Filter component cutting system
AssigneePhilip Morris USA Inc.
InventorsJames D. Evans, Steven R. Rinehart, G. Robert Scott, Steven F. Spiers
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A filter component cutting system comprises a supply hopper of elongate filter rods and a cutting drum with spaced apart flutes on an exterior surface of the drum for receiving the elongate filler rods. A transfer mechanism receives the elongate filter rods from the supply hopper and delivers the rods to the flutes on the cutting drum. At least one cutter adjacent the cutting drum functions to cut the filter rods in to individual filter components as the cutting drum rotates.
Claims13
A process for cutting filter components comprising the steps of:
- delivering elongate filter rods from a supply hopper to a cutting drum having flutes on an outside surface of the drum arranged to receive the rods;
- rotating the cutting drum;
- moving the filter rods on the cutting drum against stops in each of the flutes thereof;
- cutting the filter rods positioned against the stop into individual filter components all of the same length, and
- collecting the individual filter components one after the other.
A filter component cutting system comprising a supply hopper of elongate filter rods, a rotating cutting drum with spaced apart flutes on an exterior surface of the drum constructed and arranged to receive elongate filter rods, a transfer mechanism for receiving elongate filter rods from the supply hopper and delivering the rods to the flutes of the cutting drum, stop means at one end of each of the flutes on the cutting drum against which the elongate filter rods are positioned prior to being cut into individual filter components each of the same length and at least one cutter blade adjacent the cutting drum for cutting the elongate filter rods into individual filter components each of the same length as the cutting drum rotates.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.