EP0124255B1 - A method and apparatus for uniformly cutting tobacco sheets - Google Patents

A method and apparatus for uniformly cutting tobacco sheets Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0124255B1
EP0124255B1 EP84302095A EP84302095A EP0124255B1 EP 0124255 B1 EP0124255 B1 EP 0124255B1 EP 84302095 A EP84302095 A EP 84302095A EP 84302095 A EP84302095 A EP 84302095A EP 0124255 B1 EP0124255 B1 EP 0124255B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
blade
sheet
support
web
rotor
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
EP84302095A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0124255A2 (en
EP0124255A3 (en
Inventor
Richard E. Thatcher
John Tomanovits
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Philip Morris Products Inc
Original Assignee
Philip Morris Products Inc
Philip Morris USA Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Philip Morris Products Inc, Philip Morris USA Inc filed Critical Philip Morris Products Inc
Publication of EP0124255A2 publication Critical patent/EP0124255A2/en
Publication of EP0124255A3 publication Critical patent/EP0124255A3/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0124255B1 publication Critical patent/EP0124255B1/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
    • A24B—MANUFACTURE OR PREPARATION OF TOBACCO FOR SMOKING OR CHEWING; TOBACCO; SNUFF
    • A24B3/00—Preparing tobacco in the factory
    • A24B3/14—Forming reconstituted tobacco products, e.g. wrapper materials, sheets, imitation leaves, rods, cakes; Forms of such products
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
    • A24B—MANUFACTURE OR PREPARATION OF TOBACCO FOR SMOKING OR CHEWING; TOBACCO; SNUFF
    • A24B7/00—Cutting tobacco

Definitions

  • the present invention pertains generally to apparatus and methods for cutting reconstituted tobacco sheets and pertains more particularly to such apparatus and methods requiring less frequent and less costly maintenance than is conventionally possible.
  • Fines Small particles of tobacco (fines) produced as an undesired by-product of cigarette making are commonly recaptured and made into a sheet (reconstituted leaf or blended leaf, depending on the process used to manufacture the sheet) by conventional paper making or other methods. Such sheets are then cut into pieces of a convenient size (e.g. about 10 cm square), after which the pieces are shredded to produce cigarette filler.
  • GB-A-1 426 785 describes a process of cutting the sheets into pieces by moving the web continuously past a set of parallel rotating disc knives located which slit the web into sections of the desired width.
  • the slit web is then moved to a cutter mechanism, which includes a plate over which the slit web is moved, with a fixed cutting element located at the downstream end of the table.
  • a rotor located adjacent the fixed element carries a rotating blade, which moves past and cooperates with the fixed element to cut off the portion of the web projecting past the end of the plate at the instant the rotor blade in question passes.
  • the two cutting process together result in generally square or rectangular (preferably square) pieces.
  • the above-described arrangement requires a degree of interference between the fixed blade and the rotor blades. This prevents the use of such a machine to cut a web of greater than a certain length, since sagging of the rotor shaft makes it very difficult and time-consuming if not impossible, to achieve the correct interference all along the length of the blades. Due to the necessary interference of the blades, operation of the conventional device is also fairly noisy. It would be desirable to overcome these problems.
  • One aspect of the present invention provides a process characterised in that the blade strikes the sheet with a clearance between the blade and the edge of a support and at an acute angle greater than zero and less than 25 degrees relative to the surface of the support.
  • the apparatus of this invention is characterised in that the movable blade is spaced by clearance from the support to strike the sheet at a predetermined angle greater than zero and not greater than 25 degrees relative to the surface of the support.
  • the invention is preferably put into practice by feeding a preferably pre-slit web of reconstituted or blended leaf off the end of a support table or the like having a serrated stationary ledger blade, and at least one serrated moving blade is moved past the ledger blade in such a manner that the points of the moving blade strike the projecting portion of the web at an acute angle to the latter.
  • the points of the moving blade initially penetrate the web, and the motion of the blade then completes the separation of the projecting portion of the web by tearing it off. (Depending on the web speed relative to the speed of the moving blade, the web may advance significantly during the cutting, in which case less than the entire projecting portion of the web is severed).
  • the angle of incidence between the moving blade and the web is preferably between 10 and 15 degrees, inclusive.
  • the method of the invention therefore makes it possible to eliminate interference between the moving blade and the ledger blade.
  • the best results have been obtained with a clearance of between 0.38 and 3.2 mm (0.15 inch and .125 inch, the clearance being measured as the minimum distance between the moving and the stationary blades).
  • This clearance greatly reduces wear on the blades, as well as noise.
  • This clearance also solves the problem of blade adjustment due to sagging of the rotor shaft, if a rotor is used.
  • the clearance is not very critical, less precision is required in positioning a replacement blade. This further reduces required maintenance time.
  • the piece of a web of reconstituted or blended leaf projecting past the edge of a support table is struck obliquely with a moving blade in such a manner that the moving blade contacts the web while moving with a velocity component normal to the web approximately equal to the web speed, and progressively increasing the ratio of the normal component of the blade's velocity to the web speed from about one to a value sufficient to separate the projecting portion from the web. (A value of three has been found satisfactory, although the invention is not limited to this value).
  • an air cushion may be provided between the web and the support table or plane.
  • the pressure of the moving blade against the web can, in the absence of an air cushion, tend to fold the web part-way over the edge of the support plane. Even if this does not significantly impede cutting it will cause the web to bunch up on the support plane by interfering with the movement of the web. An air cushion prevents this.
  • Another feature of the apparatus of this invention is a housing into which a web or sheet is moved to be cut and from which dust and other fine debris produced by the cutting operation is evacuated.
  • the moving blades are preferably borne by a rotor, and the removal of the debris is preferably effected by means of placing the entrance of an evacuation passage adjacent the rotor with such an orientation that the rotor motion blows substantially all the fine particulate debris into the passage.
  • a suction system may be used to aid in removing the debris from the output of the passage.
  • the fanning action of the rotor may sufficiently retard the web to prevent proper functioning of the apparatus.
  • this problem can be prevented by using the apparatus in a region of reduced atmospheric pressure, preferably in a substantial vacuum.
  • Still another feature of the apparatus of the invention comprises an apron dividing an opening of the housing into a portion through which the web is fed to be cut and an adjacent portion through which fines are taken off.
  • the apparatus 10 of the invention includes a support plane 12, which is preferably inclined at an angle to the horizontal to permit a sheet or web 14 to be fed by means of gravity to a cutter 16 located adjacent the lower end of the support plane 12.
  • Conventional slitter discs 18 (only one of which is visible in Figure 1) are used as shown to slit the web 14 longitudinally before feeding it to the apparatus of the invention.
  • a ledger blade 20 is disposed at the lower end of the support plane 12. The cutting edge 22 of the ledger blade faces downstream and preferably is serrated.
  • a sheet or web 14 of reconstituted or blended leaf is moved downward along the support plane 12 past the slitter discs 18 and toward the ledger blade 20 by means of gravity. As is well known, the weight of the web is sufficient to cause it to be slit by the discs 18.
  • the cutter assembly 16 comprises a rotor 24 mounted in a housing 26 for rotation about a horizontal axis 28 transverse to the direction of movement of the web 14.
  • the housing 26 preferably comprises two vertical end plates 30 having apertures 32 in which the ends of the rotor shaft 34 are journaled in a known fashion, one end of the shaft being driven by a suitable motor (not shown).
  • the top 36 of the housing 26 is open, and the lower end of the support plane 12 is supported by a plate 38 secured to, or integral with the upstream side of the. top of the housing 26.
  • the upper part of the back, or downstream, side of the housing 26 preferably comprises a removable weldment cap 40 which permits easy access to the rotor 24 for maintenance.
  • the end and back faces of the cap 40 are defined by respective metal plates.
  • Flanges 42 are provided to enable the weldment cap 40 to be bolted to the remainder of the housing 26.
  • the interior surface of the back wall of the cap 40 is further reinforced by means of a plurality of brackets 44 of generally U-shaped cross-section (see Figure 2).
  • the apertures 32 are preferably defined by adjacent recesses 46, 48 in the end walls of the housing 26 and in those of the cap 40.
  • the lower portion of the contour of the brackets is recessed at 50 (see Figure 1) to accommodate the rotor 24.
  • the conveyor belt 54 is preferably shaped like a trough, its lower and side portions being propelled by suitable drive rollers 56, which are driven in a known manner.
  • the rotor 24 itself comprises one or more, and preferably six, blade bearers 58 equally spaced around the shaft 34. Each blade bearer 58 has at its outer end a removable blade 60 generally parallel to the shaft 34.
  • the rotor blades 60 are serrated, and are preferably approximately complementary in shape to the ledger blade 20 if the latter is serrated.
  • a cage or basket comprising a set of parallel semi-annular breaker rings is disposed in the lower part of the housing 26 and serves to ensure that if a "blanket" (a relatively large piece of web) falls into the housing 26 without being properly cut up, as due to the web breaking, for example, the blanket will not pass through the apparatus of the invention without being broken up by the action of the rotor assembly 16.
  • the cage functions in very much the same way as the cage or basket of a standard thrasher. In the preferred embodiment illustrated, the cage comprises rings spaced apart about eight inches, although this dimension can be varied as desired without departing from the scope of the invention.
  • the rotor 24 is arranged so that each blade 60, in passing the ledger blade 20, strikes the portion of the web 14 overhanging the ledger blade 20, the overhanging web portion being supported in the ambient air (or in whatever other fluid medium the process is conducted in).
  • the points 62 of the rotor blades 60 strike the web 14 first at an acute angle thereto and penetrate the web 14 to perforate it.
  • Continued rotation of the rotor 24 causes the blade 60 engaging the web 14 to tear off the perforated projecting portion of the web 14.
  • the conveyor 54 located beneath the rotor 24 collects both the cut-off pieces and any fines produced and removes them for conventional further processing.
  • the angle of impingement should be greater than zero (i.e., the attack should not be flat), and should preferably be no greater than approximately 25 degrees. (Greater angles of attack are included within the scope of the invention, but have been found to be less effective than angles less than 25 degrees). It has been found that this cutting and tearing action can be effected quite satisfactorily with absolutely no interference of the rotor and ledger blades. In fact, a minimum clearance of approximately 0.38 mm is desirable for optimum results, and spacings as great as 3.2 mm (1.25 inch) have produced excellent results. The exact clearance which will be best in a given case will depend on the angle of attack. When the latter angle is between 10 degrees and 15 degrees, the exact clearance is particularly uncritical. Accordingly, this range of angles is especially preferred.
  • Such an air cushion can be provided using apparatus 10' like that illustrated in Figure 9.
  • the support plane 12' rather than being simply a flat element, has an apron 80 as its upper part.
  • the apron 80 which is not flush with but is slightly raised from the part of the support plane 12' to which it is attached, comprises several gas manifolds 82, 84, 86.
  • the first (lowest) manifold 82 which is rectangular in cross section and is transverse to the direction of feed of the web 14, provides a transverse row of air jets flowing downward, through a narrow opening 88 at the lower end of apron 80 and along the upper surface of the support plane 12'. This results in an air cushion which supports and steadies the web (not shown in Figure 9), and prevents bunching and backing up of the web due to fanning action of the rotor assembly 16 or to pressure exerted on the web by the rotor assembly 16.
  • the uppermost manifold 86 is circular in cross section and provides a row of downward longitudinal air jets, which blow along the support plane 12' through apertures 90 defined between the apron 80 and a bolted-on plate 92.
  • the intermediate manifold 84 which is approximately rectangular in cross section, is immediately below manifold 86, and expels air through the same orifices as the jets provided by manifold 86.
  • the air jets provided by the second and third manifolds 84, 86 are activated only during the initial threading of the web 14 through the machine prior to beginning the cutting operation. It has been found that such use of these air jets ensures proper threading of the machine, because the air pulls the web downward and keeps it in position.
  • the fanning action of the rotor assembly 16 blows a certain amount of air out the top of the machine, while air is drawn in through both the top and bottom of the housing.
  • the blown-out air tends to carry with it large amounts of dust and other fine particulate debris, impeding visibility and affecting the comfort of people working near the machine.
  • FIG. 9 Another, preferred, approach is shown in Figure 9, where the upper opening 94 of the housing 26' is considerably larger than in the embodiment of Figure 1.
  • air is taken into the housing 26' through both the top opening 94 and the bottom opening 96.
  • the downstream side 98 of the top opening 94 of the housing 26' is separated from the remainder of the opening 94 by a vertical apron 100 supported at each end by the housing 26'.
  • the apron 100 is spaced a distance from the back or downstream wall 102 of the opening 94 such a distance that, at the intended operating speed of the rotor 24, virtually all of the dust produced by the cutting operation is thrown by the rotor 24 up into the escape duct 98.
  • An exhaust manifold (not shown) can then, with only moderate suction, remove substantially all the debris from the duct 98.
  • an air manifold 106 of circular cross section is placed at the top of the apron 102.
  • the air which it provides is formed into jets by openings in a nozzle plate 108 bolted onto the upper portion of the apron 100.
  • the jets so produced flow downward along the upstream side of the apron 100. Since this apron surface is not completely smooth, a certain amount ofturbulence results. This diffuses the air expelled by the rotor.
  • a flexible wiper 110 is located at the lower edge of the apron 100 and is serrated in a form generally complementary to that of the rotor blades 60.
  • the wiper 110 removes from the blades 60 whatever debris may have remained on them. This, together with the air jets and the proper placement of the apron 100, has been found sufficient to ensure that virtually all of the particulate debris produced by the cutting operation is removed from the housing 26' by the desired route.
  • This arrangement acts as a classifier, expelling the fines from the cutter 10' and allowing the heavies to fall to the conveyor (not shown in Figure 9).
  • the apron 100 could be placed at an angle to the rear wall 102 of the dust-removal duct, if desired, to control the velocity of the air therethrough.
  • the illustrated version has been found to produce excellent results and is therefore preferred.
  • the apparatus of the invention can be used at web speeds up to perhaps 1.0-2.0 ms- 1 (200-400 ft min- 1 ) difficulty. At some point, however, the rotor speeds necessary to cut off pieces of the desired size are such that the fanning action of the rotor may tend to blow the web backwards or to fold it downward around the ledger blade. This can be avoided by floating the web on an air cushion, as shown, by using a conventional pneumatic take-away device, by providing air jets across the top surfaces of the web to smooth it, or by carrying outthe method of the invention in a vacuum or in a chamber with reduced pressure. It is believed that suitable choice of one or more of these expedients will permit speeds of 6.1-7.6 ms- 1 (1200-1500 ft min- 1 ) to be achieved successfully.
  • the grip of the rotor blades on the web, pulling the web downward, also aids in controlling flutter. If the straight blades shown are replaced with curved blades, noise is reduced, and, it has been found, flutter is controlled still more effectively.
  • the invention can be practiced with ordinary steel saw blades for both the ledger and the rotor blades, further reducing costs.
  • steel blades having carbide points cemented in place can be used, as can flame-sprayed tips.
  • Carbide inserts are preferred for cutting reconstituted leaf (i.e., a web made by the foudrinier process), and flame-sprayed tips for blended leaf (i.e., a web made by the pectin process).
  • the web 14 It is very important that the web 14 have the proper moisture content in carrying out the process of the invention. If the web moisture content exceeds approximately 17-19 percent (as a percentage of total weight), a degree of gumminess occurs, and the tobacco will stick to the apparatus in a rapid build-up that must be periodically cleaned off. If the moisture exceeds 20 percent, the gumminess problem becomes acute. On the other hand, if the moisture content is below approximately 12 percent, the web 14 has a tendency to powder, increasing the production of fines. The moisture level is preferably to be selected within the range 12-16 percent to produce pieces with a moisture of about 14-14.5 percent.

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  • Manufacturing Of Cigar And Cigarette Tobacco (AREA)
EP84302095A 1983-03-31 1984-03-28 A method and apparatus for uniformly cutting tobacco sheets Expired EP0124255B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US48107083A 1983-03-31 1983-03-31
US481070 1983-03-31

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0124255A2 EP0124255A2 (en) 1984-11-07
EP0124255A3 EP0124255A3 (en) 1985-04-24
EP0124255B1 true EP0124255B1 (en) 1988-07-20

Family

ID=23910463

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Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP84302095A Expired EP0124255B1 (en) 1983-03-31 1984-03-28 A method and apparatus for uniformly cutting tobacco sheets

Country Status (6)

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EP (1) EP0124255B1 (pt)
AR (1) AR242487A1 (pt)
BR (1) BR8401492A (pt)
DE (1) DE3472751D1 (pt)
ES (1) ES8600895A1 (pt)
PT (1) PT78344B (pt)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP4289292A1 (en) * 2022-05-31 2023-12-13 International Tobacco Machinery Poland Sp. z o.o. A cutting device and a method for cutting tobacco industry material

Families Citing this family (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE3819534C1 (pt) * 1988-06-08 1989-12-07 B.A.T. Cigarettenfabriken Gmbh, 2000 Hamburg, De
US5445054A (en) * 1993-09-21 1995-08-29 R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company Sheet cutting apparatus and method
DE19854662B4 (de) * 1998-11-26 2004-06-03 British-American Tobacco (Germany) Gmbh Tabakschneidverfahren und -vorrichtung
US6595216B1 (en) 2001-03-20 2003-07-22 Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation Method of cutting sheets of reconstituted tobacco
US8991404B2 (en) 2006-10-18 2015-03-31 Philip Morris Usa Inc. Process for shredding a tobacco sheet and apparatus
CN101664226B (zh) * 2009-09-15 2012-10-03 中国船舶工业总公司七一五研究所宜昌分部 辊压法再造烟叶烟梗解纤加纤工艺及设备
CN103449187A (zh) * 2013-09-18 2013-12-18 江苏中烟工业有限责任公司南京卷烟厂 一种烟草切丝机烟丝收集盒
CN105328734B (zh) * 2015-11-03 2017-08-08 西南大学 烟草薄片断丝刀

Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2798550A (en) * 1953-05-29 1957-07-09 Kubodera Hisayoshi Pelleter
US3545686A (en) * 1968-03-15 1970-12-08 Du Pont Shredder
GB1426785A (en) * 1973-09-01 1976-03-03 Imp Group Ltd Apparatus for cutting a moving web of material

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP4289292A1 (en) * 2022-05-31 2023-12-13 International Tobacco Machinery Poland Sp. z o.o. A cutting device and a method for cutting tobacco industry material

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
PT78344B (en) 1986-04-30
BR8401492A (pt) 1984-11-13
EP0124255A2 (en) 1984-11-07
AR242487A1 (es) 1993-04-30
EP0124255A3 (en) 1985-04-24
ES531140A0 (es) 1985-10-01
PT78344A (en) 1984-04-01
ES8600895A1 (es) 1985-10-01
DE3472751D1 (en) 1988-08-25

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