36 snnmmn asroarnn. ‘
' attached to his patent, most surely contemplated a very diiferent
degree of obliquity than is here found. In my judgment the sweeps
in the exhibit do not diverge suiliciently to lose whatever advantage
may be derived from having the grooves straight, or to gain any ben-
ents asserted for those that are oblique. If, in the complainant’s claim
and specifications, the word oblique were stricken out, and the word
straight substituted in lieu thereof, there would then be foundation for
the argument that the Beckford seeder of 1880 was an infringement.
. As it is, however, the defendants are much nearer to the Thomas and
Mast design than to the design ofthe complainant.
It was further argued that because defendants' sweeps were at-
` tached to the shaft by a single screw, it might in operation become
loosened and form a pivot; thus in fact giving a spiral or oblique
direction to the ilutes; or that the person operating the machine
might, by intentionally loosening the screw, produce a similar result.
Whether a sweep with straight grooves so vibrating, would infringe
T i one with oblique grooves held stationary, it is not necessary to decide,
for it cannot be said, in the absence of evidence, that the defendants'
machines are improperly or negligently constructed, or that the de-
fendants should be held accountable for something that may be done
to their seeders after they have left the manufactory. Their straight
sweeps might, in these circumstances, be entirely removed and com-
plainant’s oblique sweeps substituted, but the person who so changes
the machine, and not the defendants, should be held responsible.
It would seem that a single screw is amply sufficient to hold these
small sweeps in position; they work slowly in yielding grain, and are
~ not subjected to any violent resistance or sudden shock. Upon this
branch of the case, then, my conclusion is that the complainants
patent, assuming it to be valid, covers only the oblique grooves, and
these defendants do not use.
It follows that the bill must be dismissed.