BE1021664B1 - SELF-CLEANING CIGARETTE BACCO COMPACTING MECHANISM. - Google Patents

Abstract

A self-cleaning cigarette tobacco compaction mechanism comprising a compaction chamber mounted for reciprocal up and down movement between an upper and lower plate, and a self-cleaning slot extending along one of the plates to allow at least one of the plates to move up and down between the plates to get in touch.

Description

SELF-CLEANING

ZIGARETTENTABAKKOMPAKTIERUNGSMECHANISMUS

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to cigarette making machines, and more particularly to self-cleaning tobacco compacting mechanisms for use in cigarette manufacturing machines.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are various types of manual, semi-automatic and automatic cigarette making machines are known in which loose tobacco is compacted into a rod-like shape and is transported to prepare a cigarette in a hollow cigarette tube. In many such cigarette making machines, loose tobacco is first loaded into a compacting apparatus which includes a compaction chamber in which a reciprocal compacting member becomes active and presses the loose tobacco into the bar-like mold and is then removed from the compaction chamber. This pressed rod-like tobacco mold is typically carried on an applicator bucket which moves through the compaction chamber to transport the rod-like mold into a hollow cigarette tube positioned outside the cigarette making machine and adjacent to the chamber.

Of course, cigarette tobacco contains sugar and other natural components and may contain βιβι βιτι liquid additives, all of which are partially released as a sticky mixture when the tobacco is compressed as in a Kompaktierungsmechanismus. The pressing of loose tobacco not only releases such sticky mixtures but also breaks up a lot of the loose tobacco to form tobacco fines. The tobacco fines and the sticky mixes released during the pressing process can interfere with the efficient actuation of the compacting apparatus.

Although the compacting devices as described above are unlikely to encounter problems in the initial use of cigarette making machines, the accumulation of tobacco fines and sticky tobacco materials can hinder the movement of the reciprocal compacting member after squeezing and transporting uncountable loads of loose tobacco into cigarette tubes , Could reduce or eliminate this obstruction of the movement, the operation of cigarette making machines using Kompaktierungsvorrichtungen could be significantly improved.

An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a structure for regulating the accumulation of tobacco fines and sticky tobacco materials during the operation of cigarette making machines using compacting devices.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the invention include a self-cleaning cigarette tobacco compacting mechanism having a compaction chamber for receiving loose tobacco. The compaction chamber is positioned between upper and lower plates and a compacting member is mounted for reciprocal up and down movement between the plates. The compaction member has a lower surface which moves against the lower plate.

A self-cleaning slot extends along the bottom plate and is positioned for contact with the bottom surface of the compacting member during its reciprocal up and down movement between the plates. This upward and downward movement of the surface of the compacting member against the slot will scrape off tobacco fines and sticky materials which may pile up in the space between the compacting member and the plate.

The scraping operation is most efficiently carried out when the self-cleaning slot contains sharp edges that come in contact with the lower surface of the compaction member. In an alternative embodiment, the edges of the self-cleaning slot may be toothed. In addition, the self-cleaning slot may be angled relative to the flural along the bottom panel.

In embodiments of the invention, the self-cleaning slot may extend vertically along the lower plate between the rear and front surfaces thereof. Alternatively, the self-cleaning slot may be angled between the flint and front surfaces of the flap plate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For ease of understanding of embodiments of the invention, it will now be described in connection with embodiments thereof and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like features receive like numerals.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a manually operated cigarette manufacturing machine with a self-cleaning mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2A is a bottom plan view of the cigarette manufacturing machine of FIG. 1 with the bottom lid removed to show the internal mechanism of the device; Figure 2B is a partial top plan view of the cigarette making machine of Figure 1 illustrating the advancing tobacco compacting member of the device; Figure 3 shows a further (enlarged) partial plan view of the cigarette manufacturing machine of Figure 1 from below, in which tobacco is in its compaction chamber prior to its pressing; Figures 4A-4C are partially cutaway views of the compaction chamber of the cigarette manufacturing machine of Figure 1 showing the reciprocal compaction member advancing against loose tobacco in the chamber to compact the loose tobacco against an input tray, the movement of the compaction member against a self-cleaning slot in the lower plate of the chamber acts to regulate the accumulation of tobacco fines and sticky tobacco materials; and Figure 5 shows a series of partial cross-sectional and plan views of alternative configurations of self-cleaning slots in the lower plate of the compaction chamber.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

[0017] The embodiments described below are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise structures and procedures disclosed. Instead, the described embodiments have been chosen to explain principles of the invention and the application thereof, and the operation and

Use of embodiments of the invention have been chosen to enable those skilled in the art to understand their teachings.

Referring now to the figures, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a manual cigarette making machine 10 including a top 12, a

Compacting chamber access opening 14 and a hand crank 16. The self-cleaning cigarette tobacco compacting mechanism of the invention can be used with hand-cranked manual cigarette making machines, as described in detail herein, or with semi-automatic

Cigarette making machines. Semi-automatic cigarette making machines use one handle for one part of the cigarette manufacturing process and one electric motor for the remainder or use an electric motor for the whole process.

In the manual cigarette making machine 10 shown, under the access opening is a compaction chamber 18. A side wall 22 of the machine adjacent one end of the compaction chamber has a hollow nipple 24 in communication with the compaction chamber. Not shown hollow cigarette tubes can be pushed onto the nipple and held by a spring-loaded locking arm 26.

The cigarette making machine 10 is actuated by placing loose tobacco through the compaction chamber access opening 14 and into the compaction chamber 18. A hollow cigarette tube can be placed on the nipple either before or after this step.

Figure 2A shows a bottom view of the manual cigarette making machine of Figure 1 with the bottom lid of the machine removed to show the operating parts of the device. The compaction chamber 18 is a generally rectangular cube-shaped space located between a top plate 21 attached to the back surface 20 of the top 12 of the cigarette making machine and a bottom plate 30 spaced from the top plate 21 at a somewhat greater distance as the thickness of the reciprocal compacting member is removed to minimize friction between the compacting member and the upper and lower plates. The spaces between the reciprocal compacting member and the upper and lower plates 21 and 30 are designated 42 and 44, respectively, in FIG. 4C.

Side edges 32A and 30B of the compaction chamber are sealed off to confine the tobacco laterally in the chamber and to assist in the up and down movement of the compaction member within the chamber. The upper edge 32C of the compaction chamber is open to allow the reciprocal compaction member 28 to move freely down from its initial resting position shown in Figure 2, adjacent the top of the compaction chamber, into the compaction chamber to compact the loose tobacco in the chamber into a rod-like shape. when it comes to rest at the fully extended lowest end of its downward movement, as shown in Figure 2B. When the cigarette manufacturing process is complete, the reciprocal compacting member moves back up from the fully extended lowermost position to return to its resting position.

The reciprocal up and down movement of the Kompaktierungsglieds is by a

Kompaktierungsantriebsmechanismus 34 controlled by means of hand crank 16 (Figure 1) is actuated. The compacting drive mechanism includes two arms 36A and 36B, which are pivotally mounted near the top of the compacting member at attachment locations 38A and 38B and pivot during the operation

Kompaktierungsantriebsmechanismus the reciprocal Kompaktierungsglied in the compaction chamber drives up and down.

Further details of exemplary manual cigarette making machines may be found, for example, in U.S. Patent Nos. 4,215,705; 4,005,716; 3,886,952 and 3,202,156, the contents of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety. As can be seen in this patent, plungers are typically positioned adjacent the bottom of the compaction chamber. As the compaction member is moved to its lowermost position, it compacts the loose tobacco in the compaction chamber against the upper surface of the input tray to form a compressed rod-like tobacco mold. The plunger (feature 58 in the embodiment of FIG. 4A) then travels along a compaction chamber, such as the compaction chamber 18 of the illustrated embodiment of the present invention, passing the compressed rod-like shape from the compaction chamber through a hollow nipple such as the hollow nipple 24 of FIG illustrated embodiment of the present invention, and in a hollow cigarette, which is positioned on the nipple carries.

In the present embodiment, the lateral movement of the input tray is controlled by an input drive mechanism 40. After placement of the pressed tobacco in the hollow shell, the plunger is removed from the now completely filled cigarette tube and returned to its initial position in the compaction chamber, and the compacting member is then withdrawn from the compaction chamber so that it will be in its initial position shown in FIG Position returns. Both the compacting drive mechanism 34 and the input drive mechanism 40 are activated and pushed forward by rotating the hand crank from its initial position shown in FIG. 1 to a fully rotated position and then returning to its initial position. As mentioned above, in semiautomatic and automatic machines, the operation of the compacting drive mechanism and / or the input drive mechanism may be driven by a motor.

Referring now to Figure 3, a self-cleaning, generally horizontal slot 50 running along the lower plate 30 is shown. Preferably, the slot 50 is generally perpendicular to the back surface 31 of the lower plate (Figure 4A) and is as long as or longer than the width of the compacting member. The height "A" of the slot may be different, but should be sufficiently narrow so that little or no loose tobacco can escape from the slot as the compacting member moves down the compaction chamber to expose the loose tobacco to the obere surface of the slot Compacting the spoon. For example, if the compacting member is about 2.5 inches wide, the slot 50 will be about 2.4 inches wide and about 0.13 inches high. Αυββ ^ βιτι the slot may be angled from the horizontal along the plate to represent a longer self-cleaning slot.

The operation and operation of the self-cleaning slot 50 can be best understood from Figures 4A-4C. These figures are enlarged partial cross-sectional views of the compaction chamber and show the compaction member advancing toward the input tray. In Figure 4A, the slot 50 is shown with inner edges 52A and 52B, which are preferably sharp corners. In this figure, the loose tobacco 54 shown is in the

Compaction chamber 18 before the reciprocal compaction member 28 begins the downward movement in the chamber. As can be seen in the figure, the leading edge 56 of the compaction member is curved and has a radius of curvature that generally corresponds to the radius of curvature of the input tray 58.

In the configuration shown in Figure 4B, the compaction member in the chamber has been moved downwardly to its fully extended position to feed loose tobacco 54 between the curved leading edge 56 of the compaction member and the curved surface of the tray into a pressed rod-like mold 60 compact. At the next stage of operation of the cigarette manufacturing machine, the cigarette tray moves the pressed rod-like tobacco mold from the chamber into the hollow sleeve, and the compacting member is withdrawn from the compaction chamber to the position shown in Figure 4C.

Of course, as mentioned above, cigarette tobacco contains sugar and other components which are partially released as a sticky mixture when the tobacco is compacted in a compacting mechanism. The pressing of the loose tobacco also breaks up portions of the tobacco to form tobacco fines. Over time, the tobacco fines and sticky mixtures released during the pressing process may accumulate in the spaces 42 and 44 between the compacting member's and the inner and outer panels' inner surfaces, particularly where there are different tolerances between them Thickness of Kompaktierungsglieds and the width of the compaction chamber gives. However, the self-cleaning slot 50 helps to regulate this accumulation.

Thus, when the reciprocal compaction member is withdrawn from the compaction chamber as shown in Figure 4C, its surface moves along the self-cleaning slot 50, thereby scraping the accumulated tobacco fines and sticky materials in the gap 44 against the corner 52A of the slot so that these materials will be discharged through the slot from the compaction chamber and fall to the bottom of the cigarette making machine, where they will not cause any difficulties. Additional cigarette fines and sticky materials are removed from the gap 44 as the compacting member similarly moves from its initial position in Figure 4A to its fully extended position of Figure 4B past corner 52B. This further assists in the removal of cigarette fines and tacky materials from the interface every time the machine is operated. The self-cleaning slot thus assists in ensuring long term continued operation of the cigarette manufacturing machine without undue friction due to accumulation of fines and sticky materials in the clearance 44.

As shown in Figure 5, the slot 50 may extend vertically above the lower plate 30 between its back surface 31 and front surface 33. In alternative embodiments, the slots 50a and 50b are angled across the backplate to represent sharp corners 68 and 70 where the slot contacts the front surface of the reciprocal compacting member to aid in the removal of cigarette fines and sticky materials , Finally, in yet another embodiment, a slot 50c may be provided in which the edges 72 and 74 of the slot are toothed to facilitate scraping and removal of cigarette fines and sticky materials. Such serrated edges may be used with a vertical slot or also with an angled slot 50a or 50b.

All references, including publications, patent applications and patents, which are mentioned herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each reference individually! and specifically for inclusion by reference noted and fully specified here.

The use of "a" and "the" and similar references in the context of the descriptive embodiments of the invention (particularly in the context of the following claims) are to be construed to include both the singular and the plural unless stated otherwise It would be noted differently or clearly excluded from the context. It should be understood that the illustrated embodiments are exemplary only and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. All methods described herein may be performed in any order, unless noted otherwise or clearly excluded from the context. The use of any and all examples or exemplary language (for example, "such as") used herein is merely to aid in a better understanding of the invention and does not limit the scope of the invention, unless stated otherwise. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating an unclaimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.

Claims (11)

CLAIMS: A self-cleaning cigarette tobacco compacting mechanism, comprising: a compacting chamber for receiving loose tobacco, the compacting chamber being positioned between upper and lower plates; a compacting member mounted for reciprocal up and down movement between the plates, the compacting member having a lower surface that moves against the lower plate; and a self-cleaning slot extending along the lower plate and positioned for contact with the lower surface of the compacting member during its reciprocal up and down movement between the plates. A self-cleaning cigarette tobacco compacting mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the self-cleaning slot contains sharp edges which contact the lower surface of the compacting member during its reciprocal up and down movement. The self-cleaning cigarette tobacco compacting mechanism of claim 1, wherein the self-cleaning slot is angled relative to the horizontal along the lower plate. The self-cleaning cigarette tobacco compacting mechanism of claim 1, wherein the self-cleaning slot extends vertically along the lower plate between its rear and front surfaces. The self-cleaning cigarette tobacco compacting mechanism of claim 1, wherein the self-cleaning slot is angled between the rear and front surfaces of the back plate. The self-cleaning cigarette tobacco compacting mechanism of claim 1, wherein the self-cleaning slot has serrated edges. 7. A cigarette making machine comprising: a housing including a compacting chamber for receiving loose tobacco positioned between the upper and lower plates, a compacting member mounted for reciprocal up and down movement between the plates, and a self-cleaning slit extending along the lower plate and being positioned for contact with the lower surface of the compacting member during its reciprocal movement between the plates; an input tray for transporting compacted tobacco from the compaction chamber into a cigarette tube; a compacting drive mechanism for operating the reciprocal compacting member; and an input drive mechanism for driving the input tray, wherein the movement of the compacting in contact with the lower surface of the compacting member scrapes against the lower surface of the compacting member. A cigarette manufacturing machine as in claim 7, wherein the machine is operated manually. A cigarette manufacturing machine as in claim 7, wherein the machine is semi-automatic. A cigarette manufacturing machine as in claim 7, wherein the machine is automatic. A method of regulating the accumulation of tobacco fines and sticky tobacco materials during operation of cigarette making machines using compaction devices, comprising: providing a cigarette manufacturing machine having a compaction chamber for receiving loose tobacco, the compaction chamber positioned between upper and lower plates, a compaction member mounted on the reciprocal up and down movement between the plates to compact the tobacco, releasing tobacco fines and sticky tobacco materials, the compacting member having a lower surface which moves against the lower plate, and a self-cleaning slit extends along the lower plate and is positioned for contact with the lower surface of the Kompaktierungsglieds during its reciprocal up and down movement between the plates, wherein the Kompaktierungsglied a unte Rer has flat, which moves against the lower plate; Placing tobacco in the compaction chamber and first advancing the compaction member down into the chamber to compact the tobacco and then withdrawing the compaction member; and scraping tobacco fines and sticky tobacco from the bottom surface of the compacting member by moving it along the slot during its upward and downward movement.