Patent Application
20240116058
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Reserved for a later date, if necessary.
The disclosed subject matter is in the field of continuous feed commercial grinders and stemmers.
In the cannabis industry it is often desirable to grind the cannabis buds such that the grinds can be rolled into paper and smoked for medicinal or recreational purposes. When large quantities of cannabis buds are ground at once, care must be taken so that the trichomes of the buds are not damaged during the grinding process. In particular, known commercial grinders can damage trichomes by pulverizing the buds to dust or burning the grinds by friction of the machines moving parts. Other unsatisfactory aspects of commercial grinders are that they are susceptible to microbial growth. Thus, a need exits for an industrial or commercial grinder that is sanitary and that does not damage the trichomes during the grinding process.
In view of the foregoing, an object of this specification is to disclose a continuous feed commercial cannabis bud grinder and stemmer that enables operations to control the grinds size, remove stems from the buds, and avoid damage to the bud's trichomes. In a preferred embodiment, raw material (buds) are top loaded into a grinding assembly defined by a motor driven blade that tumbles or sweeps the raw material such that the buds are destemmed and bud grinds are forced through a perforated insert. Suitably, grinds fall from the perforated insert into a secondary filtering process where the grinds can be filtered by size before output to a user.
Other objectives of the disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the invention has been shown and described. The manner in which these objectives and other desirable characteristics can be obtained is explained in the following description and attached figures in which:
It is to be noted, however, that the appended figures illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments that will be appreciated by those reasonably skilled in the relevant arts. Also, figures are not necessarily made to scale but are representative.
Disclosed is a continuous feed commercial cannabis bud grinder and stemmer. In general, the grinder/stemmer is defined by a motor driven grinding assembly, with a rotatable blade that dismantles (grinds) buds by tumbling the buds over a perforated insert such that bud grinds are forced the perforations of the perforated insert. Suitably, once the grinds are forced through the perforated insert, the grind material is caught by a sifting frame, which uses oscillation and rotational motion to gently move the grind material over a perforated metal plate, with perforation sized to the grind material by sized. The more specific aspects of the disclosed grinder/stemmer are described with reference to the appended Figures.
In a preferred embodiment shown in
As shown, the base has a jack 1510 and a compass 1520 so that the angle of incline (around a pivot 1530) can be set according to a user's preference or to a specific strain. Ultimately, the grinds are provided through the perforations of the perforated insert 1300 (which perforations can be customized such that the perforations result in a grind of a desired size (grind size). Suitably, grinds fall from the perforated insert 1300 into a secondary filtering process where the grinds can be filtered by size before output to a user via the tray 1450. Suitably, the secondary filtering process is accomplished via the sifting assembly 1400, which uses oscillation and rotational motion to move the material forward over a perforated metal plate creating a secondary filtering process to further remove stems from the final product (grind) output.
Suitably, the swing arms 1410 are adjustable in length (DIM. A and DIM. B) such that an operator may manipulate the relative angle between the perforated metal sheet 1420 and the sifting frame itself. Back and forth motion is also provided via the swing arm (e.g., to open and close repeatedly) the distance between the tray and the assembly (DIM. C). swinging the tray e.g. around a pivot (ANG. A) can controlled via adjusting the distance a swing (DIM C) such that a larger swing would result in a more vigorous oscillation. Suitably, the perforated diameter of the metal sheet can be customized such that grinds of a particular size can be harvested. Suitably, grinds may be pushed through perforations in the insert and tray that are ⅛ inch, 5/32 inch and/or 3/16 inch.
In a preferred embodiment, components of the grinder 1000 may be made of stainless steel. Suitably, stainless steel reduces microbial growth. Suitably, the hopper ca
Although the method and apparatus is described above in terms of various exemplary embodiments and implementations, it should be understood that the various features, aspects and functionality described in one or more of the individual embodiments are not limited in their applicability to the particular embodiment with which they are described, but instead might be applied, alone or in various combinations, to one or more of the other embodiments of the disclosed method and apparatus, whether or not such embodiments are described and whether or not such features are presented as being a part of a described embodiment. Thus, the breadth and scope of the claimed invention should not be limited by any of the above-described embodiments.
Terms and phrases used in this document, and variations thereof, unless otherwise expressly stated, should be construed as open-ended as opposed to limiting. As examples of the foregoing: the term “including” should be read as meaning “including, without limitation” or the like, the term “example” is used to provide exemplary instances of the item in discussion, not an exhaustive or limiting list thereof, the terms “a” or “an” should be read as meaning “at least one,” “one or more,” or the like, and adjectives such as “conventional,” “traditional,” “normal,” “standard,” “known” and terms of similar meaning should not be construed as limiting the item described to a given time period or to an item available as of a given time, but instead should be read to encompass conventional, traditional, normal, or standard technologies that might be available or known now or at any time in the future. Likewise, where this document refers to technologies that would be apparent or known to one of ordinary skill in the art, such technologies encompass those apparent or known to the skilled artisan now or at any time in the future.
The presence of broadening words and phrases such as “one or more,” “at least,” “but not limited to” or other like phrases in some instances shall not be read to mean that the narrower case is intended or required in instances where such broadening phrases might be absent. The use of the term “assembly” does not imply that the components or functionality described or claimed as part of the module are all configured in a common package. Indeed, any or all of the various components of a module, whether control logic or other components, might be combined in a single package or separately maintained and might further be distributed across multiple locations.
Additionally, the various embodiments set forth herein are described in terms of exemplary block diagrams, flow charts and other illustrations. As will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after reading this document, the illustrated embodiments and their various alternatives might be implemented without confinement to the illustrated examples. For example, block diagrams and their accompanying description should not be construed as mandating a particular architecture or configuration.
All original claims submitted with this specification are incorporated by reference in their entirety as if fully set forth herein.
