Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation

Ken M Milliner

John H Sexstone

Everett N Finn

Tom Lewis

Byron L Lowe

An apparatus for, in one advantageous embodiment, concurrently forming a plurality of generally longitudinally extending grooves in a filter rod, and in another advantageous embodiment, for making small apertures in the grooves as the grooves are being formed in the filter rod. The apparatus includes a reciprocating die having an upper die block and a lower die block. Each die block includes protruding, elongated projections which are adapted to be imbedded into the filter rod upon closing of the die to impress grooves in the filter rod located in the die. In the embodiment wherein apertures are to be formed in the grooves, aperture forming punches are associated with each of the groove forming projections for punching apertures in the grooves as they are being formed. The apparatus further includes a hopper for storing a plurality of filter rods to be grooved, a dispenser device for receiving ungrooved filter rods from the hopper and distributing the ungrooved filter rods in a proper orientation to the die, a feed guide device for transferring the ungrooved filter rods in an aligned manner from the dispenser device to the die, and an exit guide device downstream of the die for transferring grooved filter rods away from the die in an orderly manner so as not to cause a jam.

Apparatus for making grooves in cigarette filters

An apparatus for collating cartons received from a plurality of sources in a tightly packed together relationship or randomly spaced apart relationship, and transferring these cartons in a substantially uniformly spaced apart relationship into a single stream of cartons for transport to another location.

Carton collating and transfer apparatus

Cigarette filters having grooves therein are prepared by subjecting cigarette filters to a groove-making device which includes heated groove-making elements therein, the grooves being formed by the use of heat and pressure as the cigarette filters come in contact with the groove-making elements.

Growing community of inventors

Louisville, KY, United States of America

Ken M Milliner