Material or article handling – Process – Of charging or discharging – or facilitating charging or...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-25
2001-11-27
Bratlie, Steven A. (Department: 3652)
Material or article handling
Process
Of charging or discharging, or facilitating charging or...
C414S299000, C414S300000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06322317
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method and a device for feeding layers of tobacco to an intermediate reservoir.
The invention relates more particularly to a method and device for feeding layers of tobacco to a box for cut ribs and stems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Tobacco products, especially cigarettes, are typically composed of many different grades of tobacco and thus for the quality of these tobacco products a consistent fidelity in blend is substantial on the basis of the large amounts of tobacco to be processed in preparing the tobacco, so that each and every cigarette contains a constantly homogenous tobacco blend.
If, for this purpose, a proportion of a certain grade of tobacco necessary for a specific blend were to be fed directly to the blending box from a silo, layers of tobacco would result in the blending box greatly differing in homogeneity to such a degree that the wanted homogeneous quality of the finished tobacco product would be unfavorably influenced.
That is why it is important in satisfying the basic requirement that the large blending boxes as known in the tobacco industry are filled with differing grades of tobacco in such a way that the various grades of tobacco are deposited by layers in such a blending box so that the lengths of the individual layers correspond to the length of the blending box.
Then, from the tobacco mass thus formed, vertical portions are removed containing tobaccos of various layers and thus various grades of tobacco to generate a homogenous blend of tobacco.
Thus, various devices have been developed, intended it assure the consistent stratification in such blending boxes, see e.g. DE 20 24 513 A, U.S. Pat. No. 4,619,576 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,811,585.
A further problem associated with such a blending box is that the tobacco needs to be fed equally apportioned for further processing. For this purpose it is usually such that at the outlet end of the blending box so-called sweeper rakes are installed which acts as rotating spiked shafts and which are provided with spikes to tear the vertical tobacco portions from the face wall of the tobacco mass in the blending box. This allows this particular tobacco to be supplied for further processing. However, discharging the layers of tobacco in this way from the blending box greatly stresses the tobacco, degrading it accordingly. This applies in particular to cut tobaccos having a high moisture content which in critical bulk heights and lengthy storage periods tend to pack and clump so that discharge by means of sweeper rakes results in heavy detriment to qualify.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is thus based on the object of defining a device and a method for feeding an intermediate reservoir with layers of tobacco in which the aforementioned disadvantages do not occur. More particularly, the object is to define a device and a method permitting by simply designed means the discharge of homogenous tobacco portions from the blending box without quality being detrimented in any way.
This object is achieved by a device for feeding layers of tobacco to an intermediate reservoir, more particularly, to a box for cut ribs and stems, comprising a blending trolley arranged above said intermediate reservoir, said blending trolley being reciprocable in the longitudinal direction of said intermediate reservoir, said blending trolley receiving a continual feed of tobacco and a continual stream of tobacco dropping from the discharge end of said blending trolley downwardly into said intermediate reservoir, a conveyor for the further transport of the tobacco mass present in said intermediate reservoir to a dosing apparatus and web-type separators in the drop path of said tobacco between said blending trolley and said intermediate reservoir for deflecting said dropping stream of tobacco so that predetermined break points form in said tobacco mass under said separators thus forming vertical columns of tobacco separable from each other.
The object is achieved also by a method for feeding layers of tobacco to an intermediate reservoir, more particularly, a box for cut ribs and stems, including feeding a continually falling, horizontally shifting stream of tobacco to said intermediate reservoir, wherein said falling stream of tobacco is deflected by a web-type separators, below said web-type separators predetermined break points form in said tobacco mass in said intermediate reservoir, forming vertical columns of tobacco separable from each other.
There are also further embodiments of the device read from the features as set forth in the dependent claims.
The advantages achieved by the invention are based on the following mode of functioning:
The stream of tobacco falling vertically from a blending trolley in conventional ways and is deflected by web-type separators located above the intermediate reservoir, usually a blending box, so that in the vertical direction under these web-type separators, zones of lesser tobacco density materialize in all tobacco layers in the intermediate reservoir. These zones of lesser density have the effect of being “predetermined break points” in the tobacco mass so that these predetermined break points produce vertical columns of tobacco separated from each other, comprising different layers and thus grades of tobacco.
On discharge of the tobacco mass from the intermediate reservoir the first tobacco column in the discharging direction tilts away and is thus supplied as a sole, separated portion to further processing, for example a dispensing conveyor.
The tobacco mass in the intermediate reservoir is thus subjected to no mechanical agitation whatsoever so that masses of tobacco heavily compacted and tending to lump due to critical bulk heights and lengthy storage may be supplied apportioned to further processing in a gently treated manner.
Particularly in the case of cut rib and stem tobacco processing needs to be done in the presence of a high moisture content, this being the reason why the invention is especially suitable for the application of cut rib and stem tobacco blending bins or silos, also hereinafter termed a “shag box”.
Expediently the web-type separators are formed by two strips connected to each other and being A-shaped or steep roof as viewed from the side. The horizontal basic surface area of the roof should have a width of approximately 30 to 200 mm, more particularly 80 to 160 mm, while the height should be in the range of 30 to 120 mm, more particularly 40 to 100 mm. These dimensions of the roof-shaped separators ensure that, on the one hand, predetermined break points materialize of sufficient width, thus making for satisfactory separation of the individual tobacco columns and, on the other, enabling the tobacco to slide downwards on the side surface areas of the separators without sticking thereto.
Experience as shown it to be beneficial if the web-type separators are spaced away from each other by 30 to 60 cm, more particularly 40 to 50 cm, since in this way homogenous tobacco portions, i.e. the aforementioned tobacco columns, may be formed for further processing.
In one preferred embodiment the underside of the outlet end of the blending trolley mounts a blade for sweeping tobacco from the upper surface areas of the web-type separators to prevent tobacco collecting and thus encrusting. The blade may consist of a metal plate which runs past the top edge of the web-type separators slightly spaced away therefrom, or of a deformable material which strokes the surface areas of the web-type separators, thereby sweeping off the tobacco.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3735881 (1973-05-01), Wilding
patent: 3811585 (1974-05-01), Wilding
patent: 3879021 (1975-04-01), Riley
patent: 4027806 (1977-06-01), Weihmuller
patent: 4619576 (1986-10-01), George et al.
patent: 4725181 (1988-02-01), Mine et al.
patent: 5324158 (1994-06-01), Shah et al.
patent: 215326 (1909-10-01), None
patent: 673308 (1939-03-01), None
patent: 2 024 513 (1971-12-01), None
patent: 21 25 629 (1976-07-01), None
patent: 56145039 (1981-11-01), None
Bratlie Steven A.
Brown & Williams on Tobacco Corporation
Middleton & Reutlinger
Salazar John F.
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