US2880735A - Blender for stripped tobacco - Google Patents

Description

April 7, 1959 s. E. STRICKLAND 2,880,735

BLENDER FOR STRIPPED TOBACCO Filed Dec. 16, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I 'ih- 73 I Y, Z I

L! 2 2 u E 1 s IN/VENTOR. BY Silos E. Strickland E5. m 6ym 4d4J ldfirw ATTORNEYS April .7, 1959 s. E. STRICKLAND 2,330,735

BLENDER FOR STRIPPED TOBACCO Filed Dec. 16, 1957 Y 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 2

INVENTOR.

Silas E. Strickland BY M 31w 1 4( fia/vwu/v jn aiv ATTORNEYS I BLENDER FOR STRIPPED TOBACCO Silas E. Strickland, Richmond, Va., assignor to The American Tobacco Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application December 16, 1957, Serial No. 702,870

Claims. (Cl. 131108) This invention relates to apparatus for blending tobacco and more particularly to mechanical means for delivering tobacco from a plurality of sources to a blending conveyor.

At the present time, it is the practice to blend strip tobacco by placing a number of hogsheads of tobacco along the side of a conveyor, and then remove a horizontal section of the tobacco from each of the hogsheads in series, the layers or sections so removed being placed on the conveyor. When the operator reaches the end of the line of hogsheads, he returns to the other end and takes another slice or layer from each until the supply of tobacco is exhausted. While the operator is placing the tobacco from hogsheads at one side on the conveyor, a similar line of hogsheads of tobacco is positioned on the other side of the conveyor and the operation is then repeated on the other side.

In the present invention, I provide mechanically operated means for removing layers of tobacco from hogsheads at each side of the blending conveyor and delivering them to the blending conveyor. For each station where a hogshead is placed on each side of the conveyor, I provide ,a unit traveling at right angles to the path of the blending conveyor. The unit comprises a main frame .movable on suitable overhead supporting means to traverse a path which extends across the blending conveyor, and a distance on each side of the blending conveyor corresponding to the space occupied by a hogshead of tobacco.

The main frame, in turn, supports a vertically movable frame and this frame carries an endless conveyor chain having a plurality of pins projecting from it. The vertically movable frame is adjusted to place the lower flight of the conveyor just above the top of the hogshead or portion of a hogshead of tobacco located at the station beneath the unit. When theconveyor chain moves across. the tobacco, the pins separate a layer of tobacco and deliver itto the blending conveyor.

In operation, a line .of hogsheads is arranged in position on one side of the main conveyor. The mechanism is positioned over the hogsheadswith an operating unit over each hogshead. The mechanism is then operated to remove tobacco from the top ofeach hogshead and deliver it to the main conveyor. Thetobacco is raked from the tops of the hogshead by-the pins or rakes, and the vertically movable frame is moved downwardly relatively slowly as this operation is performed. When all of the tobacco in a line of hogsheads at one side of the main conveyor has been fed to the main conveyor, the movable frame is raised, at a higher speed. In the meantime, a line of hogsheads has been placed on the opposite side of the main conveyor. The mechanism is then moved to a position over the second line of hogsheads and the operation repeated, the conveyors carrying the rakes or pins being driven in the reverse direction to deliver the separated tobacco to the main conveyor. At the end of its flight the main conveyor generally delivers the tobacco 2,880,735 Pa ent d .A rv' .195

through an opening in the fioortoother tobaceohandling equipment on the floor below.

The use of the apparatus not only eliminates considerable manual labor but gives more uniform results and thus produces better blending than is possible in a hand operation.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated one form of the invention. In this showing:

Fig. 1 is a plan view;

Fig. 2 is a vertical, sectional view;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 3-.-3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a detailed view of the mounting of the pins which remove the tobacco from the top of the hogsheads.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, .the reference numeral 2 designates the blending conveyor which, in present practice, is an endless belt running at approximately the door level on its operative flight. To obtain a more uniform product, a number of hogsheads 4 of tobacco are placed in aline on one side of conveyor 2, and similar hogsheads, shown in dotted lines, are placed on the other side. While the tobacco piles 4 are spoken of as hogsheads, they are the contents of hogsheads which have been removed from them, and placed as shown. To remove portions or layers of tobacco from the hogsheads, I provide a plurality of members which move transversely of the path of conveyor 2.

Each of these members consists of a laterally movable frame 6 and a vertically movable frame t carried by the laterally movable frame. As shown, a series of I beams it) extend across the area justbelow the ceiling. The frames 6, in units of one or more, are suspended from brackets 12. These brackets carry rollers 14 which ride on the lower flanges of the I beams (see Fig. 3). The bracket members are arranged in pairs, one on each side of a beam, and each bracket member carries a pair of rollers. The rollers engage the lower flanges of the l beams. At each side of the apparatus I provide a shaft i6. These shafts may be supported in bearings mounted in brackets 18. One of the shafts is driven by a motor Ztl, the motor being connected to the shaft by a chain 22 passing over sprockets on the motor shaft and the shaft 16, or in any other suitable manner.

The frames 6 and 8 are formed in units of desired size to provide supporting means for a plurality of endless chains which carry the pins or fingers by means of which the layers of tobacco are removed from the tops of the hogsheads. At suitable intervals, the shafts 1.6 are provided with sprockets 24. Chains 26 are connected to the upper frame 6 at one side, for instance, the right in Fig. 2, are then passed over sprockets 24 carried by the shaft 16 at the right side of the apparatus, then across the apparatus as shown in dotted lines around the sprocket 24- on the other shaft 16, and then connected to the other side of the frame. Thus the frame 6, and the other parts associated with it, may be moved laterally of the main conveyor by causing the motor 20 to revolve in one direction or the other.

As stated, the frame 8 is movable vertically. It may be suspended from frame 6 and caused to move up and down by variousmeans. One :such means is the provision of motors 30 carried by frame 6. Motor 30 is provided with a shaft having sprockets 32 thereon. Chains 34 pass over these sprockets, and also over sprockets 36 carried on shafts 38. Shafts 38, as shown, are mounted in bearings carried by brackets 40 on the frame 6. One shaft is mounted at each side of the unit. Drums 42 are also mounted on shaft 38. Cables 56, mounted on drums 42 on shaft 38, extend downwardly and are connected to frame 8. Arrangement of the cables in this manner causes the cables to be fed out when the motor is rotated in one direction to lower the frame 8, and to be wound on their respective drums when the motor is to tated in the opposite direction. Thus, rotation in a clockwise direction (as viewed in Fig. 2) raises frame 8, and counterclockwise rotation lowers it. I may also connect shafts 38 by a chain 44 passing over sprockets 46 on the shafts. This serves as a safety device and prevents the unit from falling if one of the chains between. the motor shaft and one of the shafts 38 should break.

Lower frame 8 is provided with shafts of at each side. These shafts are each provided With a pair of sprockets 62 for each unit. A pair of chains 64 pass over each air of sprockets. These chains are connected by cross 11 66. Each of the cross bars carries a plurality of outwardly projecting pins or fingers 68. A motor 74 is mounted on frame 8. A chain 72 passes over a sprocket on the motor shaft and over a sprocket on one of the shafts 60 to move the pins over the upper portion of a hogshead of tobacco. The tobacco, engaged by pins 63, offers considerable resistance to the travel of the conveyors. To stabilize the apparatus, I provide vertical poles 73 at spaced intervals which are engaged by rollers 74 when the apparatus is in either of its operative positions.

The operation of the device will be apparent from the foregoing description. As heretofore, hogsheads of tobacco are placed in line on one side of a blending conveyor. In the illustration, tobacco from hogsheads 4, shown in dotted lines at the top in Fig. l, is being delivered to the blending conveyor. Vertically movable frame 8 is adjusted to a position where chains 64 are just above the level of the hogshead, and pins 68 lightly engage the tobacco at the top of the hogshead, as shown in Fig. 2. The frame is raised and lowered by motor 30 and cables 56. The motor may be driven at two or more speeds to permit frame 8 to be raised from its lowermost position to its uppermost position rapidly, and adjusted downwardly at a slower rate. With the vertically movable frame 8 properly adjusted to remove the desired amount of tobacco from each hogshead, motor 7c is actuated to move the conveyors o l-66 and cause pins 63 to separate tobacco from the top of each hogshead. The lower frame is lowered at a predetermined speed until all of the tobacco from the hogsheads has been delivered to the main conveyor. It is then raised, preferably at a higher speed, and the entire unit moved to the opposite side of conveyor 2 over the line of hogsheads that has been arranged there. Motor 7i? is reversible, permitting the conveyors 64 66 to be driven in either direction to deliver the tobacco to the blending conveyor from either side. Thus, when tobacco is being delivered to the blending conveyor from hogsheads on the left, as in Fig. 2, the operative flight of this conveyor moves from left to right. The tobacco placed on the blending conveyor is delivered to other apparatus by means of which further blending of tobacco from a plurality of hogsheads is completed to produce a more uniform product.

As the tobacco is being delivered to the blending conveyor from the hogsheads at one side, a row of hogsheads is arranged at the other side (see Fig. 1). When all of the tobacco on the first side has been delivered to the blending conveyor, the units are moved to the other side by motor 20 and the operation repeated.

I claim:

1. Apparatus of the character described comprising a longitudinally movable conveyor, a frame movable transversely over the conveyor, a vertically movable frame carried by the first frame, and means carried by the vertically movable frame to convey material from the side of the conveyor on to the conveyor.

2. Apparatus of the character described comprising a longitudinally movable conveyor, a plurality of units movable transversely over the conveyor, each of said units comprising a transversely movable frame, a vertically movable frame carried by the transversely movable frame, and means carried by the vertically movable frame to convey material from the side of the conveyor on to the conveyor.

3. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which the means for conveying material on to the conveyor consists of endless chains carried by the vertically movable frame and pins carried by the chains to engage material at the side of the conveyor and deliver it to the conveyor.

4. Apparatus of the character described comprising a longitudinally movable conveyor, a frame mounted over the conveyor and movable transversely from one side of the conveyor to the other, a vertically movable frame carried by the first frame, and means carried by the vertically movable frame to engage material at the side of the conveyor and move it on to the conveyor.

5. Apparatus in accordance with claim 4 including drive means for the vertically movable frame to progressively lower the frame and deliver material to the conveyor until substantially all of the piles of material arranged at one side has been delivered to the conveyor.

6. Apparatus in accordance with claim 4 in which the means carried by the vertically movable frame consists of endless conveyors having means to engage the top of a hogshead of tobacco positioned at the side of the main conveyor and deliver tobacco from the top of the hogshead to the conveyor.

7. Apparatus in accordance with claim 5 including endless conveyors carried by the vertically movable frame, and projecting pins are mounted on said endless conveyors, the pins of each of said endless conveyors being arranged to rake the top of a hogshead of tobacco as the conveyor is moved across the top of the hogshead, and deliver tobacco to the longitudinally movable conveyor.

8. Apparatus for feeding tobacco or like material comprising a vertically movable frame, means carried by the frame to separate a layer of material from the top of a pile below the frame and deliver the separated material to one side of the pile, and means for progressively lowering the frame to maintain said separating means in contact with the top of the pile.

9. Apparatus in accordance with claim 8 in which said separating means includes an endless conveyor movable over the top of the pile of material.

10. Apparatus in accordance with claim 9 including projecting pins on said endless conveyor which are adapted to rake material from the top of the pile and deliver it to one side of the pile.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,570,270 Patterson Oct. 9, 1951 2,796,066 Creuzburg June 18, 1957 2,805,666 Schlossmacher Sept. 10, 1957

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