PATENT CLAIM ANALYSIS

Application Number: 16065196
Application Type: Utility
Filing Date: 2018-06
Publication Date: 2019-01
Patent Classification: ["414", "792700"]

Abstract:
A glove stacking apparatus forming a stack of folded gloves has a supporting surface for supporting the stack as folded gloves are added to the stack along a stacking axis. First and second flaps are pivotable about first and second pivot axes on opposite first and second sides of a glove stacking area. The supporting surface is relatively movable as folded gloves are added to the stack. A cyclic flap actuation system is configured to drive a folding action of each flap in which the flaps alternately pivot about the corresponding pivot axis so that each flap folds a first portion of a deposited glove overlapping a flap towards a second portion of the glove at the glove stacking area; the folding action alternating as gloves are added to the stack. Each flap in addition to being pivotable is also laterally movable both towards and away from the stacking area.

Claim (Index 1):
A glove stacking apparatus for forming a stack of folded gloves, comprising:\n a supporting surface for supporting said stack as folded gloves are added to the stack along a stacking axis; a first flap pivotable about a first pivot axis and a second flap pivotable about a second pivot axis, said first and second axes being disposed on corresponding opposite first and second sides of a glove stacking area within which gloves folded by said flaps are, in use, added to the stack, the supporting surface being relatively movable with respect to said glove stacking area along said stacking axis away from said glove stacking area as said folded gloves are added to the stack; a cyclic flap actuation system configured to drive a folding action of each flap in which said flaps alternately pivot about the corresponding pivot axis from a first orientation in which said flap is positioned on its corresponding side of the glove stacking area to a second orientation in which said flap extends over the glove stacking area, whereby each flap when in the first orientation is configured to fold a first portion of a deposited glove overlapping said flap towards a second portion of said glove deposited at the glove stacking area as said flap pivots to the second orientation, the folding action of said flaps alternating as gloves are added to the stack; and wherein each flap in addition to being pivotable about the corresponding axis is also laterally movable both towards and away from the glove stacking area and comprises a plurality of fingers for folding said first portions, said fingers extending in a lengthwise direction and being separated by gaps; following the folding action said flap actuation system is configured to drive a withdrawing action of each flap in which said flaps are alternately withdrawn from the glove stacking area, said flap to be withdrawn being maintained in the second orientation while being laterally moved away from the glove stacking area along said lengthwise direction until said fingers are withdrawn from the glove stacking area; following the withdrawing action said flap actuation system is configured to drive a returning action of each flap in which said withdrawn flap is pivoted about the pivot axis and laterally retuned to the first orientation ready for the next folding action, whereby the flap actuation system completes a cycle; and said apparatus further comprises a first supporting platform and a second supporting platform, said first and second platforms being disposed, respectively on said opposite first and second sides of the glove stacking area for supporting said first portion of a deposited glove prior to folding of said first portion by the fingers of the corresponding flap, each supporting platform having a plurality of slots therein, the slots of each platform being aligned with the fingers of the corresponding flap to accommodate movement of said fingers during said cycle of the flap actuation system.

Metadata:
- Claim Count in Document: 6.0
- Percentile: 94.0
- Lexical Diversity: 2.22857
- Patent Class: 414.0
- Transitional Phrase Type: open
- Component Type: 1
- Foreign Priority: True
- Related Applications: ['15073902', '13503080', '13503062', '13060146', '11469542']

Analysis Scores:
- 35 USC 101 Eligibility (BERT): 0.8783276658616062
- 35 USC 102 Novelty (BERT): 0.5557569842029544
- Combined Prediction Score: 0.846070597695741
- Mean Citation Score: 384.060394
- Max Citation Score: 458.47708
- Similarity Product: 386.80363620182993

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

Dataset: test