PATENT CLAIM ANALYSIS

Application Number: 15986266
Application Type: Utility
Filing Date: 2018-05
Publication Date: 2018-09
Patent Classification: ["072", "165000"]

Abstract:
A device to level a metal plate fabricated from high-strength steel material includes a frame, a leveling station and a draw device. The leveling station includes a plurality of upper and lower rollers in parallel arrangement and defining a serpentine path. A plunge depth is defined based upon a difference between a top-dead-center point of the lower rollers and a bottom-dead-center point of contiguous upper rollers. A longitudinal spacing and the plunge depth are configured such that the upper rollers and the lower rollers are disposed to impart a bend radius on the metal plate as the metal plate is drawn, via the draw device, through the serpentine path such that the metal plate conforms to the outer peripheral surfaces of the upper rollers and the lower rollers. The bend radius is selected to achieve plastification of the metal sheet.

Claim (Index 1):
A method for leveling a metal plate fabricated from high-strength metal material and having opposing surfaces, comprising:\n providing a serpentine path in a longitudinal direction between one pair of upper rollers and a corresponding one pair of lower rollers that are rotatably disposed in a parallel arrangement in a lateral direction, such that the longitudinal direction is associated with a direction of travel for the metal plate;\n wherein each of the one pair of upper rollers includes an upper roller radius and an outer peripheral surface that define a bottom-dead-center point and each of the one pair of lower rollers includes a lower roller radius and an outer peripheral surface that define a top-dead-center point, wherein the radii of each of the one pair of upper rollers and the radii of each one of the one pair of lower rollers are equivalent, and \n wherein the serpentine path and the upper and lower rollers are disposed to accommodate the metal plate; positioning each of the one pair of upper rollers in alternating relation to each of the one pair of lower rollers in the longitudinal direction such that a longitudinal spacing is defined between contiguous ones of the one pair of upper rollers and the one pair of lower rollers; positioning the one pair of upper rollers relative to the one pair of lower rollers in an elevation direction, such that a plunge depth is defined as a difference in the elevation direction between a first elevation associated with the top-dead-center point of each of the one pair of lower rollers and a second elevation that is associated with the bottom-dead-center point of each of the one pair of upper rollers; wherein the magnitude of the plunge depth associated with the one pair of upper rollers and one of the one pair of lower rollers that is longitudinally disposed between the one pair of upper rollers is equal to the magnitude of the plunge depth associated with the one pair of lower rollers and one of the one pair of upper rollers that is longitudinally disposed between the one pair of lower rollers; wherein the longitudinal spacing between contiguous ones of the one pair of upper rollers and the one pair of lower rollers is equal; wherein the equal longitudinal spacing between contiguous ones of the one pair of upper and lower rollers and the equal magnitude of the plunge depths are configured to impart a first bend radius on the metal plate in a first orientation and a second bend radius on the metal plate in a second orientation that is opposite the first orientation when the metal plate moves through the serpentine path, such that each surface of the metal plate bends about a portion of the outer peripheral surfaces of each of the respective one of the one pair of upper rollers and the respective one of the one pair of lower rollers to provide equal plastification on both sides of the metal plate; and moving the metal plate through the serpentine path in the longitudinal direction such that the one pair of upper rollers and the one of the one pair of lower rollers that is longitudinally disposed between the pair of upper rollers imparts the first bend radius on the metal plate and the one pair of lower rollers and the one of the one pair of upper rollers that is longitudinally disposed between the one pair of lower rollers subsequently impart the second bend radius on the metal plate as each surface of the metal plate bends about the portion of the outer peripheral surfaces of the respective one of the one pair of upper rollers and the one of the one pair of lower rollers to achieve a magnitude of plastification of the metal plate that is greater than 70%; wherein the magnitude of the first bend radius is equivalent to the magnitude of the second bend radius; and wherein there is a quantity of not more than the one pair of upper rollers and a quantity of not more than the one pair of lower rollers to achieve equal plastification on both sides of the metal plate.

Metadata:
- Claim Count in Document: 13.0
- Percentile: 93.0
- Lexical Diversity: 2.17647
- Patent Class: 72.0
- Transitional Phrase Type: open
- Component Type: 1
- Foreign Priority: False
- Related Applications: ['15286310', '14099273', '13395171', '12465739', '13697508']

Analysis Scores:
- 35 USC 101 Eligibility (BERT): 0.6666805030030951
- 35 USC 102 Novelty (BERT): 0.5825566758503297
- Combined Prediction Score: 0.6582681202878186
- Mean Citation Score: 207.041832
- Max Citation Score: 466.8225
- Similarity Product: 464.778936175704

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

Dataset: test