Molins Plc

John Dawson

Michael J Cahill

Derek H Dyett

James R Stembridge

Alan M Aindow

Norman L Sharp

Peter A Clarke

Robert Howard Taylor

Ivan Yehudi Hirsh

Anthony R Brown

Kerry Hierons

Leonard James Bryant

Brian H Warner

Neil Thorp

Philip Gordon Haddow

Paul Davis

Andre Brink

Tadeusz Truszkowski

Juilian W Gardner

Alan A Thierry

Robert Antony Macgregor

Julian W Gardner

A conveyor system for transporting cigarettes between a making machine and a packing machine includes a mass flow conveyor (,) for transporting cigarettes directly and a reservoir system (,) in which successive batches of cigarettes comprising portions of the stream on an input conveyor (,) are diverted when required into compartmented containers (,). Transfer to the containers is made by way of a plunger (,) and shuttle (,) arrangement which allows the stream to move continuously during transfer of a batch. Unloading containers to reform a continuous stream may involve use of a similar plunger and shuttle arrangement so that the reformed stream can move continuously on an output conveyor (,). The input and output conveyors (,) may be provided with retractable spaced partitions to bound the ends of batches of cigarettes transferred from or to the respective conveyor.

Conveyor system for rod-like articles

Cigarette manufacture

A cigarette making machine comprises a channel (104; 106/228; 230/319; 320) through which tobacco is showered onto the inside surface of a suction band (100; 102/232; 234/309; 310) passing around a number of pulleys having approximately vertical axes of rotation, so as to form on the band a cigarette filler stream (114 etc.) which passes around one of the pulleys (100A; 102A/236; 238/314; 318), while lying between the pulley and the band, and is then arranged to transfer to a second band (122; 124/204; 206/321; 322) which transports the filler stream towards a rod-forming device by which the filler stream is enclosed in a wrapper web to form a continuous cigarette rod. A twin-track cigarette making machine may comprise two such arrangements side-by-side and forming mirror-images of one another.

Cigarette making machine

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.

A twin track cigarette making machine comprises two substantially horizontal shower channels through which tobacco is arranged to be showered onto two suction bands moving in converging directions in a substantially horizontal plane and presenting substantially vertical tobacco-receiving surfaces so as to form a cigarette filler stream on each of the suction bands, and including means for enclosing each of the filler streams (possibly after trimming) in a continuous wrapper web to form two parallel cigarette rods.

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.

A cigarette making machine includes a suction conveyor arranged to carry a tobacco filler stream which is substantially wider than its depth, a suction chamber situated downstream of the zone in which the filler stream is formed on the conveyor or received by the conveyor and arranged to induce an air flow through the filler stream and also along the filler stream, whereby tobacco from peaks in the filler stream tends to be carried forward and to be attracted to the conveyor by suction drawn through the conveyor in regions of less tobacco, and including structure for subsequently reducing the width and increasing the depth of the filler stream before the filler stream is conveyed to a rod-forming pad of the machine in which the filler stream (possibly after trimming) is enclosed in a wrapper web to form a continuous cigarette rod.

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.

In cigarette conveying apparatus cigarettes are conveyed along a path so that they are intercepted in sequence by beams directed at different portions of the path to produce a complete circumferential row of perforations on each cigarette after it has traversed the path. An incident laser beam (14) is time-shared to produce pulses for making perforations by mutually inclined rotatable discs (20, 28). A temperature sensor (150) is provided to detect build-up of contaminants on a lens or mirror (146) for a laser beam (32B). A stream of air containing small quantities of water is supplied by tubes (380,388) terminating in the region in which the cigarettes are perforated so as to assist removal of contaminants resulting from laser perforation.

A cigarette making machine includes a suction band which is arranged to carry a cigarette filler stream towards a rod forming device in which the filler stream (possibly after trimming)is enclosed in a continuous wrapper, characterized by means (for example, a second suction band 24, 60, 112 or 210 and means for transferring the tobacco between that band and the main suction band 14, 52, 100 or 206) for reorientating at least some of the tobacco particles before the filler stream is delivered to the rod-forming device by the main suction band or by a further band (116)forming a continuation thereof. The cross-sections of the filler stream on the two bands (if two are used) are preferably significantly different, one being wider and shallower than the other.

A cigarette making machine includes a shower channel (10; 46; 59; 75; 90; 102; 113; 121) through which tobacco is arranged to be showered towards two suction bands (11,12; 66,67; 76,77; 103,104; 114,115) arranged to move towards one another so as to form two tobacco substreams (13,14; 78,79) from the showered tobacco and to bring these streams together in a region (15) where the bands are closest.

Cigarette perforating apparatus comprises a rotary stepped reflector (5) for directing an incident laser beam (2) along a reflected path (2R) to produce axially spaced perforations on a cigarette. The size of the perforations is controlled by varying the duration of the reflected beam by means of a mask (8) which is rotatable with the reflector and effective to intercept the beam for varying periods dependent on the radial distance at which the beam is incident on the reflector. The reflected beam (2R) may be further divided to provide separate beam paths (e.g. leading to the separate cigarette tracks in a filter attachment machine) by means of a further reflective disk (12) synchronized with the stepped reflector.

Various arrangements are disclosed for perforation by laser of cigarettes carried on a fluted drum without rolling. In one arrangement (FIGS. 1-3) rings of reflectors (8, 14) movable with the drum (12) intercept and direct a continuous laser beam (18). In another arrangement (FIGS. 4,5) cigarettes (28) are perforated while being conveyed past a fixed focus pulsed beam (32) which has a selected profile and is redirected between passing cigarettes to perforate cigarette at other positions. Other arrangements include using a rotating disc (FIGS. 6-8) or rotary stepped reflector (FIGS. 9, 13, 14) to share a beam between different cigarettes or produce two rows of perforations on a cigarette, using a continuous reflective surface (FIGS. 10, 11) to reflect a rotating beam at passing cigarettes, and causing a beam to partially track a moving cigarette (FIG. 12).

Cigarette perforation apparatus and method

Single cigarette rejection, particularly in a passage (10) between vanes (12) in a cigarette packing machine hopper, is performed by axial ejection of faulty cigarettes using suction generated by exhausting high pressure air adjacent an ejection aperture (22) in an end wall (16) of the passage. A short cylindrical casing (24) is located around the aperture (22) and defines a duct (28) through which the cigarette is ejected. The casing (24) includes an annular pressure chamber (32) and venturi orifice (34) for generating suction in the duct (28).

Growing community of inventors

Coventry, United Kingdom

John Dawson