WO2010097660A1 - A unit for feeding a flow of tobacco particles in a cigarette maker - Google Patents

A unit for feeding a flow of tobacco particles in a cigarette maker Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2010097660A1
WO2010097660A1 PCT/IB2009/055805 IB2009055805W WO2010097660A1 WO 2010097660 A1 WO2010097660 A1 WO 2010097660A1 IB 2009055805 W IB2009055805 W IB 2009055805W WO 2010097660 A1 WO2010097660 A1 WO 2010097660A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
chimney
tobacco
flow
unit
tobacco particles
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/IB2009/055805
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Fausto Mengoli
Umberto Zanetti
Original Assignee
G.D S.P.A.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by G.D S.P.A. filed Critical G.D S.P.A.
Publication of WO2010097660A1 publication Critical patent/WO2010097660A1/en

Links

Classifications

    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
    • A24C—MACHINES FOR MAKING CIGARS OR CIGARETTES
    • A24C5/00—Making cigarettes; Making tipping materials for, or attaching filters or mouthpieces to, cigars or cigarettes
    • A24C5/14—Machines of the continuous-rod type
    • A24C5/18—Forming the rod

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a unit for feeding a flow of tobacco particles in a cigarette maker.
  • Cigarette makers typically comprise a hopper containing a mass of shredded tobacco.
  • the tobacco is transferred by a carding unit from the hopper to the top end of a descending duct or chute, and taken up at the bottom end of the chute by a transfer unit comprising a conveyor roller and an impeller roller of which the axes are disposed mutually parallel.
  • the conveyor roller rotates on its axis and is equipped with radial teeth by which the tobacco is taken up from the bottom of the chute, whilst the impeller roller, likewise equipped with teeth and rotating at a peripheral velocity higher than that of the conveyor roller, picks the particles of shredded tobacco from the teeth of the conveyor roller and directs them onto the top transport branch of a looped belt conveyor, on which they are formed into a layer or stream.
  • the transport branch which is suspended between two end rollers and inclined upwards along the feed direction, serves to advance the stream of shredded tobacco particles toward the bottom end of an ascending duct or chimney.
  • the top end of the ascending chimney is enclosed by an aspirating conveyor belt.
  • the belt in question fashioned from a permeable fabric, runs in a direction substantially transverse to the feed direction followed by the top transport branch of the aforementioned belt conveyor.
  • the shredded tobacco particles, entrained in a rising air current generated at the base of the ascending chimney, are forced up through the selfsame chimney and attracted ultimately by the aspirating belt, on which they collect gradually to form a continuous layer or stream.
  • the stream of tobacco is shaped into a continuous cigarette rod that will be divided up subsequently into single cigarette sticks by rotating cutter means.
  • the top end of the chimney presents a separator element of ogival section placed so as to split the flow of tobacco particles into two parts, and the chimney is enclosed uppermost by two belts on which the tobacco particles are formed into respective streams, these then being shaped into respective cigarette rods and divided up by common cutter means into cigarette sticks.
  • the stream of tobacco formed on the aspirating conveyor belt should be of predetermined and substantially constant depth, and that tobacco particles presenting dissimilar characteristics (weight, dimensions) should be distributed in a substantially uniform manner throughout the stream.
  • the updraught generated by the aspirating conveyor combined with the flow of air introduced at the bottom end of the chimney, is not able to supply a flow of tobacco particles quantitatively and qualitatively sufficient to ensure that certain levels of production can be met.
  • the object of the present invention is to provide a unit for feeding a flow of tobacco particles, in a cigarette maker, such as will be unaffected by the drawbacks experienced with units of conventional type, and consequently able to meet the demands of the latest machines being used in the industry.
  • FIG. 1 shows a portion of a cigarette maker comprising the unit according to the invention, illustrated schematically and in section, and with parts cut away in the interests of clarity;
  • figure 2 shows the machine of figure 1, illustrated schematically in a front elevation
  • figure 4 shows a detail of figure 1, illustrated in a second possible embodiment.
  • numeral 1 denotes a machine, in its entirety, consisting in a twin track cigarette maker.
  • the machine 1 comprises a first portion 2 functioning as a feed unit, by which a mass of shredded tobacco held in a storage hopper 3 is drawn off and conveyed as a continuous flow 4 of tobacco particles, and a second portion 5 by which the flow 4 of tobacco particles is formed into two continuous streams 6 and 7.
  • the machine 1 comprises a garniture unit, schematized as a block denoted 8, by which the two streams 6 and 7 of tobacco are fashioned into two continuous cigarette rods 9 and 10.
  • the continuous rods are divided up into single cigarette sticks by rotating cutter means not illustrated in the drawings.
  • the feed unit 2 conveying the continuous flow 4 of tobacco particles comprises a descending duct or chute 11 aligned on an axis denoted 11a, of which the top end is connected to the hopper 3 by way of a carding unit 12 equipped with a carding roller 13 rotatable about a horizontal axis 13a normal to the viewing plane of figure 1.
  • the feed unit 2 further comprises an ascending duct or chimney 14 aligned on a substantially vertical axis denoted 14a, of which the bottom inlet end 15 is connected with the outlet end of the descending duct 11 by way of a transfer unit 16 conveying the flow of tobacco particles.
  • the axis 11a of the descending duct 11 is inclined from the vertical, in such a way as to create an acute angle of predetermined width with the axis 14a of the ascending chimney 14, which is substantially vertical.
  • the transfer unit 16 consists in a pair of spiked rollers, denoted 17 and 18, disposed with axes parallel to the axis 13a of the carding roller 13 and revolving substantially tangential one to another; both rollers turn anticlockwise as viewed in figure 1.
  • the one roller 17 functions as a conveyor, by which tobacco dropping from the carding unit 12 is taken up at the outlet end of the descending duct 11, whilst the other roller 18 functions as an impeller by which the tobacco is picked from the conveyor roller 17 and projected upwards directly into the ascending chimney 14.
  • the ascending chimney 14 is delimited by two side walls 19 and 20, and enclosed at a top outlet end 21 by a pair of aspirating conveyor belts 22 and 23 on which the aforementioned streams 6 and 7 of tobacco are gathered and conveyed.
  • the aspirating belts 22 and 23 extend mutually parallel and are set in motion in a direction perpendicular to the viewing plane of figure 1, hence also to the axis 14a of the chimney 14, and fashioned preferably from a permeable textile material.
  • a separator element 24 Interposed between the two belts 22 and 23 is a separator element 24 of conventional type, directed downward into the chimney 14, presenting an ogival profile and consisting in a bar of which the axis extends parallel to the aspirating conveyor belts 22 and 23.
  • the side walls 19 and 20 rise from the base toward the top convergently, through a distance covering a first lower portion 25 of the chimney 14, and thereafter divergently through a distance covering a second upper portion 26, in such a way as to create a restriction 27 coinciding with an intermediate portion.
  • the machine 1 further comprises pneumatic means 28 at the inlet 15 of the chimney 14, beneath the transfer unit 16, by which a flow of air is directed upward through the ascending chimney 14.
  • blending means 29, associated with the lower portion 25 of the chimney 14 and comprising a source 30 of compressed air introduced through one side wall 19 in a direction substantially transverse to the axis 14a of the chimney.
  • the machine comprises accelerator means 31 acting on the flow of tobacco particles, connected to a part of the chimney coinciding with or immediately beyond the restriction 27 and consisting in a source 32 of compressed air; in operation, air is injected through one side wall 19 in a direction presenting a component oriented toward the aspirating conveyor belts 22 and 23.
  • the embodiment of the unit 2 illustrated in figure 4 differs from that of figures 1, 2 and 3 in that the ascending chimney 14 is delimited by two side walls 33 and 34 extending substantially parallel one with another.
  • the feed unit 2 according to the present invention is able to generate a flow 4 of tobacco particles quantitatively and qualitatively sufficient to match the production levels of the very latest cigarette makers, single track and twin track alike.
  • the pneumatic blending means 29 will then ensure that tobacco particles presenting different physical properties, namely size and weight, are distributed uniformly within the flow.

Abstract

A flow of tobacco particles is fed through a cigarette maker by a unit that comprises an ascending chimney (14) enclosed at the top end by at least one aspirating conveyor belt (22; 23), on which the flow (4) of particles is formed into a stream (6; 7), and a descending duct (11) in which the particles collect before being released to a transfer unit (16) connecting the outlet of this same duct (11) with the inlet of the ascending chimney (14); the transfer unit (16) comprises a conveyor roller (17) by which the tobacco is taken up from the descending duct (11), and an impeller roller (18) operating in conjunction with the conveyor roller (17), by which the tobacco is projected directly into the chimney (14).

Description

^
Description
A unit for feeding a flow of tobacco particles in a cigarette maker-
Technical Field
The present invention relates to a unit for feeding a flow of tobacco particles in a cigarette maker.
Background Art
Cigarette makers typically comprise a hopper containing a mass of shredded tobacco. The tobacco is transferred by a carding unit from the hopper to the top end of a descending duct or chute, and taken up at the bottom end of the chute by a transfer unit comprising a conveyor roller and an impeller roller of which the axes are disposed mutually parallel.
The conveyor roller rotates on its axis and is equipped with radial teeth by which the tobacco is taken up from the bottom of the chute, whilst the impeller roller, likewise equipped with teeth and rotating at a peripheral velocity higher than that of the conveyor roller, picks the particles of shredded tobacco from the teeth of the conveyor roller and directs them onto the top transport branch of a looped belt conveyor, on which they are formed into a layer or stream. The transport branch, which is suspended between two end rollers and inclined upwards along the feed direction, serves to advance the stream of shredded tobacco particles toward the bottom end of an ascending duct or chimney.
The top end of the ascending chimney is enclosed by an aspirating conveyor belt. The belt in question, fashioned from a permeable fabric, runs in a direction substantially transverse to the feed direction followed by the top transport branch of the aforementioned belt conveyor.
The shredded tobacco particles, entrained in a rising air current generated at the base of the ascending chimney, are forced up through the selfsame chimney and attracted ultimately by the aspirating belt, on which they collect gradually to form a continuous layer or stream.
Beyond the ascending chimney, the stream of tobacco is shaped into a continuous cigarette rod that will be divided up subsequently into single cigarette sticks by rotating cutter means.
In the case of a twin track cigarette maker, the top end of the chimney presents a separator element of ogival section placed so as to split the flow of tobacco particles into two parts, and the chimney is enclosed uppermost by two belts on which the tobacco particles are formed into respective streams, these then being shaped into respective cigarette rods and divided up by common cutter means into cigarette sticks.
One essential condition required in order to ensure smooth operation and correct production of the cigarette maker is that the stream of tobacco formed on the aspirating conveyor belt should be of predetermined and substantially constant depth, and that tobacco particles presenting dissimilar characteristics (weight, dimensions) should be distributed in a substantially uniform manner throughout the stream.
Given the high operating speeds of modern cigarette makers (more than twenty thousand cigarettes per minute), the feed units handling the flow of tobacco particles are no longer able to ensure that the stream of tobacco formed on the aspirating conveyor belt will respond to the requirements mentioned above.
In particular, it has been found that the updraught generated by the aspirating conveyor, combined with the flow of air introduced at the bottom end of the chimney, is not able to supply a flow of tobacco particles quantitatively and qualitatively sufficient to ensure that certain levels of production can be met.
On the other hand, the suction force of the aspirating conveyor belt cannot be increased beyond certain limits, otherwise the stream of tobacco would be compacted excessively and damagingly against the belt, and the particles crushed.
Disclosure of the Invention
The object of the present invention is to provide a unit for feeding a flow of tobacco particles, in a cigarette maker, such as will be unaffected by the drawbacks experienced with units of conventional type, and consequently able to meet the demands of the latest machines being used in the industry.
The stated object is realized according to the present invention in a unit for feeding a flow of tobacco particles in a cigarette maker, of which the features are recited in one or more of the claims appended.
Brief Description of the Drawings
The invention will now be described in detail, by way of example, with the aid of the accompanying drawings, in which:
- figure 1 shows a portion of a cigarette maker comprising the unit according to the invention, illustrated schematically and in section, and with parts cut away in the interests of clarity;
- figure 2 shows the machine of figure 1, illustrated schematically in a front elevation;
-figure 3 shows an enlarged detail of figure 1 ;
- figure 4 shows a detail of figure 1, illustrated in a second possible embodiment.
Detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention
With reference to figures 1 and 2, numeral 1 denotes a machine, in its entirety, consisting in a twin track cigarette maker. j
More exactly, the machine 1 comprises a first portion 2 functioning as a feed unit, by which a mass of shredded tobacco held in a storage hopper 3 is drawn off and conveyed as a continuous flow 4 of tobacco particles, and a second portion 5 by which the flow 4 of tobacco particles is formed into two continuous streams 6 and 7.
Lastly, the machine 1 comprises a garniture unit, schematized as a block denoted 8, by which the two streams 6 and 7 of tobacco are fashioned into two continuous cigarette rods 9 and 10.
The continuous rods are divided up into single cigarette sticks by rotating cutter means not illustrated in the drawings.
The feed unit 2 conveying the continuous flow 4 of tobacco particles comprises a descending duct or chute 11 aligned on an axis denoted 11a, of which the top end is connected to the hopper 3 by way of a carding unit 12 equipped with a carding roller 13 rotatable about a horizontal axis 13a normal to the viewing plane of figure 1.
The feed unit 2 further comprises an ascending duct or chimney 14 aligned on a substantially vertical axis denoted 14a, of which the bottom inlet end 15 is connected with the outlet end of the descending duct 11 by way of a transfer unit 16 conveying the flow of tobacco particles. The axis 11a of the descending duct 11 is inclined from the vertical, in such a way as to create an acute angle of predetermined width with the axis 14a of the ascending chimney 14, which is substantially vertical.
The transfer unit 16 consists in a pair of spiked rollers, denoted 17 and 18, disposed with axes parallel to the axis 13a of the carding roller 13 and revolving substantially tangential one to another; both rollers turn anticlockwise as viewed in figure 1.
The one roller 17 functions as a conveyor, by which tobacco dropping from the carding unit 12 is taken up at the outlet end of the descending duct 11, whilst the other roller 18 functions as an impeller by which the tobacco is picked from the conveyor roller 17 and projected upwards directly into the ascending chimney 14.
As illustrated to advantage in figure 3, the ascending chimney 14 is delimited by two side walls 19 and 20, and enclosed at a top outlet end 21 by a pair of aspirating conveyor belts 22 and 23 on which the aforementioned streams 6 and 7 of tobacco are gathered and conveyed.
The aspirating belts 22 and 23 extend mutually parallel and are set in motion in a direction perpendicular to the viewing plane of figure 1, hence also to the axis 14a of the chimney 14, and fashioned preferably from a permeable textile material. Interposed between the two belts 22 and 23 is a separator element 24 of conventional type, directed downward into the chimney 14, presenting an ogival profile and consisting in a bar of which the axis extends parallel to the aspirating conveyor belts 22 and 23.
The side walls 19 and 20 rise from the base toward the top convergently, through a distance covering a first lower portion 25 of the chimney 14, and thereafter divergently through a distance covering a second upper portion 26, in such a way as to create a restriction 27 coinciding with an intermediate portion.
The machine 1 further comprises pneumatic means 28 at the inlet 15 of the chimney 14, beneath the transfer unit 16, by which a flow of air is directed upward through the ascending chimney 14.
Also forming part of the machine are blending means 29, associated with the lower portion 25 of the chimney 14 and comprising a source 30 of compressed air introduced through one side wall 19 in a direction substantially transverse to the axis 14a of the chimney. Finally, the machine comprises accelerator means 31 acting on the flow of tobacco particles, connected to a part of the chimney coinciding with or immediately beyond the restriction 27 and consisting in a source 32 of compressed air; in operation, air is injected through one side wall 19 in a direction presenting a component oriented toward the aspirating conveyor belts 22 and 23. The embodiment of the unit 2 illustrated in figure 4 differs from that of figures 1, 2 and 3 in that the ascending chimney 14 is delimited by two side walls 33 and 34 extending substantially parallel one with another.
It has been observed in practice that the feed unit 2 according to the present invention is able to generate a flow 4 of tobacco particles quantitatively and qualitatively sufficient to match the production levels of the very latest cigarette makers, single track and twin track alike.
This capability is assured first and foremost by the inclusion, in addition to the conventional pneumatic means, of mechanical impeller means acting on the tobacco particles, provided by the transfer unit 16 placed at the inlet of the ascending chimney 14.
The pneumatic blending means 29 will then ensure that tobacco particles presenting different physical properties, namely size and weight, are distributed uniformly within the flow.

Claims

Claims
1) A unit for feeding a flow of tobacco particles in a cigarette maker, comprising at least an ascending chimney (14) enclosed uppermost by at least one aspirating conveyor belt (22; 23) on which the flow (4) of tobacco particles is formed into a stream (6; 7), and a descending duct (11) along which tobacco particles are amassed and conveyed; wherein the feed unit (2) comprises a transfer unit (16) connecting the outlet of the descending duct (11) with the inlet of the ascending chimney (14), the transfer unit (16) in turn comprising a conveyor roller (17) by which tobacco is taken up from the descending duct (11), and an impeller roller (18) operating in conjunction with the conveyor roller (17), by which the tobacco is projected directly into the ascending chimney (14).
2) A feed unit as in claim 1, wherein the axis (lla) of the descending duct (11) and the axis (14a) of the ascending chimney (14) form an acute angle of predetermined width, one relative to the other.
3) A feed unit as in claim 2, wherein the ascending chimney (14) is delimited laterally by two walls (33, 34) lying substantially parallel one with another.
4) A feed unit as in claim 2, wherein the ascending chimney (14) is delimited laterally by two walls (19, 20) rising first convergently and thereafter divergently from base to top, in such a way as to create a lower portion (25) and an upper portion (26) separated one from another by a restriction (27).
5) A feed unit as in claim 4, comprising pneumatic blending means (29) associated with the lower portion (25) of the chimney (14) and acting on the flow of tobacco particles. ^
6) A feed unit as in claim 4 or 5, comprising accelerator means (31) associated with the upper portion (26) of the chimney (14), positioned near to or coinciding with the restriction (27) and acting on the flow (4) of tobacco particles.
7) A feed unit as in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the ascending chimney (14) is enclosed uppermost by two aspirating conveyor belts (22, 23) on which respective streams of tobacco (6, 7) are formed.
PCT/IB2009/055805 2009-02-26 2009-12-17 A unit for feeding a flow of tobacco particles in a cigarette maker WO2010097660A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
ITBO2009A000109 2009-02-26
ITBO2009A000109A IT1393293B1 (en) 2009-02-26 2009-02-26 POWER SUPPLY UNIT OF A TOBACCO PARTICLE FLOW IN A CIGARETTE PACKAGING MACHINE.

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WO2010097660A1 true WO2010097660A1 (en) 2010-09-02

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Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE102016124660A1 (en) 2016-12-16 2018-06-21 Hauni Maschinenbau Gmbh Distributor apparatus and method for controlling the humidity of tobacco

Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE1532243B1 (en) * 1965-07-09 1974-08-08 Molins Machine Co Ltd Method and device for conveying tobacco
FR2352502A1 (en) * 1976-05-26 1977-12-23 Hauni Werke Koerber & Co Kg DEVICE FOR FORMING A TOBACCO BOUDIN
DE3835335A1 (en) * 1987-10-20 1989-05-03 Gd Spa DEVICE FOR SUPPLYING TOBACCO FLOWS TO A CIGARETTE PRODUCTION MACHINE
EP1454542A1 (en) * 2003-03-07 2004-09-08 G.D. Societa' per Azioni Method and unit for simultaneously forming multiple tabacco mats
EP1488710A2 (en) * 2003-06-19 2004-12-22 G.D S.p.A. A cigarette maker
EP1859693A1 (en) * 2006-05-22 2007-11-28 G.D.S. S.p.A. A cigarette making machine equipped to manufacture two continuous cigarette rods simultaneously

Patent Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE1532243B1 (en) * 1965-07-09 1974-08-08 Molins Machine Co Ltd Method and device for conveying tobacco
FR2352502A1 (en) * 1976-05-26 1977-12-23 Hauni Werke Koerber & Co Kg DEVICE FOR FORMING A TOBACCO BOUDIN
DE3835335A1 (en) * 1987-10-20 1989-05-03 Gd Spa DEVICE FOR SUPPLYING TOBACCO FLOWS TO A CIGARETTE PRODUCTION MACHINE
EP1454542A1 (en) * 2003-03-07 2004-09-08 G.D. Societa' per Azioni Method and unit for simultaneously forming multiple tabacco mats
EP1488710A2 (en) * 2003-06-19 2004-12-22 G.D S.p.A. A cigarette maker
EP1859693A1 (en) * 2006-05-22 2007-11-28 G.D.S. S.p.A. A cigarette making machine equipped to manufacture two continuous cigarette rods simultaneously

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE102016124660A1 (en) 2016-12-16 2018-06-21 Hauni Maschinenbau Gmbh Distributor apparatus and method for controlling the humidity of tobacco

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
IT1393293B1 (en) 2012-04-20
ITBO20090109A1 (en) 2010-08-27

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