Harvesting device
AssigneeMosman Machinery Company, Inc.
InventorsAngel Ramon Torrado Perez, Dana Eliot Mosman, Donald Mosman
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention shows an apparatus for trimming plants, specifically assisting with the process of separating leaves and buds from the stem and branches of the plant. The apparatus is composed by an iris mechanism with blades that adapt to the diameter of the stem, and a feeding mechanism that forces the plant trough the iris. The buds and leaves are by these means separated from the stem due to the shear forces imposed by the blades. All of the waste is collected in the back of the apparatus and separated from the buds and leaves that are ready to be further processed to achieve the state needed for their final application.
Claims20
A harvesting device for separating plant material from a stem and branches of a plant, comprising:
- an iris mechanism comprising:
- an outer ring;
- an inner ring concentrically disposed within the outer ring;
- and
- a plurality of blades, wherein each blade of the plurality of blades is pivotally attached to the outer ring and pivotally attached to the inner ring, and wherein the plurality of blades are configured to form a cutting orifice such that rotation of the outer ring changes a dimension of the cutting orifice;
- and
- a drive mechanism comprising:
- a first electric motor;
- a first drive roller rotationally powered by the first electric motor;
- and
- a second drive roller, wherein the first and second drive rollers are configured to receive and engage a stem of a plant to pull the plant through the cutting orifice.
A method for removing plant material from a plant, comprising:
- receiving a portion of a plant in drive mechanism of a harvesting device;
- rotating a first drive roller and a second drive roller of the drive mechanism to engage the portion of the plant and pull the plant through the harvesting device;
- manipulating an actuating means to rotate an outer ring of an iris mechanism in a first direction about a concentrically disposed inner ring, and wherein rotation of the outer ring causes repositioning of a plurality of blades affixed to the outer ring and inner ring which form a cutting orifice;
- stripping, with the cutting orifice, plant material from a stem of the plant as the drive mechanism pulls the plant through the harvesting device.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.