Product change method for a cigarette manufacturing machine

Abstract

A product change method for a cigarette manufacturing machine, wherein an input hopper receives a first type of shredded tobacco from a supply header, and feeds it to at least one channel for forming, on a conveyor, a bead of tobacco, which is released onto a paper strip travelling along a forming table for forming a continuous cigarette rod; the method provides for cutting off supply of the first type of shredded tobacco to the header, emptying the header, cutting off communication between the header and the input hopper, cutting off supply of the paper strip, keeping the manufacturing machine running to form a waste stream of shredded tobacco of the first type and empty the manufacturing machine, and feeding a second type of shredded tobacco through the supply header and the input hopper to fill the manufacturing machine completely before starting up supply of the paper strip (FIG. 1).

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.