Abstract
A tool for making elongated rods made of compacted plant material. The tool includes rod mold with a rod cavity and a plunger configured to slide into the rod cavity. In one embodiment, a stop plate with a pin is placed inside the rod cavity. During use, the stop plate covers the rod cavity's exit opening and the pin extends axially the full length of the rod cavity. Particles of plant material are placed inside the rod cavity and around the pin. The lower end of the plunger includes a pin opening configured to receive the pin when the plunger is downward to compact the plant material. In another embodiment, the stop plate includes a pin opening that enables a pin attached to the closed end of the plunger to extend through. During use, both the plunger and the pin are forced downward in the rod cavity to compact the plant material and form an air conduit.
Claims
1. A tool for compressing plant material into an elongated rod, said tool, comprises: a. a mold with at least one rod cavity formed inside said mold, said rod cavity includes an entrance opening and an exit opening; b. a plunger configured to extend into said entrance opening and slide longitudinally inside said rod cavity and compact plant material placed inside said rod cavity; c. a stop plate located near said exit opening and configured extend across said rod cavity; and d. a pin located inside said rod cavity, said pin configured to form an air conduit inside said elongated rod formed inside said rod cavity when said plunger is forced downward in said rod cavity.
2. The elongated rod manufacturing tool, as recited in claim 1, wherein said pin is attached to said stop plate.
3. The elongated rod manufacturing tool, as recited in claim 2, wherein said pin is attached to said end to said plunger and said stop plate includes a pin opening enabling said pin to extend through.
4. The tool, as recited in claim 8, further including a base plate on which said mold is positioned to hold said stop plate inside said rod cavity.
5. The tool, as recited in claim 1, wherein said mold includes a first mold member and a second mold member, each said first mold member and said second mold member includes a partial mold cavity that when aligned and registered form said rod cavity.
6. The tool, as recited in claim 1, where said plunger includes compaction readings.
7. The tool, as recited in claim 1, further including an insert sleeve inside said rod cavity.
8. The tool, as recited in claim 1, further including an adapter located on said plunger.
9. The tool, as recited in claim 1, wherein said stop plate slides transversely on said mold to selectively block or unblock said rod cavity.
10. A method of manufacturing an elongated rod made of compressed particles of plant material, comprising the following steps: a. selecting a tool that includes a rod mold that includes at least one rod cavity and a plunger configured to be inserted into the rod cavity; b. depositing in the rod cavity particles of plant material to produce a compact elongated rod made of plant material; c. inserting the plunger into the rod cavity and forcing the plunger against the particles of plant material; d. removing the plunger from the rod cavity; and e. removing the elongated rod from the rod cavity.
11. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein said plant material is cannabis that has less than 0.3% THC, (dry weight).
12. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein 0.196 lbs./sq. inch or more of force is applied by said plunger to said Cannabis.
13. The method as recited in claim 10, further including the step located between step a and step b of inserting a stop plate with a pin into said rod cavity.
Description
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] FIG. 1 is an illustration showing four elongated rods made of compacted plant material made with one of the elongated rod manufacturing tools shown and described herein. One elongated rod has a large diameter, one elongated rod has a medium diameter and two elongated rods have small diameters. Two elongated rods have air conduits formed therein.
[0019] FIG. 2 is an illustration showing an un-compacted elongated rod in which undergo different amounts of forces applied axially to the end of the elongated rod that reduces its length by 40% to 95%, respectively.
[0020] FIG. 3 is an exploded, side elevational of one embodiment of the tool that includes a rod mold placed on a support base. Formed on the rod mold are three rod cavities each containing a stop plate and filled with small particles of plant material. Also shown is a plunger assembly with three plungers perpendicularly mounted on an end cap and longitudinally aligned over the rod cavities and being forced downward.
[0021] FIG. 4 is an enlarged top plan view of the end cap used in the plunger assembly shown in FIG. 3.
[0022] FIG. 5A is a bottom plan view of the end surface of one embodiment of a plunger with a pin opening formed on the end surface.
[0023] FIG. 5B is a bottom plan view of the end surface of another embodiment of the plunger that a solid end surface.
[0024] FIG. 6A is a side elevational view of a stop plate comprising a flat stop plate with one perpendicularly aligned pin.
[0025] FIG. 6B is a side elevational view of a stop plate comprising a flat stop plate with a detachable pin.
[0026] FIG. 7 illustrates the plunger inserted into the rod cavity with compaction values printed on side of the plunger.
[0027] FIG. 8 is another embodiment of a stop plate that uses three pins used to form three air conduits in an elongated rod.
[0028] FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the stop plate shown in FIG. 8.
[0029] FIG. 10 is another embodiment of the rod mold made up of two half molds pivotally connected at one end that form three elongated rods formed and then pivoted to an open position enabling the three elongated rods to be removed from the rod mold.
[0030] FIG. 11 is a partial, sectional, side elevational view of a rod cavity formed on the rod mold with a sleeve placed inside the rod cavity and placed over the head plate and plant material is compacted inside the smaller diameter cavity inside the sleeve.
[0031] FIG. 12 is a partial, sectional view of a small diameter plunger with an adapter placed over the plunger.
[0032] FIG. 13 is a sectional side elevational view of the tool showing the plunger being forced downward in the rod cavity that applies axial aligned forces to the plant material inside the rod cavity causing it to become compacted.
[0033] FIGS. 14A-14E are six sequentially arranged sectional elevation views showing small deposits being placed inside the rod cavity and then individually compressed with the plunger.
[0034] FIG. 14F shows an elongated rod formed inside the rod cavity made of a plurality of plant material layers each individually compressed.
[0035] FIGS. 15A-15E are five sequentially arranged sectional, elevation view of another embodiment of the tool wherein the pin is attached to the plunger.
[0036] FIGS. 16A-C show three different types of stop plates used with the tool shown in FIGS. 15A-15E.
[0037] FIG. 17 is a graph showing the relation of the length of the compact elongated rod formed when a rod cavity that measures 4 inches in length and % inch in diameter filled with particles of plant material and compressed with different forces applied to the plunger.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)
[0038] Referring to the FIGS. there is shown a tool 20 for manufacturing elongated rods 10 made of small particles of plant material 100. The tool 20 may make one standard size rod 10 or it may be easily modified to make different sizes of elongated rods 10, 10, and 10 as shown in FIG. 1. Each elongated rod 10, 10, 10 includes at least on longitudinally aligned air conduct 12.
[0039] Each elongated rod 10, 10 and 10 which is made of compacted particles of plant material, is configured to be smoked or broken into smaller pieces. To make the elongated rods, 10, 10, 10, the plant material 100 is cut or crushed into small particles ( 1/32- 6/32 inches) and then tightly compacted to form an elongated rod 10 by applying a force at one end and pressing the plant material longitudinally. The small particles of plant material 100 are so tightly compacted, that the plant particles 100 become pressed together and flow of air through the elongated rod 10, 10 and 10 is impeded. The finished elongated rod 10, 10, 10 may be a solid structure or it may include one or more longitudinally aligned air conduits 12 that allows the user to inhale smoke through the elongated rod 10, 10, 10 when the opposite end is ignited.
[0040] In the embodiments, shown herein, the elongated rod 10 is compressing plant material 100 by a special tool 20 designed to compress apply axial force to the small particles of plant material confined by the sides of the rod cavity 40. FIG. 3 shows one embodiment of the tool 20 that includes a rod mold 30 with at least one rod cavity 40 formed. The rod mold 30 may be a solid block made of rigid material with a rod cavity 40 extending through the block. The rod cavity 40 is straight and includes an entrance opening 42 and an exit opening 44. The rod cavity 40 may be round, oval, square, rectangular or triangular in cross-section. In one embodiment, the bottom surface of the rod mold 30 is placed on a planar support base 50 which covers the exit opening 44.
[0041] The rod mold 30 shown in FIG. 2 is made of steel or aluminum, cylindrical and contains three elongated rod cavities 40. The three rod cavities 40 are transversely aligned, parallel and evenly spaced apart. It should be understood, the rod mold 30 may be a cube or a parallelogram and is not limited to three rod cavities 40. Greater or fewer numbers of rod cavities 40 may be used.
[0042] Disposed inside the rod cavity 40 is a stop plate 60 configured to cover the exit opening 44 As shown in FIGS. 3 and 6A, the stop plate 60 includes a fixed pin 64 perpendicularly aligned on its top surface. The stop plate 60 is a flat, disc-shaped structure configured to be transversely aligned and slide freely inside the rod cavity 40. The pin 64 is axially aligned on the stop plate 60 and configured to extend upward inside the rod cavity 40 when the stop plate 60 is aligned with the exit opening 44. During assembly, the bottom surface 34 of the rod mold 30 is placed on the top surface 52 of the support base 50. The stop plate 60 is then inserted into the rod cavity 40 until the bottom surface of the stop plate 60 rests against the top surface 52 of the support plate 50.
[0043] FIG. 6A shows the stop plate 60 with a fixed pin 64. In one embodiment shown in FIG. 6B, the stop plate 60 uses a replaceable pin 64. The stop plate 60 includes a threaded bore 61 configured to engage external threads on a replaceable pin 64. The replacement pins 64 may have different diameters thereby enabling the user to make elongated rods with different diameter air conduits.
[0044] As shown in FIG. 3, the tool 20 also includes a plunger assembly 70 used to compact the plant material 100 inside the rod cavity 40. The plunger assembly 70 includes an upper plate 72 with at least one perpendicularly aligned plunger 74 configured to slide into the rod cavity 40. The plunger 74 may be a solid or hollow structure. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5A, formed in the bottom end 75 is a pin opening 76 that forms a passageway for the pin 64 attached to the stop plate 60. The plunger 74 is mounted and perpendicularly aligned on an upper plate 72. In another embodiment, the end of the plunger 74 may be solid, as shown in FIG. 5B. In every embodiment, the width and length of the plunger 74 are sufficient so the bottom end 75 of the plunger 74 forces plant material 100 downward when placed in the rod cavity 40.
[0045] The stop plate 60 is placed inside the rod cavity 40 so that it covers the exit opening 44 of the rod cavity 40. Small particles of plant material 100 are manually placed inside the rod cavity 40 over the top surface of the stop plate 60 and around the pin 64. The particles of plant material 100 should be dry and irregularly shaped, 1/16 to inch in length. The plunger 74 is aligned over the rod cavity 40 so that the pin 64 slides into the pin opening 75. A force generating tool, such as a clamp or press (not shown), is then used to force the plunger 74 into the rod cavity 40 to compact the plant material 100. The force generating tool applies enough axial force on the plunger 74 to compact the plant material 100 ten to fifty percent its original length or depth. Because the rod mold 30, the support plate 50 and the head plate 62 are all made of rigid material, as the plunger 74 is forced downward into the rod cavity 40, lateral forces are also exerted on the small particles of plant material 100 to compact it laterally. By compacting the small particles of plant material 100 ten to fifty percent its original depth or length, the plant material 100 retains its compacted, elongated rod 10 shape after being removed from the rod cavity 40. It should be understood, that the amount compaction desired varies from one user to another. The elongated rod may then be wrapped with rice paper 13 as shown in FIG. 1 to retain the compacted plant material.
[0046] After the plunger 74 is forced into the rod cavity 40, the rod mold 30 and the support base 50 are removed. The force generating source is then used to apply a downward force on the plunger assembly 70 to force the stop plate 60 and the elongated rod 10 from the rod cavity 40. After the elongated rod 10 exits the rod cavity 40, the stop plate 60 is then removed from the elongated rod 10. A tightly compacted elongated rod 10 made of plant material 100 is formed with at least one longitudinally aligned air conduit 12.
[0047] By controlling the size of the particles of plant material used, the quantity of particles of plant material 100 placed in the rod cavity 40, and the amount of force exerted on the plunger 74, the amount of compaction and the final length of the elongated rod 10 may be controlled. In some instances, one or more conduit may be desirable. In other instances, an air conduit may not be desirable.
[0048] As shown in FIG. 7, formed or printed on the outside surface of the plunger 74 are optional compaction percentage markings 79 that tell the user the distance the plunger 74 has been inserted into the rod cavity 40. During use, the user aligns a marking 79 with the top edge of the mold 30. Using this information, the user can estimate the amount of compaction the plant material 100 has undergone to form a compacted elongated rod 10.
[0049] As stated above, the stop plate 60 may include a fixed or selectively attachable pin 64, 64, respectively. The stop plate 60 may also more than one pin 64 thereby enabling the user to form more than one air conduit 12 in a compacted elongated rod 10. For example, FIG. 8 shows an alternative stop plate 160 with three pins 164. FIG. 9 is a top plan view of a stop plate 160 showing the three pins 164 evenly spaced apart in a triangular configuration. Whether or not no pin 64, one pin 64, or several pins are used, depends on how the finished elongated rod 10 will be used (i.e. broken into small pieces or smoked), the size of the particles and the amount of compaction. For example, if the finished elongated rod less than 1 inch in length, or less than inch in diameter, it may not require an air conduit 12. Longer and wider elongated rods 10 or more compacted elongated rods may find two or three air conduits 12 more desirable.
[0050] FIG. 10 shows another embodiment of the rod mold 130 (called a split rod mold) made up of two half molds 136,138 that are pivotally connected. The split rod mold 130 enables one mold half 136, 138 to be rotated and separated allowing the compacted elongated rods 10 may be removed laterally from the rod cavities 140.
[0051] As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, show changes to the rod mold and additional accessories that enable the tool to make compacted elongated rods 10, 10, 10 with different diameters. FIG. 9 is a partial, sectional, side elevational view of a modified rod cavity 40 with a sleeve 200 placed inside the original rod cavity 40 shown in FIG. 2 or in a wider, modified rod cavity 40. The length of the sleeve 200 will extend approximately the entire length of the rod cavity 40 or 40. The sleeve 200 includes two opposite open ends (only the bottom open end 202 is shown) and a center void area 204. When the stop plate 60 is placed inside the rod cavity 40 or 40, the sleeve 200 is then placed inside the rod cavity 40, 40. In the embodiment shown, the end of the sleeve 200 rests against the inside surface of the head plate 62 The pin 64 on the stop plate 60 extends longitudinally in the center void area 204 formed in the sleeve 200.
[0052] FIG. 11 shows an insert sleeve 280 placed into the rod cavity 40 that reduces the diameter of the elongated rod 10. A plunger (not shown) compatible with the insert sleeve 280 must be used.
[0053] FIG. 12 shows an adapter cover 300 placed over a small diameter plunger 74. The adapter cover 300 includes a closed end 302 and pin opening 304 formed that is aligned with the air passageway 78 formed on the plunger 72. The size of the adapter cover 300 allows it to slide freely into the center void area to compact the plant material deposited.
[0054] FIGS. 14A-14E show an alternative method of making an elongated rod of compacted plant material made up of a plurality of small deposits of plant material 302, 304, 306 that are separately deposited into the rod cavity 40 and then compressed with the plunger assembly 70. When completed, a modified elongated rod 500 is made up of a plurality of individual compressed plant layers 502-520(see FIG. 14F). One advantage when using the alternative method is that each plant layer 502-520 may be made from the same plant species or different plant species. Also, the amount of compression force used to form each plant layer 502-520 may vary.
[0055] FIGS. 15A-15E are five sequentially arranged sectional, elevational views of another embodiment of the tool 20 wherein the pin 64 is attached to the end of the plunger 74. In this embodiment, the stop plate 60 described above is replaced by sliding stop plate 65 that moves laterally through slots 77 formed on the sides rod mold 30 that communicate with the rod cavity 40. During use, the sliding stop plate 65 extends transversely over the rod cavity 40 to close the exit opening. After the elongated rod 10 is formed, the slide stop plate 65 is then removed from the rod mold 30 through the slots 77.
[0056] FIGS. 16A-16C show three embodiments of the sliding stop plate 65. Each sliding stop plate 65 includes a pin opening 65 (a hole, a slot, or two semi-circular openings that from a pin opening when joined) through which the pin 64 may extend.
[0057] The pin 64 is mounted on the closed end of the plunger 74. The pin 64 has a length that exceeds the length of the rod cavity 40 so that the plunger 74 may be raised above the top edge of the rod mold 30 while the tip of the pin 64 extends into the pin opening as shown in FIG. 15A. Small particles of plant material are then deposited into the rod cavity 40.
[0058] As shown in FIGS. 15B-C, the plunger 74 is then pressed into the rod cavity 40 to compress the small particles of plant material Once the plant material has been compressed, the plunger 74 is then pulled upward until the tip of the pin by passes the stop plate 65 (see FIG. 15D. The stop plate 65 is then removed from the rod mold 30. The plunger 74 is then forced downward in the rod cavity 40 forcing the elongated rod 10 from the rod cavity 30.
[0059] In the embodiments shown herein, the rod cavities 40 are approximately inches diameter and 4 inches in length. The plungers 74 is slightly smaller in diameter and length of the rod cavities 40. The stop plate 60 is approximately 1/32 inch less in diameter than the rod cavity 40 and measures approximately inch thick. The slide stop plate 65 must be larger in diameter to extend across the rod cavity 40. The pin 64 is approximately 1/16 to inch in diameter and 3 to 4 inches in length.
[0060] FIG. 17 is a graph showing the relation between the final length of the compacted elongated rod 10 formed when a rod cavity 40 that measures 4 inches in length and % inch in diameter that is filled with particles of plant material 100 and compressed with different forces applied to the plunger. When the rod cavity 40 is filled with plant material 100 and 5 to two pounds of force is applied, depending on the particle size of the plant material and the desired amount of compaction. The final elongated rod 10 typically measures 2 to 4 inches in length. In some instances, greater force may be applied 75 to 200 lbs of force, typically applied by a mechanical plunger when the rod cavity 40 is filled with whole or large pieces of plant material. Use of greater force is desirable when greater compaction is desired.
[0061] Using the above described tool, a method for making an elongated rod made of plant material is disclosed, comprising the following steps:
[0062] selecting a rod mold that includes at least one rod cavity with an entrance opening, an exit opening, a stop plate that fits into the rod cavity and blocks the exit opening, and a sliding plunger configured to be inserted into the rod cavity;
[0063] a. inserting the stop plate into the rod cavity near the exit opening;
[0064] b. filling the rod cavity with plant material;
[0065] c. inserting the plunger into the rod cavity and forcing the plunger against the plant material;
[0066] d. applying sufficient force to the plunger to compact the plant material inside the rod cavity and form an elongated rod made of plant material; and
[0067] e. removing the elongated rod made of plant material from the rod cavity.
[0068] The above method may be modified by using a stop plate with pin perpendicularly aligned that extends longitudinally inside the rod cavity. The above method may also be modified by using a sliding stop plate with a pin opening and attaching a pin on the end of the plunger that extends through the pin opening when the plunger is forced downward in the rod cavity.
[0069] In compliance with the statute, the invention described has been described in language more or less specific as to structural features. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the specific features shown, since the means and construction shown comprises the preferred embodiments for putting the invention into effect. The invention is therefore claimed in its forms or modifications within the legitimate and valid scope of the amended claims, appropriately interpreted in accordance with under the doctrine of equivalents.
