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US 2025/0194468 A1Published application
Method, system, and device to process plants and remove components therefrom
AssigneeS.S. Steiner, Inc.
InventorsRobert Groeneveld, Paul Merritt
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A device, system, and method for removing hop cones and leaves from hop vines, including a set of rotating shafts with mounted picking fingers (picking drums) which are located between sets of rotating shafts with mounted paddles (grasper drums). The grasper drums, which are rotating at a different speed than the picking drums, transport and hold the vine which the picking drums remove the cones and the leaves from the vine.
Claims20
A picking module to separate an article from a vine, comprising:
- a housing;
- at least a first set of grasper drums and a second set of grasper drums disposed within the housing, wherein the first and second set of grasper drums are configured to rotate at a first speed;
- at least one set of picking drums disposed within the housing, wherein the at least one set of picking drums is disposed between the first set of grasper drums and the second set of grasper drums, wherein the set of picking drums are configured to rotate at a second speed faster than the first speed,
- wherein at least the first set of grasper drums is configured to hold the vine or at least the first and second sets of grasper drums are configured to hold the vine in tension to separate the article from the vine with the set of picking drums.
1 more element
A system of separating an article from a vine, comprising:
- a feeding system to convey a vine having an article thereon;
- a picking module to receive the vine from the feeding system, the module comprising
- a housing,
- at least a first set of grasper drums and a second set of grasper drums disposed within the housing, wherein the first and second set of grasper drums rotate at a first speed, and
- at least one set of picking drums disposed within the housing, wherein the at least one set of picking drums is disposed between the first set of grasper drums and the second set of grasper drums and the set of picking drums rotate at a second speed faster than the first speed,
- wherein the first and second sets of grasper drums and the set of picking drums are configured to at least one of hold the vine in tension and separate the article from the vine;
- and
- a collection device configured to receive the article from the vine.
5 more elements
A method of separating an article from a vine, comprising:
- feeding a vine having an article thereon into a picking module at a predetermined angle,
- wherein the picking module comprises
- a housing,
- at least a first set of grasper drums and a second set of grasper drums disposed within the housing,
- at least one set of picking drums disposed within the housing, wherein the at least one set of picking drums is disposed between the first set of grasper drums and the second set of grasper drums;
- rotating the first and second set of grasper drums at a first speed and rotating the set of picking drums at a second speed faster than the first speed;
- holding the vine in tension between the first set of grasper drums and the second set of grasper drums;
- and
- separating the article from the vine with at least the set of picking drums.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.