GB1094294A - Method and apparatus for pneumatically supplying tobacco handling machines - Google Patents

Abstract

1,094,294. Feeding tobacco. K. KÍRBER. July 14, 1965 [July 13, 1964; May 18, 1965], Nos. 28833/64 and 20940/65. Heading A2C. A number of tobacco supply stores 92 from which tobacco is pneumatically fed to a number of tobacco handling, e.g., cigarette making, machines are supplied with tobacco of different sorts by selectively controlled distributer conveyers 4, 6, 8 and 10 each of which is fed by further conveyers 12 , 14, 16 and 18 respectively, the stores being such that tobacco may be drawn off by the tobacco handling machines during replenishing by the distributers of the stores. In the embodiment shown the stores 92 are arranged in a circle, Fig. 1 (not shown), the delivery ends of the distributers 4, 6, 8 and 10 being movable around the circle and the feed conveyers 12, 14, 16 and 18, each of which feeds a different sort of tobacco, being fixed relative to the circle and discharging on to the distributers 4, 6, 8 and 10 at their pivots at the centre of the circle. The distributors are driven clockwise around the circle by motors 60, 62, 64 and 66, and feed into gravity fall ducts 20, 22 24 and 26 respectively, located above the stores 92. The gravity fall ducts have shoots 28, 30, 32 and 34 having openings closed by flaps 44, 46, 48 and 50. A hood 84 is provided at the delivery end of each distributer. An electric control circuit is provided, Fig. 18 (not shown), such that when it is desired to replenish a store, the flap, e.g. 44, pertaining to the sort of tobacco required, e.g. that on conveyer 12, is opened. This effects rotation of the distributer 4 by the motor 60 until its delivery end is adjacent the duct 20 of the store required to be replenished. The circuit then effects automatically the following operations: opening of the hood 84 of the distributer 4, energization of the motor 68 to drive the distributer and energization of the motor 76 to drive the feed conveyer 12. When the store is full a detector 94 deenergizes the circuit. The store 92 is provided with carded rolls 100 and 102 for feeding stored tobacco via distributer hoppers 104 to the tobacco handling machines. Instead of arranging the stores in a circle they may be arranged in line in which case the distributer conveyers are arranged to reciprocate along the line. The fall ducts may be arranged so that each store has two ducts, one above the other, each having two shoots at the same horizontal level, Figs. 5 and 6 (not shown), or so that each store has a single fall duct having four horizontally spaced shoots, Figs. 8 and 10 (not shown). The stores 92 may be connected to distributers capable of selectively feeding four tobacco handling machines, Fig. 13 (not shown). The store outlet feeds into a pipe which is curved so as to be capable of connecting, on rotation about its connection to the store, with one of four distributer outlets equally spaced around the circumference of the circle swept out by the free end of the curved pipe. An electric control circuit, Fig. 20 (not shown), is provided whereby demand from one of the four machines being fed is sensed and a motor driving the curved pipe engergized to connect it to the outlet for the machine requiring tobacco.