Opinion ID: 1042145
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: MWV’s Patented Dip Tubes

Text: MWV developed an “invisible” dip tube for perfumes that appears to disappear when immersed in liquid, enhancing the aesthetic appearance of the perfume bottle. The inventors of the ’132 and ’819 patents investigated various materials that had the properties necessary for an invisible dip tube. In doing so, they recognized the need for a transparent material with a refractive index 2 close to that of the perfume liquid so that the tube would appear invisible. For the most part, perfumes have a refractive index of 1.37 to 1.39. In 2003, Daikin Industries, a plastics supplier, began promoting the fluoropolymer EFEP. 3 EFEP is a highly transparent fluoropolymer with a refractive index of 1.38. The inventors experimented with using EFEP, but their original tubes were hazy and brittle. To improve the tubes, they tried different production techniques, including a quenching process. Quenching, which is typically performed by immersing extruded plastic into a cool water bath, is a well-known manufacturing technique. Over the course of several months, the inventors optimized their manufacturing processes to produce a dip tube with their desired properties, which they called the NoC® (pronounced “no-see”) tube. In 2005, they filed patent applications claiming fluid pumps with invisible dip tubes. The patent applications eventually issued as the ’819 and ’132 patents. The ’132 patent is a continuation of the ’819 patent. All of the claims of the ’819 patent are specific to fragrance dispensers; some of the claims of 2 The refractive index of a material is a measure of how much light bends as it passes through the material. 3 A polymer is commonly thought of as a plastic. A fluoropolymer is a polymer that includes fluorine within its chemical structure. MEADWESTVACO CORPORATION v. REXAM BEAUTY 5 the ’132 patent are specific to fragrance dispensers and others are directed to generic dispensers. See ’819 patent col. 7 l. 40-col. 8 l. 65; ’132 patent col. 7 l. 24-col. 8 l. 59. Claims 15 and 19 of the ’132 patent, the generic dispenser claims at issue, read: 15. A dispenser assembly for dispensing a liquid comprising: a transport assembly; and, a tube connected to the transport assem- bly; wherein the tube consists essentially of an extruded and quenched crystalline fluoro- polymer having an XRD crystallinity not greater than about 13%, the tube has a transparency of about 80% or more, and the tube has a refractive index of from about 1.36 to about 1.38. 19. The dispenser assembly of claim 15, wherein the fluoropolymer is ethylene tetrafluoroethylene. ’132 patent col. 8 ll. 14-22, 56-57 (emphasis added).