Method and apparatus for manufacturing filter cigar

A method for manufacturing a cigar bunch having a preformed cigar filter and a tobacco filler charge spirally wrapped in a sheet of cigar binder material and having a reinforcement strip circumferentially wrapped over the interface between said filter and said filler charge, said method comprising the steps of:

• forming a reinforcement strip by bonding a strip of metallic foil to a strip of high wet strength reinforcing tape and cutting a pre-determined length of said strip;
• cutting a pre-determined length of cigar binder material;
• introducing onto a cigar bunch rolling table a preformed cigar filter and a tobacco filler charge;
• introducing onto said rolling apron said reinforcement strip and said length of binder material and bonding said reinforcement strip to said binder material, said binder material being positioned on said table at a diagonal to said reinforcement strip;
• rolling said filter, filler charge, binder material and reinforcement strip to form said cigar bunch while maintaining constant pressure against said filter to insure a tight mating between the filter and said filler charge;
• and
• locating said filter relative to said filler charge after rolling by inserting a locating element into the rolled bunch against the filter to compress the filter against the filler charge.

A method for manufacturing a cigar bunch having a preformed cigar filter and a tobacco filler charge spirally wrapped in a sheet of cigar binder material and having a reinforcement strip circumferentially wrapped over the interface between said filter and said filler charge, said method comprising the steps of:

• forming a reinforcement strip by bonding a strip of metallic foil to a strip of high wet strength reinforcing tape and cutting a pre-determined length of said reinforcement strip;
• cutting a pre-determined length of cigar binder material;
• introducing onto a cigar bunch rolling table a preformed cigar filter and a tobacco filler charge, said filter being introduced onto said table in advance of and at an angle relative to said filler charge;
• introducing onto said rolling apron said reinforcement strip and said strips of binder material and bonding said reinforcement strip to said binder material, said binder material being positioned on said rolling table at a diagonal to said reinforcement strip;
• rolling said filter, filler charge, binder material and reinforcement strip to form said cigar bunch while maintaining constant pressure against said filter to insure a tight mating between said filter and said filler charge;
• locating said filter relative to said filler charge after rolling by inserting a locating element into the rolled bunch against the filter to compress the filter against said filler charge;
• and
• crimping the head end of said cigar bunch with heated crimper means.

An improved cigar rolling machine for manufacturing filter cigars wherein a preformed filter and a tobacco filler charge are rolled on a cigar rolling table in a sheet of cigar binder material to form a filter cigar bunch, wherein the improvement comprises the inclusion of:

• means for forming a reinforcement strip;
• means for introducing said reinforcement strip onto said rolling table relative to said sheet of binder material also deposited on the table such that said strip will be circumferentially wrapped about the bunch and over the interface between the filter and filler charge upon completion of the rolling operation;
• tamping means for maintaining constant pressure against said filter during the rolling operation;
• locating means for compressing the filter against said filler charge at the conclusion of the rolling operation;
• and
• heated head end crimper means for forming the filter head end of the cigar bunch.

An improved cigar rolling machine for manufacturing filter cigars wherein a preformed filter and a tobacco filler charge are rolled on a cigar rolling table in a sheet of cigar binder material to form a filter cigar bunch, wherein the improvement comprises the inclusion of:

• reinforcement strip forming means for bonding together, in juxtaposition, strips of reinforcing tape and foil to form a reinforcement strip;
• reinforcement strip cutting means for cutting said reinforcement strip into pre-determined lengths;
• and
• reinforcement strip transport means for depositing said cut lengths onto said rolling table positioned relative to a sheet of binder material also deposited on the table such that, upon completion of the subsequent rolling operation, the reinforcement strip will be circumferentially wrapped over the interface between the filter and filler charge.

An improved cigar rolling machine for manufacturing filter cigars wherein a preformed filter and tobacco filler charge are rolled on a cigar rolling table within a sheet of cigar binder material to form a filter cigar bunch wherein the improvement comprises the inclusion of:

• a vertical filter storage magazine positioned adjacent to a filter scale pan, said magazine and scale pan adapted to introduce into an adjacent storage chamber a filter and a tobacco filler charge;
• means for depositing said filter and said filler charge into a transfer chamber for simultaneous introduction onto said rolling table, said means for depositing being adapted to deposit said filter into said transfer chamber in advance of said filler charge and at an angle toward said charge;
• reinforcement strip forming means, said forming means adapted to bond together, in juxtaposition, strips of reinforcing tape and foil to form a reinforcement strip and to cut said reinforcement strip into pre-determined lengths;
• reinforcement strip transport means, said reinforcement strip transport means adapted to deposit said cut lengths of reinforcement strip on said rolling table;
• binder forming means for cutting pre-determined lengths of binder material and depositing said lengths onto said roller table;
• said length of binder material and said reinforcement strip being so positioned on the rolling table that, upon completion of the subsequent rolling operation, the reinforcement strip will be circumferentially wrapped over the interface between the filter and filler charge;
• means for effecting a bond between said reinforcement strip and said binder;
• roller means for rolling said filter and said filler charge in said binder material and reinforcement strip to produce said filter cigar bunch, said roller means including tamping means to maintain constant pressure against said filter during the rolling operation;
• locator means for locating the filter and filler charge after rolling, said locator means including a locating element adapted to be inserted into said rolled bunch to compress said filter against said filler charge;
• and
• heated crimper means for forming the head end of said rolled and located cigar bunch, said crimper means including a heating element incorporated in a crimper jaw.