William Strong

“ Undoubtedly a patent, like any other written instrument, is to be interpreted by its own terms. But when a patent bears on its face a particular construction, inasmuch as the specification and claim are in the words of the patentee, it is reasonable to hold that such a construction may be confirmed by what the patentee said when he was making his application. The understanding of a party to a contract has always been regarded as of some importance in its interpretation. ”

“ There is no heating for hours, as is necessary in the vulcanizing process. The work is done in a few minutes. When allowed to cool, it is the same hard and bony substance it was before its manipulation, and in this respect also it is unlike vulcanite. It is obvious from all this that neither in the nature of the material of which it is made, nor in the process of manufacture, which is an essential part of the Cummings invention, as we have seen, is the celluloid plate substantially the same as one made of hard rubber. ”

“ There the invention is said to consist 'in forming the plate to which the teeth, or teeth and gums, are attached, of hard rubber or vulcanite, so called, an elastic material,' of certain capabilities mentioned. Not an intimation is given that any other substance than hard rubber, or its synonym, vulcanite, would meet the requirements of the invention. Throughout the specification the patentee speaks again and again of his invention as a hard-rubber plate, and he describes minutely the process or mode of making it. ”