Tobacco – Cigar or cigarette making – Molding or forming
Patent
1998-02-13
2000-05-16
Silverman, Stanley S.
Tobacco
Cigar or cigarette making
Molding or forming
131280, 131906, 131907, 131908, 131910, A24C 518
Patent
active
060622261
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a cigarette manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing cigarettes by continuously supplying tobacco shreds obtained by finely cutting tobacco leaves, continuously wrapping the continuously supplied tobacco shreds with an elongated cigarette paper to form a tobacco rod, and then cutting the tobacco rod to predetermined lengths. More particularly, the present invention relates to a cigarette manufacturing apparatus having a function of detecting local excess and deficiency of the filling amount of tobacco shreds in a tobacco rod to reject a cigarette which is cut from the tobacco rod if it has a local excess filling portion or deficient filling portion of tobacco shreds.
BACKGROUND ART
FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a cigarette manufacturing apparatus. This cigarette manufacturing apparatus continuously supplies tobacco shreds 2a fed into a hopper 1 to a wrapping unit 4 by sucking them to the lower surface of a conveyor belt (tobacco band) provided in a suction unit 3. The suction amount (supply amount) of tobacco shreds 2a sucked to the lower surface of the conveyor belt 3a is controlled by a trimming disk 5. The wrapping unit 4 continuously wraps the tobacco shreds with an elongated cigarette paper 6 supplied continuously from a roll R to form a long tobacco rod 2b. This tobacco rod 2b is cut to predetermined lengths in a cutting section 7. For example, the tobacco rod 2b is cut into cigarette rods 2c of a double unit length, which corresponds to a length of substantially two final cigarettes, and the cigarette rods 2c are supplied to a filter attachment unit 8.
The wrapping unit 4 is provided with a garniture tape 4b drivingly run by a main shaft 4a. As shown in FIG. 2, the garniture tape 4b rolls both sides of the cigarette paper 6 inside and upward while conveying the cigarette paper 6 supplied from the roll R, and continuously wraps the tobacco shreds 2a supplied onto the cigarette paper 6 in cooperation with a tongue 4c disposed opposingly above the garniture tape 4b. By this wrapping operation, the long tobacco rod 2b, in which the tobacco shreds 2a are wrapped with the cigarette paper 6, is continuously formed. The running speed of the conveyor belt 3a, which determines the supply speed of tobacco shreds 2a to the wrapping unit 4, is determined in synchronization with the rotation of the main shaft 4a, that is, depending on the running speed of the garniture tape 4b.
The trimming disk 5 is rotated in synchronization with the rotation of the main shaft 4a (running speed of the garniture tape 4b). The trimming disk 5 regulates the thickness of tobacco shreds 2 sucked to the lower surface of the conveyor belt 3a, and controls the suction amount (supply amount) of tobacco shreds 2a conveyed to the wrapping unit 4 by scraping away the excess shreds. By the control of the supply amount of tobacco shreds 2a using the trimming disk 5, the amount of tobacco shreds 2a wrapped with the cigarette paper 6, that is, the amount (filling amount) of tobacco shreds 2a in the tobacco rod 2b is controlled.
The trimming disk 5 is provided with pockets 5a for partially increasing the filling amount of tobacco shreds 2a in the tobacco rod 2b. The presence of these pockets partially increases the suction amount (supply amount) of tobacco shreds 2a conveyed to the wrapping unit 4, for example, each time the disk makes a half turn. As a result, the filling amount (filling density) of tobacco shreds 2a in the tobacco rod 2b is increased partially at every predetermined portion in the lengthwise direction. The hardened portion where the filling density of tobacco shreds 2a is increased is the cut portion where the aforesaid cigarette rods 2c are cut off, and further each cigarette is cut off. As a result, the tobacco shreds 2 are prevented from dropping off the cigarette dense end.
The filling density of tobacco shreds 2a in the tobacco rod 2b is detected continuously by using, for example, a radiation density detector. By integrating the filling density of tobacco
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patent: 5746225 (1998-05-01), Okumoto et al.
patent: 5762075 (1998-06-01), Hoppe et al.
Translation of JP 7-308179, Jul. 1998.
Colaianni Michael P.
Japan Tobacco Inc.
Silverman Stanley S.
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