The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 26, 1991
Filed:
Apr. 04, 1989
Gerald Eisenlohr, Kernersville, NC (US);
David R Jones, Greensboro, NC (US);
Frank Moorefield, Danville, VA (US);
Lorillard, Inc., New York, NY (US);
Abstract
Apparatus for cutting cigarette packs transversely in preparation for recovery of the tobacco from the cigarettes therein comprises a first belt conveyor driven at a first velocity, a device for delivering the cigarette packs in collated relation onto the first conveyor with all packs resting on one of their larger sides and oriented lengthwise of the conveyor, and a second belt conveyor arranged coaxially with and adjacent to the downstream end of first conveyor to receive the packs from the first conveyor and driven at a second velocity, the second velocity being higher than the first velocity such that the packs become spaced apart end-to-end on the second conveyor. An indexing conveyor arranged orthogonally to and adjacent to the downstream end of the second conveyor receives each pack from the second conveyor at a receiving station. A photodetector detects the arrival of each pack at the receiving station and produces a signal indicative thereof. A stepper drive advances the indexing conveyor one step to move all packs thereon a selected distance greater than the width of the largest size pack in response to each such signal and then stops the indexing conveyor until the next pack arrives and is detected at the receiving station. A water jet cutter cuts each pack and the cigarettes therein transversely as they move along the indexing conveyor.