US2672871A - Separating apparatus - Google Patents

Description

March 23, 1954 M. J. SLOVIC SEPARATING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed 001;. 30, 194'.

-lNVENTOR V MATTHEW J. SLOVIC. B Mvw ATTORNEY March 23, 1954- M. J. SLOVIC SEPARATING APPARATUS 5 Sh'eetS Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 30, 1947 INVENTOR MATTHEW J. SLOVIO ATTORNEY March 23, 1954 M. J. s ov c SEPARATING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 30, 1947 INVENTOR MATTHEW J. SLOVIC ATTORNEY March 23, 1954 s ov c SEPARATING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 50, .1947

INVENTOR MATTHEW J. SLOVIC. W

ATTORNEY March 23, 1954 M'. J. SLOVlC 2,672,871

SEPARATING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 30, 1947 5 Silets-Sheet 5 .INVENTOR MATTHEW J. SLOVIC.

*" T'w4M ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 23, 1954 SEPARATING ABBA RATHS;

Applicaticnfllctcher '3 0, 19.47.; fierial Nos. 'itfizglllt;

13 Claims. 1

invention relates to separating apparatus andsmoreparticuilarly to improvements. in apparatus for separating suspended material such as tobacco from a gassuchras lair.

invention may be..-.used for separating. variious types of material andv is particularly well adapted :fior separating (tobacco. from a stream of air which is used ,for. carrying the tobacco .i-rom :one'station to another. station. .Heretcfore vari- -;ouszl.eiforts have beencnade to maintain .a .unidorm quantity of. tobacco the hopper of a cigarette making machine with the idea that :by maintaining-a fairly constant amount of to- -bacco=-incontaet-with the feed roller, tobacco would Fbe: more uniformly fed from the hopper onto the: continuous papertape which folded and formed into a cigarette trod. Devices developed along these :lines up to thepresent time have had various disadvantages which have .lim- .ited their 'use.

It is therefore an object of my invention to prowide anrautomatic feeding apparatus or a cigarette -.machine which will be capable of being ii-sedsin :iactories lwhere lthe clearance between the cigarette making -machine and the. ceiling is comparatively :small.

:Another object .of myinvention is to provide a separating apparatuswhich .is -capable of .disscharging tobacco .-.into=the hopper of a cigarette making machine continuously fl-Om .a; :stream of pneumatically --conveyed tobacco.

-A ifurther lobjectwof my invention is to provide 'a tobacco -Ldischarge' apparatus which will distribute the tobacco delivered to the. hopper of a cigarette .making machine uniformly across. the :widthlof the -entire-hopper.

Another .object of -.myinvention .is to provide apparatus forpick-ing upitobacco whichis spilled at :difierent parts =.of the machine and returning it. automatically to the :teed hopper of the :cigazrette making machine.

Another-- cbjectzis-taprovide ardexzice which can be *used for- -hlending.;diiferent types of tobacco in the hopper .of-a cigarette lmaking ,machine.

A still iurtherlobject oflmyinvention is to providezazmethodand an automatic tobacco tfeed for a cigaretteimaking machine which will .enable .tobaccoidustandsand .to rice removed from the shredded tobacco as it is delivered :to 'the feed hopper -of an -aut0matic cigarette -making machine.

Anothenobj ect also is to ipro-izide la centriiugal tube typeset-separator which ,WiILdischargematerial along an elcngatediopening.

Ai'iurtherohjectfis .to',proii-idea centr iiugal tube type of separator which maybe used for dis- 12 charging, material in a sheet. which sheet, can have a uniform or. non-uniform quantity al nsits entire. Width.

A her ject. is to provide an improved method forwremovi-ng material iromzanairstream which it is carried.

Other objects and features of the invention will appear as the description of the particular physicalembodiment selected to illustrate thein- Mention progresses. the accompanying. drawin s, which form a part-of thisspecification,. like characters .of reference. have been applied .to .corlresponding parts throu hout the/several views whichmakeoup thetdrawings.

In theaccompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is an isometric view, showing certain parts in section, .of my tobacco. distributing appa- .ratus;

issa sectional end elevation of my. .139." bacco distributing apparatus. associated .vvilJn the feed hopper of .atcigarette making machine;

Fig. 3. is asectionalside. elevation of the. .distributing: andldischarge apparatus;

Fig. i is a sectional end elevation of'the dis.- tributing: apparatus as .seen from line of Fig;

Fig. v5 is av schematic illustration ofa modifica .tion of my diargeaL paratus associated with a cigarette making machine and tobacco feed ing .device; r

Figured is :an isometric view ohmytcbacco distributing apparatus showing a inqdificati n 9f the tobaccospreading plate; and

Figure '7 is an isometric. ,view of; my. tobacco distributin apparatus showing another. modification of the tobaccospreading plate.

My invention isadantable iorsseparatinsany kind of suspended material that, may be separatednnder centrifusalfomeirom, agasequs. carrier. For purposes of illustration .1. have shown how m =-separatixig and distributing apparatus .may --be connected. .to feed and distribute-tobacco inthahanner ofaci arettemaking machinesuch as shownin Patentziflfiiifl l grantedto Learycn Qctober 10,. i939...

The invention consists of an elongated tubular housing is secured to. the sidewalls ,oi the 1110p- .per .by a .pair of suitable brackets 434 and has an elongateddischarge opening 12 iormedlength Wise along its .imderside as shown iii-Fig. 1.. The opening 12 extends across the entire width pjthe hopper .Hofa ci arette.makinamachine. .Aiunnel shaped intake duct .It 'CIIig,. -1). is... connected ata tangent to the tubular housing. I! Q delivering an air stream carrying shreddedrtobacco into the housing 10.

An inner tube Zii, projects inside of the housing It and is adiustably supported in a tubular collar 22. By loosening a winged bolt 24, the tubular member 26 may be moved in or out to secure the proper segregation of tobacco or other material to be separated. The tubular collar 22 has a flange 26 which is secured to the outer housing 1!) by riveting or other suitable means. By sucking air out through the inner tube as as shown in Figs. 1 and 3 tobacco laden air will be drawn in through the intake funnel or duct M. Tobacco may be delivered to the air stream traveling into the duct I l by suitable tobacco supplying apparatus such as that which I have hereinafter described in connection with a modified form of my invention shown in Fig. 5.

Since the funnel M is connected at a tangent to the housing 10, the tobacco laden air stream is given a spinning or twirling effect inside of the annular passage formed between the outer tube H! and the inner tube 2!}. The circulatory move ment of the air stream in traveling around the inside of tubular housing it causes the shredded tobacco to move toward the inside wall of the tubular housing is and be separated from the air stream by centrifugal force. The tobacco that is separated forms a ribbon or belt and travels in the direction indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1.

Air, from which the shredded tobacco has been removed, spirals around the annular passage formed between the outer tube Ill and the inner tube 20 until it reaches the end of the inner tube 20 through which it is drawn out. The momentum imparted to the shredded tobacco in this annular passage is sufficient to cause the tobacco to keep spiraling in a belt along the length of the inside wall of the outer tube ll] as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The amount of air drawn through the tobacco discharge apparatus may be regulated either by the speed of a suitable exhaust fan such I as 33 shown in Fig. or by means of a suitable valve such as 3| shown in Fig. 5 which is mounted in the duct connecting the fan with the inner tube 20.

In the apparatus 1 have described, the inner duct 20 has a diameter a of approximately 1 inches while the outer housing 1 ti has a diameter 11 of approximately 8 inches. The inner tube 20 is adjusted with respect to the outer housing Ill by means of adjusting bolt 2 so that it pro- 5;;7

jects from the end of the outer housing in inwardly for a distance 0 of approximately 15% inches. The intake duct M has a width d of approximately 3 inches and the distance c measures approximately 2 inches. through the discharge apparatus at the rate of between 300 and 4.00 cubic feet per minute. It should be understood that the above dimensions are for shredded tobacco and some variations from these dimensions will be made for other types of material to take into account the condition and type of material being employed. These variations, to take care of different kinds of material, are best determined by making adjustments of the inner tube 2c and regulating the amount of air passing through the inner tube when the apparatus is in operation.

Associated with the elongated opening l2 formed at the bottom of outer housing H3 is an elongated plate 28 which has a slight twist as shown in Fig. 1.

The plate 28 prevents the belt or ribbon of tobacco to which I have referred from being all discharged at the end of the slot 12 closest to the exhaust tube and instead allows only part of the Air is pulled iii.

belt or ribbon to be discharged through the slot 12 each time it spirals so as to obtain an equal distribution along the length of the slot l2. The closeness of the edges of the spiraling ribbon will depend upon the width of the ribbon and the suction pulling the ribbon into the housing it. By having the width of the ribbon and the suction properly set, the edges of the spiraling ribbon will be substantially adjacent each other so that an equal distribution will be obtained when the tobacco is discharged along the length of the slot 12.

The contour of the projecting edge 23 of plate 26 is shaped as shown in Fig. 1 so that it will be partially transverse to the path of travel of the tobacco ribbon. This allows only part of the tobacco ribbon to be discharged while guiding and directing the balance of the ribbon to rotate further around the inside of the tube 10. The plate 28 does not extend all the way to the far end of tube Ill and that part of the ribbon which reaches the far end of tube It) is all discharged through the slot 12 as shown in Fig. 1.

While the contour of the plate 28 which I have shown provides for an equal distribution of the material discharged along the entire length of the solt 12, it should be understood that baflle plates of a different contour could be employed instead of plate 28 so as to cause an unequal distribution of material to be discharged along the length of the slot !2. For certain types of material a bafiie plate I30, which is uniform along its entire length and which has a twist as shown in Fig. 6 may be employed. For other types of material a tapered plate 532 having no twist positioned along the slot 12 as shown in Figure 7 may be employed to obtain the type of distribution desired. The exact type of plate to be used will. depend upon the result desired and the type of material being handled by my separating apparatus.

Mounted along and underneath the elongated discharge opening I 2 is a revolving valve gate consisting of a cylindrical member 38 and revolving blades 32 having rubber or fabric 3 mounted on the outer edges of the blades 32 which rub against and engage with the insides of cylindrical member 30 as shown by the arrows in Fig. 1. An effective airlock is therefore maintained at all times by the blades 32 and the cylindrical housing Sll so that tobacco may be continuously discharged as shown in Fig. 2 from the cylindrical housing H] and at the same time any material amount of air is prevented from leaking into the pneumatic system at this discharge outlet.

The four blades 32 are mounted on a shaft 36 which is supported in suitable bearings (not shown) attached to each side of the hopper H.

A pulley as is mounted on one end of the shaft 36 and is driven from a suitable source of power by a belt 40 as shown in Fig. 2. The cylindrical housings I53 and as are connected to and supported by the side walls I! of the hopper H at either end. Tobacco is discharged from the revolving gate 32 into the hopper H of a cigarette making machine, such as shown in U. S. Patent 2,175,404 mentioned above, and a suitable feed belt 82 traveling over the pulleys 84 and 85 in the direc tion indicated by the arrows shown in Fig. 2, forwards the tobacco so received towards the carded feed drum 88.

The feed drum 88 rotating in the direction indicated by the arrow, removes tobacco from the hopper H. The refuser drum 90 rotating in the direction indicated by the arrow shown in mechanism which operates the fan 29 and also closes the switch I26 thereby causing the motor 52 to be driven by electrical current flowing through wires I20, switch I26, wire I22, mercury switch I04, wire I24 and wire I28. This causes the conveyor belt 44 to deliver shredded tobacco T to the rotating rollers 48 and 50. The carded rollers 48 and 50 may be driven in directions opposite to that shown in Fig. if desired by merely crossing belt 64. The shredded tobacco received from the belt 44 is broken up by the carded rollers 48 and 50 and dropped into the funnel 5i. Suction generated by the fan 29 causes the tobacco to travel through duct 42 and intake funnel It into the cylindrical housing Ill. The air pulled through the cylindrical housing l0 has such velocity that it causes the shredded tobacco, delivered at a tangent to the cylindrical housing, to be given a spiral circulatory motion as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Centrifugal forces actin on the whirling air stream separates the tobacco therefrom by causing it to move towards and along the inside of cylindrical housing Ill. The tobacco so separated forms into a continuous ribbon and has suificient momentum to cause it to make several revolutions along the inside of the housing It in a direction away from the intake funnel I4.

As the tobacco ribbon travels around the inside of the circular tube II! in the manner described some of it passes out through the elongated slot I2 formed along the bottom of the tube I0 each time the ribbon revolves past this slot. The twisted elongated plate 28, which is positioned along the elongated opening l2 formed at the bottom of the tubular member I I], prevents all of the tobacco from being discharged through the area of the slotted opening immediately adjacent to the intake funnel I4 and instead produces a wide sheet of tobacco being discharged along the entire length of opening I2.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the twisted plate 28 which has more of a twist immediately adjacent to the intake funnel I4 than at the end of the housing I0 which is spaced from the intake funnel I4 allows some of the tobacco to be discharged at that portion of the opening I2 which adjoins the intake funnel I4. However, it causes most of the tobacco to revolve one or more times along the inside of the housing I0 before it escapes through the opening I2. tour and shape of baffle plate 28, the amount of tobacco distributed along the opening I2 can be varied.

The air stream which has had the tobacco removed therefrom by centrifugal force, also cone and sand from the air stream and the clean air passes through duct I8 and valve 30 to the exhaust fan 29 which ejects the clean air into the surrounding atmosphere as shown in Fig. 5. It is particularly desirable to remove dust and sand from the shredded tobacco just prior to its delivery in the hopper of a cigarette making machine because a certain amount of dust and sand which was not loosened from the shredded tobacco prior to this time has now become loosened thus enabling it to be removed from the shredded By changing the contobacco before it is made into cigarettes. The consumer thus receives a finished product which is substantially free of sand and dust.

The gate valve 32 by revolving, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, removes tobacco discharged from the cylinder I0 but prevents air from entering the cylinder from the outside atmosphere. It is understood that if the hopper H were to be sealed against the outside atmosphere it would not be necessary to employ the gate valve 32 in conjunction with my tobacco discharge apparatus. It will thus be seen that I have provided a simple type of feeding apparatus for delivering a uniform quantity of tobacco from a pneumatic conveyor system continuously to the hopper of an automatic cigarette making machine.

It will also be noted that by distributing tobacco in a wide sheet across the entire width of the cigarette making machine, the tobacco is evenly distributed in the hopper of the cigarette making machine thus facilitating the production of uniform cigarettes since a uniform quantity of tobacco will come in contact with the feed roller 88 which removes tobacco from the hopper of a cigarette making machine.

After some shredded cigarette tobacco has ben deposited in the hopper H in the manner just described the operator pushes the lever Hi) to the position shown in Fig. 3 to start the cigarette making machine. This closes the circuit which operates the motor 52. The motor 52 and conveyor belt M are adjusted to overfeed slightly so that when a predetermined quantity of tobacco has been discharged in the hopper H, the feeler arms 98 will be elevated by the slowly revolving tobacco mass to the position shown in dotted outline in Fig. 2. This causes mercury switch N34 to open thereby breaking the circuit just described causing the motor 52 which operates the conveyor belt 44 to stop. As the tobacco in the hopper H is used up the feeler arms will be gradually lowered again until the mercury switch is again closed. This will restart the motor 52 and cause the conveyor belt 44 to feed more tobacco.

When my separating and distributing apparatus is to be used for blending tobacco in the hopper of a cigarette making machine, a second funnel I6 is connected at a tangent to one end of the cylindrical tubing Iii. lobacco from a second source of supply is then delivered into the duct I 08 in a manner similar to the way tobacco is delivered by duct 42 into the tubing ID. The percentage of each type of tobacco used in the blend is controlled by regulating the amount of tobacco delivered to each duct.

When shredded or cut tobacco undergoes handling, the short particles of tobacco have a tendency to become separated from the longer shreds of tobacco. My invention can be advantageously employed for solving this problem by feeding shorts through one duct and longs through another duct into the cylindrical tube It in a manner similar to that described for blending tobacco. By combining the longs and shorts as it is delivered into the hopper of the cigarette making machine the chance of them becoming separated before being deposited onto the paper tape 96 is greatly diminished.

Since tobacco has a tendency to spill out at certain rod forming stations in some cigarette making machines, a pickup housing IIO may be positioned over or adjacent to the station where such spilling occurs to return such tobacco automatically to the feeding hopper of a cigarette gar en making machine: Similarly a flexible tube 1114." heving a-isuitabl'e nozzlex rum may be: employed: to enable the operator to picln-upspilledtobacco from dlfierentparts ofithema'chine. The tobacco so: picked: 'upwills be; returned: via duct: I I25. to.

theiintakefunnel 1:81 which is tangentially connectedtoithe tubularzhousing. 10.. It, will. there.- fore be. evidentthat I have-provided an improved: device for" feeding 1 tobacco automatically tot the.

hoppenrof. a cigarette makingmachine which; can.

also; be;..used..fo1f blending-tobacco; for mixing. shorts with; long. shredded tobacco. and; for picking; up. tobaccdwhich may be spilled outof. thecigarette making-machine.

The invention. above described. may" be varied 1 inconstructionzwithinlthe scope of the c1aims;.for the particular device selected toillustrate the inventioniisi butxone: of: many possible. embodiments; of the same The invention, therefore;

iSillOtitDibflrIfiSlI-tifibfid to the precisedetails of the charging itiinto said primary cylindrical: tube with sufiicient velocity tocause it tocircle. around the. inside. wall of said primary cylindrical tube; an inner tube. positioned; inside of said primary cylindrical-tube iorremovingair from the center part; of said. tube. and terminating. approximately where said s'lotbegins at a position'spa'ced from saidj.funnelj;' and an. exhaust fan. for causing a continuous streamer air to bepulled-through said pipe lineand cylindrical tube to thereby permit. tobacco carried, by said .air stream-to be dis,- charged through saidslot acrossthe width of the. hlclipperof. the automatic. cigarette making, mac i'n'e.

'2". Altobacco discharge devi'ce'for delivering a continuous stream of tobacco shreds to the hopper of: an automatic cigarette making machine comprising; a cylindrical tube having a slot formed along the length thereof. positioned insidehopper of" a cigarettev making machine, a ductfor delivering a tobacco laden. airstream tangentially at one end of said tubeyan inner tube extending f'rom one end inside said cylindrical= tubeand terminating approximately where said'slot begins for removing" air received-from said-duct from the center portion of said cylindrical tube, andapparatus for causing airto'no-W' through said duct and cylindrical tube tode'liver a continuous stream of tobacco to said cylindri'cal tube for dischargeacross the Width of said hopper'tliroughsaid slot. 7

35 K tobacco; discharge devicefor delivering a continuous stream of tobacco-to the hopper oi arr-automatic cigarette making machine compris ing ia. cylindrical tube. having aslot: formed lengtnwisezalong; the bottom thereof; means; for mounting'said tube; within the hopper: of a-.cigar.=- ettemakingjmachine, a gatevalveassociatednfwith :slot for. removingzwtobacco received. through said; slot and discharging, said tobacco across the width ofv the-hopper of a. cigarette makineLmachine while: maintaining said slot sealed against air entering: saidv slot from: the outside atmos' phere, a duct for deliveringastreamloflair carrying: tobacco to one end-l ot-l saidtubeat: a tangent transverse to the longitudinal 7 axis-:- of: said tuhe,-.

an inner tube: extending: inside-and? along: the center of. said: cylindrical tubeforremovingain from thecenter' portionzthereoi, ancliapparatus: for causing a continuous -stream of air to-fiowthroughsaid duct and-tubes.

41 A tobacco discharge: devi'ce.-.,ior delivering.- tobacco' to the-hopper: off an automatic. cigarette making machine comprising, an elongated;.cy--. lindrical shell having a slot extending alongthe. length. thereof, meanssfor. mounting said; shell-1 insidethe hopper of acigarettemaking machine, an inner shell extending:insidemfcsaidcylindricah shell, a. mounting .ior enabling the distance said; inner shell extends-inside =of saidcylindrical: sheila to: be varied, .a duct: for delivering. a..stream: of;

air -carrying tobaccoiinside. of: said. cylindrical. shell at a tangent.tothe longitudinalzaxiszthereeof to cause the tobacco to whirl ina spirab-along; theinsidewalll of saidcylindrical shell; a twisted member "extending along said slot for. deflecting. some of said tobacco away from said slot. andnto; travel around theinside of said cylindrical: shell: several. times. before passing. out through: some: portion: of: saidslot, and a housing for sealing-0E: saidislot fromtheioutside atmosphere;

5;. A device for discharging. tobacco; con: tinuously intothe. hopper of a. cigarettenmaking; machineicomprising, an elongated tubelhavihgai, diameter of approximately 8. inches for deliverw ingzacontinuous stream: of tobaccov into the hopper ofza cigarette. making 'machine aninnerctube projecting from one end approximately 153/2 inches inside of said. elongatedtube for'removing; air from the center portionoiiv said; tube said; inner tube havinga diameter of approximatelydi inches, a duct extending. fromv theendr. of said. elongated. tube along the; length thereof for. ap:-.- proximately 8 inches, said duct being connected tosaid elongated tube. at a. tangent. to the. periph-. ery thereof,.and'. apparatus .for causing; a stream of air carrying: shredded. tobacco torbe delivered through. said. duct into said elongated tubzstot. separate. tobacco from: said air stream. 1337311311:- trifugal forces acting on the tobacco as. it; Whirled around the inside. 01 saidelongatedrtuhex due. to said tangentiak connection.

6; A device for; discharging tobacco. (1,011?

tinuously into thehopper. of. a cigarettemakinge machine, an. elongated. tube extending across they,

hopper of a; cigarette makingmachine,-.said;- tube. having a slotted opening; extendingalong; a por tion of the length of :said tube; for the "dischargeof tobacco. therefrom, a revolving. gated-member. adj oining; said opening for removing; -tobacco.-.:ce.- ceived through said slotted opening while,-.main=- tainingv said. opening sealed off: from the; outside; atmosphere, an inner .tube projecting inside of.

said elongated tube for removing, air; iromithe.

center portion thereof, a. duct tangentially con. nected at; oneend of said elongated tube for; deliveringa continuouslstreamloi tobacco laden: air to the inside-of: saidv elongated. tube,, a source of. supplyior delivering. tobacco-laden: air torso-id. duct,.; and. apparatus for causing. a. streamofiair. toflow through saidduct, elongateditube; anddnner tube to cause tobacco to-be separatedtrom: said air stream in said elongated tube, and! be discharged throughsaid slotted opening andagate member acrossithe width of the. hopper of a; cigarette making machine.

7.. Apparatus: for blending shredded cigarette tobacco in the hopper of a cigarette making ma-- chine comprising, an elongated cylindrical tube, mounted horizontally in said hopper and having a slot extending along one side thereof a plurality of ducts extending tangentially from one end of said cylindrical tube for directing streams of air carrying tobacco transversely against the inside wall of said cylindrical tube, sources of tobacco supply for delivering a different kind of tobacco to each of said ducts, an inner tube extending lengthwise along the center of said cylindrical tube for a distance beyond the area where said ducts extend tangentially from said cylindrical tube for removing air from the center part of said cylindrical tube, and apparatus for sucking a tobacco laden air stream from each of said sources of supply through said duets with sufficient velocity to cause said tobacco to be separated from said air stream by centrifugal force thereby blending different kinds of tobacco received from said sources of supply as it is discharged through said slot.

8. In a cigarette making machine, apparatus for delivering tobacco to the feed hopper of a cigarette making machine comprising, a hollow cylindrical member mounted horizontally in said hopper and having a slot formed along the length thereof for discharging tobacco into and uniformly across the width of the hopper of a cigarette making machine, a plurality of intake ducts tangentially connected to one end of said cylindrical member for delivering tobacco laden air along the inside periphery of said cylindrical member to cause the tobacco carried by the air stream to separate therefrom by revolving around the inside of said cylindrical member, an exhaust tube extending longitudinally inside the center of said cylindrical tube for a distance beyond the area where said intake ducts are connected to said cylindrical member, a source of supply for delivering short particles or tobacco to one of said intake ducts, a second source of supply for delivering normal size shreds of tobacco to another of said intake ducts, and suction creating apparatus for causing the tobacco laden air 9. Apparatus for delivering tobacco to the hopper of a cigarette making machine comprisin a cylindrical hollow tube mounted horizontally inside the hopper of a cigarette makin machine and having a slot formed along the length thereof, a bafiie plate positioned adjacent said slot for causing tobacco to pass out evenly throughout the length of the slot, a plurality of ducts tangentially connected to one end of said hollow tube for conducting streams of air having entrained tobacco into transverse engagement with the inside of said hollow tube to cause said air stream and tobacco to circle around the inside wall of said tube and thereby separate the tobacco from said air stream by centrifugal force acting on th tobacco, a source of tobacco supply connected to one of said ducts for delivering shredded tobacco to a stream of air passing therethrou h, a nozzle for picking up tobacco which spills out of the machine in the process of making cigarettes, a conduit connecting said nozzle with one of said ducts for sucking in any tobacco spilled out of the machine and conveyin it to said last mentioned duct for delivery into said hollow tube, and apparatus for removing air from the center part of said tube to permit tobacco tube for discharge uniformly along the length of said slot into said hopper.

10. In a cigarette makin machine having a feed hopper, apparatus for separating tobacco from a stream of pneumatically conveyed tobacco and discharging the same in a continuous stream across the width of said hopper comprising, an outer tube mounted horizontally in said hopper having a slot formed along the length thereof, an inner tube projecting through the other end of said outer tube inside and along th center of said outer tube, a duct transversely connected at a tangent to said outer tube for deliverin a stream of pneumatically conveyed tobacco to a passage between said inner and outer tubes, apparatus for causing a. stream or air to flow through said duct into said passage and out through said inner tube to spiral tobacco around the inside of said tube a plurality of times, mechanism for delivering a stream of tobacco to said stream of air prior to its entry into said duct, a member for removing a substantially equal portion of said tobacco out through said slot each time said tobacco spirals past said slot, measuring apparatus for determining the amount of tobacco in said hopper, and connections between said measuring apparatus and said mechanism for starting and stopping the delivery of tobacco to said stream to maintain a substantially constant quantity of tobacco in said hopper.

11. The method of feeding tobacco in a cigarette making machine which comprises conveying tobacco pneumatically in a narrow stream to the hopper of a cigarette making machine,

spiralin said tobacco a plurality of times around the inside of a horizontally arranged cyclone separating cylinder, removing a substantially equal portion of said stream each time it spirals around the inside of said cylinder to deposit the same in a wide sheet across the width of the hopper 0f the cigarette making machine, and forwarding said sheet of material into contact with the carded members removing tobacco from the hopper of a cigarette making machine.

12. The method of feeding tobacco in a cigarette making machine which comprises conveying relatively long shreds of tobacco pneumatically in a narrow stream to the hopper of a cigarette making machine, spiralling said narrow stream of tobacco a plurality of times around the inside of a horizontally arranged cyclone separatin cylinder, mixing tobacco shreds of relatively short length with the relatively long length tobacco shreds prior to spiralling the tobacco around the inside of said separating cylinder, and removing a substantially equal portion of said stream each time it spirals around the inside of said cylinder to deposit the same in a wide sheet across the Width of the hopper of a cigarette making machine. 7

13. A tobacco discharge device for delivering tobacco to the hopper of an automatic cigarette making machine comprising an elongated, cylindrical shell having a slot extending along the, length thereof, means for mounting said shell.

inside the hopper of a cigarette making machine, an inner shell extendinginside of said cylindrical shell for exhausting air from the central axis of said cylindrical shell, a duct for deliverin a stream of air carrying tobacco inside or said cylindrical shell at a tangent to the longitudinal axis thereof to cause the tobacco to whirl in a spiral alon the length of the inside Wall of said 13 cylindrical shell, a tapered member extending along said slot and spaced from the opposite wall of said slot a varying distance to limit the quantity of tobacco that can pass out of said slot each time said tobacco spirals past said slot thereby causing said tobacco to spiral around the inside of said cylindrical shell several times before passing out through some portion of said slot, and a housing for scaling 011 said slot from the outside atmosphere.

MATTHEW J. SLOVIC.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Number 14 Name Date Hohn Nov. 17, 1931 Deming May 24, 1932 Schneider Mar. 27, 1934 Bieth Apr. 10, 1934 Klux Nov. 6, 1934 Craggs Dec. 13, 1938 Watson May 5,1942 Randolph Feb. 9, 1943 Arelt Apr. 12, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain June 11, 1931 Great Britain Jan. 21, 1932 Great Britain Mar. 7, 1945 Germany Aug. 15, 1928 Germany Mar. 23, 1933 Germany June 17, 1936 Germany July 2, 1938

Images