Device for conditioning comminuted tobacco material
AssigneeBritish American Tobacco (Germany) GmbH
InventorsUwe Werner Ehling, Frank Plückhahn, Gerald Schmekel, Arno Weiss
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention relates to a method and a device for conditioning comminuted tobacco material by heating and moistening with water vapor, wherein the comminuted tobacco material free-falls down through a chamber operating in a continuous process and is treated during free-fall with water vapor via nozzles; a hyperbaric pressure is maintained in said chamber.
Claims19
A device for conditioning comminuted tobacco material by heating and moistening with water vapor, comprising:
- a) a chamber, having an upper inlet and a lower outlet, in which said comminuted tobacco material free-falls downwards;
- b) a cellular wheel sluice at each of the upper inlet and lower outlet of said chamber;
- c) ring nozzles for treating said free-falling, comminuted tobacco material with water vapor;
- and
- d) a heating jacket;
- wherein:
- e) both cellular wheel sluices are formed as pressure differential proof sluices,
- f) such that a hyperbaric pressure of more than 1 bar is maintained in said chamber.
A device for conditioning tobacco material, comprising:
- a chamber having an inlet and an outlet;
- a first wheel sluice at said inlet and a second wheel sluice at said outlet;
- at least one water vapor nozzle located within said chamber;
- a heating jacket;
- said chamber maintaining a hyperbaric pressure of more than 1 bar.
A device for conditioning tobacco material, comprising:
- a hyperbaric chamber having an inlet and an outlet;
- a first pressure differential proof wheel sluice at said inlet of said hyperbaric chamber;
- a second pressure differential proof wheel sluice at said outlet end of said hyperbaric chamber;
- said second pressure differential proof wheel sluice having a larger conveying volume than said first pressure differential proof wheel sluice;
- a plurality of nozzles within said chamber in flow communication with a vapor source;
- a heating jacket surrounding said hyperbaric chamber;
- wherein a hyperbaric pressure of more than 1 bar is maintained within said chamber.
A device for conditioning tobacco material, comprising:
- a hyperbaric chamber having an upper inlet and a lower outlet and being tapered from said upper inlet to said lower outlet, said upper inlet having a pressure differential wheel sluice and said lower outlet having a pressure differential wheel sluice;
- said hyperbaric chamber having at least one nozzle formed on an interior surface thereof in flow communication with a vapor source, said nozzle in flow communication with superheated vapor having a temperature between about 100° C. and 200° C.;
- said hyperbaric chamber having a pressure of greater than 1 bar and having a heating jacket formed around an exterior surface, said heating jacket in vapor communication with said vapor source;
- said pressure differential wheel sluice in said upper inlet having a lower conveying volume than said pressure differential wheel sluice in said lower outlet.
A device for conditioning tobacco material, comprising:
- a hyperbaric chamber having an upper inlet and a lower outlet and being tapered from said upper inlet to said lower outlet, said upper inlet having a first pressure proof differential wheel sluice and said lower outlet having a second pressure proof differential wheel sluice;
- said second wheel sluice having a larger conveying volume than said first wheel sluice;
- a plurality of ring nozzles integrated with an interior surface of said hyperbaric chamber, each of said ring nozzles in flow communication with a superheated vapor source of at least 100° C.;
- a heating jacket surrounding an exterior surface of said hyperbaric chamber, said heating jacket in flow communication with a heated vapor source;
- wherein said hyperbaric chamber maintains an absolute pressure of about 2 to about 10 bars.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.