PATENT CLAIM ANALYSIS

Application Number: 15996159
Application Type: Utility
Filing Date: 2018-06
Publication Date: 2019-01
Patent Classification: ["116", "284000"]

Abstract:
A bulk material storage bin has an upright wall supporting a plurality of vertically spaced indicators providing a person with visual information regarding the level of the bulk material in the bin. The indicators have bright color and dark color surfaces that are selectively displayed to provide a person with information of the level of bulk material in the bin. An actuator located in the bin cooperates with a motion transmission apparatus to move visual members to an ON position displaying the bright color when the bulk material engages the actuator and to an OFF position displaying the dark color when the actuator is free of bulk material. The motion transmission apparatus includes a rod movably retained on an O-ring held on a mount device secured to the side wall of the bin. A yoke supporting an endless flexible member mounted on the rod is connected to the visual members whereby movement of the rod moves the visual members between the ON and OFF positions.

Claim (Index 1):
A combined material storage bin and visual indicator for providing a person with information regarding the level of material located within the bin comprising:\n a bin having a side wall surrounding a chamber for holding material, said side wall having at least one hole open to the inside and outside of the side wall, an indicator mounted on the side wall operable to provide a person located remote from the bin with visual information regarding the level of material located within the bin, said indicator comprising a housing having an internal chamber, at least one visual member movably mounted on the housing, said visual member having a first portion and a second portion spaced from the first portion located in the internal chamber of the housing, a bright color on the first portion of the visual member, said second portion of the visual member having a dark color, a light transparent member joined to the housing enclosing the visual member within the interior chamber of the housing, a mount device connecting the housing to the side wall of the bin, said mount device including an elongated bar located within the bin engageable with the inside of the side wall of the bin, a boss joined to the bar extended through the hole in the side wall of the bin, a fastener cooperating with the boss to retain the bar in engagement with the inside of the side wall of the bin, an actuator connected to the mount device locatable within the chamber of the bin for movement from a first position to a second position and from the second position back to the first position, said actuator including a flexible body extended downwardly from the bar into the chamber of the bin, said flexible body comprising a flexible sheet member having opposite side portions extended toward the inside side wall of the bin, a top portion, a back wall adjacent the inside bin wall, and a bottom edge extended normal away from the inside side wall of the bin when the actuator is in the first position with material in the bin engaging the actuator, said bottom edge extending upwardly and inwardly away from the inside side wall of the bin when the actuator is in the second position with no material in the bin engaging the actuator, said back wall including a tubular portion having a vertical passage, a plate for holding the flexible sheet member on the bar, at least one fastener attaching the plate and flexible sheet member to the bar, a motion transmission apparatus connecting the actuator to the visual member, said motion transmission apparatus including a rod having a first rod section operatively associated with the visual member for rotating the visual member and a second rod section located in the passage of the tubular portion of the flexible sheet member, a torus mounted on the boss, said second rod section being extended through said torus with the torus in annular engagement with the second rod section thereby supporting the rod on the torus, an axle mounted on the housing rotatably supporting the visual member, a sleeve rotatably supported on the axle and connected to the visual member, a yoke having a stem, a first arm and a second arm, said first rod section being connected to the stem, said sleeve being located between said first and second arms, an endless flexible member having a middle portion wound around the sleeve, a first end portion retained on the first arm and a second end portion retained on the second arm whereby movement of the actuator between its first and second positions selectively moves the rod mounted on the torus, the yoke, and rotates the sleeve with the endless flexible member to rotate the visual member to position the bright color adjacent the transparent member or the dark color second portion of the visual member adjacent the transparent member whereby the bright color or the dark color second portion of the visual member is visible by a person located remote from the bin to provide the person with visual information concerning the level of material in the bin.

Metadata:
- Claim Count in Document: 37.0
- Percentile: 94.0
- Lexical Diversity: 2.17949
- Patent Class: 116.0
- Transitional Phrase Type: open
- Component Type: 1
- Foreign Priority: False
- Related Applications: ['14820706', '13781342', '11934038', '13781406', '12505064']

Analysis Scores:
- 35 USC 101 Eligibility (BERT): 0.6934894107936965
- 35 USC 102 Novelty (BERT): 0.5529351714830384
- Combined Prediction Score: 0.6794339868626308
- Mean Citation Score: 230.181878
- Max Citation Score: 465.79807
- Similarity Product: 437.1478456496012

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