Patent Publication Number: US-2019168232-A1

Title: Multi-Purpose Plant Flower Trimmer and Separator

Description:
FIELD OF INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to multi-purpose equipment and methods for dry trimming plant flowers of leafy matter, for separating fine materials from trim, for separating seeds from plant matter, and for breaking down large leaf and plant matter into smaller particles. And more specifically to those that employ ½″ and ¼″ netting formed into cylindrical tumbler drums turned on a horizontal axle to gently separate and delicately trim the flower of leaf matter with minimal damage and/or loss of trichomes and crystals. And using fine screens in place of the netting to isolate pollen, trichomes, and crystals from leafy trim. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Plants of particular varieties may have flowers with leafy matter that can be mechanically trimmed so as to remove or separate the leafy matter from the flower. And the plants may have trichomes (or hairlike outgrowths) that my harbor components that may be further separated and collected.  Cannabis  plants comprise several different components and structures. Plants can be male, female, or hermaphrodite. Flowers of some plants are most prized because they have the highest concentrations of certain components. These flowers or buds are rather easy to separate from the larger leaves and stems, but the buds themselves are infiltrated with protruding leaf matter that needs careful “trimming” so as not to break off or lose crystals and trichomes embedded in the buds. 
     Such trimming can be easily and carefully done by hand for low volumes. But commercial production requires automated methods. Conventional equipment has employed metal blades and rotating scissors disks that loosely resemble electric hair trimmers. Such traditional equipment can be very harsh on the buds themselves and make a mess of the final product. These blades also need lubricating and these lubricants can contaminate the final products. 
     Conventional trimmers use metal blades that need regular lubrication with oil, and therefore regular cleaning and maintenance. The blade lubrication oil eventually winds up in the product and can become toxic when smoked or ingested. 
     Kief, which is the resinous trichomes of  cannabis , referred to here as trichome crystals, are fine outgrowths on the plants that protect and promote the genetic material in a plant&#39;s seeds in many different ways.  Cannabis  and other plants that depend on the wind to carry their pollens do not emit terpenes, flavonoids, and other odors that encourage pollination by attracting bees and other insects. Some trichomes have developed psychoactive chemicals that will intoxicate herbivores or make them ill. These pharmacological effects will distract herbivores enough not to eat the plant. Other trichomes build physical barriers, like cotton fibers, that make it difficult for beetles and other pests to get to the seeds. 
     Different mesh sizes of silkscreen are used for different applications in screen printing. Mesh size is measured by how many threads of mesh there are crossing per square inch. For instance, a 110-mesh screen has 110 cross-threads per inch. The higher the mesh count, the finer the holes will be in the screen, generally speaking. 
     Printing silkscreen has been found to be a very useful pollen and trichome crystal filtering material. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Briefly, both floor-standing equipment and method embodiments of the present invention trim leafy matter off the buds or flowers of plants by tumbling them around in a continuous curling wave that knocks the flowers or buds together and that grates them along a nylon netting, and allowing the leafy trim to pass through the holes in the netting, thus isolating the trimmed buds or flowers which remain in the tumbler drum. The netting is formed into large cylindrical drum into which dried flowers of plants are loaded through a door flap in the netting. An electric motor or handcrank causes the load to tumble over and over a horizontal axle for several minutes at about 25 to 45 RPM. The trim drops through the netting down through a funnel bag into a basin on the floor. The trimmed seedless flowers are then dropped out separately through the door flap in the netting and through the funnel bag into a second basin on the floor. 
     In other embodiments, the floor-standing equipment is operated as a trimmer, a popcorn-size bud separator, and a trichome crystal-separator, and pollen separator by simply changing the netting to use different sized openings and even silkscreens with different mesh sizes. 
     These and other objects and advantages of the present invention no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after having read the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments which are illustrated in the various drawing figures. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1A  is a perspective view diagram of the floor standing frame, motor drive, and horizontal axle cylindrical tumbling drum form for a flower trimmer embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 1B  is a perspective view diagram of how a rectangular patch of netting is wrapped around the horizontal axle cylindrical tumbling drum form of the flower trimmer of  FIG. 1A ; 
         FIG. 1C  is a side view of the flower trimmer of  FIG. 1A  without the floor-standing frame so the funnel bag chute and a removal catch basin can be shown in relation to the cylindrical tumbling drum that is covered with the netting; 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of the cylindrical tumbling drum of  FIGS. 1A-1C  that is covered with the netting and is shown here to include a zippered door flap and radial lips on the opposing drum ends; 
         FIGS. 3A-3F  illustrate the steps in a method embodiment of the present invention for using the equipment described to trim extraneous matter from the flowers of plants; 
         FIGS. 4A-4C  illustrate the steps in a method embodiment of the present invention for using the equipment described to extract trichome crystals from extraneous matter earlier separated during trimming from the flowers of plants; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective diagram of an inexpensive and portable version of the trimmers described in the above FIGS.; 
         FIG. 6  is an exploded assembly and partial cross sectional view of a motor and tumbler drum drivetrain useful in embodiments of the present invention. These pieces all couple together with matching female pipe threads (FPT) and male pipe threads (MPT); 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a clear vinyl dustcover that can be slipped over the PVC framework of a trimmer like that of  FIG. 5 ; and 
         FIGS. 8A and 8B  are perspective views of a baby-carriage type folding top dustcover in its open ( FIG. 8A ) and closed ( FIG. 8B ) positions. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     While the specification herein occasionally describes embodiments in the context of hops plants and  cannabis  plants, other plants having separable components may be used, and the embodiments described and claimed are not specific to or limited to any application with a particular variety of plant. 
       FIGS. 1A-1C  represent a floor-standing flower trimmer embodiment of the present invention and is referred to herein by the general reference numeral  100 . The floor-standing trimmer  100  is user-assembled onsite from a shipping box of pieces that include a rectangular frame of welded box metal channel  102 , four matching removable legs  104 - 107 , a variable speed electric motor  108 , a horizontal axle  110  set inside the width of the frame  102  and driven by the motor  108 , and two inwardly dished cylindrical end plates  112 - 113  coaxially mounted on the horizontal axle  110 . The two inwardly dished cylindrical end plates  112 - 113  have lips  114  and  115  radially turned outward. Two lengths of hook-and-loop tape  116  and  117 , such as VELCRO brand, are wound around and glued to fully wrap around 360-degrees of each of the two cylindrical end plates  112 - 113 . 
       FIG. 1B  shows how a tumbler drum is formed with netting. A rectangular patch of nylon netting  118  is fringed along its outside edges with one part of a hook-and-loop tape  120  about 1.5″ wide. The rectangular patch of nylon netting is wide enough to bridge over and overlap both outside diameters of the two inwardly dished cylindrical end plates  112 - 113 , and is long enough to fully wrap around 360-degrees to form a large cylindrical drum. A door flap  122  fitted with zippers and/or hook-and-loop tape allows user access to load in and unload materials during use. Protective inside flaps should be included to cover the zippers such that they do not get clogged with trichome crystals or other fine materials. 
     The two matching and opposing dished cylindrical end plates  112 - 113  have radially turned outward lips  114  and  115  that help seal with the netting  118  and to exclude debris from fouling the opposing hook-and-loop tape pieces. Typical diameters for the two cylindrical end plates  112 - 113  range from 17″ to 22″, depending on the target weights of materials to be batch processed. 
     The variable speed electric motor  108  preferably has a variable range of zero to 45 RPM. Near zero, its speed control is used to position the tumbler drum for loading and unloading of material. In operation, the material loaded inside will begin to roll around in a log until the speed gets high enough for it to break in waves and tumble over the horizontal axle  110 . The best speed, about 35 RPM produces a continuous curling wave of material inside the tumbler drum. This is best run for 3 to 5 minutes. At too high a speed, centrifugal force will press the material all along the inside for full rotations. Too high a speed prevents the trimming action from operating properly or efficiently. But speeds as low as 20 RPM are useful when the user intends for the trimming to be as gentle as possible. 
       FIG. 1C  shows a clear vinyl, rectangular funnel bag chute  130  that is hung inside frame  102  and legs  104 - 107 , but outside the bottom half of the large cylindrical drum formed by the netting and the two cylindrical end plates  112 - 113 . The purpose of this rectangular funnel bag is to direct materials dropping through the netting, or through a door flap in the netting, down into a smaller opening dishpan basin  132 , like a 16″×12″×8″ RUBBERMAID DISHPAN. Making the funnel bag chute  130  of clear vinyl helps the user to see the progress of the trimming and to see the trim materials dropping through inside. 
     The structural pieces of trimmer  100  are generally comprised of steel and/or aluminum. Overall, the trimmer  100  is floor-standing and generally about 60″ tall, 36″ wide, and about 36″ deep. Lighter duty embodiments are generally smaller and weigh less, and are limited to processing smaller-weight loads. 
     The trimming action is not unlike the polishing action that occurs inside a rock polisher that tumbles loose rocks around inside a drum. The flowers knock against each other while tumbling around, and that break downs and breaks off any remaining protruding leafy matter. The finished value of trimmed buds is maximum when the trichomes and crystals remain on the buds. 
       FIG. 2  represents a drum and motor assembly  200 , in an embodiment of the present invention. A rectangular patch of nylon netting  202  has a hook-and-loop tape trimming  204 ,  205  about 1.5″ wide all around its outside longitudinal and lateral perimeters. The rectangular patch of nylon netting  202  is wide enough to bridge over and still overlap both outside diameters of two inwardly dished cylindrical end plates  206 ,  207 . And the rectangular patch of netting  202  is long enough in its length to fully wrap around and seal 360-degrees of the respective diameters to form a large cylindrical drum  210 . 
     The two inwardly dished cylindrical end plates  206 ,  207  have radially turned out lips  212 ,  213  to help seal with the netting  202  and to exclude fugitive debris from fouling the opposing hook-and-loop tape pieces  204 - 205  and  214 - 215 . These matching lengths of hook-and-loop tape  214 - 215  are wound around and glued to fully wrap all 360-degrees of the circumferences of each of the two cylindrical end plates  206 - 207 . Typical diameters for the two cylindrical end plates  206 - 207  range from 16″ to 26″, so the length of the netting  202  and the matching lengths of hook-and-loop tapes  204 ,  205 ,  214 , and  215  will easily run about 70″. 
     A zippered door flap  220  is included in the rectangular patch of nylon netting  202  and allows easy user access to the interior of the large cylindrical drum  210 . A variable-speed electric motor  222  is provided with a variable speed control rheostat  224  which permits a user to easily rotate and position the zippered door flap  220  to the top or the bottom of the large cylindrical drum  210 . Such zippered door flap  220  would be best positioned to the top when loading in materials. Similarly, such zippered door flap  220  would be best positioned to the bottom when the materials need to be dumped through the clear vinyl, rectangular funnel bag that is hung inside frame  102  and legs  104 - 107 , down to a dishpan basin. Two parallel zippers  226  and  228  are preferred since this can save wear-and-tear on the hook-and-loop tapes. 
       FIGS. 3A-3F  represent the steps in a method for trimming, for example, the seedless flower buds of female  cannabis  plants. The large cylindrical drum  210  of  FIG. 2  is represented here as a tumbler drum  302  with a zippered door flap  304 . In  FIGS. 3A-3C  the tumbler drum  302  is fitted with ½″ netting, and in  FIGS. 3D-3F , the tumbler drum  302  is retro-fitted with ¼″ netting. The initial use of ½″ netting in  FIGS. 3A-3C  allows small flower “popcorn-size” buds to fall through that must be separated from the trim and recaptured in  FIGS. 3D-3F . 
     In  FIG. 3A , a first step  310  begins with loading a dry quantity of, for example,  cannabis , e.g., 3-6 pounds, into the tumbler drum  302  through the door flap  304  while it is positioned near the top. In  FIG. 3B , a next step  312  uses the motor or a handcrank to turn the tumbler drum  302  near maximum speed until trim debris visually ceases to flow out, e.g., 20-45 RPM for five minutes. The trim fallout, which includes small leaves, trichome crystals, and small flower “popcorn-size” buds are collected in a dishpan basin with the assistance of a clear vinyl, rectangular funnel bag (not shown here). See  FIGS. 4A-4C  for the deliberate isolation of the trichome crystals from trim into a final product. 
     In  FIG. 3C , a step  314 , a fresh, empty dishpan basin is placed below, the door flap  304  is opened, and rotated to the bottom position such that the large flower buds all drop into the empty dishpan basin. This product then is held in reserve as a better, more valuable part of the final quantity of trimmed buds. The “netting is then exchanged for ¼” netting on tumbler drum  302 . 
     In  FIG. 3D , a step  316 , the contents of dishpan basin from step  312  is loaded through the door flap  304  after it&#39;s rotated to the top position. In  FIG. 3E , a next step  318  uses the motor or handcrank to again turn the tumbler drum  302  near maximum speed until trim debris visually ceases to flow out, e.g., 20-45 RPM for five minutes. The small flower “popcorn-size” buds stay inside tumbler drum  302  and only trim pieces are collected below in another dishpan basin. Again, the use of a clear vinyl, rectangular funnel bag helps the user to see when the step is concluded. 
     In  FIG. 3F , a step  320 , a fresh, empty dishpan basin is placed below, the door flap  304  is opened, and rotated to the bottom position such that the small, now trimmed, “popcorn-size” flower buds all drop into the empty dishpan basin. This product then added to the large trimmed buds that were held in reserve from step  314  in  FIG. 3C . 
     The standard measure of screen “mesh size” relates to how many threads per inch are present. But the gaps between these threads will narrow as the threads get thicker. The preferred embodiments here use 110 micron or 151-195 micron screens to allow some control over the size of particles being isolated. 
     The floor-standing trimmer  100  of  FIG. 1  can change function between being a traditional trimmer, popcorn-size bud separator, and trichome crystal-separator (aka pollinator) by the user&#39;s changing of the netting between ½″, ¼″, and  110 - 120  silkscreen. A trichome crystal-separator (aka pollinator) separates the fine powdery trichome and bits of crystalized resin from the trim obtained in  FIG. 3E , step  318 . 
     The stalks of mature trichomes typically reach a maximum diameter of about 40-microns. And the corresponding heads are usually three times that, about 120-micron, with a maximum of 135-microns. So, mesh sizes above 120 (125-micron pass through) are not commonly used in separating trichome crystals. Any mesh that is too fine will block the largest trichome heads from passing through the silkscreen mesh. 
     A 170-mesh (88-micron pass through) blocks most the mature trichome heads. Any trichome stalks that do break off will be small enough to pass through even finer mesh sizes. If the intention is to deliberately separate the heads from the stalks, then a 200-mesh screen (74-micron) is called for. Going the other way, classic Afghani pressed hash, for example, has a large amount of debris because large, 50-60 mesh screens are used. 
       FIGS. 4A-4C  represent a change of a trimmer  100  into a fine material- or trichome crystal-separator (aka pollinator). Essentially, the nylon netting is replaced by a 110-micron silkscreen covered drum  402  that will pass through the trichomes by retaining anything larger size inside. In a first step  400 , illustrated in  FIG. 4A , a dishpan basin  404  of plant trim and random bits of trichomes are poured  406  through a door flap  408  in drum  402  positioned near the top. A second step  409  is illustrated in  FIG. 4B . The silkscreen covered drum  402  is rotated by motor or hand crank to tumble the material from dishpan basin  404  around inside for several minutes at 0-45 RPM. A trichome crystal fallout  410  will form on the outside surface of the silkscreen mesh and most will fall to the floor where another dishpan basin  412  is set by the user to catch it. A third and final step  413  in  FIG. 4C  includes stopping the drum  402  with the door flap  408  at the bottom and open. This will allow gravity to help unload steams, leaves, and other trim  414  into a third dishpan basin  416 . Some scraping or pushing by hand or with a tool may be needed to clear it all. 
       FIG. 5  represents a low cost trimmer  500  in an embodiment of the present invention that is less expensive, easier to transport, and lighter-duty than trimmer  100  of  FIG. 1 . Its frame  502  is entirely made up of ½″ or ¾″ PVC pipe sections  504 - 524 , socket elbow-tees  526 - 532 , socket cross-elbows  534 - 536 , and socket-tees  538 . (Some elements not able to be shown in this perspective view are not numbered.) These pieces are delivered mostly unassembled to typical retail end users and are dry fitted together without glue for use by them. Not using glue allows the trimmer  500  to be disassembled again and more readily transported. 
     A cylindrical drum form  550  about 19″ in diameter and 20″ in length is supported for turning with a horizontal axle  552 . Such is positioned inside the top half of frame  502  and a clear vinyl funnel bag  554  is positioned inside the bottom half of frame  502  to catch loosened trim that escapes through a covering of netting  556 . At its top, the clear vinyl funnel bag  554  circuits completely around the bottom half outer diameters of cylinder ends  558  and  559 , and does so without contacting or dragging on the netting  556  or cylinder ends  558  and  559 . A smaller opening at the bottom of the clear vinyl funnel bag  554  neatly focuses the loose trim into a dishpan basin set below on the floor by the user. 
     A zippered door flap  560  is stitched into the netting  556  and allows materials to be loaded and unloaded from inside the cylindrical-drum netting enclosure formed by elements  550 , 556 , 558 , 559 . A variable-speed electric motor  562  is connected to turn the netting enclosure on horizontal axle  552  at 0-45 RPM. A wide, soft-bristle brush mounted to the back of the frame and positioned to gently sweep along the whole width of surface of the netting enclosure as it turns on horizontal axle  552  can help automatically clear the netting of snags of stems and leaves. A clear vinyl dust cover (not shown) may sometimes be used and is slipped over the outside of the top half of frame  502  to prevent too much fugitive powder and debris from flying out into the air and onto the surrounding floor. 
       FIG. 6  represents a motor and tumbler drum drivetrain  600  useful in various embodiments of the present invention. A critical aspect of what is shown here is that the major pieces all couple together with matching female pipe threads (FPT) and male pipe threads (MPT). For example, ½″ and ¾″ in both PVC and steel pipes and fittings are widely available and relatively inexpensive. A variable speed electric motor  602  can be adjusted by a user to turn a whole tumbler drum assembly at 0-45 RPM. The motor  602  is mounted at a left end to a supporting floor-standing frame. A MPT  604  threads into a FPT  606  mounted by a first flange  608  to a left tumbler drum end cap pan  610 . The left tumbler drum end cap pan  610  is dished and open here to the right. 
     A second flange  612  and FPT  614  provide a supporting coupling through to a horizontal axle  618  that carries over to the right side in this  FIG. 6 . A MPT  620  threads into a FPT  622  and a third flange  624 , these couple through right tumbler drum end cap pan  626  to a fourth flange  628  and FPT  630 . A MPT  632  on one end of a coupler pipe  634  provides rotational distal support with a bearing block  636  mounted to the supporting floor-standing frame. One advantage of building motor and tumbler drum drivetrain  600  with common MPT and FPT water pipe pieces is they make for easy field assembly and disassembly onsite by the user. 
     Dashed lines are used in  FIG. 6  between the left and right tumbler drum end cap pans  610  and  626 . These represent the nylon netting used during trimming and the alternative mesh screening used for trichome crystal isolation. 
     In general, preferred embodiments of the present invention include a dual-purpose floor-standing machine that trims leafy matter from the flowers of plants, and also isolates trichome crystals or fine material from such trim. A floor-standing frame of detachable pieces enable onsite assembly and disassembly, and provide mechanical support for an electric motor and a horizontal axle driven at variable speeds by the motor. A tumbler drum mounted is inside a top end of the floor-standing frame on the horizontal axle. Such is formed by opposing, parallel, and equal-sized left and right tumbler drum end cap pans coaxially disposed on the horizontal axle to define a right cylinder with open walls. 
     A rectangular-shaped porous covering has a width sufficient to stretch over and between an open space between the opposing left and right tumbler drum end cap pans, and has a length sufficient to completely wrap around the circumference of both the opposing, parallel, and equal-sized left and right tumbler drum end cap pans. A door flap is disposed in the rectangular-shaped porous covering and provides for dried plant material to be loaded-in and unloaded-out of the interior spaces of the tumbler drum. 
     A funnel bag chute is disposed inside the floor-standing frame and outside a bottom half of the tumbler drum. It is sized and mounted to allow free rotation of the tumbler drum within. A first removable basin is initially positioned on a floor below the funnel bag chute to catch fine materials that pass through rectangular-shaped porous covering. A second removable basin is subsequently positioned on the floor below the funnel bag chute to catch coarse materials that do not pass through rectangular-shaped porous covering and that must be unloaded via the door flap. 
     Tumbling dry flowers the way the equipment and methods described herein do will produce airborne clouds of valuable fine material or trichome crystals and other fines and powders including mildew spores. A removable dustcover that fully shrouds the tumbler drums in  FIGS. 1A, 1B, 1C, 2, 3B, 3E, 4B, 5, and 6 , should be in position whenever the tumbler drum is turning more than a few RPM. Otherwise, such airborne clouds can interfere with, annoy, trigger allergies, or even harm the health of workers and users in the vicinity. Profits are also improved by keeping the airborne fine material or trichome crystals from dispersing and becoming irretrievable. In some embodiments, the gentle tumbling action may minimize flower breakage. 
       FIG. 7  represents such a dustcover  700  made of clear vinyl that is cut and stitched to just fit over the top half of the low-cost trimmer  500  ( FIG. 5 ). Any trichome crystals that collect inside after use can be scraped off or wiped clean. Clear vinyl material is preferred so that the user can verify the speed settings are producing a continuous curling wave of dry material tumbling around over the horizontal axle  552  ( FIG. 5 ), and see when the equipment should be stopped for a next step in the process. 
       FIGS. 8A and 8B  represents a folding dustcover  800  that resembles the folding top of a baby carriage. A folding top frame is covered with clear vinyl that is cut and stitched in a half dome to fit over trimmer  100  ( FIG. 1A ). After use, trichome crystals that collected inside can be scraped off or wiped clean. Here too, clear vinyl material is preferred so that the user can verify the variable speed motor settings are producing a continuous curling wave of dry material tumbling around over the horizontal axle  110  ( FIGS. 1A, 1B ). 
     Embodiments of the present invention do not use blades, and do not require lubrication of any part that comes into contact with the flower being processed. There is not any maintenance associated with such cleaning. 
     Embodiments of the present invention may be suitable for wide range of medicinal or aromatic herbs including but not limited to tarragon, mint, melissa, sage, and thyme. Other embodiments may separate almost all kinds of products which have a different specific gravities such as fruits and vegetables. These embodiments may separate stems and leaves from vegetables, sort or grade vegetables, fruits or other dried products including green beans, soybeans, cabbage or spinach. Other embodiments may separate immature kernals from cereal grains such as wheat, barley, oilseed rape, peas, beans, cocoa beans, hazelnuts or linseed. Other embodiments may separate coffee beans, peanuts, cocoa beans, peas, maize, sunflower seeds, tea leaves, rice, wheat, sesame, or other food grains. Other embodiments may be used to extract pollens from flowers such as flower pollen, pine pollen, or  cannabis  pollen. Other embodiments may trim leaves from flowers such as  cannabis  or hops flowers. 
     Although the present invention has been described in terms of the presently preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not to be interpreted as limiting. Various alterations and modifications will no doubt become apparent to those skilled in the art after having read the above disclosure. Accordingly, it is intended that the appended claims be interpreted as covering all alterations and modifications as fall within the “true” spirit and scope of the invention.