Method and device for cutting a tobacco leaf into portions suitable for use as binders or wrappers

The method of cutting a succession of tobacco leafs, each into portions of predetermined shape, which comprises the steps of:

• (a) inspecting a succession of leafs to determine the locations of undesirable portions thereof;
• (b) repeatedly transferring a plurality of cutting dies back and forth between one station at which they are arranged in a fixed array and a cutting station at which they are arranged in a succession of unique arrays different from said fixed array and in which each unique array is determined by the inspection of step (a) to allow said cutting dies and a leaf to be reigstered so as to avoid said undesirable portions determined in step (a) for that leaf;
• (c) transferring said leafs successively to said cutting station and into registry with the corresponding unique array of cutting dies;
• (d) cutting said leafs at said cutting station and capturing the cut leaf portions with said dies;
• and
• (e) removing said cut leaf portion from said dies and depositing them in predetermined relationship to each other on a web, and winding said web to form a bobbin.