Philip Morris Inc.

Raymond J Knight

Robert T Mitten

Robert L Ripley

A cigarette testing device (10) detects improperly filled or missing cigarettes in groups of cigarettes in a cigarette packing machine. Tappets (20) are positioned against the ends of cigarettes (11) and the position of tappets (20) is determined by optical sensors (28). Defective cigarettes (15) are removed from the group by nozzles (24). One to one correspondence between cigarettes, tappets, sensors, and nozzle ejectors allows single defective cigarettes to be rejected without rejecting the entire group of cigarettes.

Growing community of inventors

Richmond, VA, United States of America

Raymond J Knight