Tobacco – Cigar or cigarette making – Tobacco feeding
Reexamination Certificate
2001-07-20
2003-10-21
Derrington, James (Department: 1731)
Tobacco
Cigar or cigarette making
Tobacco feeding
C131S110000, C131S282000, C131S287000, C131S084300
Reexamination Certificate
active
06634365
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED CASES
The present application claims the priority of the commonly owned copending German patent application Serial No. 100 35 962.3 filed Jul. 20, 2000. The disclosure of the above-referenced German patent application, as well as that of each US and foreign patent and patent application identified in the specification of the present application, is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to improvements in methods of and in apparatus for regulating the density of elongated streams of comminuted natural, artificial and/or reconstituted tobacco or other particulate material prior to processing or further processing of such material, e.g., in a tobacco rod making machine. More particularly, the invention relates to improvements in methods of and in apparatus for making one or more streams or flows of discrete particles, such as comminuted tobacco ribs and/or comminuted tobacco leaf laminae. Still more particularly, the invention relates to improvements in methods and apparatus of the type disclosed in commonly owned German patent application Serial No. 43 36 453 A 1 of Manfred Kaluza published Apr. 27, 1993.
The published German patent application of Kaluza discloses a hopper (also called distributor) which is designed to supply one or more flows of tobacco particles to the rod forming station of a cigarette rod making or an analogous tobacco processing machine. The hopper of Kaluza employs a downwardly extending and downwardly diverging funnel-shaped housing the upper end portion of which receives a continuous stream of tobacco particles from a drum-shaped carded conveyor cooperating with a rapidly driven picker roller and being located at the lower end of an upright tobacco supplying duct. The hopper has two confronting sidewalls which flank a downwardly extending path for tobacco particles being propelled downwardly by the aforementioned picker roller. The sidewalls have orifices forming part of nozzles which admit jets of air transversely against the respective sides of the descending particle stream. The nozzles at one of the sidewalls are staggered vertically relative to the nozzles at the other sidewall so that successive increments of the descending stream are alternatingly deflected and thereby loosened by the jets of gaseous fluid issuing from the orifices of the nozzles at the respective sidewalls of the duct. Such treatment of the descending stream of tobacco particles results in a loosening or singularizing of the body or mass of downwardly advancing tobacco particles. The thus pretreated partially loosened descending stream is thereupon subjected to additional mechanical and pneumatic treatments which are intended to impart to the developing flow of tobacco particles an optimum consistency for conversion into a tobacco rod which is ready to be converted into a so-called filler adapted to be confined in a tubular envelope consisting of cigarette paper or other suitable wrapping material.
The additional mechanical and/or pneumatic treatment is intended to segregate fragments of tobacco ribs from so-called tobacco leaf laminae (shredded tobacco leaves) prior to draping of the rod-like filler into the running web of cigarette paper or the like. The segregation of comminuted ribs from the comminuted (such as shredded) tobacco leaf laminae is intended to reduce the likelihood of undesirable puncturing of the cigarette paper web by fragments of relatively hard tobacco ribs.
An apparatus similar to that disclosed in the published German patent application of Kaluza is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/482,679 corresponding to published German patent application No. 199 01087.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
An object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved method of manipulating accumulations of particulate material, such as mixtures of comminuted tobacco ribs and tobacco leaf laminae, in a gentle and highly reliable (reproducible) manner.
Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved method of processing streams or flows of particles which are about to be converted into the rod-like fillers of cigarettes, cigarillos and analogous smokers' products.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a method which renders it possible to eliminate so-called density holes (randomly occurring regions or portions of a tobacco stream wherein the density deviates appreciably from the densities of neighbouring portions) in the flow of tobacco particles being caused to advance through the distributor or hopper of a cigarette rod making machine or an analogous machine for the mass production of smokers' products.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a method which renders it possible to carry out a novel and improved treatment of a tobacco stream about to be converted into the filler or fillers of one or more continuous cigarette rods or the like.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a method which renders it possible to enhance the homogeneousness of the rod-shaped filler of a continuous rod that can be subdivided into a file of plain cigarettes, cigars, cigarillos or analogous smokers' products.
A further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved distributor or hopper for use in a machine for making plain cigarettes, cigarillos, cigars and analogous smokers' products.
Another object of the instant invention is to provide a novel and improved combination of parts which can be utilized to increase or enhance the homogeneousness of one or more streams of fibrous particles, such as comminuted tobacco leaves.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved system of nozzles which can be utilized in the distributor or hopper of a cigarette rod making or an analogous machine.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved apparatus for homogenizing a stream of shredded tobacco leaf laminae, with or without tobacco ribs, in the distributor or hopper of a cigarette rod making machine.
A further object of the instant invention is to provide novel and improved cigarettes, cigarillos, cigars or analogous rod-shaped smokers' products.
Another object of this invention is to enhance the homogeneousness of the tobacco fillers in cigarettes, cigars, cigarillos or other rod-shaped tobacco-containing products
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One feature of the present invention resides in the provision of an apparatus for regulating the density of elongated streams of particulate material, such as comminuted tobacco leaves. The improved apparatus comprises a conveyor having an inlet and at least one outlet and defining an elongated path extending from the inlet to the at least one outlet, and means for treating a stream of particulate material in the conveyor. The treating means comprises a compacting unit which is designed to densify successive increments of the stream at the inlet with attendant conversion of successive increments of the stream into successive increments of at least one modified stream (hereinafter called flow to distinguish it from the stream which is being admitted into the path) wherein at least some of the particles are interlaced with and/or otherwise brought closer to each other, and at least one means for changing the speed of successive increments of the flow in the conveyor to at least substantially singularize the particles not later than at the at least one outlet of the conveyor.
The apparatus can further comprise means (such as an at least substantially upright duct and/or a so-called combing roller or an equivalent thereof) for advancing successive increments of the stream toward the inlet along a second path, and means (such as a so-called picker roller which co-operates with the combing roller) for transferring successive increments of the stream from the second path into the inlet of the elongated path.
In accordance with a presently preferred embodiment, the compacting unit includes at least one pneumatic stream compacting device; suc
Barkmann Ralf
Hoppe Reinhard
Juschus Thomas
Lindemann Rolf
Schumacher Peter
Derrington James
Hauni Maschinenbau AG
Kinberg Robert
Lopez Carlos
Venable LLP
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