Method of and apparatus for homogenizing streams of particulate fibrous material
AssigneeHauni Maschinenbau AG
InventorsRalf Barkmann, Reinhard Hoppe, Thomas Juschus, Peter Schumacher, Rolf Lindemann
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A shower of tobacco particles is fed into the upper end of a downwardly sloping and downwardly tapering funnel-shaped part of a conveyor wherein the particles gather into a flow of interlaced particles. Successive increments of the flow are acted upon by one or more jets of air issuing from at least one nozzle which loosens successive foremost increments of the flow prior to admission into a tobacco filler rod forming unit in a cigarette rod making machine.
Claims42
An apparatus for regulating density of elongated streams of particulate material, comprising:
- a conveyor having an inlet and at least one outlet and defining at least one elongated path extending from said inlet to said at least one outlet;
- means for treating a stream of particulate material in said conveyor, including:
- a compacting unit to density successive increments of the stream downstream of said inlet thereby making said successive increments more dense and resulting in at least one flow wherein at least some of the particulate material are interlaced with each other, said increments moving at a speed;
- and
- at least one means for changing the speed of successive increments of the at least one flow in said conveyor to at least substantially singularize the particles not later than at said at least one outlet;
- and
- means for regulating an operation of at least one of said conveyor and said compacting unit, including at least one sensor arranged to monitor at least one of (a) a thickness of the at least one flow in said path, (b) density of the at least one flow in said path, and (c) pressure of air in a chamber adjacent said path in the region of said at least one outlet.
A method of making at least one flow of particles of fibrous material, comprising the steps of:
- advancing a stream of particles from a first path into an inlet of at least one elongated second path having at least one outlet remote from the inlet,
- compacting successive increments of the stream at said inlet with attendant interlacing of at least some particles in successive increments thereby obtaining at least one flow monitoring at least one of (a) a thickness of the at least one flow, (b) density of the at least one flow, and (c) pressure of air in a chamber adjacent said second path in the region of said at least one outlet;
- and
- accelerating successive increments of the at least one flow in said second path to at least substantially singularize the particles not later than at the at least one outlet.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.