US2270136A - Tobacco feeding apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 13, 1942.A D. W. MOLINS TOBACCO FEEDING APP'ARATUS Filed April 22, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet l ,u 1 1 M 1 1 1 1 1 l l 1 1 l l l 1 l 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 l 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 l 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 q g lieven for Jan. 13, 1942. D W, MOUNS 2,270,136

TOBACCO FEEDING APPARATUSV Filed April 22, 1939 5 SheeS-Sheefl 2 Jan. 13, 1942. D. w. MOLINS TOBACCO FEEDING APPARATUS Filed April 22, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 www" Qf @fm Patented Jan. 13, 1942 rroaAooo FEEDING APPARATUS Desmond Walter Molins, Deptford, London, England, assignor to Molins Machine Company Limited, Deptford, London, England Application April 22, 1939, Serial No. 269,517 In Great Britain May 12, 1938 16 Claims. l(AC1. 131-109) This invention is for improvements in or relating to tobacco feeding apparatus for feeding tobacco to lcigarette making and other mechanism for forming a rod containing tobacco. It has for many years been customary in cigarette making machines to feed tobacco to such a machine from a mass contained in a hopper. 'Ihe tobacco is teased out by a series of carded elements, usually rollers, and is nally formed into a carpet from which tobacco is picked by a fast rotating picker roller and showered downwardly into the trough of the cigarette making machine. The width of the carpet extends along the length of the trough and is usually of some considerable width .because it is well known that the carpet is not of uniform mass due to the fact that the carded elements do not extract and feed tobacco from the mass contained in the hopper in an even manner, with the -result that some parts of the carpet contain, as compared with other parts of the carpet, only a small quantity of tobacco. Since, however, the tobacco showered into the trough is received by a surface moving along the trough it is obvious that the mass of tobacco received by the surface moving along the trough is more regular if the width of the carpet is wide than if it is narrow, because each point on such moving surface receives tobacco from successive points along the width' of the .carpet and by this means inconsistencies in the mass of the tobacco received by the surface moving in the trough and which are due to irregularities in the formation of the carpet are to some extent alleviated.

Many proposals have been made for improving the uniformity of the mass of the tobacco carpet, but the nature of the material is such that it is thought to be impossible to obtain an absolutely uniform carpet by mechanical means which operate upon a mass of tobacco contained in a hopper. Among the proposals for improving the uniformity of tobacco carpets is that described in United States Patent No. 2,149,925 in which specification there is described a method of and apparatus for feeding tobacco by forming a tobacco carpet by endwise compacting..

According to the proposals in prior U. S. Patent 2,149,925 tobacco is showered on to a relatively smooth surface of a conveyor having some considerable width. This tobacco is then carried by the conveyor under a shroud which forms the top wall of a coning passage, whilst the surface of the conveyor forms the bottom wall of the conlining passage. At the outlet end of the confining passage the tobacco is received by a pin roller which moves the tobacco on to and over a concave plate. The tobacco is picked from the roller against the edge of this plate by a relatively fast moving picker and showered on to a further surface. The peripheral speed of the pin roller is slower than the surface speed of the conveyor so that the speed of the tobacco is reduced While the tobacco is in the confining passage and a tobacco carpet is formed in the passage by endwise compacting. The smooth surface of the conveyor feeds the tobacco forwardly by friction .between the tobacco and the conveyor surface, and when the tobacco has been compacted to a certain degree the conveyor slips relatively to the tobacco. The advantage of forming a tobacco carpet by the method according to this prior specication is that irregularities in the tobacco fed to form the carpet are less pronounced in the carpet itself, due to this frictional drive and the fact that the speed of the tobacco is reduced. The carpet made by the method according to the prior specification is not the same length (measured in the direction of travel thereof) at .different points along the width of the carpet. This is due to the fact that the amount of tobacco fed to form the carpet fiuctuates. The rear end of the carpet is, therefore, in the form of a wavy line, the crests of the waves being formed by those parts to which most tobacco is fed, and the troughs being formed by those parts of the carpet to which less tobacco is fed.

As is pointed out in United States Patent No. 2,149,925 a result of forming a carpet according to that specification is to tend to cause the strands of the tobacco to lie transversely in the direction of travel of the carpet. This fact is beneficial in that it enables good picking to be obtained and makes it possible to keep the shreds of tobacco longer.

The present inventor has, however, arrived at the conclusion that the extent of uniformity which can be obtained by the method described in United States Patent No. 2,149,925 is limited by reason of the fact that the transversely lying tobacco shreds overlap and so bind or hold together with a bonding effect. Although the surface ofthe conveyor which carries the tobacco into and along the confining passage applies a frictional drive to the tobacco, this frictional drive cannot overcome the bonding effect of the tobacco because the conveyors must vbe able to slip relatively to the tobacco to avoid excessive compacting, and therefore, the tobacco in those parts of the carpet having less tobacco is, due to the bonding effect, held up slightly, and presumably, therefore, is not subjected to the necessary amount of compacting to obtain the same weight per unit of superficial area as is obtained in those parts of the carpet to which more tobacco is fed. As a result of this conclusion, it is proposed that the tobacco to be showered and picked (instead of being formed as one carpet of relatively great width) shall be formed as a plurality of separate streams which are each subjected to endwise compacting independently of one another, so that there is no bonding of the tobacco as a whole. Thus, since each stream is to be compacted independently of the remainder, the total width along which the tobacco can be picked and showered, according to the invention can be made to any convenient or desired size by employing the requisite number of separate streams, whilst the width of each stream can be chosen as desired. Although there will be a bonding eiect by the overlapping of fibres in each stream, it will be appreciated that the reduction of the uniformity of each stream due to this bonding effect can be made small since the streams can be made sufficiently narrow for the purpose.

According to the invention there is provided an apparatus for feeding cut tobacco to a cigarette or other mechanism for forming a rod containing tobacco, wherein guides are provided between which the tobacco is fed in the form of a plurality of parallel or substantially parallel, adjacent, separate, relatively narrow streams, and the tobacco of each stream is fed forwardly into one end of and through a confining passage having opposed surfaces which determine the thickness and width of the tobacco in the stream and wherein conveyor means is provided to remove the tobacco from the opposite end of each passage at a slower speed than that at which the tobacco is fed into the passage, in such a manner that the tobacco is compacted in the passage due to the reduction of speed of the tobacco particles when in the passage.

A tobacco stream of relatively great width may be formed on the surface of a relatively smooth conveyor and the wide stream divided on the conveyor into the said separate narrow streams. The separate narrow streams may be formed in a plurality of parallel or substantially parallel conflning passages the bottom walls of which are formed by the surface of the smooth conveyor (e. g., a rotatable roller) arranged to move tobacco particles into the passages and towards the said conveyor means.

A rotatable element may be disposed at the forward end of each guide to prevent the accumulation of tobacco against the ends of the guides. The rotatable element may comprise a disc arranged askew of its axis of rotation whereby the element is operative to deflect tobacco alternately to one side of the guide and then to the opposite side of the guide.

The Atop walls of the confining passages may comprise a plate mounted for movement towards and away from the surface of the smooth conveyor, the plate having its tobacco engaging surface recessed to accommodate the tops of the side walls of the passages, whereby the tobacco engaging surface of the plate projects downwardly between the side walls of the passages.

One construction of a tobacco feeding apparatus made in accordance with the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a sectional elevation of one form of tobacco feeding apparatus constructed in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional View showing a portion of Figure l drawn to a larger scale.

Figure 3 is a View in the direction of arrow A, Figure 2, showing one end of the apparatus, parts being broken away for clearness.

Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the specication and drawings.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, tobacco is contained in a hopper I and is supported in the hopper by a roller 2 which feeds the mass of tobacco towards a combing roller 3. The combing roller takes a quantity of tobacco from the mass contained in the hopper I and carries it upwardly as shown by the arrow. The tobacco is arranged over the surface of the combing roller 3 in the form of a carpet, and an oscillating raking device 4 is arranged to sweep over the surface of the carpet carried by the roller 3 in order to regulate the quantity of tobacco carried upwardly thereby. A brushing roller 5 rotating in the direction shown in Figure 1 is arranged to brush over the surface of the tobacco carpet carried by the combing roller and to brush back any surplus tobacco which may be carried thereby. In the junction formed between the rollers 3 and 5 a roll of tobacco may be formed and maintained from which tobacco is taken by the combing roller 3. The raking device 4 is arranged to rake and to trim the roll of tobacco in a known manner, whilst a presser device 6 is arranged periodically to press the tobacco roll against the carding of the combing roller 3. The raking device 4 and pressing device 6 do not form any part of the present invention, but are described as constituting elements which assist in the feeding of tobacco from the hopper I.

After the tobacco carried by the combing roller 3 has passed beneath the brushing roller 5 it is carried to a point at which spring comb elements I press the tobacco against the combing roller whilst a fast rotating picker roller 8 is arranged to pick the tobacco from the combing roller 3 and to shower it downwardly on to the surface of a smooth roller 9 so as to form a relatively wide stream thereon. The tobacco fed by the picker roller 8 is fed on to the roller 9 at a sufficient rate in relation to a slower moving roller I2 to enable a carpet of the desired mass (i. e. weight per unit of superficial area) to be formed on the roller 9.

The roller 9 is rotated continuously with a speed such that the shreds or particles of tobacco showered on to the surface of the roller by the picker roller 8 do not become superimposed one upon the other to form a carpet, but are maintained as far as possible in a substantially separated condition. (This is the meaning to be given herein to the word separated when referring to tobacco shreds or particles.)A The shreds or particles of tobacco on the surface of the roller 9 are thereafter moved beneath a plate II. It will be seen from Figures l and 2 that the surface of the roller 9, together with the plate II and side walls I0 (see Figure 3) form a main chamber or conning passage sub-divided as described later into a number of smaller conlining passages into which the shreds or particles of tobacco are passed, the entrance to the confining passage or each section thereof being open whilst at the outlet end of the passage there is provided a rotatable carded roller I2, which is continuously rotated and whose direction of rotation is opposite to that of the smooth roller 9. The roller I2 removes tobacco from the outlet ends of the confining passages at a slower speed than that at which it is fed into the passages so that the tobacco is compacted in the passages due to the reduction of speed of the tobacco particles when in the passages. It will be obvious from the foregoing description that the mass of tobacco fed to the chamber or any section thereof is at all points below the mass to which it is desired to compact the tobacco in the chamber.

The plate II is bent upwardly at the inlet end of the chamber to form a bell mouth, and at the opposite end is brought as close as possible to the surface of the carded roller I2, whilst allowing for the movement (described below) Y to be imparted to the shroud.

The inner face of the surface of the plate II is substantially parallel to the surface of the roller 9, but it is found that a very slight convergence of the surfaces of the roller 9 and the plate II from the inlet end to the outlet can be used, provided that the convergence is not so great as to cause choking or jamming in the chamber.

The shreds or particles of tobacco are carried by the roller 9 into the coniining passages and the exit of the particles from the passages is impeded by the roller I2 which has a slower peripheral speed than that of the roller 9 so that a narrow stream of tobacco is built up endwise within each confining passage, and the tobacco is at the same time confined within predetermined cross-sectional limits by the confining walls of the passages.

Beneath the carded roller I2 is a concave shroud I3 which is just clear of the carding of the roller I2, and which acts as a scraper on the surface of the smooth roller 9, so that the tobacco streams are removed from the faster moving roller 9 and are carried away positively by the teeth of the carded roller I2 at the opposite ends to those at which the streams are built up. The tobacco which is taken by the roller I2 and carried over the surface of the concave shroud I3 is picked therefrom by a fast rotating picker roller I4 (Figure 1) and is showered downwardly into a trough I5 of the machine to which the tobacco is being fed. The trough I5 shown in the drawings represents a well-known form of trough used on continuous rod cigarette making machines, or the trough may be used on a tobacco packaging machine in which, for example, a continuous tobacco rod ller is formed.

The relatively narrow streams which are built up in the confining passages are continuously moved towards the roller I2 and in the construction shown in order to assist the forward movement of the tobacco towards the roller I2, the plate II is carried by a link member I6 which is mounted on eccentric spindles I3 and I9, the spindles being rotated by any suitable means driven from the main drive of the machine. The effect of the rotation of the spindles I8 and I9 is to cause the plate II to move through a curvilinear path, so that the shroud approaches and recedes from the surface of the smooth roller 9, and when it is in the position at which it is nearest to the surface of the roller 9, the under surface of the plate I I is moving in the same general direction as that in which the surface of the roller 9 is moving. The speed of the shroud is slower than the peripheral speed of the roller 9, but greater than the peripheral speed of the roller I2.

The main chamber formed by parts 9, I0 and II is subdivided into a plurality of parallel or substantially parallel, adjacent, separate confining passages as follows:-

A series of xed upstanding substantially parallel arcuate plates 29 are disposed beneath the oscillating plate II and form partitions dividing the main chamber into separate compartments. One end of each of these arcuate plates extends up to the roller I2' at the rear end of the plate II, and the other end of each of the upstanding arcuate plates extends beyond the front edge of the plate II, i. e., the edge which is disposed at the inlet ends of the passages, and forms a guide which divides the wide stream on the roller 9. The guides together divide the wide stream on the roller 9 into a plurality of relatively narrow streams. A shaft 2I is rotatable about an axis which is parallel to the axis of the roller 9. At the forward end of each upstanding arcuate plate and carried by the shaft 2l for rotation therewith is a disc 22 arranged askew to the shaft. The upstanding plates in the example being described are arranged at a distance of approximately 2 or 3 apart so that the t0- bacco which is fed under the oscillating plate is divided into a number of independent, separate and relatively narrow streams. The disc 22 at the forward ends of the upstanding arcuate plates are provided to prevent the tobacco accumulating at the forward ends of the upstanding arcuate plates and to deflect the tobacco alternately to each side of the arcuate upstanding plates. The upstanding side walls of a pair of adjacent arcuate plates diverge slightly towards the roller I2, see Figure 3. The slight divergence may be in the nature of 1 mm. to 2 mm. and this divergence is to prevent or minimise choking or jamming of the tobacco whilst in the confining passages. 'Ihe walls of each confining passage except those at each end of the machine are constituted by the surface of the drum 9, the tobacco-engaging or under surface of the oscillating plate II and opposed surfaces of two adjacent upstanding arcuate plates. The walls of the passages at each end are constituted by the parts 9, I9, II and 20. In order to enable the top plate I I to function emciently it is, in the present construction, made relatively thick and is grooved or recessed as shown at 23 to clear the top of each upstanding arcuate plate so that the tobacco-engaging surface of the plate II extends downwardly between the upstanding arcuate plates.

The arcuate plates 2i) are adjustably secured to a bar 24 which is in turn fixed at each end to a hopper side frame 25. As shown, the plates 20 are just clear of the roller 9, but they may, if necessary, be in contact therewith. The shaft 2I is supported in bearings 25 also arranged in the side frames 25.

The members 2l which carry the eccentric spindles I8 and I9 for operating the top plate II are connected by stay bars 28 and are pivoted at 29 to the side frames 25.

Referring to Figure 3 it will be seen that the roller 9 is of such length that it extends almost the whole distance between the side frames 25. The tobacco shower falling on the roller 9 is narrower than the length of roller 9 as internal partitions 3I determine the width of the shower and the picker 8 is arranged to shower the tobacco on to the roller 9 at a position in advance of the forward ends of the guides formed by the arcuate plates 20. The outer side edges of the narrow streams at each end of the machine are controlled by the plates I which lie on the surface of the roller 9, the plates i3 being shaped as shown in Figure 3 to sweep any particles of tobacco lying on end portions of the roller 9 into the outer conning passages.

A plate 32 closes the front of the hopper so that tobacco showered by the picker 8 cannot escape but must fall downwardly on to the roller 9.

By means of the present invention, therefore, it will be seen that the tobacco can be compacted endwise and put in proper condition for showering by picking, by feeding the tobacco in the form of a number of relatively narrow, parallel or substantially parallel streams which are adjacent to one another. Due to the fact that these streams are relatively narrow the effect on uniformity of the tobacco due to the bonding of the tobacco in each stream is reduced, and the total width from which tobacco can be showered and picked is immaterial, since it is merely necessary to employ the requisite number of relatively narrow streams. IThe streams are relatively close to one another and the upstanding arcuate plates are, for this reason, made as thin as is practicable. Obviously the thinner the upstanding plates, the better will be the result.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. Apparatus of the class described, comprising guides between which tobacco is fed in the form of a plurality of substantially parallel, adjacent, separate, relatively narrow streams arranged side by side in a direction transverse to that in which the tobacco is fed, and arranged to extend over a relatively great width, a separate confining passage for each of said narrow streams, each said confining passage having opposed surfaces which determine both the thickness and width of the tobacco in the stream, means for feeding the stream into one end of and through the passage, and conveyor means to remove the tobacco from the opposite end of the passage at a slower speed than that at which it is fed into the passage so that the tobacco is compacted in the passage due to the reduction of speed of the tobacco particles when in the passage.

2. Apparatus of the class described, comprising a relatively smooth conveyor to feed a tobacco stream of relatively great width, guides arranged at intervals along the width of said stream to divide the wide tobacco stream into a plurality of substantially parallel, adjacent, separate, relatively narrow streams, a separate confining passage for each of said narrow streams, each said confining passage including certain of said guides and having opposed surfaces which determine both the thickness and width of the tobacco in the stream, the stream being fed into one end of and through the passage, and conveyor means to remove the tobacco from the opposite end of the passage at a slower speed than that at which it is fed into the passage so that the tobacco is compacted in the passage due to the reduction of speed of the tobacco particles when in the passage.

3. Apparatus of the class described, comprising guides between which tobacco is fed in the form of a plurality of substantially parallel, adjacent, separate, relatively narrow streams arranged side by side in a direction transverse to that in which the tobacco is fed, and arranged to extend over a relatively great width, a separate confining passage for each of said narrow streams, each said confining passage having opposed surfaces which determine both the thickness and width` of the tobacco in the stream, a conveyor having a smooth surface on which the tobacco is fed into one end of and through the passage, and conveyor means to remove the tobacco from the Opposite end of the passage at a slower speed than that at which it is fed into the passage so that the tobacco is compacted in the passage due to the reduction of speed of the tobacco particles when in the passage.

4. ApparatusA of the class described, comprising a relatively smooth conveyor to feed a tobacco stream of relatively great width, guides to divide the wide tobacco stream into a plurality ofl substantially parallel, adjacent, separate, relatively narrow streams arranged side by side, a separate confining passage for each of said narrow streams, each said confining passage including certain of said guides and having opposed surfaces which determine both the thickness and width of the tobacco in the stream, the surface of said smooth conveyor forming one of the opposed surfaces for determining the thickness of the streams and feeding the streams into and through the passages, and conveyor means to remove the tobacco from the outlet ends of the passages at a slower speed than that at which it is fed into the passages so that the tobacco is compacted in the passages due to the reduction of speed of the tobacco particles when in the passages.

5. Apparatus of the class described, comprising guides between which tobacco is fed in the form of a plurality of substantially parallel, adjacent, separate, relatively narrow streams arranged side by side in a direction transverse to that in which the tobacco is fed, and arranged to extend over a relatively great width, a separate confining passage for each of said narrow streams, each said confining passage having opposed surfaces which determine both the thickness and width of the tobacco in the stream, the stream being fed into one end of and through t-he passage, conveyor means to remove the tobacco from the opposite end of the passage at a slower speed than that at which it is fed into the passage so that the tobacco is compacted in the passage due to the reduction of speed of the tobacco particles when in the passage, and a rotatable element disposed at the forward end of each guide to prevent the accumulation of tobacco against the ends of the guides.

6. Apparatus of the class described, comprising a relatively smooth conveyor to feed a tobacco stream of relatively great width, guides arranged at intervals along the width of the stream to divide the wide tobacco stream into a plurality of substantially parallel, adjacent, separate, relatively narrow streams, a separate confining passage for each of said narrow streams, each said confining passageincluding certain of said guides and having opposed surfaces which determine both the thickness and width of the tobacco in the stream, means for feeding the stream into one end of and through the passage, conveyor means to remove the tobacco from the opposite end of the passage at a slower speed than that at which it is fed into the passage so that the tobacco is compacted in the passage due to the reduction of speed of the tobacco particles when in the passage, and a rotatable element disposed at the forward end of each guide to prevent the accumulation of tobacco against the ends of the guides.

7. Apparatus of the class described, comprising guides between which tobacco is fed in the form of a plurality of substantially parallel, adjacent, separate, relatively narrow streams, a separate confining passage for each of said narrow streams, each said confining passage having opposed surfaces which determine the thickness and width of the tobacco in the stream, the stream being fed into one end of and through the passage, conveyor means to remove the tobacco from the opposite end of the passage at a slower speed than that at which it is fed into the passage so that the tobacco is compacted in the passage due to the reduction of speed of the tobacco particles when in the passage, and a disc mounted for rotation at the forward end of each guide, each disc being arranged askew of its axis of rotation so as to deflect tobacco alternately to one side of the guide and then to the opposite side of the guide.

8. Apparatus of the class described, comprising a relatively smooth conveyorto feed a tobacco stream of relatively great width, guides to divide the wide tobacco stream into a plurality of substantially parallel, adjacent, separate, relatively narrow streams, a separate confining passage for each of said narrow streams, each said confining passage having opposed surfaces which determine the thickness and width of the tobacco in the stream, the stream being fed into one end ofl and through the passage, copveyor means to remove the tobacco from the opposite end of the passage at a slower speed than that at which it is fed into the passage so that the tobacco is compacted in the passage due to the reduction of speed of the tobacco particles when in the passage, and a disc mounted for rotation at the forward end of each guide, each disc being arranged askew of its axis of rotation so as to deflect tobacco alternately to one side of the guide and then to the opposite side of the guide.

9. Apparatus of the class described, comprising guides between which tobacco is fed in the form of a plurality of substantially parallel, adjacent, separate, relatively narrow streams, a separate confining passage for each of said narrow streams, each said confining passage having opposed elements which determine the thickness and width of the tobacco in the stream, said elements including a conveyor which has a relatively smooth surface and which feeds the streams into and through the passages, a plate disposed above the smooth conveyor and mounted for movement towards and away from the surface of the conveyor and opposed side walls extending in the direction of movement of the conveyor, the under side of said plate being recessed to accommodate the tops of said side walls so that the under surface of the plate extends downwardly between the side walls, and conveyor means to remove the tobacco from the outlet ends of the passages at a slower speed than that at which it is fed into the passages so that the tobacco is compacted in the passages due to the reduction of speed of the tobacco particles when in the passages.

10. Apparatus of the class described, comprising a relatively smooth conveyor to feed a tobacco stream of relatively great width, guides to divide the wide tobacco stream into a plurality of substantially parallel, adjacent, separate, relatively narrow streams, a separate confining passage for each of said narrow streams, each said confining passage having opposed elements which determine the thickness and width of the tobacco in the stream, said elements including a conveyor which has a relatively smooth surface and which feeds the streams into and through the passages, a plate disposed above the smooth conveyor and mounted for movement towards and away from the surface of the conveyor and opposed side walls extending in the direction of movement of the conveyor, the under side of said plate being recessed to accommodate the tops of said side walls so that the under surface of the plate extends downwardly between the side walls, and conveyor means to remove the tobacco from the outlet ends of the passages at a slower speed than that at which it is fed into the passages so that the tobacco is compacted in the passages due to the reduction of speed of the tobacco particles when in the passages.

11. Apparatus of the class described, comprising guides between which tobacco is fed in the form of a plurality of substantially parallel, adjacent, separate, relatively narrow streams, a separate confining passage for each of said narrow streams, each said confining passage having opposed elements which determine the thickness and width of the tobacco in the stream, said elements including a conveyor which has a relatively smooth surface and which feeds the streams into and through the passages, a plate disposed above the smooth conveyor and mounted for movement towards and away from the surface of the conveyor and opposed side walls extending in the direction of movement of the conveyor, the under side of said plate being recessed to accommodate the tops of said side walls so that the under surface of the plate `extends downwardly between the side walls, conveyor means to remove the tobacco from the outlet ends 0f the passages at a slower speed than that at which it is fed into the passages so that the tobacco is compacted in the passages due to the reduction of speed of the tobacco particles when in the passages, and a disc mounted for rotation at the forward end of each guide, each disc being arranged askew of its axis of rotation so as to deflect tobacco alternately to one side of the guide and then to the opposite side of the guide.

12. Apparatus of the class described, comprising guides between which tobacco is fed in the form of a plurality of substantially parallel, adjacent, separate, relatively narrow streams, a separate confining passage for each of said narrow streams, each said confining passage having opposed elements which determine the thickness and width of the tobacco in the stream, said elements including a roller which has a relatively smooth surface and which feeds the streams into and through the passages, a plate disposed above the smooth roller and mounted for movement towards and away from the surface of the roller and opposed side walls extending in the direction of movement of the roller, the under side of said plate being recessed to accommodate the tops of said side walls so that the under surface of the plate extends downwardly between the side walls, conveyor means to remove the tobacco from the outlet ends of the passages at a slower speed than that at which it is fed into the passages so that the tobacco is compacted in the passages due to the reduction of speed of the tobacco particles when in the passages and a disc mounted for rotation at the forward end of each guide, each disc being arranged askew of its axis of rotation` so as to deflect tobacco alternately to one side of the guide and then to the opposite side of the guide.

13. Apparatus of the class described, comprising means for supporting and feeding tobacco in the form of a plurality of separate, shallow, and relatively narrow streams arranged parallel to each other and closely adjacent edgewise, and adapted to extend transversely of the direction of feed over a relatively great width, a separate confining passage for each of said shallow and relatively narrow streams, each of said confining passages having pairs of opposed walls which are of sufiicient extent as to completely confine the tobacco stream and which determine both the thickness and width of the tobacco stream, certain of said passage walls comprising thin partitions which separate adjacent streams, said partitions being at least as thin at the outlet ends of the passages as at the inlet ends thereof, means for feeding the tobacco into the inlet ends of the passages and through the passages and means for removing the tobacco from the outlet ends of the passages at a slower speed than that at which it is fed into the passages so that the tobacco is compacted in the passages due to the reduction of speed of the tobacco 'particles when in said passages.

14. Apparatus for feeding and handling tobacco comprising means for supporting and feeding tobacco in the form of a shallow stream of lrelatively great width transversely of the direction of feed, guide means for dividing said broad stream into a plurality of narrower streams while still supported and fed in the same general direction, means including said guide means and said supporting and feeding means for completely confining said narrower streams in order to determine both the thickness and the width of the tobacco streams during said feeding, and means for ensuring that the rate of feed of said tobacco at the discharge end of said confining means is slower than at the inlet end, -so that the tobacco is compacted within said confining means due to said reduction of speed therein.

15, Apparatus for feeding and handling tobacco, comprising a smooth-surfaced conveyor for supporting and feeding tobacco in the form of a shallow stream of relatively great Width transversely of the direction of feed, a series of parallel longitudinally extending thin partitions disposed perpendicularly to the surface of said conveyor and in close proximity thereto, for dividing said broad stream into a plurality of narrower streams while still supported and fed in the same general direction, a wall spaced from and parallel with the surface of said conveyor for providing in cooperation with said partitions and said surface means for completely confining said tobacco streams in order to determine both the thickness and the width of said streams during said feeding, and means for removing the tobacco from the outlet end of said confining means at a slower speed than that at which it is fed into said confining means so that the tobacco is compacted therein due to the reduction in speed of the tobacco particles.

16. Apparatus for feeding and handling tobacco, comprising a smooth-surfaced conveyor for supporting and feeding tobacco in the form of a shallow stream of relatively great width transversely of the direction of feed, a series of parallel longitudinally extending thin partitions disposed perpendicularly to the surface of said conveyor and in close proximity thereto, for dividing said Wide stream into a plurality of narrower streams while still supported and fed in the same general direction, a wall spaced from and parallel with the surface of said conveyor for providing in cooperation with said partitions and said surface means for completely coniining said tobacco streams in order to determine both the thickness and the width of said streams during said feeding, means for delivering tobacco upon said conveyor to form said wide stream, means for removing the tobacco from the outlet end of said confining means at a slower speed than that at which it is fed into said confining means so that the tobacco is compacted therein due to the reduction in speed of the tobacco particles, and a rotatable element disposed at the forward end of each of said thin partitions and so constructed and arranged as to aid in dividing the initial tobacco stream and prevent the accumulation of tobacco particles against the ends of said partitions.

DESMOND WALTER MOLINS.

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