Hauni-werke Korber & Co Kg.

Korber Ag

Willi Thiele

Waldemar Wochnowski

Reinhard Hohm

Klaus-Georg Hackmack

Uwe Leckband

Hans Forster

Klaus Hagenah

Werner Heyden

Gerd-Joachim Wendt

Reinhard Liebe

Herbert Schmidt

Enno Freesemann

Klaus-Georg Hackman

Fragments of tobacco ribs are puffed in an elongated tunnel which is vibrated to advance the particles from the inlet toward the outlet. The particles in the tunnel are contacted by streamlets of supersaturated or superheated steam at such temperature and pressure that the temperature of the particles is raised to between 100.5.degree. and 120.degree. C. To this end, steam is admitted at 2.5 to 25 bar absolute pressure and at a temperature of between 126.degree. and 400.degree. C. The thus heated particles of tobacco ribs are thereupon dried.

Method and apparatus for puffing tobacco

Shredded tobacco is supplied from a storage reservoir to one or more cigarette making machines by way of discrete pneumatic conveying pipes. The reservoir receives fresh tobacco at regular or irregular intervals so that the quantity of tobacco in its interior is constant. The contents of the reservoir are maintained in suspension so that at least the major part of the supply of tobacco shreds forms a fluidized bed which is located directly below the intakes of the conveying pipes. When a machine requires a batch of tobacco shreds, the respective pipe is connected to a suction generating device so that it draws air from the region between the underside of the fluidized bed and the upper side of the bottom wall of the reservoir whereby the ascending current of air entrains tobacco particles directly from the fluidized bed. The supply of tobacco in the reservoir can be converted into a fluidized bed by mechanically agitating the reservoir so that the shreds move up and down and/or by causing a plurality of streamlets of compressed air to rise through perforations in the bottom wall of the reservoir. The latter may have a circular, semicircular or polygonal cross-sectional outline.

Method and apparatus for storing and transporting comminuted tobacco or

Apparatus for storing and transporting comminuted tobacco or the like

The channel between the convergent tobacco compacting upper and lower chain conveyors of a tobacco shredding machine receives particles of tobacco from one or more vibrating troughs which define paths extending in parallelism with the direction of travel of particles between the chain conveyors toward the cutting station. The troughs have stepped bottom walls to effect preliminary homogenization and compacting of particles on their way toward the rear portion of the lower chain conveyor which extends rearwardly beyond the upper chain conveyor. The quantity of tobacco particles in one or more troughs is monitored by one or more photocells whose signals are utilized to vary the speed of the motor for the chain conveyors, the frequency and/or amplitude of vibratory movements of the trough or troughs and/or the rate of feed of tobacco particles to the trough or troughs when the monitored quantity deviates from a desirable range of quantities.

Method and apparatus for delivering particles of tobacco to shredding

The channel between the convergent tobacco compacting upper and lower chain conveyors of a tobacco shredding machine receives particles of tobacco from one or more vibrating troughs which define paths extending in parallelism with the direction of travel of particles between the chain conveyors toward the cutting station. The troughs can have stepped bottom walls to effect preliminary homogenization and compacting of particles on their way toward the rear portion of the lower conveyor which extends rearwardly beyond the upper conveyor. The quantity of tobacco particles in one or more troughs is monitored by photocells whose signals are utilized to vary the speed of the motor for the chain conveyors, the frequency and/or amplitude of vibratory movements of the trough or troughs and/or the rate of feed of particles to the trough or troughs when the monitored quantity deviates from a desirable range of quantities. The front portion of each trough can be vibrated in such a way that it performs recurrent movements having predominantly vertical components, and the rear portion of each trough can be vibrated to perform recurrent movements having predominantly horizontal components. This is achieved by mounting the front portion on leaf springs which make with the bottom wall of the respective trough a relatively small acute angle, and by mounting the rear portion on leaf springs which make with the bottom wall a relatively large acute angle.

Shreds of tobacco are conveyed across a rising stream of saturated steam and in a shower of hot water droplets so that the temperature and moisture content of shreds increase to a value at which the shreds are pliable. The shreds are thereupon introduced into a drying unit wherein they rise and fall while moving across a rising stream containing a mixture of superheated water vapors and hot air to be alternately subjected to more and less pronounced drying action which causes pronounced crimping of the shreds. The dried shreds are immediately cooled to room temperature prior to admission into the magazine of a cigarette maker.

Method and apparatus for increasing the volume of tobacco or the like

A stream of moist tobacco is fed into one end of a rotating drum which is heated by steam circulating coils and wherein a current of heated air flows counter to the direction of tobacco travel. A portion of moisture-laden air issuing at the one end of the drum is evacuated into the atmosphere and the remaining portion of moisture-laden air is intercepted and recirculated into the other end of the drum by way of a duct which contains an adjustable device for mixing the recirculated portion of moisture-laden air with fresh air. The mixture is heated upstream of the other end of the drum, and the moisture content of dried tobacco is measured and compared with a desired moisture content. When the measured moisture content deviates from the desired moisture content, the rate of evacuation of moisture-laden air is changed simultaneously with the rate of admission of fresh air. Long-range deviations of measured moisture content from desired moisture content are compensated for by changing the intensity of heating action upon the drum so that the ratio of admitted fresh air to intercepted moisture-laden air normally remains constant.

Apparatus for conditioning tobacco

Tobacco particles, particularly Burley tobacco, which form a continuous stream are conditioned during transport by a series of vibratory conveyors. The foremost conveyor receives tobacco particles from a unit which contacts the particles with an atomized liquid, especially casing, and the conveyors thereupon transport the particles seriatim through preconditioning, heating, cooling and moisturizing units. The preconditioning unit has a housing consisting of one or more coiled steam pipes having orifices which discharge currents of steam against the underside of the tobacco stream at a pressure which suffices to enable the currents to form a cushion for the moving tobacco particles. The currents condense on contact with the relatively cool tobacco particles whereby the particles entrain the condensate into the heating unit wherein the particles are relieved of nitrogen and the casing is caused to penetrate into the fibrous structure of each particle with attendant roasting of the casing. The moisturizing unit may be similar to the preconditioning unit but is then further provided with one or more nozzles serving to sprinkle finely atomized water onto the particles which are supported by the cushion of steam in the housing of the moisturizing unit. The temperature of tobacco particles is measured immediately downstream of the heating unit and, if the measured temperature deviates from a desired temperature, a control circuit automatically changes the temperature and/or moisture content of hot air which is used for heating, the rate of tobacco feed to the vibratory conveyor(s) or the length of intervals of dwell of tobacco particles in the heating unit.

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Geesthacht, Germany

Willi Thiele