AU2010212368A1 - Cigarette making device - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT ORIGINAL Applicant(s): JUN YANG Actual Inventor(s): JUN YANG Address for Service: PATENT ATTORNEY SERVICES 26 Ellingworth Parade Box Hill Victoria 3128 Australia Title: CIGARETTE MAKING DEVICE Associated Provisional Applications: No(s).: The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: 1 CIGARETTE MAKING DEVICE Cross Reference to Related Application This patent application is a divisional of International Patent Application No. PCT/AU2009/000090 filed 30 January 2009 which claims priority from Australian Patent Application No. 2008100097 filed 1 February 2008. The entire contents of these two related patent applications are incorporated herein by this cross reference. Field of the Invention The present application relates to a device for making cigarettes and in particular, to a device for making cigarettes in accordance with smoker's preferences that requires 5 minimal manual effort from the user of the device. Background of the Invention A large variety of cigarettes are commercially available to accommodate a variety of smoking preferences. Cigarettes may vary depending on the type or blend of tobacco 10 contained therein. A tobacco blend may contain a number of different ingredients in combination with shredded tobacco leaf, which may be used to flavour the tobacco. Commercially mass produced cigarettes may also include additional ingredients or enhancers in the blend, to maximise the usage of tobacco by-products. With increasing taxes and the like being applied to the sale of cigarettes, the price 15 of commercially produced cigarettes has substantially increased over time. This, combined with ongoing awareness programs associated with the dangers of smoking and in particular, the danger of smoking commercially manufactured cigarettes having a variety of chemical additives, has resulted in a movement towards individuals seeking to make their own cigarettes at home. 20 Whilst self made cigarettes have existed for some time, the process of making/assembling the cigarette has typically been a laborious task requiring much skill and dexterity to ensure that the cigarette is made to a quality typical of mass produced cigarettes. In this regard, a variety of devices have been developed to assist the user in injecting compressed tobacco into a pre-rolled tube of cigarette paper, with various 25 degrees of success. Many devices require the user to manually pack the tobacco into the device, securely position the tube of paper to the device, and manually actuate a lever to cause a plunger to insert the tobacco into the tube. As can be appreciated, whilst such devices enable users to create custom cigarettes to suit their specific preferences, the steps required to prepare a single cigarette are many. As such, the task of assembling a 30 cigarette requires considerable time and dexterity, particularly in order to guarantee a cigarette of consistent quality. 2 Most existing devices also comprise a number of moving parts and external fittings that are to be gripped and actuated by the user. As a result, such devices are typically not very compact or contained and can present sharp projections that can injure a person and make it difficult to store the devices in a convenient manner. 5 Further, existing devices provided to assist an individual to make their own cigarettes are directed predominantly to assisting the user to insert the tobacco into the paper tube. There is typically no means for pre-processing or cutting the tobacco into a more manageable form prior to inserting into the tube, which is important in ensuring consistent quality between cigarettes. This is particularly important if the tobacco is 10 sourced in a relatively raw/unprocessed form. As such, there is a need to provide a cigarette making device that provides a user with a convenient manner in which to make cigarettes to their own preferred requirements without unnecessary and continual manual input. Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like which 15 has been included in the present specification is solely for the purpose of providing a context for the present invention. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present invention as it existed before the priority date of each claim of this application. 20 Summary of the Invention According to a first aspect, the present invention provides an automated cigarette making device including: a first storage member for receiving and storing a quantity of smoking product; 25 a second storage member for receiving and storing a plurality of cigarette tubes; a delivery unit to receive said smoking product from the first storage member and to provide a controlled quantity of said smoking product for filling one of said cigarette tubes; a cigarette tube positioning unit configured to receive a cigarette tube from the 30 second storage member and to retain said tube in a position for filling; a filling unit configured to receive the controlled quantity of said smoking product from the delivery unit and to insert the controlled quantity of smoking product into the positioned tube thereby filling the tube with the controlled quantity of smoking product; a body for housing the second storage member, delivery unit, cigarette tube 35 positioning unit and the filling unit; and a controller means for controlling and coordinating the operation of the cigarette making device. 3 In one embodiment of the invention the delivery unit includes a cutting unit operative to cut said smoking product received from the first storage member into a cut smoking product which is supplied to the filling unit. In this embodiment of the invention, the cutting unit includes a rotating cutter 5 positioned adjacent the first storage member such that the smoking product is delivered to said rotating cutter under gravity from said first storage member. The cut smoking product may then pass from the rotating cutter to a cut tobacco chamber located below said rotating cutter. The rotating cutter may include a plurality of disc elements mounted at spaced 10 intervals on a central shaft. Each disc element may have a plurality of cutting edges formed thereon at regular intervals about its periphery. In one form, the cutting edges may extend at an angle to the rotation axis of said central shaft axis. In another form, the cutting edges may extend parallel to the rotation axis of said central shaft. The cutting unit may also include a stationary cutting member which cooperates 15 with the cutting edges of the cutter disc elements to cut the smoking product into finely cut pieces. The cut tobacco chamber may include a guide member positioned therein to guide the cut tobacco through an opening for delivery to the filling unit. The size of the opening may also be variable to control the amount of cut tobacco delivered to the filling 20 unit. It may further be preferred that the cutting unit include a rotating brush to assist in the transfer of the cut smoking product to the filling unit. It may also be preferred that the filling unit include a chamber located directly beneath the cut tobacco product chamber, a pushing spoon positioned within the chamber 25 to receive the cut product thereon, the pushing spoon being slidable longitudinally along a track under control of the controller so as to fill the positioned tube with cut product on the spoon, and wherein one or more position sensors are provided to detect the position of the pushing spoon and provide position signals to the controller useable thereby in controlling operation of the device. 30 It is further preferred that the cigarette tube positioning unit include a tube fetching device that collects a cigarette tube from the second storage member and transfers it to a loading position. The loading position may be a position laterally displaced from a filling nozzle of the filling unit. It may also be preferred that a cam driven rod act upon the cigarette tube to push 35 the cigarette tube into engagement with the filling nozzle so as to receive the cut smoking product from the filling unit. In an alternate embodiment of the invention it may be preferred that the interior of the second storage member be provided with a tube support device with a plurality of 4 arms extending radially from a central motor driven axis, said arms terminating in circumferentially oriented magnetic positioning blades and defining compartments in which the tubes are located the arrangement being such that using a sensor device orient the tubes precisely over the fetching wheel. Although any preferred sensor may be used 5 a Hall effect sensor is preferred. It is preferred that the controller for the cigarette making device has connected thereto multiple sensors for determining the states of one or more of the delivery unit, the cigarette tube positioning unit and the filling unit to enable the controller to co-ordinate the operation thereof. It is further preferred that the controller include a user interface for 10 receiving one or more instructions from a user to control parameters of the operation of the cigarette making device. It may be preferred that in an alternate embodiment of the invention the second storage member be provided internally with a cigarette tube storage device having a plurality of dividers extending radially from a generally centrally located motor driven 15 axis, said dividers defining compartments in which the cigarette tubes are stored, and the tube storage device being rotatable to deliver cigarette tubes to the positioning unit. It is preferred that the cigarette making device be in the form of a compact stand alone unit configured to be positioned on a bench top or the like. According to a second aspect off the invention, the present invention provides a 20 method of making a cigarette comprising: supplying a smoking product to a device; supplying at least one cigarette tube to the device; cutting the smoking product into cut smoking product within said device; delivering the smoking product to a filling unit of the device; 25 positioning one of the cigarette tubes for filling within the device; activating the filling unit to fill the positioned cigarette tube to form the cigarette; and collecting the cigarette from the device. Throughout this specification the word "comprise", or variations such as 30 "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps. Brief Description of the Drawings 35 By way of example only, the invention is now described with reference to the accompanying drawings: FIG. 1 shows a front perspective view of a cigarette making device in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; 5 FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the cigarette making device of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 shows a sectional side view of an embodiment of a processing unit of the cigarette making device of FIG. 1; FIG. 4 shows a top view of an embodiment of a processing unit of the cigarette 5 making device of FIG. 1; FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional side view of an embodiment of a cutting unit of the cigarette making device of FIG. 1; FIG. 6 shows a plan view of a fixed cutting blade for use with the cutting unit of FIG. 5; 10 FIG. 7a shows a cross-sectional side view of an embodiment of a tube locating unit of the cigarette making device of FIG. 1, and FIG 7b shows a cross-sectional side view of a further embodiment of the tube locating unit; FIG. 8 shows a cross-sectional side view of an embodiment of filling unit of the cigarette making device of FIG. 1. 15 Detailed Description of an Exemplary Embodiment of the Invention Referring to FIG. 1, a cigarette making device 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention is shown. The cigarette making device 100 is in the form of a stand alone unit and is configured to be positioned on a bench top, table top or the like. 20 In this regard, the device 100 has a size typical of a standard kitchen appliance such as a coffee-making machine or a bread-making machine, to enable the device 100 to be conveniently used in a home-type environment. The device 100 is fully contained and has no external moving parts, hence it is compact and easily stored and minimises the risk of injury to children or other people through contact with sharp moving parts. 25 As is shown in FIG. 1, the device 100 generally comprises a body or shell 1 that houses the various components of the device 100. The body 1 is arranged to fit on a table or bench top such that the device 100 can function as an automated means for making cigarettes. The body 1 contains a first inlet 2, in the form of a hopper, for receiving the tobacco product, and a second inlet 4, also in the form of a hopper, for receiving the 30 paper tubes. The tobacco product may take a variety of forms from raw tobacco to pre processed tobacco, and may include other smoking material. The paper tubes are commercially available and may include filtered tubes or non-filtered tubes, depending upon the user's preferences. A controller 64, having a touch-screen user interface and associated 35 microcomputer, is provided on a front surface of the body I to enable a user to control the device to ensure that the cigarettes are made to the user's specific requirements. The device 100 has an outlet 10, in the form of a slide, from which the finished cigarettes are delivered for collection by the user. It will be appreciated that the device 100 provides 6 the user with an ability to fill the device 100 with the necessary raw materials and leave the device unattended to make the cigarettes, with minimum manual input required from the user. The various parts that make up the device 100 are shown in FIG. 2. The shell or 5 body I is supported on a base 9 to ensure that the various components of the device 100 are contained therein. In this regard, the body 1 and the base 9 may be secured together by way of an interference fit therebetween, and/or a plurality of screws may be provided to ensure that the base 9 and the body I are secured together. Openings are formed in a top surface of the body 1, to provide direct access to the 10 tobacco hopper 2 and the tube hopper 4. A cover 3 is hingedly mounted to the body 1 and is pivotal between an open position to provide access to the tobacco hopper 2 to facilitate filling of the tobacco hopper 2 prior to using the device 100, and a closed position. Similarly, a cover 5 is hingedly mounted to the body 1 and is pivotal between an open position to provide access to the tube hopper 4 to facilitate filling of the tube 15 hopper 4 with paper tubes prior to using the device 100, and a closed position. A sensor 41 is provided on the surface of the body 1 adjacent the recess to detect the position of the tobacco hopper cover 3 during use. The sensor 41 may be in a variety of forms, such as a pressure sensor or optical sensor, and functions to detect whether the cover 3 is in an open or closed position. A lip 3a is provided on the cover 3 proximal to the sensor 41 20 such that when the cover 3 is in the closed position the lip 3a is located over the sensor 41 and/or applies pressure to the sensor 41, as shown in FIG. 1. If the sensor 41 detects that the cover 3 is in an open position, a signal is provided to the controller 64 to prevent operation of the device 100. A warning signal may then be displayed on the user interface 64 requesting that the cover 3 be closed. 25 A pair of openings are also provided in a rear surface of the body 1 to provide a user access to the internal region of the body 1. In this regard, the user may wish to access the internal region of the body to access the transformer chamber of the device 100 as well as to adjust the mechanisms of the device, for instance, to adjust the quantity of tobacco fed from the cutting mechanism during use. Such access also enables ready 30 servicing of the device 100 when required. A pair of covers 6, 7 are removably mounted over the openings such that during use the body 1 is fully closed. The controller 64 is located within a recess formed on a front surface of the body 1. As discussed above, the controller 64 includes a microcomputer and is in electrical communication with a variety of sensors and components of the device 100. The manner 35 in which the controller 64 controls the device 100 will be described in more detail below. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the tobacco hopper 2 and the tube hopper 4 are located within the body 1 such that their inlets 2a, 4a are aligned with the pair of recesses formed in a top surface of the body 1. The hoppers 2, 4 are shaped 7 having a wide and open inlet 2a, 4a that tapers substantially to a narrow outlet 2b, 4b. In this regard, the tobacco received within the hopper 2 and the tubes received within the hopper 4 can be delivered out the outlets 2b, 4b in a controlled manner as will be described in more detail below. 5 A processing unit 65 is mounted to the base 9 by way of fastening base plate 62 to the base 9 with fasteners 63. The processing unit 65 is positioned immediately below the hoppers 2, 4 to receive the tobacco and tubes therefrom such that they can be further processed into cigarettes. As will be discussed in more detail below, the processing unit 65 comprises: a delivery unit 18 which receives tobacco from the hopper 2 and provides 10 a controlled quantity of tobacco, the delivery unit including a cutting unit 17 for processing the tobacco received from the tobacco hopper 2 into a more manageable form; a tube positioning unit 12 for positioning empty cigarette tubes for filling with the tobacco processed by the cutting unit 17; and a filler unit 13 for filling the tubes from the tube hopper 4 with the processed tobacco. The finished cigarettes are then dispensed 15 from the device 100 via outlet 10, which is secured within a recess in the base 9, for collection by the user and later use. It will be appreciated that the device 100 will continue to make cigarettes whilst there is sufficient tobacco and tubes within the hoppers 2, 4 and as such, a collection tray may be used to collect the finished cigarettes as the exit the outlet 10. The manner in which the processing unit 65 functions will be 20 described in more detail below. As discussed previously, the user interface of the controller provides a number of buttons to enable a user to control various aspects of the device 100 during use. An example of one embodiment of the user interface is shown in FIG. 1. The user interface 64 as shown has five user depressible buttons 64a. The buttons 64a provide the user with 25 the ability to control: power to the device (on/off); power to the cutting blades; power to the rollers; and speed of the device (speed increase/decrease). The display screen 64b provides the user with an indication of the production rate of the device 100, in terms of cigarettes/minute or the like. A number of LED lights 64c are provided to give the user a visual indication of the filling speed of the device 100, and a round display 64d provides 30 a visual indication of the rotating speed of the cutters. In this regard, a user can use the buttons 64a to control the various visually displayed characteristics of the manufacturing process. Further, a variety of LED's are provided to issue warnings to the user of errors or malfunctions within the device 100. Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, one embodiment of the processing unit 65 is shown. 35 As discussed above, the processing unit 65 comprises three separate units: a cutting unit 17; a tube locating unit 12; and a filling unit 13. The cutting unit 17 is shown in detail in FIGS. 3 - 5. The tobacco hopper 2, once loaded with product, feeds the product directly onto a rotating cutting blade 16 mounted 8 at the entrance to a cut tobacco chamber 8. In this regard, the tobacco present within the hopper 2 is fed from the outlet 2b directly onto the rotating cutting blade 16 where it is finely cut into strands of a desired length. The rotating cutting blade 16 is driven by motor 23. As shown, motor 23 drives 5 gear 21 that causes rotation of roller gear 20, thus causing the rotating cutting blade 16 to rotate about its central axis. As seen in FIG. 3, the rotating cutting blade 16 has a plurality of disc elements 16b mounted at spaced intervals on a central shaft. Each disc element 16b has a plurality of angularly orientated cutting edges 16a formed thereon at regular intervals about the periphery of the disc element 16b. It will be appreciated that 10 the cutting edges 16a may be straight or assume a variety of configurations and still fall within the spirit of the present invention. As is shown, each disc element 16b is separated by gaps spaced therebetween. It will be appreciated that the cutting unit 17 could employ a knife arrangement or any other different types of cutting configurations and also fall within the spirit of the present invention. 15 As is shown in FIG. 6, a fixed blade 19 is mounted to one or more edges of the cutting chamber. The fixed blade 19 has a shape that is complementary to the shape of the rotating cutting blade 16 such that the sharp cutting projections 19a extend into the gaps spaced between the disc elements 16b of the rotating cutting blade 16. Therefore, as the rotating cutting blade 16 rotates, the cutting edges intermesh with the cutting 20 projections 19a of the fixed blade 19 to finely cut the tobacco into desired lengths. As the rotating cutting blade 16 has a series of slots 14 arranged therealong in a screw-thread manner, the finely cut pieces of tobacco fall into the slots 14 and are delivered into the cut tobacco chamber 8 below as the cutting blade 16 rotates. The cut tobacco then passes through slots 14 provided in the rotating cutting blade 16 and enters the cut tobacco 25 chamber 8 having a relatively uniform consistency. As is shown in FIG. 5, a guide 15 is located within the cut tobacco chamber 8 to guide the cut tobacco, under gravity, to an opening 66 through which the cut tobacco can pass for filling into the tubes. The opening 66, and hence the amount of cut tobacco being fed into the tubes, can be controlled by movement of the filling adjustment block 59. As is shown in FIG. 4, the 30 filling adjustment block 59 can be slidingly moved by a user gripping knob 61 and sliding the block 59 to a desired position by way of control rod 60. Such an arrangement ensures that only a predetermined amount of cut tobacco is pushed into the filling unit 13 by means of rotating rubber brush 41 for filling the tubes, thereby providing the user with a means for controlling the packing of the finished cigarette. 35 The tube locating unit 12 is shown in detail in FIGS. 3, 4, 7 - 9. The tube hopper 4 houses a number of empty cigarette tubes 67 that are directed to individually feed from the outlet 4b to a tube fetching wheel arrangement 26. A tube feeding solenoid sensor 39 is positioned adjacent the outlet 4b of the hopper 4 to detect when the supply of tubes 67 9 within the hopper 4 has been exhausted. When the sensor 39 detects that all the tubes 67 have been used, it sends a signal to the controller to cease operation of the device 100. An alternate embodiment of the tube locating unit 12 is shown in FIG 7b. In this embodiment of the invention the interior of hopper 4 is provided with a tube support 5 device 70 with a plurality of arms 72 extending radially from a central motor driven axis 73, said arms terminating in circumferentially oriented magnetic positioning blades 74 and defining compartments 71 in which the tubes 67 are located. The arrangement is such that using a hall effect sensor 78 the tubes 67 can be oriented precisely over the opening to receptor discs 26a in cooperation with tube supply solenoid valve 39. 10 It is also envisaged that that the tube locating unit 12 and associated hopper 4 can be provided in the form of a replaceable and disposable module. For example the module can be in the form of a replaceable cartridge or cassette sold with the supply of tubes 67 therein, and the cartridge or cassette when empty can be removed and discarded, or refilled. Alternatively a replaceable cartridge or cassette containing tubes 67 can be 15 temporarily located over or into a top opening of the hopper 4 to supply tubes 67 into the hopper until it is stocked ready for use, and the cartridge or cassette then removed. The tube fetching wheel arrangement 26 comprises a plurality of discs 26a evenly spaced along a central shaft 26b, as shown more clearly in FIG. 3. Each disc 26a has a C-shaped groove 26c formed therein such that when the discs 26a are aligned the C 20 shaped grooves 26c form an elongate groove along the fetching wheel arrangement 26 to receive a tube 67 therein from the hopper 4. It will be appreciated that the wheel arrangements 26, 28 could alternatively be in the form of an elongate cylinder having a groove formed therein, as is shown in FIG. 8. The fetching wheel arrangement 26 is rotated under action of the electric motor 23 25 by way of long transmission shaft 24. In this regard, the tube locating unit 12 is operational only when the cutting unit 17 is in operation. The long transmission shaft 24 causes the fetching wheel arrangement 26 to rotate through engagement with small gear 22. As shown in FIG, 7, such rotation of the fetching wheel arrangement 26 causes the tube 67 captured within the C-shaped grooves 26c to be transferred to a position D where 30 the tube 67 is in contact with tube discharging wheel arrangement 28 and a tube positioning panel 38. Referring to FIG. 8, when the tube 67 is in position D, it is suitably positioned to be fitted over the nozzle 43 of the filling unit 13 so as to receive the cut tobacco from the filling unit 13. This is achieved by activation of the cam 29 to cause the tube feeding rod 35 31 to contact the end of the tube 67 and push the tube 67 towards the nozzle 43 in the manner as shown. As the cam 29 rotates, the tube discharging wheel arrangement 28 also rotates, thereby causing the tube 67 to rotate as it is pushed over the nozzle. This 10 combined pushing and rotating movement of the tube 67 provides improved fitting of the end of the tube 67 over the nozzle 43. As is shown, the rod 31 moves within a sleeve 30 and a spring 32 is connected to the end of the rod 31. As the rod 31 extends to push the tube 67 towards the nozzle the 5 spring 32 compresses, storing a release force therein. Following filling and reversing of the direction of rotation of the cam 29, the stored force within the spring 32 causes the rod 31 to return to its return position. It will be appreciated that the rod 31 applies a longitudinal sliding force to the tube 67 to position the tube 67 over the nozzle 43 to receive cut tobacco from the filling unit 13. As shown in FIG. 3, a rod moving sensor 33 10 is provided to detect the position of the rod 31, and hence whether the tube 67 is in a position ready for receiving the tobacco, Upon detection that the tube 67 is in such a position, the sensor 33 sends a signal to the controller of the device 100 causes the cutting unit 1 I and the tube locating unit to cease operation. The filling unit 13 can then be initiated. 15 The filling unit 13 is shown in more detail in FIG. 8. The filling unit 13 comprises a C-shaped chamber 47 that is located directly beneath the opening 66 of the cut tobacco chamber 8, such that the cut tobacco is loaded into the chamber 47 during the cutting process. A pushing spoon 44 is positioned within the chamber 47 and has a hollow C-shaped portion for receiving the cut tobacco, and a solid portion to aid in 20 pushing the cut tobacco into the cigarette. The diameter of the hollow C-shaped portion of the spoon 44 is marginally smaller than the diameter of the tube 67 and has a saw tooth profile. The pushing spoon 44 is configured to slide longitudinally along a track 45 such that the C-shaped portion of the spoon 44 extends out the end of the nozzle 43 and into the loaded tube 67. As a result, the cut tobacco located within the C-shaped portion 25 of the spoon 44 is loaded into the tube 67 thereby filling the tube 67 with the cut tobacco. The longitudinal sliding movement of the spoon 44 is a result of activation of the filler motor 53. Activation of the filler motor 53 causes movement of the transmission rod 54 which in turn causes the pushing spoon lever rod 56 to be pulled in a direction away from contact with the bottom position sensor 58, towards and into contact with the 30 top position sensor 57. As the pushing spoon lever rod 56 is in fixed contact with the pushing spoon 44, when the pushing spoon lever rod 56 is in contact with the top position sensor 57 this is indicative of the pushing spoon 44 being fully extended into the tube 67. Hence, the filling process is ended when the top position sensor is triggered. In 35 this position the filled tube/cigarette 67 is pushed off the nozzle 43 and is captured within the C-shaped groove(s) of the tube discharging wheel arrangement 28 (FIG. 7). The filler motor 53 is then reactivated and is caused to rotate in the opposite direction until the pushing spoon lever rod 56 triggers the bottom position sensor 58 and the filling 11 system is back in a starting position as shown- in FIG. 8. Triggering of the bottom position sensor 58 reactivates the motor for cutting 23, thereby initiating another cycle of the device 100 and causing the tube discharging wheel arrangement 28 to rotate and discharging the filled cigarette from the tube discharging wheel arrangement 28 and into 5 the slide outlet 10. It will be appreciated that the cigarette making device 100 of the present invention provides a means for making a cigarette that is performed wholly within the device and requires minimal input from the user, other than loading the device 100 with the initial raw products. The device 100 processes the tobacco product by cutting the product into 10 manageable lengths, after which, the cut tobacco is inserted into a pre-positioned tube to form the cigarette. Such a device allows a user to fill the device and leave the device unattended, such that the device can make the cigarettes for later collection by the user with requiring the user to be present and constantly feed the device raw product. It will also be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations 15 and/or modifications may be made to the invention as shown in the specific embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as broadly described. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. 12

Claims (20)

1. An automated cigarette making device including: a first storage member for receiving and storing a quantity of smoking product; 5 a second storage member for receiving and storing a plurality of cigarette tubes; a delivery unit to receive said smoking product from the first storage member and to provide a controlled quantity of said smoking product for filling one of said cigarette tubes; a cigarette tube positioning unit configured to receive a cigarette tube from the 10 second storage member and to retain said tube in a position for filling; a filling unit configured to receive the controlled quantity of said smoking product from the delivery unit and to insert the controlled quantity of smoking product into the positioned tube thereby filling the tube with the controlled quantity of smoking product; a body for housing the second storage member, delivery unit, cigarette tube 15 positioning unit and the filling unit; and a controller means for controlling and coordinating the operation of the cigarette making device.

2. A cigarette making device according to claim 1 wherein the delivery unit includes 20 a cutting unit operative to cut said smoking product received from the first storage member into a cut smoking product which is supplied to the filling unit.

3. A cigarette making device according to claim 2, wherein the cutting unit includes a rotating cutter positioned adjacent the first storage member such that the smoking 25 product is delivered to said rotating cutter under gravity from said first storage member.

4. A cigarette making device according to claim 3, wherein the cut smoking product passes from said rotating cutter to a cut product chamber located below said rotating cutter. 30

5. A cigarette making device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the rotating cutter includes a plurality of disc elements mounted at spaced intervals on a central shaft.

6. A cigarette making device according to claim 5, wherein each disc element has a 35 plurality of cutting edges formed thereon at regular intervals about its periphery.

7. A cigarette making device according to claim 6, wherein the cutting edges extend at an angle to the rotation axis of said central shaft. 13

8. A cigarette making device according to claim 6, wherein the cutting edges extend parallel to the rotation axis of said central shaft. 5

9. A cigarette making machine according to claims 6, 7 or 8 wherein the cutting unit includes a stationary cutting member which co-operates with the cutting edges of the cutter disc elements to cut the smoking product into finely cut pieces.

10. A cigarette making device according to claim 4, wherein the cut product chamber 10 includes a guide member positioned therein to guide the cut product through an opening for delivery to the filling unit.

11. A cigarette making device according to claim 10, wherein the size of the opening is selectively variable to control the amount of cut product delivered to the filling unit. 15

12. A cigarette making device according to any one of claims 3 to 11 wherein a rotating brush receives cut smoking product from the cutting unit and pushes it into the filling unit. 20

13. A cigarette making device according to any one of claims 4 to I1 wherein the filling unit includes a chamber located directly beneath the cut product chamber, a pushing spoon positioned within the chamber to receive the cut product thereon, the pushing spoon being slidable longitudinally along a track under control of the controller so as to fill the positioned tube with cut product on the spoon, and wherein one or more 25 position sensors are provided to detect the position of the pushing spoon and provide position signals to the controller useable thereby in controlling operation of the device.

14. A cigarette making device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cigarette tube positioning unit includes a tube fetching device that collects a cigarette 30 tube from the second storage member and transfers it to a loading position.

15. A cigarette making device according to claim 14, wherein the loading position is a position laterally displaced from a filling nozzle of the filling unit, and wherein a cam driven pusher acts under control of the controller upon the cigarette tube to push the 35 cigarette tube onto the filling nozzle so as to be filled with smoking product delivered therethrough. 14

16. A cigarette making device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the controller has connected thereto multiple sensors for determining the states of one or more of the delivery unit, the cigarette tube positioning unit and the filling unit to enable the controller to co-ordinate the operation thereof. 5

17. A cigarette making device according to claim 16, wherein the controller includes a user interface for receiving one or more instructions from a user to control parameters of the operation of the device. 10

18. A cigarette making device according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the second storage member is provided internally with a cigarette tube storage device having a plurality of dividers extending radially from a generally centrally located motor driven axis, said dividers defining compartments in which the cigarette tubes are stored, and the tube storage device being rotatable to deliver cigarette tubes to the positioning 15 unit.

19. A cigarette making device according to claim 18 wherein a sensor is responsive to the rotational position of the tube storage device and the controller is connected to that sensor to position a cigarette tube for entry into the cigarette tube positioning unit at the 20 required point in the operating cycle of the device.

20. A cigarette making device according to claim 19 wherein the cigarette making device is in the form of a stand alone unit and is configured to be positioned on a bench top, table top or the like. 15