CN110730617A

CN110730617A - Baking basket

Info

Publication number: CN110730617A
Application number: CN201880040037.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: V.米拉克; D.里特; V.B.德奥利维拉; J.斯克雷明
Original assignee: British American Tobacco Investments Ltd
Current assignee: British American Tobacco Investments Ltd
Priority date: 2017-06-16
Filing date: 2018-06-14
Publication date: 2020-01-24
Also published as: US20210282446A1; WO2018229224A1; EP3638055A1; GB201709660D0

Abstract

A basket (10) for receiving, transporting and curing tobacco leaves is provided, the basket having a generally cubic shape with a base (110), opposed side walls (120, 130) rigidly attached to the base (110), and a rear wall (140) rigidly attached to the base (110) and the side walls (120, 130), the basket (10) being open to the front and top.

Description

Baking basket

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a toasting installation. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a basket for receiving, transporting and curing loose tobacco leaves, the arrangement of the basket in a curing barn and a method of receiving, transporting and curing tobacco leaves using the basket.

Background

The tobacco leaves are usually manually harvested and cured in such a manner that workers cut and collect the tobacco leaves in the field and then transport the harvested tobacco leaves to a tobacco curing barn for curing. This is a long process and results in prolonged exposure of the harvesting worker to the tobacco leaves. This is undesirable because it increases the risk of green smoke disease (GTS) for the worker. GTS is a type of nicotine intoxication caused by the dermal absorption of nicotine from the surface of moist tobacco plants. Since tobacco harvesters' clothing is often saturated with rain or morning dew-wetted tobacco, harvesters are at high risk of developing GTS, and any means of reducing the exposure of the harvesters is beneficial.

There are many different ways of curing tobacco leaves, such as, for example, air drying, fire curing, flue curing and sun curing. Tobacco curing barns are usually provided with wooden racks and the tobacco leaves are manually loaded onto the racks by placing bundles of tobacco leaves on a wooden frame. Thus, the process of loading tobacco into the hothouse also exposes the workers to the tobacco, thus placing the workers at risk of GTS.

Various approaches are described herein that seek to help address at least some of these issues.

Disclosure of Invention

According to a first aspect of certain embodiments described herein, there is provided a basket for receiving, transporting and curing tobacco leaves, the basket having a generally cubic shape, the basket comprising a base, opposing side walls rigidly attached to the base, and a rear wall rigidly attached to the base and the side walls, the basket being open to the front and to the top.

According to a second aspect of certain embodiments described herein, there is provided a baking house for baking tobacco leaves, the baking house comprising a plurality of baskets according to the first aspect.

According to a third aspect of certain embodiments described herein, there is provided a method of receiving, transporting and curing tobacco using a basket having a generally cubic shape, the basket comprising a base, opposing side walls rigidly attached to the base, and a rear wall rigidly attached to the base and the side walls, the basket being open to a front opposite the rear wall and open to a top opposite the base, the method comprising: orienting the basket to a loading position; loading tobacco leaves into the basket from the open top and front; securing the open front side of the basket; orienting the basket to a toasting position; transporting the basket to a baking room; and curing the tobacco loaded into the basket in a curing barn.

It will be appreciated that the features and aspects of the invention described above in relation to the first and other aspects of the invention are equally applicable to, and may be combined with, embodiments of the invention according to other aspects of the invention, as required, and not merely in the specific combinations described above.

Drawings

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a basket oriented for loading according to some embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the basket of FIG. 1 oriented for toasting according to some embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an image of the basket oriented according to FIG. 1 during loading of loose tobacco leaves according to some embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an image of a basket oriented according to FIG. 2 fully loaded with loose tobacco leaves ready for transport according to some embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 5 is an image of a baking room including multiple tracks for positioning loaded baskets according to some embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is an image of a baking room loaded with baskets positioned on the track of FIG. 5 according to some embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is an image of loose tobacco leaves positioned within the plurality of baskets of FIG. 6, wherein L-shaped rods are driven through the sidewalls such that the L-shaped metal rods are configured to hold tobacco leaves received in the baskets in place, according to some embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 8A is a schematic diagram showing an example arrangement of baskets in a baking room, and FIG. 8B is a schematic diagram showing an arrangement of baskets in a baking room according to some embodiments of the present invention; and

figure 9 is an image of a baking room loaded with a two-tier basket.

Detailed Description

Aspects and features of certain examples and embodiments are described herein. Some aspects and features of certain examples and embodiments may be routinely implemented and, for the sake of brevity, are not discussed in detail. Thus, it will be understood that aspects and features of the apparatus and methods discussed herein that are not described in detail may be implemented in accordance with any conventional technique for implementing such aspects and features.

As mentioned above, the present disclosure relates to receiving, transporting, and curing loose tobacco leaves in a single basket.

Fig. 1 and 2 are schematic views of a basket 10 in a tobacco loading position and a baking position, respectively, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The basket (or container) 10 has a generally cubic shape including a base 110, opposing sidewalls 120,130 rigidly attached to the base 110, and a rear wall 140 rigidly attached to the base 110 and the

sidewalls

120, 130. Thus, the basket 10 is open on two adjacent sides: a top side opposite the base 110; and a front side opposite the rear wall 140. The basket 10 includes a frame 100, wherein the frame forms a rectangle outlining each of the walls 110, 120,130, and 140. In this way, the frame forms the edges of the cube, except for the edges connecting two adjacent open sides. It should be understood that in other embodiments, the corners may be rounded such that each wall is only substantially rectangular.

In one embodiment, the frame is formed from a tube having a diameter of about 15 mm. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention is not limited to this tube diameter.

In one embodiment, the basket is formed of a metal, such as steel. The basket may alternatively be formed of a precious metal (e.g., copper) to provide corrosion resistance.

Each wall 110, 120,130, 140 of the basket 10 includes a

mesh

115, 125, 135, 145, respectively. As shown in fig. 2, when in the toasting position, the base 110 is oriented at the bottom of the basket. The base 110 shown in fig. 2 is rectangular and has a length a from the rear wall 140 to the opposite front side that is longer than a length B, which is the distance between the opposite side wall 130 and the side wall 120. In fig. 2, then, walls 120,130, and 140 have a height of length C in a direction perpendicular to base 110. The length C may be approximately the same as the length B. As a result, the side walls 120,130 have the same area, while the back wall 140 has a smaller area. These lengths A, B and C are also shown in both fig. 1 and 2, with the dashed lines being phantom lines to more clearly show the lengths A, B and C associated with the basket 10. In one embodiment, length A, length B, and length C have dimensions of about 835 mm, about 455 mm, and about 495mm, respectively.

In the embodiment disclosed in the drawings, a wire mesh is formed across the surface of each rectangle using a set of wires extending parallel to a first dimension of the rectangle and a second set of wires extending parallel to a second dimension of the rectangle. A rectangular gap is formed between the first and second sets of wires. It should be understood that other techniques may be used to form the mesh. Other means of retaining the tobacco in the basket may also be used.

In fig. 1 and 2, mesh 115 is denser than

meshes

125, 135 and 145; this can be achieved by reducing the spacing between the parallel wires. In this embodiment, mesh 125 and mesh 135 form a rectangular gap having dimensions of about 100mm by 200mm, mesh 145 forms a rectangular gap having dimensions of about 100mm by 150mm, and mesh 115 forms a rectangular gap having dimensions of about 50mm by 50 mm. It should be understood that in some embodiments, the rectangular gaps of the mesh may not be equal in size.

Although specific dimensions have been described, those skilled in the art will also appreciate that different dimensions may be used.

Fig. 3 is an image showing the basket 10 during the loading process, wherein the basket 10 is oriented as shown in fig. 1. According to some embodiments of the invention, the basket 10 is loaded with loose tobacco leaves 300.

As shown in fig. 3, the tobacco leaves are loaded into the basket 10 from the open top and front. The open top side opposite the base 110 faces the worker during the loading process due to the orientation of the basket 10 during the loading process. The front side opposite the rear wall 140 faces the top. The time required for the loading process can be reduced compared to loading a box-shaped container comprising only an open top side, instead of also an open front side. This is because it is easier to load the tobacco leaves with reduced barriers (open top and front side). The worker does not have to lift the tobacco above one of the walls of the basket 10. Therefore, the time of the entire loading process and the contact time of the worker with the tobacco leaves can be reduced. As mentioned above, this is a significant advantage of the present invention.

The loose tobacco leaves 300 may be loaded such that the bottom of the stem of the loose tobacco leaves 300 is directed toward the base 110 and generally contacts the base 110. In this way the blades are stacked on the side 140 (not shown), which side 140 is formed as the bottom of the basket in the loading phase. Walls 130 (shown) and 120 (not shown) and base 110 house the blades. Once fully loaded, an attachable barrier for securing tobacco leaves received in the flue-cure basket 10 may be connected to the open front side opposite the rear wall 140.

In this embodiment, the attachable barrier is a string tied around the sidewall to secure loose tobacco leaves in the basket 10. In other embodiments, the attachable barrier may be an L-shaped metal rod that is driven through the sidewall.

Note that after the tobacco leaves 300 are loaded into the basket 10, the worker may process the basket 10 instead of directly processing the tobacco leaves 300. Thereby reducing worker contact with the tobacco leaves.

Fig. 4 is an image of basket 10 ready for transport to the baking room after the loading process. It can be seen that the basket 10 has been oriented to its toasting position as shown in figure 2. After the loose tobacco leaves are fully loaded into the basket 10 and the front side (opposite the rear wall 140) is secured, the basket is rotated so that the basket rests on the base 110. That is, the basket 10 is rotated from the loading orientation shown in fig. 1 to the toasting orientation shown in fig. 2.

In the flue-cured orientation, the loose tobacco leaves 300 may be arranged vertically with the bottom of the stem of each leaf directed toward the ground and toward the base 110. The walls 120,130, 140 and the most recently secured front side form four walls, thereby maintaining the loose tobacco leaves 300 in their vertical alignment. In one embodiment, the mesh 115 is denser than the

meshes

125, 135, and 145 to prevent the bottom of the stems from protruding through the mesh 115. Here, the mesh is "denser" in that the metal wires that finger the mesh are more tightly woven or interwoven together. After the basket is full, the basket is transported from the field to the baking room and placed in the baking room. With the proposed system, the workers do not need to be in direct contact with the tobacco during the transport and loading phases of the barn.

FIG. 5 shows the interior of a smoking room 500 including a plurality of tracks 510 to which smoking baskets 10 may be mounted. In this figure, each rail 510 includes a guide 520 that protrudes from the rail surface on which the basket 10 is mounted to guide the basket 10 into position. Although not shown in the drawings for clarity, the smoke curing barn 500 may include an air inlet, an air outlet, and a heater for heating air.

After transport, baskets 10 can thus be positioned within smoke curing barn 500 by sliding baskets 10 along rails 510, with guides 520 providing regular spacing between the baskets. Each basket is oriented as in fig. 2; thus, the base 110 is in contact with the rail 510. In some embodiments, the rail system 510 also functions to guide the basket into the correct position. Track 510 is spaced from the floor of smoke curing barn 500 so that there is space for air to circulate through basket 10 via base 110.

The arrangement of the track 510 and basket 10 is described in more detail below with reference to fig. 6 and 8A and 8B. FIG. 5 shows one possible arrangement of tracks; however, those skilled in the art will appreciate that other arrangements for the track system may be implemented. For example, the track may be arranged such that there are two tiers of flue-curing baskets 10.

Baskets 10 in a single curing barn 500 are all the same size. Thus, standardized conditions are provided for the loading/unloading process, so that the operation can be partially mechanized.

FIG. 6 is an image showing a flue-curing barn 500 fully loaded with baskets 10 positioned on the rails 510 shown in FIG. 5 according to this embodiment of the invention. The baskets 10 are placed in parallel rows until they cover the entire plane of the baking chamber 500. The baskets 10 are disposed in close proximity to the walls and to each other. More specifically, the baskets 10 are spaced apart from one another by the guides 520 of the track 510.

Considering that the smoking room 500 has a certain depth, width and height, wherein the rails extend in the direction of the depth, the basket 10 may be arranged in the smoking room such that the side walls 120,130 extend in the width direction of the smoking room 500 and the rear wall 140 extends in the depth direction. The baskets 10 are arranged such that the guide 520 is disposed between two adjacent baskets 10 in the width direction.

Smoking room 500 and basket 10 have dimensions such that basket 10 can be loaded into smoking room 500 to fit closely together, with base 110 of basket 10 parallel to the floor of smoking room 500. Considering that the floor of the flue-curing barn 500 is a rectangle having sides with a length corresponding to the depth and width, the depth can be approximately an integer multiple of the length B. Thus, the width may be considered to be the sum of an integer multiple of the length a and the width of the guide 520. The described arrangement and dimensions of smoke curing barn 500 and basket 10 enable basket 10 to fit tightly in smoke curing barn 500, which in turn reduces any air gaps between baskets 10 or between basket 10 and barn 500, thereby compressing any potential space through which air may flow without passing through loose tobacco leaves 300. Accordingly, air leakage around the basket 10 can be reduced, and more air flow through the tobacco leaves 300 can be achieved.

Furthermore, as shown in fig. 6, the baskets 10 are advantageously arranged such that the rear wall 140 of one basket 10 is adjacent to the open front side of an adjacent basket 10. In other words, only a single rear wall 140 is provided between two adjacent baskets 10. The technical advantages of this manner of arrangement of the basket will be discussed in further detail below with reference to fig. 8A and 8B.

In some embodiments, the guide 520 may be shaped to further induce a more efficient air flow in the flue-cured tobacco leaves 300. For example, the guide 520 may taper from bottom to top to reduce the distance between the receptacles, or have an hourglass shape to direct the air flow toward the tobacco leaves.

Figure 7 is an enlarged view of one of the baskets 10 of figure 6 showing loose tobacco leaves 300 supported by the L-shaped rods 710 so that they are held in place, wherein the L-shaped rods 710 are driven through the side walls 120,130 between the wire meshes 125, 135 and are supported by the wire meshes 125, 135 of the

walls

120, 130. Once the baskets 10 are arranged into their predetermined position within the smoke curing barn 500, a plurality of L-shaped rods 710 can be inserted through the wire mesh of the side walls 120,130 of the baskets 10 that are configured to support the L-shaped rods 710 so as to maintain the tobacco leaves in their upright position and prevent them from shifting during curing. In one embodiment, the L-shaped bar is formed from a wire. During insertion of the L-shaped bars 710 through the side walls 120,130, their positioning may be guided by the wires of the

respective nets

125, 135. Therefore, the

webs

125, 135 need to be sufficiently dense to both prevent shifting of the tobacco leaves 300 during curing, while supporting the L-shaped rods 710 in their predetermined positions.

Although in this embodiment L-shaped rods 710 are driven through side walls 120,130 after each row of baskets 10 is disposed in smoke curing barn 500, one skilled in the art will appreciate that these L-shaped rods 710 can be provided prior to loading into smoke curing barn 500, for example, prior to the shipping process.

It is noted that, since the tobacco leaves 300 are already prepared for baking in the basket 10, mechanized techniques can be used to significantly reduce the effort and operating time to load the basket 10 into or remove the basket from the flue-curing barn 500.

Fig. 8A shows such an exemplary arrangement of baskets 10, wherein baskets 10 are arranged such that the side walls 120,130 of adjacent baskets 10 are disposed on both sides of each guide 520. When the baskets are arranged in this manner, gaps corresponding to the width of the guides 520 are formed between the side walls 120,130 of adjacent smoke-curing baskets 10, which gaps are prone to air leakage due to the lack of tobacco leaves 300, which may result in less resistance to air flow through these gaps. The arrows show the air flow in such air leakage.

Fig. 8B illustrates this arrangement of baskets 10, wherein the baskets 10 are arranged such that the rear wall 140 of one basket 10 and the open front side of an adjacent basket 10 are disposed on both sides of each guide 520. In other words, only a single rear wall 140 is provided between two adjacent baskets 10, wherein there are guides between the adjacent baskets.

It can be seen that the open front side enables the tobacco leaves 300 to occupy space even above the guide 520. Thus, any air leakage is reduced and, conversely, more air flows through the tobacco leaf 300. Thereby, a more efficient air flow management is achieved, wherein more hot air flows through the tobacco leaves, while maintaining the structural stability of the basket 10.

In some embodiments, the rear wall 140 may include connectors for connecting the rear wall 140 of a basket 10 to a frame adjacent the open front side of the basket 10. The connector may be provided on the frame of the open front side of the basket 10 for connecting the frame of the open front side of the basket to the rear wall 140 of an adjacent basket.

Fig. 9 is an image showing a flue curing barn 500 wherein baskets 10 are stacked one on top of the other such that there are two layers of baskets 10. It can be seen that the baskets 10 are stacked one on top of the other such that the base 110 of one basket 10 is supported on the open top of the other basket 10 by the frame portions of the side walls 120,130 and the rear wall 140. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that other baskets 10 may be stacked to form a triple layer basket in the baking room 500. Stacking baskets 10 to provide a multi-layer basket improves baking throughput by optimizing the interior space of baking room 500.

In other embodiments, a downward flow of forced air may be utilized. In any event, the arrangement of the basket enables air leakage to be minimised.

According to the present invention, the exposure time of workers to the tobacco leaves 300 is reduced by using the basket 10 during the harvesting and curing of tobacco. These baskets 10 can be positioned in parallel rows in curing barn 500 according to rails 510 until they fill the entire area of smoking curing barn 500. The baskets 10 are arranged such that the rear wall 140 of one basket 10 and the open front side of an adjacent basket 10 are disposed on both sides of each guide 520. Accordingly, the structure of the basket 10 and the arrangement of the basket in the flue-curing barn 500 enable the exposure time of workers to the tobacco leaves 300 to be reduced and enable more effective air flow management in which more hot air flows through the tobacco leaves.

While the above embodiments have in some respects focused on the loading and curing of loose tobacco, it will be appreciated that the same principles may be applied to curing or drying other agricultural products. That is, the particular manner in which aspects of the loose tobacco leaf system function is not directly related to the principles underlying the examples described herein.

To address various problems and advance the art, the present disclosure shows by way of illustration various embodiments in which the claimed invention may be practiced. The advantages and features of the present disclosure are merely representative examples of embodiments and are not exhaustive and/or exclusive. They are presented only to assist in understanding and teaching the claimed invention. It is to be understood that advantages, embodiments, examples, functions, features, structures, and/or other aspects of the present disclosure are not to be considered limitations on the present disclosure as defined by the claims or limitations on equivalents to the claims, and that other embodiments may be utilized and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the claims. Various embodiments may suitably comprise, consist of, or consist essentially of various combinations of the disclosed elements, components, features, parts, steps, means/means, etc. in addition to those specifically described herein, and it will therefore be understood that features of the dependent claims may be combined with features of the independent claims in combinations other than those explicitly set out in the claims. The present disclosure may include other inventions not presently claimed, but which may be claimed in the future.

Claims

1. A basket for receiving, transporting and curing tobacco leaves, the basket having a generally cubic shape, the basket comprising a base, opposing side walls rigidly attached to the base, and a rear wall rigidly attached to the base and the side walls, the basket being open to the front and to the top.

2. The basket according to claim 1, wherein the basket walls and base comprise wire mesh.

3. The basket according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the wire mesh of the base is more closely interwoven than the wire mesh of the wall.

4. The basket according to claim 2 or 3, comprising L-shaped bars configured to be supported by the wire mesh of the wall such that the L-shaped bars are configured to hold tobacco leaves received in the basket in position.

5. The basket according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the rear wall comprises a connector for connecting the rear wall of the basket to a frame of an open front side of an adjacent basket.

6. The basket according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the frame of the open front side of the basket comprises a connector for connecting the frame of the open front side of the basket to the rear wall of an adjacent basket.

7. The basket according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the basket is formed from a precious metal.

8. The basket according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the open front of the basket comprises an attachable barrier for securing tobacco leaves received in the basket, further wherein the attachable barrier is configured to connect to the open front of the basket.

9. A curing barn for curing tobacco comprising:

a plurality of baskets according to any one of the preceding claims.

10. The baking room of claim 9, wherein the baskets are arranged side-by-side such that a rear wall of a first basket is adjacent an open front side of a second basket.

11. Baking room according to claim 9 or 10, comprising a rail on which the basket according to any of claims 1 to 8 is mounted.

12. The baking room of claim 11, wherein the track includes a guide configured to guide the basket into position along the track.

13. The baking room of claim 12, wherein the first basket and the second basket are arranged such that a back wall of the first basket is on a first side of a guide of the rail and an open front side of the second basket is on a second side of the guide, wherein the first and second sides are two opposing surfaces on the guide.

14. The baking room of any one of claims 9 to 13, wherein a floor of the baking room has a size that is an integer multiple of a size of the base of the basket.

15. The baking room of any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein the width of the baking room has a length that is the sum of an integer multiple of the length of the side walls of the baskets and the width of the guides between the baskets.

16. The baking room of any one of claims 9 to 15, wherein the basket is arranged to fill a plane of the baking room, wherein the plane is substantially horizontal.

17. The baking room of any one of claims 9 to 16, wherein there is a space for air flow between the floor of the facility and the basket.

18. The baking room of any one of claims 12 to 17, wherein the guide is tapered.

19. The baking room of any one of claims 9 to 18, wherein the baskets are configured to be stacked one on top of the other to form at least two layers of baskets.

20. A method of receiving, transporting and curing tobacco using a basket having a generally cubic shape, the basket including a base, opposing side walls rigidly attached to the base, and a back wall rigidly attached to the base and the side walls, the basket being open to a front opposite the back wall and open to a top opposite the base, the method comprising:

orienting the basket to a loading position;

loading tobacco leaves into the basket from the open top and front;

securing the open front side of the basket;

orienting the basket to a toasting position;

transporting the basket to a baking room; and

curing the tobacco loaded into the basket in a curing barn.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein a plurality of baskets are loaded into the baking room and the baskets are arranged side-by-side such that a rear wall of a first basket is adjacent an open front side of a second basket.

22. A method according to claim 20 or 21, wherein the tobacco leaf is loaded into the basket with its stem against the base of the basket so that its tip is directed towards the open top side.

23. The method of any one of claims 20 to 22, wherein L-shaped metal rods are driven through the side walls of the basket, the L-shaped metal rods being supported by the wire mesh of the side walls such that the L-shaped metal rods are configured to hold the tobacco leaves in position.

24. The method of any one of claims 20 to 23, wherein the basket is arranged in the baking chamber to fill the entire area of the cross-section of the baking chamber.