PATENT CLAIM ANALYSIS

Application Number: 15971660
Application Type: Utility
Filing Date: 2018-05
Publication Date: 2018-09
Patent Classification: ["347", "019000"]

Abstract:
A printing module configured to print a label on a curved surface of an article includes an expandable printing mechanism configured to be expanded to an open configuration for receiving the article or contracted to a closed configuration placing the curved surface in an operative position with respect to a print head and an article moving assembly configured to grasp and hold the article and effect relative movement between the curved surface and the print head. The printing mechanism includes contact elements, such as rollers, that contact or otherwise engage the article when the printing mechanism is in the closed configuration and maintain the curved surface in the operative position with respect to the print head during relative movement between the curved surface and the print head.

Claim (Index 1):
An apparatus for printing on a curved surface of an article comprising:\n (A) an expandable printing mechanism including a print head and configured and controlled to be selectively:\n (1) expanded to an open configuration for enabling an article having a curved surface on which information is to be printed to be received within or removed from the apparatus, and \n (2) contracted to a printing configuration placing the curved surface of an article received within the apparatus in operative position with respect to the print head and maintaining the curved surface in an operative printing position with respect to the print head during relative movement of the curved surface with respect to the print head, \n wherein the expandable printing mechanism comprises:\n a first support element having one or more contact element(s) operatively supported thereon; and \n a second support element supporting the print head thereon, \n wherein the first support element and the second support element are configured to pivot about a common pivot axis so that the first support element and the second support element are pivotable with respect to each other in a hinge-wise fashion about the pivot axis between the open configuration and the printing configuration, and wherein the one or more contact element(s) are configured to contact an article received within the apparatus between the first and second support elements to hold the curved surface in the operative position with respect to the print head when the expandable printing mechanism is in the printing configuration; and \n (B) an article moving assembly configured and controlled to:\n (1) grasp an article received within the apparatus and effect relative movement between the curved surface of the article and the print head when the expandable printing mechanism is in the printing configuration, and \n (2) release the article when the expandable printing mechanism is in the open configuration, thereby allowing the article to be removed from the apparatus.

Metadata:
- Claim Count in Document: 83.0
- Percentile: 93.0
- Lexical Diversity: 2.25862
- Patent Class: 347.0
- Transitional Phrase Type: open
- Component Type: 1
- Foreign Priority: False
- Related Applications: ['15669378', '14919467', '12835666', '11787791', '12658128']

Analysis Scores:
- 35 USC 101 Eligibility (BERT): 0.7592369611348011
- 35 USC 102 Novelty (BERT): 0.6092551775113955
- Combined Prediction Score: 0.7442387827724606
- Mean Citation Score: 331.89116
- Max Citation Score: 536.6778
- Similarity Product: 535.1104279852152

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

Dataset: test