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US 2015/0322443 A1Published application
System for cutting and preparing seeds and method of use
AssigneeDow AgroSciences LLC
InventorsDonald L. McCarty, II, Sivarama Reddy Chennareddy, Thomas J. Parsons, Scott R. Kaleyta, Toby Cicak, Rodrigo Sarria
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system and method for the automated or semi-automated cutting of seeds to prepare the seeds for transformation and transgenic engineering.
Claims21
A cutting block comprising:
- a body including a front wall and a substantially planar upper wall extending away from the front wall, wherein (i) a first opening is defined in the front wall, (ii) a second opening is defined in the upper wall, and (iii) a plurality of inner walls extend inwardly from the first opening and the second opening to define a slot in the front wall and the upper wall, the slot being sized to receive a cutting tool.
A cutting system, comprising:
- an automated cutting system including a cutting tool, and
- a cutting block including an upper wall and a slot defined in the upper wall that is sized to receive the cutting tool of the automated cutting system,
- wherein the automated cutting system is operable to (i) move the cutting tool linearly along a first axis relative to the cutting block, and (ii) rotate the cutting tool about the first axis to position the cutting tool for insertion into the slot.
A method of cutting a seed, comprising:
- operating a first electric motor to advance a cutting tool along a first axis into a slot defined in a cutting block and to make a first cut in the seed,
- operating a compressed air source to rotate the cutting tool about the first axis, and
- operating the first electric motor to advance the cutting tool into the seed to make a second cut.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.