US 940837

I'll search for the specific patent number 940837 in the USPTO database and CAFC 2026 dockets.

The initial searches returned related Walsh wire-glass patents (940835, 940841) and a different design patent (USD940837S1 — a distinct design-patent number, not the utility patent). Let me verify the specific record for 940837 and check CAFC dockets more directly.

Search Results

USPTO / Google Patents (US940837A): Confirmed. The authoritative full text was provided, and the related-family patents (US940835A, US940836A, US940841A — all Walsh wire-glass patents filed the same day) corroborate the bibliographic details. No CAFC 2026 docket exists for this patent — my docket searches returned no relevant results, which is expected: the patent's legal status is "Expired – Lifetime" with anticipated expiration on 1926-11-23 (17 years from grant), so it cannot appear in 2026 litigation.

Important disambiguation: A search hit for USD940837S1 (ASM IP Holding B.V., filed 2019, issued 2022) is a design patent with a different numbering series (D940,837) — not the utility patent 940,837. It is excluded per your instruction not to return similar numbers.

Summary of US Patent 940,837 A

Abstract: The patent has no formal USPTO abstract (typical for 1909-era patents). The specification's statement of the object serves as the abstract: "to produce a sheet of wire glass having smooth brilliant surfaces, the wire of said sheet retaining its original bright and new appearance after it has been embedded in the glass." The invention is a method and apparatus for forming a first sheet/layer of glass with a wire mesh completely buried beneath its upper surface (so the heated wire is never exposed to air and does not oxidize/look black), then forming a second, finishing layer of molten glass and welding it to the uneven upper surface of the first sheet — the finishing layer filling the surface irregularities and imparting a smooth finish. The wire mesh is embedded by a special blade-type "embedding roller" (thin, deep, knife-edged blades, explicitly distinguished from a sinusoidal corrugated wash-board-glass roller), leaving soft unchilled protrusions between blades that the top layer welds to.

Plain-Language Overview of the Claims

The patent has 12 claims, all independent in form (each ends "substantially as described"; no dependent claims). Claims 1–7 are apparatus claims; Claims 8–12 are method claims. All share the same core concept: a wire mesh is completely buried under the surface of a first glass layer while hot (preventing oxidation), and a second glass layer is formed and welded on top to give a smooth finish.

• Claim 1 (apparatus): A machine having (a) means to form a glass sheet, (b) means to then embed wire into it, and (c) means to form another glass sheet and weld it to the first.
• Claim 2 (apparatus): A wire-glass machine that forms multiple masses of molten glass into layers, forces a wire mesh below the surface of one layer so it is fully covered, and then combines the layers into a single sheet.
• Claim 3 (apparatus): A rolling machine that makes a sheet with wire buried beneath its surface, one surface having regularly spaced protrusions, plus means to form another glass sheet and weld it to the protrusion-bearing surface.
• Claim 4 (apparatus): A machine that forms a glass sheet, buries wire beneath the sheet's upper surface, and forms/welds another glass layer onto that uneven upper surface.
• Claim 5 (apparatus): A machine that forms a glass sheet while simultaneously forcing a wire mesh completely under its upper surface, then forms a second layer and welds it to the first sheet's top surface.
• Claim 6 (apparatus): A machine with means to form a layer and embed a wire mesh completely under its upper surface, means to form a finishing layer, and means to combine the two layers.
• Claim 7 (apparatus): A machine with an embedding roller and cooperating means that forms a layer and forces a wire mesh completely under its upper surface, a pair of rolls that form a second layer, and means welding the second layer onto the wire-bearing layer.
• Claim 8 (method): Making wire glass by forming a glass sheet, embedding wire in it, forming another glass sheet, and welding it to the first.
• Claim 9 (method): Rolling several masses of molten glass into layers, introducing a wire mesh below the surface of one layer so it is fully covered, and combining the layers into one sheet.
• Claim 10 (method): Rolling masses of molten glass into layers while simultaneously forcing a wire mesh below the surface of one layer (fully covered), then merging the layers into a single sheet.
• Claim 11 (method): Forming a mass of molten glass into a layer, forcing a wire mesh into its upper surface so it is fully covered, forming a separate mass of molten glass into another layer, and combining the layers.
• Claim 12 (method): Rolling a mass of molten glass into a layer while simultaneously embedding a wire mesh in the sheet's upper surface (fully covered), rolling an independent mass of molten glass into a top layer, and combining the layers into a single sheet.

Uncertainty Notes

• No formal abstract exists on the record; the "abstract" above is synthesized from the specification's stated object.
• Assignee data is uncertain. The Google Patents metadata ("Individual") is expressly disclaimed as potentially inaccurate, and sibling patent 940,836 names the Mississippi Glass Company as assignee.
• No CAFC 2026 docket was found for this patent; given its 1926 expiration, none is expected. I did not verify against PACER (not available in my search tools), so if you need a formal confirmation of absence from CAFC records, a direct CAFC/PACER query would be the authoritative check.