EP1603413A1 - Tobacco cutting apparatus - Google Patents

Tobacco cutting apparatus

Info

Publication number
EP1603413A1
EP1603413A1 EP04719531A EP04719531A EP1603413A1 EP 1603413 A1 EP1603413 A1 EP 1603413A1 EP 04719531 A EP04719531 A EP 04719531A EP 04719531 A EP04719531 A EP 04719531A EP 1603413 A1 EP1603413 A1 EP 1603413A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
tobacco
cutting
width
knife
cutting edge
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.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP04719531A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Inventor
Mansueto Favaro
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.)
Garbuio Ltd
Original Assignee
Garbuio Ltd
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 Garbuio Ltd filed Critical Garbuio Ltd
Publication of EP1603413A1 publication Critical patent/EP1603413A1/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

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
    • A24B7/00—Cutting tobacco
    • A24B7/04—Cutting tobacco by machines with revolving knives
    • A24B7/08—Cutting tobacco by machines with revolving knives with several knives which act one after the other
    • A24B7/12—Cutting tobacco by machines with revolving knives with several knives which act one after the other with cutter axes transverse to the feeding direction

Definitions

  • This invention relates to tobacco cutting machines and more particularly but not exclusively to the cutting of tobacco for use in cigarettes and/or cigars.
  • Tobacco leaf is required to be cut into strands of tobacco which are suitable for tobacco products such as cigarettes. It is known to use rotary cutting machines to cut or shred the tobacco leaf into thin strands. Such tobacco cutting machines commonly comprise upper and lower converging conveyors forming a rectangular throat and being convergent in the direction of tobacco feed. A mouthpiece is provided at the convergent end of the throat. The leaf is fed into the throat at the divergent end and the conveyors drive the leaf continuously towards the mouthpiece.
  • the tobacco leaf is cut by knives mounted on rotating knife holder.
  • the holder is cylindrical shaped and mounted such that its axis of rotation is substantially parallel to the axis of the throat.
  • the knives are mounted and evenly distributed around the holder such that the cutting edge of each knife is caused to pass across the mouthpiece and hence cut the tobacco leaf.
  • At least one of the conveyors is arranged to be capable of moving in the vertical direction such that a regulated pressure can be applied to compress the tobacco leaf material.
  • the width of the cut strands can be adjusted by altering the conveyor speeds or the rotational speed of the knife holder.
  • the cutting edges of each knife are continuously sharpened by a grinding unit mounted adjacent the rotating knife holder, on the cutting machine.
  • the thin shreds of tobacco leaf produced by the cutting machine are then often mixed with larger pieces of tobacco leaf or tobacco stem and used in the manufacture of cigarettes.
  • the larger pieces of tobacco stem or leaf are used to provide strength to the finished cigarette.
  • the origin of these larger pieces is either a by product of the leaf threshing process which separates the lamina from the stem of the leaf or from a sieving process of the tobacco blend just prior to cutting.
  • One problem associated with this process is the difficulty in mixing the larger pieces of tobacco with the main flow of smaller shredded pieces at a consistent rate such that the mixture and hence a cigarette contains the correct proportions of constant width strands and larger pieces.
  • tobacco cutting apparatus for cutting a body of tobacco moveable towards said cutting apparatus, comprising a rotatable member having at least two knives mounted thereon, these first and second knives each having a cutting edge extending substantially parallel to the axis of the rotatable member wherein the width of the cutting edge or the width of a discrete portion of said cutting edge of said first knife is shorter than the cutting edge width of said second knife.
  • the cutting apparatus is able to cut shreds of tobacco material which individually have portions of differing depths.
  • the apparatus further includes conveyor means for moving said body of tobacco towards said cutting apparatus.
  • the conveyor means includes compression means to compress said body of tobacco material before the cutting operation is performed.
  • the conveyor means further includes a mouthpiece through which the body of tobacco is directed towards the rotatable member.
  • the cutting edge of at least one of said knives is an equal width to the width of the moveable body of compressed tobacco exited from said mouthpiece.
  • the width of at least one knife is equal to the width of the mouthpiece through which the body of tobacco is exited towards the rotatable member.
  • the cutting edge of at least one knife comprises a series of discrete cutting edge portions separated from one another by a series of slots formed in said cutting edge.
  • the slots comprise a divergent shape, the narrowest width of the slot being at its mouth, such that during a cutting operation the inner surface of each slot does not contact the material to be cut.
  • each of said slots is within a range of 90° to 95°
  • At least two knives comprise a cutting edge having a width equal to the width of the mouthpiece.
  • two of the knives having cutting edge portion substantially equal to the width of the body of tobacco to be cut are located diametrically opposite one another, on the rotatable member.
  • a method of cutting tobacco material comprising the steps of, substantially continuously feeding the tobacco material towards a rotatable cutting member, said cutting member having at least two knives mounted thereon, rotating said rotatable member such that the knives mounted thereon contact the tobacco material, cutting the material with a first knife, said first knife comprising a cutting edge having its width, or a discrete portion of its cutting edge having a width, shorter than the width of another knife, subsequently cutting the material with a second knife said second knife having a cutting edge with a greater width than said first knife cutting edge or a discrete portion of said first knife cutting edge such than a shred of tobacco is completely removed from the body of tobacco material.
  • Preferably said tobacco material is compressed before the cutting operation.
  • Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of a cutting machine and associated conveyor means.
  • Figure 2 is a section view of a rotatable member of a cutting machine according to the present invention.
  • Figure 3 is a view in the direction of arrow X on figure 2.
  • Figure 4 is a view in the direction of arrow Y of figure 2.
  • Figure 5 is an illustration indicating the divergent gap in one of the knives according to the present invention.
  • Figure 6 is a cross section view of a knife mounted on a retaining plate.
  • Figure 7 is a plan view of a piece of tobacco leaf cut by the apparatus of figure 1.
  • Figure 8 is a plan view of a piece of tobacco according to another embodiment of the present invention.
  • a tobacco cutting machine 1 comprises conveyors 2 and 4 driven by a motor (not shown). Tobacco leaf 6 is inserted into the entrance 7 of the conveyors, 2, 4 and driven towards a mouth 8 through which leaf tobacco 6 is compressed.
  • the conveyor 4 is mounted so as be rotatable about axis A and be capable of movement towards and away from conveyor 2 forming a converging channel into which the tobacco leaf 6 is directed. This allows the tobacco leaf to be held between the conveyors whilst being driven towards the mouth 8.
  • a compression unit 10 is mounted adjacent the mouth 8 to provide compression via the conveyors 2, 4 to the tobacco leaf and form a plug of tobacco at the mouth 8 suitable for cutting.
  • a rotatable cylinder 12 is situated adjacent the conveyors and is provided with a plurality of knives 14.
  • ten knives 14 are provided although any suitable number can be employed.
  • the knives 14 are each located in a mounting station and located firmly in place by locating plates 16, at circumferential equidistant positions form each other such that the cylinder forms a rotatable cutting apparatus.
  • Some of the knives 14 have a complete cutting edge 18, as shown in figure 3, whilst the remainder have a cutting edge 20 comprising cut away portions or slots 21 formed therein. These slots 21 divide the cutting edge into discrete portions 22 of the cutting edge.
  • the form of these knives 14 can be seen with reference to figure 4.
  • two of the ten knives 14 have a complete cutting edge whilst the remaining 8 knives 14 have cut away portions or slots 21 formed within their cutting edges.
  • the cutting edges of the knives 14 are of approximately 3mm depth and are bevelled in the manner of a conventional knife. The two knives 14 with the complete cutting edges are positioned diametrically opposite one another.
  • the mounting plates 16 are formed with grooves 17 in line with the slots 21 of their corresponding knives 14 such that the mounting plates 16 themselves do not interfere with the cutting process. It is also envisaged that these knives 14 need not have a plurality of slots 21. Instead the knife or knives 14 may simply comprise a cutting edge of shorter width than another knife mounted on the cutting apparatus. In effect only one slot at either or both width ends would be formed in the body of tobacco by such a knife.
  • the cut away portions or slots 21 of the knives 14 are shown more clearly with reference to figure 5 each gap or slot 21 formed in the cutting edge is divergent away from the cutting edge by an angle 'x'. In the preferred embodiment of the invention the angle is between 90° and 95° although an angle range between 90° and 120° is employable. This divergent or angled slot is shaped so as to ensure that the inner surface 24 of the slot does not contact the tobacco leaf during the cutting operation.
  • a grinding or sharpening apparatus 28 is positioned adjacent the cutting apparatus.
  • the knives 14 are sharpened in the conventional way by grinding the bevel.
  • the grinding apparatus 28 comprises a grindstone 26 and a drive mechanism for traversing the grindstone over the bevelled edges of the knives 14 as they rotate.
  • a collection chute 30 is provided to collect the cut or shredded tobacco material.
  • the leaf tobacco 6 is continuously fed into the space between the conveyors which move the tobacco towards the mouthpiece 8.
  • the tobacco leaf is compressed at the mouth, into an extruded plug.
  • This plug is driven towards the rotating cutting apparatus.
  • the cylinder rotates such that the cutting edge of the knives 14 mounted on the cylinder cut through the leaf tobacco 6 forming thin shreds of tobacco.
  • the knives 14 which comprise a blade having a complete cutting edge 19 cut shreds of tobacco in the conventional manner. In this cutting operation the body of tobacco is cut across its whole width so a shred 32 of tobacco is completely detached from the body of tobacco and falls into the collection chute 30.
  • the knives 14 comprising a blade having a cutting edge 20 incorporating grooves 21 or a castellated portion as shown in fig 4 cut similarly shaped grooves in the tobacco leaf material. After these grooves 34 have been cut in the tobacco material the next knife or a subsequent knife mounted on the rotating knife holder cuts the body of tobacco material across its whole width and hence cuts a discrete shred 32 of tobacco having a cross section shown in fig 7.
  • the tobacco material may be cut by a number adjacent knives 14 having shorter or slotted cutting edges 20, providing progressively deeper slots or cut our portions to be formed in the tobacco material, before it is cut across its full width by a knife having a full cutting edge which extends across the whole width of the tobacco material.
  • An example of a shred 33 cut in this way is shown in fig 8.
  • These cutting edges could be arranged such that upon rotation of the knife holder the series of knives cuts portions of differing depths within the approaching body of tobacco until eventually one of the knives makes the final cutting operation thus removing the shred of tobacco.
  • FIG 7 shows the cross section of a shred of tobacco cut initially by one or more slotted knives 14 then finally cut by a knife having a full cutting edge which removes the shred from the body of tobacco.
  • This shred comprises tobacco leaf portions of comparatively greater and lesser depths.
  • Figure 8 shows the cross section of a shred of tobacco having been cut by one or more knives 14 having a shorter cutting edge than the knife having a cutting edge substantially similar to the width of the body of tobacco. This shred of tobacco has only one portion of greater depth.
  • these shreds of tobacco are combined with conventional shreds of tobacco in the manufacture of tobacco products such as cigarettes to provide strength to the finished product without the need to incorporate tobacco by-products from the tobacco threshing process.
  • the strength and bulk previously provided by these by- products may now, according to this invention, be provided by the cut tobacco leaf itself and also from the same batch of tobacco leaf as the conventionally sized shreds are produced.
  • the knives 14 are continuously sharpened by the grinding apparatus traversing the bevelled edges of the knives 14.
  • the manufacturer of the tobacco products can select the amount of conventionally cut tobacco and the amount of tobacco cut by the castellated or slotted blades.
  • the manufacturer would also be able to specify the number, depth, size and position of the cut out portions of the blades according to his specific requirements.

Landscapes

  • Manufacture Of Tobacco Products (AREA)

Abstract

Tobacco cutting apparatus (1) for cutting strands of mixed width comprises a rotatable member (12) having at least two knives (14) mounted thereon. Each knife (14) has a cutting blade extending substantially parallel to the axis of the rotatable member (12). At least one of the knives mounted on the rotatable member (12) comprises a cutting edge (18) having a width substantially equal to the width of tobacco material to be cut and at least one other knife (14) has a cutting edge (20) or a portion of its cutting edge being of a shorter width than the other or another knife (14). Strips of tobacco are cut having portions of differing depths which provide increased strength in the finished tobacco product such as cigarettes.

Description

Tobacco Cutting Apparatus
This invention relates to tobacco cutting machines and more particularly but not exclusively to the cutting of tobacco for use in cigarettes and/or cigars.
Tobacco leaf is required to be cut into strands of tobacco which are suitable for tobacco products such as cigarettes. It is known to use rotary cutting machines to cut or shred the tobacco leaf into thin strands. Such tobacco cutting machines commonly comprise upper and lower converging conveyors forming a rectangular throat and being convergent in the direction of tobacco feed. A mouthpiece is provided at the convergent end of the throat. The leaf is fed into the throat at the divergent end and the conveyors drive the leaf continuously towards the mouthpiece.
At the mouthpiece the tobacco leaf is cut by knives mounted on rotating knife holder. The holder is cylindrical shaped and mounted such that its axis of rotation is substantially parallel to the axis of the throat. The knives are mounted and evenly distributed around the holder such that the cutting edge of each knife is caused to pass across the mouthpiece and hence cut the tobacco leaf.
The convergence of the throat compresses the leaf such that it is cut and not from the mouthpiece. At least one of the conveyors is arranged to be capable of moving in the vertical direction such that a regulated pressure can be applied to compress the tobacco leaf material.
The width of the cut strands can be adjusted by altering the conveyor speeds or the rotational speed of the knife holder. The cutting edges of each knife are continuously sharpened by a grinding unit mounted adjacent the rotating knife holder, on the cutting machine.
The thin shreds of tobacco leaf produced by the cutting machine are then often mixed with larger pieces of tobacco leaf or tobacco stem and used in the manufacture of cigarettes. The larger pieces of tobacco stem or leaf are used to provide strength to the finished cigarette. The origin of these larger pieces is either a by product of the leaf threshing process which separates the lamina from the stem of the leaf or from a sieving process of the tobacco blend just prior to cutting. One problem associated with this process is the difficulty in mixing the larger pieces of tobacco with the main flow of smaller shredded pieces at a consistent rate such that the mixture and hence a cigarette contains the correct proportions of constant width strands and larger pieces.
It is an aim of the present invention to provide apparatus which alleviates the aforementioned problem and/or other associated problems generally.
According to the present invention there is provided tobacco cutting apparatus for cutting a body of tobacco moveable towards said cutting apparatus, comprising a rotatable member having at least two knives mounted thereon, these first and second knives each having a cutting edge extending substantially parallel to the axis of the rotatable member wherein the width of the cutting edge or the width of a discrete portion of said cutting edge of said first knife is shorter than the cutting edge width of said second knife.
Advantageously the cutting apparatus is able to cut shreds of tobacco material which individually have portions of differing depths.
Preferably the apparatus further includes conveyor means for moving said body of tobacco towards said cutting apparatus.
Preferably the conveyor means includes compression means to compress said body of tobacco material before the cutting operation is performed.
Preferably the conveyor means further includes a mouthpiece through which the body of tobacco is directed towards the rotatable member. Preferably the cutting edge of at least one of said knives is an equal width to the width of the moveable body of compressed tobacco exited from said mouthpiece.
Preferably the width of at least one knife is equal to the width of the mouthpiece through which the body of tobacco is exited towards the rotatable member.
Preferably the cutting edge of at least one knife comprises a series of discrete cutting edge portions separated from one another by a series of slots formed in said cutting edge.
Preferably the slots comprise a divergent shape, the narrowest width of the slot being at its mouth, such that during a cutting operation the inner surface of each slot does not contact the material to be cut.
Preferably the angle of divergence of each of said slots is within a range of 90° to 95°
Preferably at least two knives comprise a cutting edge having a width equal to the width of the mouthpiece.
Preferably two of the knives having cutting edge portion substantially equal to the width of the body of tobacco to be cut are located diametrically opposite one another, on the rotatable member.
Also according to the present invention there is provided a method of cutting tobacco material comprising the steps of, substantially continuously feeding the tobacco material towards a rotatable cutting member, said cutting member having at least two knives mounted thereon, rotating said rotatable member such that the knives mounted thereon contact the tobacco material, cutting the material with a first knife, said first knife comprising a cutting edge having its width, or a discrete portion of its cutting edge having a width, shorter than the width of another knife, subsequently cutting the material with a second knife said second knife having a cutting edge with a greater width than said first knife cutting edge or a discrete portion of said first knife cutting edge such than a shred of tobacco is completely removed from the body of tobacco material.
Preferably said tobacco material is compressed before the cutting operation.
An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of a cutting machine and associated conveyor means.
Figure 2 is a section view of a rotatable member of a cutting machine according to the present invention.
Figure 3 is a view in the direction of arrow X on figure 2.
Figure 4 is a view in the direction of arrow Y of figure 2.
Figure 5 is an illustration indicating the divergent gap in one of the knives according to the present invention.
Figure 6 is a cross section view of a knife mounted on a retaining plate.
Figure 7 is a plan view of a piece of tobacco leaf cut by the apparatus of figure 1.
Figure 8 is a plan view of a piece of tobacco according to another embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to figure 1 , a tobacco cutting machine 1 comprises conveyors 2 and 4 driven by a motor (not shown). Tobacco leaf 6 is inserted into the entrance 7 of the conveyors, 2, 4 and driven towards a mouth 8 through which leaf tobacco 6 is compressed. The conveyor 4 is mounted so as be rotatable about axis A and be capable of movement towards and away from conveyor 2 forming a converging channel into which the tobacco leaf 6 is directed. This allows the tobacco leaf to be held between the conveyors whilst being driven towards the mouth 8. A compression unit 10 is mounted adjacent the mouth 8 to provide compression via the conveyors 2, 4 to the tobacco leaf and form a plug of tobacco at the mouth 8 suitable for cutting.
A rotatable cylinder 12 is situated adjacent the conveyors and is provided with a plurality of knives 14. In this embodiment ten knives 14 are provided although any suitable number can be employed. The knives 14 are each located in a mounting station and located firmly in place by locating plates 16, at circumferential equidistant positions form each other such that the cylinder forms a rotatable cutting apparatus.
Some of the knives 14 have a complete cutting edge 18, as shown in figure 3, whilst the remainder have a cutting edge 20 comprising cut away portions or slots 21 formed therein. These slots 21 divide the cutting edge into discrete portions 22 of the cutting edge. The form of these knives 14 can be seen with reference to figure 4. In the present embodiment two of the ten knives 14 have a complete cutting edge whilst the remaining 8 knives 14 have cut away portions or slots 21 formed within their cutting edges. The cutting edges of the knives 14 are of approximately 3mm depth and are bevelled in the manner of a conventional knife. The two knives 14 with the complete cutting edges are positioned diametrically opposite one another. The mounting plates 16 are formed with grooves 17 in line with the slots 21 of their corresponding knives 14 such that the mounting plates 16 themselves do not interfere with the cutting process. It is also envisaged that these knives 14 need not have a plurality of slots 21. Instead the knife or knives 14 may simply comprise a cutting edge of shorter width than another knife mounted on the cutting apparatus. In effect only one slot at either or both width ends would be formed in the body of tobacco by such a knife. The cut away portions or slots 21 of the knives 14 are shown more clearly with reference to figure 5 each gap or slot 21 formed in the cutting edge is divergent away from the cutting edge by an angle 'x'. In the preferred embodiment of the invention the angle is between 90° and 95° although an angle range between 90° and 120° is employable. This divergent or angled slot is shaped so as to ensure that the inner surface 24 of the slot does not contact the tobacco leaf during the cutting operation.
A grinding or sharpening apparatus 28 is positioned adjacent the cutting apparatus. The knives 14 are sharpened in the conventional way by grinding the bevel. The grinding apparatus 28 comprises a grindstone 26 and a drive mechanism for traversing the grindstone over the bevelled edges of the knives 14 as they rotate.
A collection chute 30 is provided to collect the cut or shredded tobacco material.
During operation the leaf tobacco 6 is continuously fed into the space between the conveyors which move the tobacco towards the mouthpiece 8. The tobacco leaf is compressed at the mouth, into an extruded plug. This plug is driven towards the rotating cutting apparatus. The cylinder rotates such that the cutting edge of the knives 14 mounted on the cylinder cut through the leaf tobacco 6 forming thin shreds of tobacco.
The knives 14 which comprise a blade having a complete cutting edge 19 cut shreds of tobacco in the conventional manner. In this cutting operation the body of tobacco is cut across its whole width so a shred 32 of tobacco is completely detached from the body of tobacco and falls into the collection chute 30. The knives 14 comprising a blade having a cutting edge 20 incorporating grooves 21 or a castellated portion as shown in fig 4 cut similarly shaped grooves in the tobacco leaf material. After these grooves 34 have been cut in the tobacco material the next knife or a subsequent knife mounted on the rotating knife holder cuts the body of tobacco material across its whole width and hence cuts a discrete shred 32 of tobacco having a cross section shown in fig 7. It is to be noted that the tobacco material may be cut by a number adjacent knives 14 having shorter or slotted cutting edges 20, providing progressively deeper slots or cut our portions to be formed in the tobacco material, before it is cut across its full width by a knife having a full cutting edge which extends across the whole width of the tobacco material. An example of a shred 33 cut in this way is shown in fig 8.
It is also envisaged that it is not essential that a knife having a cutting edge extending the full width of the tobacco plug needs to be employed. It is essential that a shred is eventually cut in its entirety from the plug of tobacco, however this cutting operation could comprise a series of circumferentially mounted knives having their cutting edges shorter than the width of tobacco to be cut or slotted across their widths.
These cutting edges could be arranged such that upon rotation of the knife holder the series of knives cuts portions of differing depths within the approaching body of tobacco until eventually one of the knives makes the final cutting operation thus removing the shred of tobacco.
Since the tobacco material is being continuously fed towards the rotatable knife holder and hence the knives 14, it is only when a knife with a complete cutting edge performs its cutting operation that the body of tobacco is cut across its whole width that a shred of tobacco material of a width substantially similar to that of the body of tobacco will be formed. In this case the slots 21 cut in the tobacco would become increasingly deeper after each cutting operation by these slotted knives 14. It is envisaged that as a minimum only one knife having a full cutting edge could be employed, the remainder of the knives 14 having a shorter cutting edge width or having a slotted cutting edge forming discrete cutting edge portions
These shreds of tobacco are shown in figure 7 and figure 8. Figure 7 shows the cross section of a shred of tobacco cut initially by one or more slotted knives 14 then finally cut by a knife having a full cutting edge which removes the shred from the body of tobacco. This shred comprises tobacco leaf portions of comparatively greater and lesser depths. Figure 8 shows the cross section of a shred of tobacco having been cut by one or more knives 14 having a shorter cutting edge than the knife having a cutting edge substantially similar to the width of the body of tobacco. This shred of tobacco has only one portion of greater depth.
Advantageously, these shreds of tobacco are combined with conventional shreds of tobacco in the manufacture of tobacco products such as cigarettes to provide strength to the finished product without the need to incorporate tobacco by-products from the tobacco threshing process. The strength and bulk previously provided by these by- products may now, according to this invention, be provided by the cut tobacco leaf itself and also from the same batch of tobacco leaf as the conventionally sized shreds are produced.
The knives 14 are continuously sharpened by the grinding apparatus traversing the bevelled edges of the knives 14.
It is envisaged that the manufacturer of the tobacco products such as cigarettes, can select the amount of conventionally cut tobacco and the amount of tobacco cut by the castellated or slotted blades. The manufacturer would also be able to specify the number, depth, size and position of the cut out portions of the blades according to his specific requirements.

Claims

Claims
1. Tobacco cutting apparatus for cutting a body of tobacco moveable towards said cutting apparatus, comprising a rotatable member having at least two knives mounted thereon, these first and second knives each having a cutting blade extending substantially parallel to the axis of the rotatable member wherein the width of the cutting edge or a discrete portion of said cutting edge of said first knife is shorter than the cutting edge width of said second knife.
2. Tobacco cutting apparatus as claimed in claim 1 further comprising conveyor means for moving said body of tobacco towards said cutting apparatus.
3. Tobacco cutting apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein said conveyor means includes compression means to compress said body of tobacco material before the cutting operation is performed.
4. Tobacco cutting apparatus as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3 wherein said conveyor means further includes a mouthpiece through which the body of tobacco is directed towards the rotatable member.
5. Tobacco cutting apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein the cutting edge of at least one of said knives is an equal width to the width of the moveable body of compressed tobacco exited from said mouthpiece.
6. Tobacco cutting apparatus as claimed in claims 1 to 4 wherein the width of at least one knife is equal to the width of the mouthpiece through which the body of tobacco is exited towards the rotatable member.
7. Tobacco cutting apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the cutting edge of at least one knife comprises a series of discrete cutting edge portions separated from one another by a series of slots 21 formed in said cutting edge.
8. Tobacco cutting apparatus as claimed in claim 7 of the preceding claims wherein the slots 21 comprise a divergent shape, the narrowest width of the slot being at its mouth, such that during a cutting operation the inner surface of each slot does not contact the material to be cut.
9. Tobacco cutting apparatus according to claim 7 or claim 8 wherein the angle of divergence of each of said slots 21 is within a range of 90° to 95°.
10. Tobacco cutting apparatus according to claim 4 wherein at least two knives comprise a cutting edge having a width equal to the width of the mouthpiece.
11. Tobacco cutting apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein two of said knives have cutting edge portions substantially equal to the width of the body of tobacco to be cut, are located diametrically opposite one another, on the rotatable member.
12. A method of cutting tobacco material comprising the steps of, substantially continuously feeding the tobacco material towards a rotatable cutting member, said cutting member having at least two knives mounted thereon, rotating said rotatable member such that the knives mounted thereon contact the tobacco material, cutting the material with a first knife, said first knife comprising a cutting edge having its width, or a discrete portion of its cutting edge having a width, shorter than the width of another knife, subsequently cutting the material with a second knife said second knife having a cutting edge of a greater width than said first knife cutting edge or than a discrete portion of said first knife cutting edge, such than a shred of tobacco is completely removed from the body of tobacco material.
13. A method as claimed in claim 12 wherein said tobacco material is compressed before the cutting operation.
14. Apparatus substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.
EP04719531A 2003-03-12 2004-03-11 Tobacco cutting apparatus Withdrawn EP1603413A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB0305607A GB0305607D0 (en) 2003-03-12 2003-03-12 Tobacco cutting apparatus
GB0305607 2003-03-12
PCT/GB2004/001050 WO2004080215A1 (en) 2003-03-12 2004-03-11 Tobacco cutting apparatus

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP1603413A1 true EP1603413A1 (en) 2005-12-14

Family

ID=9954593

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP04719531A Withdrawn EP1603413A1 (en) 2003-03-12 2004-03-11 Tobacco cutting apparatus

Country Status (3)

Country Link
EP (1) EP1603413A1 (en)
GB (1) GB0305607D0 (en)
WO (1) WO2004080215A1 (en)

Families Citing this family (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2425930A (en) * 2005-05-12 2006-11-15 Garbuio Ltd Tobacco feed apparatus
GB0816491D0 (en) * 2008-09-09 2008-10-15 Dickinson Legg Ltd Controlled strand length cutting of tobacco using uniform thickness knives
DE102009046666A1 (en) * 2009-11-12 2011-05-19 Hauni Maschinenbau Ag Cutting knife of a tobacco cutter
DE102009053565A1 (en) * 2009-11-18 2011-05-19 Hauni Maschinenbau Ag Cutting knife of a tobacco cutter
PL216509B1 (en) 2010-11-03 2014-04-30 Int Tobacco Machinery Poland Retractable blade mounted on the drum of the tobacco cutter
PL392927A1 (en) * 2010-11-10 2012-05-21 International Tobacco Machinery Poland Spółka Z Ograniczoną Odpowiedzialnością Method for preparing the pop knife mounted on a drum of the tobacco cutter for cutting tobacco fibers of defined length and the knife prepared using this method
CN104770856B (en) * 2015-03-05 2017-03-08 云南中烟工业有限责任公司 A kind of chopping method that can control pipe tobacco distribution of lengths and blade
CN104730214A (en) * 2015-03-12 2015-06-24 红云红河烟草(集团)有限责任公司 Method for testing shredding effect of shredding machine
CN104833287A (en) * 2015-03-12 2015-08-12 红云红河烟草(集团)有限责任公司 Shredding width detection method
CN105004301A (en) * 2015-08-12 2015-10-28 红塔烟草(集团)有限责任公司 Testing method for cutting width

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2149292B (en) * 1981-07-23 1986-01-15 Amf Inc Cutting layered material
GB8409157D0 (en) * 1984-04-09 1984-05-16 Amf Inc Knives in cutting machines
CZ293783B6 (en) * 1993-09-07 2004-07-14 Philip Morris Products S.A. Process for preparing tobacco blend, the tobacco bend per se, smoking article and a rotary cutter for cutting tobacco in order to prepare the tobacco blend
DE19854662B4 (en) * 1998-11-26 2004-06-03 British-American Tobacco (Germany) Gmbh Tobacco cutting method and device

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
See references of WO2004080215A1 *

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
WO2004080215A1 (en) 2004-09-23
GB0305607D0 (en) 2003-04-16

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
CA3066248C (en) Size-reduction machine and size-reduction unit therefor
CA2984612C (en) Machines and methods for cutting products to produce reduced-size products therefrom
EP2364605B1 (en) Method and assembly for recovering tobacco from defective cigarettes
EP2206585B1 (en) Rotating disc knife, a method of mounting a rotating disc knife and a method of dismounting a rotating disc knife
EP1603413A1 (en) Tobacco cutting apparatus
US20170232630A1 (en) Machines and methods for cutting products to produce reduced-size products therefrom
US5003996A (en) Apparatus for trimming and compression of tobacco
EP2346363B1 (en) Cutting apparatus
US3151513A (en) Cutting apparatus
EP1501381B1 (en) Cutting machine for organic plant materials, especially for tobacco
JPS61501757A (en) Improvement of cutting machine knife
US4638697A (en) Frozen meat cutter
US3584668A (en) Knives in cutting machines
US2519985A (en) Cutting machine
FI72895C (en) FOERFARANDE OCH ANORDNING FOER DISINTEGRERING AV MATERIAL.
US3156246A (en) Cigarette machine for making mouthpiece cigarettes
EP0101270A1 (en) Tobacco opening and conditioning apparatus
EP3313210A1 (en) An apparatus for cutting cigarettes and a method of cutting cigarettes
EP2853163A1 (en) Device for forming a tobacco rod
SU54024A1 (en) Machine for cutting biscuit, petitour and similar products
KR20000000294U (en) Growth cutter
JPH0819994A (en) Foodstuff forming method
JPH0512123B2 (en)

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
PUAI Public reference made under article 153(3) epc to a published international application that has entered the european phase

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009012

17P Request for examination filed

Effective date: 20051012

AK Designated contracting states

Kind code of ref document: A1

Designated state(s): AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR HU IE IT LI LU MC NL PL PT RO SE SI SK TR

AX Request for extension of the european patent

Extension state: AL LT LV MK

DAX Request for extension of the european patent (deleted)
17Q First examination report despatched

Effective date: 20071109

STAA Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent

Free format text: STATUS: THE APPLICATION IS DEEMED TO BE WITHDRAWN

18D Application deemed to be withdrawn

Effective date: 20080320