Opinion ID: 299954
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Lorenze Patent Application.5

Text: 12 The Lorenze patent application, dated November 3, 1941, was introduced by the appellee as an invention described in a printed publication in this or a foreign country. 6 The first claim of the Lorenze application states: 13 (1) [M]ethod of producing gas-tight metal-to-glass seals which are insensitive to temperature and in which compressive stresses are produced in the glass, characterized by the fact that the metal surrounds the glass and the mass of glass is rapidly cooled, immediately after completion of the melting process, by additional coolants from a temperature which lies above the transformation point. 14 For a prior publication to be sufficient to defeat a patent it must exhibit a substantial representation of the invention in such full, clear, and exact terms that one skilled in the art may make, construct and practice the invention without having to depend on either the patent or on his own inventive skills. Cummins Engine Co. v. General Motors Corp., 299 F.Supp. 59, 91 (D.Md.1969). Using this test, the trial court found that while the application clearly indicated a rapid cooling procedure in the making of seals, it did not provide diagrams, discuss the specific materials to be used or the exact nature of the seals. Nor was there an explanation of the importance of the selection of CTE in order to obtain the proper compressive stresses. For these reasons, the trial court concluded that the Lorenze application did not, standing alone, anticipate the Mayers patent. 15 Thus, the trial court concluded that not one of the four references relied on by the defendant to show prior use or anticipation of the Mayers patent was sufficient, standing alone, to invalidate the Mayers patent. It did find, however, that a combination of the knowledge contained in the two prior references, the Lorenze application and the German patent, provided all the essential elements of the Mayers process. It, therefore, concluded: 16 In summary, the prior art reveals knowledge of three component glass-to-metal compression seals with the same CTE's as Mayers [sic] process in one reference and rapid cooling of gas tight metal-to-glass compressive seals in a separate reference. The prior art reveals all of the important elements of Mayers [sic] process. 17