direction in which the bottom edge of the slat extends is directly toward the slat below. Hence, the gap between the slats when the blind is closed is materially reduced, and may be eliminated altogether if the notch is made somewhat deeper than the thickness of the cord. Better closure is also obtained if the notch is made wider than the cross bars of the ladder tape, and the cord hole is offset laterally from the center-line of the slat to the side opposite the notch, which permits the slat to drop down slightly in the fully tilted position, toward the slat below.
The present invention can also be used advantageously wherever it may be necessary or desirable to darken a room to an extremely low level of illumination, as in hospitals, hotel rooms, bedrooms, etc., and the primary object of the invention, therefore is to provide a Venetian blind which can be completely closed to exclude substantially all of the light entering a window, and which is capable of darkening a room to an illumination level substantially below that obtained with conventional blinds.
Another object is to provide a blind giving a relatively uniform distribution of light at all levels of intensity, and one that diffuses the small amount of light passing through the blind at full closure to give an aesthetic and restful effect in the room.
The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, wherein:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a Venetian blind constructed in accordance with the principles of our invention;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of one of the new type slats, showing the notches cut into one edge thereof;
Figure 3 is a sectional view through the blind taken at 3-3 in Figure 1;
Figure 4 is a sectional view taken at 4-4 in Figure 1, showing the manner in which the slats contact one another when the blind is fully closed;
Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 3, showing the blind in the open condition; and
Figure 6 is a sectional view taken at 6-6 in Figure 5.
In the drawings, the blind of Figure 1 is designated in its entirety by the reference numeral 10, and is seen to comprise a channel shaped head rail 11, which is supported at the ends by mounting brackets 12. A tilt rod 13 is rotatably supported within the head rail 11, and mounted on said rod near the ends thereof are two tape rolls 14, to which the upper ends thereof are two tape rolls 14, to which the upper ends of ladders 15 are attached. Slats 16 are supported by the ladders in the usual manner.
Each of the ladders 15 is comprised of two parallel tapes 20 disposed on opposite sides of the slats 16 and connected together by vertically spaced cross bars 21 which support the slats. The ladder illustrated in the drawings is formed of plastic, although any other material will serve equally well.
The cross bars 21 are somewhat less than half the width of the tapes 20, and are staggered alternately on opposite sides of the centerline of the tapes, as shown in Figure 6. The inner edges of the staggered cross bars are spaced apart to provide a clear opening 22 at the center of the ladder, and extending down through this opening is a lift cord 23. The lift cord also extends through transversely elongated cord holes 24 in each of the slats; said cord holes being preferably offset laterally to one side of the centerline of the slat, as in Figure 6.
Each of the slats 16 is formed of crowned strip metal or other thin sheet material, and the slats are assembled in the ladders with the concave side facing downwardly, as shown in Figure 5. Formed in one edge of the slat in lateral alignment with the cord holes 24 are notches 25. The notches 25 are preferably wider than the overall distance between the outer edges of the staggered cross bars 21, and are substantially deeper than the thickness of the lift cords 23. In the preferred form illustrated, the notch 25 is approximately 20% of the total width of the slat 16, although it will be understood that the depth could be greater or less than the amount shown.
When the slats are assembled in the ladders 15, the cross bars 21 are engaged by the bottom of the notches 25 and by the edge of the slat on the opposite side thereof. With the blind open, the slats 16 function in the same manner as in conventional blinds. When the blind of the present invention is fully closed, however, the slats tilt almost to the vertical position, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, with the slats overlapping slightly and in contact with one another. This full closure of the blind is made possible by the notches 25, which eliminate the interference of the lift cord 23 with the slats.
As mentioned earlier, with conventional blinds the crowned sheet metal slats are prevented from closing tightly together by the lift cords, which pass between the vertically tilted slats. The minimum gap between the bottom edge of each slat and the top surface of the slat below is therefore never less than the diameter of the cord, which is usually from 1/8 to 3/16 inch. When the slat is notched at 25, a small opening is provided behind the ladder tape 20, through which the lift cord can pass without spreading the slats apart, and on either side of the notch, the bottom edge of the slat extends down to and abuts against the slat below, closing the gap between slats.
It will also be noted that when the blind is closed, each of the slats drops down slightly toward the slat below. This is because of the fact that the notch 25 is wider than the cross bars and therefore the slat is supported by the cross bar on the bottom of the notch. When the blind is open and the slats are horizontal, as in Figure 5, the slats are centered between the tapes 20. In the tilted position, the slat is supported entirely on its bottom edge, and therefore, drops down until the bottom edge of the notch 25 rests on the cross bar at the junction of the latter with the tape 20. The lateral offset of the cord hole 24 also provides clearance for the lift cord 21 so that the slat can drop down without interference.
The effectiveness of the invention in darkening rooms for projection purposes has been clearly demonstrated in experimental installations in classrooms of modern design having large windows on the north side thereof and smaller windows, set high, on the south side. It was found that the unshaded windows gave light meter readings, taken at student eye level, ranging from 60 to 180 foot-candles. The outside meter reading at the same time was 500 foot-candles at student eye level. With blinds tilted slightly, a more uniform light distribution was obtained, giving meter readings ranging from 50 to 90 foot-candles. When fully closed, blinds of pastel green gave meter readings of .25 to .54 foot-candles, whereas blinds of dark green gave meter readings of .11 to .32 foot-candles, all readings being taken at student eye level. It has been found that colored projection is entirely satisfactory and suffers no loss of color with a light intensity in the room of not more than 1/2 foot-candle. A conventional Venetian blind of the same color passes fully 10 times as much light as the present blind when fully closed, and is entirely incapable of reducing the light intensity to the level required for satisfactory color projection.
While we have shown and described in detail what we believe to be the preferred form of our invention, it will be understood that various changes may be made in the shape and arrangement of the several elements thereof, without departing from the broad scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
We claim:
1. A crowned slat for use in a full-closure Venetian blind having slat-supporting ladders and lift cords, each of said ladders comprising a pair of tapes disposed on opposite sides of said slats and connected together by a plurality of narrow cross bars which are staggered alternately on opposite sides of the centerline of the tapes, said lift cord passing down through said ladders between said alternately staggered cross bars, each of said slats being provided with a transversely elongated, closed cord hole offset laterally to one side of the longitudinal centerline thereof, said lift cords passing through said cord holes, and each of said slats having a longitudinally elongated notch formed in the edge thereof in lateral alignment with said cord hole on the opposite side of said centerline, said notch being wider than the combined width of two adjacent cross bars and substantially deeper than the thickness of said lift cord, and said notch being normally at the bottom of said slat when the latter is tilted to the closed position.
2. A full-closure Venetian blind comprising a plurality of
horizontally extending, vertically spaced slats, at least two ladders supporting said slats, each of said ladders comprising a pair of tapes disposed on opposite sides of said slats and connected together by a plurality of vertically spaced narrow cross bars staggered on opposite sides of the centerline of the tapes, lift cords passing down through said ladders between said alternately staggered cross bars, each of said slats being crowned and having transversely elongated, closed cord holes provided therein offset laterally to one side of the longitudinal centerline of the slat, said lift cords passing through said cord holes, and each of said slats having a longitudinally elongated notch formed in the edge thereof in lateral alignment with said cord hole on the opposite side of said centerline, said notch being wider than the combined width of two adjacent cross bars and substantially deeper than the thickness of said lift cord, and said notch being normally at the bottom of said slat when the blind is tilted to closed position, whereby each slat drops that depth of said notches so that the bottom edge of the slat abuts against the top surface of the slat below.
LEON R. BUCHER.
OMAR K. SKIVER.
References Cited in the file of this patent
UNITED STATES PATENTS
Number
Name
Date
2,495,973
Jones ....
Jan. 31, 1950
'(1) A crowned slat for use in a full-closure Venetian blind having slat-supporting ladders and lift cords, each of said ladders comprising a pair of tapes disposed on opposite sides of said slats and connected together by a plurality of narrow cross bars which are staggered alternately on opposite sides of the centerline of the tapes, said lift cord passing down through said ladders between said alternately staggered crossbars, each of said slats being provided with a transversely elongated, closed cord hole offset laterally to one side of the longitudinal centerline thereof, said lift cords passing through said cord holes, and each of said slats having a longitudinally elongated notch formed in the edge thereof and laterally alignment with said cord hole on the opposite side of said centerline, said notch being wider than the combined width of two adjacent crossbars and substantially deeper than the thickness of said lift cord, and said notch being normally at the bottom of said slat when the latter is tilted to the closed position.
'(2) A full-closure Venetian blind comprising a plurality of horizontally extending, vertically spaced slats, at least two ladders supporting said slats, each of said ladders comprising a pair of tapes disposed on opposite sides of said slats and connected together by a plurality of vertically spaced narrow cross bars staggered on opposite sides of the centerline of the tapes, lift cords passing down through said ladders between said alternately staggered crossbars, each of said slats being crowned and having transversely elongated, closed cord holes provided therein offset laterally to one side of the longitudinal centerline of the slat, said lift cords passing through said cord holes and each of said slats having a longitudinally elongated notch formed in the edge thereof in lateral alignment with said cord hole on the opposite side of said center line, said notch being wider than the combined width of two adjacent crossbars and substantially deeper than the thickness of said lift cord, and said notch being normally at the bottom of said slat when the blind is tilted to closed position, whereby each slat drops the depth of said notches so that the bottom edge of the slat abuts against the top surface of the slat below.'