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AssigneesKorber AG, British-American Tobacco Company Limited
InventorsManfred Lasch, Klaus-Georg Hackmack, Reinhard Hohm, Ian E. Tatham, Eric H. Dennis
Estimating the term…
Bales of compressed tobacco ribs and/or tobacco leaf laminae having a moisture content of 8-11 percent are advanced past a battery of microwave generators or through one or more electric high frequency fields to raise the temperature of particles in the bales to between 30.degree. and 90.degree. C. The bales or portions of the bales are thereupon loosened, prior to complete cooling back to starting temperature, by the pins of a conveyor which delivers the particles of loosened bales or portions of bales into the magazine of a shredding machine wherein the particles are cut. The moisture content of shreds is raised to 12-13.5 percent at which the shreds are ready for processing into smokers' products, or above 13.5 percent, for example, to between 21 and 30 percent. Such moisturizing to above the processing moisture content is or can be followed by drying of the shreds.
A method of manipulating relatively dry particles of tobacco leaves in the form of tobacco ribs and/or tobacco leaf laminae which are compressed into bales, comprising the steps of dielectrically heating the bales or portions thereof from a first to a second temperature without increasing the moisture content of the bales;
Apparatus for manipulating relatively dry particles of tobacco leaves in the form of tobacco ribs and/or tobacco leaf laminae which are compressed into bales, comprising means for dielectrically heating a series of bales or portions thereof from a first to a second temperature without increasing the moisture content of the bales;
A method of manipulating relatively dry particles of tobacco leaves in the form of tobacco ribs and/or tobacco leaf laminae which are compressed into bales, comprising the steps of dielectrically heating the bales from a first to a second temperature;
A method of manipulating relatively dry particles of tobacco leaves in the form of tobacco ribs and/or tobacco leaf laminae which are compressed into bales, comprising the steps of dielectrically heating the bales from a first to a second temperature;
Apparatus for manipulating relatively dry particles of tobacco leaves in the form of tobacco ribs and/or tobacco leaf laminae which are compressed into bales, comprising means for dielectrically heating a series of bales from a first to a second temperature;
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.