Invalidity dossier
US 213309
Improvement in pumps
Added 9/21/2026, 9:24:08 AM
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Patent summary
Title, assignee, inventors, filing/issue dates, abstract, and a plain-language overview of the claims.
Patent Overview — US 213,309
Title: Improvement in Pumps
Inventor: William O. Wilcox, of San Francisco, California
Patent Date: March 18, 1879
Application Filed: December 19, 1877
Publication Number: US213309A
Assignee: None identified in the supplied text.
Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/[US213309](/patent/US213309)/en
Purpose: The invention addresses clogging and choking in pumps by increasing waterway and valve-opening sizes, so a pump of a given cylinder size can be worked to its fullest capacity. The inventor notes that perforated pistons and valve-laden suction pipes restrict water flow.
Plain-Language Scope (per the three claims):
Claim 1 — An elongated conical valve (H) sliding on a stem (I), combined with a correspondingly shaped seat (J) having slots or openings radial to the valve's center. The valves are preferably made of a solid elastic material like rubber; the deep, slotted seats allow large water passages, small valve rise, and quick closing without jar, even in deep mines.
Claim 2 — The cylinder (A) with a side valve-chamber (E) having two ports (F, F) and a single clapper-valve (G). One port opens into one end of the cylinder, the other into the opposite end. With the cylinder vertical, valve G controls the lower port; on the downstroke, water passes through it and the upper port into the cylinder above the piston. The valve is accessible by removing a chamber cover.
Claim 3 — The cylinder (A) adapted to receive a solid plunger, combined with the two-port valve-chamber (E) and valve (G), plus the conical valves (H, H) and seats (J), substantially as described. This enables a solid piston in a single-acting lift-pump with unlimited port and valve size.
Operation described: Upstroke opens suction valve H and closes G; downstroke closes lower H and forces water through G into the cylinder above the piston; the next upstroke forces it through the discharge valve H.
What the excerpt does not establish: It does not identify an assignee, does not state any litigation, ownership transfer, or validity determination, and does not describe specific prior-art references beyond related documents listed by the database. Classifications listed include F04B25/005 (multi-stage pumps with two cylinders) and check-valve categories.
Generated 10/1/2026, 10:02:33 PM
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Litigation summary
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PTAB challenges
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Assignment history
Inventors, original assignee, and the chain of ownership recorded with the USPTO — including the correspondent attorney who recorded each assignment, since shell-LLC chains often share one repeat-player attorney even when the entity names look unrelated. Surfaces NPE / patent-troll patterns: shell-entity transfers, known asserters in the chain, repeat correspondent fingerprints, pre-litigation assignments, and bankruptcy fire-sales.
Prior art
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Obviousness
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Extensions
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Derivative works
Defensive disclosure: derivative variations of each claim designed to render future incremental improvements obvious or non-novel.