US2570270A - Cigarette tobacco preparation and feeding - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 9, 195] PATTERSON 2,570,270

CIGARETTE TOBACCO PREPARATION AND FEEDING Filed April 5, 1946 CL Q Q INVENTOR MOREHEAD PATTERSON BY 9 g 2 z ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 9, 1951 -..CI.GARETIET TUBACCO PREPARATION. AND

:FEEDIN G ,Morehead Ratterson,-.New Y.0rk,.N..Y.,. assignorto .Amei icarifMa0hineJ8z"Foundry'flompanma.cor-

poration of New Jersey *AppIicat-ionApriI'Q, 1946,Serial No."659,365

..;.3':.tGlai-ms. 'r! This invention relates to a methodiforrsupply- "ing shredded cigarette-i tobacco to .arcigarettema chine in such'a manner as to*supply tobaccoi'havsing various shred lengths in the proportions found most desirablefor thespro'duetion ofl hightzquality cigar'ettes. More particularly it is :an tobiect .of "the invention to feed from separatexsources of supply tobaccohaving different lengthssofr shre'ds and to feed "such different length tobacco :ciniidef- *inite predetermined 'proportionstwhichihave been found by experience to 'be characteristic not the best cigarettes.

It has been found by screeningithe "constituents of cigarettes having :good :mechanical =qualities suchas uniformity of. density (or .feel) and of ":weight, that such :cigarettes are characterized "bycertain ratios between the weight-.ot-longto- *bacco, that of 1 medium length tobacco and that or: short tobacco and dustand manufacturers of cigarettes endeavor to maintain thisratio.

-However,it isnot' always possible with the type of tobacco feeds-now used on cigarette amaking machines to obtain theproportions of these conastituents required'for satisfactory cigarettes. .Due to the breakage of the shreds. by. the 1 card cloth- "ing of the feed drum an'drefuser drum, the ac- =cumulation of shorts in the-bottom :of 11711610- *bacco feed "and other -reasonsfthereimay :be :con- =siderablevariation in the proportions ofithevari- -ous constituents of the shreddedtobacoo delivered from the tobacco feed to the cigarette making "machine.

In the usual methods of cigarette manufacture, tobacco in very long shreds of :varying length, as it comes from the shredder, is fedabetween carded rolls toa picker roll and is again fed to another picker'roll irom whichiitiis. delivered to the cigarette-maker. This resultsin *breaking up of the ver-y'long tobaccointovarious lengths of shreds, and by running :thecard irolls andpicker rollsat certain speeds it iS"pOSsib1eJtO --produce cigarettes having-somewhat the proportions of long, medium and short tobacco desired. "This is however amatter 'of considerable uncertainty, because of the-variationsin the original lengths of the shreds and variation .in shred breakage and also because of loss of shorts through thebottom of the "tobacco feed, and "is also affected greatly by changes in-moisture content of the tobacco. Iproposeto-"controlthese "proportions more exactly.

The proportions of longpmedium and short tolbacoo may 'vary widely in accordance with the type ofcigarette-being made and the types of tobacco used. Assone =example=of what is "meant .2 by long, medium and :short tobacco, :it ;1mayc:b. 'stated that the shredded itobacco mayi'be .separatedinto "a portion which 1' will not pass through ya" z'millimeterrmesh screen5andcan be regarded as long tobacco, ma portion of which will-pass ithrough ra 2 :millimeter lmesh screen but "not afil :millimeter mesh screen :and may benrregardd "as medium .tobacco, and theiremainder will iipaS S through a :1 :niillimeter mesh screenand can :be .considered .as short tobacco and will 'consist tof shortsianddust.

One object :of my invention "therefore .is "to maintain more accurately :than hitherto oposi'siblein "cigarette: manufacture the ratio tbetween long, a medium and rshortitobacco, ronce ilthe de sirable proportions have "been established for .a ".given type of. cigarette.

Another: object 'of the invention. is to provideria novel method ifor feeding the irequired 1 prop-or- ?20 tions 0f.difierentxshredllengthsto the cigarette makingrmachi'ne. 'lshaveiprovided a su'itablesrap paratus:for'vthispurpose consisting of asseries-rof 'separatefeeders supplied with .rtobaccotshreds fdf diiferentllengths, each feeder xbeing rrarranged *to deliver "various lengths. of shredded tobaccoiinfthe desired proportions toraconveyorawhichifeeds the shredde'dtobaccoito thetfeed chu'teJof thetobacco Ifeed. The tobacco is showered :from the feed chute-on acigarette paper or web whichica'dvances thelayen ofitobacco so formed intoithe rod' former 0f the cigarette making machine wherein'tthe tobacco layer is shapedto. form. a cylindricali'toba'c- :co rod and the iedges: of the Ycigarette paper "are overlappe'cleand sealed to'formthe cigarettero'd. Thus cigaretes formedifrom the cigarette rod will :contain various lengths of 'shreds "in the 1 desired proportions.

'Therate at which the tobacco is ideliveredby the separate feeders Ftothe conveyor should :be ":varied to obtain the :desiredproportion of shre'd lengths. Another :object, therefore, is to eontrol 'the rate :at which :shredded tobacco vis defilivered from the varioussfeeders'to obtainpredetermined proportions :of shred lengths in the tobacco delivered .to the cigarette making *machine.

To prepare the longer .shreds an apparatus i'o'f the :type' shown in the Rundell Patent 2,184,567 issued Deceniber 26,1939, may'beused. However "50 these shreds sand the shorter :shredsrmay =rbe1separated by screening or:by winnowing.

With these and :other objects .not speciflcaliy mentioned in :.view the' inven'tion tc'onsistsiinc-ceh tainrm'ethods .hereiirafterrdescribed rand iset'iforth win the:appendedmlaims.

j j v 2,570,270

In the accompanying drawing which forms a part of this specification and in which like characters of reference indicate the same or like parts:

The figure is an isometric view of a suitable form of apparatus for carrying out my novel tobacco feeding method.

Referring to the figure, it will be observed that my tobacco feeding apparatus may include the endless apron or conveyor I of a suitable tobacco feed. The apron I may be suitably supported by a roller 3 and a roller (not shown), the roller 3 being continuously driven by suitable mechanism (not shown) to advance the apron l with a layer or mat of shredded tobacco deposited thereon into a chute 5 which forms a part of the tobacco feed. The tobacco advanced into chute 5 drops upon a cigarette paper web or endless belt P running through a feed trough I0 forming a part of a continuous rod cigarette making machine of any suitable construction such as shown in the E. D. Smith Patent 1,090,889 issued MarchJZ l, 1914.

A series of tobacco feeders 28, 40, 60 and B0 are arranged to feed shredded tobacco to the apron I to form a continuous mat of shredded tobacco on the apron. Each of the feeders 20, 4B, 6!] and 80 may be a vibratory feed of a type shown in Patent 2,239,858 issued April 29, 1941, to- C. F.

Randolph. The feeder 26 consists of a vibratory deck 22 provided With an upright wall 24 enclosing three sides of the deck 22. The deck 22 is provided with'an extension 26 extending across the width of the apron l and having a diagonal edge 28 along one side thereof.

The deck 22 is supported by a rod 30 secured to a member (not shown) clamped on the mid-section of a series of flexible vibrator bars 32 whose ends are secured in a stationary frame 34. In the frame 34 is also supported an electromagnet 35 which may be connected by the wires 3! to a source of A. C. or pulsating electric current. An armature 38 is suitably supported on the midsection of the bars 32 whereby the armature will be periodically attracted to the electro-magnet 35 and then released to flex the bars 32. In this manner the supply of tobacco S on deck 22 will be vibrated obliquely to form a layer T of tobacco of uniform thickness which will be advanced off the deck 22 and along the extension 26 until it is delivered over the diagonal edge 28 upon the conveyor I. Since the construction of the mechanism for vibrating the deck 22 is similar to that shown in the Randolph Patent 2,239,858, further description thereof is deemed unnecessary. The deck 22 may be provided with a gate 39 which is adjustable vertically on the walls 24. By adjusting the gate 39- vertically to vary the size of the gap between the lower edge of the gate 39 and deck 22 the thickness of the layer of tobacco T advanced upon extension 26 may be varied, and thus the rate at which tobacco is delivered from feeder 20 to apron I may be regulated.

The construction of the feeders, 49, 60 and 88 is similar to feeder 20, and each of these feeders may be filled with a supply of shredded tobacco of different lengths. Feeders 40, 60 and 80 are provided with gates 59, 19 and 99 which may be adjusted vertically to vary the thickness of the tobacco layers advanced from the supplies of tobacco in these feeders upon the conveyor I. By appropriately regulating the positions of gates 39, 59, 19 and 99, the rates at which tobacco is delivered from the feeders may be controlled to obtain a mat M of shredded tobacco on the apron I. It will be understood that the rate at which tobacco is fed from the various feeders may be also be controlled by varying the amplitude of the vibration of the decks. For this purpose the amount of electric current supplied by wires 31 to electromagnet 35 may be varied by a rheostat, such as shown in Durnig Patent 2,306,380 issued December 29, 1942, or the amplitude of vibration may be regulated in any other suitable manner.

If the feeder is filled with a supply of shredded tobacco larger than 2 millimeter mesh, the feeder 60 with shredded tobacco smaller than 2 millimeter mesh but larger than 1 millimeter mesh, the feeder 40 with shredded tobacco smaller than 1 millimeter mesh but larger than millimeter mesh, and the feeder 2|] with tobacco dust finer than millimeter mesh, the rate at which tobacco is fed from the various feeders may be controlled to obtain the desired proportions of shred size.

If desired the feeder 20 may be supplied with suitable shredded blending tobacco, such as Latakia tobacco, instead of dust. By regulating the rate at which the blending tobacco is fed the desired blend of tobacco will be obtained.

In preparing the shredded tobacco for the feeders 20, 4B, 60 and 80 it may be shredded bya guillotine cutter of conventional construction, and the shreds may be screened to obtain the desired shred size. However the different lengths of shredded tobacco may be shredded in a standard tobacco shredding machine and then winnowed into different shred lengths. Moreover the shorts which drop from the bottom of a standard tobacco feed may be utilized.

It is desired that the longer shreds not exceed a predetermined maximum length which may be approximately 2 inches or greater. To prepare shreds which are not longer than the predetermined maximum length and will not pass through a 2 millimeter mesh screen a cross cutting apparatus similar to that disclosed in the Rundell Patent 2,184,567 may be used. In the portion of the constituents of a satisfactory cigarette which will not pass through a 2 millimeter mesh screen, shreds whose maximum length does not exceed two to three inches predominate. With the standard guillotine cutter now used for shredding cigarate tobacco various lengths of shreds including some greatly exceeding two or three inches in length will be produced. With the apparatus shown in Rundell Patent 2,184,567 shreds whose maximum length does not exceed two inches or other predetermined maximum length may be obtained, but it will be understood that shreds having a length not greater than 2 inches are preferable.

It will be noted that the shredded tobacco will be fed from the feeders 20, 40, Ml and 89 without substantially changing the lengths of the shreds, whereas with the carded feed drums and refuser drums used heretofore in tobacco feeds breakage of the tobacco shreds occurs. Moreover since the tobacco is delivered from the conveyor l to the chute Without picking off a picker roll by a pin roll, as is customary in tobacco feeds, breakage of the tobacco shreds will be avoided. Therefore substantially the same proportions of different shred lengths will be maintained in the cigarette rod formed in the cigarette making machine as are obtained by feeding of the shredded tobacco from the various feeders to the conveyor 1.

While I have described my invention in its preferred form, it will be understood that modifications may be made therein and that no limitations upon the invention are intended other than are imposed by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A process for making cigarettes comprising providing separate supplies of shredded tobacco of at least three different lengths, one supply containing relatively long shreds which will not pass through a mesh screen of one size, one supply containing shreds shorter than those in the above-mentioned supply but of a medium length which will not pass through a screen of a diiferent and smaller size, and one supply containing relatively short length shreds which will pass through a screen of a predetermined size smaller than the other two, feeding tobacco from each of said supplies in substantially predetermined proportions of said long shreds, medium length shreds and short shreds corresponding to the proportions present in cigarettes having good mechanical qualities to form composite superimposed streams of uniform width of shredded tobacco from the tobacco so fed from said supplies, and without substantially changing the length of the shreds, delivering the composite superimposed tobacco streams directly through a path unobstructed for the width of the composite streams, to a rod forming web of a cigarette making machine to form a cigarette rod having substantially the same proportions of different shred lengths as is fed from said supplies.

2. A process for making cigarettes comprising providing separate supplies of shredded tobacco of at least three different lengths, one supply containing relatively long shreds which will not pass through a mesh screen of one size, one supply containing shreds shorter than those in the abovementioned supply butof a medium length which will not pass through a screen of a diiferent and smaller size, and one supply containing relatively short length shreds which will pass through a screen of a predetermined size smaller than the other two, continuously feeding tobacco from each of said supplies, in substantially predetermined proportions of said long shreds, medium length shreds and short shreds corresponding to the proportions present in cigarettes having good mechanical qualities to form composite superimposed streams of uniform width of shredded tobacco from the tobacco so fed from said supplies and without substantially changing the length of the shreds, delivering the composite superimposed tobacco streams directly through a path unobstructed for the width of the composite streams, to a rod forming web of a cigarette making machine to form a cigarette rod having substantially the same proportions of different shred length as is fed from said supplies, and controlling the rate of feed from said supplies to obtain the proportions of the different shred lengths corresponding to the proportions determined in the cigarette having good mechanical qualities.

3. A process for making cigarettes comprising providing separate supplies of shredded tobacco of at least three different lengths, one supply containing relatively long shreds which will not pass through a mesh screen of one size, one supply containing shreds shorter than those in the above mentioned supply but of a medium length which will not pass through a screen of a diflerent and smaller size, and one supply containing relatively short length shreds which will pass through a screen of a predetermined size smaller than the other two, mechanically feeding tobacco from each of said supplies, in substantially predetermined portions of said long shreds, medium length shreds and short shreds corresponding to the proportions present in cigarettes having good mechanical qualities to form composite superimposed streamsof uniformwidth of shredded tobacco from the tobacco so fed from said supplies and without substantially changing the length of the shreds, delivering the composite superimposed tobacco streams directly through a path unobstructed for the width of the composite streams to a rod forming web of a cigarete making machine to form a cigarette rod having substantially the same proportions of different shred lengths as is fed from said supplies, and mechanically controlling the rate of feed from said supplies to obtain the proportions of the different shred lengths corresponding to the proportions determined in the cigarette having good mechanical qualities.

MOREHEAD PATTERSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the

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