PATENT CLAIM ANALYSIS

Application Number: 16122613
Application Type: Utility
Filing Date: 2018-09
Publication Date: 2019-05
Patent Classification: ["340", "854300"]

Abstract:
An underground directional drilling system can comprise a plurality of elongated dual-shaft segments coupled together end-to-end and forming an inner shaft assembly independently rotatable relative to an annular outer shaft assembly. The dual-shaft drilling system can include a communication segment that comprises an outer shaft having first longitudinal portion, a second longitudinal, and a gap portion that provides electrical insulation therebetween. The communication segment can generate voltage differences between the longitudinal portions that cause electrical pulses to periodically transfer across the gap portion to wirelessly communicate drilling related data to the surface. An inner shaft of the communication segment can comprise electrical insulation to avoid creating an electrical short between the first and second longitudinal portions of the outer shaft. The inner shaft assembly can further comprise various sensors, electronics, and communication components, such as a magnetic sensor system that determines relative rotational orientations between the inner and outer shaft assemblies.

Claim (Index 21):
An underground directional drilling system, comprising:\n an inner segment assembly, and an outer segment assembly positioned around the inner segment assembly, such that the inner and outer segment assemblies are rotatable independently of one another; wherein the outer segment assembly comprises a communication segment having a first electrode portion, a second electrode portion, and a gap portion between the first and second electrode portions that provides electrical insulation between the first and second electrode portions; wherein the system produces a voltage difference between the first and second electrode portions of the communication segment sufficient to cause an electrical pulse to transfer from one of the first and second electrode portions, through the gap portion, and to the other of the first and second electrode portions; wherein the system is configured to produce a plurality of such electrical pulses to wirelessly communicate drilling related data from an underground drilling location to an above ground location; wherein one of the inner and outer segment assemblies comprises a magnet holding segment including one or more magnetic devices; and wherein one of the inner and outer segment assemblies that does not include the magnet holding segment further comprises a magnetic sensor module configured to sense circumferential positioning of the one or more magnetic devices to determine a rotational orientation of the inner segment assembly relative to the outer segment assembly.

Metadata:
- Claim Count in Document: 20.0
- Percentile: 97.0
- Lexical Diversity: 2.0641
- Patent Class: 340.0
- Transitional Phrase Type: open
- Component Type: 1
- Foreign Priority: False
- Related Applications: ['15645242', '15088871', '15354662', '13800611', '15729455']

Analysis Scores:
- 35 USC 101 Eligibility (BERT): 0.6635815066344982
- 35 USC 102 Novelty (BERT): 0.5623100826425951
- Combined Prediction Score: 0.6534543642353079
- Mean Citation Score: 309.080678
- Max Citation Score: 405.98547
- Similarity Product: 382.1535561599672

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