Tobacco – Cigar or cigarette making – Tobacco feeding
Patent
1991-01-10
1992-06-02
Millin, V.
Tobacco
Cigar or cigarette making
Tobacco feeding
131306, 131305, A24B 6306
Patent
active
051178443
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an apparatus for opening tobacco in the form of blocks of un-opened layers and for conditioning tobacco taken from bales prior to a further treatment or processing.
HISTORY OF THE RELATED ART
Direct cylinder conditioning is widely used in the tobacco industry to open and condition compressed bales of threshed or stripped tobacco. The process involves sliding the bale either vertically or horizontally into slabs or slices which are then transported directly to the cylinder for opening and conditioning.
Conditioning cylinders which are used for conditioning of sliced bales of tobacco typically take the form of a cylinder mounted for rotation about a slightly inclined axis, being supported by means of two track rings and cooperating support rollers. The moisture and heat for the opening process in the cylinder are provided by water and live steam sprays, mounted at the inlet end of the cylinder, protruding through a diffusion plate perpendicular to the axis of rotation, or in the recirculating duct which conveys vapour from the outlet of the cylinder back to the inlet where it passes through the diffusion plate back into the main body of the cylinder.
Within the body of the cylinder there are inwardly projecting radial pins of nominal mean length of 100 mm. The remainder of the internal geometry is configured with the pins either linearly, or helically displaced along the length of the cylinder, or with a combination of pins and paddles.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of this invention is to provide an apparatus in which an optimally configured conditioning gas stream can be mixed and distributed evenly over the maximum surface area of a slice of unconditioned tobacco in a conditioning cylinder. The gas stream consists of a mixture of air, steam, water droplets or other absorbable fluids required to bring the tobacco to the desired condition in the cylinder.
According to the present invention there is provided apparatus for opening tobacco in the form of un-opened layers and for conditioning the tobacco comprising a cylinder conditioner mounted for rotation about a generally horizontal axis, and a tobacco opening unit mounted at the inlet end of the cylinder for rotation therewith, said opening unit having projections extending towards the axis of rotation adapted for supporting portions of the un-opened layers of tobacco within the unit on initial entry thereof, and for effecting opening of the tobacco on rotation of the unit, the distal ends of the projections defining a solid revolution which narrows in the direction of tobacco feed.
Preferably the projecting means are in the form of tines, the ends of which describe a frusto-conical section.
In order to promote a fuller understanding of the above and other aspects of the present invention an embodiment will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2 is a detail cross-section of the line 2--2 of FIG. 1; and
FIG. 3 is a detail cross-section of the perforated cone of FIG. 1.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
In the drawings the basic cylinder of a cylinder conditioner is shown at 10 in schematic outline only, and is arranged to rotate in known manner per se about an inclined axis 11 (FIG. 2) inclines to the horizontal leg 3.degree.-5.degree..
An opening or inlet unit 12 is fitted to the inlet end of the cylinder 10 to rotate therewith. An inlet tunnel 13 for a tobacco slice is arranged at the smaller inlet end of the frusto-conical inlet unit 12, to feed slices of tobacco from means (not shown) which produces such slices from bales of raw tobacco material.
The unit 12 is contained within a stationary jacket 14 which is partitioned to provide an air supply compartment 15 and a steam supply compartment 16. A frusto-conical wall 21 of the unit 12 serving as guide means for the opened tobacco is perforated so that air and
REFERENCES:
patent: 519637 (1894-05-01), Marburg
patent: 4884587 (1991-01-01), Neville
GBE International plc
Millin V.
Reichard Lynne A.
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