Method of and apparatus for making a continuous filler of tobacco or the like
AssigneeKorber AG
InventorUwe Heitmann
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A stream of tobacco particles which is built at the underside of the lower reach of an endless foraminous belt conveyor is trimmed to remove the surplus, and the resulting filler is draped into a web of cigarette paper while advancing through a wrapping mechanism. In order to reduce friction in the wrapping mechanism, the stream is shaped, at least in part, to assume a cross-sectional outline conforming to that of the wrapped filler. Such cross-sectional outline can be imparted by the conveyor and/or by the trimming device. The web of cigarette paper is also shaped on its way toward the wrapping mechanism to assume the shape of a trough.
Claims26
A method of making a continuous filler of fibrous material, particularly a tobacco filler, comprising the steps of feeding fibrous material into a stream-growing portion of an elongated path to build a continuous stream;
- advancing the stream longitudinally along said path including attracting the fibrous material to one side of an-air permeable endless conveyor and establishing a pressure differential between the one side and the other side of the conveyor so that the fibrous material of the growing and fully grown stream is attracted to and advances with the one side of the conveyor;
- shaping the stream in the course of at least one of said feeding and advancing steps so as to provide the stream with a predetermined cross-sectional outline, including imparting to the one side of the conveyor the shape of an elongated channel having a longitudinally extending central section and two longitudinally extending lateral sections flanking the central section, said feeding step including attracting fibrous material primarily or exclusively to the central section in a first region of said stream-growing portion of said path and attracting fibrous material to all of the sections in a second region of said stream-growing portion;
- and preserving at least a portion of the predetermined cross-sectional outline of the stream at least until after completion of said advancing step.
Apparatus for making a continuous filler of fibrous material, particularly a tobacco filler, comprising a conveying unit defining an elongated path;
- a feeding unit for admitting fibrous material into a predetermined portion of said path so as to build on the conveying unit a continuous stream which advances longitudinally along said path, said conveying unit including an endless air-permeable conveyor having a first side defining said path and a second side opposite said first side, said conveyor including a median section and two lateral sections flanking said median section, said conveying unit further comprising first means for reducing the pressure at the second side of said conveyor along said median section of the conveyor in a predetermined region of said predetermined portion of said path so as to attract fibrous material solely or exclusively to said median section and second means for reducing the pressure at the second side of said conveyor along said median section as well as along said lateral sections in a second region of said predetermined portion of said path downstream of said predetermined region so as to attract fibrous material to all of said sections;
- and shaping means provided in the region of at least one of said units and having means for providing the stream with a predetermined cross-sectional outline.
A method of making a continuous filler of fibrous material, particularly a tobacco filler, comprising the steps of feeding fibrous material into a stream-growing first portion of an elongated path to build a continuous stream which contains a surplus of fibrous material;
- advancing the stream longitudinally along said path;
- removing the surplus from the stream in a second portion of said path;
- shaping the stream in the course of at least one of said feeding, advancing and removing steps so as to provide the stream with a predetermined cross-sectional outline;
- and preserving at least a portion of the cross-sectional outline of the stream at least until after completion of said removing step, said shaping step including removing the surplus from successive increments of the stream in such a way that the thus trimmed increments of the stream define said portion of the cross-sectional outline of the stream.
Apparatus for making a continuous filler of fibrous material, particularly a tobacco filler, comprising a conveying unit defining an elongated path;
- a feeding unit for admitting fibrous material into a first portion of said path so as to build on the conveying unit a continuous stream which contains a surplus of fibrous material and advances longitudinally along said path;
- a trimming unit for removing the surplus from the advancing stream in a second portion of said path;
- and shaping means provided in the region of at least one of said units and having means for providing the stream with a predetermined cross-sectional outline, said shaping means including a portion forming part of said trimming unit and said trimming unit comprising at least one severing member arranged to remove the surplus from a predetermined side of the stream and to thus impart to said side an outline matching or resembling a portion of said predetermined outline.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.