US1984980A - Apparatus for conveying cut tobacco - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 18, 1934. c w. MULLER 0 APPARATUS FOR CONVEYING CUT TOBACCO Filed Feb. 13, 1932 s Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.1.

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APPARATUS FOR CONVEYING CUT TOBACCO I Filed Feb. 15, 1952 s Sheets-Sheetfi 32 INVENTU R 6 9'] Il zZze/m fl'zflgr' Patented Dec. 18, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

APPARATUS FOR CONVEYING cU'r TOBACCO Germany Application February 13, 1932, Serial No. 592,795 In Germany February 16, 1931 7 Claims. (Cl. 131-60) It is known that the cut tobacco is fed to the working-up machines, more particularly the 'cigarettevmachines, such that a container filled with tobacco is emptied by hand into the tobacco spreader and the tobacco is uniformly distributed in the said spreader with the object of producing a fleece which is as uniform as possible. Many proposals have already been made to obtain a uniform distribution of the tobacco and hence also a uniform fleece, but heretofore it has not been possible to attain anything quite perfect, because the cut tobacco in the container,

despite the fact that it is loosened, in parts remains agglomerated together more or less in the form of small lumps and these lumps are not loosened even in the spreader.

It is the object of the present invention to bring about an automatic and uniform feed of tobacco to the cigarette machine. To this end, workers spread out the tobacco by hand on belts uniformly to a certain thickness, any large or small knots present being loosened. The belts are moved periodically and the tobacco is placed thereupon partly during movement and partly during the stoppage of the belts. When tobacco is to be fed to the admission hopper of the pneumatic device for charging the cigarette machine, these belts are'used as conveyor belts such that the tobacco lying upon them, which has already been brought into a uniform condition by the hand-spreading and is free from knots, is fed to the feeding hopper for the charging plant.

Preferably, the belts are constructed in the form of containers, of which they form the bottom. It is then possible to remove the tobacco gradua ly in vertical layers, so that satisfactory 'intermixing of the tobacco takes place. The gradual removal of the tobacco in vertical layers may be effected in a variety of ways. Preferably, the containers are made with fixed walls on three sides and with a conveyor belt as a bottom, the tobacco leaving the open ends of the containers being fed to the tobacco machines, either by a common conveyor device running transversely to the conveyor belts forming the bottom of the containers, or by electrically controlled means for regulating the descent, or the quantity, of the tobacco.

Two constructions of the invention are shown and of conducting the tobacco further by electrically-controlled conduits.

Fig. 2 is a plan thereof.

Fig. 3 shows a diagrammatic side elevation, in which the conveyor belts are in the form of containers and the delivery of the tobacco is effected directly on to a common conveyor belt.

Fig. 4 is a plan thereof. v

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic sideview of the form of machine of Figs. 3 and 4 showing the tobacco being distributed into the different containers.

Figs. 6, '7 and 8 are similar views as Fig. 5, but showing other positions of the conveyor device.

The tobacco is first'cut in the usual manner in the cuttingpmachine and is then loosened. In the constructional example shown in Figs. 1 and 2, it is then brought into the containers 1 from the guide rollers, preferably'the front guide roller 6, carries a sprocket wheel 7, connected by a chain to a sprocket gear 8 on a shaft 9. The

gear 8 is loose on the shaft 9, but is rigidly connected to one partof a clutch 10. 'which'is shown open in the case of the belt 2 and This clutch,

closed in the case of the belt 3 is opened and closed, respectively, by a lever 11 and a spring 12. The lever 11 is actuated by a magnet 13 provided with current by the leads l4. Preferably, the current is switched on from a point on the cigarette machine. The common driving shaft 9 is set in rotation by an electric motor 15. At the rear of each of the belts 2, 3 and 4, there is provided a container 1 for receiving the tobacco. At the front end of the belts there is provided a hopper 16 which is adapted to be closed at its lower end by a slide 17. This slide 17, which is merely indicated in the drawings and may be of any desired construction, is controlled electrically by means of a solenoid, that is to say,

it isadapted to be opened and closed, and the current is supplied through leads 18 which are fed from the samesource of current as the associated leads 14, so that when current is sent through one of the pairs of leads 19 or 20, the belt 2 or 3 is simultaneously set in motion and the slide 17 is opened, or when the current is interrupted, the slide is closed and the belt 3 is stopped by disengagement of the clutch. Of course, the same appliesfor the belt 4 and its circuit, not shown in the drawings. Conduits 21, 23 and 24 IF A are connected respectively to the lower ends of the hoppers and conduct the tobacco to the workingup machine, preferably the cigarette rod machine.

The worker thus distributes the tobacco taken from the containers 1 uniformly upon the corresponding belts 2, 3 and 4. He spreads the tobacco on the belts uniformly and removes any knots by pulling them apart and makes the layer as uniform as possible and of the same thickness. The tobacco can then remain on this belt until it is required at the working-up machine. A belt will be associated with each working-up machine, that is to say, with each cigarette machine. It is possible, however, to feed several cigarette machines witha single belt or even to employ several belts for feeding one cigarette machine. In the constructional example shown threebelts are provided, but of course the number may be smaller or larger according to the number of the machines to be fed. Preferably, a belt will be provided for each cigarette machine and the length of the individual belts will preferably be proportioned according to the number of cigarette machines there are altogether, and hence according to the number of belts there are altogether, such that when the first belt provided with tobacco has been almost entirely emptied, the last belt has just been completely charged with tobacco, so that all the belts can be attended by one person. a g

If suflicient tobacco has been fed to a cigarette machine, current is sent from the cigarette machine through one of the leads 19 and 20 or the lead, not shown, going to the belt 4 and the belt is stopped and at the same time the corresponding slide 17 is closed. If, on the other hand, a cigarette machine is to be fed with tobacco, the belt is set in motion and the corresponding slide 17 is opened. The tobacco then descends gradually through the hoppers 16 and through the associated conduit 21 to the rod machine where it is worked up in the usual manner. When the distances are long, conveying is preferably effected pneumatically. In order to effect a more uniform manufacture, a star wheel 22 and a brush 22 may be provided in known manner at the front end of each belt. Since the tobacco has already been uniformly distributed it will be fed uniformly to the rod machine and the spreader of the rod machine is now capable of providing uniform distribution and hence a perfectly uniform fleece. While the tobacco is being taken from the belt 2, it is placed by the worker on the other belts. By way of example, the belt 3 is shown entirely charged with tobacco, while only a part of the belt 4 has been charged with tobacco.

In the constructional example shown in Figs. 3 to 8, the distribution of the tobacco on to the belts is effected by means of a collecting container 25 which is supplied with tobacco through a pipe line 26. An air lock 2'7 through which the tobacco can be discharged is connected in known manner to the tobacco container, while the air under suction or compression employed for conveying the tobacco is drawn oif together with the dust through the conduit 28. The tobacco discharged from the air-lock now arrives upon a conveyor belt 29. This conveyor belt, as will be seen more particularly in Figs. 5 to 8, is made in the form of an endless belt runningover two rollers. The means for driving the'ro-llers is not shown in the drawings, but it is such that the belt can run as desired in one direction of rotation, as shown by arrows in Figs. 5 and G, or in the other direction, as shown by arrows in Figs. 7 and 8. The conveyor belt 29, together with its driving means is mounted on a sliding carriage or the like, likewise not shown in the drawings, which is adapted to be moved in the longitudinal direction of the conveyor belt 29, so that the conveyor belt can occupy one of the four positions shown in Figs. 5 to 8 relatively to the cyclone collector 25 or the tobacco collecting device. provided thereunder. In the constructional example shown, there are provided below the conveyor belt 29 four conveyor belts 35, 36, 37 and 33, each of which is arranged at a right angle to the direction of the conveyor belt 29. These conveyor belts are surrounded by walls 80 on three sides, namely, on the longitudinal sides and one of the end sides, so that containers open to the front end are formed above these conveyor belts. The lateral walls of the conveyor belts (chambers) are lined with sheet zinc. pleted, the surface and the front end are covered, so that the tobacco to a certain extent lies in a closed, air-tight container. At the open front end, below the conveyor bolts 35, 36, 3'? and 38,

there is another conveyor belt 31 running par- I allel to the conveyor belt 29 and leading to the distribution center 32 for the tobacco. At this distribution center a number of workers are employed who throw the tobacco arriving on the conveyor belt 31 into the hoppers 33, whence it proceeds by merely sliding or pneumatically through the pipe lines 34 to the working-up places, that is to say to the cigarette machines.

Therefore, according to the position of the conveyor belt 29 and according to the direction in which it is running, the tobacco will be conveyed into one of the compartments formed by the conveyor belts 35 to 38, that is one of the belts and its walls. During this conveying, the belt 35, 36, 37 or 38 in question is running forward quite slowly in the direction of the arrows, so that the space formed above this conveyor: belt is gradually filled with tobacco. This work is continued until the container is filled with tobacco as far as the front. The conveyor belt 29 is then positioned above another of the four containers, and a second container is filled and then thethird and fourth containers in the same way. I The four corresponding positions of theconveyor belt 29 are shown in Figs. 5 to 8. .When the contain ers are full, the conveyor belt 35, 36, 37 or 38 concerned is stopped. In these containers, which after filling are conveniently covered with a sheet preferably of leather or rubber or also with a cover of metal or wood to prevent the evaporation of the moisture in the tobacco, the tobacco now remains a certain length of time until complete and uniform soaking has taken place. The conveyor belt of the container from which the tobacco is to be taken is then set slowly in motion again, the tobacco is thereby brought upon the conveyor belt 31 and from thence is fed to the distribution place32.

Since the containers 35, 36, 37 and 38 have a comparatively large capacity and since of course any larger or smaller number of containers may be used instead of four, it is thus possible to al-- low work at the cutting machines to be continuous. The tobacco can then remain in the containers a suitable length of time, and is fed from them directly to the cigarette machines either mechanically or pneumatically so that filling into boxes and the repeated transport of the boxes is unnecessary.

Of course, the invention is not limited to the After charging is comparticular constructional form shown. For instance, instead of the conveyor belt 29 adapted to be moved to-and-fro, it is possible to use a hopper adapted to be changed over to the diiferent containers, through which hopper the tobacco is fed alternately to the containers. Also, it is possible to employ other conveyor devices, such as conveyor worms, or the like instead of the conveyor belts.

Preferably, the conveyor belts will be set up in a separate room which is independent of the room in which are located the machines for working up the tobacco, so that the worker placing the tobacco on the belts will not be disturbed by the working of the cigarette machines, and in addition it will be possible to maintain in this room a moisture and temperature suitable for the seasoning of the tobacco on the belts.

The containers may also be provided with a cover so that they can be used as closed boxes.

I claim:

1. A device for handling cut tobacco, comprising a collecting container; a conveyor belt arranged below the container; a plurality of conveyor belts arranged at approximately right angles to the first mentioned belt; and a feed belt arranged at approximately right angles to the second-mentioned belts and adapted to convey the cut tobacco to a cigarette rod machine, said first mentioned belt being movable to feed tobacco from the container to any desired secondmentioned belts.

2. A device for handling cut tobacco according to claim 1, in which the second-mentioned belts are open at one end and the remaining portions are surrounded with walls.

3. A device for conveying and seasoning cut tobacco from a loosening machine to a cigarettemaking machine, comprising a plurality of containers adapted to receive the cut tobacco and each of which is composed of a movable belt forming the bottom thereof and side walls on the two sides and on one end of the belt; means for receiving the cut tobacco and for distributing the tobacco on the belts; and a feed belt arranged under the ends of the movable belts at the ends opposite the walled ends to convey the cut tobacco to the cigarette machine.

4. A device according, to claim 3 in which the means comprises a conveyor belt arranged to travel in directions at approximately right angles to the movable belts.

5. A device according to claim 3, in whichthe means comprises a conveyor belt arranged to travel in directions at approximately right angles to the movable belts and in which the feed belt is arranged at approximately right angles to the '7. A device according to claim 3, in which a lid is provided for each container to permit the cut tobacco to be seasoned while on the belt in the container.

CARL WILHELM MiiLLER.

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