Charles H. Martin v. Be-Ge Mfg. Co., of Gilroy, a Corporation, and Albert G. Gurries

Appellant brought this action for infringement of claims 10 and 11 of United States Letters- Patent No. 2,014,479, granted to him on September 17, 1935, for a “Land Leveler.”

The District Court, after trial, adjudged the claims not infringed, and declared the patent invalid for want of invention. This appeal is from that judgment.

A land leveler, as the name suggests, is a device used in leveling and distributing the soil for field cultivation, road construction, and other purposes. It usually consists of a scraper blade mounted on a heavy-metal draft frame on wheels, which frame in turn is connected to a suitable power means such as horses or a tractor.

In operation, as the scraper is drawn over the surface of the ground in digging or loading position, the surplus soil is drawn up over the scraper blade and into the scraper bowl, where it is accumulated until the bowl is emptied. The scraper bowl, which is usually a rearward extension of the scraper blade, consists of an inclined bottom portion, a pair of forwardly-extending end walls and an upwardly-extending back or bowl portion.

Ordinarily, the wheels are rigidly attached in some manner to the draft frame, while the…