# US 10,611,043 B2 · Method and machine for making uniform products > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,611,043 B2 - Document ID: US10611043B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 14/206,667 - Filed: 2014-03-12 - Published: 2014-09-18 - Granted: 2020-04-07 - Earliest claimed: 2013-03-15 - Assignees: Altria Client Services LLC - Applicants: Altria Client Services LLC - Inventors: Carl Gregory Miller; Charles Lester Dendy; Jeremy J. Straight; Gregory James Griscik - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10611043B2 ## CPC - B26D 7/0683: {specially adapted for elongated articles} - A23G 3/0046: {Batch-rolling, rope-forming, or sizing} - A23G 3/06: Batch-rolling, rope-forming, or sizing machines - A23G 7/0018: {Apparatus for cutting or dividing chocolate or candies} - B26D 1/08: of the guillotine type - B26D 7/0633: {by grippers} - B26D 7/1854: {by air under pressure} - B26D 7/30: for weighing cut product - B65G 17/30: Details; Auxiliary devices (belts B65G15/30; framework B65G21/00) - A23G 4/04: for moulding or shaping - B26D: CUTTING; DETAILS COMMON TO MACHINES FOR PERFORATING, PUNCHING, CUTTING-OUT, STAMPING-OUT OR SEVERING (for growing crops or plants A01D, A01G; for fodder or straw A01F; for bulk butter A01J; for dough A21C; slaughtering A22B; for tobacco, cigars or cigarettes A24; marking-out, perforating or making buttonholes A41H25/00; manufacturing footwear A43D; brushmaking A46D; surgery A61B; disintegrating, mincing or shredding in general B02C; cutting wire, making pins or nails B21F, B21G; of the kind used formetal B23; cutting by abrasive fluid jets B24C5/02; hand-held cutting tools B26B; perforating, cutting-out, stamping-out or punching, or severing by means other than cutting B26F; for wood B27; for stone B28D; working of plastics or substances in a plastic state B29; making boxes, cartons, envelopes or bags, of paper or similarly worked materials, e.g. metal foil, B31B; article or web delivery apparatus incorporating cutting or line-perforating devices B65H35/00; for leather or upholstery B68, C14B; for glass C03B; making matches C06F; for peat C10F; for sugar C13B45/00; for textile materials D06H; civil engineering, building, mining, see Section E; for light guides G02B6/25; cutting processed photographic material G03D15/04) - A23G: COCOA; COCOA PRODUCTS, e.g. CHOCOLATE; SUBSTITUTES FOR COCOA OR COCOA PRODUCTS; CONFECTIONERY; CHEWING GUM; ICE-CREAM; PREPARATION THEREOF - B65G: TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS (packaging B65B; handling thin or filamentary materials, e.g. paper sheets or thread, B65H; cranes B66C; portable mobile or lifting or hauling appliances, e.g. hoists, B66D; devices for lifting or lowering goods for loading or unloading purposes, e.g. fork-lift trucks, B66F9/00; emptying bottles, jars, casks, barrels or similar containers, not otherwise provided for, B67C9/00; delivering or transferring liquids B67D; filling or discharging vessels for liquefied, solidified or compressed gases F17C; pipe-line systems for fluids F17D) ## Abstract A method of forming an oral product includes gripping a rod of oral product material with a gripping device, indexing the rod forward to have a leading end of the rod abut a stop at a first location, cutting a leading portion of the rod to create an oral product, moving the stop to a second location to allow the oral product to fall, moving the stop back to the first location, and repeating the process. A machine for forming an oral product can include a cutting device adapted to cut through a rod of plastic material, a stop spaced from the cutting device, the stop being adapted to be moved from a first location to a second location, a gripping device adapted to hold and index a rod towards the stop, and a load cell positioned to receive oral products cut from a rod by the cutting device. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method of forming a plurality of oral products, the method comprising: a. gripping a rod including polymer with a gripping device, the gripping device being configured to align, hold, and index the rod, the gripping device including two gripping rollers configured to grip opposite sides of the rod, and two gripping surfaces configured to selectively engage and disengage the rod; b. indexing the rod forward with the gripping device so that a leading end of the rod abuts a stop at a first stop location; c. cutting a leading portion of the rod with a cutting device to separate an oral product of the plurality of oral products from a remainder of the rod; d. pivoting the stop about a pivot from the first stop location to a second stop location to allow the oral product to fall onto a load cell, the stop being spaced from the cutting device; e. moving the stop from the second stop location to the first stop location; and f. repeating steps (b)-(e). ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: releasing the rod from the two gripping surfaces after the cutting; and gripping the rod with the two gripping surfaces again before the repeating. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2, wherein the releasing and the pivoting are performed concurrently. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2, wherein the indexing the rod includes indexing the two gripping surfaces between a first gripping location and a second gripping location. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the indexing includes rotating the two gripping rollers. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: weighing one or more oral products using the load cell to determine whether the one or more oral products are within a weight range. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The method of claim 6, further comprising: adjusting the first stop location based on a weight or weights of the one or more oral products. ### Claim 8 (depends on 6) The method of claim 6, further comprising: moving oral products that are within the weight range to a collection location; and moving oral products that are outside of the weight range to a discard location. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, wherein the moving oral products to the collection location and the moving oral products to the discard location include directing air towards the oral products. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the cutting does not significantly alter a cross-sectional shape of the oral products from that of the rod. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the rod has a temperature of less than 50° C. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the rod further includes an additive. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The method of claim 12, wherein the polymer includes polyurethane, and the additive includes cellulosic fibers, nicotine, a sweetener, a flavorant, or any combination thereof. ### Claim 14 A machine for forming a plurality of oral products, the machine comprising: a cutting device configured to cut through a rod to separate an oral product from a remainder of the rod, the rod including a polymer; a stop spaced from the cutting device, the stop being pivotable about a pivot from a first stop location to a second stop location, the stop being configured to abut the rod; a gripping device to align, hold, and index the rod towards the stop, the gripping device including, two gripping rollers configured to grip opposite sides of the rod, and two gripping surfaces configured to selectively engage and disengage the rod; and a load cell configured to receive the oral product separated from the remainder the rod. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The machine of claim 14, wherein the first stop location adjustable. ### Claim 16 (depends on 14) The machine of claim 14, further comprising: a programmable logic controller configured to sequence and control an operation of the machine to grip the rod with the gripping device, index the rod to have a leading end of the rod abut the stop at the first stop location, cut the leading end of the rod to separate the oral product from the rod, move the stop from the first stop location to the second stop location to allow the oral product to drop to the load cell, and weigh the oral product using the load cell. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The machine of claim 16, wherein the programmable logic controller is further configured to (a) determine if the oral product is within a predetermined weight range, (b) transfer the oral product to one of a collection location or a discard location based on a detected weight, (c) adjust the first stop location step-based on the detected weight of the oral product, or (d) any combination thereof. ### Claim 18 (depends on 14) The machine of claim 14, further comprising: an infeed tray configured to support the rod. ### Claim 19 (depends on 14) The machine of claim 14, wherein the gripping device further includes, an actuator configured to index the two gripping surfaces between a first gripping location and a second gripping location. ### Claim 20 (depends on 14) The machine of claim 14, wherein the two gripping rollers are configured to intermittently rotate so as to index the rod. ### Claim 21 (depends on 14) The machine of claim 14, wherein the cutting device includes a blade, a blade holder, a blade holder guide, and a blade actuator. ### Claim 22 (depends on 14) The machine of claim 14, further comprising: an actuator configured to pivot the stop between the first stop location and the second stop location. ### Claim 23 (depends on 14) The machine of claim 14, further comprising: an air nozzle system configured to blow the oral product off the load cell. ### Claim 24 (depends on 14) The machine of claim 14, wherein the load cell includes a wheel having a plurality of spaced through bores, the oral product is configured to fall into a through bore of the plurality of spaced through bores after being cut. ### Claim 25 (depends on 19) The machine of claim 19, wherein the two gripping surfaces are configured to engage the rod while moving from the first gripping location to the second gripping location, thereby indexing the rod toward the stop, and the two gripping surfaces are configured to disengage the rod while moving from the second gripping location to the first gripping location. ### Claim 26 (depends on 14) The machine of claim 14, wherein the cutting device is configured to cut through an unsupported portion of the rod to separate the oral product from the remainder of the rod. ### Claim 27 (depends on 26) The machine of claim 26, further comprising: a drop tube disposed directly below the cutting device and configured to receive the oral product and direct the oral product to the load cell.