PATENT CLAIM ANALYSIS

Application Number: 16267362
Application Type: Utility
Filing Date: 2019-02
Publication Date: 2019-08
Patent Classification: ["172", "002000"]

Abstract:
A method for weeding crops includes, at an autonomous machine: recording an image at the front of the autonomous machine; detecting a target plant and calculating an opening location for the target plant longitudinally offset and laterally aligned with the location of the first target plant; driving a weeding module to laterally align with the opening location; tracking the opening location relative to a longitudinal reference position of the weeding module; when the weeding module longitudinally aligns with the first opening location, actuating the blades of the first weeding module to an open position; recording an image proximal to the weeding module; and in response to detecting the blades of the weeding module in the open position: calculating an offset between the opening location and a reference position of the weeding module, based on the image; and updating successive opening locations calculated by the autonomous machine based on the offset.

Claim (Index 20):
A method for autonomously weeding crops in an agricultural field comprises, at an autonomous machine autonomously navigating along crop rows in an agricultural field:\n at a first time, recording a first image of a ground area in a light module arranged proximal a front of the autonomous machine; detecting a location of a target plant in the first image; calculating a longitudinal distance from the location of the target plant to tips of closed blades in a weeding module arranged in a tool housing behind the light module; estimating a duration of time at which the target plant will reach the longitudinal position of the closed blades of the weeding module based on the longitudinal distance and a speed of the autonomous machine at the first time; initiating a timer for a sum of the duration of time and an open time correction; calculating a lateral offset from the location of the target plant at the first time to a lateral reference position of the weeding module; driving the weeding module to a lateral position offset from the lateral reference position by a sum of the lateral offset and lateral offset correction; in response to expiration of the timer at a second time, triggering the blades in the first weeding module to open for an open duration; and in response to conclusion of the open duration at a third time, triggering the blades in the weeding module to close.

Metadata:
- Claim Count in Document: 1.0
- Percentile: 99.0
- Lexical Diversity: 2.81034
- Patent Class: 172.0
- Transitional Phrase Type: none
- Component Type: 0
- Foreign Priority: False
- Related Applications: ['16260042', '15852749', '15693301', '15693336', '15693316']

Analysis Scores:
- 35 USC 101 Eligibility (BERT): 0.6692586212875615
- 35 USC 102 Novelty (BERT): 0.4670757692216898
- Combined Prediction Score: 0.6490403360809743
- Mean Citation Score: 110.808884
- Max Citation Score: 120.40467
- Similarity Product: 85.13813904519259

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