Molins Plc

Lipton, Division of Conopco, Inc.

James R Stembridge

John Dawson

Derek H Dyett

Michael J Cahill

James Goodwin

Norman L Sharp

Thomas William Bailey

Simon Charles Martin

Paul Davis

Alan M Aindow

Jeffrey J Patchett

An apparatus for batching articles from a continuous stream of articles has a conduit comprising an entry duct (,) in which the articles are accelerated by suction. The suction air is drawn from the exit end of the duct, close to a pair of counter-rotating sealing rollers (,) which have resiliently yielding peripheral faces between which the articles pass. At the exit end of the conduit a pair of closure members (,) on opposite sides of the conduit are rotatable in 90&deg; steps in order to collect the articles in batches. The closure members counter-rotate so that in each step they move in the general direction of movement of the articles. In this way it is possible to batch relatively delicate articles at high rates of throughflow.

Article handling apparatus

The formation of a tubular web in a form-fill process is achieved by drawing the web along a tapering guide (6) and then along a forming tube (20) the axis of which is at a small angle to the guide plate and intersects the guide. The web is drawn along the guide and tube by opposed drive rollers (24) at a station along the length of the forming tube, the rollers gripping the edges of the web together. The side margins of the web are folded over from a central portion when the web travels along the guide plate but the side edges are brought together only after they reach the forming tube. The drive rollers (24) or sealing rollers (26) further along the forming tube seal the edges together to form a closed tube.

Web shaping method and means

A valve (16) reciprocates with a constant stroke in the former tube (2) of a form-fill apparatus to dispense doses of filling material from the tube by ejecting the material through an outlet nozzle (8). The size of the doses is adjustable, in one form of the invention, by feeding the material is fed through an adjustable dosing opening immediately adjacent the valve. In another form of the invention, the valve (16) is adjustably positionable relative to the former tube (2) to vary the mean position of reciprocation of the valve relative to the tube. In a further form of the invention, an adjustably controllable head of material is maintained in the former tube to determine the rate at which it is fed to the valve (16).

Dosing apparatus and method

Variable speed conveying apparatus

A cigarette making machine comprises means for showering tobacco onto two suction bands 610,612 to form tobacco sub-streams of similar width on the respective bands which are then merged to form a cigarette filler stream, and includes rod-forming means for enclosing the cigarette filler stream in a continuous wrapper to form a continuous cigarette rod, and means for forming or feeding onto at least one of the sub-streams, or between the sub-streams as or just before they merge, a layer 628 of core-forming material which is narrower than each of the sub-streams and is centrally located in relation thereto, whereby the core-forming material is surrounded by tobacco in the finished cigarette rod. This invention also encompasses the feeding of additional dense-ending quantities of tobacco instead of a core-forming layer.

Cigarette making machine

A device for applying bronze or similar powder, particularly in a cigarette making machine, uses a corona discharge wire (36) or similar conductor maintained at high voltage to establish an electrostatic field which causes powder to be attracted to prepared adhesive patches on a paper web (14). Excess powder carried by the web is removed with the assistance of vibration, which may be produced by passing the web over an ultrasound device (44) or a pulsed air mover (102). Excess powder may also be removed by an air mover (152) directing a stream of air at the surface of the web carrying the powder.

Powder applicator device, particularly for cigarette making machines

A hopper for a cigarette making machine has a carded roller (14;52;54;60) arranged to feed a carpet of tobacco, a generally horizontally extending conveyor band (32) for receiving the tobacco from the carded roller, and means for removing the tobacco from the carded roller, for delivery onto the conveyor band, comprising an air pressure source (26;66) and one or more air passages (22;24;56;58;64;68) extending from the air pressure source for directing one or more jets of air into the tobacco to project the tobacco in a generally horizontal direction as a shower onto and along the conveyor band.

In a cigarette making machine, tobacco is arranged to be showered towards two suction bands to form tobacco sub-streams on the respective bands which are then merged to form a single cigarette filler stream which (possibly after trimming) is enclosed in a wrapper web to form a continuous cigarette rod, and the machine includes means for disturbing at least part of the tobacco of at least one of the tobacco sub-streams before the two sub-streams are merged. This disturbance of the sub-streams preferably causes or permits a degree of reorientation of the disturbed tobacco and a degree of interengagement between tobacco particles of the two sub-streams. In one example at least part of this disturbance is caused during the transfer of both sub-streams to a further suction band which carries the merged stream to the wrapper web.

Growing community of inventors

Coventry, United Kingdom

James R Stembridge