PATENT CLAIM ANALYSIS

Application Number: 15995840
Application Type: Utility
Filing Date: 2018-06
Publication Date: 2018-12
Patent Classification: ["414", "788100"]

Abstract:
A lumber stacking machine has a stacking mechanism forming a stack of lumber from the bottom upwardly. The stacking mechanism includes a lift mechanism formed with a plurality of stacking fingers that lift a layer of lumber vertically above a conveyor. With the formation of a new layer of lumber, the stacking mechanism moves below the new layer with the stacking fingers retracting to pass by the new layer and resting the growing stack of lumber on top of the new layer, and then extending below the new layer to raise the entire stack to allow another new layer to be formed. Stops are provided to control the movement of the individual boards from the infeed station into the stacking station and also to control movement of the new layer beyond the stacking station. Two conveyors cooperate to move the lumber with an overlap in the stacking station.

Claim (Index 1):
A stacking machine comprising:\n an infeed station for receiving a supply of product consisting of individual product units to be configured into a stack of product, said infeed station including a first conveyor run that moves the individual product units linearly; a stacking station positioned to receive the individual product units and form said stack of product, said first conveyor run extending into said stacking station; a pair of opposing stacking members positioned in said stacking station on opposing sides of said first conveyor run, each said stacking member including:\n a vertically movable stack holder having laterally movable stacking fingers selectively movable into engagement with said individual product units; \n a drive mechanism for powering the vertical movement of said stack holders and for powering the lateral movement of said stacking fingers, said drive mechanism being operable to project said stacking fingers beneath said individual product units and cause a vertical movement of said individual product units with the vertical movement of said stack holders, and being operable to retract said stacking fingers from engagement with said individual product units when said drive mechanism lowers said stack holders toward said first conveyor run so that said stacking fingers can be extended beneath a new layer of individual product units delivered to said stacking area while said stack holders were in an uppermost position; and \n a staging station to receive a completed product stack from said stacking station, said staging station having a second conveyor run extending from said stacking station into said staging station and being selectively operable to convey a completed stack into said staging station.

Metadata:
- Claim Count in Document: 50.0
- Percentile: 94.0
- Lexical Diversity: 2.27941
- Patent Class: 414.0
- Transitional Phrase Type: open
- Component Type: 1
- Foreign Priority: False
- Related Applications: ['11159744', '11649516', '15590739', '11340323', '10801524']

Analysis Scores:
- 35 USC 101 Eligibility (BERT): 0.8456285282420098
- 35 USC 102 Novelty (BERT): 0.4819055340292105
- Combined Prediction Score: 0.8092562288207299
- Mean Citation Score: 217.255586
- Max Citation Score: 227.17003
- Similarity Product: 167.2512362587917

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