Patent Publication Number: US-2022210976-A1

Title: Greenhouse Harvester of Cannabis

Description:
PRIORITY 
     This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/998,117, filed on Jul. 3, 2018, entitled “A Greenhouse Harvester of Cannabis”, which was a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/932,722 filed on Apr. 12, 2018 and entitled “A Harvester for Cannabis”. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a mechanism to harvest cannabis in field setting. 
     While traditionally, cannabis has been grown and harvested by hand, with legal advancements within the United States, the demand for cannabis is quickly outstripping the ability for hand tended cannabis to keep pace. The reason that hand-tending is the standard, is that cannabis, unlike almost any other plant, requires a heightened regard for the harvesting. For the cannabis plant, very little of the plant is not useful for one purpose or the other. 
     Traditional mechanized methods for agricultural growth of cannabis quickly run into problems with the harvesting process as the existing mechanisms cannot be used efficiently. They are both clumsy and fail to address the special needs that cannabis requires. 
     It is clear that there is a need to mechanically harvest field grown cannabis. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention provides a mechanism which permits the mechanized harvesting of cannabis plant parts from an agricultural field. The mechanism is ideally self-propelled although other embodiments are either drawn or pushed through the agricultural field. 
     In this regard, the invention uses the mobility commonly found in combine harvesters. Those of ordinary skill in the art readily recognize a variety of structures which are applicable here, including, but not limited to those described in: U.S. Pat. No. 9,763,391, entitled “Combine Harvester with Top-Located Cleaning Arrangement” issued to Missotten et al. on Sep. 19, 2017; U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,201, entitled “Combine with Moveable Body and Tandem Drive Wheels” issued to Tesker on Mach 1, 1994; and U.S. Pat. No. 9,756,787, entitled “Combine Harvester” issued to Heitmann et al. on Sep. 12, 2017; both of which are incorporated hereinto by reference. 
     The mechanism contains a gripping mechanism which secures the stem of the cannabis plant as the mechanism moves through the field. Gripping is ideally done using rubber “fingers” located on a pair of wheels which rotate the stem into the fingers while the stem is being cut from the root. Ideally the stem is cut approximately three inches from the soil/root. 
     In another embodiment, the cutting of the stem is done after the root has been removed from the soil allowing the root to be harvested. The removal of the root from the soil is ideally done by pulling the stem upwards to dislodge the root from the soil. A variation of the invention provides for the root removal using a subterranean wedge traveling through the soil to dislodge the root from the soil. 
     In either embodiment, once the stem has been cut, the flowers on the stem are removed and placed in a designated bin for collection of the flowers. Cannabis flowers are one of the most valuable parts of the cannabis plant. 
     In the preferred embodiment, once the stem has been gripped and cut, the plant is inverted so that the flower is the lowest part. Sensors, typically lights, identify where the flower/stem connection exists and then again cuts the stem, allowing the flower to fall into a collecting bin. The now flowerless stem/leaves then proceed to where the leaves are removed. 
     Those of ordinary skill in the art readily recognize a variety of mechanisms which will remove the flower including that described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,237,475, entitled “Machine for Peeling Pears, Removing their Core, and cutting them into Segments” issued to Ascari, et al. on May 29, 2001, incorporated hereinto by reference. 
     The now flowerless and rootless stem then has the leaves removed for collection in another bin. The leaves from the cannabis plant are highly prized and provide another economic benefit to the grower. Ideally, the removal of the leaves is accomplished through a variety of mechanisms such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 8,753,180, “Methods and Apparatus for Stripping Leaves from a Stalk Cured Tobacco Plant”, issued Jun. 17, 2014, to Hutchins, incorporated herein by reference. 
     Those of ordinary skill in the art, readily recognize a variety of techniques which may be used to remove leaves from the stem, including, but not limited to those described in: U.S. Pat. No. 9,807,937, entitled “Agricultural Harvester with Improved Rotor Transition Geometry” issued to Flickinger et al. on Nov. 7, 2017; U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,623, entitled “Apparatus and Method for Harvesting Agricultural Produce” issued to Herren on Apr. 14, 1992; and, U.S. Pat. No. 9,854,742, entitled “Crop Processing Apparatus in a Combine Harvester” issued to Bilde on Jan. 2, 2018; all of which are incorporated hereinto by reference. 
     At this point, the stems are “naked”, without roots, flowers, or leaves. The naked stems are then baled and either placed into their own designated bin or, preferably are deposited back into the agricultural field. The stems also provide an economic advantage and are used for a variety of products including hemp. 
     Baling of the bundles is well known in the art and includes such techniques as described in: U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,348, entitled “Machine for Forming Cylindrical Bales of Crop” issued to Frerich et al. on Mar. 21, 1989; and, U.S. Pat. No. 8,434,289, entitled “Sensor for Detection of Wrapping on Bale” issued to Smith et al. on May 7, 2013; both of which are incorporated hereinto by reference. 
     In the preferred embodiment, each bale is weighed and a label having its weight is attached to the bale. The weight is also added to a running total so that production of the stems is monitored. 
     In like fashion, another embodiment of the invention weights each of the different bins (roots, flowers, and leaves) in a running fashion to assure that the crop is not tampered with by the operator or others. This running tally is also useful for reporting to government entities who are monitoring the production of cannabis. 
     Those of ordinary skill in the art readily recognize a variety of mechanisms which may be utilized to weight the bales of stems as well as the bins, including, but not limited to: U.S. Pat. No. 8,857,745, entitled “Agricultural Spreader Control” issued to Aral on Oct. 14, 2014; U.S. Pat. No. 9,347,818, entitled “Automated Collection and Scale System” issued to Curotto on May 24, 2016; and, U.S. Pat. No. 9,694,973, entitled “Electrical Powered Weight and Fullness Level System” issued to Ullrich et al. on Jul. 4, 2017; all of which are incorporated hereinto by reference. 
     Another embodiment of the invention is adapted for a plant bed or box to allow automated harvesting of the crop. In this embodiment, a harvester for the bedded plants has a driving mechanism having two sets of wheels or tracks positioned on opposing sides of a plant bed. An adjustable “U” shaped frame allows the legs connected to the wheels/tracks to be elongated or shortened. The cross member is also selectively elongated to meet the demands of the particular plant bed dimensions. Secured to the cross member is a harvest mechanism which grips and cuts the plants stock, removes the flowers and or leaves, and deposits the harvested material into a receiving bin. 
     The harvester is positioned and adjusted to meet the actual bed with the wheels on the outside of the plant bed. The harvesting mechanism(s) is/are aligned with the rows of crop (cannabis in the preferred application) and an operator using a handheld control, directs the harvester down the plant bed harvesting the crop. 
     Handheld controls are well known in the art and include a variety of mechanisms, such as, but not limited to: U.S. Pat. No. 9,932,058, entitled “Scaffolding Transport Cart” issued to Holloway, et al. on Apr. 3, 2018; U.S. Pat. No. 9,939,811, issued to Fitzpatrick on Apr. 10, 2018; U.S. Pat. No. 9,969,478, issued to Mazin on May 15, 2018; and United States patent publication number 20180134206, entitled “Remote Controlled Cart” by Grivettie et al.; all of which are incorporated hereinto by reference. 
     As the frame/tractor passes over the bed, the harvesting mechanism processes the plants in the plant bed. The stems are cut as outlined above, the flowers are removed from the stem. The removed flowers are placed into a bin for retrieval. In the preferred embodiment, the flower bin is located outside the plant bed and is periodically emptied using a bottom drop door. 
     In a like manner, the harvesting mechanism, in some embodiments, has a mechanism to remove the leaves from the stem which are then deposited into a leaf bin. The leaf bin is ideally located outside the plant bed and has a bottom drop door for removal of the harvested leaves. 
     In one embodiment, the harvesting mechanism is detachable from the cross member or tool bar. This permits the harvesting mechanisms to have preventive-maintenance performed and for repairs to be made. Further, this also allows multiple harvesting mechanism to be placed onto the cross member or tool bar to address multiple rows of plants within the plant bed. 
     In some embodiments, the denuded stem is bundled and deposited onto the plant bed for later removal. 
     The invention, together with various embodiments thereof, will be more fully explained by the accompanying drawings and the following descriptions thereof. 
    
    
     
       DRAWINGS IN BRIEF 
         FIGS. 1A and 1B  graphically illustrate the preferred embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates the portable nature of the invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a diagram of the informational flow on the weights for the bins during operation of the mechanism. 
         FIG. 4  is a top view of the preferred embodiment highlighting the functional components of the invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a side view of the preferred embodiments illustrating the mechanical structure of the preferred embodiment. 
         FIGS. 6A and 6B  illustrate two alternative bins permitting easy discharge of the collected materials (flowers or leaves). 
         FIG. 7  illustrates a cross member or tool bar that may be elongated. 
         FIGS. 8A and 8B  illustrate the preferred mechanism for the removal of the flower and the leaves from the stem. 
     
    
    
     DRAWINGS IN DETAIL 
       FIGS. 1A and 1B  graphically illustrate the preferred embodiment of the invention. 
     Cannabis plant  10 A is grown in an agricultural field. Ideally the plants are arranged as row crops to facilitate mechanized harvesting. 
     Cannabis plant  10 A passes  15 A into the removal mechanism  11  which removes, in this embodiment, the entire cannabis plant  10 B including the roots from the soil. 
     The cannabis plant  10 B is introduced  15 B to the cutting mechanism  11 B which cuts the stem of the cannabis plant  10 B to remove roots  14 A which are delivered,  15 D, to root bin  12 A. Ideally the cutting of the stem is approximately three inches above the soil line. In some embodiments, this step is not performed until the end of the process. 
     In some embodiments of the invention, the root is not harvested. In these embodiments the cutting is done within the field without removing the roots from the soil. 
     A running tally of the weight within root bin  12 A is computed and communicated  13 A to a remote computer (described in  FIG. 3 ). 
     Cannabis plant  10 C, now devoid of its root, is passed  15 C to the deflowering mechanism  11 C which removes flowers  14 B and deposits the flowers into flower bin  12 B. Communication apparatus  13 B communicates the weight of the flowers within flower bin  12 B to the remote computer. 
     Cannabis plant  10 D (now without its root and the flowers) passes  15 F and enters  15 G the de-leafing mechanism  11 D which removes the leaves  14 C from the stem. These leaves  14 C are deposited  15 I into leaf bin  12 C. The weight within leaf bin  12 C is communicated to the remote computer  13 C. 
     Cannabis plant  10 E, now only a stem, is moved  15 H into the bailing mechanism  11 E which gathers multiple stems into bundles or bales  10 F. 
     In one embodiment, bundle  14 D is deposited  15 K into stem bin  12 D and the running weight of the bundles is communicated  13 D to the remote computer. 
     In the preferred embodiment, bundle  10 B passes  15 J into a weight/marking mechanism  11 F which weighs the individual bundle and marks the bundle with this weight. The weight is communicated to the remote computer. This weighed and marked bundle  14 E is then deposited back onto the agricultural field for later removal. 
     Ideally the various mechanisms described in  FIGS. 1A and 1B  are contained, together with the transporting mechanisms, within a single unit allowing a cannabis plant obtained from an agricultural field to yield separated and collected roots, flowers, leaves, and stems. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates the portable nature of the invention. 
     In the preferred embodiment, the operation of  FIGS. 1A and 1B  are contained within housing  20  mounted onto harvester  21  which is self-propelled and travels ver the agricultural field collecting the cannabis plants  10 A. Within housing  20 , the cannabis plant is selectively processed to yield the roots, flowers, and leaves in bins while the bundled stems  14 E are left on the agricultural field. 
       FIG. 3  is a diagram of the informational flow on the weights for the bins during operation of the mechanism. 
     To monitor the yield from the cannabis crop, computer  30  collects the weights from the various bins: root bin  13 A, flower bin  13 B, leaf bin  13 C, and stem bin  13 D (if one is being used). This data is stored in memory  32  and displayed onto screen  31 . 
     This running tally of the crop yield is important not only for the farmer but also is useful for governmental entities who are tasked with monitoring the yield. 
       FIG. 4  is a top view of the preferred embodiment of the plant and harvester highlighting the functional components of the invention. 
     The mechanism of this embodiment is shown to be harvesting from plant bed  41  which has walls  40 A and  40 B containing two rows of plants  42 A and  428 . While this illustration shows two rows of crops, the invention is not so limited and as will be shown, is able to address any number of rows. 
     The harvesting mechanism of this embodiment uses two cross members/tool bars  7 A and  7 B which support the harvesting machinery. The rest of the frame is not shown in this illustration but is further defined in  FIG. 5 . 
     The entire mechanism is supported by wheels  44 A,  44 B,  44 C, and  44 D which are used to move the mechanism along plant bed  41 . Motors  45 A and  45 B drive wheels  44 A and  44 B respectively and are controlled by remote control  4  held by the operator. 
     As the mechanism traverses along plant bed  41 , cutters  46 A and  16 B engage plants  44 A and  44 B in this illustration. Cutters  44 A and  44 B cut the stem of the plants which are then passed along to de-flowering mechanism  47 A and  47 B. De-flowering mechanisms  47 A and  47 B remove the flowers from the cut stems and transport the flowers to flower bins  48 A and  48 B via conduits  49 A and  49 B. 
     In this embodiment, flower bins  48 A and  48 B are supported on the sides of the mechanism to facilitate the collection and transport from the growing area. 
     The deflowered stems are communicated via conduits  9 A and  9 B to the de-leafing mechanisms  8 A and  8 B which remove the leaves from the stems. The removed leaves are communicated to leaf bins  5 A and  5 B via conduits  6 A and  6 B. The now naked stems are either dropped onto the plant bed  41  or are baled into bunches before being deposited onto the plant bed  41 . 
     In this manner, the plants from a plant bed are mechanically harvested, thereby reducing the man-power associated with the traditional harvesting of a plant bed. 
       FIG. 5  is a side view of the preferred embodiments illustrating the mechanical structure of the preferred embodiment. 
     The harvesting mechanism is support by a frame constituting a top horizontal member  50 A and a lower horizontal member  50 B. The opposing side is not visible but is a replica of this structure. 
     The top horizontal member  50 A, and its counterpart on the left side, support the cross members/tool bars  7 A and  7 B which are used to support the harvesting mechanisms. The lower horizontal member  50 B, with its counterpart on the other side, support the flower bin  48 B and the leaf bin  5 B. 
     Legs  51 A and  51 B engage wheels  44 B and  44 D and provide support for the frame itself. In this embodiment, legs  51 A and  51 B include knuckles  52 A and  52 B which, when loosened, allows legs  51 A to be elongated, as indicated by arrows  53 A and  53 B, so that the frame has the proper height to address plant  43 B which depends on the height of wall  40 B. 
     In this way, the frame is adjusted to address the particular plant bed and crop. 
       FIGS. 6A and 6B  illustrate two alternative bins permitting easy discharge of the collected materials (flowers or leaves). 
     Referring to  FIG. 6A , bin  60 A may be used for the collection of the flowers or the leaves in the embodiment above. The leaves or flowers are deposited into bin  60 A via conduit  61 . Door  62  is latched shut via latch  66 . During the discharge of the contents, latch  66  is released allowing door  62  to swing open as indicated by arrow  64 . 
     The contents are collected into a wheeled wagon or the like for transport into the sorting room. 
       FIG. 6B  is an alternative embodiment for the bin. Again bin  60 B is loaded via conduit  61 B with either flowers or leaves while slide  63  is inserted into bin  60 B. For discharge, slide  63  is removed from the bottom of bin  60 B allowing the contents to drop into the transport wagon, not shown. 
       FIG. 7  illustrates a cross member or tool bar that may be elongated. Rod/bar  71  is configured to be accepted inside rod/bar  71  as illustrated by arrow  74  A knuckle  73  is secured to the end of rod/bar  72  and once rod/bar  71  is inserted to the proper depth (thereby defining the elongated length of the combined bar/rod  71  and  72 ), knuckle  73  is rotated as indicated by arrow  75  to tighten and affix the two bar/rods  71  and  72  to each other. 
       FIGS. 8A and 8B  illustrate the preferred mechanism for the removal of the flower and the leaves from the stem. 
     Referring to  FIG. 8A , where the flower is removed, the plant  80 A is gripped by gripper  81  and cut from the base using shears  84 A. Gripper  81  then inverts  83 A the plant,  80 B, so that the flower hangs downward. 
     As the flower passes by light sensors  82 , the location of the connection between the flower and stem is identified. Operation of the light sensors identified the bulbous portion of the flower as the plant  80 B moves in the direction  83 B. The light sensor  82  then identifies which is the last light sensor to be “tripped” by the stem to locate the positioning  83 D of shears  84 B which severs the flower from the stem, allowing the flower to fall as indicated by arrow  83 E to be collected in a bin. 
     The stem and leaves proceed to the de-leafing process shown in  FIG. 8B . 
     Stem and leaves  80 C is pulled along by track  86  which diverges from shears  87 . This divergence, as the track moves in the direction indicated by arrow  83 B, causes the stem/leaves to be raised against the shears  87  causing leaves  85  to be cut from the stem and to fall into bins. Eventually, the now denuded stem is dropped into a waste bin. 
     In this manner,  FIGS. 8A and 8B , the plant is automatically harvested and then the useful products are removed. 
     It is clear that the present invention provides for a highly efficient mechanism to harvest field grown cannabis.