US 4,373,538 A · Method and apparatus for forming a stream from several types of tobacco

Abstract

A tobacco stream which contains shreds and short tobacco is formed by moving an endless elevator conveyor with equidistant comb-like vanes first past a first magazine which contains short tobacco whereby the slender triangular prongs of the vanes remove and entrain batches of short tobacco and thereupon past a second magazine which contains shreds whereby the prongs of the vanes augment each batch by adding thereto an oversupply of tobacco shreds. A first paddle wheel with comb-like blades is adjacent to the path of the vanes to remove the surplus from successive batches, and a second paddle wheel serves to remove the surplus of shreds from augmented batches. Such batches are then converted into the stream which is trimmed by one or more knives which form short tobacco. The thus obtained short tobacco is fed to the first magazine.

Claims23

Dependent claims

In a method of forming a tobacco stream which contains predetermined percentages of plural types of tobacco, the steps of establishing and maintaining discrete first and second sources of first and second tobacco types;

withdrawing from the first source a succession of discrete batches at least some of which contain a surplus of tobacco of the first type;
removing the surplus from the respective batches so that, upon completion of said removing step, each of said batches at most contains a predetermined maximum quantity of tobacco of the first type;
transporting successive batches past said second source;
augmenting successive batches including adding to such batches tobacco of the second type during transport past said second source;
and converting the augmented batches into said stream.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Method and apparatus for forming a stream from several types of tobacco

Life of this patent

Method and apparatus for forming a stream from several types of tobacco

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims23