PATENT CLAIM ANALYSIS

Application Number: 16175714
Application Type: Utility
Filing Date: 2018-10
Publication Date: 2019-02
Patent Classification: ["198", "688100"]

Abstract:
Embodiments provide methods, systems, and apparatuses for loading workpieces in a flow direction into the spaced apart lugs on a lugged conveyor with the workpieces oriented transverse to the flow direction. The lug loader includes an array of pairs of endless conveyors configured to convey workpieces toward a lugged conveyor. The first and second endless conveyors of each pair are spaced laterally apart across the flow direction and aligned substantially in the flow direction. The array can form a continuous or discontinuous transport surface. Some pairs of endless conveyors in the array may overlap one or more other pairs of endless conveyors in the array. At least one pair of endless conveyors in the array may include two or more endless conveyors that are independently driven at different speeds and/or in different directions to de-skew a workpiece.

Claim (Index 1):
An apparatus for transporting successive workpieces in a flow direction, with the workpieces in a generally transverse orientation, the apparatus comprising:\n a plurality of conveyor modules arranged consecutively in the flow direction to form a continuous workpiece support surface, wherein each of the conveyor modules includes corresponding first and second endless conveyors spaced laterally apart across the flow direction and oriented substantially parallel to the flow direction; a drive system having a plurality of drives operatively coupled with corresponding ones of the endless conveyors, wherein the drive system is configured to drive each of the first and second endless conveyors independently of one another and independently of the other endless conveyor modules; and a first transfer positioned to transfer the successive workpieces to a first one of the conveyor modules disposed at an upstream end of the plurality of conveyor modules, wherein the drive system is selectively operable to drive the first and second endless conveyors to thereby adjust skew angles of the successive workpieces and gaps between the successive workpieces while transporting the workpieces in the flow direction on the plurality of conveyor modules.

Metadata:
- Claim Count in Document: 5.0
- Percentile: 97.0
- Lexical Diversity: 1.90789
- Patent Class: 198.0
- Transitional Phrase Type: open
- Component Type: 1
- Foreign Priority: False
- Related Applications: ['14635862', '15582567', '14055513', '12068491', '12534777']

Analysis Scores:
- 35 USC 101 Eligibility (BERT): 0.7697952229366309
- 35 USC 102 Novelty (BERT): 0.5140884359714509
- Combined Prediction Score: 0.744224544240113
- Mean Citation Score: 342.5581279999999
- Max Citation Score: 381.54977
- Similarity Product: 351.4409525062072

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

Dataset: test