PATENT CLAIM ANALYSIS

Application Number: 16373298
Application Type: Utility
Filing Date: 2019-04
Publication Date: 2019-07
Patent Classification: ["124", "007000"]

Abstract:
A ball launching apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes a funnel residing at an upper end of a housing. The funnel includes a channel for gravitationally directing a ball into a launch point within an interior compartment of the housing. The apparatus includes a hammer that strikes a ball through a chute, thereby releasing the ball from the housing. Both the distance at which the ball travels and the angle at which the ball leaves the chute may be adjusted by the operator. A method of exercising a dog is also provided herein.

Claim (Index 1):
A ball launching apparatus, comprising:\n a housing having a supporting base and an interior compartment; a funnel at an upper end of the housing, the funnel being configured to gravitationally direct a ball into a launch point within the interior compartment; a chute adjacent the launch point defining a through-opening along the housing; a platform within the compartment, wherein an angle of the platform is adjustable relative to the base; a drive motor configured to rotate a shaft within the compartment; an elongated hammer residing along the platform, the hammer comprising a proximal end, a distal end, and a through-opening for receiving the shaft; and wherein:\n the distal end of the hammer defines a ball striking surface, with the distal end being biased toward the launch point, and \n the ball launching apparatus is configured such that rotation of the shaft for a pre-designated period of time causes rotation of the distal end of the hammer away from the launch point, whereupon the hammer is released to allow a biasing force to counter-rotate the distal end of the hammer back towards the launch point, thereby striking the ball and launching the ball through the chute.

Metadata:
- Claim Count in Document: 1.0
- Percentile: 100.0
- Lexical Diversity: 1.81818
- Patent Class: 124.0
- Transitional Phrase Type: open
- Component Type: 1
- Foreign Priority: False
- Related Applications: ['14847212', '14562671', '15949308', '15444750', '13676085']

Analysis Scores:
- 35 USC 101 Eligibility (BERT): 0.7077022077863261
- 35 USC 102 Novelty (BERT): 0.5512138164348142
- Combined Prediction Score: 0.692053368651175
- Mean Citation Score: 297.6709580000001
- Max Citation Score: 438.10812
- Similarity Product: 428.6493420159459

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