Method of bulk conveying cigarettes

A method of providing a variable capacity reservoir for cigarettes in a conveying line for the cigarettes, said method comprising,

• feeding a mass of cigarettes along a path in opposite directions to and from a main cigarette conveyor line to provide a variable capacity reservoir of cigarettes for said main cigarette conveying line,
• forming said path by first and second conveyors, the first conveyor being associated with the main cigarette conveyor line to selectively remove and supply cigarettes thereto, the second conveyor being associated with the first conveyor to selectively receive cigarettes therefrom and return cigarettes thereto, said first conveyor defining a closed-top channel in which the cigarettes are conveyed in a stream, under pressure, at a determined thickness, said second conveyor being an open-top conveyed on which the cigarettes are conveyed without pressure in a stream at a respective determined thickness,
• operating the first and second conveyors in a first direction to transfer the cigarettes from the main cigarette conveyor line to the first conveyor and from the first conveyor to the second conveyor and in a second, opposite direction to transfer the cigarettes from the second conveyor to the first conveyor and to the main cigarette line
• the first and second conveyors being respectively and independently driveable at variable speeds in said first and second directions, and
• regulating the speed of said first and second conveyors in said first and second directions to provide a difference in speed between said first and second conveyors in at least one of said directions to compensate for differences in thickness of said stream of cigarettes arising from transfer between the closed-top first conveyor and the open-top second conveyor so as to maintain a substantially equal thickness of said stream of cigarettes on both said first and second conveyors when conveying said cigarettes from said second conveyor to said first conveyor.