US3018781A - Method and apparatus for cigarette rod forming - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 30, 1962 o. E. EISSMANN METHOD AND APPARATUS-FOR CIGARETTE ROD FORMING Filed Dec. 22, 1958 I ,INVILINTOR. mm BMW BY. M 1m AT TUK/VEY nu m n?// a A I I w. 1. U 2 v m;

United States This invention relates to a cigarette making machine, and more particularly to an apparatus and method for making a cigarette rod and to provide an improved cigarette. This application is a continuation in part of a prior application filed by me, Oswald E. Eissmann on August 30, 1957, Serial No. 681,280 and also of Serial No. 780,725 filed December 16, 1958.

Heretofore, cigarette rods were made by individual selfcontained machines, which were capable of producing cigarettes at a rate of approximately 1200 cigarettes per minute. In these machines, shredded tobacco was showered at random onto a conveyor or paper tape which in turn delivers it to the rod former which ultimately forms the tobacco into a cigarette rod from which the individual cigarettes are then cut off.

It is an object of my invention to provide a cigarette machine or more specifically a cigarette rod former which is capable of producing cigarettes in excess of 1200 cigarettes per minute,

Another object of this invention is to provide a process and apparatus for manufacturing cigarettes by directing the tobacco shreds into an interlocked spiral arrangement which will provide a more uniform and better compacted cigarette, requiring less tobacco.

A further object is to provide a conveying method that propels the tobacco through a cyclone separator without utilizing air pressure in the cyclone separator.

Another object is to provide a method to meter the air contained, between the individual strands, in the cigarette rod.

An additional object is to utilize a centrifugal separating device having a cyclone separator configuration in combination with other structure to form a cigarette rod.

A further object is to provide a uniform cigarette having tobacco strands which have been twisted to provide a uniform density having a longer draw and a better feel.

Other objects and features of the invention will appear as the description of the particular physical embodiment selected to illustrate the invention progresses. In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, like characters of reference have been applied to corresponding parts throughout the several views which make up the drawings.

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation illustrating an embodiment of my invention.

FIGURE 2 is a section taken on line 2--2 of FIG- URE 1.

In the embodiment I have employed to illustrate the invention, stemmed tobacco pieces travel in the duct pipe in the direction of arrow 12 toward the rotating cutting means 14 and 16.

In my copending application, Serial Number 681,280, I have shown a tobacco conveying system in more detail to which reference may be made if desired for a more detailed description of how tobacco is fed to the duct 10. For the purpose of this disclosure I have shown the section of tobacco duct 10 which receives the tobacco after it has been separated centrifugally from the air stream in which it was conveyed.

The stress plane cutting means 14 and 16 rotate in the direction shown by arrows 18 and 20, The cutting means 14 and 16 act as an air-sealing door permitting the tobacco pieces to be cut, to go through them while surplus air is removed through pipes 25 and 28 in a manner similar to ice that shown and described in my copending application Serial No. 780,725 filed December 16, 1958, entitled Stress Plane Cutter.

After the air is taken away through pipes 25 and 28, the tobacco, entering by it own velocity through the stressplane cutting means 14 and 16, is cut and then discharged in the direction of arrow 30.

The cutters 14 and 16 may be of the type disclosed in copending applications Serial No. 681,280 and Serial No. 780,725 and may consist primarily of two parallel shafts which carry multiple circular disks; each disk being spaced from the adjoining disks by spacers or as shown in FIG- URE 2, the cutters may consist of two parallel shafts 13 and 15, which carry solid cutters 14 and 16 having annular grooves 17 and 19. The stemmed tobacco pieces, which travel between the cutters 14 and 16, are cut into strands of desired width, according to the spacing of the disks.

It has been found that during the cutting action of cutters rotating about an axis at high velocity, for instance with an edge velocity in excess of 600 feet per second, suflicient stress by the boundary layer of air, picked up by the high speed blades is created. This stress plane is of considerably small extension but of high compression so as to represent in some cases pressures in excess of 1,000 pounds per square inch. The stress plane does the cutting of the material, so as to prevent the actual cutting edge of the cutter from touching the material, the surfaces of said cutter being covered by thin laminations or boundaries of air which also prevent said surfaces from touching the material. It has also been found, that the edge velocity of the cutter is directly related to the speed of sound in the material to be cut. This principle of cutting may be referred to as air cutting at high velocities or stress plane cutting.

The tobacco then travels through pipe 32, without any appreciable air movement within pipe 32, at a high linear velocity substantially the same as the circumferential velocity of the cutting means 14 and 16, Pipe 32 is connected to a cyclone rod-forming device 34 at a tangent to the side of the said device and is inclined at an angle 36 to the axis of the device 34. This tangential angular arrangement lets the tobacco enter the cyclone separator on one side in such a way that it spirals within the cyclone separator 34 as indicated by the phantom line 37. This spiraling action moves the tobacco forward in the conical section 38 of the cyclone device 34 and at the same time twists the tobacco strands in such a way that the tobacco leaving the outlet 40 of cyclone separator 34 is in the form of a twisted rod somewhat similar to a rope. A funnel shaped rod former reducing tongue 42 compresses the twisted tobacco rope, which is loosely packed when it leaves outlet 40 to its desired density.

An endless belt 44 which carries the cigarette paper 46 underneath the rod fonner 42, receives the twisted rod, discharged through opening 40, compresses it and Wraps the paper around it to form a cigarette rod. Thereafter, adhesive is applied to the paper by a p aster 41 and the rod is sealed by a rod former 43 in a conventional manner and cut to lengths by a suitable cutter such as shown in Patent 2,357,785 granted to I. W. Warren on September 5, 1944, US. Patent 2,549,579, granted to George Dearsley on April 17, 1951 and US. Patent 1,992,722, granted to E. D. Smith on February 26, 1935.

Moving the paper wrapped rod at substantially high speed would tend to create a vacuum in the cyclone separator 34 as there is substantially no air movement in pipe 32 except a small amount which might pass by the tobacco while it goes through the cutting means 14 and 16. Since the finished cigarette is a volumetric container having a certain amount of air between the individual tobacco stands, provision has been made to supply a controlled and restricted amount of air by means of air intake tube 52. This is sufiicient to sup ply with air the voids between the tobacco shreds in the rod.

From the foregoing it will be readily seen that I have provided a cigarette making machine which is of very simple construction with relatively few parts and of relatively small size. I have also provided a new method for making a cigarette rod which will enable cigarettes to be made at very high rates of speed and in excess of present day cigarette making speeds.

It will also be noted that my present disclosure consists of using the inertia of tobacco stands in combination with a spiraling device to form a twisted rope from which cigarettes are made having spiraled tobacco filler. It will be appreciated that cigarettes made in this way can be made at higher rates of speed, with more uniform density and which will provide a larger draw and have more firmness without resorting to the addition of more tobacco.

The invention hereinabove described may therefore be varied in construction within the scope of the claims, for the particular device selected to illustrate the invention is but one of many possible embodiments of the same. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted to the precise details of the structure shown and described.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for cigarette filler forming comprising means to propel tobacco forwardly, means to shred and boost the tobacco forward, stationary means for spiralling the forward movement of said shredded tobacco to cause the tobacco to twist into a spirally formed cigarette filler, and means for discharging the so formed cigarette filler.

2. The method of forming a tobacco filler comprising propelling tobacco stands forwardly, diverting the direction of the tobacco strands circumferentially at an angle to the circumferential axis, spiraling the tobacco strands in a gradual reducing circumference, and discharging the tobacco strands as a twisted tobacco filler.

3. An apparatus for forming a cigarette rod comprising means to propel the tobacco forwardly, means to cut the tobacco into strands and boost its forward movement, a cyclone separator attached to said cutting means to receive the tobacco circumferentially and twist it into a rope-like tobacco filler, a rod-forming tape at the end of said cyclone separator to receive and densify said rope-like filler and form it into a tobacco rod, and a cutter, mounted transverse to said rod, to cut the tobacco rod as required for individual cigarettes.

4. A cyclone separator type rod forming device comprising a tube through which tobacco is forwardly propelled by air, another tube mounted at a sharp angle to the said first tube to divert the air while the tobacco continues to travel in the forward direction, cutters mounted at the junction of said tubes to trap, cut and force the tobacco to continue travelling in the same forward direction, a housing supporting said cutters, a cyclone separator mounted on an outlet of said housing, to form the tobacco into a filler in the form of a spiral braid, a funnel shaped reducer attached to the end of said cyclone separator to receive and compress the braided tobacco filler and discharge it through its opening, cigarette paper located below said reducer to be wrapped around said discharged tobacco filler, a sealer to seal said cigarette paper to form a cigarette rod and a cutter located transverse to said rod to cut the rod into cigarette lengths.

5. A cigarette machine comprising a duct through which tobacco is propelled by air, a plurality of other ducts connected at a sharp angle upstream to the first of said ducts to separate the air from the tobacco, air sealing rotating cutters to receive the traveling tobacco, to cut and boost its velocity, a longitudinally tapered cyclone separator connected to the outlet of said cutters to receive and form the tobacco ino a rope-like tobacco filler, an endless conveyor belt having cigarette paper to form said tobacco filler into a cigarette rod, sealing means to seal the rod into the cigarette paper and a cutter to cut the rod into cigarette lengths.

6. A cyclone cigarette machine comprising means to propel tobacco strands at high velocity in a forward direction, a circular cyclone separator into which the tobacco strands are directed to travel circumferentially in a spiral direction, a tongue to compress the mixture of air and tobacco into a desired density, a source of cigarette paper to be wrapped around said tobacco filler, sealing means to seal the tobacco into said cigarette paper to form a cigarette rod and a cutter to cut said cigarette rod into cigarette lengths.

7. A centrifugal cigarette maker comprising an air conveying pipe, a source of tobacco to feed tobacco into said pipe, the tobacco being moved forwardly by the air through said pipe, another pipe attached at an acute angle to said first pipe to divert the air in a different direction, rotating cutting means downstream to said first pipe to trap the oncoming tobacco and propel it forward preventing some of the entrained air from mixing with said out tobacco, a cyclone separator mounted at the other side of said cutters to receive tobacco at an angle to its circumference and to twist the tobacco in a ropelike tobacco filler, an air inlet tube at the large end of said cyclone separator to receive metered air to fill in the spaces between the tobacco strands as the tobacco is braided into a rope-like filler; and means to finish said tobacco filler into cigarette lengths.

8. A cigarette forming device comprising an air duct in which tobacco is moving forwardly, a separator section attached at the end of said duct to separate the air from the tobacco, cutters to capture the forwardly moving tobacco, to cut it in tobacco strands and thrust the tobacco strands forward in the same direction the tobacco was traveling, a cyclone rod forming device connected tangentially-angularly to the outlet of said cutters to receive the tobacco strands and transfer their forward movement to a circumferential spiral movement to twist the tobacco strands into a rope-like tobacco filler, a funnel shaped rod former connected to the cyclone device to receive, compress and convey the twisted tobacco strands, an endless belt carrying cigarette paper located next to said rod former to receive the twisted tobacco discharged from said rod former, adhesive means located downstream to said rod former to seal the tobacco rod within the cigarette paper and a cutter located transversely of the tobacco rod to cut the cigarette rod in required individual cigarette lengths.

9. The method of forming tobacco filler for cigarettes which consists in imparting an advancing spiral motion to a stream of decreasing diameter of tobacco shreds to cause said tobacco shreds to twist together spirally to form a continuous cigarette filler rod, and discharging said formed tobacco rod.

10. An apparatus for cigarette rod forming comprising a source of stemmed tobacco pieces feeding tobacco pieces by air, means to divert the air while the tobacco pieces continue in substantially straight direction, cutters to receive the tobacco pieces between them, cut the tobacco pieces into strands of desired width and propel the strands at a high linear velocity substantially the same as the circumferential velocity of the cutters, a cyclone rod forming device receiving the strands at a tangent to the side of said cyclone device and at an inclined angle to the axis of said cyclone device to spiral said strands forwardly and a conical section to twist the tobacco strands into the form of a twisted rope-like cigarette rod.

11. A cigarette rod former comprising a stress plane cutting means to receive tobacco pieces, cut them and direct them at a high linear speed, a duct to receive and convey said cut tobacco from said cutting means, a cyclone formed duct located at a tangential angular arrangement to said first duct to receive the cut tobacco and cause it to spiral within said cyclone duct, a conical section of the cyclone formed duct to continue twisting the cut tobacco until it is formed into a twisted rod similar to a rope, a funnel shaped rod former to receive and compress the twisted tobacco rope, a source of supply of cigarette paper to feed paper to said rod former, means to wrap the paper around the tobacco rod to form a cigarette rod and a source of adhesive to be applied and seal the cigarette rod in a conventional manner.

12. A cigarette machine comprising high speed air cutters to cut tobacco fed to said cigarette machine by a thin lamination of air formed around said cutters, a pipe to convey said cut tobacco at a high linear speed, a cyclone shaped duct to receive said moving tobacco at a tangent to the side of and inclined at an angle to the axis of the cyclone device, said cut tobacco moving forward within said cyclone device in a spiraling action to be formed into a twisted'tobacco filler similar to a rope, a rod former to receive and compress said twisted filler, a source of cigarette paper, an endless belt which carries said cigarette paper, located under the rod former, to receive said twisted filler and with said rod former to form the tobacco filler and cigarette paper into a cigarette rod, and another cutter to cut the cigarette rod into cigarette lengths.

13. A cigarette machine comprising a tobacco cutter to cut tobacco, exclude some of the admixed air and propel the cut tobacco linearly at high speeds, a cyclone shaped duct to receive said out tobacco at a high tangential speed and to spiral the cut tobacco within the cyclone, a supply of controlled and restricted amount of metered air to fill the spaces between the cut tobacco, a conical section in said cyclone to twist the spiraling tobacco into a rod of tobacco filler, a supply of cigarette paper, a cigarette rod former to receive said tobacco rod and the cigarette paper and adapted to form an endless length of cigarette rod and a cutter to cut the rod into cigarette lengths.

14. A cigarette machine comprising an air severing device to cut tobacco into strands, remove some of the admixed air and propel the cut tobacco at high speeds, a cyclone rod former to receive said linearly traveling tobacco strands and twist it into a rope like configuration, an air intake tube to supply the cyclone rod former with metered air, to fill air between the tobacco strands, a supply of cigarette paper, a rod former to form the tobacco rope like configuration and the cigarette paper into a cigarette rod and another cutter to cut the cigarette rod into cigarettes.

15. The method of forming a cigarette rod filler which comprises the steps of propelling tobacco strands forwardly, deflecting the forwardly moving strands into a spiral path, while continuing the forward movement, to give the strands a forward spiral movement, and progressively decreasing the diameter of the spiral to compact tobacco into a twisted cigarette rod filler.

16. The method of forming a cigarette rod filler which comprises the steps of propelling tobacco strands forwardly, deflecting the forwardly moving strands into a spiral path, while continuing the forward movement, to give the strands a forward spiral movement, progressively decreasing the diameter of the spiral to compact tobacco into a twisted cigarette rod filler and then releasing a controlled amount of air into the body of said filler to provide a filler of the density desired.

17. An apparatus for a cigarette rod filler comprising an air severing device to cut tobacco into strands, re

move some of the admixed air and propel the cut tobacco forward at high speeds, a cyclone shaped duct having a progressively decreased diameter to deflect the forwardly moving cut tobacco into a spiral path, while continuing the forward movement, to give the strands a forward spiral movement to compact the tobacco into a twisted cigarette rod filler and an air intake tube to release a controlled amount of air into the body of said cigarette rod filler.

18. An apparatus for forming tobacco rod fillers for cigarettes, comprising a hollow cone-shaped member, means for delivering a stream of shredded or cut tobacc-o at a predetermined velocity into the large diameter end of said member tangentially to the wall of and obliquely of the axis of said member, whereby the momentum of the tobacco stream causes the latter to spiral along the Wall of said member toward the small diameter end thereof, the tobacco strands being thereby twisted together into a continuous rod, the small diameter end of the member having an opening through which the tobacco rod is delivered to cigarette forming means.

19. An apparatus according to claim 18, including means to compact the tobacco rod as the latter is delivered from the cone-shaped forming member.

20. An apparatus according to claim 18, including means to add as much air as is required in the final formed tobacco rod.

21. An apparatus according to claim 18, in which the delivery means for the cut tobacco includes a tobacco cutting and accelerating device, means for feeding tobacco to the cutting device, and a duct connecting an outlet of said cutting device to the cone-shaped member to deliver the cut tobacco to the member in a stream.

22. An apparatus according to claim 21, in which the cutting device includes cutters which eject the tobacco in strands.

23. An apparatus according to claim 22, in which the cutters are of the rotating type, the peripheral speed of the cutters imparting the necessary velocity to the ejected tobacco strands.

24. An apparatus according to claim 23, in which the cutters are of the stress plane type.

25. Apparatus for forming a cigarette rod, comprising means to propel tobacco forwardly, a shredder to receive and shred said tobacco and discharge same, a curved wall, enclosing decreasing cross-sectional areas, to which said shredded tobacco is discharged tangentially to concentrate the shreds into a continuous filler, a rod former to receive and form said concentrated filler into a continuous rod, and means to deliver said rod.

26. A method of forming tobacco filler for cigarettes, comprising the steps of propelling tobacco strands forwardly, guiding said tobacco strands spirally along a curved surface of axially decreasing diameter to simultaneously twist and to gather the strands together, forming said gathered strands into a rope, and then forming said rope into a rod.

27. A method according to claim 26, which includes the steps of delivering tobacco to cutters, and then propelling the cut tobacco strands forwardly to the curved guide surface to gather and twist the strands together.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,949,654 Norris Mar. 6, 1934 2,100,588 Claus Nov. 30, 1937 2,451,504 Mayo Oct. 19, 1948 2,533,550 Blackwell Dec. 12, 1950 2,811,195 Kloss s t Oct. 29, 1957

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