U.S. patent application number 10/860029 was filed with the patent office on 2004-12-23 for cigarette maker.
Invention is credited to Draghetti, Fiorenzo, Mengoli, Fausto, Sartoni, Massimo, Zanetti, Umberto.
Application Number | 20040255964 10/860029 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 33398037 |
Filed Date | 2004-12-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040255964 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Draghetti, Fiorenzo ; et
al. |
December 23, 2004 |
Cigarette maker
Abstract
In a cigarette maker, shredded tobacco is directed by a conveyor
into a riser and ascends as a flow of distinct particles toward an
aspirating belt, placed at the top outlet end of the riser, by
which the particles are attracted and gathered progressively to
form a stream of tobacco filler. The riser is made up of a lower
first portion in receipt of the tobacco from the conveyor, and an
upper second portion enclosed by the aspirating belt; the first
portion is embodied separately from the second portion, and the two
portions are inter-connected by the revolving surface of a toothed
suction roller designed to transfer a uniform layer of tobacco from
the first portion to the second.
Inventors: |
Draghetti, Fiorenzo;
(Medicina, IT) ; Mengoli, Fausto; (Sasso Marconi,
IT) ; Sartoni, Massimo; (Bologna, IT) ;
Zanetti, Umberto; (Modena, IT) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Timothy J. Klima, Esq.
Harbin King & Klima
500 Ninth Street SE
Washington
DC
20003
US
|
Family ID: |
33398037 |
Appl. No.: |
10/860029 |
Filed: |
June 4, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
131/108 ;
131/109.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A24C 5/1835 20130101;
A24C 5/39 20130101; A24C 5/18 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
131/108 ;
131/109.1 |
International
Class: |
A24C 005/18; A24B
007/14 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jun 19, 2003 |
IT |
BO2003A000378 |
Claims
1) A cigarette making machine, comprising: at least one ascent
channel through which to direct at least one flow of tobacco
particles; conveyor means by which tobacco is supplied to a lower
first portion of the ascent channel; at least one aspirating belt
enclosing and set in motion adjacent to the outlet of an upper
second portion of the ascent channel, on which the flow of
particles is formed into a corresponding stream of tobacco; means,
interposed between the first portion and the second portion of the
ascent channel, by which to convey a predetermined quantity of
tobacco from the first portion to the second portion.
2) A cigarette making machine, comprising: a descent channel; feed
means by which shredded tobacco is supplied to the descent channel;
a unit by which the tobacco is taken up from the descent channel;
at least one ascent channel through which to direct at least one
flow of tobacco particles, comprising a lower first portion and an
upper second portion embodied separately one from the other;
conveyor means by which the tobacco is transferred from the take-up
unit to the first portion of the ascent channel; at least one
aspirating belt enclosing and set in motion adjacent to the outlet
of the upper second portion of the ascent channel, on which the
flow of particles is formed into a corresponding stream of tobacco
and the stream then directed to the entry point of a station where
it is formed into a continuous cigarette rod; means, interposed
between the first portion and the second portion of the ascent
channel, by which to convey a predetermined quantity of tobacco
from the first portion to the second portion.
3) A machine as in claim 1 or 2, wherein the length of the first
portion, as measured along the direction of movement of the
aspirating belt, is identical to the corresponding length of the
second portion, whereas the width of the first portion, measured
transversely to the selfsame direction, is greater than that of the
second portion.
4) A machine as in claim 1, wherein the conveyor means are capable
of movement along an endless path including a first sector adjacent
to an outlet presented by the first portion of the ascent channel,
on which a layer of tobacco is formed, and at least one second
sector, adjacent to an inlet presented by the second portion of the
ascent channel, from which the particles constituting the layer of
tobacco are released.
5) A machine as in claim 4, comprising means by which to level the
layer of tobacco, operating in conjunction with a third sector of
the conveyor means interposed between the first and second
sectors.
6) A machine as in claim 2, wherein feed means comprise a carding
roller rotatable about a relative axis, and conveyor means comprise
a toothed roller able to generate suction and rotatable about a
respective axis disposed substantially parallel to the axis of the
carding roller.
7) A machine as in claim 1, wherein conveyor means comprise a
toothed roller able to generate suction and rotatable about a
respective axis disposed substantially parallel to the direction of
movement of the aspirating belt.
8) A machine as in claim 5, wherein leveling means consist in a
roller occupying a position substantially tangential to the toothed
roller.
9) A machine as in claim 5, wherein leveling means consist in a
roller occupying a position substantially tangential to the toothed
roller.
10) A machine as in claim 1, wherein the conveyor means comprise at
least one vibrating tray.
11) A machine as in claim 2, wherein the conveyor means used to
transfer the tobacco comprise at least one vibrating tray.
12) A machine as in claim 2, comprising feed means equipped with a
carding roller rotatable about a respective axis, two ascent
channels through which to direct respective flows of tobacco
particles, and two aspirating belts placed at the outlets of the
ascent channel, on which the flows are formed into corresponding
streams of tobacco, wherein the two ascent channels are arranged
symmetrically on either side of a vertical plane lying between the
aspirating belts and perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the
carding roller.
13) A machine as in claim 12, wherein the conveyor means by which
the tobacco is transferred comprises a common first portion and two
mutually independent second portions extending divergently from the
common first portion on either side of the vertical plane of
symmetry.
14) A machine as in claim 13, wherein the common first portion and
the two mutually independent second portions consist in respective
vibrating trays.
15) A machine as in claim 12, wherein each ascent channel is
equipped with a respective toothed conveyor roller able to generate
suction and rotatable about a respective axis disposed transversely
to the axis of the carding roller.
16) A machine as in claim 1, comprising two ascent channels through
which to direct two flows of tobacco particles, and two aspirating
belts positioned at the outlets of the ascent channels, on which
the flows of particles are formed into corresponding streams of
tobacco, wherein the ascent channels are arranged symmetrically on
either side of a vertical plane lying between the aspirating belts,
and equipped each with a relative toothed conveyor roller able to
generate suction and rotatable about a respective axis disposed
substantially parallel to the direction of movement of the
aspirating belts.
17) A machine as in claim 4, wherein the conveyor roller able to
generate suction comprises means, associated with the second
release sector, by which to shut off the suction.
18) A machine as in claim 17, comprising means, associated with the
second release sector, by which to generate a flow of positively
pressurized fluid.
19) A machine as in claim 1, wherein the first portion of the
ascent channel terminates at bottom in an inclined wall presenting
holes through which to direct a pressurized fluid.
20) A method of making cigarettes, comprising the steps of:
directing a flow of shredded and carded tobacco particles down a
descent channel; taking up the shredded tobacco at the bottom of
the descent channel by means of a toothed unit and transferring it
by way of conveyor means to the inlet of at least one ascent
channel; establishing a first flow of tobacco particles and causing
to rise through the ascent channel; forming a layer of tobacco from
the ascending flow of particles at the outlet of a first portion of
the ascent channel; transferring the layer of tobacco to the inlet
of a second portion of the ascent channel; establishing a second
ascending flow of particles from the layer of tobacco and directing
the second flow toward at least one aspirating belt placed at the
outlet of the selfsame channel; causing the particles to form into
a continuous stream on the aspirating belt.
21) A method as in claim 20, wherein the step of transferring the
layer of tobacco comprises the subsidiary step of leveling the
selfsame layer of tobacco.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a cigarette maker.
[0002] The prior art embraces cigarette making machines, with
single or multiple processing lines, typically comprising an infeed
chamber from which shredded tobacco is taken up by a carding unit
and directed into a descent channel or chute.
[0003] At the bottom end of the chute, the tobacco is transferred
by a toothed outfeed unit onto a feed conveyor and then carried by
this same conveyor toward the bottom inlet end of an ascending
channel or riser. As the tobacco enters the inlet of the riser,
stems and heavier particles, or scraps, are separated from the
lighter particles, whereupon the stems and scraps drop by gravity
into a collection vessel and will be rejected, whilst the lighter
particles, used in the manufacturing process, are carried up the
riser on an ascending air current.
[0004] The top end of the riser is enclosed by a single conveyor,
in the case of a machine with just the one processing line, or two
conveyors side by side in the case of a machine with two lines.
Reference will be made explicitly during the course of the
following specification to a cigarette maker with two lines, albeit
implying no limitation in scope.
[0005] Each conveyor takes the form of a substantially horizontal
air-permeable, aspirating belt capable of attracting the tobacco
directed up through the riser as a continuous flow of divided
particles, and causing it to form gradually into a continuous
stream of filler. The flow of air ascending through the riser,
which carries the tobacco up toward the aspirating belts, is
generated by negative pressure created internally of an elongated
vacuum chamber enclosed on the underside by the two belts. The
streams of tobacco forming thus beyond the outlet of the riser are
directed by the aspirating belts through a trimming station of
which the function is to reduce the stream to a predetermined and
uniform thickness, or depth. The trimmed streams of tobacco are
then released by the aspirating belts to the entry point of a
station where they are formed into two respective continuous
cigarette rods.
[0006] As production tempo increases, cigarette makers of the
conventional type in question betray certain drawbacks with regard
in particular to the correct formation of the tobacco stream on the
aspirating belts. More exactly, a higher operating speed must be
accompanied necessarily, one the one hand, by a higher linear
velocity of the aspirating belts, and on the other by a faster
ascending movement of the tobacco particles within the riser.
[0007] For the tobacco particles to ascend more quickly through the
riser as required, air must be drawn by the vacuum chamber through
the aspirating belts at a higher rate of flow. A first consequence
of such an increase is that the aspirating belts are soon saturated
transversely, as the tobacco will tend to accumulate non-uniformly
in the vertical direction, perpendicular to the belts, with the
density of the particles at its greatest near the surface of the
belts and decreasing substantially in hyperbolic mode as the
distance from the belts increases. A second consequence is that of
a more violent impact between the tobacco particles and the
surfaces of the aspirating belts, which causes the particles to
slip, roll and bounce against the belts and results ultimately in
an uneven and incorrect distribution of the particles along the
direction followed by the belts.
[0008] Another drawback tending to accompany the higher operating
speeds of conventional cigarette makers described above is
reflected in an unsatisfactory separation of the stems and the
heavier scraps of tobacco from the lighter particles. In practice,
the faster the tobacco is directed into the riser, the shorter the
duration of the separation process becomes, and with the area of
the machine where the process in question takes place tending
typically to be somewhat restricted, the stems and heavier scraps
of tobacco are liable to be entrained in the upward current when
air is drawn through the riser at high speed.
[0009] The object of the present invention is to provide a
cigarette maker unaffected by the aforementioned drawbacks.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] The stated object is realized according to the present
invention in a cigarette maker comprising at least one ascent
channel through which to direct a flow of tobacco particles, a feed
system by which the tobacco is supplied to the ascent channel, and
at least one aspirating belt set in motion adjacent to the outlet
of the ascent channel, on which the flow of particles is formed
into a corresponding stream of tobacco. The ascent channel is
composed of a lower first portion designed to receive the tobacco,
and an upper second portion enclosed by the belt, and can be
equipped advantageously with conveyor means interposed between the
first portion and the second portion, of which the function is to
transfer a predetermined quantity of tobacco from the one portion
to the other portion.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] The invention will now be described in detail, by way of
example, with the aid of the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0012] FIG. 1 illustrates a first embodiment of the cigarette maker
according to the present invention, viewed schematically in a
vertical section;
[0013] FIG. 2 shows a first portion of the cigarette maker
according to the present invention, viewed schematically in a
vertical section and illustrated in a second embodiment;
[0014] FIG. 3 is a variation on a detail of FIG. 2;
[0015] FIG. 4 shows a second portion of the cigarette maker
according to the present invention, viewed schematically in a
vertical section and illustrated in the aforementioned second
embodiment;
[0016] FIG. 5 shows the portion of FIG. 4 in a plan view,
illustrated schematically and with certain parts cut away.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0017] With reference to FIG. 1, which illustrates a first
embodiment of the cigarette maker according to the invention, and
in particular a machine with a single processing line, 1 denotes an
infeed portion, in its entirety, of such a machine.
[0018] The infeed portion 1 comprises a feed unit 2 by which a mass
of shredded tobacco is formed into a continuous flow of tobacco
particles. The various components making up the feed unit 2 are
housed within a vertically extending enclosure 3 delimited
uppermost by a horizontal wall 4 and on either side by two vertical
walls 5 and 6.
[0019] The infeed portion 1 presents an inlet duct 7 extending
upward from the horizontal wall 4, and below the duct, internally
of the enclosure 3, a power driven toothed roller 8 by which the
shredded tobacco 9 is directed down into a lower chamber 10
delimited at the bottom by a conveyor belt 11.
[0020] The chamber 10 accommodates a carding roller 12 rotatable
about an axis 13 transverse to the side walls 5 and 6, forming part
of a carding unit 14 and positioned adjacent to the downstream end
of the belt 11.
[0021] In addition to the carding roller 12, the unit 14 comprises
a proportioning roller 15 rotatable substantially tangential to the
carding roller 12 and in the same direction.
[0022] With this arrangement, the shredded tobacco 9 is directed by
the toothed roller 8 onto the belt 11 and thence toward the carding
roller 12, whereupon a layer of the tobacco 9 substantially equal
in thickness to the radial dimension of the carding teeth is
transferred by the roller 12 away from the chamber 10 and beyond
its position of tangential proximity to the proportioning roller
15.
[0023] The infeed portion further comprises an impeller roller 16
rotatable about an axis parallel to the axis 13 aforementioned, of
which the function is to pick up the layer of tobacco 9 from the
carding roller 12 and project the constituent particles, in the
direction denoted F1, down into a substantially vertical descent
channel or chute 17 delimited by two side walls 18 and 19 extending
parallel one with another and with the axis 13 of the carding
roller 12.
[0024] The bottom end of the chute 17 is positioned facing the
periphery of a toothed take-up unit 20 that comprises a take-up
roller 21 and an impeller roller 22 combining one with another to
transfer the shredded tobacco 9 away from the chute 17.
[0025] More exactly, the tobacco 9 is received by the take-up unit
20 in the form of distinct particles and projected onto conveyor
means 23 of which the function is to direct the shredded material
toward an ascent channel or riser 24 enclosed at the top end by the
moving surface of an aspirating belt 25 fashioned from
air-permeable material.
[0026] In accordance with the present invention, the riser 24 is
divided into a lower first portion 26 and an upper second portion
27, of which the top end 28 is enclosed by the aforementioned
aspirating belt 25. The two portions 26 and 27 are separated and
interconnected by conveyor means denoted 29 in their entirety,
interposed between the outlet 30 of the first portion 26 and the
inlet 31 of the second portion 27.
[0027] The length of the first portion 26, as measured along the
direction of movement of the belt 25, is identical to the
corresponding length of the second portion 27, whereas it will be
seen from FIG. 1 that the width of the first portion 26, measured
transversely to this same direction, is appreciably greater than
that of the second portion 27.
[0028] The aforementioned conveyor means 29 could be of any given
type, and will be capable of transferring a predetermined quantity
of tobacco 9 between the outlet 30 of the first portion 26 and the
inlet 31 of the second portion 27 of the riser 24.
[0029] In particular, the conveyor means 29 will consist in any
suitable conveying device capable of motion along a path that
describes an endless loop. In the example illustrated, such means
take the form of a toothed roller 32 rotatable clockwise, as viewed
in FIG. 1, about an axis 33 parallel to the axis 13 of the carding
roller 12, also to the direction of movement of the aspirating belt
25, and connected to a source 34 of negatively pressurized fluid in
such a way that suction can be generated through the outer surface
of the roller 32. Instead of a roller 32, alternatively, use could
be made of a belt looped around a plurality of pulleys with axes
parallel to the axis 13 of the carding roller 12 and to the
direction of movement of the belt 25.
[0030] In the case of the roller 32, the looped path appears as a
circular circumference and includes a first sector 35, on which a
layer 36 of tobacco 9 is formed, and a second sector 37 from which
the particles 38 making up the layer 36 of tobacco 9 are
released.
[0031] More exactly, the first sector 35 coincides with the part of
the roller 32 extending upward from and along the outlet 30 of the
first portion 26 of the riser 24, whilst the second sector 37
coincides with the part of the roller 32 extending along the inlet
31 of the second portion 27 of the riser 24.
[0032] The path described by the toothed roller 32 also presents a
third sector 39 interposed between the first and second sectors 35
and 37, occupied by metering and leveling means 40 which take the
form of an equalizing roller 41 offered tangentially to the toothed
roller 32. The roller 41 in question is rotatable counterclockwise,
as viewed in FIG. 1, about an axis 42 extending parallel to the
axis of the toothed roller 32, and at a speed marginally different
to that of the latter roller 32. In this way, the equalizing roller
41 is able to ensure a uniform thickness of the aforementioned
layer 36 of tobacco by redistributing particles from areas of
greater density to areas of lesser density that may have formed in
the layer.
[0033] As discernible in FIG. 1, the aforementioned lower first
portion 26 of the riser 24 terminates at the bottom end in a
downwardly inclined wall 43 of which the higher part is directed
toward the conveyor means 23 bringing the tobacco 9 from the
toothed take-up unit 20.
[0034] The inclined wall 43 presents a plurality of holes 44
through which to direct a pressurized fluid from a relative source
denoted 45, of which the purpose will be described in due
course.
[0035] The conveyor means 23 take the form of a first vibrating
tray 46 such as will slow the rate at which the tobacco advances
toward the inlet of the first portion 26 of the riser 24.
[0036] Also associated with the toothed roller 32 at a point near
the inlet of the upper second portion 27 of the riser 24,
coinciding substantially with the second or release sector 37 of
the looped path, are means denoted 47 by which to shut off the
suction generated by the source 34 of negative pressure, and/or
means denoted 48 by which to generate a flow of positively
pressurized fluid. Such means 48 might consist, by way of example,
in a nozzle 49 connected to a source 50 of pressure and angled
convergently with the direction of movement of the aspirating belt
25. The aspirating action of the belt 25 combines with the
dislodging flow blown by the nozzle 49, which includes a component
oriented along the feed direction of the belt 25, to bring about an
efficient transfer of the particles 38 of tobacco 9 from the
surface of the roller 32 to the belt 25.
[0037] Thus, the particles 38 cling to the aspirating belt 25 and
form progressively into a continuous stream (not illustrated),
which on emerging from the second portion 27 of the riser 24 will
advance on the belt 25 toward successive stations (not illustrated)
where it is trimmed, shaped and formed ultimately into a continuous
cigarette rod.
[0038] It will be seen that, with the width of the first portion 26
significantly greater than the width of the second portion 27,
which is substantially equal to that of the aspirating belt 25, and
the width of the sector 35 on which the layer 36 of tobacco 9 is
formed likewise much greater than the width of the aspirating belt
25, it becomes possible with only a relatively modest speed of
rotation of the toothed roller 32 about its axis 33 and a
relatively modest velocity of the particles 38 of tobacco 9 within
the riser 24, for the belt 25 to be supplied with the correct
quantity of tobacco 9 even when running at relatively high speed,
and in such a manner as to guarantee a substantially uniform
stratification of the tobacco 9 on the aspirating surface, both
along the direction of movement of the belt 25 and in the vertical
dimension, normal to the belt 25. Also, and to advantage, the
process of separating the stems and larger scraps of tobacco 9 from
the smaller particles occurs internally of a spacious enclosure
afforded by the lower first portion 26, with the tobacco particles
substantially detached one from another and progressing at a
comparatively gentle rate of motion. The succession of selection
jets delivered through the holes 44 also helps to increase the
efficiency of the process whereby the stems and heavier scraps of
tobacco are separated out. The stems and heavier scraps 54 drop
into a collection trough 55.
[0039] FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 illustrate a second embodiment of the
infeed portion 1 forming part of a cigarette maker according to the
invention, and in particular a machine with two processing lines,
that is to say equipped with two aspirating belts 25 on which two
identical streams of tobacco are formed.
[0040] As regards the structure and operation of the risers 24 and
the toothed rollers 32, it will be seen that there is no difference
between this and the single line embodiment of FIG. 1.
[0041] In particular, as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the infeed
portion 1 of the machine comprises two risers 24 conveying two
respective flows of tobacco particles 38, and two aspirating belts
25 located each above the top outlet end 28 of the relative second
portion 27 of a corresponding riser 24, on which the two flows of
particles 38 are formed into respective streams of tobacco 9.
[0042] More exactly, the risers 24 and the respective toothed
rollers 32 are disposed symmetrically on either side of a vertical
plane 51 lying between the two aspirating belts 25, as discernible
in FIGS. 4 and 5, and positioned transversely to the axes of
rotation of the carding roller 12 and of the take-up roller 21, as
illustrated in FIG. 5. In the solution of FIGS. 2 to 5, more
exactly, the toothed conveying rollers 32 are centered on
respective axes 33 rotated through an angle of 90.degree. (ninety
degrees) relative to the viewing plane of the drawings, as compared
to the position of the single roller 32 illustrated in FIG. 1,
where the axis 33 of rotation extends parallel to the axis of the
carding roller 12.
[0043] In the example of FIG. 5, the tobacco 9 is carried from the
take-up roller 21 toward the two risers 24 by conveyor means 23
comprising a common first portion 52 and a pair of mutually
independent second portions 53. The two independent portions 53
extend divergently from the common portion 52 and on either side of
the vertical plane of symmetry, in such a way that the particles 38
of tobacco 9 are carried toward respective inclined walls 43
presented by the two lower first portions 26 of the corresponding
risers 24.
[0044] In like manner to the example of FIG. 1, each of the two
inclined walls 43 in this embodiment will present a plurality of
holes 44 from which to generate a succession of air jets designed
to aid the efficient separation of any stems and heavier scraps 54
of tobacco from the lighter particles. Here again, the stems and
scraps 54 drop into a collection trough 55.
[0045] In particular, both the common first portion 52 and the
independent second portions 53 consist in respective vibrating
trays 56 and 57.
[0046] In the example of FIG. 2, the particles 38 of tobacco 9
leaving the take-up roller 21 drop onto a conveyor 58 moving from
right to left as viewed in FIG. 2, and angled upward in such a
manner that the forwardmost edge will be positioned over the
vibrating tray 56 constituting the common first portion 52.
[0047] Thus, the particles 38 of shredded tobacco 9 are advanced at
a suitably measured rate of feed toward the two bottom walls 43
presented by the two first portions 26 of the risers 24. Here, the
stems and scraps 54 are separated and the lighter particles are
directed upward through the first portions 26 in a continuous flow,
entrained in a current of air generated by pneumatic means of
familiar embodiment (not illustrated). On reaching the first sector
35 of each toothed roller 32 set in rotation about the relative
axis 33, the flow of tobacco particles 38 will thicken
progressively and at low speed on the surface of the roller 32
passing momentarily over the outlet 30 of the first portion 26,
forming into a layer 36. Each layer 36 of tobacco is distributed
and spread by the relative equalizing roller 41 and advances
gradually toward the second sector 37 of the roller 32. At this
point, the suction shut-off means 47 and/or the nozzles 49 are
activated, so that the layer 36 of tobacco 9 is caused to detach
from the surface of the roller 32 and gather into a new flow of
particles 38. Exposed to the combined action of the aspirating
belts 25 and of the jets delivered by the relative nozzles 49, the
released particles will cling progressively to the belts 25 and
form into a continuous stream of tobacco on each one.
[0048] Finally, it will be seen in the illustration of FIG. 3 that
the particles 38 of tobacco 9 are released by the rollers 21 and 22
directly onto the common vibrating tray 56.
* * * * *