Transfer station for plant material sampling and tracking system
First Claim
1. A system for processing plant material samples, the system comprising:
- a controller;
a plant-material sampling device configured to communicate with the controller and to read an identifier of a plant, having a removable magazine, and for taking at least one plant sample from a plurality of plants, placing such samples in the magazine, and tracking the identity of the plant from which each sample is taken; and
a transfer station configured to hold, at a plurality of positions, a plurality of magazines and a plurality of trays such that the positions of the plurality of magazines are mirrored by the positions of the plurality of trays, to read an identifier of each magazine, to read an identifier of each tray, to map storage locations for each one of the plurality of magazines to storage locations of one of the plurality of trays, and to sequentially unload plant samples from the plurality of magazines to the plurality of trays.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods for processing plant material samples and a transfer station designed for use in such systems and methods. In one embodiment, the system includes a controller, a plant-material sampling device, and a transfer station. The plant-material sampling device is configured to communicate with the controller and to read an identifier of a plant. The sampling device also has a removable magazine, and is designed to take at least one plant sample from multiple plants, place such samples in the magazine, and track the identity of the plant from which each sample is taken. The transfer station is configured to hold, at multiple positions, multiple magazines and multiple trays such that the positions of the magazines are mirrored by the positions of the trays, read an identifier of each magazine, read an identifier of each tray, map storage locations for each one of the magazines to storage locations of one of the trays, and sequentially unload plant samples from the magazines to the trays.
-
Citations
15 Claims
-
1. A system for processing plant material samples, the system comprising:
-
a controller; a plant-material sampling device configured to communicate with the controller and to read an identifier of a plant, having a removable magazine, and for taking at least one plant sample from a plurality of plants, placing such samples in the magazine, and tracking the identity of the plant from which each sample is taken; and a transfer station configured to hold, at a plurality of positions, a plurality of magazines and a plurality of trays such that the positions of the plurality of magazines are mirrored by the positions of the plurality of trays, to read an identifier of each magazine, to read an identifier of each tray, to map storage locations for each one of the plurality of magazines to storage locations of one of the plurality of trays, and to sequentially unload plant samples from the plurality of magazines to the plurality of trays. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
-
-
6. A method of processing plant material samples, the method comprising:
-
collecting plant-material samples from a plurality of plants using a plant-material sampling device that is configured to communicate with a controller and to read an identifier of a plant, has a removable magazine, and tracks the identity of the plant from which each sample is taken; and transferring the plant material samples to a plurality of trays at a transfer station that is configured to hold, at a plurality positions, a plurality of magazines and a plurality of trays such that the positions of the plurality of magazines are mirrored by the positions of the plurality of trays, read an identifier of each magazine, read an identifier of each tray, map storage locations for each one of the plurality of magazines to storage locations of one of the plurality of trays, and sequentially unload plant materials from the plurality of magazines to the plurality of trays; performing tests on the plant material samples; and selecting certain of the plants for cultivation based on the tests. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. A transfer station, comprising:
-
a plurality of magazine positions for holding a plurality of magazines; a scanner for reading an identifier on one of the plurality of magazines; and a plurality of tray positions for holding a plurality of trays such that the plurality of magazine positions are mirrored by the plurality of tray positions. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
-
Specification