R.j. Reynolds Tobacco Company

James Phillip Hollandsworth

Timothy Franklin Tilley

Terry Leonard Bullins

Mark Allen Vernon

A cutting apparatus and an associated method for slitting a tobacco sheet material into cut pieces used to form smoking articles are provided. The cutting apparatus includes a rotatable cutter assembly having a drum member configured to rotate about an axis defined thereby. The cutter assembly includes a plurality of knife members disposed about the periphery of the drum member and extending radially therefrom. A fixed counter-knife assembly is disposed adjacent to the periphery of the drum member and is configured to interact with the rotatable cutter assembly during rotation thereof about the axis. The counter-knife assembly includes a ledger member having a plurality of cutting insert members removably engaged therewith. The cutting insert members are configured to interact with the knife members during rotation of the cutter assembly with respect to the counter-knife assembly so as to slit the tobacco sheet material received therebetween into cut pieces.

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Rural Hall, NC, United States of America

James Phillip Hollandsworth