Systems and methods for producing seed pillows
AssigneeBall Horticultural Company
InventorRobert Scott Conrad
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Systems and methods for producing seed pillows are disclosed herein. An exemplary system may include a first water-soluble film that is configured to receive a seed cluster, and a second film. The exemplary system may further include an ultrasonic welding wheel and a roller with a plurality of recesses located on an outer rim of the roller. Each recess of the plurality of recesses may include a hole through which suction is applied, and each seed cluster may be disposed over a recess. The roller may be configured to apply suction to the first water-soluble film, rotate through a contact point with the ultrasonic welding wheel to fuse the first water-soluble film to the second film without contacting the seed cluster to create a seed pillow, and release the seed pillow from the recess.
Claims20
A system for producing seed pillows, comprising:
- a first water-soluble film that is configured to receive a seed cluster;
- a second film that is positioned over the first water-soluble film and the seed cluster;
- an ultrasonic welding wheel configured to vibrate at a first frequency that fuses the first water-soluble film to the second film;
- and
- a roller with a recess located on an outer rim of the roller, the recess including a hole through which suction is applied, and the seed cluster being disposed over the recess, wherein the roller is configured to:
- apply suction to the first water-soluble film, and
- rotate through a contact point with the ultrasonic welding wheel, such that the ultrasonic welding wheel fuses the edges of the first water-soluble film to the edges of the second film without contacting the seed cluster to create a seed pillow.
An apparatus for producing seed pillows, comprising:
- an ultrasonic welding wheel configured to vibrate at a frequency that fuses a first water-soluble film to a second film;
- and
- a roller with a recess located on an outer rim of the roller, the recess including a hole through which suction is applied, and a seed cluster being disposed over the recess between the first water-soluble film and the second film, wherein the roller is configured to:
- apply suction to the first water-soluble film,
- rotate through a contact point with the ultrasonic welding wheel, such that the ultrasonic welding wheel fuses the first water-soluble film to the second film without contacting the seed cluster to create a seed pillow, and
- stop the suction to the first water-soluble film to release the seed pillow from the recess.
A method for producing seed pillows, the method comprising:
- depositing a seed cluster on a first water-soluble film that is disposed on an outer rim of a roller with a recess, the seed cluster being positioned over the recess, and the recess including a hole through which suction is applied;
- applying suction to the first water-soluble film through the hole of the recess to pull the first water-soluble film and the seed cluster into the recess;
- and
- rotating the roller through a contact point with an ultrasonic welding wheel to fuse edges of the first water-soluble film to edges of a second film without contacting the seed cluster to create a seed pillow.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.