PATENT CLAIM ANALYSIS

Application Number: 15765563
Application Type: Utility
Filing Date: 2018-04
Publication Date: 2019-03
Patent Classification: ["198", "444000"]

Abstract:
A mail processing system utilizes a conveyor to shingle or de-shingle mailpieces as they move through the processing system and utilizes belts to move the mailpieces. A first shingling conveyor moves a first mailpiece to overlap with a second mailpiece to create shingled mailpieces. A second shingling conveyor moves a first mailpiece away from a second mailpiece to de-shingle them to create singulated mailpieces. A camera takes images of the mailpieces in the conveyor and image analysis software is used to determine dimensional aspects of the mailpieces that are used to control the belt speeds to move mailpieces with respect to each other. A mail processing system may include a mail processing station that scans addresses, applies postage and/or weighs the mailpieces. Mail may be de-shingled prior to being weighed and then re-shingled for subsequent processing, or mail may shingled prior to passing through a scale if weighing is not necessary.

Claim (Index 12):
A mail processing system comprising:\n a) a first shingling conveyor comprising:\n i) a first belt assembly comprising:\n a first belt; \n a first drive; \n \n ii) a second belt assembly comprising:\n a second belt; \n a second drive; \n \n wherein the first belt and second belt extend substantially parallel to each other to convey mailpieces from an inlet to an outlet of the conveyor; iii) a camera configured to capture images of said mailpieces; wherein a first mailpiece and a second mailpiece are shingled; wherein the shingling conveyor is driven at a second belt speed that is faster than a first belt speed to de-shingle the mailpieces; whereby the first and second mailpieces exit the outlet of the shingling conveyor as singulated mailpieces; b) a mail processing station that receives said mailpieces from the first shingling conveyor or second shingling conveyor comprising a scale to measure a weight of said mailpieces; c) a second shingling conveyor comprising:\n i) a first belt assembly comprising:\n a first belt; \n a first drive; \n \n ii) a second belt assembly comprising:\n a second belt; \n a second drive; \n \n wherein the first belt and second belt extend substantially parallel to each other to convey mailpieces from an inlet to an outlet of the conveyor; iii) a camera configured to capture images of said mailpieces; wherein a first mailpiece and a second mailpieces are singulated mailpieces; wherein the shingling conveyor is driven at a second belt speed that is slower than a first belt speed to shingle the mailpieces; whereby the first and second mailpieces exit the outlet of the conveyor as shingled mailpieces; d) a controller; e) image analysis software; wherein the image analysis software determines dimensional aspects with respect to a first mailpiece and a second mailpiece and wherein the first belt speed and second belt speeds are controlled to shingle or singulate the mailpieces in the first shingling conveyor and the second shingling conveyor.

Metadata:
- Claim Count in Document: 36.0
- Percentile: 91.0
- Lexical Diversity: 1.9875
- Patent Class: 198.0
- Transitional Phrase Type: open
- Component Type: 1
- Foreign Priority: False
- Related Applications: ['13844290', '11866631', '15765899', '14757837', '11832937']

Analysis Scores:
- 35 USC 101 Eligibility (BERT): 0.7655712912542834
- 35 USC 102 Novelty (BERT): 0.4957871692355728
- Combined Prediction Score: 0.7385928790524123
- Mean Citation Score: 279.11638600000003
- Max Citation Score: 316.24167
- Similarity Product: 222.5199632192856

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