38 FEDERAL REPORTER.
acquired another residenee.(q) Residence is presumed to continue until a
change is adirmatively shown.(¢·) Where a town taxes a party as a resident,
the burden of proof of residence is on the town if questioned.(s)—[E1>.
(q) Bulkloy v. Williznmstown, 3 Gray, 493. (q) Hurlburt v. Green, 41 Vt. 490; S. C. 42 Vt.
(r) In re Nichols, 64 N. Y. 62. 316. ‘
SINGER BOOKING-CHAIR Co. v. Tonnr FURNITURE Co.
(Circuit Oourt, N. D. Illinois. August 4, 1882.)
Pnmxrs ron INVENTIONB·—I{OCKING-CHAIRB—MERE Mmommcsr. Cuenca.
lA rocking-chair constructed to move upon a stationary platform, having a
base or_ rails upon which the rockers move, the base being tongued and the
rockers grooved so that one fits into the other, the ends of the base being ele-
vated, to prevent the rockers from working oif, with flexible rubber bands
connecting the rockers to the rails of the stand to prevent the seat from mov-
· ing back and forth on the rails, or rocking too far either way, is a mere me-,
chanical change from chairs in previous use, andin such a device there is noth- »
iug that can be the subject of a patent.
Banning it Banning and C'. K. Ojicld, for plaintiff.
Oobwrn ct Thatcher, for defendant.
- Dnumnonn, C. J. There are nine suits by the same plaintiff against
_ different defendants, two of which have been brought in the circuit
court of the United States for the eastern district of Wisconsin, and
the remaining suits in this court. They are all founded on alleged ·
infringements of a patent to Charles Singer, July 6, 1869, for an im-
provement in the construction of rocking-chairs. The patent con-
tains two claims. The second relates to a device by which a current
of air is produced, which, by the act of rocking, is impelled through
a Hexible tube so as to be carried to any part of the person seated in
the chair. That claim is not in controversy here and need not be
further considered. The rocking-chair is one constructed to move
upon a stationary platform, and not upon the floor. The platform
has a base or rail upon which the rockers move, the latter being
curved in the usual form. The base or rail is tongued, and the bot-
tom of the rockers grooved so that the one fits into the other, and the
ends of the base (or rails, as the patent calls them) are elevated so as
to prevent the rockers from working off. The base or rails are A
shaped, or of other form, upon which the rockers are fitted; the latter
being provided with V grooves, or otherwise adapted to the rail, and