PATENT CLAIM ANALYSIS

Application Number: 16164125
Application Type: Utility
Filing Date: 2018-10
Publication Date: 2019-02
Patent Classification: ["053", "281000"]

Abstract:
The invention relate generally to a tightening mechanism for a bottle filling and capping system, and a bottle neck configuration. More specifically, the invention includes a machine for tightening plastic caps onto the threaded necks of plastic bottles, and bottle neck configuration that facilitates the capping process, both of which result in a simple and effective capping operation. A conveying assembly moves the bottle in a circular path where the neck of the bottle and the cap are brought together by moving the bottle under a cap that is loosely held at a particular elevation and angle by a feeder mechanism. The conveying system constricts the rotational movement of the bottle, and a neck support stabilizes the neck of the bottle vertically, as the cap is pressed onto the neck initially by a roller. A capping station in a bottle filling line is comprised of a spring biased toothed finger that engage the peripheral edge of the caps as the bottles are conveyed through the machine. Depending on various factors such as the number and circumferential length of the threads on the cap and bottle a second roller and second toothed finger will be used to complete the tightening process. When a capped bottle exits the capping station, the cap is fully engaged with the bottle in that it is tightened and in its final position relative to the bottle.

Claim (Index 8):
A closure system for a container comprising:\n a cap having a skirt with at least one generally helical thread on an inner surface of the skirt, and generally axial splines on an outer surface of the skirt; a bottle with a threaded neck configured to connect with the cap, the neck having at least one helical thread adapted to engage with the at least one generally helical thread on an inner surface of the skirt of the cap, and the bottle neck having a circumferential groove disposed below the at least one helical thread on the neck; a capping station in a bottle filling line, the station being disposed in the filling line along a bottle pathway in the filling line at a location downstream of a filling station and downstream of a cap feeder, the capping station comprising: a non-rotating support with at least one roller mounted to the support; a toothed finger downstream of the at least one roller, the toothed finger being disposed on an underside of the support, the toothed finger being pivotably mounted to the support and being biased toward the bottle pathway and adapted to engage the splines on the cap after the cap has been pressed onto a bottle by the at least one roller; a bottle transfer mechanism adapted to move a filled bottle under the cap feeder; a neck-engaging hook generally semi-circular in shape, the hook being carried by an outer peripheral part of the bottle transfer mechanism, the neck engaging hook fitting closely into the circumferential groove, the hook providing resistance to lateral forces applied by the toothed finger, and the hook providing resistance to downward forces applied by the roller; a tension adjustment mechanism including a spring, a first end of the spring being connected to the support, and a second end of the spring being connected to a threaded rod adjustably connected to a connector, the connector carrying the toothed finger, whereby rotation of the threaded rod changes tension in the spring and variation in the force applied by the toothed finger when the toothed finger engages the spines on the cap as a bottle move along the bottle pathway.

Metadata:
- Claim Count in Document: 35.0
- Percentile: 97.0
- Lexical Diversity: 2.21818
- Patent Class: 53.0
- Transitional Phrase Type: open
- Component Type: 1
- Foreign Priority: False
- Related Applications: ['10518379', '13380017', '13252637', '14222831', '11971260']

Analysis Scores:
- 35 USC 101 Eligibility (BERT): 0.7289447482460775
- 35 USC 102 Novelty (BERT): 0.4762420821617051
- Combined Prediction Score: 0.7036744816376402
- Mean Citation Score: 167.978386
- Max Citation Score: 184.74632
- Similarity Product: 131.2403913991642

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