US 4,149,547 AGranted

Mechanism for orienting tobacco in tobacco cutting machines

AssigneeHauni-Werke Korber & Co. KG

InventorsWerner Komossa, Uwe Elsner, Gerhard Schlie

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Abstract

A tobacco cutting machine wherein two endless chain conveyors define a horizontal channel of diminishing height for conversion of tobacco into a cake whose leader advances into the range of and is shredded by orbiting knives. The lower chain conveyor extends rearwardly beyond the upper chain conveyor and is located below the lower end of a vertical passage which is defined by an upright duct having several mobile walls which flank different portions of the passage and are pivotably mounted in the housing of the cutting machine. One of the mobile walls is located immediately above the rearwardly extending portion of the lower chain conveyor and is oscillated at a high frequency by an eccentric drive. Another mobile wall of the duct is located above the one mobile wall or directly above the rear end of the upper chain conveyor and is oscillated by a second eccentric drive at a lower frequency but through larger angles. This insures that tobacco leaves which are showered into the open upper end of the duct are free to move relative to each other during downward movement in the duct and thereupon advance edgewise into and in the channel to form a laminated cake of predictable density before the leaves reach the path of orbiting knives.

Claims10

Dependent claims

In a machine for cutting tobacco particles including tobacco leaves, the combination of an upper and a lower conveyor, said conveyors defining an elongated tobacco condensing channel having an outlet and diminishing in height in a direction toward said outlet, said lower conveyor including a portion extending rearwardly beyond said upper conveyor;

a duct arranged to feed a stream of randomly distributed tobacco particles and defining a tobacco delivering passage having a lower end behind said upper conveyor above said portion of said lower conveyor and communicating with said channel so that successive increments of the stream which reach said portion of said lower conveyor are deflected into said channel, said duct comprising a plurality of walls including mobile first and second walls bounding different portions of said passage, said second wall extending downwardly to the general level of said portion of said lower conveyor;
means for imparting to said first wall recurrent movements at a first frequency to thereby alternately increase and reduce the volume of successive increments of the stream in said channel with attendant relative movement of tobacco particles and at least some equalization of density of the stream;
means for imparting to said second wall recurrent movements at a higher second frequency to effect further relative movement and stratification of particles in an orientation in which the particles in said channel move edgewise and undergo gradual densification with attendant conversion of said stream into a cake;
and means for shredding successive increments of said cake.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.