US3338247A - Tobacco-manipulating machines - Google Patents

Description

F. A. M. LABBE TOBACCO-MANIPULATING MACHINES Aug. 29, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed June 1.

ATTORNEYS Aug 29, 1967 F. A. M. LABBE TOBACCO-MANIFULATING MACHINES Original Filed June 1, 1960 5 Sheets$heet z INVENTOR qua/c1; 0- M- Lafgfi wmmpaa, We 1 ATTORNEYS F. M. LABBE TOBAGCOMANIPULAT'ING MACHINES Aiig. I29, i967 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 7 Original Filed June 1, 1960 ATTORNEYS Aug. 29, 1967 F. A M. LABBE 3,338,247

' TOBACCO-MAMPULAIING MACHINES Original Fiied June 1, 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR waTm (0 ATTORNEYS 19.67 F. A; M. LABBE Q 3,338,247

TOBAGCO-MANIPULATING MACHINES Original Filed June 1, 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 l N V E NTO R 9 3w", q-m .4az& wmmcapm s w ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofl 3,338,247 Patented Aug. 29, 1967 ice 3,338,247 TOBACCO-MANIPULATING MACHINES Francis Auguste Maurice Labbe, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, assignor to The Molins Organisation Limited, London, England, a British company Continuation of application Ser. No. 33,137, June 1, 1960. This application Apr. 7, 1965, Ser. No. 446,439 Claims priority, application Great Britain, June 3, 1959, 19,060/59 6 Claims. (Cl. 131-21) This invention concerns improvements in or relating to tobacco-manipulating machines, for example continuous rod cigarette-making machines; this application is a continuation of my copending application Ser. No. 33,137, filed June 1, 1960, now abandoned.

Cigarettes are formed from cut tobacco enclosed in wrapping material. This wrapping material is generally made of paper or other suitable material. Sometimes, tobacco is a constituent of the wrapping material, such as when reconstituted tobacco is formed into wrapping material for the purpose. The term cigarette when used herein shall include all such cases.

It has been proposed to form a tobacco stream or filler, in a continuous rod cigarette-making machine, containing more than the required amount of tobacco, and to remove the surplus tobacco so as to reduce the stream or filler to a desired depth or cross-sectional size. One example of mechanism for accomplishing this is disclosed in copending application Ser. No. 373,595, filed May 1, 1964, now Patent No. 3,288,147, issued Nov. 29, 1966, (which application is a continuing application of Ser. No. 32,959, filed May 31, 1960, now abandoned) and assigned to the assignees of the present application.

According to the present invention there is provided a tobacco-manipulating machine, such as a continuous rod cigarette-making machine, having means to form a tobacco filler and feed it lengthwise, wherein tobacco is supplied to the filler in excess of the amount required, and surplus tobacco is removed from the filler by a trimming device, and wherein means is provided to measure, or to detect variations in, the quantity of surplus tobacco.

It will be appreciated that if surplus tobacco is removed from the filler in such a way as to reduce the filler to a desired (but not necessarily constant) depth or crosssectional size, detection of the quantity of tobacco being so removed at any given time or over a given period of time can provide an indication of the gross quantity of tobacco which is being supplied for the formation of the original stream or filler. Thus in a continuous rod cigarette-making machine, detection of variations in the quantity of tobacco so removed from the filler can indicate variations in the rate at which tobacco is being fed from the hopper, or alternatively can indicate that some change has occurred in the nature or condition of the tobacco being fed, such that the rate of feed from the hopper (which rate may have remained more or less constant) has become either excessive or insufficient to provide a filler whose depth or cross-sectional size is in excess of the desired size by the required amount. For example, in a particular case it may be decided to form the original filler with, say, 15% surplus tobacco, and if it is found that either more or less than the required 15 is being removed, this indicates that too much or too little tobacco, respectively, is being supplied to the original filler. Corresponding adjustment can then be made to the arrangements for feeding tobacco to form the filler, for example by altering the speed of the hopper.

The machine may comprise means to receive the surplus tobacco removed from the filler, and means to convey the said surplus tobacco e.g., as a stream, past a measuring or detecting device which measures, or detects variations in, the quantity of tobacco passing the device. The said device may comprise a movable, e.g. pivoted, element arranged in contact with surplus tobacco conveyed as a stream, so as to be movable in response to variations. in the depth of the said stream, and may further comprise means actuated by movements of the said element (e.g. by movements beyond predetermined limits) to vary the operation of the machinefor example to vary the speed of the tobacco hopper, or otherwise to regulate the feed of tobacco to form the original filler.

It'may in some cases be preferred that the measuring or detecting device should be arranged to indicate longterm variations in the amount of surplus tobacco, rather than local fluctuations, and in such a case it is desirable that the stream of removed tobacco should, as far as practicable, be fed past the device in a condition in which purely local variations in its depth are smoothed out. For this purpose the stream of removed surplus tobacco may be conveyed on a vibrating conveyor whose vibrating action tends to smooth out local variations in quantity of tobacco passing the said device, eg in depth of the tobacco stream.

Alternatively the measuring or detecting device may comprise means to pass air through the stream of removed tobacco, and'means to measure, or to detect variations in, the resistance offered by the tobacco to the passage of air therethrough. For example the Stream of removed tobacco may be conveyed on a porous conveyor through which air is drawn into a chamber, so that variations in the said resistance cause variations in the air pressure in said chamber, which pressure variations may be utilised to actuate means to vary the speed of the hopper or otherwise to regulate the feed of tobacco to form the original fi er.

Further according to the invention there is provided a tobacco-manipulating machine, such as a continuous rod cigarette-making machine, having means to form a filler and feed it lengthwise, wherein tobacco is supplied to the filler in excess of the amount required, and surplus tobacco is removed from the filler by a trimming device, and wherein means is provided adjacent the untrimmed filler to measure, or to detect variations in, the quantity of tobacco in that part of the untrimmed filler which extends in depth beyond the depth to which the filler is to be trimmed. For example means may be provided to draw air through that part of the untrimmed filler which extends beyond the said depth, into a chamber, so that variations in resistance to the passage of air through said part cause variations in the air pressure in the said chamber, which pressure variations may be utilised to actuate means to regulate the feed of tobacco to form the filler, e.g. by varying the speed of the hopper.

Further according to the invention there is provided a tobacco-manipulating machine, such as a continuous rod cigarette-making machine, having means to form a filler and feed it lengthwise, wherein tobacco is supplied to the filler in excess of the amount required, and surplus tobacco is removed from the filler by a trimming device, and wherein means are provided to measure, or to detect variations in, the quantity of tobacco in the filler before trimming and in the filler after trimming, respectively, whereby an indication can be obtained of the quantity of tobacco being removed, which indication may be utilised to actuate means to regulate the feed of tobacco to form the filler, e.g. by varying the speed of the hopper. For example means may be provided to draw air through the filler at a position before it is trimmed and at another position after it has been trimmed, so that a comparison 'may be obtained between the resistance to the flow of air through the trimmed filler and through the untrimmed filler respectively. The machine may comprise two air cells adjacent the trimmed filler and the untrimmed filler respectively, and two chambers separated by a movable diaphragm and communicating with the said air cells so that the pressure in the two respective chambers corresponds to the pressure in the two respective air cells, the said diaphragm being movable in response to variations in the difference in pressure in the two chambers.

Apparatus in accordance with the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 illustrates diagrammatically an arrangement whereby surplus tobacco removed from a tobacco filler is subjected to a measuring or detecting operation;

FIGURE 2 illustrates diagramatically an alternative arrangement to that shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURES 3 and 4 are respectively a partial elevational and a bottom plan view illustrating an arrangement which differs from those in FIGURES l and 2 and in which surplus tobacco is measured before its removal from the filler, the filler per se, being omitted for clarity;

FIGURE 5 diagrammatically illustrates a further dilferent arrangement whereby the quantity of surplus tobacco removed is detected by measuring the filler both before and after removal of surplus tobacco, to ascertain the quantity removed; and

FIGURE 6 is a front elevation, with parts broken away, showing a continuous rod cigarette-making machine to which any of the detecting or measuring devices illustrated in FIGURES 1-5 can be applied.

The several alternative devices illustrated in FIGURES 1-5 are intended for use on a continuous rod cigarettemaking machine such as is illustrated in FIGURE 6, and and which will be briefly described hereinafter with reference to that figure. In this machine (which is basically similar to that described and illustrated in US. Patent No. 3,030,966 dated April 24, 1962), a continuous tobacco stream or filler, containing more than the required amount of tobacco, is formed on a perforated conveyor to which it is held by suction, and surplus tobacco is removed from the stream by a trimming device.

Referring first to FIGURE 1, a continuous tobacco filler is formed (as will be hereinafter described) on the underside of a perforated conveyor band 1 (see also FIG- URE 6), of which FIGURE 1 shows an end view in section. The tobacco filler, which when originally formed is of greater depth and contains more tobacco than is required, is held by suction to the band 1, suitable suction means being arranged to draw air through the filler and the band and through a suction chamber 2 (see also FIG- URE 6).

A pair of opposed rotating trimming discs 3 arranged at a desired distance from the band 1 co-operate with a rotating brush 4 to remove surplus tobacco from the originally formed filler so as to reduce the latter to a desired depth. The surplus tobacco so removed is swept by the brush 4 on to a vibrating plate conveyor 5 mounted on leaf springs 6, one of which is oscillated by a suitable crank mechanism. The tobacco received on the vibrating conveyor 5 is fed as a stream 7, by the oscillatory movements of the plate, towards the left in FIGURE 1, and is transferred on to a further vibrating plate conveyor 8 by which it is fed to any desired destination, preferably to a position from which it is again fed to the conveyor 1. For example it may be returned to the tobacco hopper of the machine.

Above the conveyor 5 is mounted a detector flap 9, pivoted at 10, and arranged to rest on the surface of the tobacco stream 7. The flap is of light construction and carries a counterweight 11 whereby the flap rests lightly on the tobacco and exerts little pressure on it, but can swing up and down in response to variations in the depth of the stream 7 as the latter moves past the flap.

Fixed to the fiap pivot is an arm 12 having a projection 13 arranged to bear against a spring contact element 14 secured to a fixed part at 15. The element 14, which is biassed towards the arm 12 so as to maintain contact with the projection 13, has its upper contact end located between two adjustable electrical contacts 16 and 17 connected to a reversible electric motor I18 so that engagement by the element 14 of either the contact 16 or the contact 17 closes a circuit whereby the motor 18 is started up so as to turn its spindle 19 in one direction or the other.

The spindle 19 is connected by a chain drive 20 to a screwed bush 21 having sprocket teeth which run on a fixed hollow cylindrical screw 22 through which passes a shaft 23, driven by the hopper motor (not shown). Also mounted on the shaft 23 is an expanding pulley device, which includes a fixed cone 24 and a movable cone 25 slidable on a spline on the shaft 23. Between the cones are a number of curved segments 26 which can slide in grooves (not shown) in the conical faces of the cones as the cone 25 moves towards or away from the cone 24, thereby forcing the segments radially outwardly. The segments are held to the cones by expander elements 27 which also urge the segments to move radially inwardly when the cone 25 moves away from the cone 24. Movement of the cone 25 along the shaft is effected by the screwed bush 21, suitable thrust rings being provided to cause the cone 25 to move towards the cone 24 when the bush 21 is rotated one way, while when the bush 21 rotates the other way the cones are urged apart, by the pressure of the segments which are urged radially inwardly by the expanders 27 and also by a belt 28 which runs over the expanding pulley formed by the movable segments, and also over a pulley 29 on a shaft 30 which is the driving shaft for the tobacco hopper, shown diagrammatically at 31. The construction of the variable pulley device is illustrated more fully in FIGURE 4 of Molins US. Patent No. 2,815,759, dated Dec. 10, 1957.

Thus when the reversible motor is started in one direction or the other, by movement of the contact element 14, the drive to the shaft 30 is either speeded up or slowed down, thus increasing or decreasing the rate of feed of tobacco from the hopper to form the tobacco filler.

FIGURE 2 shows an alternative arrangement in which tobacco removed from the filler and received by a vibrating conveyor 5 is transferred on to a perforated conveyor 40 extending over a suction chamber 41 by which air is drawn through the tobacco and the conveyor. A small air cell or chamber 42 inside the chamber 41 is in communication by a pipe 43 with the source of suction (not shown) by which air is drawn from the chamber, and also communicates by a pipe 44 with a pile of flexible air capsules 45, so that the pressure within the capsules corresponds to that in the air cell or chamber 42.

Fixed to a thin metal diaphragm forming the lower face of the lowermost capsule is a rod 46. The diaphragm is arranged to be moved inwardly or outwardly in response to changes in air pressure in the capsules, so that the rod 46 moves upwardly or downwardly accordingly.

The lower part of the rod 46 forms part of a sensitive valve of a hydraulic amplifier shown diagrammatically at 47, and which may be constructed as disclosed in the specification and drawings of US. Patent No. 3,089,- 497 dated May 14, 19 63. Movement of the valve is transmitted to a piston 46a which causes movement of a lever 48 to which is coupled by means of a link 49 a lever 50 of a control valve 51, which in accordance with the position of the lever 50 regulates the supply of oil from a known oil pump 52 to a known oil motor 53. The oil motor 53 drives the shaft 54 of the tobacco hopper 55, and the speed of the hopper is thus regulated in accordance with the air pressure in the cell 42 and capsules 45, and thus is varied in accordance with the quantity of tobacco carried past the air cell 42 by the conveyor 40.

FIGURES 3 and 4 show a further alternative arrangement in which the detecting operation is performed on the untrimmed stream or filler, so that the quantity of surplus tobacco is detected before removal from the filler. Side guides 61 and 62 extend from the perforated conveyor band 1 (which is identical with the band 1 in FIG- URE 1) to confine the tobacco filler laterally as it approaches the trimming discs 3 in the direction shown by the arrow. An aperture or duct 63 is formed in the side guide 61, just below the level of the trimming discs 3, see FIGURE 3, and communicates with an air pipe 64, FIGURE 4. The aperture 63 is inclined rearwardly from the inner surface of the guide 61, as shown in FIGURE 4, to reduce the risk of tobacco particles entering the aperture from the filler. The pipe 64 is connected to apparatus which is identical with the apparatus shown in FIGURE 2 and designated in that figure by the reference numerals 45 to 55 inclusive, the pipe 64 corresponding to the pipe 44 in FIGURE 2.

Air is drawn upwardly through the tobacco filler into the suction chamber 2 (see also FIGURES 1 and 6), and the pressure of the air in the filler at the level of the aperture 63 is communicated to the pile of capsules 45, see FIGURE 2. Thus any variations in the pressure of air in the pipe 64, and in the capsules 45 connected to the pipe, indicate variations in the resistance to the passage of air towards the band 1 offered by the tobacco in that part of the filler below the level at which the filler is to be trimmedthat is to say, by the surplus tobacco which is to be removed by the trimming discs. Such variations therefore provide an indication of variations in the quantity of such surplus tobacco passing the aperture 63, or in other words variations in the quantity of surplus tobacco in the filler, which surplus is to be removed by the trimming device.

These pressure variations are utilised to vary the speed of the tobacco hopper in exactly the same way as described above with reference to FIGURE 2.

In any of the constructions described above, provision may also be made for varying the level of the trimming discs 3 relatively to that of the conveyor band 1 in response to the measuring or detecting operations, for example as in Lanore U.S. Patent No. 2,938,521, granted May 31, 1960, or in US. Patent No. 3,089,497 dated May 14, 1963. Thus in either of the arrangements described with reference to FIGURES 2 to 4, an additional hydraulic amplifier such as 47, FIGURE 2, may be connected to an additional pile 45 of air capsules, which latter may be put in communication with the air cell or chamber 42, FIGURE 2, or the pipe 64 in the construction described with reference to FIGURES 2 and 3. Such additional hydraulic amplifier may be utilised to effect up and down movement of the trimming discs 3, for example in the manner disclosed in the specification and drawings of US. Patent No. 3,089,497 so as to vary the quantity of tobacco removed from the filler;

A further alternative arrangement is illustrated diagrammatically in FIGURE 5. In this construction two air cells or chambers 72 and 73 are provided, both of which communicate with atmosphere through the perforated conveyor band 1 and the tobacco filler held thereto by suction from the suction chamber 2. Air is drawn from both cells through a branched pipe 74. The cell 72 is located upstream of the trimming discs 3 so as to draw air through the nntrimmed filler, while the cell 73 is beyond the trimming discs so as to draw air through the trimmed.

filler, the level or depth of the tobacco filler before and after trimming being indicated in FIGURE 5 by dot and dash lines T, T

The two air cells 72 and 73 communicate respectively with closed chambers 75 and 76 which are separated by a flexible diaphragm 77. A rod 78 fixed to the diaphragm 77 extends through a suitably sealed opening in the wall of the chamber 75. The diaphragm is exposed on opposite sides to different air pressures corresponding to the pressures in the cells 72 and 73, since the cell 73 is positioned over the trimmed filler which offers less resistance to air flow than does the untrimmed filler, and the pressure in the chamber 76 will thus be higher than that in the chamber 75. Accordingly the diaphragm is biased towards the left, FIGURE 5, by a spring 79 in order to establish a central position for the diaphragm and rod 78 corresponding to a standard pressure difference between the two chambers, which in turn corresponds to a standard difference between the quantity of tobacco in the trimmed filler and in the trimmer before filling.

Thus any variations in the difference between the quantity of tobacco in the filler before and after trimming will result in movement of the diaphragm 77 and lengthwise movement of the rod 78. These movements can be utilised to regulate the operation of the machine, for example by varying the hopper speed. Thus the rod 78 may form part of a sensitive valve in the same way as does the rod 46 in the construction described with reference to FIGURE 2, and may accordingly act through a hydraulic amplifier such as 47, FIGURE 2, to regulate an oil motor such as 53, FIGURE 2, by which the hopper is driven.

It will be seen that since the above described arrangement gives an indication of variations in the dilference in quantity of tobacco between the trimmed and the untrimmed filler, this indication is in fact an indication of variations in the quantity of tobacco removed by the discs 3. These indications are, however, obtained by comparison between the trimmed filler and the filler before trimming, instead of directly from the tobacco actually removed, or to be removed, as in the arrangement described with reference to FIGURES 14.

Referring now to FIGURE 6, this illustrates a continuous cigarette making machine comprising suitable apparatus for feeding tobacco to form a tobacco stream or filler having an excess of tobacco. The tobacco-feeding apparatus shown in FIGURE 6 is in general similar to that shown in FIGURE 6 of the drawings of US. Patent No. 3,030,965 dated April 24, 1962 modified as shown in FIGURE 2 of the drawings of US. Patent No. 3,019,793 dated Feb. 6, 1962, but shows in addition the perforated conveyor 1, the suction chamber 2, the trimming discs 3,

the brush 4, and the vibrating plate conveyors 5 and 8, described above with reference to FIGURES 1 to 5 of the present drawings. The apparatus for feeding tobacco to the conveyor 1 is as described in the above-mentioned US. Patent No. 3,030,965 and US. Patent No. 3,019,793, to which reference should be made for a full description. For the purposes of the present application it is suflicient to say, with reference to the tobacco-feeding arrangements shown in FIGURE 6, that tobacco is picked from a carded drum 101 by a picker roller 102 and is impelled upwardly through a passage 103 by a hi-gh-speed air stream to the perforated conveyor 1. A proportion of the air flowing through the passage 103 is drawn out of the passage through apertures 104 into a suction chamber 105 through a duct 106, which are as shown and fully described in U.S. Patent No. 3,019,793.

As shown in FIGURE 6, the vibrating plate conveyor 8 extends over the carded drum 101, and the surplus tobacco conveyed by the conveyor 8 can thus be returned to the main tobacco supply in any suitable way so as to be fed again to the conveyor 1. I

The tobacco-feeding arrangements illustrated are arranged to feed tobacco to the conveyor 1 in excess of the quantity required in the final fi-ller, the excess being removed by trimming as explained above.

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

1. A continuous rod cigarette-making machine having means to supply tobacco to form a relatively narrow tobacco filler stream on an elongated conveyor, said means being arranged to supply to the said stream tobacco in excess of what is required, the machine further comprising means to remove surplus tobacco from the stream, a detecting device to ascertain the quantity of said surplus tobacco so removed from the stream, means to move the removed surplus tobacco past the said detecting device, and regulating means, operatively connected with said detecting device, to regulate the operation of the said means to supply tobacco to the stream, in accordance with the quantity of surplus tobacco passing said detecting device.

2. A machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said device comprises a movable element arranged in contact with surplus tobacco conveyed past said element so as to be movable in response to variations in the depth of said surplus tobacco.

3. A machine as claimed in claim 1, including a porous conveyor on which the removed tobacco is conveyed, a chamber, and means to draw air through said removed tobacco and said conveyor into said chamber, so that variations in the res-istance oifered by the removed tobacco to the passa-ge of air therethrough cause variations in the air pressure in said chamber, the said pressure variations being utilised to actuate said regulating means.

4. For use in a cigarette making machine which includes adjustable stream forming means for forming a primary tobacco stream, means defining a final tobacco stream whence a cigarette rod is formed, conveying means between said primary and final streams, and a removal means adjacent the conveying means, said conveying means including a forward feeding conveyor for conveying tobacco from a discharge end of the primary stream to said removal means, said removal means acting to divide the tobacco reaching it into said final stream and an excess stream: 7

apparatus for maintaining a substantially constant rate of flow of tobacco in said excess stream, which apparatus comprises (a) a detector disposed adjacent said excess stream for measuring the amount of tobacco in said excess stream, and

(b) means responsive to said detector for controlling said adjustable stream forming means to maintain substantially constant the rate of flow of tobacco in said excess stream as formed by said removal means.

5. In a continuous rod cigarette-making machine having means for forming a relatively narrow filler stream on an elongated conveyor wherein said filler stream contains tobacco in excess of that required in the final filler such that the cross-sectional size of the filler stream is greater than that of the final filler, means to remove the excess tobacco from the filler stream to reduce the said crosssectional size, and means to form a second stream of the removed excess tobacco on an elongated linear conveyor adapted to carry the said excess tobacco away from the filler stream, the improvement comprising a detector device including a chamber, and means to draw air through tobacco in said second stream into said chamber, so that variations in the quantity of tobacco in said second stream cause variations in the air pressure in said chamber, and regulating means actuated by said detector device to regulate the oper-ation of the said means for forming the filler stream.

6. In a continuous rod cigarette-making machine having means for forming a relatively narrow filler stream on an elongated conveyor wherein said filler stream contains tobacco in excess of that required in the final filler such that the cross-sectional size of the filler stream is greater than that of the said filler, means to remove the excess tobacco from the filler stream at a level spaced from said conveyor to reduce the said cross-sectional size to that required for the said filler, and walls upstream of the said means to remove excess tobacco, to confine the filler stream laterally, the improvement wherein at least one of said walls has duct means extending therethrough, upstream of the location where tobacco is removed from the filler stream, and in communication with the filler stream at substantially the level at which the excess tobacco is separated from the filler stream, means to pass air through the filler stream in a direction toward the conveyor, detector means in communication with said duct means to detect variations in air pressure in the filler stream at the level of said duct means, and regulating means actuated by said detector means to regulate the operation of said means for forming the tobacco stream.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,808,794 6/1931 Stelzer 131-110 X 1,879,016 9/ 1932 Austin. 2,163,415 6/ 1939 Stephano 131-21 2,340,914 2/1944 Whitaker 131-21 2,407,100 9/1946 Richardson. 2,516,932 8/ 1950 Wainright. 2,815,759 12/1957 Molins et a1. 131-21 2,843,88 7/ 1958 Lewis et al. 2,861,683 11/1958 Gilman 131-21 X 2,938,521 5/1960 Lanore 131-21 2,952,262 9/1960 Pocock et a1 13131 3,113,576 12/1963 Bell 13t-21 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,179,992 12/ 1958 France.

331,333 7/ 1930 Great Britain.

SAMUEL KOREN, Primary Examiner.

JOSEPH S. REICH, Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. A CONTINUOUS ROD CIGARETTE-MAKING MACHINE HAVING MEANS TO SUPPLY TOBACCO TO FORM A RELATIVELY NARROW TOBACCO FILLER STREAM ON AN ELONGATED CONVEYOR, SAID MEANS BEING ARRANGED TO SUPPLY TO THE SAID STREAM TOBACCO IN EXCESS OF WHAT IS REQUIRED, THE MACHINE FURTHER COMPRISING MEANS TO REMOVE SURPLUS TOBACCO FROM THE STREAM, A DETECTING DEVICE TO ASCERTAIN THE QUANTITY OF SAID SURPLUS TOBACCO SO REMOVED FROM THE STREAM, MEANS TO MOVE THE REMOVED SURPLUS TOBACCO PAST THE SAID DETECTING DEVICE, AND REGULATING MEANS, OPERATIVELY CONNECTED WITH SAID DETECTING DEVICE, TO REGULATE THE OPERATION OF THE SAID MEANS TO SUPPLY TOBACCO TO THE STREAM, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE QUANTITY SURPLUS TOBACCO PASSING SAID DETECTING DEVICE.

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