Packing Plant Matter in Pre-Rolls to Make Smokable Product

The present application gains priority from provisional patent applications U.S. 63/353,599 filed 19 Jun. 2022 and U.S. 63/399,783 filed 22 Aug. 2022, both which are included by reference as if fully set-forth herein.

The invention, in some embodiments, relates to the field of manufacture and, more particularly but not exclusively, to methods and devices for packing plant matter (such as fromplants) in pre-rolls such as cones to make smokable products such as joints.

It is known to inhale materials that are volatilized from plant matter, such as phytocannabinoids volatilized from parts of plants of genus(e.g.,, hemp).

One method of volatilization comprises packing particulate plant matter into a pre-rolled cone (henceforth cone) to make a joint(see) and then smoking the joint by burning a distal endthereof and through a proximal endthereof orally inhaling combustion products together with materials such as phytocannabinoids volatilized from the plant matter.

In the art ofsmoking and as used herein, one type of pre-roll is a cone, a thin-walled container made of flammable material (typically paper or similar material) including a conical distal portionand a proximal portionthat in some instances is cylindrical (not depicted) and in some instances conical (as depicted in). Conical distal portionis filled with particulate plant matterand distal endis closed (e.g., by folding or twisting as depicted in) to prevent plant matterfrom falling out from distal end. When present, proximal portionoften contains a filterwhich allows a user to hold jointwhile distal endis burning and prevents plant matterfrom falling out through proximal endbut allows passage therethrough of combustion products and volatilized materials to be orally inhaled. Pre-rolls such as cones are provided in many different sizes. Inis depicted an about 109 mm long pre-roll of which about 12 mm of distal endis twisted shut so that jointis about 97 mm long. The diameter of proximal endis about 6 mm, the length of filteris about 26 mm, the diameter of jointat the filter/vegetable matterinterface is about 7.5 mm and the diameter of the original untwisted distal end of coneis 13 mm (indicated in dashed lines in).

It would be useful to have methods and devices for packing particulate plant matter in cones to make joints.

Some embodiments of the invention herein relate to methods and devices for packing particulate plant matter in pre-rolls, for example, packing particulate plant matter fromplants in cones to make joints.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the teachings herein, there is provided a method of packing particulate plant matter in an open-ended pre-roll to make a smokable product, comprising:

In some embodiments at least 50% by weight of the particulate plant matter is from a member of genus

In some embodiments the particulate plant matter comprises smokable buds from a member of genus

In some embodiments, the pre-roll is selected from the group consisting of a tube and a cone.

In some embodiments, the period of time is not less than about 0.5 second and not more than about 10 seconds.

In some embodiments, the tamping is effected by a tamper which is actively moved downwards by application of a force by a mechanism to tamp the particulate plant matter that is contained inside the inner volume of the pre-roll.

In some embodiments, the tamping is effected by a tamper which is allowed to drop downwards due to gravity to tamp the particulate plant matter that is contained inside the inner volume of the pre-roll.

In some embodiments, the tamping is repeated at a rate of not less than about 1 tamp/4 seconds and not more than about 20 tamps/second.

In some embodiments, the maximal force applied by the tamper to a surface of plant matter during each individual tamp is within 10% of a target tamping force.

In some embodiments, the target tamping force is not less than 0.2 mN/mmand not more than 20 mN/mm.

In some embodiments, an average maximal force applied by the tamper to a surface of plant matter during each individual tamp during a filling of a the pre-roll is not less than 0.2 mN/mmand not more than 20 mN/mm.

In some embodiments, the tamper is a solid elongated object having a distal tip and a tamper axis, the distal tip entering the inner volume of the pre-roll through the open distal end of the pre-roll with a repeated tamping motion.

In some embodiments, the tamping motion is parallel to the tamper axis and within 5° of parallel with the longitudinal axis of the pre-roll.

In some embodiments, the filling is performed by directing particulate plant matter out of a distal end of a filling conduit through the open distal end of the pre-roll into the inner volume of the pre-roll, the distal end of the filling conduit having walls with an outer dimension and an inner dimension.

In some embodiments, during the period of time, the distal end of the filling conduit is not inside the inner volume of the pre-roll.

In some embodiments, during the period of time, the distal end of the filling conduit is located inside the inner volume of the pre-roll.

In some embodiments, during the tamping the tamper passes out through the distal end of the filling conduit and through the open distal end of the pre-roll.

In some embodiments, the tamper comprises:

In some embodiments, the outer dimensions of the tamper head are greater than about 2 mm smaller than the inner diameter of the filling conduit so that the clearance between the tamper head and the filling conduit when the tamper head is inside the filling conduit is not greater than about 1 mm.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the teachings herein, there is also provided a device for filling pre-rolls, comprising:

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the teachings herein, there is also provided a device useful for the separation of aggregates of particulate plant matter into separate particles comprising:

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the teachings herein, there is also provided a filler/tamper device suitable for filling a container with particulate vegetable matter, comprising:

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the teachings herein, there is also provided a pre-roll holder for holding a pre-roll of specified shape and dimensions open distal end up, allowing filling of the pre-roll, comprising:

Aspects and embodiments of the invention are described in the specification hereinbelow and in the appended claims.

Some embodiments of the invention herein relate to methods and devices for packing particulate plant matter in pre-rolls, for example, packing particulate plant matter fromplants in cones to make joints.

The principles, uses and implementations of the teachings of the invention may be better understood with reference to the accompanying description and figures. Upon perusal of the description and figures present herein, one skilled in the art is able to implement the teachings of the invention without undue effort or experimentation. In the figures, like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout.

Before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not necessarily limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of the components and/or methods set forth herein. The invention is capable of other embodiments or of being practiced or carried out in various ways. The phraseology and terminology employed herein are for descriptive purpose and should not be regarded as limiting.

The teachings herein will be discussed in detail with reference to a preferred, but non-limiting, embodiment, the packing of particulate plant matter from aplant into a pre-roll which is a cone to make a joint.

A user interested in preparing a joint including particulate plant matter often elects, for convenience, to use a pre-roll purchased from a commercial supplier, such as pre-rolled cones commercially available under the tradename RAW® from HBI International, Phoenix, Arizona, USA. The user either receives particulate plant matter or comminuates received plant matter to make particulate plant matter, e.g., using a herb grinder (e.g., an iRainy kitchen spice grinder), fingernails, or scissors. The user then packs the cone with the particulate plant matter.

In some instances, the user manually fills the cone by simply pouring the particulate plant matter into the open distal end of the cone, manually pressing downwards, and then closing the distal end.

Alternatively, the user places a funnel (often called a cone loader) into the distal end of the cone, pours the particulate plant matter into the cone through the funnel, then tamps the particulate plant matter in the cone using a poker tool. Cone loader/poker kits are commercially available, e.g., under the RAW® brandname.

There exist packing devices for automatically packing cones with material plant matter to prepare joints on a commercial scale. Joints made using known packing devices have a great variance in the amount of plant matter therein. Such variance is unacceptable from regulatory, consumer-protection and pharmacological standpoints, especially when a joint is designated for medicinal use.

Further, the density of plant matter packed in joints made using known packing devices is heterogeneous. Such heterogeneous density may lead to weak points where the joint can break while being smoked. Such heterogeneous density may also lead to uneven burning of the plant matter so that a lit joint may extinguish while being smoked and/or lead to uneven burning temperature so that there is great variance in how materials in the plant matter are volatilized, leading to an inconsistent pharmacological effect during smoking of a single joint or when two different joints are smoked. It is important to note that these are not challenges when making tobacco cigarettes as these do not include particulate plant matter but instead homogeneous strips of cut tobacco leaves that are interwoven and overlap inside the cigarette wall. As a result, the density of tobacco of a correctly-rolled cigarette is homogeneous.

The Inventors have identified that at least one reason that known packing devices fail to properly pack pre-rolls with particulate plant matter fromrelates to the heterogeneity of the individualparticles which are typically made from a combination of leaves, stems, flowers and buds: these are of different size, moisture content, oil content, shape and composition. Further, there is a great deal of heterogeneity in different batches of particulate plant matter due to multiple reasons including: the strain of, where thegrew, when it was harvested as wells as factors determined by the manufacturer of the particulatesuch as moisture content and particle size. Further, particles of plant matter from, especiallybuds, are very sticky and tend to aggregate very quickly.

There is a need for methods and devices for packing pre-rolls such as cones with particulate plant matter such as fromto prepare smokable products such as joints. Preferably, the methods and devices are suited for or are configurable to account for variation in the characteristics of different batches of the particulate plant matter and/or to provide a precise designated amount of plant matter in a prepared smokable product and/or to pack the plant matter homogeneously and/or to pack the plant matter at a desired density.

Herein are disclosed methods and devices for packing particulate plant matter in pre-rolls such as cones to make smokable products such as joints that, in some embodiments, have one or more advantages compared to known methods and devices for making such smokable products. Disclosed are also joints made according to the method of the teachings herein or using a device according to the teachings herein.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the teachings herein, there is provided a method of packing particulate plant matter in an open-ended pre-roll to make a smokable product, comprising:

The smokable product that is made is filled with an amount of particulate plant matter. It is preferred that the amount of particulate plant matter be as close as possible to a pre-determined target amount. For example, a typical 109 mm long cone such as depicted inhaving a 26 mm long filter is typically filled with about 1 gram ofso as to have an about 8-12 mm empty distal end to allow folding or twisting closed.

Typically, subsequent to making a smokable product, the resulting smokable product is weighed to ensure that the amount of particulate plant matter in the product is within a predetermined variance of the target amount. Products that are too light or too heavy are rejected, taken apart and the particulate plant matter is recovered for repacking. To reduce unnecessary work and to increase the output rate by reducing the rejection rate, it is preferred that the filling of the pre-roll be performed in a manner that decreases the proportion of rejected smokable products. At the same time, the filling of each individual pre-roll is preferably quick so that the rate of producing not-rejected smokable products is high.

The method may be implemented to pack any suitable particulate plant matter in any suitable pre-roll. As used herein, the term “particulate plant matter” refers to any part of a plant (e.g., stems, flowers, buds, leaves and roots) in particle form that is suitable for smoking when packed in a pre-roll. As used herein, the term “plant matter” is synonymous with the terms “vegetable matter” and “vegetable material”.

In some embodiments, at least 50% by weight of the particulate plant matter is from a member of genus, e.g.,and hemp. In some embodiments, at least 60%, at least 70%, at least 80% and even at least 90% by weight of the particulate plant matter is from a member of genus. In some embodiments, the particulate plant matter comprises smokable buds from a member of genus. A characteristic ofbuds is that, due to the high oil content, the individual particles tend to stick together to form aggregates, also called lumps and chunks.

In some embodiments, the pre-roll is a pre-roll selected from the group consisting of a tube (a cylindrical pre-roll) and a cone (a conical pre-roll, e.g., pre-rolldepicted in. In some embodiments, the pre-roll comprises a filter that closes the proximal end, e.g., filterdepicted in. Alternatively, in some embodiments the pre-roll is devoid of a filter. As is known to a person having ordinary skill in the art, pre-rolls can be made in any suitable size and are commercially-available in many suitable sizes. The teachings herein may be adapted to any suitable size of pre-roll without inventive effort. Such adapting may include the specific dimensions and configuration of the pre-roll holder and the tamper.

The method will be described with reference to a pre-roll-packing devicedepicted in. Deviceincludes pre-roll holdersthat are successively conveyed by a conveyor beltto a cone-loading station, a filling/tamping station, a fine-filling station, an end-closing stationand then back to cone-loading station. Activation and coordination of the operation of the different stations and conveyor beltin response to operator instructions and results of measurements received from sensors is performed by a controller. Typically, a controlleris a general-purpose or custom computer that is software, firmware and/or hardware configured to control the various stations as known in the art.