Automated deposition of highly viscous fluids into thin-walled cylinders
AssigneeSorting Robotics Inc.
InventorsNohtal Partansky, Paul Skaar
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Disclosed are systems and methods for automatic infusion of concentrate and distillate material into cigarettes or other containers. In one embodiment, a thermally-controlled infusion system is provided. The system can maintain a selected temperature of the concentrate material throughout the infusion process, using a two-stage approach. In a first stage, the concentrate material is pressure-fed to a dosing chamber. In the second stage, the concentrate material is pumped into an insertion canula and into a cigarette or container. A revolver houses the cigarettes or containers and vertically transitions them to an insertion position, where the insertion canula can infuse the cigarettes or containers.
Claims18
A thermally-controlled concentrate infusion apparatus comprising:
- a thermally controlled and pressurized reservoir of concentrate material configured to apply a first amount of pressure, comprising a feed pressure, to the concentrate material, and further configured to maintain a selected temperature of the concentrate material;
- a heated tube coupling the reservoir to a dosing chamber, wherein the first amount of pressure in the reservoir feeds the concentrate material into the dosing chamber via the heated tube;
- a pump assembly configured to exert a second amount of pressure, comprising dosing pressure, to the concentrate material in the dosing chamber feeding the concentrate material to a needle assembly;
- a revolver, rotatable about an axis and comprising a plurality of hollowed cavities, each cavity shaped to house a cigarette;
- and
- a motor assembly configured to move the revolver laterally along the axis between a rotatable position and an insertion position, wherein in the insertion position, a canula of the needle assembly penetrates a cigarette housed in a cavity of the revolver.
An infusion system, comprising:
- a reservoir configured to hold an infusion material;
- a first heater configured to heat the infusion material;
- a holder having multiple cylindrical cavities, each of the multiple cylindrical cavities being aligned in the same direction and configured to hold a single cylindrical object therein, wherein the holder is configured to be moved between a first position and a second position in the same direction as the alignment of the multiple cylindrical cavities;
- and
- a cannula having a port, the cannula being arranged to be outside of all of the multiple cylindrical cavities when the holder is at the first position and inside one of the multiple cylindrical cavities when the holder is at the second position, wherein the cannula is configured to infuse the heated infusion material through the port and into a separate cylindrical object held within one of the multiple cylindrical cavities when the holder is at the second position;
- wherein each of the multiple cylindrical cavities is configured to hold a single cigarette therein simultaneously;
- and
- wherein the holder is further configured:
- to be moved from the first position to the second position for the heated infusion material to be infused into a single cigarette held within a first cavity of the multiple cylindrical cavities,
- to be moved from the second position back to the first position,
- to be reoriented while at the first position to align a second cavity of the multiple cylindrical cavities with the cannula, and
- to be moved from the first position to the second position for the heated infusion material to be infused into a single cigarette held within the second cavity of the multiple cylindrical cavities.
A method of infusing cigarettes with an infusion material, the method comprising:
- holding multiple cigarettes within a holder having multiple cylindrical cavities, each of the multiple cylindrical cavities being aligned in the same direction and configured to hold a single cigarette therein;
- heating an infusion material;
- delivering the heated infusion material into a cannula;
- moving the holder from a first position to a second position in the same direction as the alignment of the multiple cylindrical cavities, wherein the moving results in a first cigarette held in a first cavity of the multiple cylindrical cavities being forced onto the cannula such that the cannula is inside the first cigarette;
- and
- infusing the heated infusion material through a port in the cannula and into the first cigarette while the cannula is inside the first cigarette.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.