Method and apparatus for comminuting tobacco or the like

Abstract

The chains which condense and advance a continuous cake of compacted tobacco into the range of orbiting knives in a tobacco shredding machine are driven by a reversible prime mover independently of the motor which drives the knives. When the movement of the prime mover in a direction to advance the tobacco cake into the range of the knives is interrupted, the prime mover is automatically started in reverse so that the chains retract the leader of the cake from the range of orbiting knives and thus prevent further comminution and eventual overheating and combustion of tobacco. The operation in reverse is terminated by a time-delay device when the leader of the cake is retracted from the range of orbiting knives to an extent which insures that automatic expansion of the leader toward the knives does not suffice to permit any contact between the cake and the orbiting knives while the chains are not driven in a direction to move the cake toward the knives.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.