Opinion of the Court. The rack J and its guide-roll K are preferably fitted to each other by intermatching grooved and flanged surfaces, as indicated in Figs. 3 and 3 and the operating pinion I1 is provided with flanges to embrace the sides of the rack, so that said rack is confined and guided in proper relations as it slides up and down and works with but little friction or resistance when adjusting the blade. "Hand-wheels M and M1 are provided for imparting motion to the respective pinions I I1, or operating gear of the bladelifting mechanism, when elevating and depressing the blade or adjusting the blade to differently inclined positions in relation to the plane of the road, these wheels may be made some three feet in diameter, more or less, with round or other formed rims that can be conveniently grasped by the hand at any part of their periphery. In the present instance the handwheels and their pinions are respectively attached to each other or formed on the same hub; they are mounted on a shaft L that extends across the carriage A, and is supported in bearings on suitable standards / l1. One of the wheels (M, or M1) is arranged to turn loose on shaft L, so that the two wheels can be revolved independently of each other for separately adjusting either end of the blade required. The rims of the hand-wheels are made sufficiently heavy to act as a balance against the weight of the blade-lifting devices, so that the momentum of the wheel will greatly assist the operator in the manipulation of the machine. Short shafts or studs may be used in lieu of shaft L as journals for the hand-wheels and gears if desired. I prefer however to have the shaft extend across the machine as it makes a stronger and more rigid construction. "Brake mechanism is arranged in connection with the carriage for stopping and retaining the hand-wheels to hold the blade at any position of adjustment. Said brake mechanism may be made, as indicated, with levers n, having one end fulcrumed beneath the platform at n', and the other provided. with a pad or shoe, N, to press against the rim of the handwheel, a suitable spring, s, being connected therewith to give the required holding pressure. A foot piece or pedal, P, ar Opinion of the Court. ranged at a convenient position enables the attendant to depress the lever and brake-shoe by placing his foot thereon when he desires to throw off the brake for releasing the hand-wheel. "In lieu of connecting the hand-wheel and blade-lifting bar or lever by means of a toothed pinion and rack, said parts may be connected by a strap or chain, (one or more,) one end whereof connects with the lift bar or lever, while the other end is arranged to wind onto the pinion or hub on the handwheel, or onto a sheave geared to the hand-wheel hub. "The operation of this road-machine is obvious from the drawings and foregoing description. The operator, standing upon the platform A, when he desires to raise or depress either end of the blade, places his foot upon the brake-pedal P corresponding to the end to be adjusted, and grasping the rim of the wheel where it is most convenient to his hand, swings it backward or forward, (accordingly as required,) with a free and easy action, and to a greater or less extent, as desired, then releases the pedal and the brake or stop is automatically applied by its spring s. "A hand-wheel, in combination with and for imparting motion to mechanism for elevating and depressing the scraper or blade in a road-machine, is of great practical utility and advantage, as it enables the operator to handle and control the machine with greater ease and facility than with a lever handle or crank, and does not necessitate his taking an awkward or constrained position at any part of the action. The rim of the wheel, acting by its momentum as a balance-wheel, also enables the operator by a quick movement to suddenly throw the blade completely up from the ground to avoid contact of large stones or other obstructions while the machine is in motion. Said rim also serves as a continuous seat for the stop or brake, so that the adjustment can be held with the blade at any degree of elevation desired. "A hand-wheel adapted to act by its peripheral momentum, or as a balance-wheel, for assisting or augmenting the throw or movement when adjusting the scraper, in combination with the scraper-blade and blade-adjusting mechanism, for the purpose specified, is an important feature of my invention. Opinion of the Court. "Hand-wheels may be employed for elevating and depressing the scraping-blade in a road-machine, in combination with connections or lifting devices of other construction and arrangement from those herein shown, with beneficial results, and I so intend to employ said hand-wheels; and I have in other applications (see serial Nos. 167,212 and 173,968) for letters patent described and claimed certain combinations in which other forms of lifting mechanism are employed for effecting the vertical adjustment of the blade. "I am aware that a railroad snow-plow or track-clearer has heretofore been patented, in which the plow was braced from the car-axle by parallel braces rigidly connected to the plow; and that a swinging transverse scoop or shovel pivoted between the ends or rearwardly-extending braces of equal length, and in connection with a wheeled carriage, has also been shown in another patent. I am also aware that other patents exhibit road-scrapers wherein braces or links are shown which connect blade-supporting standards in rear of the blade, with one of the side bars of the carriage-frame. Such devices I do not therefore herein claim, as neither of them attain the results incident to my improvement - viz., perfect flexibility of adjustment with direct support or thrust under all conditions of use and positions of adjustment.” 66 [The foregoing words in italics were inserted by way of amendment, the disclaimer being preceded by the statement: Regarding the 1st claim for recognition of the state of the art, insert at the end of the descriptive part of specification, page 9, the following clause, viz.”] Of the fifteen claims, the first, fourth, fifth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth were: "1. In a machine for grading and clearing roads, the combination, with a scraper-bar or blade suspended from the carriage between its front and rear wheels, of thrust-bars extending from the axle or rear of said carriage and attached to the back of said scraper near its ends by connecting-joints that permit upward and downward adjustment at each end of the scraper-blade independent of the other, substantially for the purpose set forth." Opinion of the Court. “4. In a road-grading machine, a hand-wheel in combination with the blade-elevating devices, for imparting motion to said devices, when raising and depressing the blade, substantially as herein before set forth. "5. In a machine for grading and cleaning roads, the combination, with the scraper-blade, supported by a push frame at the rear of said blade, and blade-elevating mechanism connected therewith, of a hand-wheel for imparting motion to said elevating mechanism for effecting the upward and downward adjustment of the blade, substantially as herein before set forth." "10. In a road-machine the standards 7 l' and shift Lin combination with the carriage, blade-lifting devices, and operating wheels and pinions, as and for the purposes set forth. "11. The flanged guide-roll K and flanged pinion 1, in combination with the rack J, blade D and carriage frame A, and hand-wheel M', substantially as and for the purpose set forth. "12. In combination with the blade-elevating lever H having the internally toothed segment H1, of an operating pinion I, provided with flanges, i, for guiding said segment, substantially as set forth." The application was examined by the Patent Office, and the following objections were made: "If claim 1 is to stand, the state of the art as shown in patents 226,686, Sweatt, Apr. 20, 1880 (self-load'g carts); 52,028, Carncross, Jan. 16, 1866; 191,287, Jefferson, May 29, 1877, and 288,261, Raab, Nov. 13, 1883 (wheeled scrapers), must be recognized. "Claim 4 is met in patent 220,812, Day, Oct. 21, 1879 (same). Furthermore the devices of patents 297,861, Smith, April 29, 1884; 275,614, Edwards & Durkee, April 10, 1883, and 135,475, Ham, Feb'y 4, 1873 (ex. carrier). "As to claim 5, in view of the patents 160,535, McCall, Watkins, Scott, M'ch 9, 1875, and 296,138, Cook, Apr. 1, 1884 (wheeled scrapers), the claim does not present patentable novelty, these, with the patent of Day, showing that, broadly considered, a hand-wheel and a lever are equivalent substitutes. Opinion of the Court. "Claims 10, 11 and 12 are met in patent of Cary, 152,072, June 16, 1874 (self-load'g carts). "Patent 145,736, Humphreys, Dec. 23, 1873 (ex. carrier), may also be referred to as showing the state of the art in connection with claim 11. "Claim 15 is met in patent of Carncross above cited." Thereupon the specification was amended as before pointed out, and applicant further said: "Regarding the fourth and fifth claims, in the references cited, patent No. 220,812, it is shown that a small hand-wheel mounted on a vertical shaft and adapted for winding up a rope or chain in manner similar to a car-brake has been used for bodily lifting a diagonal scraper or snow-plow on a railroad car, both ends of the scraper being lifted simultaneously; further, in other patents it is shown that wheels having a series of projecting handles or pins are employed in connection with means for lifting the plow and conveyer in ditching machines. Neither of these devices, it is thought, embody the features which applicant desires to secure, and while there is no question but that the present wording of said claim is met by these references, yet it is believed that applicant has a point to which these former inventions have not attained. "The claims are hereafter amended with this feature in view, viz., that in applicant's invention the wheel is designed and adapted to be worked in combination with a diagonal blade and as a balance or momentum wheel, so that a quick throw of the wheel with the hand will by the weight of the periphery of the wheel, augment the action, or carry the blade mechanism up or down to a greater extent than the mere movement of the hand." The fourth and fifth claims were amended; the tenth, eleventh and twelfth cancelled and two others substituted; and the fifteenth was erased. The fourth, tenth, eleventh and thirteenth claims of the patent as issued read: "4. The combination, with a diagonal scraper supported in connection with a wheeled carriage and adapted for upward and downward adjustment independently at either of its ends, |