Method and apparatus for trimming buds and flowers
OwnerDonald Mosmaninventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention is an apparatus for trimming plants, in particular, buds and flowers, to remove unwanted plant material. A typical application would be to process a plant to leave only trimmed buds and flowers for use in potpourri, fragrant sashes, or as a prelude to further processing of essential oils. The apparatus employs a combination of a slotted metal drum and a lawn mower type cutting reel that are rotated in the same direction, but at different speeds, to create a cutting interface that shears off the unwanted plant material. The apparatus further employs a vacuum manifold to collect the debris and transfer it into a waste collection device.
Claims14
A plant trimmer for trimming materials from plants comprising:
- (a) a frame having front and rear mounting plates;
- (b) a rotatable slotted drum, said slotted drum open on both ends and supported by said mounting plates, said slotted drum for receiving plant material in one end and delivering plant material from the other end;
- (c) a rotatable cutting implement mounted parallel to the exterior of said slotted drum and supported by said mounting plates, said cutting implement for shearing unwanted plant parts projecting through the slots in said slotted drum;
- (d) adjustable bearing mounts holding said cutting implement on each end of said cutting implement, said adjustable bearing mounts attached to said front and said rear mounting plates of said frame with a clamp that allows said adjustable bearing mounts to be adjusted and then locked in place, thereby enabling the position of said cutting implement to be raised and lowered in relation to said slotted drum, thus enabling the adjustment of a cutting interface between said slotted drum and said cutting implement;
- (e) a manifold enclosing said cutting implement except for the cutting interface between said slotted drum and said cutting implement, said manifold for (i) directing a vacuum on the plant material in said slotted drum for pulling the unwanted plant parts through the slots in said slotted drum to be cut on the outside of said slotted drum by said cutting implement and (ii) moving the desired plant parts from one end of said slotted drum to the other end of said slotted drum;
- (f) a motor supported by one of said frame and said mounting plates and coupled to said slotted drum enabling rotation thereof;
- (g) a motor mounted on the other of said frame and said mounting plates and coupled to said cutting implement enabling rotation thereof;
- and
- (h) a switch that simultaneously powers and regulates the operation and speed of both said motors.
A method for trimming materials from a plant comprising the steps of:
- (a) rotating a slotted drum and a cutting implement in the same direction, but at different speeds, said slotted drum and said cutting implement mounted in parallel and at close distance to create a cutting interface, said cutting implement held parallel to said slotted drum by adjustable bearing mounting plates,
- (b) applying a vacuum to a manifold enclosing said cutting implement to pull unwanted plant material through the slots in said slotted drum and to move wanted plant material from one end (entrance) of said slotted drum to the other end (exit) of said slotted drum;
- (c) inserting plant material into one end (entrance) of the slotted drum;
- and
- (d) activating the switch controlling motors that rotate both said slotted drum and said cutting implement, thereby, enabling unwanted plant material to be trimmed from the wanted plant material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.