A device for preparing a curved tobacco rod, a method for preparing the curved tobacco rod, and the curved tobacco rod

Abstract

The application discloses a preparation device of curved cut tobacco, comprising: a conveying steel belt, which is used for conveying tobacco thick paste laid on the conveying steel belt along the running direction of the conveying steel belt; a drying mechanism, which is used for drying the tobacco thick paste, and the conveying steel belt is arranged through the drying mechanism along the running direction; a comb mechanism, which is arranged above the conveying steel belt, and the comb mechanism comprises combs and a transverse driving element, the combs are towards the conveying steel belt and are used for cutting the running tobacco thick paste, and the transverse driving element is used for driving the combs to reciprocate along the width direction of the conveying steel belt, so as to obtain a plurality of cut curved tobacco thick pastes. By adopting the above technical scheme, the curved cut tobacco is easy to be prepared, the adhesion between the curved cut tobaccos is improved, the curved cut tobacco is rapidly brought to the expected temperature, and the smoking experience of cigarettes is improved. The application further discloses a preparation method of the curved cut tobacco. The application further discloses the curved cut tobacco prepared according to the preparation method.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of tobacco preparation and processing technology, and in particular to an apparatus, a method for preparing curved tobacco shreds, and the curved tobacco shreds themselves. Background Technology

[0002] In the field of tobacco processing technology, increasing the curvature of tobacco shreds often reduces their filling density and increases the heating rate of cigarettes, thereby improving the smoking experience. Obtaining curved tobacco shreds is a crucial issue in the preparation of tobacco leaves.

[0003] Generally, the prepared tobacco shreds are rehydrated to increase their moisture content before drying to obtain curved tobacco shreds. However, this method makes it difficult to precisely control the degree of curl in curved tobacco shreds, and they are prone to sticking together. One reason is that tobacco shreds prepared by various processes, including papermaking, rolling, and slurry processing, are reconstituted and homogenized products. The two sides of the tobacco shreds have a consistent structure, and their shrinkage capacity is similar on both sides when dehydrated, making it difficult to curl and control the degree of curl in the resulting curved tobacco shreds. Another reason is that the fiber content in reconstituted tobacco leaves is lower than that in natural leaves. Significantly increasing the moisture content during rehydration and drying will drastically reduce the strength of the resulting curved tobacco shreds and increase their stickiness, easily causing them to stick together.

[0004] In general, it is very difficult to change the shape of tobacco shreds by cutting them into shreds and then processing them. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to solve the technical problem of difficulty in obtaining curved tobacco shreds in previous operations. This invention provides an apparatus for preparing curved tobacco shreds, which facilitates the production of curved tobacco shreds and improves the adhesion between curved tobacco shreds.

[0006] To address the aforementioned technical problems, embodiments of the present invention disclose an apparatus for preparing curved tobacco shreds, comprising: a conveyor belt for conveying tobacco paste spread on the conveyor belt along the traveling direction of the conveyor belt; a drying mechanism for drying the tobacco paste, wherein the conveyor belt passes through the drying mechanism along the traveling direction; and a combing mechanism disposed above the conveyor belt, the combing mechanism comprising combing teeth and a lateral drive member, one end of the combing teeth contacting the conveyor belt for cutting the traveling tobacco paste, and the lateral drive member for driving the combing teeth to reciprocate along the width direction of the conveyor belt to obtain multiple cut curved tobacco pastes.

[0007] Using the above technical solution, it is easy to produce curved tobacco shreds and improve the adhesion between the curved tobacco shreds. Furthermore, when cigarettes are rolled using these curved tobacco shreds, there are more gaps between them, which helps to reduce the rolling density of the cigarettes and allows the curved tobacco shreds to quickly reach the expected temperature, thereby improving the smoking experience of the cigarettes.

[0008] According to another specific embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus for preparing curved tobacco shreds is disclosed. The comb mechanism includes a comb handle, a plurality of comb teeth, and a plurality of tooth grooves provided on the comb handle. The opening of each tooth groove is arranged in the direction of the conveying steel belt, and the other end of each comb tooth is inserted into each tooth groove in a corresponding manner.

[0009] According to another specific embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus for preparing curved tobacco shreds is disclosed, wherein the distance between any two adjacent comb teeth is no greater than 1.5 mm.

[0010] According to another specific embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus for preparing curved tobacco shreds is disclosed, wherein the comb mechanism is disposed along the traveling direction at a position where the moisture content of the tobacco paste is 15wt%-65wt%.

[0011] According to another specific embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus for preparing curved tobacco shreds is disclosed, wherein each comb tooth is in the shape of an inverted triangle from top to bottom.

[0012] According to another specific embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus for preparing curved tobacco shreds is disclosed, wherein the plane containing the triangular shape is perpendicular to the width direction.

[0013] According to another specific embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus for preparing curved tobacco shreds is disclosed, wherein the comb teeth reciprocate a maximum distance of 8 mm along the width direction of the conveyor steel belt.

[0014] According to another specific embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus for preparing curved tobacco shreds is disclosed, wherein the drying mechanism includes a first drying unit and a second drying unit, and a comb mechanism is located between the first drying unit and the second drying unit along the traveling direction of the conveyor belt.

[0015] According to another specific embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus for preparing curved tobacco shreds is disclosed. A first drying unit is used to dry the moisture content of tobacco paste to 15wt%-65wt%, and a second drying unit is used to dry multiple cut curved tobacco pastes to a moisture content of 2wt%-12wt%, forming multiple curved tobacco sheets.

[0016] According to another specific embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus for preparing curved tobacco shreds is disclosed, including a shoveling device that shovels tobacco sheets away from a conveyor steel belt.

[0017] According to another specific embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus for preparing curved tobacco shreds is disclosed, including a cutting device that cuts tobacco sheets separated from the conveyor belt into curved tobacco shreds 1cm-7cm in length along the width direction.

[0018] The present invention also discloses a method for preparing curved tobacco shreds. The method utilizes a device for preparing curved tobacco shreds, which includes a conveyor belt, a drying mechanism, and a combing mechanism. The combing mechanism includes comb teeth and a lateral drive component. The preparation method includes the following steps:

[0019] Conveying: The tobacco slurry is spread on a conveyor belt and conveyed along the direction of travel of the conveyor belt;

[0020] Slicing and separating: One end of the comb teeth contacts the conveyor steel belt and slices the traveling tobacco slurry. The comb teeth are driven by a transverse drive to reciprocate along the width of the conveyor steel belt to obtain multiple sliced ​​and separated curved tobacco slurries.

[0021] Drying: Multiple strips of separated, curved tobacco slurry enter and pass through the drying mechanism along the direction of travel for drying, resulting in multiple curved tobacco sheets;

[0022] According to another specific embodiment of the present invention, an embodiment of the present invention also discloses a method for preparing curved tobacco shreds, which further includes the following steps between the conveying and separating steps:

[0023] First drying: The moisture content of the tobacco pulp is dried to 15wt%-65wt%, and then it is cut and separated.

[0024] According to another specific embodiment of the present invention, the present invention also discloses a method for preparing curved tobacco shreds, wherein the drying step further dries the multiple curved tobacco pastes obtained by the splitting and separating step to a moisture content of 2wt%-12wt%, forming multiple curved tobacco sheets.

[0025] According to another specific embodiment of the present invention, the present invention also discloses a method for preparing curved tobacco shreds, wherein a cutting step is performed after the drying step, and the cutting step refers to cutting the curved tobacco sheet along the width direction to obtain curved tobacco shreds with a length of 1cm-7cm.

[0026] According to another specific embodiment of the present invention, the present invention also discloses a method for preparing curved tobacco shreds, which further includes a scraping step between the drying and cutting steps. The scraping step includes: scraping the tobacco sheet off the conveyor steel belt using a scraping device.

[0027] The present invention also discloses a curved tobacco shred, which is prepared according to the above-described method for preparing curved tobacco shred. The curved tobacco shred has a wavy shape and the wavelength range of the wavy shape is 5mm-15mm. Attached Figure Description

[0028] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an apparatus for preparing curved tobacco shreds without a drying mechanism is shown in this invention.

[0029] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the apparatus for preparing curved tobacco shreds including a drying mechanism according to the present invention is shown;

[0030] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the comb mechanism in this invention is shown;

[0031] Figure 4 A flowchart illustrating the method for preparing curved tobacco shreds in this invention is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0032] The following specific embodiments illustrate the implementation of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the content disclosed in this specification. Although the description of the present invention is presented in conjunction with preferred embodiments, this does not mean that the features of the invention are limited to these embodiments. On the contrary, the purpose of describing the invention in conjunction with embodiments is to cover other options or modifications that may be derived based on the claims of the present invention. To provide a deep understanding of the invention, many specific details will be included in the following description. The invention may also be implemented without using these details. Furthermore, to avoid confusion or obscuring the focus of the invention, some specific details will be omitted in the description. It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features in the embodiments of the present invention can be combined with each other.

[0033] It should be noted that in this specification, similar reference numerals and letters in the following figures indicate similar items. Therefore, once an item is defined in one figure, it does not need to be further defined and explained in subsequent figures.

[0034] In the description of this embodiment, it should be noted that the terms "upper", "lower", "inner", "bottom", etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, or the orientation or positional relationship that the product of the invention is usually placed in during use. They are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

[0035] The terms “first”, “second”, etc., are used only to distinguish descriptions and should not be interpreted as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0036] In the description of this embodiment, it should also be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "set up," "connected," and "linked" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection of two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this embodiment based on the specific circumstances.

[0037] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present invention clearer, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0038] refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 This invention discloses a device 00 for preparing curved tobacco shreds, comprising: a conveyor belt 10, used to guide the tobacco paste spread on the conveyor belt 10 along the traveling direction of the conveyor belt 10. Figure 1 or Figure 2 The conveyor belt 10 is used to transport the tobacco slurry in the X direction shown in the figure; the drying mechanism 20 is used to dry the tobacco slurry, and the conveyor belt 10 is arranged to pass through the drying mechanism 20 along the travel direction; the comb mechanism 30 is arranged above the conveyor belt 10, and the comb mechanism 30 includes comb teeth 31 and a transverse drive member 32. One end of the comb teeth 31 contacts the conveyor belt 10 and is used to cut the traveling tobacco slurry. The transverse drive member 32 is used to drive the comb teeth 31 along the width direction of the conveyor belt 10 (in the X direction shown in the figure). Figure 1 or Figure 2 The material reciprocates in the Y direction (as shown in the diagram) to obtain multiple slits of curved tobacco paste 40.

[0039] Tobacco paste refers to a thick paste made by pulverizing tobacco materials in different forms, such as tobacco stems, tobacco leaves, fragments, and tobacco dust, into tobacco powder using a pulverizer. This tobacco powder is then mixed with water, adhesives, flavorings, and other processing aids to form a paste-like tobacco paste. The tobacco paste can be applied to the conveyor belt 10 using either a casting or coating method.

[0040] In this application, tobacco shreds refer to shreds cut from reconstituted tobacco leaves.

[0041] The drying mechanism 20 is generally a tunnel-type drying oven, with the conveyor steel belt 10 running through the tunnel-type drying oven. Multiple tunnel-type drying ovens are generally designed, and the specific number is determined based on the amount of tobacco pulp and the length of the conveyor steel belt 10.

[0042] A combing mechanism 30 is disposed above the conveyor belt 10, specifically longitudinally above the conveyor belt 10. The combing mechanism 30 includes comb teeth 31 and a transverse drive member 32. One end of the comb teeth 31 contacts the conveyor belt 10, or in other words, one end of the comb teeth 31 contacts the upper surface of the conveyor belt 10. When the conveyor belt 10 transports the tobacco paste in the direction of travel of the conveyor belt 10, the comb teeth 31 facing the conveyor belt 10 cut through the moving tobacco paste, forming multiple non-adhesive tobacco pastes 40. The transverse drive member 32 of the combing mechanism 30 is used to drive the comb teeth 31 to reciprocate along the width direction of the conveyor belt 10 to obtain multiple non-adhesive and curved tobacco pastes 40.

[0043] The above technical solution facilitates the production of curved tobacco shreds and improves the adhesion between them. Furthermore, when these curved tobacco shreds are rolled into cigarettes, there are more gaps between them, which helps reduce the rolling density and allows the shredded tobacco to quickly reach the desired temperature, thereby improving the smoking experience.

[0044] The speed and amplitude of the reciprocating motion of the comb teeth 31 can be adjusted by controlling the transverse drive 32, thereby forming multiple non-adhesive tobacco pastes 40 with different degrees of curvature, which are then further dried to obtain tobacco shreds with different degrees of curvature.

[0045] The amplitude of the reciprocating motion of the comb tooth 31 can be understood as follows: Establish a Cartesian coordinate system on the plane of the conveyor belt 10, with the point where the comb tooth 31 initially contacts the conveyor belt 10 as the origin. When the comb tooth 31 moves to its furthest point away from the origin under the drive of the transverse drive member 32, the distance from the origin to this furthest point is the amplitude, or in other words, the amplitude of the comb tooth 31 along the width direction of the conveyor belt 10. Figure 1 or Figure 2 The maximum distance of the reciprocating motion in the Y direction shown is the amplitude of the reciprocating motion of the comb tooth 31.

[0046] The speed of the comb teeth 31 reciprocating can be constant or variable. Similarly, the speed of the conveyor belt 10 can be constant or variable. When the speed of the comb teeth 31 reciprocating is constant and the speed of the conveyor belt 10 is the same as the speed of the comb teeth 31 reciprocating, multiple non-adhesive tobacco pastes 40 with sinusoidal or cosine waveforms are obtained.

[0047] refer to Figure 3 In other possible embodiments, the comb handle 33 of the comb teeth 31 is connected to the rotating disk 321 via the connecting rod 322. The rotating disk 321 is connected to the transverse drive member 32. Under the action of the transverse drive member 32, the rotating disk 321 is driven to rotate. The rotating disk 321 drives the connecting rod 322 to move, which in turn drives the comb teeth 31 to reciprocate.

[0048] The comb teeth 31 are made of a material with a certain degree of toughness, and the hardness is no higher than that of the material of the conveyor steel belt 10, which has high wear resistance.

[0049] The comb mechanism 30 also includes a comb handle 33, and the comb teeth 31 are multiple. The comb handle 33 is provided with multiple tooth grooves (not shown in the figure). The opening of each tooth groove is arranged in the direction of the conveyor steel belt 10, and the other end of each comb tooth 31 is inserted into each tooth groove in a corresponding manner.

[0050] Specifically, the number of comb teeth 31 is determined based on the width of the conveyor belt 10 and the width of the curved tobacco shreds to be formed.

[0051] The advantage of the above design is that when a comb tooth 31 breaks or is damaged, the comb tooth 31 can be removed from the tooth groove and a new comb tooth 31 can be inserted into the tooth groove, which reduces the cost of replacing or repairing the comb tooth mechanism 30.

[0052] In other possible implementations, the comb handle 33 and the comb teeth 31 are integrally formed.

[0053] The distance between any two adjacent comb teeth 31 is no greater than 1.5 mm. The distance between any two adjacent comb teeth 31 is the width of each curved tobacco paste after it has been cut.

[0054] The distance between any two adjacent comb teeth 31 is no more than 1.5mm, which determines that the width of the curved tobacco shreds formed by the tobacco paste is no more than 1.5mm. This facilitates the filling of curved tobacco shreds in subsequent cigarette making and can improve the cigarette's smoke production effect.

[0055] The preferred distance between any two adjacent comb teeth 31 is 0.8-1.2mm. Tobacco within this range can better meet the width requirements of cigarette rolling machines for cigarettes with a diameter of 5.5mm-7.8mm.

[0056] The comb mechanism 30 is positioned along the direction of travel at a location where the moisture content of the tobacco paste is 15wt%-65wt%.

[0057] Tobacco paste with a moisture content of 15wt%-65wt% is in a semi-dry state. In this state, the tobacco paste has poor casting ability and is easily divided into parallel tobacco pastes. After division, the boundaries between adjacent tobacco pastes are stable and they will not flow or come into contact.

[0058] Preferably, the comb mechanism 30 is positioned along the travel direction at a point where the moisture content of the tobacco paste is 25wt%-45wt%, or in other words, the moisture content of the tobacco paste when it is divided by the comb teeth 31 is 25wt%-45wt%. When the moisture content is below 45wt%, the tobacco paste is essentially in a soft solid state and has lost most of its fluidity. However, when the moisture content is below 25wt%, the tobacco paste is closer to a dry state and has a certain strength, increasing the difficulty of cutting it.

[0059] Each comb tooth 31 is shaped like an inverted triangle from top to bottom. This design makes the width of the comb tooth 31 smaller closer to the conveyor belt 10, making it easier for the comb tooth 31 to cut the tobacco paste. Furthermore, the smaller width of the comb tooth 31 closer to the conveyor belt 10 allows for more non-adhesive, curved tobacco paste 40 to be arranged on the same width of the conveyor belt 10, improving the production efficiency of the final curved tobacco shreds.

[0060] Specifically, each comb tooth 31 is needle-shaped or blade-shaped at one end facing the conveyor belt 10.

[0061] In other possible implementations, the plane containing the triangle is parallel to the width direction ( Figure 1 or Figure 2 The Y-direction shown is perpendicular to the direction of travel, meaning that the projection of the triangular shape onto the conveyor belt 10 is parallel to the direction of travel. Figure 1 or Figure 2 The line segment (shown in the X direction) is beneficial to improving the stability of the comb 31 during the process of the comb 31 cutting through the tobacco pulp.

[0062] The comb teeth 31 are along the width direction of the conveyor belt 10. Figure 1 or Figure 2 The maximum distance of the reciprocating motion (in the Y direction shown) is 8mm, which means the maximum wave height of the formed curved tobacco is 8mm, or the maximum amplitude of the curved tobacco is 8mm. Generally speaking, the diameter of the cigarette is within 8mm. Curved tobacco with a wave height higher than 8mm is difficult to roll completely into the cigarette and is often cut off on the cigarette rolling machine, so its curved shape advantage cannot be fully utilized.

[0063] The reciprocating motion trajectory boundary of the comb tooth 31 device does not exceed the plane width of the conveyor steel belt 10, but can exceed the coating width of the tobacco slurry.

[0064] refer to Figure 2The drying mechanism 20 includes a first drying unit 21 and a second drying unit 22. The first drying unit is used to dry the moisture content of the tobacco paste to 15wt%-65wt%, and the second drying unit 22 is used to dry multiple strips of cut, curved tobacco paste 40 to a moisture content of 2wt%-12wt%, forming multiple curved tobacco sheets.

[0065] In other possible embodiments, the comb teeth can be located inside the first drying unit, drying the tobacco slurry to a moisture content of 15wt%-65wt% as it passes through. The comb teeth inside the first drying unit cut through the arriving tobacco slurry, and under the drive of the lateral drive member, the comb teeth reciprocate to obtain multiple non-adhesive, curved strands of tobacco slurry. The lateral drive member can be installed inside the first drying unit along with the comb teeth, or it can be installed outside the first drying unit; no further restrictions are placed here. The multiple non-adhesive, curved strands of tobacco slurry are conveyed by a steel conveyor belt into the second drying unit, where they are dried to a moisture content of 2wt%-12wt%, forming multiple curved tobacco sheets.

[0066] In other possible implementations, see reference to Figure 2 The comb teeth 31 can also travel along the direction of travel of the conveyor belt 10. Figure 1 or Figure 2 (In the X direction shown) is located between the first drying unit 21 and the second drying unit 22. When the tobacco slurry passes through the first drying unit 21, its moisture content is dried to 15wt%-65wt%. It continues to be transported by the conveyor belt 10, leaving the first drying unit 21 and moving towards the second drying unit 22. While passing between the first and second drying units 21 and 22, the comb teeth 31 cut the tobacco slurry, and under the drive of the lateral drive member, the comb teeth 31 reciprocate to obtain multiple non-adhesive and curved tobacco slurries. The lateral drive member is also installed between the first drying unit 21 and the second drying unit 22 along with the comb teeth 31. The multiple non-adhesive and curved tobacco slurries 40 then enter the second drying unit 22. Under the action of the second drying unit 22, the multiple cut and curved tobacco slurries 40 are dried to a moisture content of 2wt%-12wt%, forming multiple curved tobacco sheets.

[0067] The apparatus 00 for preparing curved tobacco shreds also includes a scraping device (not shown in the figure) that scrapes the tobacco sheets away from the conveyor belt 10. The scraping device may refer to a scraper.

[0068] The scraping device is located at the end of the conveyor belt 10. When the blade of the scraping device is close to the conveyor belt 10, the tobacco sheet attached to the conveyor belt 10 is scraped off the conveyor belt 10.

[0069] The apparatus 00 for preparing the curved tobacco shreds also includes a cutting device (not shown in the figure), which cuts the tobacco sheet shoveled from the conveyor steel belt 10 into curved tobacco shreds 1cm-7cm long along the width direction.

[0070] The cutting device typically uses shearing force to clamp the tobacco sheet, forming curved tobacco shreds 1cm-7cm long.

[0071] This invention also provides a method for preparing curved tobacco shreds. The method utilizes a curved tobacco shred preparation apparatus 00 to prepare curved tobacco shreds. The apparatus includes a conveyor belt 10, a drying mechanism 20, and a combing mechanism 30. The combing mechanism 30 includes comb teeth 31 and a lateral drive member 32. The preparation method includes the following steps:

[0072] Conveying: The tobacco slurry is spread on the conveyor belt 10 and conveyed along the travel direction of the conveyor belt 10.

[0073] Cutting and separating: One end of the comb teeth 31 contacts the conveyor steel belt 10 and cuts the traveling tobacco paste. The comb teeth 31 are driven by the transverse drive 32 to reciprocate along the width direction of the conveyor steel belt 10 to obtain multiple cut and separated curved tobacco pastes.

[0074] Drying: Multiple strips of separated, curved tobacco slurry enter and pass through the drying mechanism 20 along the direction of travel for drying, resulting in multiple curved tobacco sheets.

[0075] The process between the conveying and separating steps also includes:

[0076] First drying: The moisture content of the tobacco slurry is dried to 15wt%-65wt%, and then it is cut and separated.

[0077] The curved tobacco shreds prepared by the above method, when rolled into cigarettes, have more gaps between them, which helps to reduce the rolling density of the cigarettes and allows the curved tobacco shreds to quickly reach the expected temperature, thereby improving the smoking experience of the cigarettes.

[0078] Specifically, when the moisture content of the tobacco paste is between 15wt% and 65wt%, a separation step is performed on the tobacco paste. The tobacco paste with a moisture content of 15wt% to 65wt% is in a semi-dry state. In this state, the tobacco paste has poor flowability and is easily separated into parallel strips. After separation, the boundaries between adjacent tobacco pastes are stable and they will not flow or come into contact.

[0079] Alternatively, the first drying unit 21 of the drying mechanism 20 may be used to dry the moisture content of the tobacco paste to 15wt%-65wt%.

[0080] The drying step involves further drying the tobacco paste, which has been separated into multiple curved strips, to a moisture content of 2wt%-12wt%, forming multiple curved tobacco sheets.

[0081] Alternatively, the second drying unit 22 of the drying mechanism 20 can be used to further dry the multiple strips of separated, curved tobacco paste to a moisture content of 2wt%-12wt%, forming multiple curved tobacco sheets.

[0082] Preferably, the second drying unit 22 of the drying mechanism 20 is used to further dry the multiple strips of separated, curved tobacco paste to a moisture content of 5wt%-10wt%, forming multiple curved tobacco sheets. Tobacco sheets with a moisture content of 5wt%-10wt% have good smoking effect. Generally speaking, tobacco sheets with a moisture content below 2wt% are too dry, have poor folding resistance, and are easy to break. Tobacco sheets with a moisture content above 12wt% produce more water vapor when heated after being made into cigarettes, and release more heat after condensation, resulting in a higher smoke temperature.

[0083] After the drying step, a cutting step is performed, which refers to cutting the curved tobacco sheet along the width direction to obtain curved tobacco shreds 1cm-7cm long.

[0084] Between the drying and cutting steps, there is also a scraping step, which includes scraping the tobacco sheets off the conveyor belt 10 using a scraping device.

[0085] This invention also provides a curved tobacco shred, prepared according to the above-described method. The curved tobacco shred has a wavy shape and a wavelength range of 5mm-15mm. Within this range, the filling value of the curved tobacco shred can be more easily adjusted, making it easier to control the filling value within a reasonable range and ensuring that the filling is neither too tight nor too loose. This results in a cigarette with good smoke production.

[0086] Example 1

[0087] 40 parts tobacco powder, 150 parts water, 10 parts glycerol, 1 part wood pulp fiber, and 2 parts sodium carboxymethyl cellulose are vigorously stirred and pulped to obtain a paste-like tobacco slurry.

[0088] Tobacco slurry is coated onto a steel belt to a thickness of 1 mm and a width of 500 mm. The slurry then enters a tunnel-type drying oven. Inside the first drying unit, comb teeth are installed, with a handle width of 510 mm and each tooth width of 0.1 mm, creating 0.1 mm scratches on the slurry. Adjacent teeth are spaced 1 mm apart. The comb teeth are positioned at a moisture content of 40±5% and reciprocate at a distance of 3 mm. The 3 mm refers to the amplitude of the reciprocating motion, which is the same as the speed of the steel belt. This results in multiple separated, curved strands of tobacco slurry with a wavelength of 6 mm. These strands are then dehydrated in the second drying unit until the moisture content reaches 8%, forming multiple curved tobacco sheets. These sheets are then peeled off the steel belt with a spatula and cut into 20 mm long curved tobacco shreds.

[0089] Cigarettes are made using the aforementioned curved tobacco shreds, and the tobacco shred filling density of the cigarettes is 0.44 g / cm³. 3 The resulting cigarettes have good roundness and hardness, require a short preheating time, and produce good smoke.

[0090] Example 2

[0091] 40 parts tobacco powder, 150 parts water, 10 parts glycerol, 1 part wood pulp fiber, and 2 parts sodium carboxymethyl cellulose are vigorously stirred and pulped to obtain a paste-like tobacco slurry.

[0092] Tobacco slurry is coated onto a steel belt to a thickness of 1 mm and a width of 500 mm. The slurry then enters a tunnel-type drying oven. Inside the first drying unit, comb teeth are installed, with a comb handle width of 510 mm and each tooth width of 0.1 mm, creating 0.1 mm scratches on the slurry. Adjacent teeth are spaced 1.2 mm apart. The comb teeth are positioned at a moisture content of 30 ± 5% and reciprocate at a distance of 2 mm. The reciprocating speed of the comb teeth is the same as the speed of the steel belt, resulting in multiple separated, curved strands of tobacco slurry with a wavelength of 4 mm. These separated, curved strands of tobacco slurry continue to be dehydrated in the second drying unit until the moisture content reaches 8%, forming multiple curved tobacco sheets. These sheets are then peeled off the steel belt with a spatula and cut into 20 mm long curved tobacco shreds.

[0093] Cigarettes are made using the aforementioned curved tobacco shreds, and the tobacco shred filling density of the cigarettes is 0.48 g / cm³. 3 The resulting cigarettes have good roundness and hardness, require less preheating time, and produce better smoke.

[0094] Comparative Example

[0095] 40 parts tobacco powder, 150 parts water, 10 parts glycerol, 1 part wood pulp fiber, and 2 parts sodium carboxymethyl cellulose are vigorously stirred and pulped to obtain a paste-like tobacco slurry.

[0096] The tobacco paste is coated onto a steel belt with a thickness of 1 mm and a width of 500 mm. The tobacco paste enters a tunnel-type drying oven along with the steel belt and is dried to a moisture content of 8%, forming a thin tobacco layer. The thin tobacco layer is peeled off from the steel belt with a spatula, cut into shreds, forming tobacco strips with a width of 1 mm. The tobacco strips are then cut into straight tobacco shreds with a length of 20 mm.

[0097] Cigarettes are made using the aforementioned straight tobacco shreds, and the tobacco shred filling density of the cigarettes is 0.58 g / cm³. 3 The resulting cigarettes have good roundness and hardness, but they are not easy to smoke and require a long preheating time, resulting in a poor smoking experience.

[0098] While the present invention has been illustrated and described with reference to certain preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that the above description is a further detailed explanation of the invention in conjunction with specific embodiments, and should not be construed as limiting the specific implementation of the invention to these descriptions. Various changes in form and detail can be made by those skilled in the art, including several simple deductions or substitutions, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. An apparatus for preparing curved tobacco shreds, characterized in that, include: A conveyor belt is used to transport tobacco slurry laid on the conveyor belt along the direction of travel of the conveyor belt; A drying mechanism is used to dry the tobacco paste, and the conveyor steel belt is arranged to pass through the drying mechanism along the travel direction; A combing mechanism is disposed above the conveyor steel belt. The combing mechanism includes comb teeth and a lateral drive member. One end of the comb teeth contacts the conveyor steel belt and is used to cut the moving tobacco paste. The lateral drive member is used to drive the comb teeth to reciprocate along the width direction of the conveyor steel belt to obtain multiple cut curved tobacco pastes. The distance between any two adjacent comb teeth is the width of the curved tobacco paste.

2. The apparatus for preparing curved tobacco shreds as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The comb mechanism includes a comb handle, and the comb teeth are multiple. The comb handle is provided with multiple tooth grooves. The opening of each tooth groove is arranged in the direction of the conveyor steel belt, and the other end of each comb tooth is inserted into each tooth groove in a corresponding manner.

3. The apparatus for preparing curved tobacco shreds as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The distance between any two adjacent comb teeth shall not exceed 1.5 mm.

4. The apparatus for preparing curved tobacco shreds as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The comb mechanism is positioned along the travel direction at a location where the moisture content of the tobacco paste is 15wt%-65wt%.

5. The apparatus for preparing curved tobacco shreds as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Each of the comb teeth is in the shape of an inverted triangle from top to bottom.

6. The apparatus for preparing curved tobacco shreds as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The plane containing the triangular shape is perpendicular to the width direction.

7. The apparatus for preparing curved tobacco shreds as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The maximum distance the comb teeth reciprocate along the width of the conveyor belt is 8mm.

8. The apparatus for preparing curved tobacco shreds as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The drying mechanism includes a first drying unit and a second drying unit, and the comb mechanism is located between the first drying unit and the second drying unit along the traveling direction of the conveyor steel belt.

9. The apparatus for preparing curved tobacco shreds as described in claim 8, characterized in that, The first drying unit is used to dry the moisture content of the tobacco paste to 15wt%-65wt%, and the second drying unit is used to dry multiple strips of cut, curved tobacco paste to a moisture content of 2wt%-12wt%, forming multiple curved tobacco sheets.

10. The apparatus for preparing curved tobacco shreds as described in claim 9, characterized in that, It includes a shoveling device that shovels the tobacco sheet away from the conveyor belt.

11. The apparatus for preparing curved tobacco shreds as described in claim 10, characterized in that, Includes a cutting device that cuts the tobacco sheet, which has been removed from the conveyor belt, into curved tobacco shreds 1-7 cm long along the width direction.

12. A method for preparing curved tobacco shreds, characterized in that, Curved tobacco shreds are prepared using the apparatus for preparing curved tobacco shreds as described in any one of claims 1-11, the apparatus comprising a conveyor belt, a drying mechanism, and a combing mechanism, the combing mechanism comprising combing teeth and a lateral drive member, the preparation method comprising the following steps: Conveying: The tobacco slurry is spread on the conveyor belt and conveyed along the direction of travel of the conveyor belt; Slicing and separating: One end of the comb teeth contacts the conveyor steel belt and slices the traveling tobacco pulp. The comb teeth are driven by the lateral drive to reciprocate along the width direction of the conveyor steel belt to obtain multiple sliced ​​and separated curved tobacco pulp. Drying: Multiple strips of the separated, curved tobacco slurry enter and pass through the drying mechanism along the direction of travel for drying, resulting in multiple curved, continuous tobacco sheets.

13. The method for preparing curved tobacco shreds as described in claim 12, characterized in that, Between the conveying and the cutting / separating steps, the following is also included: First drying: The moisture content of the tobacco slurry is dried to 15wt%-65wt%, and then the separation is carried out.

14. The method for preparing curved tobacco shreds as described in claim 12, characterized in that, The drying step further dries the tobacco slurry, which has been separated into multiple curved strips in the splitting and separating step, to a moisture content of 2wt%-12wt%, forming multiple curved tobacco sheets.

15. The method for preparing curved tobacco shreds as described in claim 12, characterized in that, After the drying step, a cutting step is performed, which refers to cutting the curved tobacco sheet along the width direction to obtain curved tobacco shreds 1cm-7cm long.

16. The method for preparing curved tobacco shreds as described in claim 15, characterized in that, Between the drying and cutting steps, there is also a shoveling step, which includes using a shoveling device to shovel the tobacco sheet away from the conveyor belt.

17. A type of curved tobacco shred, characterized in that, The curved tobacco shreds are prepared according to the method of claim 12, wherein the curved tobacco shreds are wavy in shape and the wavelength range of the wavy shape is 5mm-15mm.

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