PATENT CLAIM ANALYSIS

Application Number: 15887986
Application Type: Utility
Filing Date: 2018-02
Publication Date: 2018-06
Patent Classification: ["324", "226000"]

Abstract:
Provided is a method for flaw inspection of a stem joint of a valve including: an internal flaw inspection step including causing a flaw detection probe to be disposed so as to face upward in water in a tank in an ultrasonic inspection chamber, holding a valve in such fashion as to cause the tip to face the flaw detection probe, and inspecting for a flaw at the interior of the stem joint; and a surface flaw inspection step including causing a flaw detection probe to be disposed horizontally in an eddy-current inspection chamber, holding a valve in such fashion as to cause the side face of a stem of the valve to be close to and facing the flaw detection probe, inspecting for a flaw on the surface of the stem joint while the flaw detection probe and the valve are made to engage in mutual rotation. The valves are transferred from a valve loading position to the ultrasonic inspection chamber, from the ultrasonic inspection chamber to the eddy-current inspection chamber, and from the eddy-current inspection chamber to a valve unloading position in substantially simultaneous, continuous, synchronous, and/or coordinated fashion.

Claim (Index 1):
A method for flaw inspection of an interior and a surface of a stem joint of an engine valve through use of an ultrasonic flaw detection probe and an eddy-current flaw detection probe, the method comprising:\n an internal flaw inspection step comprising,\n in the ultrasonic inspection chamber in a housing, \n causing the ultrasonic flaw detection probe to be disposed so as to face upward in water in a tank, \n holding a valve in such a way that a tip of a stem of the valve faces the ultrasonic flaw detection probe in the water, and \n inspecting the interior of the stem joint with the ultrasonic flaw detection probe; and \n a surface flaw inspection step comprising,\n in an eddy-current inspection chamber adjacent to the ultrasonic inspection chamber in the housing, \n causing the eddy-current flaw detection probe to be disposed horizontally, \n holding a valve in such a way that a lower side face of a stem of the valve including a stem joint is close to and faces the eddy-current flaw detection probe, and \n inspecting for a flaw on a surface of the stem joint with the eddy-current flaw detection probe while causing the eddy-current flaw detection probe to revolve about, and relative to, the outer periphery of the stem of the valve; \n wherein a valve transfer mechanism capable of advancing and receding in a horizontal direction in which both inspection chambers are adjacent to each other integrally moves three valve supports positioned at intervals of a distance between the ultrasonic inspection chamber and the eddy-current inspection chamber, in the horizontal direction and vertical direction, so as to transfer a valve from a predetermined loading position to the ultrasonic inspection chamber, a valve which has completed internal flaw inspection in the ultrasonic inspection chamber to the eddy-current inspection chamber, and a valve which has completed surface flaw inspection in the eddy-current inspection chamber to a predetermined unloading position, in substantially synchronous fashion, while keeping each valve with each respective stem directed downward.

Metadata:
- Claim Count in Document: 1.0
- Percentile: 88.0
- Lexical Diversity: 2.91429
- Patent Class: 324.0
- Transitional Phrase Type: open
- Component Type: 1
- Foreign Priority: False
- Related Applications: ['12128316', '15761228', '10550270', '15741793', '15525527']

Analysis Scores:
- 35 USC 101 Eligibility (BERT): 0.6057535275205153
- 35 USC 102 Novelty (BERT): 0.492216237698641
- Combined Prediction Score: 0.5943997985383278
- Mean Citation Score: 228.673894
- Max Citation Score: 240.42177
- Similarity Product: 153.33968129493715

Labels:
- Claim Label 101: 1
- Claim Label 102: 1
- Claim Label 103: 1
- Claim Label 112: 0
- Combined Label: 1
- Label 101 Adjusted: 1

Dataset: test