Patent Application
20160107196
This application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/515,440, filed Oct. 15, 2014, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The present invention generally relates to sifters and more specifically to a sifting bag and method for storing and sorting plant materials and foods.
Existing sifters are not designed to aid in sifting, separating and storing plant parts such as, but not limited, to flowers, buds, petiole, pistols, stems, leaves, seeds, branches, shake, plant parts and plant particle dust. Desirable plant parts may be separated from less desirable plant material, referred to herein as “shake”. Usage of existing sifters to sift and sort plant material could be inefficient, and may not include a system for storing the plant material. Existing sifters could cause significant damage to delicate and sensitive plant and flower parts such as but not limited to flowers, buds, trichomes, pistols or any pubescent plants that may or may not be glandular. Existing sifters are not designed to be adaptable to separating plant parts from any plant in the Plantae Kingdom. Existing sifters may not be disposable (low cost) or able to pack into extremely small spaces such as tiny pockets or pouches.
Existing sifters are not designed for use with delicate or sensitive plant parts. Existing sifters do not allow the end user to sift and store delicate or sensitive plant materials with minimal damage to plant matter. Existing sifters may not allow the end user to sift, sort, then store delicate or sensitive plant materials with minimal shaking, and therefore do not maximize the integrity of the plant material resulting in damage and degradation of plant material. Existing sifters usually incorporate a single size of mesh screen which would not be adaptable to the numerous species of plants. Existing sifters do not incorporate an economic way of storing desirable plant material, foods or non-foods. Existing sifters do not offer a twist tie or similar system for keeping the mouth of the sifting bag secured sealed shut. Existing sifters are not designed to separate or store more desirable plant parts from less desirable plant parts. Examples of plant parts may include but are not limited to an efflorescence of flowers, from plants including but not limited to Lavender, Cannabis or Sage.
It would be desirable to have a specialized disposable combined sifter and storage device that may minimize damage to delicate or sensitive plant parts while allowing the end user to efficiently separate more desirable plant material from shake and less desirable plant material.
Existing sifters or strainers are not designed to be used to heat, cook, or cool materials including foods or non-foods or both, while also allowing the end user to sift, strain, rinse or store the materials before during or after heating, cooling, or cooking the materials in the sifting bag. Examples of foods may include turkey, noodles, vegetables, meats, etc. Examples of non-foods are containers, needles, combs, beads, etc. Existing strainers or sifters are not designed to allow the end user to heat up or cook the strainer or sifter using conventional cooking or heating methods such as but not limited to baking, boiling water, microwaving etc. Existing sifters or strainers do not have the versatility to allow the end users to have foods and/or non foods and/or plants and/or plant parts cooked in, stored in, rinsed in, and also separated in, with the possibility of multiple sifter separations, and accomplish all of this with the same sifter while being cost effective enough to be considered “disposable”. Existing sifters may not be disposable (very low cost) and/or able to pack into extremely small spaces such as tiny pockets or pouches.
As an example, Wolffia is a plant genus with small flowers. Two of the smallest species of Wolffia are the Australian Wolffia angusta and the Asian/African Wolffia globosa. Both species are so small that it is difficult to distinguish between the size of their fruits. Since the entire plant body of these two species is less than one millimeter long (less than 1/25th of an inch), the tiny mature fruit takes up most of its parent plant body. The fruit of W. angusta is only 0.30 mm long ( 1/100th of an inch) and weighs about 70 micrograms ( 1/400,000 of an ounce). One can get an idea of how small these fruits really are when you consider that an average, single, cubical grain of ordinary table salt (NaCl) is about 0.30 mm on a side and weighs about 60 micrograms. This fruit is smaller than the individual cells of many plants and animals, and is more than 4 billion times lighter than a massive world class pumpkin.
It would be desirable to have a specialty disposable sifting cooking bag that would allow the user to cool, heat, cook, store, sift or strain, and/or rinse foods or non-foods in the bag.
In one aspect of the present invention, a device for sorting and storing a plant material includes a bag having an opening at an end of the bag adapted to receive the plant material; a perforated portion on the bag; and a plurality of apertures in a pre-selected size on the perforated portion, the size of the apertures corresponding to plant parts from a pre-selected type of plant.
In another aspect of the present invention, a method of sorting plant material includes selecting a type of plant material having a specified seed size; providing a sorting device that includes a bag having a sealable opening at an end of the bag adapted to receive the plant material, a lower, perforated portion on the bag, and an upper, solid portion on the bag that includes the flexible material in a generally solid sheet; providing a plurality of apertures in a pre-selected size on the perforated portion of the bag, the size of the apertures corresponding to the specified seed size; inserting the plant material into the sorting device; sealing the opening; lifting the device; and shaking the sorting device so that the seeds of the plant material pass through the apertures, thereby sorting the plant material.
In a further aspect of the present invention, a method includes providing a bag having an opening at an end of the bag adapted to receive a material, the bag having an upper, solid portion on the bag that includes a flexible material in a generally solid sheet, the upper portion providing a sealable opening at a top of the device and a container area that retains the material, the bag having a perforated portion on the solid portion, the bag having a plurality of apertures in a pre-selected size on the perforated portion; and utilizing the bag for cooling, heating, cooking, storing, straining, or separating the material.
The preferred embodiment and other embodiments, which can be used in industry and include the best mode now known of carrying out the invention, are hereby described in detail with reference to the drawings. Further embodiments, features and advantages will become apparent from the ensuing description, or may be learned without undue experimentation. The figures are not necessarily drawn to scale, except where otherwise indicated. The following description of embodiments, even if phrased in terms of “the invention” or what the embodiment “is,” is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but describes the manner and process of making and using the invention. The coverage of this patent will be described in the claims. The order in which steps are listed in the claims does not necessarily indicate that the steps must be performed in that order.
Embodiments of the present invention may include devices for sorting plant material, having a bag with pre-selected apertures designed to sort seeds from a pre-selected plant.
Embodiments may be made of known materials. Embodiments may include food grade nylon or polyester. Embodiments may be “food grade”, meaning that the product material is known to be safe for use with plant material and seeds intended for consumption or ingestion by humans or animals. Embodiments may be “disposable” in that they are made from a material that is cost-effective to use only once or only for a short time. This might be because the material is a low cost material. Alternate embodiments may be made of biodegradable plastic or other material suitable for handling food. Embodiments of material suitable for food may have a permeability suitable for food. Embodiments may be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) to meet permeability standards for storing food.
Embodiments of bags for sifting plant parts, shake or seeds may include turkey size (19″×23½″) or larger. It may also be smaller, such as (16″×17½″), or sizes in-between. A preferred embodiment may include bag for sorting plant parts from any plant in the Plantae Kingdom. An aperture size for sorting seeds or plant parts may be round, with a diameter of 1/1000″ to 1″. A preferred aperture for sorting seeds from any plant such as the seeds from Sage, Cannabis, or Lavender flowers, may be or oval or seed shaped, having a length or major axis of 1/100″ to 1″ or smaller, and a width-to-length ratio of 50% to 100%.
In an embodiment of the invention, a user may first provide an appropriate bag for sifting seeds or other sorting of plant parts such as but not limited to “shake.” Embodiments of sorting bags may include food-quality plastic bag with apertures at the bottom and lower sides of the bag or apertures may cover anywhere from 1% to 100% of the bag.
Embodiments of sorting bags may include containers or bags to collect the sorted materials. Collection containers may include a wastebasket like or trashcan like basket that site below the bag. The bag may have an upper area or top of the device that corresponds to top of the container so that the bag generally covers the top of the container. A user may install the sorting bag in the top of the container or into another bag, use the bag/s to shake the plant material, and the plant parts such as but not limited to pistols, seeds, stem, leaf or flower bits that are separated from the bag will fall into the container or second bag.
Different bags may be designed for different types of plant material. Bags may have appropriate total dimensions and appropriately sized and shaped apertures for different kinds of plant parts such as seeds or “shake” to be sorted. For example, the apertures may be seed shaped or oval, so as to tend to sort out seeds. The apertures may be of a pre-selected size for a pre-selected type of material, e.g. apertures about the size and shape of a different seeds, and a bag large enough for perhaps 1 pound or more or less of plant parts from plants such as but not limited to cannabis, sage, or lavender such as a “turkey bag,” “oven bag,” “baking bag,” or “cooking bag”.
Embodiments may sort out the “shake,” plant parts, particles, and seeds. Embodiments may provide a method to separate plant material. Embodiments may be used to store sifted or unsifted plant material or cooked or uncooked food or non-foods. Embodiments may be used as a sifting bag using a collection container similar to the tabletop sifter.
An upper portion of a bag may be a generally solid upper sheet in that the sheet is a plastic sheet that can be firmly grasped by a user and is strong enough to form an opening at the top of the bag. The opening at the top of the devise may be a releasable opening. Embodiments may include a device such as a twist tie or similar to secure the sifter bag's opening shut.
In an embodiment, a user may also provide a food in addition to the plant material in the bag, which may be, for example, a turkey. The user may cook the food in the bag, thereby providing food materials including food particles, grease, or oil in the bag, in addition to the plant material to be separated. The user may first coat the inside of the bag with food powders to help with cooking of the food, such as, for example, baking powder, flour, or spices. The user may shake the bag to remove the food particles. This may be before, after, or at the same time that the user shakes the bag to remove seeds and other plant material from the bag.
Embodiments may include a method to cook and separate foods from their own juices, fats, smaller particles and/or other foods, spices, or herbs. Embodiments may be combined with existing methods for “turkey bag,” “oven bag,” “baking bag,” or any other “cooking bag” systems that may be constructed from any heat resistant food grade nylon or polyester. Embodiments may sift larger from smaller food matter or cooked foods from their juices or other food or non-food particles. Embodiments of a bag may be partially mesh, such as where the very bottom only is mesh, the bottom half is mesh, or 100% of the bag is mesh. The bag may incorporate built in handles or any other device used for ease of handling of the bag. Said handles may also work as a way of securing a bag shut, such as a string that may be incorporated into the lip of the bag opening and used much like a belt to secure the bag shut while offering the end user another method to handle the bag. A user may install the sorting bag into another solid food grade heat resistant bag, use the sifting bag to separate the food or non-food materials. The food or non-food matter such as but not limited to grease, juices, oils, spices, plant parts, smaller particles that are separated from the bag will fall into the second solid bag.
In another embodiment, a method may utilize a sorting bag for cooling, heating, cooking, storing, straining, and/or separating material that may include foods. An embodiment of a disposable sifting cooking bag or bag liner may have an opening at an end of the bag adapted to receive the foods and/or non-foods. The bag may have a lower, perforated portion on the bag, and an upper, solid portion on the bag that includes a flexible material in a generally solid sheet that provides a sealable opening at a top of the device and a container area that retains the foods and/or non-foods. The lower portion may have a plurality of apertures in a pre-selected size on the perforated portion, the size of the apertures corresponding to the foods and/or non-foods being used. Hole size may vary in order to separate different food and/or non-food sizes. Embodiments of bags may have heat resistant handles built in or attached for ease of handling. A sifting bag may be filled with food and/or non-foods then tied shut and then may be inserted into a cooking bag that is tied shut, a pot, pan, or any cooking dish or sheet which could contain the filled sifter bag. The bag may then be placed into a preheated oven as long as desired. If using a cooking bag, the user would open the cooking bag when desired then lift out and/or gently shake the sifter bag to separate the foods or non-foods from their juices and or smaller foods or non-foods and/or smaller particles. The user could then untie the sifter bag and remove the sifted food. A user may also place the sifter bag with food or non-foods into a pot full of water, with or without placing into a cooking bag first. The food may then be cooked or soaked for as long as desired after sealing the bag. Then the user would open the cooking bag (if a cooking bag was used). Lifting and/or gently shaking the sifter bag will remove juices and/or smaller particles, foods or non-foods that a user wishes to separate. Then the user could open the sifting bag and remove the sifted foods or non-foods. A user may also use the sifting bag to rinse cooked, heated, or unheated foods or non-foods. A user may use a sifter bag to submerge foods or non-foods into a container of hot warm cold or ice water in order to change the temperature of the foods or non-foods. A sifter bag may be accompanied by a solid non-perforated heat resistant food grade nylon or polyester bag to be used to help contain moisture, grease, oils, or any other smaller particles before or after being sifted.
Embodiments may use the bag to sift Wolffia seeds with apertures about 1/100th of an inch in diameter. Embodiments may use the bag to sift mustard seeds which would have holes approx 1/16th of an inch, or sesame seed sifting which would require approx ⅛th of an inch to sift. To sift sunflower seeds the bag holes might be from ½ to ¾ inches.
As depicted in
As depicted in
As depicted in
As depicted in
As depicted in
As depicted in
As depicted in
As depicted in
As depicted in
As depicted in
As depicted in
As depicted in
As depicted in
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 14515440 | Oct 2014 | US |
| Child | 14597447 | US |
