A device for loosening thin sheets after they have regained moisture

Abstract

This application relates to the technical field of cigarette processing equipment and discloses a loosening device for rehydrated cigarette sheets. It includes a vibrating conveyor assembly located at the discharge end of a rehydration and loosening machine. The discharge end of the vibrating conveyor assembly is equipped with an air separation mechanism, which has an air separation rejection port. Below the air separation rejection port is a receiving box, connected to a cyclone feeder. The discharge end of the cyclone feeder is located above the vibrating conveyor assembly. This application first uses the vibrating conveyor assembly to initially supplement and disperse any residual clumps that are not completely loosened by the rehydration machine. Then, the sheets are fed into the air separation mechanism, causing clumps that the airflow cannot lift to fall into the air separation rejection port. Finally, the clumps are collected by the receiving box below the air separation rejection port and then sent back to the vibrating conveyor assembly by the cyclone feeder to re-participate in the vibration loosening and air separation process. This achieves thorough loosening of the clumps and material recovery, thereby preventing the formation of shredded clumps that, when mixed with cigarette leaves, affect the quality of the cigarette product.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the technical field of cigarette processing equipment, and specifically to a device for loosening thin sheets after they have been rehydrated. Background Technology

[0002] The tobacco sheets supplied to the cigarette factory's tobacco processing workshop are processed in a dedicated tobacco sheet workshop. After processing, the finished tobacco sheets are stored, boxed, and transported to the tobacco processing line. Then, according to the requirements of the cigarette process formula, they are shredded and continuously and evenly mixed into the tobacco leaves in proportion.

[0003] During storage, packing, and transportation, tobacco sheets are prone to clumping due to compression. Traditionally, a loosening and rehumidifying machine is used to loosen the clumped sheets. However, the sheets are not completely loosened after entering the loosening and rehumidifying machine, and some clumps remain. These clumps, after being cut into shreds, will form strands, which, when mixed with the tobacco leaves, will affect the quality of the cigarette product. Utility Model Content

[0004] This application provides a loosening device for rehydration of thin sheets, which aims to solve the technical problem in the prior art that the thin sheets after entering the loosening and rehydration machine cannot be completely loosened and still have some clumps. These clumps will form strands after being cut into shreds, and when they are mixed with the leaf shreds, they will affect the quality of cigarette products.

[0005] In one embodiment, a device for loosening sheets after rehydration is provided, comprising:

[0006] A vibrating conveying assembly is provided at the discharge end of the loose rehumidifier. The discharge end of the vibrating conveying assembly is provided with an air separation mechanism. The air separation mechanism has an air separation rejection port. A receiving box is provided below the air separation rejection port. The receiving box is connected to a cyclone discharger. The discharge end of the cyclone discharger is located above the vibrating conveying assembly.

[0007] In one embodiment, the vibrating conveyor assembly includes: a first conveyor belt disposed at the discharge end of the loosening and rehydration machine, the discharge end of the first conveyor belt being provided with a material leveling roller, and the discharge end of the material leveling roller being provided with a vibrating conveyor.

[0008] In one embodiment, the air separation mechanism includes: an air separation box connected to the discharge end of the vibrating conveyor, a second conveyor belt mounted on the lower cavity of the air separation box, an air lock at the discharge end of the second conveyor belt, and a third conveyor belt at the discharge port of the air lock.

[0009] In one embodiment, the air separation rejection port is located on the bottom side of the air separator box near the vibrating conveyor, and the airlock is installed on the bottom side of the air separator box away from the vibrating conveyor.

[0010] In one embodiment, a filter screen is rotatably mounted on the upper cavity of the air separator, and a brush is mounted below the filter screen, with the end of the brush elastically fitting against the surface of the filter screen.

[0011] In one embodiment, the upper cavity of the air separator is connected to the dust collector via a dust removal fan.

[0012] In one embodiment, the end of the receiving box away from the air separation rejection port is connected to a pipe, and the end of the pipe away from the receiving box is connected to the feed end of the cyclone feeder via a flange. A fan is installed at the rear end of the exhaust port of the cyclone feeder.

[0013] The beneficial effects of this application are:

[0014] In this application, a vibrating conveyor assembly located at the discharge end of the rehydration machine first uses rotation and vibration to initially supplement and disperse residual clumps that have not been completely loosened by the rehydration machine while conveying the sheets. Then, the sheets are sent to the air separation mechanism, where the difference in suspension velocity between the clumps and qualified sheets causes clumps that the airflow cannot lift to fall into the air separation rejection port, preventing residual clumps from entering subsequent processes. Finally, the clumps are collected by the receiving box below the air separation rejection port and then sent back to the vibrating conveyor assembly by the cyclone feeder to re-participate in the vibration loosening and air separation process, achieving thorough loosening of clumps and material recovery. Even if there are residual sheet clumps, they can be rejected by the air separation mechanism and sent to the vibrating conveyor assembly for loosening to form a closed loop, thereby avoiding the phenomenon of clumps being cut into strips and mixed with leaf shreds, affecting the quality of cigarette products. Attached Figure Description

[0015] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0016] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the sheet loosening device after rehydration in one embodiment of this application.

[0017] Labels for each item in the figure:

[0018] 1. Pipeline; 2. Flange; 3. Cyclone feeder; 4. Fan; 5. First conveyor belt; 6. Air classifier box; 7. Filter screen; 8. Brush; 9. Second conveyor belt; 10. Air lock; 11. Third conveyor belt; 12. Air classifier rejection port; 13. Receiving box; 14. Vibrating conveyor; 15. Material distribution roller; 16. Drive chain; 17. Drive motor; 18. Gear motor. Detailed Implementation

[0019] The specific embodiments of this application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and examples. The following examples are used to illustrate this application, but are not intended to limit the scope of this application. Similarly, the following examples are only some embodiments of this application, not all embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0020] In the description of this utility model, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "transverse", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential", etc., indicating the orientation or positional relationship are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing this utility model and simplifying the description, and are not intended to indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of this utility model.

[0021] Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of that feature. In the description of this utility model, "a plurality of" means at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise explicitly specified.

[0022] In this utility model, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," "joining," and "fixing," etc., should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral part; they can refer to a mechanical connection, an electrical connection, or a connection that allows communication between them; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; they can refer to the internal communication of two components or the interaction between two components, unless otherwise explicitly limited. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this utility model according to the specific circumstances.

[0023] In this utility model, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, "above" or "below" the second feature can mean that the first feature is in direct contact with the second feature, or that the first feature is in indirect contact with the second feature through an intermediate medium. Furthermore, "above," "on top of," and "over" the second feature can mean that the first feature is directly above or diagonally above the second feature, or simply that the first feature is at a higher horizontal level than the second feature. "Below," "below," and "under" the second feature can mean that the first feature is directly below or diagonally below the second feature, or simply that the first feature is at a lower horizontal level than the second feature.

[0024] In this utility model, the terms "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "example," "specific example," or "some examples," etc., refer to a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment or example, which is included in at least one embodiment or example of this utility model. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples. Moreover, without contradiction, those skilled in the art can combine and integrate the different embodiments or examples described in this specification, as well as the features of different embodiments or examples.

[0025] This application proposes improvements and innovations, and presents the following embodiments.

[0026] Example 1:

[0027] Please see Figure 1 A device for loosening sheet after rehydration is provided, including a loosening and rehydration machine (not shown in the figure), and further comprising:

[0028] A vibrating conveying assembly is provided at the discharge end of the loose rehumidifier. The discharge end of the vibrating conveying assembly is provided with an air separation mechanism. The air separation mechanism has an air separation rejection port 12. A receiving box 13 is provided below the air separation rejection port 12. A cyclone discharger 3 is connected to the receiving box 13, and the discharge end of the cyclone discharger 3 is located above the vibrating conveying assembly.

[0029] Specifically, after receiving the material from the rehydration machine, the vibrating conveyor assembly loosens any remaining clumps that were not completely broken up by the rehydration machine during the conveying process. Compared to the traditional method that relies solely on a single loosening by the rehydration machine, this adds a rotation and vibration loosening step, further reducing the clump retention rate and laying the foundation for subsequent processing. After the sheets conveyed by the vibrating conveyor assembly enter the air separation mechanism, the air separation mechanism uses airflow differences to separate the still-unloosened clumps (which are heavier and cannot be lifted by the airflow) from the qualified sheets. Since the suspension velocity of the clump sheets is greater than the airflow velocity, they will fall directly into the air separation rejection port 12 and then into the receiving box 13. After the clumps collected by the receiving box 13 are conveyed by the cyclone feeder 3, they return to the top of the vibrating conveyor assembly and mix with the new output of the loosening and rehumidifying machine. They then re-enter the process of rotation, vibration loosening, and air separation, forming a closed loop in which clumps are not discarded and are loosened again. This ensures that the clumps are completely broken up, avoids quality hazards caused by incomplete processing in a single process, reduces material waste, and improves the overall loosening processing efficiency.

[0030] Suspension velocity refers to the minimum airflow velocity required to lift solid particles (such as flakes) and keep them suspended. The heavier and larger the particles (such as agglomerated flakes), the higher the suspension velocity, requiring a faster airflow to hold them. The lighter and looser the particles (such as qualified flakes), the lower the suspension velocity, and a slower airflow can hold them. The air separation mechanism controls the internal airflow velocity to be lower than the suspension velocity of agglomerated flakes but higher than the suspension velocity of qualified flakes. Qualified flakes, due to their low suspension velocity, are lifted by the current airflow velocity and ultimately guided by the airflow to the subsequent conveying structure for the next process. Agglomerated flakes, because their suspension velocity is much higher than the current airflow velocity, cannot be lifted by the airflow and will fall naturally under their own gravity, unable to move with the qualified flakes, and can only fall towards the air separation rejection port 12 along the direction of gravity.

[0031] During storage, packing, and transportation, tobacco sheets are prone to clumping due to compression. Traditionally, a loosening and rehumidifying machine is used to loosen the clumped sheets. However, the sheets are not completely loosened after entering the loosening and rehumidifying machine, and some clumps remain. These clumps, after being cut into shreds, will form strands, which, when mixed with the tobacco leaves, will affect the quality of the cigarette product. In this application, the vibrating conveyor assembly located at the discharge end of the loosening and rehydration machine first uses rotation and vibration to initially supplement and disperse residual clumps that have not been completely loosened by the rehydration machine while conveying the sheet. Then, the sheet is sent to the air separation mechanism. Utilizing the difference in suspension velocity between the clump sheet and the qualified sheet, the clumps that the airflow cannot lift fall into the air separation rejection port 12, preventing the residual clumps from entering subsequent processes. Finally, the clumps are collected by the receiving box 13 below the air separation rejection port 12, and then sent back to the vibrating conveyor assembly by the cyclone feeder 3 to re-participate in the vibration loosening and air separation process, achieving thorough loosening of clumps and material recovery. Even if there are residual sheet clumps, they can be rejected by the air separation mechanism and reach the vibrating conveyor assembly for loosening to form a closed loop, thereby avoiding the phenomenon of clumps being cut into strips and mixed with leaf shreds, affecting the quality of cigarette products.

[0032] Example 2:

[0033] See Figure 1 In one embodiment, the vibrating conveyor assembly includes: a first conveyor belt 5 disposed at the discharge end of the loosening and rehydration machine, a material distribution roller 15 disposed at the discharge end of the first conveyor belt 5, and a vibrating conveyor 14 disposed at the discharge end of the material distribution roller 15.

[0034] Specifically, the first conveyor belt 5 is connected to a geared motor 18, which drives the first conveyor belt 5 to move. The equalizing roller 15 is connected to the drive motor 17 via a transmission chain 16, and the drive motor 17 drives the equalizing roller 15 to rotate via chain drive. The first conveyor belt 5 serves as the connecting carrier between the loosening and rehydration machine and subsequent components. It can transport the thin sheets with residual clumps after rehydration to the equalizing roller 15, avoiding material accumulation or scattering during the transfer process and ensuring process continuity. The equalizing roller 15 crushes and combs the thin sheets by its own rotation, which can further break and loosen the clumps that are not completely loosened by the rehydration machine, and comb the thin sheets into a material layer of uniform thickness, avoiding local clumps from clustering. After receiving the thin sheets conveyed by the equalizing roller 15, the vibrating conveyor 14 deeply crushes the residual clumps in the material layer through high-frequency vibration, and at the same time uses vibration to evenly distribute the thin sheets on the conveying surface, preventing material agglomeration.

[0035] In one embodiment, the air separation mechanism includes: an air separation box 6 connected to the discharge end of the vibrating conveyor 14; a second conveyor belt 9 is mounted on the lower cavity of the air separation box 6; an air lock 10 is provided at the discharge end of the second conveyor belt 9; and a third conveyor belt 11 is provided at the discharge port of the air lock 10; the air separation rejection port 12 is opened on the bottom side of the air separation box 6 near the bottom of the vibrating conveyor 14; and the air lock 10 is installed on the bottom side of the air separation box 6 away from the bottom of the vibrating conveyor 14.

[0036] Specifically, after the air classifier 6 is connected to the discharge end of the vibrating conveyor 14, the thin sheets can be separated based on the difference in suspension velocity using negative pressure air. Qualified thin sheets (with low suspension velocity) are lifted or guided by the airflow to the second conveyor belt 9 in the lower chamber, while residual clumps (with high suspension velocity) fall directly due to gravity and are discharged from the bottom air classifier rejection port 12 near the vibrating conveyor 14, preventing clumps from being mixed into subsequent processes. The second conveyor belt 9 is installed in the lower chamber of the air classifier 6, specifically to receive the separated qualified thin sheets and transport them to the bottom side of the air classifier 6 away from the vibrating conveyor 14. The air lock 10 installed here allows loose, clump-free thin sheets to fall into the air lock 10 cavity as the second conveyor belt 9 rotates. The air lock 10 smoothly transitions the qualified thin sheets from the air classifier 6 to the third conveyor belt 11. Finally, the third conveyor belt 11 transports the qualified thin sheets without residual clumps to the next process, ensuring the quality of subsequent processing.

[0037] In one embodiment, a filter screen 7 is rotatably mounted on the upper cavity of the air separator 6, and a brush 8 is mounted below the filter screen 7, with the end of the brush 8 elastically attached to the surface of the filter screen 7.

[0038] Specifically, the filter screen 7 is connected to the motor drive, and the motor drives the filter screen 7 to rotate. The filter screen 7 in the upper cavity of the air separator 6 is used to intercept fine impurities such as flaky fragments and dust carried in the airflow. The rotating frame of the filter screen 7, in conjunction with the elastic fit of the end of the brush 8, forms a real-time cleaning mechanism. When the filter screen 7 rotates, the bristles at the end of the brush 8 tightly fit the filter screen surface through elastic deformation, cleaning the attached impurities point by point as the filter screen rotates. At the same time, the elastic contact prevents hard friction from damaging the filter screen, ensuring that the filter screen always maintains good air permeability, thereby ensuring the stability of the negative pressure air inside the air separator 6.

[0039] In one embodiment, the upper cavity side of the air separator 6 is connected to the dust collector (not shown in the figure) via a dust removal fan (not shown in the figure).

[0040] Specifically, when the dust removal fan is working, it generates a suction effect, creating a stable negative pressure inside the air classifier box 6. This suction draws the thin sheets conveyed by the vibrating conveyor 14 into the air classifier box 6, ensuring effective air separation. The gas inside the air classifier box 6 is drawn in by the dust removal fan, filtered through a rotating screen, and then enters the dust collection box, ensuring that the discharged airflow meets environmental standards.

[0041] In one embodiment, the end of the receiving box 13 away from the air separation rejection port 12 is connected to a pipe 1, and the end of the pipe 1 away from the receiving box 13 is connected to the feed end of the cyclone feeder 3 through a flange 2. A fan 4 is installed at the rear end of the exhaust port of the cyclone feeder 3.

[0042] Specifically, when the fan 4 at the rear end of the exhaust port of the cyclone feeder 3 is working, it will create a negative pressure inside the cyclone feeder 3. This negative pressure is transmitted to the receiving box 13 through the pipe 1, which can actively suck up the air-separated clumps collected in the receiving box 13 and stably transport them to the cyclone feeder 3 along the pipe 1. This solves the problem of pipe 1 blockage caused by the humidity and stickiness of the clumps, and ensures that the clump transfer is continuous and uninterrupted. After the clumps enter the cyclone feeder 3 with the airflow, the cyclone feeder 3 uses centrifugal force to achieve gas-solid separation: the clumps (with a larger specific gravity) are thrown against the inner wall of the feeder under the action of centrifugal force, fall down the wall to the discharge end, and finally return to the vibrating conveyor to participate in the loosening again, realizing a closed loop.

[0043] The above are merely optional embodiments of this application and are not intended to limit this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this application should be included within the protection scope of this application. Although embodiments of this utility model have been shown and described above, it is understood that the above embodiments are exemplary and should not be construed as limiting this utility model. Those skilled in the art can make changes, modifications, substitutions, and variations to the above embodiments within the scope of this utility model.

Claims

1. A sheet loosening device after re-damping, comprising a loosening re-damper, characterized in that, Also includes: A vibrating conveying assembly is provided at the discharge end of the loose rehumidifier. The discharge end of the vibrating conveying assembly is provided with an air separation mechanism. The air separation mechanism has an air separation rejection port. A receiving box is provided below the air separation rejection port. The receiving box is connected to a cyclone discharger. The discharge end of the cyclone discharger is located above the vibrating conveying assembly.

2. The sheet rehydration and loosening device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The vibrating conveyor assembly includes: a first conveyor belt disposed at the discharge end of the loosening and rehydration machine, a material distribution roller disposed at the discharge end of the first conveyor belt, and a vibrating conveyor disposed at the discharge end of the material distribution roller.

3. The sheet rehydration and loosening device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The air separation mechanism includes: an air separation box connected to the discharge end of the vibrating conveyor; a second conveyor belt is mounted on the lower cavity of the air separation box; an air lock is provided at the discharge end of the second conveyor belt; and a third conveyor belt is provided at the discharge port of the air lock.

4. The sheet loosening device according to claim 3, characterized in that, The air separation rejection port is located on the bottom side of the air separation box near the vibrating conveyor, and the air lock is installed on the bottom side of the air separation box away from the vibrating conveyor.

5. The sheet loosening device according to claim 4, characterized in that, The upper cavity of the air separator is equipped with a rotating filter screen, and a brush is mounted below the filter screen, with the end of the brush elastically attached to the surface of the filter screen.

6. The sheet loosening device according to claim 5, characterized in that, The upper cavity of the air separator is connected to the dust collector via a dust removal fan.

7. The sheet rehydration and loosening device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The end of the receiving box away from the air separation rejection port is connected to a pipe, and the end of the pipe away from the receiving box is connected to the feed end of the cyclone feeder through a flange. A fan is installed at the rear end of the exhaust port of the cyclone feeder.

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