Pusher/cutter drum arrangement for positioning and cutting rod-shaped objects

A pusher/cutter drum arrangement for use in the tobacco-processing industry for longitudinal-axial positioning and cutting of rod-shaped objects, each of the rod-shaped objects having at least one face, the arrangement comprising:

• a rotating trough drum containing receiving troughs for receiving the rod-shaped objects in a staggered formation, wherein the rod-shaped objects are received in the receiving troughs, the rod-shaped objects following one another in a staggered manner;
• alignment contacts extending in the receiving troughs and adapted for aligning the rod-shaped objects with one another in a transverse direction, wherein the alignment contacts act on the front faces of the rod-shaped objects and are longitudinally displaceable in relation to the receiving troughs;
• means for displacing the rod-shaped objects in a longitudinal-axial direction of the rod-shaped objects so that the rod-shaped objects are displaced against the alignment contacts into a transverse-axial row cutting formation;
• a rotating cutting means extending through the receiving troughs for making a transverse cut of the aligned rod-shaped objects;
• and
• actuating drive means operatively arranged with the alignment contacts for moving the alignment contacts into a defined contact position outside of an effective range of the cutting means, and for retracting the alignment contacts from the contact position.