Union Tool Co. v. Wilson & Willard Mfg. Co.

Complainant sues for the infringement of letters patent No. 734,833, applied for in 1901 and granted Edward Double in 1903. The patent is for a new type of underreamer covering certain * combinations therein. The defense is: Want of

patentable novelty and invention; anticipation, and infringement is denied.

*838 In drilling oil wells in Pennsylvania, no underreamer was necessary, as the formation stood up, and, when thje rock was reached, at a depth of 50 to 100 feet, no casing was required; casing being a pipe entered in the hole for the purpose of holding back soft earth and preventing caving. The devices in question are a part of what is known as the “cable tool system” of oil well drilling, consisting of a high derrick with windlasses, called “bull wheels and calf wheels,” for winding up and releasing thle cable rope to which the tools are attached. • The hole in the ground is made by dropping a string of tools. A certain amount of water is kept in the bottom of the hole, which is churned up into mud. This mud—made by the water and detritus formed by the drilling—is taken out of the hole by a baler or other suitable device, which is run down inside the casing.

In drilling,…