Smoke generator

In an apparatus for generating and dispensing smoke by combustion of material on an upstream side of a gas permeable element through which a flow stream is introduced by a blower, the improvement residing in a housing enclosing a hopper within which the material is stored upstream of the blower, means for introducing the material from the hopper into the blower, and means for comminuting the material entering the blower from the hopper through the material introducing means, said comminuting means including a pair of relatively rotatable elements, guide means for limiting displacement of one of the elements into and out of sliding contact with the other of the elements, and means for exerting a continuous bias on said one of the elements toward sliding contact with the other of the elements.

Appartus for continuously generating smoke for different uses, which apparatus comprises:

• a housing containing a chamber for holding particulate material and a chamber in which smoke is generated, means for continuously feeding the particulate material into said smoke generating chamber, heating means within said smoke generating chamber to ignite the particulate material fed thereinto, blower means for supplying air into said smoke generating chamber to the particulate material sufficient to maintain combustion, duct means for exhaust of the smoke produced in said smoke generating chamber from said chamber, the continuous feeding means including a rotatable element through which gravitational infeed of the material from the holding chamber to the smoke generating chamber occurs, and means mounting the blower means in operative relation to the chambers for enhancing said gravitational infeed of the material and the exhaust of the smoke by the duct means in response to inflow of the air to the smoke generating chamber.