GB2131671A - Tobacco leaf processing - Google Patents

Tobacco leaf processing Download PDF

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Publication number
GB2131671A
GB2131671A GB08328686A GB8328686A GB2131671A GB 2131671 A GB2131671 A GB 2131671A GB 08328686 A GB08328686 A GB 08328686A GB 8328686 A GB8328686 A GB 8328686A GB 2131671 A GB2131671 A GB 2131671A
Authority
GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
tobacco
lamina
strips
fraction
stem
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.)
Granted
Application number
GB08328686A
Other versions
GB2131671B (en
GB8328686D0 (en
Inventor
Warren Arthur Brackmann
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.)
ROTHMANS OF PALL MALL
Rothmans Benson and Hedges Inc
Original Assignee
ROTHMANS OF PALL MALL
Rothmans of Pall Mall Canada 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 ROTHMANS OF PALL MALL, Rothmans of Pall Mall Canada Ltd filed Critical ROTHMANS OF PALL MALL
Priority to GB08328686A priority Critical patent/GB2131671B/en
Publication of GB8328686D0 publication Critical patent/GB8328686D0/en
Publication of GB2131671A publication Critical patent/GB2131671A/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of GB2131671B publication Critical patent/GB2131671B/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • AHUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A24TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
    • A24BMANUFACTURE OR PREPARATION OF TOBACCO FOR SMOKING OR CHEWING; TOBACCO; SNUFF
    • A24B7/00Cutting tobacco
    • AHUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A24TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
    • A24BMANUFACTURE OR PREPARATION OF TOBACCO FOR SMOKING OR CHEWING; TOBACCO; SNUFF
    • A24B3/00Preparing tobacco in the factory
    • A24B3/18Other treatment of leaves, e.g. puffing, crimpling, cleaning
    • AHUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A24TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
    • A24BMANUFACTURE OR PREPARATION OF TOBACCO FOR SMOKING OR CHEWING; TOBACCO; SNUFF
    • A24B5/00Stripping tobacco; Treatment of stems or ribs

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  • Manufacture Of Tobacco Products (AREA)

Abstract

Tobacco leaf is processed into a form suitable for use in the manufacture of cigarettes by first cutting the leaf into strips, air classifying the strips into a lamina fraction and a stem fraction, threshing the stem fraction to separate lamina associated with the stem, and cutting the lamina strips and the separated lamina into shreds. The stem also may be processed for blending with the lamina shreds. Preferably the tobacco leaf is orientated so that the first cutting step is effected longitudinally of the leaf. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Tobacco leaf processing The present invention relates to tobacco leaf processing and more particularly to the formation of cigarettes from leaf tobacco.
In prior U.S. Patent No. 4,233,996, assigned to the applicant herein, there is described a tobacco leaf processing operation wherein the tobacco leaf is simultaneously subjected to cuts perpendicular to one another to form tobacco particles of cigarette rod-forming dimensions, the tobacco particles resulting from the cutting operations are air classified to remove the heavier particles having stem associated therewith from the lighter lamina particles, the heavier particles usually are threshed to separate the stem from lamina particles connected thereto, and the lamina particles resulting from the threshing usually are mixed with the lighter lamina particles resulting from the classification to provide tobacco particles which are suitable for direct formation of cigarettes therefrom without the necessity for further shredding or shred shortening operations.
The mass of tobacco shreds which results from the cutting step must be disentangled prior to air classification. The disentangling operation can lead to shortening of some of the tobacco shreds as a result of the pressures applied to the shreds as they are drawn apart. Shortening of the tobacco shreds decreases the filling power of the tobacco, and this is undesirable. Further, the threshing operation requires multiple threshing and separation to effect complete separation of the lamina material from stem, and these steps create much dust and many particles which are not suitable for subsequent cutting and use in finished cigarettes.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a method of processing leaf tobacco, which comprises cutting the tobacco leaf into a plurality of tobacco strips; classifying the plurality of strips into a heavier fraction and a lighter fraction; threshing the heavier fraction strips to separate stem material from lamina material; and cutting the lighter fraction strips and the lamina material to form lamina shreds.
The prior art problem discussed above is overcome, in this invention, by first cutting the tobacco leaf into strips, preferably of a width corresponding to the length of shreds ultimately required for cigarette formation, usually about 1.3 to about 1.9 cm. The tobacco leaves preferably are oriented with respect to the cutting knives so that the leaves are cut longitudinally, so that the central stem is associated with a single tobacco strip. Any convenient cutting equipment may be used to effect the cutting of the tobacco leaf into strips.
The relatively small number of tobacco pieces, in the form of strips, which results from the strip cutting operation, and the association of the heavier stem material with one of the strips enables the tobacco strips to be readily and rapidly classified into lamina strips and the heavier central stem strip, without the necessity for the disentangling operation of the prior art. The tobacco degradation and loss of filler power resulting therefrom are eliminated.
The lamina material then is cut to form shreds suitable for feed to a cigarette making machine.
The cutting may be randomly oriented. The cuts are effected to establish the width of the shreds, and usually is about 0.05 to about 0.13 cm.
The tobacco strip containing the stems is threshed to remove the lamina material associated therewith. The separated lamina is forwarded to the lamina cutting step. The relatively uniform size of the strip which is threshed enables complete lamina and associated stem to be separated in a decreased number of threshing and separating steps when compared with the prior art.
The stem material which results from the threshing step may be subjected to processing for use in cigarette making by known procedures. As set forth in U.S. Patent No.4,386,617, assigned to the applicant herein, the stem material may be fiberized using closely-spaced counter-rotating disks to form fibrous shredded stem material, which is suitable for combining with shredded lamina to form a cigarette maker feed.
The shredded stem material may be forwarded to storage, if desired, for blending with the lamina shreds, or a blend of lamina shreds, after conditioning, if desired, at a later date when it is desired to use the lamina shreds in cigarette making. Any convenient mixing procedure may be used to blend the lamina shreds and shredded stem, such as that described in published U.K.
patent application No. 8304899 filed February 22, 1983, in the name of the applicant herein.
The precedure of the present invention, therefore, constitutes an improvement over that described in prior U.S. Patent No. 4,233,996, in that the procedures are simplified and filling power degradation is avoided. The procedure of the invention may be used to process individual leaves sequentially or a plurality of leaves simultaneously.
The invention is described further, by way of illustration, with reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein the single Figure is a schematic flow sheet of the preferred embodiment of the invention.
Referring to the drawing, tobacco leaves, usually conditioned using conventional moistening procedures, are fed by line 10 to a cutter 12 wherein the tobacco leaves, after orienting so that at least a substantial majority of the leaves is oriented longitudinal of the cutters. In the cutter 12, the tobacco leaves are cut into elongate tobacco strips, which leave the cutter by line 14.
The tobacco strips then are classified in an air classifier 1 6 to separate a lighter fraction comprising lamina strips in line 18 and a heavier.
fraction comprising stem strips having lamina attached thereto.
The lamina strips are passed to a second cutter 22 wherein the strips are cut to form tobacco shreds in line 24 of dimensions suitable for cigarette making, without the necessity for any further cutting or shortening procedures.
The heavy fraction in line 20 is forwarded to a threshing and separation operation 26, wherein the stem particles are threshed to separate the lamina material attached thereto. The threshed material is forwarded by line 28 to an air classifier 30 for classification into a lighter lamina fraction and into a heavier stem fraction. Multiple threshing and air classification operations usually are effected.
The lamina fraction is forwarded by line 32 to the lamina cutter 22, while the stem fraction is forwarded by line 34 to a stem shredder 36 comprising closely-spaced fiberizing plates. In the stem shredder 36 the stems are processed to form shredded stem material, which is forwarded by'line 38 to a mixer 40 wherein it is mixed with lamina shreds in line 24 to form a blend in line 42 for feed to a cigarette-making machine 44, wherein cigarettes in line 46 are formed from the blend.
The illustrated procedure is schematic. It will be understood that in practice shredded lamina and shredded stem may be stored for considerable periods of time prior to cutting or to mixing and that shredded lamina of many grades of tobacco usually are combined to form the final blend from which the cigarettes are formed.
In summary of this disclosure, the present invention relates to a tobacco leaf processing procedure for forming cigarette maker feed which is an improvement over the procedure of U.S.
Patent No. 4,233,996. Modifications are possible within the scope of this invention.

Claims (10)

1. A method of processing leaf tobacco, which comprises cutting the tobacco leaf into a plurality of tobacco strips; classifying the plurality of strips into a heavier fraction and a lighter fraction, threshing the heavier fraction strips to separate stem material from laminate material; and cutting the lighter fraction strips and the lamina material to form lamina shreds.
2. A method as claimed in claim 1, in which the tobacco leaf is oriented so that the first-mentioned cutting step is effected longitudinally of the leaf.
3. A method as claimed in claim 1 or 2, in which a plurality of tobacco leaves is simultaneously processed and the plurality of leaves is manipulated so that at least a substantial majority of the leaves is cut longitudinally of the leaf in the first-mentioned cutting step.
4. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, in which the plurality of tobacco strips has a lateral dimension of 1.3 to 1.9 cm.
5. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, in which the light fraction strips and lamina material are cut to form shreds having a thickness of 0.05 to 0.13 cm.
6. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 including shredding the stem material from the threshing step to form shredded stem material and mixing the shredded stem material with the lamina shreds.
7. A method as claimed in claim 6, in which the shredding of stem material is effected by counterrotating fiberizing surfaces.
8. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7, in which the tobacco strips are air classified into the lighter and heavier fractions.
9. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, in which the threshed material is air classified to separate the ligher lamina fraction from the heavier stem fraction.
10. A method of processing leaf tobacco substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated in the accompanying drawing.
GB08328686A 1982-10-28 1983-10-27 Tobacco leaf processing Expired GB2131671B (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB08328686A GB2131671B (en) 1982-10-28 1983-10-27 Tobacco leaf processing

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB8230812 1982-10-28
GB08328686A GB2131671B (en) 1982-10-28 1983-10-27 Tobacco leaf processing

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
GB8328686D0 GB8328686D0 (en) 1983-11-30
GB2131671A true GB2131671A (en) 1984-06-27
GB2131671B GB2131671B (en) 1986-04-16

Family

ID=26284241

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
GB08328686A Expired GB2131671B (en) 1982-10-28 1983-10-27 Tobacco leaf processing

Country Status (1)

Country Link
GB (1) GB2131671B (en)

Cited By (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5148820A (en) * 1989-09-18 1992-09-22 British-American Tobacco Company Limited Processing of tobacco leaves
US5722431A (en) * 1995-11-20 1998-03-03 British-American Tobacco Method and plant for treating tobacco leaves for the production of cut tobacco
US5813413A (en) * 1995-11-20 1998-09-29 Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation Method and plant for treating tobacco leaves for the production of cut tobacco
US5826590A (en) * 1996-09-26 1998-10-27 Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. Method and plant for treating tobacco stems for the production of cut tobacco
DE102008023251A1 (en) * 2008-05-13 2009-11-19 Hauni Maschinenbau Ag Production of cut tobacco
CN104097810A (en) * 2014-07-10 2014-10-15 中国烟草总公司郑州烟草研究院 Threshing, redrying, prepressing and packaging control method based on tobacco leaf adhesion force difference
CN104983051A (en) * 2015-06-05 2015-10-21 湖北中烟工业有限责任公司 Redrying processing method of single-level primarily-dried tobacco
WO2016193147A1 (en) * 2015-05-29 2016-12-08 Philip Morris Products S.A. Method of making tobacco cut filler
CN113281115A (en) * 2021-04-09 2021-08-20 河南中烟工业有限责任公司 Control method for intelligent shearing of tobacco leaves
CN115669979A (en) * 2022-11-11 2023-02-03 云南省烟草农业科学研究院 Classification formula threshing and redrying method of cinnabar smoke

Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2026298A (en) * 1978-05-23 1980-02-06 Rothmans Of Pall Mall Cutting whole leaf tobacco
GB2078085A (en) * 1980-03-24 1982-01-06 Rothmans Of Pall Mall Shredded tobacco stem

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2026298A (en) * 1978-05-23 1980-02-06 Rothmans Of Pall Mall Cutting whole leaf tobacco
GB2078085A (en) * 1980-03-24 1982-01-06 Rothmans Of Pall Mall Shredded tobacco stem

Cited By (17)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5165426A (en) * 1989-08-18 1992-11-24 British-American Tobacco Company Limited Processing of tobacco leaves
US5148820A (en) * 1989-09-18 1992-09-22 British-American Tobacco Company Limited Processing of tobacco leaves
US5722431A (en) * 1995-11-20 1998-03-03 British-American Tobacco Method and plant for treating tobacco leaves for the production of cut tobacco
US5813413A (en) * 1995-11-20 1998-09-29 Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation Method and plant for treating tobacco leaves for the production of cut tobacco
US5826590A (en) * 1996-09-26 1998-10-27 Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. Method and plant for treating tobacco stems for the production of cut tobacco
DE102008023251A1 (en) * 2008-05-13 2009-11-19 Hauni Maschinenbau Ag Production of cut tobacco
CN104097810A (en) * 2014-07-10 2014-10-15 中国烟草总公司郑州烟草研究院 Threshing, redrying, prepressing and packaging control method based on tobacco leaf adhesion force difference
WO2016193147A1 (en) * 2015-05-29 2016-12-08 Philip Morris Products S.A. Method of making tobacco cut filler
JP2018516075A (en) * 2015-05-29 2018-06-21 フィリップ・モーリス・プロダクツ・ソシエテ・アノニム How to make tobacco cut filler
RU2704375C2 (en) * 2015-05-29 2019-10-28 Филип Моррис Продактс С.А. Method for production of cut tobacco filler
US11044936B2 (en) 2015-05-29 2021-06-29 Philip Morris Products S.A. Method of making tobacco cut filler
US12102111B2 (en) 2015-05-29 2024-10-01 Philip Morris Products S.A. Method of making tobacco cut filler
CN104983051A (en) * 2015-06-05 2015-10-21 湖北中烟工业有限责任公司 Redrying processing method of single-level primarily-dried tobacco
CN113281115A (en) * 2021-04-09 2021-08-20 河南中烟工业有限责任公司 Control method for intelligent shearing of tobacco leaves
CN113281115B (en) * 2021-04-09 2023-09-15 河南中烟工业有限责任公司 Control method for intelligent tobacco leaf shearing
CN115669979A (en) * 2022-11-11 2023-02-03 云南省烟草农业科学研究院 Classification formula threshing and redrying method of cinnabar smoke
CN115669979B (en) * 2022-11-11 2024-06-11 云南省烟草农业科学研究院 Classification formula threshing and redrying method for cinnabar cigarettes

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB2131671B (en) 1986-04-16
GB8328686D0 (en) 1983-11-30

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PCNP Patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee

Effective date: 20001027