Feeding cut tobacco

Apparatus for distributing tobacco, comprising an annular tray which is arranged to receive a carpet of tobacco and is driven with a vibratory motion about its axis to convey the tobacco along a circular path around the axis of the tray, and a number of fixed feed pipes extending downwards towards the tray and having tobacco inlet ends positioned near the tray at various positions across the tray, tobacco being sucked up from the tray through the feed pipes, the tray having a number of ramps each positioned upstream of one of the feed pipes to lift tobacco towards the respective feed pipe.

Apparatus for distributing tobacco, comprising an annular tray which is arranged to receive a carpet of tobacco and is driven with a vibratory motion about its axis to convey the tobacco along a circular path around the axis of the tray, and a number of fixed feed pipes extending downwards towards the tray and having tobacco inlet ends positioned near the tray at various positions across the tray, tobacco being sucked up from the tray through the feed pipes, and including deflector members on the tray whereby tobacco which passes an inoperative feed pipe is at least partly deflected sideways into a path below another feed pipe.

A tobacco feed system including a number of pipes for delivering tobacco to different cigarette making machines, each pipe having a number of branches forming feed pipes for sucking tobacco from any one of a number of tobacco distributing apparatus each comprising an annular tray which is arranged to receive a carpet of tobacco and to convey the tobacco along a circular path around the axis of the tray, a number of fixed feed pipes extending downwards towards the tray and having tobacco inlet ends positioned near the tray at various positions across the tray, tobacco being sucked up from the tray through the feed pipes and separator means for substantially separating the part of the tobacco carpet which passes beneath each inlet end from adjacent parts of the carpet for application to the respective feed pipe.

Apparatus for distributing tobacco, comprising an annular tray, means for delivering tobacco onto the annular tray as a carpet spread across a radius of the tray, means for driving the tray to convey the tobacco along a circular path around the tray, a number of fixed feed pipes extending downwards towards the tray and having tobacco inlet ends positioned near the tray at various distances from the axis of the tray, tobacco being sucked up from the tray through the feed pipe, and separator means for substantially separating the part of the tobacco carpet which passes beneath each inlet end from adjacent parts of the carpet for application to the respective feed pipe.