GB2037144A

GB2037144A - Process for treating tobacco leaves by spreading, reading, analysis and cut-out thereof

Info

Publication number: GB2037144A
Application number: GB7939658A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Societe Nationale dExploitation Industrielle des Tabacs et Allumettes SAS
Current assignee: Societe Nationale dExploitation Industrielle des Tabacs et Allumettes SAS
Priority date: 1978-11-17
Filing date: 1979-11-16
Publication date: 1980-07-09
Also published as: NL7908180A; FR2441346A1; BE879588A; DE2945816A1; DK480179A

Abstract

The present invention provides a process for treating tobacco leaves or other like articles, all having substantially the same contour and surface, by spreading, reading, analysis and cut-out thereof, in order to obtain pieces of predetermined shape, such as wrappers for cigars, wherein the whole leaves are passed successively and continuously to the different treatment stations (1, 3, 4, 6, 7) so that, at each instant, a leaf is present at each of said stations (1, 3, 4, 6, 7). Thus the above drawbacks are obviated. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Process for treating tobacco leaves by spreading, reading, analysis and cut-out thereof The present invention relates to a processfortreat- ing a material of substantially constant contour and surface, such as tobacco leaves having a certain symmetry with respect to their main rib, in orderto obtain pieces of predetermined shape, such as wrappers for cigars.

The invention is directed towards a process for treating tobacco leaves with a view to rendering the manufacture of cigar wrappers entirely automatic.

To this end, processes rendering certain steps of the manufacture of wrappers automatic are already known. For example, it is conventional to spread out a whole leaf, then strip it, i.e. remove its main rib, then, from the half-leaves obtained (which will have been stored), to cut out the wrappers after analysis of said half-leaves. This process requires a large volume for storing the half-leaves leaving the spreading and stripping machine, as well as supplementary handling means for said half leaves which will have, on the one hand, to be stored in reels, if this is the mode of storage chosen and, on the other hand, to be retrieved for the operation for cutting out the actual wrappers.

Such a process also involves other drawbacks. In fact, the stripped leaves are divided into two halfleaves which must be transferred, stored and treated separately. A double device must therefore be provided: one treating the right-hand half-leaves, the other treating the left-hand half-leaves. Moreover, the action of stripping the leaves involves the loss of some parenchyma on each side of the main rib, hence the loss of material.

The process according to the present invention overcomes such drawbacks by passing the whole leaves successively and continuously to the various treatment stations so that, at each instant, a leaf is present at each of the treatment stations. In fact, the leaf introduced into the spreading machine is transformed, to the maximum of its possibilities, into cut-out pieces when it has undergone all the steps of the cycle.

According to the process of the invention, at a given instant of the cycle, the following operations are simultaneously carried out: A leaf in position n is spread out, a spread out leaf in position n-l is transferred to a reading station, the image of a leaf in position n-2 is analysed and the lay-out of the pieces which may be cut out from said leaf is determined, the pieces are cut out simultaneously on each side of the main rib of a leaf in position n-3, said cut-out pieces are discharged from a leaf in position n-4, and are transferred and deposited at a storage station where they may be retrieved for subsequent use.

The process according to the invention offers numerous advantages from the triple standpoint of material-, space- and time-saving.

From the point of view of material-saving, it should be noted that the tobacco leaf is not stripped.

As indicated hereinabove, the stripping operation which consists in removing the central or mid-rib, may also lead to tearing pieces of parenchyma on either side of the mid-rib, at the same time as said mid-rib. The leaf may thus lose a certain surface of material, which may mean that the maximum number of wrappers which could be cut out from a half-leaf cannot be obtained. By working on a whole leaf, according to the process of the invention, the whole surface of the leaf is treated, excluding the mid-rib, this enabling a maximum number of wrappers to be obtained.

Moreover, the use of this process will allow an appreciable saving in the necessary investments, as far as the device is concerned, and a reduction in the dimensions of the equipment. In fact, at each station, whole leaves are treated, without having previously separated them into right-hand half-leaves and lefthand half-leaves. Only one line of treatment is then sufficient, whilst, in the known processes, two lines are necessary for treating each of the leaf halves.

Moreover, the elimination of the prior stripping operation will render the separate storage of the stripped half-leaves superfluous.

Finally, the use of the process according to the invention will allow an appreciable saving of time. In fact, the treatment is a continuous operation. The average rate is about 1200 leaves per hour, i.e. about one leaf everythree seconds. However, this rate is set by the introduction of the leaves in the machine and the gap between leaves is not constant. It is generally of the order of three seconds, but may possibly be shorter.

At the same time as a leaf in position n is spread out, the one in position n-l is transferred towards the reading station, the one in position n-2 is analysed, the one in position n-3 is subjected to the wrapper cut-out operation and the wrappers of the leaf in position n-4 are removed and stored. In this way, the dead times are reduced, according to this process, and the times for transferring a leaf from one treatment station to another are used as best possible.

Another feature of the invention consists in that, whilst treating a whole leaf, the image of a first halfleaf, then the image of the second half-leaf are analysed.

In fact, it is already known to analyse the read image of a half-leaf by comparing it with models.

However, in the process according to the invention, a whole leaf is read and the analysis of said leaf is broken down by comparing firstly a first half-leaf with said models, then the other half-leaf.

The analysis operation is carried out continuously in the course of the travel of the leaf between the reading station and the cut-out station. In this way, during the analysis of a leaf which has just passed to the reading station and which is directed towards the cut-out station, the preceding leaf is cut out into pieces and the following leaf is at the reading station. Thus, all the operations follow one another on the path followed by the leaves through the successive treatment stations.

According to a modality of the invention, the cutout pieces are discharged at stations disposed on either side of the path followed by the leaves. A plurality of removal stations are then disposed on either side of the path of the leaf, each station discharging and transferring to the storage station one wrapper at a time.

The invention will now be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing which schematically shows the whole of the process of the present invention at an instant t.

In this Figure, the leaf Fn is spread out at station 1, leaf Fn-1 is examined by the camera 2 of the reading station 3. At the transfer and analysis station 4, the computer 5 determines the lay-out of the pieces to be cut out from leaf Fn-2. The cut-out station 6 treats the leaf Fn-3 whilst removal arms take the pieces cut out from leaf Fn-4 at the removal station 7.

Atinstantt + 1, each leaf will have advanced in the cycle by one step, a leaf Fn + 1 will have been introduced at station 1 whilst leaf Fn-4 will have been completely discharged.

Claims

1. A process for treating tobacco leaves or other like articles, all having substantially the same contour and surface, by spreading, reading, analysis and cut-out thereof, in orderto obtain pieces of predetermined shape, such as wrappers for cigars, wherein the whole leaves are passed successively and continuously to the different treatment stations so that, at each instant, a leaf is present at each of said stations.

2. A process as claimed in Claim 1, wherein, at each given instant t of the cycle of treatment, a leaf in position n is spread out, a spread out leaf in position n-1 is transferred to the reading station, the image of a leaf in position n-2 is analysed and the lay-out of the pieces of predetermined shape which may be cut out from said leaf is determined, the pieces of pre determined shape are cut out simultaneously on each side of the main rib of a leaf in position n-3, the cut-out pieces are discharged, transferred and deposited at a storage station where they may be retrieved for subsequent use.

3. A process as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the cut-out pieces are discharged from a leaf in position n-4.

4. A process as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the images of the two half-leaves separated by the main rib are analysed successively.

5. A process as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the analysis operation is carried out in the course of the travel of the leaf between the reading station and the cut-out station.

6. A process as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the discharge of the cut-out pieces is effected at stations disposed on either side of the path followed by the leaves.

7. A process for treating tobacco leaves or other like articles, all having substantially the same contour and surface, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawing.