GB1364839A - Treatment od tobacco - Google Patents

Abstract

1364839 Humidifying and opening tobacco W H DICKINSON ENG Ltd 28 July 1971 [29 July 1970 11 Feb 1971] 36729/70 and 4497/71 Heading A2C In an apparatus for conditioning bales 2 of tobacco, a bale 2 is fed by conveyer bands 4, 6 towards and in the direction of a straight hollow probe 8 so that the probe 8 extends into the front face of the advancing bale 2, and from which front face tobacco is continuously removed while moist air or steam is passed through said front face via the probe 8. A fan 16 exhausts moist air through perforations in the probe 8 and recirculates it via a pipe 20 to a space 18 where it passes through the front face of the bale 2, and the exposed upper, lower and side faces adjacent the front face of the bale 2, back to the probe 8. A temperature sensor 21 in the space 18 controls the injection of steam by a nozzle 22 into the pipe 20, and additionally or alternatively water may be injected at a point 24. The probe 8 may carry a screw thread (8C) and be rotated to aid its penetration into the advancing bale 2. Rotary doffers 10, which remove the tobacco from the front face of the bale 2, may each comprise a number of helical rods (14) or may consist of a shaft with radially projecting spikes. The bales are lifted onto the lower conveyer band 6 by a pair of forks 38 which are pivoted about a pulley 34 by the action of a jack 42. In another embodiment, Fig. 4, for conditioning cylindrical hogsheads 46 of tobacco, each hogshead 46 in turn is pushed obliquely upwards towards the probe 48 by means of a plate 50 which is being supported by a cradle 51 while doffers 52 remove tobacco from the circular front face 46A of the hogshead 46.