EP0345477B1 - Method and apparatus for making pieces of tobacco sheets from reconstituted tobacco - Google Patents

Method and apparatus for making pieces of tobacco sheets from reconstituted tobacco Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0345477B1
EP0345477B1 EP89108420A EP89108420A EP0345477B1 EP 0345477 B1 EP0345477 B1 EP 0345477B1 EP 89108420 A EP89108420 A EP 89108420A EP 89108420 A EP89108420 A EP 89108420A EP 0345477 B1 EP0345477 B1 EP 0345477B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
tobacco
rolls
sheet
extruder
pieces
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EP89108420A
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German (de)
French (fr)
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EP0345477A3 (en
EP0345477A2 (en
Inventor
Erhard Dr. Dipl.-Ing. Rittershaus
Hartwig Dipl.-Ing. Sibbers
Wilfried Dr. Dipl.-Ing. Stiller
Arno Dipl.-Ing. Weiss
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British American Tobacco Germany GmbH
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British American Tobacco Germany GmbH
BAT Cigarettenfabriken GmbH
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    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
    • A24B—MANUFACTURE OR PREPARATION OF TOBACCO FOR SMOKING OR CHEWING; TOBACCO; SNUFF
    • A24B3/00—Preparing tobacco in the factory
    • A24B3/14—Forming reconstituted tobacco products, e.g. wrapper materials, sheets, imitation leaves, rods, cakes; Forms of such products

Definitions

  • the invention relates to a method for producing tobacco foil pieces from reprocessed tobacco of the type specified in the preamble of claim 1 and a device for producing tobacco foil pieces from reprocessed tobacco of the type specified in the preamble of claim 6.
  • the grain size of the starting material must, for example, be chosen so that practically no particle is larger than the gap width of the slot die, otherwise it would jam in the gap and act as a germ for a blockage of the nozzle.
  • the filling capacity of the tobacco film depends crucially on the smallest possible thickness corresponding to a small nozzle gap width, the entire tobacco starting material must be ground and then sieved.
  • a method and a device for producing tobacco foil pieces from reprocessed tobacco of the type specified are finally known from DE-PS 33 39 247.
  • Dust-like tobacco waste and / or tobacco flour with binders and optionally additives are processed to a plastifiable mixture which is extruded into individual, strand-like intermediate products.
  • These strand-like intermediate products are then processed into pieces of film by forming a cylindrical strand from the plasticized mixture in an extruder into a thin-walled, continuously expanding hollow body and dividing it into thread-like, crimping intermediate products; the thread-like, crimped intermediate products are then separated into individual, crimped fiber pieces.
  • the invention is therefore based on the object of providing a method and a device for producing pieces of tobacco foil from refurbished tobacco of the type specified, in which the disadvantages mentioned above do not occur.
  • a method and a device which enable the manufacture of tobacco foil pieces in a structurally simple manner enable, with particularly low requirements being placed on the quality of the starting material, so that, for example, dust-like tobacco waste which arises in the manufacture of cigarettes can be processed into film without further pretreatment.
  • the advantages achieved with the invention are based on the following mode of operation:
  • the individual starting components namely dust and / or flour from tobacco parts, in particular tobacco waste, binders, in particular starch, CMC, vegetable gum, pectin or other conventional film binders, and further additives, in particular taste improvers, fire modifiers etc., are dry mixed together in the usual manner;
  • the liquid components are added, namely water, humectant, sugar syrup etc.
  • This free-flowing starting material due to the low water content of 16-20% by weight is mixed intensively with one another and then in an extruder at temperatures from 90 ° C to 120 ° C and pressures plasticized from 50 to 100 bar.
  • the plasticized mass produced in this way is then divided into several cylindrical strands with a diameter of 2 to 7 mm, in particular with a diameter of 3 to 5 mm, by the extruder nozzle. It is important that the distribution of the starting material among the different strands is carried out over flow paths of exactly the same length, so that the same flow velocity of the individual strands is achieved via the identical pressure losses that occur. The division must be carried out in pairs, so that a total of an even number, as represented by a power of 2, arises.
  • This band has a width of 10 to 100 mm, preferably 20 to 50 mm; the value used should be selected so that the strip width corresponds to the narrower edge length of the finished, rectangular piece of film.
  • the rolling together of the two adjacent strands into a single film strip can be carried out in one step and therefore requires only a small outlay on equipment; since the circumferential roller speed is relatively high, only a low torque and therefore a low motor power is required. This has to be compared with the previously extremely complex calender rolling mills.
  • a simply constructed rolling mill can be used, such as is used, for example, as a roller mill for crushing brittle materials and is available in many different, inexpensive embodiments.
  • the rollers are pressed together by threaded spindles to a gap thickness of 0 mm, the counterforce being generated by a plate spring assembly.
  • the film thickness is then adjusted to a value of 0.1 to 0.25 mm, in particular 0.18 to 0.22 mm, by means of a balance of spring force and the deformation resistance which results from the rheological properties of the plasticized tobacco mass.
  • the speed of the rollers is adjusted as a function of and in adaptation to the extrusion speed of the extruder so that continuous film strips are produced. It has proven to be expedient if the two rollers have different speeds, since the film strip then sticks to the faster roller and can be easily removed there. In this way it is avoided that the film strip can stick to both rollers and is thereby torn.
  • the surface of the two rollers should be hardened and borated or hard metal coated.
  • the surfaces of the rollers can be sprayed with water and / or steam as a release agent.
  • the two rollers stand on a displaceable frame which can be pushed back and forth by an eccentric drive, expediently in a continuous back and forth movement, so that the strands emitted by the extruder nozzle are distributed uniformly over the entire surface of the rollers and thereby the surface wear spread over the entire roller surface.
  • the film belts leaving the nip are pulled off by a speed-adjustable conveyor belt at the same speed in each case and then cut into pieces of 10 to 100 mm, preferably 30 to 50 mm, in length.
  • the film strips are sucked together with the ambient air through a cross cutting device, cut transversely and then pneumatically transported on.
  • a "lawn mower-like" cross cutting device which can simultaneously cut several foil strips into pieces of the desired length, the cutting length being adjustable via the speed of the cutting device.
  • the film pieces no longer need to be dried; However, the pieces of film are expediently cooled to room temperature in order to avoid the formation of condensation water during storage.
  • a container 12 for water a container 14 for binders, namely starch, CMC, vegetable gum, pectin or other conventional film binders, a container 16 for dust and / or flour from tobacco parts, in particular tobacco waste, a container 18 for additives such as taste improvers, fire modifiers, etc., and finally a container 20 for a humectant , Sugar syrup or other liquid components.
  • a container 12 for water a container 14 for binders, namely starch, CMC, vegetable gum, pectin or other conventional film binders
  • a container 16 for dust and / or flour from tobacco parts in particular tobacco waste
  • a container 18 for additives such as taste improvers, fire modifiers, etc.
  • a container 20 for a humectant a humectant , Sugar syrup or other liquid components.
  • the dry components from the containers 14 to 18 are premixed in a mixer 22, to which the liquid components from the containers 12 and 20 are then fed, so that the entire raw raw material can be mixed thoroughly.
  • the mixed raw raw material is fed to an extruder 24, which the raw raw material at temperatures from 90 ° C to 120 ° C. and pressures of 50 to 100 bar kneaded and thereby plasticized.
  • the plasticized mass from the extruder 24 is divided by the schematically indicated extrusion nozzle 26 into a plurality of cylindrical strands with a diameter of 2 to 7 mm, in particular with a diameter of 3 to 5 mm. It is important that the mass is divided over flow paths of exactly the same length, so that the individual strands have the same flow velocity due to the same pressure losses. This in turn means that the individual strands produced simultaneously are mechanically / geometrically identical.
  • Fig. 2 This basic principle is shown in Fig. 2;
  • the plasticized tobacco mass located at point X of the extruder 24 is, as can be seen from FIG. 2, divided into two flow paths of equal length, which in turn are divided into two further flow paths A or B and C or D, so that the strands A, B on the one hand and C, D on the other hand are each mechanically / geometrically identical.
  • the distance from the inlet X to the outlet channel A1 of the extruder nozzle 26 is equal to the flow path from the inlet X to the outlet channel A2.
  • exit channels A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2, D1 and D2 are also identical to one another. That is, for example, the strand on the outlet channel C1 is identical to the strand on the outlet channel D2.
  • All exit strands can have a cylindrical shape, ie exit channels with a circular cross-section that can be produced inexpensively are used in each case.
  • the cylindrical strands from the different outlet channels of the extrusion nozzle 26 are each rolled out in pairs to form foil strips, two adjacent strands, for example the strands from the extrusion channels A1 and A2, being rolled together to form a foil strip.
  • the corresponding rolling mill is indicated schematically at 28.
  • the two rolls 28a, 28b of this rolling mill 28 have a diameter of 250 mm and a width of 150 mm and run at a speed of 3 m / s.
  • the two rollers 28a, 28b are first pressed together to a gap thickness of 0 mm by means of a threaded spindle (not shown).
  • the counterforce is generated by a plate spring assembly (not shown).
  • the film thickness is adjusted via a balance of spring force and deformation resistance of the plasticized tobacco material to a value of 0.1 to 0.25 mm, in particular 0.18 to 0.22 mm.
  • the roller speed is set so that 24 continuous film strips result in adaptation to the output power of the extruder.
  • the surfaces of the two rollers 28a, 28b are hardened and borated or else provided with a hard metal coating. They are sprayed with water and / or steam as a release agent in order to facilitate the final separation of the film strips from the rollers 28a, 28b.
  • the rolling mill 28 stands on a displaceable frame and is pushed back and forth in the axial direction by an eccentric drive, so that the film strips come into contact with different places on the roll surfaces one after the other and the surface wear is thereby distributed over the entire roll surface.
  • the film strips produced in the rolling mill 28 have a width of 10 to 100 mm, in particular 20 to 50 mm, so that the strip width corresponds to the narrower edge length of the rectangular pieces of film to be explained.
  • the two rollers 28a, 28b have slightly different speeds, so that the film strips adhere to the faster roller and thereby prevent the film strips from being torn between the two rollers 28a, 28b.
  • the roller 28a runs somewhat faster, so that the film strips pulled off in the direction of the arrow are carried along by this roller and then placed on a speed-adjustable conveyor belt 30.
  • the device 10 according to FIG. 1 simultaneously produces a plurality of film strips with the desired width. If, for example, the extruder nozzle 26 according to FIG. 2 is used for the production of a total of eight cylindrical strands, four foil strips can be rolled out simultaneously.
  • the tobacco foils are fed from the conveyor belt 30 to a cross cutting device 32, which cuts the belts into pieces with a length of 10 to 100 mm, in particular 30 to 50 mm. Because of the high transport speeds of the film strips, the usual cross cutting devices, such as knives, are not suitable for this separation, so that instead a lawn mower-like cross cutting device 32 is used, the construction of which can be seen in FIG. 3.
  • the cross cutting device 32 has a cylindrical housing 34 in which two rotor disks 38 are rotatably mounted.
  • the right-hand rotor disk 38 as shown in FIG. 3 is connected to a rotor shaft 36 which can be rotated in the direction of the arrow by means of a drive device (not shown) and thereby also rotates the other rotor disk.
  • the two rotor disks 38 are connected to one another by obliquely running cutting strips 40, which act on the rotation of the two rotor disks 38 can be taken.
  • a fixed cutting bar 42 is located on the bottom of the housing 34.
  • the film strips supplied by the conveyor belt 30 are pneumatically sucked into the opening slot of the housing 34 and transported through the housing 34, whereby they are guided over the fixed cutting bar 42.
  • the individual cutting strips 40 are moved past the fixed cutting strip 42 and separate tobacco foil pieces, the lengths of which depend on the conveying speed of the foil strip on the one hand and the rotational speed of the rotor discs 38 and thus the cutting strips 40 on the other hand. With the appropriate setting, pieces of tobacco foil of the desired length can be produced.

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  • Manufacture Of Tobacco Products (AREA)

Description

Die Erfindung betrifft ein Verfahren zur Herstellung von Tabakfolienstücken aus wiederaufbereitetem Tabak der im Oberbegriff des Anspruchs 1 angegebenen Gattung sowie eine Vorrichtung zur Herstellung von Tabakfolienstücken aus wiederaufbereitetem Tabak der im Oberbegriff des Anspruchs 6 angegebenen Gattung.The invention relates to a method for producing tobacco foil pieces from reprocessed tobacco of the type specified in the preamble of claim 1 and a device for producing tobacco foil pieces from reprocessed tobacco of the type specified in the preamble of claim 6.

Bei der Herstellung von Tabakfolienstücken aus staubförmigen Tabakabfällen und/oder Tabak-Mehl ist es bekannt, aus diesen Ausgangsmaterialien ein geschäumtes Produkt zu extrudieren, siehe DE-OS 25 15 496, DE-OS 33 11 886 und EP-OS 113 595. Nachteilig ist hierbei der relativ hohe Bedarf an Bindemitteln, insbesondere Stärke, die sensorische Probleme bereiten. Außerdem ist das oft verwendete Additiv Hydroxy-Propyl/Ethyl-Zellulose in einer Reihe von Ländern nicht zugelassen. Und schließlich ist ein großer apparativer Aufwand erforderlich, wenn, wie nach der DE-OS 2 515 496, inerte Gase zur Erhöhung der Expansion eingedüst werden.In the manufacture of tobacco foil pieces from dust-like tobacco waste and / or tobacco flour, it is known to extrude a foamed product from these starting materials, see DE-OS 25 15 496, DE-OS 33 11 886 and EP-OS 113 595. A disadvantage is the relatively high need for binders, especially starch, which cause sensory problems. In addition, the often used additive hydroxypropyl / ethyl cellulose is not approved in a number of countries. And finally, a large expenditure on equipment is required if, as in DE-OS 2 515 496, inert gases are injected to increase the expansion.

Weiterhin wird in der US-PS 30 98 492 und der DE-OS 2 804 772 die Extrusion einer Folie mittels einer Breitschlitzdüse beschrieben; eine solche Breitschlitzdüse ist jedoch aufwendig und teuer.Furthermore, the extrusion of a film by means of a slot die is described in US Pat. No. 3,098,492 and DE-OS 2 804 772; such a slot die however, is complex and expensive.

Wegen der Verstopfungsgefahr einer solchen Breitschlitzdüse müssen erhebliche Anforderungen an das Tabakausgangsmaterial gestellt werden.Because of the risk of blockage of such a slot die, considerable demands must be placed on the tobacco raw material.

Die Korngröße des Ausgangsmaterials muß bspw. so gewählt werden, daß praktisch kein Partikel größer als die Spaltbreite der Breitschlitzdüse ist, anderenfalls würde es im Spalt verklemmen und als Keim für eine Verstopfung der Düse wirken.The grain size of the starting material must, for example, be chosen so that practically no particle is larger than the gap width of the slot die, otherwise it would jam in the gap and act as a germ for a blockage of the nozzle.

Da andererseits die Füllfähigkeit der Tabakfolie entscheidend von einer möglichst geringen Dicke entsprechend einer kleinen Düsenspaltbreite abhängt, muß das gesamte Tabakausgangsmaterial gemahlen und anschließend gesiebt werden.On the other hand, since the filling capacity of the tobacco film depends crucially on the smallest possible thickness corresponding to a small nozzle gap width, the entire tobacco starting material must be ground and then sieved.

Außerdem ist die Herstellung einer Folie durch Extrusion des Ausgangsmaterials mittels einer Breitschlitzdüse in einen Walzenspalt bekannt, siehe US-PS 30 98 492, DE-OS 28 04 772 und GB-PS 14 59 218. Auch hierbei ergeben sich die oben erwähnten Nachteile der aufwendigen Breitschlitzdüse; außerdem laufen die den Spalt bildenden Walzen nur langsam, so daß ein hohes Drehmoment erforderlich ist, was zu großer Beanspruchung der Walzenkonstruktion bei relativ geringem Durchsatz führt. Eine Erhöhung des Durchsatzes kann nur durch eine Vergrößerung der Walzenbreite erreicht werden; hierzu sind wiederum eine extrem große Breitschlitzdüse, ein stabiler Walzenaufbau und eine große Walzendicke erforderlich, um die Durchbiegung zu minimieren. Außerdem muß in der Regel ein Mehrfach-Kalander eingesetzt werden, weil ein einziger Umformungsschritt nicht für die Erzielung der geforderten Dicke ausreicht.In addition, the production of a film by extrusion of the starting material by means of a slot die into a roll nip is known, see US Pat. No. 3,098,492, German Offenlegungsschrift No. 28 04 772 and GB Pat. No. 14 59 218. Here too, the disadvantages of the elaborate mentioned arise Slot die; in addition, the rolls forming the gap run only slowly, so that a high torque is required, which leads to great stress on the roll construction with a relatively low throughput. An increase in throughput can only be achieved by increasing the roll width; this in turn requires an extremely large slot die, a stable roll structure and a large roll thickness in order to minimize deflection. In addition, a multiple calender must usually be used because a single forming step is not sufficient to achieve the required thickness.

Weiterhin ist es bekannt, Tabakfolien mittels Walzen herzustellen, siehe DE-OS 31 04 098, DE-PS 20 55 672, DE-PS 24 21 652 und DE-PS 32 24 416 sowie GB-PS 1 459 218. Hierzu muß jedoch eine extrem starke Befeuchtung des Ausgangsmaterials im Bereich von 30 bis 50 % vorgenommen werden, so daß eine anschließende Trocknung erforderlich wird.Furthermore, it is known to produce tobacco films by means of rollers, see DE-OS 31 04 098, DE-PS 20 55 672, DE-PS 24 21 652 and DE-PS 32 24 416 and GB-PS 1 459 218. However, one must do this extremely strong humidification of the starting material in the range of 30 to 50%, so that a subsequent drying is required.

Dies erhöht wiederum den verfahrenstechnischen Aufwand. Außerdem werden hier häufig unerwünschte organische Lösungsmittel eingesetzt, z.B. Methylenchlorid; und schließlich ist in der Regel ein mehrstufiges Walzwerk bzw. ein Kalander erforderlich.This in turn increases the process engineering effort. In addition, undesirable organic solvents are often used here, e.g. Methylene chloride; and finally a multi-stage rolling mill or calender is usually required.

Ein Verfahren und eine Vorrichtung zur Herstellung von Tabakfolienstücken aus wiederaufbereitetem Tabak der angegebenen Gattung sind schließlich aus der DE-PS 33 39 247 bekannt. Dabei werden staubförmige Tabakabfälle und/oder Tabak-Mehl mit Bindemitteln und gegebenenfalls Additiven zu einem plastifizierbaren Gemisch verarbeitet, das zu einzelnen, strangförmigen Zwischenprodukten extrudiert wird. Diese strangförmigen Zwischenprodukte werden dann zu Folienstücken verarbeitet, indem ein zylindrischer Strang aus dem plastifizierten Gemisch in einem Extruder zu einem dünnwandigen, sich kontinuierlich erweiternden Hohlkörper umgeformt und in fadenförmige, sich kräuselnde Zwischenprodukte aufgeteilt wird; die fadenförmigen, gekräuselten Zwischenprodukte werden dann zu einzelnen, gekräuselten Faserstücken zertrennt.A method and a device for producing tobacco foil pieces from reprocessed tobacco of the type specified are finally known from DE-PS 33 39 247. Dust-like tobacco waste and / or tobacco flour with binders and optionally additives are processed to a plastifiable mixture which is extruded into individual, strand-like intermediate products. These strand-like intermediate products are then processed into pieces of film by forming a cylindrical strand from the plasticized mixture in an extruder into a thin-walled, continuously expanding hollow body and dividing it into thread-like, crimping intermediate products; the thread-like, crimped intermediate products are then separated into individual, crimped fiber pieces.

Nachteilig ist hierbei, daß diese gekräuselten Faserstücke nur separat mittels einer eigenen Dosiervorrichtung der Tabakvorbereitung während der Schnittabak-Herstellung zugesetzt werden können; hierzu ist ein relativ hoher apparativer Aufwand mit einer entsprechenden Kartonentleervorrichtung, einem Zusetzer, einer Bandwaage usw. erforderlich, da jeweils nur genau definierte Mengen dieser gekräuselten Faserstücke, bezogen auf die gesamte, zu verarbeitende Tabakmenge, zudosiert werden dürfen.The disadvantage here is that these crimped fiber pieces can only be added separately to the tobacco preparation during cutting tobacco production by means of a separate metering device; This requires a relatively high outlay in terms of apparatus with a corresponding carton emptying device, a filler, a belt scale, etc., since only precisely defined amounts of these crimped fiber pieces, based on the total amount of tobacco to be processed, may be metered in.

Der Erfindung liegt deshalb die Aufgabe zugrunde, ein Verfahren und eine Vorrichtung zur Herstellung von Tabakfolienstücken aus wiederaufbereitetem Tabak der angegebenen Gattung zu schaffen, bei denen die oben erwähnten Nachteile nicht auftreten.The invention is therefore based on the object of providing a method and a device for producing pieces of tobacco foil from refurbished tobacco of the type specified, in which the disadvantages mentioned above do not occur.

Insbesondere sollen ein Verfahren und eine Vorrichtung vorgeschlagen werden, die auf konstruktiv einfache Weise die Herstellung von Tabakfolienstücken ermöglichen, wobei besonders geringe Anforderungen an die Beschaffenheit des Ausgangsmaterials gestellt werden, so daß bspw. staubförmiger Tabakabfall, der in der Cigarettenherstellung anfällt, ohne weitere Vorbehandlung zu Folie verarbeitet werden kann.In particular, a method and a device are to be proposed which enable the manufacture of tobacco foil pieces in a structurally simple manner enable, with particularly low requirements being placed on the quality of the starting material, so that, for example, dust-like tobacco waste which arises in the manufacture of cigarettes can be processed into film without further pretreatment.

Dies wird erfindungsgemäß durch die in den kennzeichnenden Teilen der Ansprüche 1 bzw. 6 angegebenen Merkmale erreicht.This is achieved according to the invention by the features specified in the characterizing parts of claims 1 and 6, respectively.

Zweckmäßige Ausführungsformen werden durch die Merkmale der entsprechenden Unteransprüche definiert.Expedient embodiments are defined by the features of the corresponding subclaims.

Die mit der Erfindung erzielten Vorteile beruhen auf folgender Funktionsweise: Die einzelnen Ausgangskomponenten, nämlich Staub und/oder Mehl aus Tabakteilen, insbesondere Tabakabfällen, Bindemittel, insbesondere Stärke, CMC, Pflanzengummi, Pektin oder andere übliche Folienbindemittel, sowie weitere Additive, insbesondere Geschmacksverbesserer, Brandmodifizierer usw., werden trocken in der üblichen Weise miteinander vermischt; dann werden die flüssigen Komponenten zugegeben, nämlich Wasser, Feuchthaltemittel, Zuckersirup usw. Dieses aufgrund des geringen Wassergehaltes von 16 - 20 Gew.% rieselfähige Ausgangsmaterial wird intensiv miteinander vermischt und dann in einem Extruder bei Temperaturen von 90°C bis 120°C und Drücken von 50 bis 100 Bar plastifiziert.The advantages achieved with the invention are based on the following mode of operation: The individual starting components, namely dust and / or flour from tobacco parts, in particular tobacco waste, binders, in particular starch, CMC, vegetable gum, pectin or other conventional film binders, and further additives, in particular taste improvers, fire modifiers etc., are dry mixed together in the usual manner; Then the liquid components are added, namely water, humectant, sugar syrup etc. This free-flowing starting material due to the low water content of 16-20% by weight is mixed intensively with one another and then in an extruder at temperatures from 90 ° C to 120 ° C and pressures plasticized from 50 to 100 bar.

Die so hergestellte, plastifizierte Masse wird nun von der Extruderdüse in mehrere zylindrische Stränge mit einem Durchmesser von 2 bis 7 mm, insbesondere mit einem Durchmesser von 3 bis 5 mm, aufgeteilt. Dabei ist wichtig, daß die Aufteilung des Ausgangsmaterials auf die verschiedenen Stränge über exakt gleich lange Fließwege erfolgt, damit über die dabei auftretenden, identischen Druckverluste die gleiche Strömungsgeschwindigkeit der einzelnen Stränge erzielt wird. Dabei muß die Aufteilung jeweils paarweise erfolgen, so daß insgesamt eine geradzahlige, als durch eine Potenz von 2 darstellbare, Zahl von Strängen entsteht.The plasticized mass produced in this way is then divided into several cylindrical strands with a diameter of 2 to 7 mm, in particular with a diameter of 3 to 5 mm, by the extruder nozzle. It is important that the distribution of the starting material among the different strands is carried out over flow paths of exactly the same length, so that the same flow velocity of the individual strands is achieved via the identical pressure losses that occur. The division must be carried out in pairs, so that a total of an even number, as represented by a power of 2, arises.

Durch diese verfahrenstechnischen Maßnahmen wird sichergestellt, daß jedes nebeneinanderliegende, gleichzeitig gefertigte Paar von Strängen mechanisch/geometrisch identisch ist.These procedural measures ensure that each adjacent, simultaneously manufactured pair of strands is mechanically / geometrically identical.

Die verschiedenen zylindrischen Stränge werden dann gemeinsam zu Folienbändern ausgewalzt, wobei jeweils zwei nebeneinanderliegende, wie erwähnt mechanisch/geometrisch identische Stränge zu einem einzigen Folien-Band/Streifen zusammengewalzt werden. Dieses Band hat eine Breite von 10 bis 100 mm, vorzugsweise von 20 bis 50 mm; der benutzte Wert sollte so ausgewählt werden, daß die Streifenbreite der schmaleren Kantenlänge des fertigen, rechteckigen Folienstücks entspricht.The various cylindrical strands are then rolled out together to form foil strips, two adjacent strands, which, as mentioned, are mechanically / geometrically identical, being rolled together to form a single foil strip / strip. This band has a width of 10 to 100 mm, preferably 20 to 50 mm; the value used should be selected so that the strip width corresponds to the narrower edge length of the finished, rectangular piece of film.

Das Zusammenwalzen der beiden benachbarten Stränge zu einem einzigen Folienband kann einstufig erfolgen und erfordert deshalb nur einen geringen apparativen Aufwand; da die Walzenumfangsgeschwindigkeit relativ hoch ist, wird nur ein geringes Drehmoment und damit eine geringe Motorleistung benötigt. Dies muß mit den bisher üblichen, extrem aufwendigen Kalander-Walzwerken verglichen werden.The rolling together of the two adjacent strands into a single film strip can be carried out in one step and therefore requires only a small outlay on equipment; since the circumferential roller speed is relatively high, only a low torque and therefore a low motor power is required. This has to be compared with the previously extremely complex calender rolling mills.

Da an die Abmessungen der Folienbänder keine extrem hohen Anforderungen gestellt werden, läßt sich ein einfach aufgebautes Walzwerk verwenden, wie es beispielsweise als Walzenmühle für das Zerkleinern von spröden Materialien eingesetzt wird und in vielen verschiedenen, günstig zu kaufenden Ausführungsformen erhältlich ist. Die Walzen werden durch Gewindespindeln auf eine Spaltdicke von 0 mm zusammengepreßt, wobei die Gegenkraft durch ein Tellerfederpaket erzeugt wird. Die Einstellung der Foliendicke erfolgt dann über ein Gleichgewicht aus Federkraft und dem Verformungswiderstand, der aus den rheologischen Eigenschaften der plastifizierten Tabakmasse resultiert, auf einen Wert von 0,1 bis 0,25 mm, insbesondere 0,18 bis 0,22 mm.Since there are no extremely high demands on the dimensions of the film strips, a simply constructed rolling mill can be used, such as is used, for example, as a roller mill for crushing brittle materials and is available in many different, inexpensive embodiments. The rollers are pressed together by threaded spindles to a gap thickness of 0 mm, the counterforce being generated by a plate spring assembly. The film thickness is then adjusted to a value of 0.1 to 0.25 mm, in particular 0.18 to 0.22 mm, by means of a balance of spring force and the deformation resistance which results from the rheological properties of the plasticized tobacco mass.

Die Drehzahl der Walzen wird in Abhängigkeit der und in Anpassung an die Extrusionsgeschwindigkeit des Extruders so eingestellt, daß kontinuierliche Folienbänder erzeugt werden. Es hat sich als zweckmäßig herausgestellt, wenn die beiden Walzen unterschiedliche Drehzahlen haben, da dann das Folienband an der schnelleren Walze klebt und sich dort problemlos abziehen läßt. Auf diese Weise wird vermieden, daß das Folienband an beiden Walzen kleben kann und dadurch zerrissen wird.The speed of the rollers is adjusted as a function of and in adaptation to the extrusion speed of the extruder so that continuous film strips are produced. It has proven to be expedient if the two rollers have different speeds, since the film strip then sticks to the faster roller and can be easily removed there. In this way it is avoided that the film strip can stick to both rollers and is thereby torn.

Die Oberfläche der beiden Walzen sollte gehärtet und boriert oder hartmetallbeschichtet sein.The surface of the two rollers should be hardened and borated or hard metal coated.

Um die Trennung der Folienbänder von den Walzen zu unterstützen, können die Oberflächen der Walzen mit Wasser und/oder Dampf als Trennmittel besprüht werden.In order to support the separation of the film strips from the rollers, the surfaces of the rollers can be sprayed with water and / or steam as a release agent.

Für das Zusammenwalzen der verschiedenen Strang-Paare ist nur ein einziges Walzenpaar erforderlich, das die hierfür benötigte Länge hat. Auch dies trägt zu dem angestrebten geringen apparativen Aufwand bei.For the rolling together of the different pairs of strands, only a single pair of rollers is required, which has the required length. This also contributes to the desired low expenditure on equipment.

Die beiden Walzen stehen auf einem verschiebbaren Gestell, das durch einen Exzenterantrieb hin- und hergeschoben werden kann, zweckmäßigerweise in einer kontinuierlichen Hin- und Herbewegung, so daß die von der Extruderdüse ausgegebenen Stränge gleichmäßig über die gesamte Oberfläche der Walzen verteilt werden und dadurch den Oberflächenverschleiß auf die gesamte Walzenfläche verteilen.The two rollers stand on a displaceable frame which can be pushed back and forth by an eccentric drive, expediently in a continuous back and forth movement, so that the strands emitted by the extruder nozzle are distributed uniformly over the entire surface of the rollers and thereby the surface wear spread over the entire roller surface.

Die den Walzenspalt verlassenden Folienbänder werden durch ein drehzahlregelbares Förderband mit jeweils gleicher Geschwindigkeit abgezogen und anschließend in Stücke von 10 bis 100 mm, vorzugsweise 30 bis 50 mm, Länge zerschnitten. Zu diesem Zweck werden die Folienstreifen gemeinsam mit der Umgebungsluft durch eine Querschneideeinrichtung gesaugt, quer geschnitten und anschließend pneumatisch weitertransportiert.The film belts leaving the nip are pulled off by a speed-adjustable conveyor belt at the same speed in each case and then cut into pieces of 10 to 100 mm, preferably 30 to 50 mm, in length. For this purpose, the film strips are sucked together with the ambient air through a cross cutting device, cut transversely and then pneumatically transported on.

Hierbei wird eine "rasenmäherähnliche" Querschneideeinrichtung eingesetzt, die gleichzeitig mehrere Folienbänder in Stücke der gewünschten Länge zerschneiden kann, wobei sich die Schneidlänge über die Drehzahl der Schneideinrichtung regulieren läßt.Here, a "lawn mower-like" cross cutting device is used, which can simultaneously cut several foil strips into pieces of the desired length, the cutting length being adjustable via the speed of the cutting device.

Bei entsprechender Feuchte der Ausgangs-Masse ist keine Trocknung der Folienstücke mehr erforderlich; zweckmäßigerweise werden jedoch die Folienstücke auf Raumtemperatur gekühlt, um die Ausbildung von Kondenswasser bei der Lagerung zu vermeiden.If the initial mass is suitably moist, the film pieces no longer need to be dried; However, the pieces of film are expediently cooled to room temperature in order to avoid the formation of condensation water during storage.

Die Erfindung wird im folgenden anhand von Ausführungsbeispielen unter Bezugnahme auf die beiliegenden, schematischen Zeichnungen näher erläutert. Es zeigen:

Fig. 1
eine Schemadarstellung der verschiedenen Komponenten einer Vorrichtung zur Herstellung von Tabakfolienstücken aus wiederaufbereitetem Tabak,
Fig. 2
das Fließschema der Extruderdüse, und
Fig. 3
eine perspektivische Ansicht der Querschneideeinrichtung.
The invention is explained in more detail below on the basis of exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings. Show it:
Fig. 1
1 shows a schematic representation of the various components of a device for producing pieces of tobacco foil from reprocessed tobacco,
Fig. 2
the flow diagram of the extruder nozzle, and
Fig. 3
a perspective view of the cross cutting device.

Die aus Fig. 1 ersichtliche, allgemein durch das Bezugszeichen 10 angedeutete Vorrichtung zum Herstellen von Tabakfolienstücken aus wiederaufbereitetem Tabak weist mehrere Behälter 12, 14, 16 18, 20 mit den Ausgangsmaterialien auf, nämlich einen Behälter 12 für Wasser, einen Behälter 14 für Bindemittel, nämlich Stärke, CMC, Pflanzengummi, Pektin oder andere übliche Folienbindemittel, einen Behälter 16 für Staub und/oder Mehl aus Tabakteilen, insbesondere Tabakabfällen, einen Behälter 18 für Additive, wie beispielsweise Geschmacksverbesserer, Brandmodifizierer usw., und schließlich einen Behälter 20 für ein Feuchthaltemittel, Zuckersirup oder andere flüssige Komponenten.1, generally indicated by the reference numeral 10, for producing tobacco foil pieces from recycled tobacco has a plurality of containers 12, 14, 16 18, 20 with the starting materials, namely a container 12 for water, a container 14 for binders, namely starch, CMC, vegetable gum, pectin or other conventional film binders, a container 16 for dust and / or flour from tobacco parts, in particular tobacco waste, a container 18 for additives such as taste improvers, fire modifiers, etc., and finally a container 20 for a humectant , Sugar syrup or other liquid components.

Zunächst werden die trockenen Komponenten aus den Behältern 14 bis 18 in einem Mischer 22 vorgemischt, dem dann die flüssigen Komponenten aus den Behältern 12 und 20 zugeführt werden, so daß die gesamte Ausgangs-Rohmasse intensiv durchgemischt werden kann.First, the dry components from the containers 14 to 18 are premixed in a mixer 22, to which the liquid components from the containers 12 and 20 are then fed, so that the entire raw raw material can be mixed thoroughly.

Die durchgemischte Ausgangs-Rohmasse wird einem Extruder 24 zugeführt, der die Ausgangs-Rohmasse bei Temperaturen von 90°C bis 120°C und Drücken von 50 bis 100 Bar durchknetet und dadurch plastifiziert.The mixed raw raw material is fed to an extruder 24, which the raw raw material at temperatures from 90 ° C to 120 ° C. and pressures of 50 to 100 bar kneaded and thereby plasticized.

Die plastifizierte Masse von dem Extruder 24 wird durch die schematisch angedeutete Extrusionsdüse 26 in mehrere zylindrische Stränge mit einem Durchmesser von 2 bis 7 mm, insbesondere mit einem Durchmesser von 3 bis 5 mm, aufgeteilt. Dabei ist wichtig, daß die Aufteilung der Masse über exakt gleich lange Fließwege erfolgt, damit aufgrund der gleichen Druckverluste die einzelnen Stränge die gleiche Strömungsgeschwindigkeit haben. Dies führt wiederum dazu, daß die einzelnen, gleichzeitig hergestellten Stränge mechanisch/geometrisch identisch sind.The plasticized mass from the extruder 24 is divided by the schematically indicated extrusion nozzle 26 into a plurality of cylindrical strands with a diameter of 2 to 7 mm, in particular with a diameter of 3 to 5 mm. It is important that the mass is divided over flow paths of exactly the same length, so that the individual strands have the same flow velocity due to the same pressure losses. This in turn means that the individual strands produced simultaneously are mechanically / geometrically identical.

Dieses Grundprinzip ist in Fig. 2 dargestellt; die an der Stelle X des Extruders 24 befindliche plastifizierte Tabakmasse wird, wie aus Fig. 2 ersichtlich, auf zwei gleich lange Fließwege aufgeteilt, die sich wiederum auf jeweils zwei weitere Fließwege A bzw. B und C bzw. D aufteilen, so daß die Stränge A, B einerseits und C, D andererseits jeweils mechanisch/geometrisch identisch sind.This basic principle is shown in Fig. 2; The plasticized tobacco mass located at point X of the extruder 24 is, as can be seen from FIG. 2, divided into two flow paths of equal length, which in turn are divided into two further flow paths A or B and C or D, so that the strands A, B on the one hand and C, D on the other hand are each mechanically / geometrically identical.

Diese Stränge werden nochmals mit gleichen Fließwegen aufgeteilt, und zwar auf die Stränge an den Austrittskanälen A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2, D1 und D2.These strands are again divided using the same flow paths, specifically to the strands at the outlet channels A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2, D1 and D2.

Wegen der jeweils gleichen Fließwege ist also die Strecke von dem Einlaß X zum Austrittskanal A1 der Extruderdüse 26 gleich dem Fließweg von dem Einlaß X zum Austrittskanal A2.Because of the same flow paths, the distance from the inlet X to the outlet channel A1 of the extruder nozzle 26 is equal to the flow path from the inlet X to the outlet channel A2.

Auch die anderen Austrittsdkanäle A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2, D1 und D2 sind untereinander identisch. D.h., beispielsweise ist der Strang an dem Austrittskanal C1 identisch mit dem Strang an dem Austrittskanal D2.The other exit channels A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2, D1 and D2 are also identical to one another. That is, for example, the strand on the outlet channel C1 is identical to the strand on the outlet channel D2.

Alle Austrittsstränge können Zylinderform haben, d.h., es werden jeweils Austrittskanäle mit kostengünstig herzustellendem kreisförmigen Querschnitt verwendet.All exit strands can have a cylindrical shape, ie exit channels with a circular cross-section that can be produced inexpensively are used in each case.

Die zylindrischen Stränge von den verschiedenen Austrittskanälen der Extrusionsdüse 26 werden jeweils paarweise zu Folienbändern ausgewalzt, wobei jeweils zwei benachbarte Stränge, also beispielsweise die Stränge von den Extrusionskanälen A1 und A2, zu einem Folienband zusammengewalzt werden. Das entsprechende Walzwerk ist bei 28 schematisch angedeutet.The cylindrical strands from the different outlet channels of the extrusion nozzle 26 are each rolled out in pairs to form foil strips, two adjacent strands, for example the strands from the extrusion channels A1 and A2, being rolled together to form a foil strip. The corresponding rolling mill is indicated schematically at 28.

Die beiden Walzen 28a, 28b dieses Walzwerks 28 haben bei einer realisierten Ausführungsform einen Durchmesser von 250 mm und eine Breite von 150 mm und laufen mit einer Geschwindigkeit von 3 m/s.In one embodiment, the two rolls 28a, 28b of this rolling mill 28 have a diameter of 250 mm and a width of 150 mm and run at a speed of 3 m / s.

Die beiden Walzen 28a, 28b werden zunächst mittels einer Gewindespindel (nicht dargestellt) auf eine Spaltdicke von 0 mm zusammengepreßt. Die Gegenkraft wird durch ein Tellerfederpaket (nicht dargestellt) erzeugt. Die Einstellung der Foliendicke erfolgt über ein Gleichgewicht aus Federkraft und Verformungswiderstand des plastifizierten Tabakmaterials auf einen Wert von 0,1 bis 0,25 mm, insbesondere 0,18 bis 0,22 mm.The two rollers 28a, 28b are first pressed together to a gap thickness of 0 mm by means of a threaded spindle (not shown). The counterforce is generated by a plate spring assembly (not shown). The film thickness is adjusted via a balance of spring force and deformation resistance of the plasticized tobacco material to a value of 0.1 to 0.25 mm, in particular 0.18 to 0.22 mm.

Dabei wird die Walzendrehzahl so eingestellt, daß sich in Anpassung an die Ausgangsleistung des Extruders 24 kontinuierliche Folienbänder ergeben.The roller speed is set so that 24 continuous film strips result in adaptation to the output power of the extruder.

Die Oberflächen der beiden Walzen 28a, 28b sind gehärtet und boriert oder aber mit einer Hartmetallbeschichtung versehen. Sie werden mit Wasser und/oder Dampf als Trennmittel besprüht, um das abschließende Abtrennen der Folienbänder von den Walzen 28a, 28b zu erleichtern.The surfaces of the two rollers 28a, 28b are hardened and borated or else provided with a hard metal coating. They are sprayed with water and / or steam as a release agent in order to facilitate the final separation of the film strips from the rollers 28a, 28b.

Das Walzwerk 28 steht auf einem verschiebbaren Gestell und wird durch einen Exzenterantrieb in Achsrichtung hin- und hergeschoben, so daß die Folienbänder nacheinander mit unterschiedlichen Stellen der Walzenoberflächen in Berührung kommen und dadurch der Oberflächenverschleiß auf die gesamte Walzenfläche verteilt wird.The rolling mill 28 stands on a displaceable frame and is pushed back and forth in the axial direction by an eccentric drive, so that the film strips come into contact with different places on the roll surfaces one after the other and the surface wear is thereby distributed over the entire roll surface.

Die in dem Walzwerk 28 erzeugten Folienbänder haben eine Breite von 10 bis 100 mm, insbesondere von 20 bis 50 mm, so daß die Streifenbreite der schmaleren Kantenlänge der noch zu erläuternden, rechteckigen Folienstücke entspricht.The film strips produced in the rolling mill 28 have a width of 10 to 100 mm, in particular 20 to 50 mm, so that the strip width corresponds to the narrower edge length of the rectangular pieces of film to be explained.

Die beiden Walzen 28a, 28b haben leicht unterschiedliche Drehzahlen, so daß die Folienbänder an der schnelleren Walze haften und dadurch verhindert wird, daß die Folienbänder zwischen den beiden Walzen 28a, 28b zerrissen werden. Bei der dargestellten Ausführungsform läuft die Walze 28a etwas schneller, so daß die in Richtung des Pfeils abgezogenen Folienbänder von dieser Walze mitgenommen und dann auf ein drehzahlregelbares Förderband 30 abgelegt werden.The two rollers 28a, 28b have slightly different speeds, so that the film strips adhere to the faster roller and thereby prevent the film strips from being torn between the two rollers 28a, 28b. In the embodiment shown, the roller 28a runs somewhat faster, so that the film strips pulled off in the direction of the arrow are carried along by this roller and then placed on a speed-adjustable conveyor belt 30.

Obwohl es in Fig. 1 nicht dargestellt ist, werden mit der Vorrichtung 10 nach Fig. 1 gleichzeitig mehrere Folienbänder mit der gewünschten Breite erzeugt. Wird beispielsweise die Extruderdüse 26 nach Fig. 2 für die Herstellung von insgesamt acht zylindrischen Strängen verwendet, so lassen sich vier Folienbänder gleichzeitig auswalzen.Although it is not shown in FIG. 1, the device 10 according to FIG. 1 simultaneously produces a plurality of film strips with the desired width. If, for example, the extruder nozzle 26 according to FIG. 2 is used for the production of a total of eight cylindrical strands, four foil strips can be rolled out simultaneously.

Von dem Förderband 30 werden die Tabakfolien einer Querschneideeinrichtung 32 zugeführt, die die Bänder in Stücke mit einer Länge von 10 bis 100 mm, insbesondere 30 bis 50 mm, zerteilt. Wegen der hohen Transportgeschwindigkeiten der Folienbänder sind für diese Trennung die üblichen Querschneideeinrichtungen, wie beispielsweise Messer, nicht geeignet, so daß stattdessen eine rasenmäherähnliche Querschneideeinrichtung 32 verwendet wird, deren Aufbau aus Fig. 3 ersichtlich ist.The tobacco foils are fed from the conveyor belt 30 to a cross cutting device 32, which cuts the belts into pieces with a length of 10 to 100 mm, in particular 30 to 50 mm. Because of the high transport speeds of the film strips, the usual cross cutting devices, such as knives, are not suitable for this separation, so that instead a lawn mower-like cross cutting device 32 is used, the construction of which can be seen in FIG. 3.

Die Querschneideeinrichtung 32 weist ein zylindrisches Gehäuse 34 auf, in dem zwei Rotorscheiben 38 drehbar gelagert sind. Die gemäß der Darstellung in Fig. 3 rechte Rotorscheibe 38 ist mit einer Rotorwelle 36 verbunden, die mittels einer Antriebseinrichtung (nicht dargestellt) in Richtung des Pfeils gedreht werden kann und dadurch die andere Rotorscheibe mitdreht.The cross cutting device 32 has a cylindrical housing 34 in which two rotor disks 38 are rotatably mounted. The right-hand rotor disk 38 as shown in FIG. 3 is connected to a rotor shaft 36 which can be rotated in the direction of the arrow by means of a drive device (not shown) and thereby also rotates the other rotor disk.

Die beiden Rotorscheiben 38 sind durch schräg verlaufende Schneidleisten 40 miteinander verbunden, die bei der Drehung der beiden Rotorscheiben 38 mitgenommen werden. Am Boden des Gehäuses 34 befindet sich eine feste Schneidleiste 42.The two rotor disks 38 are connected to one another by obliquely running cutting strips 40, which act on the rotation of the two rotor disks 38 can be taken. A fixed cutting bar 42 is located on the bottom of the housing 34.

Die von dem Transportband 30 angelieferten Folienbänder werden pneumatisch in den Öffnungsschlitz des Gehäuses 34 eingesaugt und durch das Gehäuse 34 transportiert, wobei sie über die feste Schneidleiste 42 hinweggeführt werden. Bei der Drehung der beiden Rotorscheiben 38 werden nacheinander die einzelnen Schneidleisten 40 an der festen Schneidleiste 42 vorbeigeführt und trennen dabei Tabakfolienstücke ab, deren Längen von der Fördergeschwindigkeit des Folienbandes einerseits und der Rotationsgeschwindigkeit der Rotorscheiben 38 und damit der Schneidleisten 40 andererseits abhängen. Durch entsprechende Einstellung lassen sich Tabakfolienstücke mit der gewünschten Länge herstellen. Diese Stücke werden in Richtung des gestrichelten Pfeils aus dem Gehäuse 34 der Schneideinrichtung 32 heraus- und der weiteren Verarbeitung zugeführt, nämlich zunächst einem Kühlaggregat, so daß die Ausbildung von Kondenswasser bei der Lagerung vermieden wird, dann der Verpackung, der Lagerung und schließlich der Zuführung zu der Tabakvorbereitung.The film strips supplied by the conveyor belt 30 are pneumatically sucked into the opening slot of the housing 34 and transported through the housing 34, whereby they are guided over the fixed cutting bar 42. When the two rotor disks 38 are rotated, the individual cutting strips 40 are moved past the fixed cutting strip 42 and separate tobacco foil pieces, the lengths of which depend on the conveying speed of the foil strip on the one hand and the rotational speed of the rotor discs 38 and thus the cutting strips 40 on the other hand. With the appropriate setting, pieces of tobacco foil of the desired length can be produced. These pieces are in the direction of the dashed arrow out of the housing 34 of the cutting device 32 and fed to further processing, namely first of all a cooling unit, so that the formation of condensed water during storage is avoided, then the packaging, the storage and finally the supply to the tobacco preparation.

Wenn die Feuchte der Ausgangs-Rohmasse außerhalb des vorgegebenen Bereiches liegt, kann es erforderlich werden, noch eine zusätzliche Trockungsstufe vorzusehen.If the moisture of the raw raw material is outside the specified range, it may be necessary to provide an additional drying step.

Claims (15)

  1. A method of producing tobacco sheet pieces from reprocessed tobacco
    a) in which powdery tobacco waste and/or tobacco flour is thoroughly blended with binding agents and possibly additives;
    b) in which the resulting mixture is plasticised in an extruder and is converted to at least one cylindrical rod, and
    c) in which the cylindrical rod is processed to produce sheet pieces,
    characterised by the following features:
    d) the plasticised mixture is sub-divided into an even number of mechanically/geometrically identical cylindrical rods;
    e) pairs of adjacent identical rods are rolled together to form one sheet strip, and
    f) the sheet strip is cut into sheet pieces.
  2. A method according to claim 1, characterised in that the mixture is plasticised in the extruder at temperatures of 90°C to 120°C and pressures of 50 to 100 bars.
  3. A method according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterised in that cylindrical rods are produced which have a diameter of 2 to 7 mm and preferably a diameter of 3 to 5 mm.
  4. A method according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the mixture is sub-divided into the individual cylindrical rods over flow paths of exactly identical length.
  5. A method according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the sheet strips are cut in a transverse direction.
  6. An apparatus for producing tobacco sheet pieces from reprocessed tobacco
    a) with a mixer for powdery tobacco waste and/or tobacco flour, binder and possibly additives,
    b) with an extruder for plasticising the resulting mixture and for producing at least one cylindrical rod, and
    c) with an apparatus for processing the cylindrical rod to form tobacco sheet pieces,
    characterised in that
    d) the extruder nozzle (26) sub-divides the mixture into an even number of mechanically/geometrically identical rods, said number being capable of being depicted as a power of 2 (2n), and in that
    e) downstream of the extruder nozzle (26) is a pair of rolls (28, 28a, 28b) which rolls a pair of adjacent cylindrical rods together to form one sheet strip, and in that
    f) a transverse cutting unit (32) is provided for cutting the sheet strips.
  7. An apparatus according to claim 6, characterised in that the two rolls (28a, 28b) rotate at different speeds.
  8. An apparatus according to one of claims 6 or 7, characterised in that the extruder nozzle (26) has for the various rods flow paths which are of exactly the same length.
  9. An apparatus according to one of claims 6 to 8, characterised by a means of spraying the rolls (28a, 28b) with water and/or steam to serve as a separating agent.
  10. An apparatus according to one of claims 6 to 9, characterised in that a rolling mill is used.
  11. An apparatus according to one of claims 6 to 10, characterised by a spring assembly, particularly a plate spring assembly, for generating the force needed to bring the two rolls (28a, 28b) towards each other.
  12. An apparatus according to one of claims 6 to 11, characterised in that the rolls (28a, 28b) are mounted on a displaceable frame.
  13. An apparatus according to one of claims 6 to 12, characterised in that downstream of the pair of rolls (28, 28a, 28b) is a conveyor belt (30), the speed of which can be regulated, for feeding the sheet strips to the transverse cutting unit (32).
  14. An apparatus according to one of claims 6 to 13, characterised in that the transverse cutting unit has a fixed cutter bar (42) and rotating cutter bars (40) which are mounted on the periphery of rotatable rotor discs (38).
  15. An apparatus according to claim 14, characterised in that the transverse cutting unit (32) has a housing (34) through which the sheet strip and/or the cut sheet pieces are transported pneumatically.
EP89108420A 1988-06-08 1989-05-10 Method and apparatus for making pieces of tobacco sheets from reconstituted tobacco Expired - Lifetime EP0345477B1 (en)

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DE3819534 1988-06-08
DE3819534A DE3819534C1 (en) 1988-06-08 1988-06-08

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DE58905111D1 (en) 1993-09-09
EP0345477A3 (en) 1992-06-03
DE3819534C1 (en) 1989-12-07
ES2046367T3 (en) 1994-02-01
EP0345477A2 (en) 1989-12-13

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