A plant product extraction apparatus or extractor is provided for separating or grading fine particles from a larger portion of material, such as separating trichomes from a stalk or flower of a plant. The apparatus imparts a plurality modes or patterns of oscillations and vibrations to a particle separator or sieve that holds the plant matter. A motor drives a back and forth motion to a support platform supporting a sieve. The sieve is constrained by a retention tray that is supported by the support platform. Vibratory motors provide rapid shaking vibration through the retention tray to the sieve. Agitators may be placed inside of the sieve to facilitate the separation of the plant materials. The various motors and locomotion patterns facilitate the separation of finer plant materials from a larger portion of a plant.

A plant product extraction apparatus or extractor is provided for separating or grading fine particles from a larger portion of material, such as separating trichomes from a stalk or flower of a plant. The apparatus imparts a plurality modes or patterns of oscillations and vibrations to a particle separator or sieve that holds the plant matter. A motor drives a back and forth motion to a support platform supporting a sieve. The sieve is constrained by a retention tray that is supported by the support platform. Vibratory motors provide rapid shaking vibration through the retention tray to the sieve. Agitators may be placed inside of the sieve to facilitate the separation of the plant materials. The various motors and locomotion patterns facilitate the separation of finer plant materials from a larger portion of a plant.

A sieve system includes a sieve for screening material by selectively passing first particles and not passing second particles of the material based on respective dimensions of the particles relative to dimensions of screening apertures in the sieve. A holding container feeds material to the sieve and a fines container receives the first particles screened by the sieve. A first fines container load is measured at a first time, and a second fines container load is measured at a second time. A fines rate is determined by a rate of change of the fines container load based on the measured first and second fines container loads and the first and second times. An operating condition of the sieve system is based on the fines rate and may provide an indication that the operation of the sieve, another component, or the sieve system as a whole is acceptable or unacceptable.

A sieve guide assembly and a method of fractionation using a sieve guide assembly comprising a circular sieve screen (190) and a sieve guide 310 mountable in a fractionating device, wherein the fractionating device comprises a drive adapted for: (i) in combination with a sieve screen without a sieve guide, inducing a lateral flow of granules defining lateral streamlines 31a.1. 31b.1, 31c.1, 31d.1 and an orbital flow defining orbital streamlines 31a.2. 31b.2, 31c.2, 31d.2, 31d.3 on the sieve screen (190), and (ii) in combination with the sieve guide assembly, inducing a guided lateral flow of granules defining guided lateral streamlines (331.3) and a central guided orbital flow defining central orbital streamlines (331.2) on the sieve screen (190), whereby the sieve guide assembly is adapted to provide a uniform, controlled and effective exposure of the granules to the sieve screen.

A sieve guide assembly and a method of fractionation using a sieve guide assembly comprising a circular sieve screen (190) and a sieve guide 310 mountable in a fractionating device, wherein the fractionating device comprises a drive adapted for: (i) in combination with a sieve screen without a sieve guide, inducing a lateral flow of granules defining lateral streamlines 31a.1. 31b.1, 31c.1, 31d.1 and an orbital flow defining orbital streamlines 31a.2. 31b.2, 31c.2, 31d.2, 31d.3 on the sieve screen (190), and (ii) in combination with the sieve guide assembly, inducing a guided lateral flow of granules defining guided lateral streamlines (331.3) and a central guided orbital flow defining central orbital streamlines (331.2) on the sieve screen (190), whereby the sieve guide assembly is adapted to provide a uniform, controlled and effective exposure of the granules to the sieve screen.

The vibrating screen have a screen deck, two sidewalls and a mechanical vibrator comprising two shafts, rotating at the same rotation and in opposite directions, each one of the end portions of each shaft carrying an eccentric weight and being supported on bearings which are supported in the sidewalls of the vibrating screen. The shafts have their end portions, adjacent to each other, supported on bearings mounted to a same bearing case fixed to beams, transversal and having opposite ends fixed to the sidewalls of the vibrating screen. Each end portion of a shaft carries an eccentric weight with a total mass different from that one of the eccentric weights of the end portions of the other shaft, said shafts rotating in determined phases, defining the inclination of the major axis of an elliptical movement imparted to the screen deck.

The vibrating screen have a screen deck, two sidewalls and a mechanical vibrator comprising two shafts, rotating at the same rotation and in opposite directions, each one of the end portions of each shaft carrying an eccentric weight and being supported on bearings which are supported in the sidewalls of the vibrating screen. The shafts have their end portions, adjacent to each other, supported on bearings mounted to a same bearing case fixed to beams, transversal and having opposite ends fixed to the sidewalls of the vibrating screen. Each end portion of a shaft carries an eccentric weight with a total mass different from that one of the eccentric weights of the end portions of the other shaft, said shafts rotating in determined phases, defining the inclination of the major axis of an elliptical movement imparted to the screen deck.

A quantitative infrared chemical imaging method to determine the concentration of a desired high value product in a milling process is used as a basis to optimize the milling process by changing operational parameters, such as sieve size. In a dry milling process, the method can be used to determine the concentration of purified endosperm within heterogeneous solid particulate mixtures containing endosperm and nonendosperm botanical parts. The imaging component accommodates the analysis of particle size statistics for each component of the mixture, based upon the chemical structural characterization. Timely chemical composition and particle size analyses enables informed selection for the optimization of physical separation for the processing of granular solids. The method involves changing sieves within the sifting apparatus based on chemical imaging to provide smaller or larger screen openings to improve separation of endosperm and nonendosperm material from the ground product.

An orbital shaker device (1) for biotechnological and/or biomedical applications comprises a frame (10), a platform (15) for receiving biotechnological and/or biomedical containers (50), eccentric couplings (13, 14) for allowing an orbital movement of the platform (15) relative to the frame (10), counterweight units (17, 18) for balancing the orbital movement, and at least one motor (19) for driving the eccentric couplings (13, 14). The device comprises two eccentric couplings (13, 14) arranged near respective opposite edges (27, 28) of the platform (15), while each counterweight unit (17, 18) is arranged approximately in the plane of the combined center of gravity of the platform (15) and the containers (50). Furthermore, both eccentric couplings (13, 14) are driven by the motor (19) or motors, either directly or indirectly. In this way, an optimal vibration compensation is achieved while allowing an imaging unit (40) to be mounted underneath the platform (15).

A screening system for separating/screening a conveying medium formed as fluid, powder and/or bulk material comprising a screening system inlet, a screening system outlet, a screen between the inlet and outlet, a feeding system for feeding the medium upstream of the inlet and/or the screen, a transport path between the inlet means and the outlet means, which is delimited by a conveyor channel line, a flow-limiting means wherein the volume flow of the conveying medium can be changeably limited is arranged in or down-stream from the transport path that comprises a flat transport surface, which is formed as a flat metering plate and a metering plate edge forms the outlet means of the feeding system, the flow-limiting means comprises an outlet opening wherein the outlet opening size can be changed to change the volume flow of the medium, which passes through the outlet opening that is arranged at the end of a conveyor channel or line of the feeding system, the outlet opening is arranged between the conveyor channel or line and the outlet means, in particular upstream of or on the transport surface and an oscillation can be applied to the medium.