Plant Material Separator and Adjustable Guide for Smoking Article Machine
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional cigarette making machines are inadequate for producing smoking articles using plant materials other than tobacco, due to issues with dense material separation, trichome preservation, and uniformity in processing.
Innovation Solution
A smoking article machine designed to optimize the processing of plant materials by incorporating a plant material separator, adjustable guides for gradual forming, and assemblies for preserving trichomes, enabling the production of uniform smoking articles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional cigarette making machines are used for plant materials other than tobacco, then production can proceed with existing equipment, but the reliability of production is low due to folding, shearing, and deforming of combustible material
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies key process parameters including forming temperature (maintained at 20-40°C to prevent trichome damage), humidity control (50-70% RH), and forming pressure (reduced to 0.1-0.5 MPa) to accommodate plant materials with different physical properties while maintaining production reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The forming machine incorporates adjustable forming parameters and adaptive control systems that can dynamically adjust to different plant material characteristics, enabling continuous production across multiple material types without reconfiguration
2Ease of manufacture
If traditional forming machines are used for plant materials with high adherent properties, then formation process can proceed, but the material is prone to folding, shearing, and deforming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent reduces forming pressure to 0.1-0.5 MPa and controls forming temperature at 20-40°C to prevent damage to plant materials with high adherent properties, maintaining both formability and material integrity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements pre-forming preparation steps including material sorting to remove dense contaminants, humidity conditioning, and gentle feeding mechanisms that prevent folding and shearing before the actual forming process begins
3Productivity
If traditional tobacco cigarette forming machines are used, then formation of shredded tobacco is efficient, but they are ineffective for other plant materials due to low adherent properties and material variability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs a universal forming machine that can process multiple plant material types (cannabis, tobacco, hemp, etc.) by incorporating adjustable forming parameters, variable pressure control, and adaptive feeding mechanisms that accommodate different material properties while maintaining efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts forming temperature, humidity, pressure, and wrapping speed based on the specific plant material being processed, enabling high productivity across diverse material types
4Ease of operation
If traditional forming machines operate without environmental controls, then simple operation is maintained, but temperature and humidity variations affect forming quality and trichome preservation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates automated environmental control systems with sensors and feedback loops that self-regulate temperature (20-40°C) and humidity (50-70% RH) without requiring manual intervention, maintaining both operational simplicity and forming precision
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses temperature and humidity sensors with feedback control to automatically adjust environmental conditions during forming, ensuring uniformity and trichome preservation while requiring minimal operator input
Data Source
AI summary
A machine for making plant material smoking articles is provided having a feeding assembly that is configured to feed plant material to a combustible material rolling assembly. The combustible material rolling assembly includes a continuous stream of paper and a forming chute having a semispherical channel at a length and at least one adjustable guide. The combustible material rolling assembly is configured to roll the plant material in the continuous stream of paper at a wrapping rate within the semispherical channel to make at least one plant material smoking article. In some embodiments, the feeding assembly is either driven via gravity or a pneumatic delivery system. In one embodiment, at least one adjustable guide includes a tapered conical guide configured to additionally adjust the wrapping rate.