Stebler

The appellant, as the owner of reissue letters patent No. 12.297, granted to Robert Strain December 27, 1904, *736 brought this suit to enjoin alleged infringement. The invention is a machine for grading or assorting fruit with reference to size, and is presently useful chiefly in the orange industry, where, in order to secure a uniform pack, it is necessary that all oranges in a box be practically of the same size. Assortment by hand is too slow and inaccurate, and hence the need of a mechanical device.

The claims alleged to have been infringed are 1 and 10, which are as follows:

Claim 1:

Claim 10:

The defenses are invalidity of the claims, through anticipation of the combination thereby called for, and nonirifringement.

The issue can be more clearly and concisely explained by a reference to the state of the art when the patent was issued. There was at that time in practical use what was commonly known as the California grader, based upon a patent (No. 458,422) granted to J. T. Ish, August 25, 1891. The essential members of this device were (1) a long horizontal roller, with graduated sections or steps, turned down from a large diameter to a smaller one, resembling an…