Automated method and system for sorting and combining varying density payloads

#The disclosure relates generally to a system and method for weighing a plurality of payloads having different weights and/or densities and determining a combination of the payloads for subsequent processing of the combination of payloads.

#In the world of packaging agricultural products, there are many types of weighing, sorting, and combining designs. Unfortunately, the designs do not address the requirements of certain types of products. For example, cannabis, for which the industry and consumer requirements are unique compared to most other products. Plus, the product characteristics of cannabis pose unique processing challenges.

#The industry requirements for cannabis processing include variance requirements surrounding package weight targets, underweight and overweight levels. Processors and retailers both require packages to be at or above the printed weight. So, the fill weight distribution does not utilize the printed weight as a mean, but rather a lower control limit, which then causes higher overfill than other consumer packaged goods. Further, the high cost of raw material drives significant process costs. The industry is also concerned with quality, which means that whole pieces are expected and small particulates are considered scrap or of perceived low value. Quality also resides in the retention of Tetra-Hydro-Cannabinol (THC) and Cannabidiol (CBD) crystals on pieces of cannabis, which can be lost if there is friction, compression or high impacts during the processing activities, such as drop points.

#So that the manner in which the above-recited features of the present disclosure can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the disclosure, briefly summarized above, may have been referred by embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the disclosure may admit to other equally effective embodiments.

#These and other features, benefits, and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent by reference to the following text figure, with like reference numbers referring to like structures across the views, wherein:

#FIG. 1 illustrates a top perspective view of an automated continuous or near-continuous system for sorting and combining varying density payloads, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

#While the present disclosure is described herein by way of example using embodiments and illustrative drawings, those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosure is not limited to the embodiments of drawing or drawings described, and are not intended to represent the scale of the various components. Further, some components that may form a part of the disclosure may not be illustrated in certain figures, for ease of illustration, and such omissions do not limit the embodiments outlined in any way. It should be understood that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the disclosure to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the disclosure is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims. As used throughout this description, the word “may” is used in a permissive sense (i.e. meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense, (i.e. meaning must). Further, the words “a” or “an” mean “at least one” and the word “plurality” means “one or more” unless otherwise mentioned. Furthermore, the terminology and phraseology used herein is solely used for descriptive purposes and should not be construed as limiting in scope. Language such as “including,” “comprising,” “having,” “containing,” or “involving,” and variations thereof, is intended to be broad and encompass the subject matter listed thereafter, equivalents, and additional subject matter not recited, and is not intended to exclude other additives, components, integers or steps. Likewise, the term “comprising” is considered synonymous with the terms “including” or “containing” for applicable legal purposes. Any discussion of documents acts, materials, devices, articles, and the like is included in the specification solely to provide a context for the present disclosure. It is not suggested or represented that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present disclosure.

#In this disclosure, whenever a composition or an element or a group of elements is preceded with the transitional phrase “comprising”, it is understood that we also contemplate the same composition, element or group of elements with transitional phrases “consisting of, “consisting”, “selected from the group of consisting of, “including”, or “is” preceding the recitation of the composition, element or group of elements and vice versa.

#The present disclosure is described hereinafter by various embodiments with references to the accompanying drawings, wherein reference numerals used in the accompanying drawing correspond to the like elements throughout the description. This disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiment set forth herein. Rather, the embodiment is provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. In the following detailed description, numeric values and ranges are provided for various aspects of the implementations described. These values and ranges are to be treated as examples only and are not intended to limit the scope of the claims. Also, several materials are identified as suitable for various facets of the implementations. These materials are to be treated as exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure.