GB1142282A - Apparatus for separating tobacco from articles such as cigarette filters, cigarette wrappers and the like - Google Patents

Abstract

1,142,282. Reclaiming tobacco and filters. R. J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO CO. 21 Feb., 1967 [23 Feb., 1966; 13 Feb., 1967], No. 8305/67. Heading A2C. Apparatus for separating tobacco from articles such as cigarette filters, cigarette wrappers and the like, comprises a vertically disposed container through which the articles are gravity fed, a plurality of sets of fixed vanes and sets of rotatable vanes disposed within said container, the sets of fixed and rotatable vanes being alternately positioned in vertically spaced relation and spaced sufficiently apart to prevent articles being caught in a scissors action, the vanes being shaped to avoid bursting of a cigarette filter or tearing of a cigarette wrapper and the like, and drive means adapted to rotate the rotatable vanes at a speed in the range of from 500 to 860 revolutions per minute so that the tearing of a cigarette wrapper and the like or the bursting of a filter is avoided. In one embodiment, an impact apparatus for striking reclaimed cigarette filters to remove tobacco fragments therefrom, Fig. 1, comprises a container 14 through which the filters 10 are passed, a plurality of vanes 22a fixed with respect to the container 14, a plurality of rotatable vanes 24a for striking the filters 10 as they pass through the container 14 and causing them to impinge against the inner surface of the container 14. In another embodiment, suitable for reclaiming tobacco from within a paper cigarette wrapper Fig. 5, the vanes 50, 52 are rod shaped to avoid any cutting action and the rotating vanes 50 are mounted on a hollow shaft assembly 34 of decreasing diameter from top to bottom so as to decrease the striking volume and hence increase the striking action for succeedingly lower positions in the apparatus. In addition a larger number of vanes 50, 52 are used at each level in lower portions 34c of the assembly 34 than in intermediate portion 34b, and the fewest number in upper portion 34a. The hollow shaft 34 may be used for dust extraction, a fan 60 being sited above it. In further embodiments there are also described rotating vanes of fan blade shape or rod shaped with fan blade members attached, frustro conical shaped containers, a frustro conical vane supporting shaft, vanes bent at right angles so as to have portions that extend substantially parallel to the shaft and the container, a container with an helical ridge on its inside surface, a single container housing three adjacent impact devices, and the use of the impact devices to feed conventional vibrating screen devices.