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:
Jun. 24, 2003
Filed:
May. 19, 2000
Torsten Grigutsch, Hamburg, DE;
Dieter Paus, Reinbek, DE;
Hauni Maschinenbau AG, , DE;
Abstract
A shower of tobacco particles is admitted into the inlet at the top of and descends by gravity and/or under the action of a driven cell wheel in a generally upright duct. The particles are moisturized prior to admission into the duct or due to contact with droplets of water in the inlet, and are thereupon caused to traverse an orbiting shower of steam, water and/or another conditioning medium in an intermediate portion of their path in the duct. Such treatment entails a swelling and thus increases the volume of the particles. The conditioning medium is discharged via orifices radially outwardly from at least one substantially horizontal conduit which is rotated about its axis and can be provided with external pins or analogous mechanical impellers serving to cause the particles of tobacco to orbit about the conduit prior to descending into the range of a dryer at a level below the intermediate portion of the path, e.g., at the outlet of the duct.