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OwnerJesse Kaiser, Paul Wildermuth +3inventors
InventorsJesse Kaiser, Paul Wildermuth, Seth Bucher, Matthew Zhang, Dale M. Koch
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An automated programmable processor-controlled system and related methods for packaging an agricultural sample such as soil for testing for various chemical properties such as plant available nutrients. The packaging system includes a sample packaging apparatus processes raw bulk sample material collected in the agricultural field to be expediently and conveniently containerized for processing and analysis. The apparatus may include a grinder, compactor, container magazine, and rotatable carousel which carries a sample container between various processing stations. Bulk sample material is reduced in particle size by the grinder which is then transferred to the compactor. An actuated plunger fills and compacts the sample material into the sample container. A decapper automatically both removes and replaces the container cap before and after filling respectfully. An RFID device reads the container ID tag and writes the GPS sample collection location to the tag. The system is controlled by one or more programmable processors.
An agricultural sample packaging apparatus comprising:
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The system according to claim 43, wherein the ground sample material is discharged into a transfer vessel for manual transfer to the second loading funnel of the compactor.
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The system according to claim 1, further comprising a sample container magazine configured to hold a plurality of empty sample containers and feed the empty sample containers onto the carousel. 14 (Original) The system according to claim 13, wherein the container magazine comprises a vertically elongated tube which holds the empty sample containers in vertically stacked end-to-end relationship.
The system according to claim 14, wherein the container magazine is a rotary magazine comprising a rotatable chassis which holds a plurality of the vertically elongated tubes.
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A method for packaging an agricultural sample comprising:
The method according to claim 19, further comprising before the filling step, additional steps comprising:
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Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.