Patent Publication Number: US-11040373-B2

Title: Sliding drawer sifter apparatus

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not Applicable 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM 
     Not Applicable 
     STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     (1) Field of the Invention 
     (2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98 
     The disclosure and prior art relates to sifters and more particularly pertains to a new sifter for sorting plant buds by size. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a frame having a front perimeter, a back perimeter, an upper perimeter, a lower perimeter, a left perimeter, and a right perimeter. The frame has a top divider perimeter and a bottom divider perimeter each lying in a plane parallel with a plane of the upper perimeter. A set of drawers each have a front side separated from a back side, a left side separated from a right side, a bottom side, and an open top side forming a drawer cavity. An inner lip is coupled to each of the front side, the left side, the back side, and the right side within the drawer cavity. A handle is coupled to the front side. The set of drawers comprises a top drawer, a middle drawer, and a bottom drawer. The top drawer is slidably engageable with the frame between the top divider perimeter and the upper perimeter. The middle drawer is slidably engageable with the frame between the bottom divider perimeter and the top divider perimeter. The bottom drawer is slidably engageable with the frame between the bottom divider perimeter and the lower perimeter. A set of sifter grates each has a grate perimeter selectively engageable with the inner lip of each of the drawers and a grate body coupled within the grate perimeter. The set of sifter grates comprises a top grate, a middle grate, and a bottom grate for each of the top drawer, the middle drawer, and the bottom drawer, respectively. The grate body of the bottom grate is finer than the grate body of the middle grate. The grate body of the middle grate is finer than the grate body of the top grate. The top grate, the middle grate, and the bottom grate are configured to sort progressively smaller plant buds into the top drawer, the middle drawer, and the bottom drawer, respectively. 
     There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
     The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
       The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is an isometric view of a sliding drawer sifter apparatus according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is an isometric view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  is a side elevation view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view along the line  5 - 5  of  FIG. 4  of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to  FIGS. 1 through 5  thereof, a new sifter embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral  10  will be described. 
     As best illustrated in  FIGS. 1 through 5 , the sliding drawer sifter apparatus  10  generally comprises a frame  12  having a front perimeter  14 , a back perimeter  16 , an upper perimeter  18 , a lower perimeter  20 , a left perimeter  22 , and a right perimeter  24 . The frame  12  has a top divider perimeter  26  and a bottom divider perimeter  28  each lying in a plane parallel with a plane of the upper perimeter  18 . The top divider perimeter  26  and the bottom divider perimeter  28  are evenly spaced between the upper perimeter  18  and the lower perimeter  20 . Each of the top divider perimeter  26  and the bottom divider perimeter  28  has an inner ridge  30  extending from an inner face  32  of each of a left side segment  34  and a right side segment  36 . The left side segment  34  and the right side segment  36  of each of the top divider perimeter  26  and the bottom divider perimeter  28  extend within the left perimeter  22  and the right perimeter  24 . A top cover  38  is coupled to the frame  12  within the upper perimeter  18 . The top cover  38  is transparent. Each of a set of drawers  40  is transparent and has a front side  42  separated from a back side  44 , a left side  46  separated from a right side  48 , a bottom side  50 , and an open top side  52  forming a drawer cavity  54 . An inner lip  56  is coupled to each of the front side  42 , the left side  46 , the back side  44 , and the right side  48  within the drawer cavity  54 . The inner lip  56  lies in a plane parallel to a plane of the bottom side  50  and is medially disposed between the bottom side  50  and the open top side  52 . A handle  58  is coupled to the front side  42 . 
     The set of drawers  40  comprises a top drawer  60 , a middle drawer  62 , and a bottom drawer  64 . The top drawer  60  is slidably engageable with the frame  12  between the top divider perimeter  26  and the upper perimeter  18 . The middle drawer  62  is slidably engageable with the frame  12  between the bottom divider perimeter  28  and the top divider perimeter  26 . The bottom drawer  64  is slidably engageable with the frame  12  between the bottom divider perimeter  28  and the lower perimeter  20 . Each of a set of sifter grates  66  has a grate perimeter  68  selectively engageable with the inner lip  56  of each of the drawers  40  and a grate body  70  coupled within the grate perimeter  68 . The set of sifter grates  66  comprises a top grate  72 , a middle grate  74 , and a bottom grate  76  for each of the top drawer  60 , the middle drawer  62 , and the bottom drawer  64 , respectively. The grate body  70  of the bottom grate  76  is finer than the grate body  70  of the middle grate  74 . The grate body  70  of the middle grate  74  is finer than the grate body  70  of the top grate  72 . The grate body  70  of the top grate  72  comprises a plurality of parallel rods  78 . The grate body  70  of the middle grate  74  comprises a middle sheet  80  having a plurality of middle apertures  82  extending therethrough. The grate body  70  of the bottom grate  76  comprises a bottom sheet  84  having a plurality of bottom apertures  86  extending therethrough. Each of the plurality of bottom apertures  86  has a diameter smaller than a diameter of each of the plurality of middle apertures  82 . The top grate  72 , the middle grate  74 , and the bottom grate  76  are configured to sort progressively smaller plant buds into the top drawer  60 , the middle drawer  62 , and the bottom drawer  64 , respectively. 
     In use, the user places plant buds into the top drawer  60  on the top grate  72 . The buds that pass through the top grate  72  are placed into the middle drawer  62  onto the middle grate  74 . The buds that pass through the middle grate  74  are then placed into the bottom drawer  64  onto the bottom grate  76 . The bottom grate  76  then sifts out the smallest particles into the bottom drawer  64 . 
     With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.