Heated cigarette loading device

Abstract

This invention relates to the field of heated cigarette technology, and more particularly to a feeding device for heated cigarettes. The feeding device includes: a cigarette tube conveying unit, a feeding unit, and a drive unit; the drive end of the cigarette tube conveying shaft is connected to a first drive motor, and the feeding end has several arc-shaped grooves evenly arranged circumferentially; the cigarette tube conveying shaft is inclined along the direction below the drive end; the feeding unit includes: a feeding funnel, a feeding pipe, and a screw; the feeding pipe is inclined along the direction below its discharge end; the discharge port is connected to the arc-shaped opening of the uppermost arc-shaped groove; the screw is disposed inside the feeding pipe and coaxially arranged with the feeding pipe; the end of the screw extends through a connecting hole outside the feeding pipe; the power output end of the drive unit is connected to the end of the screw. This feeding device is small in size, less prone to jamming of the machine by tobacco sheets / granules, suitable for small-batch processing and production of heated cigarettes in a laboratory setting, and requires less experience from operators.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of heated cigarette technology, and more particularly to a heating cigarette feeding device. Background Technology

[0002] In recent years, with the increasing health awareness of the public, heated cigarettes and other new tobacco products have become a hot topic and focus of the global tobacco industry. Heated cigarettes release smoke by heating instead of combustion, and the heating temperature is below 500℃, which reduces the harmful components in the smoke, resulting in a relatively low release level. Compared with traditional cigarettes, the harmful or potentially harmful components in their smoke are significantly reduced, therefore heated cigarettes have received increasing attention and favor from consumers in recent years.

[0003] As a new type of tobacco product, heated cigarettes still require improvement in terms of smoke taste, leading to an increasing demand for research and development of new heated cigarette products. The processing of heated cigarettes mainly involves feeding and assembly, with feeding primarily utilizing existing traditional cigarette feeding devices. This method has the following problems: First, traditional cigarette feeding devices are typically large and suitable for industrial production, but new product development often doesn't require mass production, resulting in resource waste. Second, current feeding devices are mainly suitable for feeding shredded tobacco. Heated cigarettes use tobacco sheets and granules, and during the feeding process, tobacco sheets or granules frequently get stuck in the feeding equipment, causing malfunctions and low production efficiency. To reduce the probability of sticking, experienced operators are usually required to finely adjust the feeding equipment. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To solve or partially solve the problems existing in related technologies, the present invention provides a feeding device for heated cigarettes.

[0005] This invention provides a feeding device for heated cigarettes, comprising: a cigarette tube conveying unit, a feeding unit, and a driving unit; wherein,

[0006] The flue conveying unit includes: a flue hopper, a flue conveying shaft, and a first drive motor;

[0007] The two ends of the flue pipe conveying shaft form a driving end and a feeding end. The driving end is connected to the first driving motor. The feeding end is uniformly provided with several arc-shaped grooves along the circumference. Each arc-shaped groove is arranged along the axial direction of the flue pipe conveying shaft, and the end of the arc-shaped groove forms an arc-shaped opening. The flue pipe conveying shaft is arranged inclined along the direction below the driving end. The flue pipe hopper is located above the flue pipe conveying shaft, and its strip-shaped discharge port is opposite to the position of the arc-shaped groove located at the uppermost or second-uppermost end.

[0008] The feeding unit includes: a feeding funnel, a feeding pipe, and a screw;

[0009] The feeding pipe has a closed end and a discharge end, and the feeding pipe is inclined along the direction of its discharge end towards the bottom; the discharge end has a discharge port, which is connected to the arc-shaped opening of the uppermost arc-shaped groove; the top of the feeding pipe has a feed inlet, and the discharge port of the feeding funnel is connected to the feed inlet; the screw is disposed inside the feeding pipe and is arranged coaxially with the feeding pipe; the closed end of the feeding pipe has a connecting hole, and the end of the screw passes through the connecting hole and extends outside the feeding pipe; the power output end of the drive unit is connected to the end of the screw.

[0010] Furthermore, the drive unit includes: a fixed frame, a driving wheel, a driven wheel, a drive shaft, and a second drive motor; wherein,

[0011] The closed end of the feeding tube extends outward along the axis to form the fixed frame; the second drive motor is connected to the drive wheel; the drive wheel is disposed on the inner wall of the fixed frame and drives and cooperates with the driven wheel; the driven wheel has a through-shaft hole, and the power output end of the drive shaft passes through the through-shaft hole and is connected to the screw; the driven wheel is used to drive the drive shaft to rotate.

[0012] Furthermore, the drive shaft can move axially along the through-hole; the drive shaft includes a idling part and a driving part arranged sequentially; the maximum size of the idling part is smaller than the minimum size of the through-hole; the shape of the driving part is adapted to the through-hole.

[0013] Furthermore, the idling part is a cylindrical structure, the driving part is a polygonal prism structure, and the through-shaft hole is a polygonal prism hole.

[0014] Furthermore, it also includes a thrust adjustment unit, which comprises: a thrust bearing, a sliding mechanism, a spring, and an adjusting screw mechanism;

[0015] The sliding mechanism includes a slider and a slide rail, wherein the slide rail is disposed on the inner wall of the fixed frame;

[0016] The inner ring of the thrust bearing is connected to the end of the drive unit, and the outer ring is connected to the slider.

[0017] The limiting nut of the adjusting screw mechanism is screwed to the fixed frame, and one end of the adjusting screw extends into the slide rail after being screwed to the limiting nut; the spring is set in the slide rail, and its two ends act on the slider and the adjusting screw respectively.

[0018] Furthermore, there are three driving wheels, evenly arranged along the circumference; the driven wheel is a grooved wheel; the circumference of the three driving wheels is coaxial with that of the driven wheel.

[0019] Furthermore, no helical blades are provided on the side of the screw near the closed end.

[0020] Furthermore, the screw is provided with an annular baffle in the area where no helical blades are provided, the inner circle of the annular baffle is connected to the screw, and the outer edge of the annular baffle is close to the inner wall of the feeding tube.

[0021] Furthermore, each arc-shaped groove is provided with a prefabricated pipe, the end of which is flush with the end face of the arc-shaped opening of the arc-shaped groove; the prefabricated pipe is arranged coaxially with the arc-shaped groove.

[0022] Furthermore, it also includes a support unit, which includes: a base, and a first bracket and a second bracket disposed on the base; the first bracket is used to support the first drive motor at an angle, and the second bracket is used to support the feeding pipe at an angle.

[0023] The heating cigarette feeding device provided by the present invention can have the following beneficial effects:

[0024] In this feeding device, the tobacco tube conveyor shaft is circumferentially equipped with multiple arc-shaped grooves for placing empty tobacco tubes. After the empty tobacco tubes in the tobacco tube funnel fall into these grooves, the conveyor shaft rotates, aligning the end of the arc-shaped groove with the outlet of the feeding pipe. After tobacco sheets / particles are loaded into the feeding funnel, the screw rotates while the material is fed into the feeding pipe. The screw pushes the tobacco sheets / particles towards the outlet of the feeding pipe. The tobacco sheets / particles continuously move from the outlet into the empty tobacco tubes on the strip groove, thus continuously filling the empty tobacco tubes with tobacco material. The entire device is tilted, which facilitates feeding under gravity and reduces the risk of tobacco sheets / particles jamming the machine. The feeding process is convenient and requires minimal operator experience.

[0025] In addition, the feeding device is small in size and suitable for small-batch processing and production of heated cigarettes in a laboratory setting, which helps to avoid resource waste while developing new products.

[0026] It should be understood that the above general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only, and are not intended to limit the invention. Attached Figure Description

[0027] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the more detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein the same reference numerals generally represent the same parts.

[0028] Figure 1 A three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of the heating cigarette feeding device provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the main structure of the heating cigarette feeding device provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 3 for Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the AA section structure;

[0031] Figure 4 for Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the BB section structure;

[0032] Figure 5 A top view of the heating cigarette feeding device provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 6 for Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the CC section structure;

[0034] Figure 7 for Figure 6 A magnified schematic diagram of the central part of E;

[0035] Figure 8 for Figure 6 A magnified schematic diagram of the middle F section;

[0036] Figure 9 This is a side view of the heating cigarette feeding device provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 10 A three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of the heating cigarette feeding device provided in an embodiment of the present invention from another perspective;

[0038] Figure 11 for Figure 10 A magnified schematic diagram of the structure of part D.

[0039] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures

[0040] 1-Feeding Unit

[0041] 11-Feeding tube

[0042] 12-Feeding funnel

[0043] 13-Shaft

[0044] 14-Helical Blade

[0045] 2-Smoke pipe conveying unit

[0046] 21-First stent

[0047] 22-Smoke pipe conveyor shaft

[0048] 23-Arc-shaped groove

[0049] 3-Drive Unit

[0050] 31-Fixed bracket

[0051] 32-Driven wheel

[0052] 33-Through shaft hole

[0053] 34-Drive wheel

[0054] 35-Drive Shaft

[0055] 351-Drive Unit

[0056] 352-Idle Part

[0057] 36-Second drive motor

[0058] 37-Thrust Adjustment Unit

[0059] 371-Thrust Bearing

[0060] 372-Slide Rail

[0061] 373-Slider

[0062] 374-Connecting Rod

[0063] 375-Limit Nut

[0064] 376-Adjusting Screw

[0065] 377-Spring

[0066] 4-Precast pipe

[0067] 5-stop

[0068] 6-First drive motor

[0069] 7-Smoke pipe hopper

[0070] 8- Annular baffle Detailed Implementation

[0071] The following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0072] The terminology used in this invention is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. The singular forms “a,” “the,” and “the” used in this invention and the appended claims are also intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the term “and / or” as used herein refers to and includes any or all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0073] It should be understood that although the terms "first," "second," "third," etc., may be used in this invention to describe various information, this information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish information of the same type from one another. For example, without departing from the scope of this invention, first information may also be referred to as second information, and similarly, second information may also be referred to as first information. Thus, features defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this invention, "a plurality of" means two or more, unless otherwise explicitly specified.

[0074] This invention provides a feeding device for heated cigarettes. This feeding device is small in size, suitable for small-batch processing of heated cigarettes in a laboratory setting, and is particularly suitable for filling heated cigarette sheets and granules. During the feeding process, it reduces the likelihood of tobacco sheets / granules jamming the machine. The technical solution of this invention will be further described below with reference to specific embodiments:

[0075] This invention provides a feeding device for heated cigarettes; please refer to [link to relevant documentation]. Figures 1 to 11 The feeding device includes: a smoke pipe conveying unit 2, a feeding unit 1, and a drive unit 3; wherein,

[0076] The flue conveying unit 2 includes: a flue hopper 7, a flue conveying shaft 22 and a first drive motor 6;

[0077] The two ends of the smoke pipe conveying shaft 22 form a driving end and a feeding end. The driving end is connected to the first driving motor 6, and the feeding end is uniformly provided with a plurality of arc-shaped grooves 23 along the circumference (see [link]). Figure 1 and Figure 10 Each arc-shaped groove 23 is arranged axially along the smoke pipe conveying shaft 22, and the end of the arc-shaped groove 23 forms an arc-shaped opening; the smoke pipe conveying shaft 22 is arranged inclined in the direction of the lower part of the driving end (see [link]). Figure 1 The flue hopper 7 is positioned above the flue conveyor shaft 22, and its strip-shaped discharge port is opposite to the arc-shaped groove 23 located at the uppermost or second-uppermost end. In this embodiment, the strip-shaped discharge port of the flue hopper 7 is opposite to the arc-shaped groove 23 located at the second-uppermost end (see [link]). Figure 3 );

[0078] The feeding unit 1 includes: a feeding funnel 12, a feeding pipe 11, and a screw (see [link]). Figure 6 );

[0079] The feeding pipe 11 is provided with a closed end and a discharge end, and the feeding pipe 11 is arranged inclined in the direction of its discharge end towards the bottom (see [link]). Figure 1The discharge end is provided with a discharge port, which is connected to the arc-shaped opening of the uppermost arc-shaped groove 23; the top of the feeding pipe 11 is provided with a feed inlet, and the discharge port of the feeding funnel 12 is connected to the feed inlet; the screw is disposed inside the feeding pipe 11 and is arranged coaxially with the feeding pipe 11 (see [link]). Figure 6 The closed end of the feeding pipe 11 is provided with a connection hole, and the end of the screw extends through the connection hole and out of the feeding pipe 11; the power output end of the drive unit 3 is connected to the end of the screw.

[0080] In the heating cigarette feeding device provided in this embodiment, the cigarette tube conveying unit 2 is used to convey the empty cigarette tube to the feeding position for feeding, the feeding unit 1 is used to fill the empty cigarette tube with tobacco sheets / tobacco particles (hereinafter referred to as tobacco material), and the driving unit 3 is used to provide the power required for filling. Specifically:

[0081] In the aforementioned flue pipe conveying unit 2, the flue pipe hopper 7 is located above the flue pipe conveying shaft 22. The hopper is used to hold empty flue pipes. The empty flue pipes are discharged downwards through the strip-shaped discharge chute at the bottom of the hopper 7, falling into the arc-shaped groove 23 at the uppermost or second-uppermost end of the flue pipe conveying shaft 22. Please refer to [link / reference]. Figure 3 In this embodiment, empty cigarette tubes unloaded from the strip-shaped unloading chute fall into the arc-shaped groove 23 at the uppermost end of the cigarette tube conveying shaft 22. Correspondingly, several arc-shaped grooves 23 are evenly arranged circumferentially on the cigarette tube conveying shaft 22 to receive the empty cigarette tubes unloaded from the strip. After several arc-shaped grooves 23 are arranged on the cigarette tube conveying shaft 22, once the empty cigarette tube in the topmost arc-shaped groove is filled, the cigarette tube conveying shaft 22 can rotate slightly to fill the next arc-shaped groove, increasing the filling speed and correspondingly reducing the energy consumption of rotating the cigarette tube conveying shaft 22. As a preferred embodiment, the cigarette tube conveying unit 2 further includes a collection box located below the cigarette tube conveying shaft 22. Thus, after an empty cigarette tube is filled, it gradually rotates with the cigarette tube conveying shaft 22. When it rotates to the side closest to the ground, the cigarette tube falls into the collection box under its own gravity and is collected. The arc-shaped groove 23 is preferably a semi-circular arc-shaped groove. The head end of the arc-shaped groove 23 is preferably provided with a stop block 5 to limit the empty flue pipe, and the end of the arc-shaped groove 23 forms an arc-shaped opening. The flue pipe conveying shaft 22 is inclined in the following direction: the drive end connected to the first drive motor 6 is lower, and the feed end connected to the discharge port of the feeding pipe 11 is higher (the corresponding end of the arc-shaped opening of the arc-shaped groove 23 also faces upward). This makes the flue pipe inclined for feeding, so as to facilitate smooth feeding under the action of gravity.

[0082] Preferably, each arc-shaped groove 23 is provided with a pre-formed tube 4, the end of which is flush with the end face of the arc-shaped opening of the arc-shaped groove 23; the pre-formed tube 4 and the arc-shaped groove 23 are arranged coaxially. The head end of the pre-formed tube 4 is aligned with the empty cigarette tube located in the arc-shaped groove 23. In this scheme, the arrangement of the pre-formed tube 4 allows the tobacco material to enter the pre-formed tube 4 first after exiting the feeding pipe 11. The tobacco material can be initially shaped after passing through the pre-formed tube 4, making it easier for the shaped tobacco material to enter the empty cigarette tube, thus preventing deformation of the empty cigarette tube. Furthermore, the inner diameter of the pre-formed tube 4 gradually increases from the head end to the tail end.

[0083] The aforementioned feeding unit 1 includes a feeding funnel 12, a feeding pipe 11, and a screw. The feeding funnel 12, used to hold tobacco sheets or tobacco granules, is positioned above the feeding pipe 11 and connected to its inlet. For ease of feeding, the feeding pipe 11 is also inclined, preferably at the same angle as the tobacco pipe conveyor shaft 22. The outlet of the feeding pipe 11 is aligned with the arc-shaped opening of the uppermost arc-shaped groove 23. Those skilled in the art will understand that, for structures where a pre-formed pipe 4 is provided within the arc-shaped groove 23, the outlet is aligned with the end of the pre-formed pipe 4. Please refer to [link to relevant documentation]. Figure 6 A screw is installed inside the feeding pipe 11. The rotation of the screw shaft 13 will drive the spiral blade 14 to rotate. The spiral blade 14 pushes the material in the feeding pipe 11 toward the outlet of the feeding pipe 11. Then, it continuously moves from the outlet of the feeding pipe 11 into the empty tobacco pipe located in the arc groove 23. During the continuous conveying process, tobacco sheets / tobacco particles are filled into the empty tobacco pipe, and it is not easy for tobacco sheets / tobacco particles to jam the equipment.

[0084] The aforementioned drive unit 3 is used to drive the screw to rotate, and it is connected to the end of the screw, specifically the end of the rotating shaft 13, to drive the screw to rotate. For a preferred embodiment, please refer to... Figure 1 and Figure 4The drive unit 3 includes: a fixed frame 31, a driving wheel 34, a driven wheel 32, a drive shaft 35, and a second drive motor 36. The closed end of the feeding pipe 11 extends outward along its axis to form the fixed frame 31. The second drive motor 36 is connected to the driving wheel 34. The driving wheel 34 is disposed on the inner wall of the fixed frame 31 and drives the driven wheel 32. The driven wheel 32 has a through-shaft hole 33, through which the power output end of the drive shaft 35 passes and connects to the screw. The driven wheel 32 drives the drive shaft 35 to rotate. The working process of the drive unit 3 is as follows: the second drive motor 36 drives the driving wheel 34 to rotate, the driving wheel 34 drives the driven wheel 32 to rotate, and the driven wheel 32 drives the drive shaft 35 to rotate. Those skilled in the art will understand that the driven wheel 32, the screw shaft 13, and the feeding pipe 11 are coaxially arranged. The aforementioned driving wheel 34 is used to drive the driven wheel 32 to rotate, and the two are in a driving cooperation relationship. In this embodiment, there are three driving wheels 34, which are evenly arranged along the circumference; the driven wheel 32 is a grooved wheel; the circumference of the three driving wheels 34 is coaxial with the driven wheel 32. Of course, the driving wheel and the driven wheel can also be a meshing gear structure.

[0085] Preferably, the drive shaft 35 is axially movable along the through-shaft hole 33; see also Figure 11 The drive shaft 35 includes a idling section 352 and a driving section 351 arranged sequentially. The maximum size of the idling section 352 is smaller than the minimum size of the through-shaft hole 33. The shape of the driving section 351 is adapted to the through-shaft hole 33. That is, when the idling section 352 is located in the through-shaft hole 33, the driven wheel 32 cannot drive the idling section 352 to rotate, and the driven wheel 32 is in an idling state, so the drive shaft 35 cannot be driven to rotate. When the driving section 351 is located in the through-shaft hole 33, the driven wheel 32 can drive the idling section 352 to rotate, and the driven wheel 32 is in a driving state, so the drive shaft 35 is driven to rotate. In this structure, the drive shaft 35 is movable along the axial direction of the through-shaft hole 33, that is, it can move axially along the inside of the feed tube 11. The advantage of this structure is that while the screw is conveying tobacco material, it is subjected to a reverse thrust from the tobacco material, and this thrust increases with the amount of tobacco material poured into the empty tobacco tube. By setting a movable drive shaft 35, the drive shaft 35 can move in the opposite direction to the feeding direction under the thrust of the tobacco material. By controlling the driving force of the second drive unit 3 and the length of the drive part 351, it is possible to achieve the following: when the empty tobacco tube is filled with tobacco material, the drive shaft 35 moves until its idle part 352 is located in the through hole 33, and the drive shaft 35 stops rotating, thus completing one tobacco filling operation. Then, an external force is applied to retract the drive shaft 35 to its original position, and the first drive motor 6 drives the tobacco tube conveying shaft 22 to rotate. When the next empty tobacco tube is aligned with the feeding port of the feeding pipe 11, the second drive motor 36 is turned on to start another feeding process.

[0086] Regarding the specific shapes of the idling part 352, the driving part 351, and the through-shaft hole 33, it is only necessary to satisfy that the maximum size of the idling part 352 is smaller than the minimum size of the through-shaft hole 33 (i.e., the through-shaft hole 33 cannot drive the idling part 352); and that the shape of the driving part 351 is adapted to the through-shaft hole 33 (i.e., the through-shaft hole 33 can drive the driving part 351). Specifically, the driving part 351 can be a polygonal prism structure, the through-shaft hole 33 can be a polygonal prism hole, and the idling part 352 can be a cylindrical structure. A smooth transition is preferred between the driving part 351 and the idling part 352. In this embodiment, the driving part 351 is a triangular prism structure, and the through-shaft hole 33 is a triangular prism hole.

[0087] Further, please see Figure 7 The screw described above does not have a helical blade 14 on the side near the closed end, thereby preventing the helical blade 14 from blocking the closed end of the feed tube 11 when the screw rotates and slides. More preferably, the screw has an annular baffle 8 in the area where the helical blade 14 is not provided. The inner circle of the annular baffle 8 is connected to the screw, and the outer edge of the annular baffle 8 is close to the inner wall of the feed tube 11. By providing this annular baffle 8, tobacco sheets / particles can be prevented from entering the area between the annular baffle 8 and the closed end of the feed tube 11, and the maximum stroke of the screw can also be limited.

[0088] To facilitate adjustment of the filling density of tobacco sheets / particles within the empty cigarette tube, the aforementioned feeding device preferably also includes a thrust adjustment unit 37. (See also...) Figure 8 and Figure 11 It includes: a thrust bearing 371, a sliding mechanism, a spring 377, and an adjusting screw mechanism; wherein,

[0089] The sliding mechanism includes a slider 373 and a slide rail 372, with the slide rail 372 mounted on the inner wall of the fixed frame 31; the inner ring of the thrust bearing 371 is connected to the end of the drive unit 351, and the outer ring is connected to the slider 373; more specifically, the outer ring of the thrust bearing 371 can be connected to the slider 373 via a connecting rod 374.

[0090] The limiting nut 375 of the adjusting screw mechanism is screwed to the fixed frame 31. One end of the adjusting screw 376 is screwed to the limiting nut 375 and extends into the slide rail 372. The spring 377 is set in the slide rail 372, and its two ends act on the slider 373 and the adjusting screw 376 respectively.

[0091] The thrust adjustment unit 37 is used to apply thrust to the screw, and the thrust is adjustable. Specifically, by screwing in the adjustment screw 376, the spring 377 is compressed, and the restoring force of the spring 377 acts on the slider 373, pushing the slider 373 to move towards the discharge port. The outer and inner rings of the thrust bearing 371 move accordingly, and the inner ring of the shaft pushes the screw to move towards the discharge port, thereby applying a certain thrust to the screw. When the tobacco material is filled into the empty pipe and reaches a certain filling density, the reaction force of the tobacco material on the screw is greater than the restoring force of the spring 377. As a result, the screw is pushed to the idle part 352 located in the through hole 33. At this time, the second drive motor 36 can no longer drive the screw to rotate, and therefore can no longer fill the tobacco shreds. The density of the tobacco shreds is then fixed. By rotating the adjusting screw 376, the magnitude of the thrust of the adjusting spring 377 on the slider 373 can be changed, which in turn determines the adjustment of the maximum thrust of the screw on the tobacco sheet / tobacco granules, thereby realizing the filling requirements of tobacco material in the empty cigarette tube with different densities, which is convenient to operate.

[0092] Please see Figure 1 The heating cigarette feeding device provided in this embodiment preferably includes a support unit, which includes a base, a first bracket 21 and a second bracket disposed on the base; the first bracket 21 is used to support the first drive motor 6 at an angle, and the second bracket is used to support the feeding pipe 11 at an angle.

[0093] As can be seen from the above, the heating cigarette feeding device provided in the embodiments of the present invention has the following advantages:

[0094] In this feeding device, the tobacco tube conveyor shaft is circumferentially equipped with multiple arc-shaped grooves for placing empty tobacco tubes. After the empty tobacco tubes in the tobacco tube funnel fall into these grooves, the conveyor shaft rotates, aligning the end of the arc-shaped groove with the outlet of the feeding pipe. After tobacco sheets / particles are loaded into the feeding funnel, the screw rotates while the material is fed into the feeding pipe. The screw pushes the tobacco sheets / particles towards the outlet of the feeding pipe. The tobacco sheets / particles continuously move from the outlet into the empty tobacco tubes on the strip groove, thus continuously filling the empty tobacco tubes with tobacco material. The entire device is tilted, which facilitates feeding under gravity and reduces the risk of tobacco sheets / particles jamming the machine. The feeding process is convenient and requires minimal operator experience.

[0095] In addition, the feeding device is small in size and suitable for small-batch processing and production of heated cigarettes in a laboratory setting, which helps to avoid resource waste while developing new products.

[0096] The various embodiments of the present invention have been described above. These descriptions are exemplary and not exhaustive, nor are they limited to the disclosed embodiments. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The terminology used herein is chosen to best explain the principles, practical application, or improvement of the technology in the market, or to enable others skilled in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A feeding device for heated cigarettes, characterized in that, include: The flue gas conveying unit includes a feeding unit, a drive unit, and a thrust adjustment unit; among which... The flue conveying unit includes: a flue hopper (7), a flue conveying shaft (22), and a first drive motor (6). The two ends of the smoke pipe conveying shaft (22) form a driving end and a feeding end. The driving end is connected to the first driving motor (6). The feeding end is uniformly provided with a number of arc-shaped grooves (23) along the circumference. Each arc-shaped groove (23) is arranged along the axial direction of the smoke pipe conveying shaft (22). The end of the arc-shaped groove (23) forms an arc-shaped opening. The smoke pipe conveying shaft (22) is arranged inclined along the direction of the driving end. The smoke pipe hopper (7) is set above the smoke pipe conveying shaft (22). Its strip-shaped discharge port is opposite to the position of the arc-shaped groove (23) located at the uppermost or second-uppermost end. The feeding unit includes: a feeding funnel (12), a feeding pipe (11), and a screw; The feeding pipe (11) is provided with a closed end and a discharge end. The feeding pipe (11) is arranged inclined along the direction of its discharge end. The discharge end is provided with a discharge port, which is connected to the arc-shaped opening of the arc-shaped groove (23) located at the uppermost end. The top of the feeding pipe (11) is provided with a feed inlet, and the discharge port of the feeding funnel (12) is connected to the feed inlet. The screw is provided inside the feeding pipe (11) and is arranged coaxially with the feeding pipe (11). The closed end of the feeding pipe (11) is provided with a connection hole, and the end of the screw passes through the connection hole and extends outside the feeding pipe (11). The drive unit includes: a fixed frame (31), a driving wheel (34), a driven wheel (32), a drive shaft (35), and a second drive motor; wherein, the closed end of the feeding pipe (11) extends outward along the axis to form the fixed frame (31); the second drive motor is connected to the driving wheel (34); the driving wheel (34) is disposed on the inner wall of the fixed frame (31), and the driving wheel and the driven wheel (32) drive each other; the driven wheel (32) is provided with a through-shaft hole (33), and the power output end of the drive shaft (35) passes through the through-shaft hole (33) and is connected to the screw; the driven wheel (34) is used to drive the drive shaft (35) to rotate; The drive shaft (35) can move axially along the through-shaft hole (33); the drive shaft (35) includes a idling part (352) and a drive part (351) arranged in sequence; the maximum size of the idling part (352) is smaller than the minimum size of the through-shaft hole (33); the shape of the drive part (351) is adapted to the through-shaft hole (33); The thrust adjustment unit includes: a thrust bearing (371), a sliding mechanism, a spring, and an adjusting screw mechanism; the sliding mechanism includes: a slider (373) and a slide rail (372), the slide rail (372) being disposed on the inner wall of the fixed frame (31); the inner ring of the thrust bearing (371) is connected to the end of the drive unit (351), and the outer ring is connected to the slider (373); the limiting nut (375) of the adjusting screw mechanism is screwed to the fixed frame (31), and one end of the adjusting screw (376) is screwed to the limiting nut (375) and extends into the slide rail (372); the spring is disposed in the slide rail (372), and the two ends of the spring act on the slider (373) and the adjusting screw (376) respectively.

2. The feeding device for heated cigarettes according to claim 1, characterized in that, The idling part (352) is a cylindrical structure, the driving part (351) is a polygonal prism structure, and the through-shaft hole (33) is a polygonal prism hole.

3. The feeding device for heated cigarettes according to claim 1, characterized in that, There are three driving wheels (34), which are evenly arranged along the circumference; the driven wheel (32) is a grooved wheel; the circumference of the three driving wheels (34) is coaxial with the driven wheel (32).

4. The feeding device for heated cigarettes according to claim 1, characterized in that, No helical blades are provided on the side of the screw near the closed end.

5. The feeding device for heated cigarettes according to claim 4, characterized in that, The screw is provided with an annular baffle (8) in the area where no helical blades are provided. The inner circle of the annular baffle (8) is connected to the screw, and the outer edge of the baffle is close to the inner wall of the feed tube (11).

6. The feeding device for heated cigarettes according to claim 1, characterized in that, Each arc groove (23) is provided with a prefabricated pipe (4), the end of the prefabricated pipe (4) is flush with the end face of the arc opening of the arc groove (23); the prefabricated pipe (4) and the arc groove (23) are arranged coaxially.

7. The feeding device for heated cigarettes according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a support unit, which includes: a base, and a first bracket and a second bracket disposed on the base; the first bracket is used to support the first drive motor (6) at an angle, and the second bracket is used to support the feeding pipe (11) at an angle.

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