Method of and apparatus for simultaneously making plural rods of smokable material

Abstract

The invention relates to a method of and to an apparatus for at least substantially simultaneously producing at least two wrapped rod-like fillers of smokable material. The fillers are advanced lengthwise along discrete paths having spaced-apart upstream portions where the fillers are draped into discrete webs of cigarette paper or the like, and downstream portions which are nearer to each other than the upstream portions and wherein the draped fillers are severed at least substantially simultaneously to yield discrete series of successive rod-shaped cigarettes or the like having desired lengths. The distance or distances between discrete paths can decrease gradually along the upstream portions of such paths, the minimum distance can be less than the width of a web, and the maximum distance can match or exceed the width of a web.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED CASES [0001] This application claims the priority of the commonly owned copending European patent application. Serial No. 03 025 598.8 filed Nov. 7, 2003. [0002] The disclosure of the above-referenced European patent application, as well as the disclosures of all other patent applications, patents and other publications identified in the specification of the present application, are incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] The present invention relates to improvements in methods of and in apparatus for making rods which contain smokable material, such as natural tobacco, artificial tobacco, reconstituted tobacco and the like. More particularly, the invention relates to improvements in methods of and in apparatus for essentially simultaneously producing a plurality of (e.g., at least two) rods of the type wherein tubular wrappers consisting of cigarette paper or the like surround rod-like fillers of smokable material. Typical exa...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007] An important object of the instant invention is to improve the methods and apparatus of the above outlined character so that they are less likely to exhibit the drawbacks of presently known apparatus and methods, especially as concerns the generation of noise, fatigue of certain parts and / or the quality of the ultimate products.

Problems solved by technology

Problems are likely to arise if the wrapped fillers are advanced at a relatively high or very high speed, such as is resorted to in modern cigarette making and like machines.

For example, the severing of plural discrete wrapped tobacco fillers into discrete rod-shaped smokers' products of desired length is likely to entail the development of dynamically generated problems involving the quality of the cuts across the fillers and their wrappers, premature fatigue of certain component parts of the advancing, trimming, wrapping and subdividing units in such machines or apparatus, and the generation of excessive noise which is particularly unpleasant when large numbers (e.g., hundreds) of cigarette making or analogous machines are installed in a common hall of a cigarette making or similar plant.

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