Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
  • A24B—MANUFACTURE OR PREPARATION OF TOBACCO FOR SMOKING OR CHEWING; TOBACCO; SNUFF
  • A24B3/00—Preparing tobacco in the factory
  • A24B3/02—Humidifying packed raw tobacco
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
  • A24B—MANUFACTURE OR PREPARATION OF TOBACCO FOR SMOKING OR CHEWING; TOBACCO; SNUFF
  • A24B7/00—Cutting tobacco
  • A24B7/14—Feeding or control devices for tobacco-cutting apparatus

Definitions

• tobacco After harvesting, tobacco is dried relatively strongly, ie to a residual moisture content of about 8-11%, and is usually pressed for dispatch in cuboid or cylindrical bales or packages, although other forms of compression are also possible.
• the tobacco can be pure pre-stripped leaf material (without essential rib parts); the ribs removed before drying, which are processed separately and mixed into the leaf tobacco, can also be pressed and shipped in their dry state.
• the compressed and relatively dry tobacco can also be stored for a long time in this condition. Should this relatively dry tobacco be used for smoking products, e.g. B. cigarettes are processed, it is necessary in the known processing methods to separate the individual sheets (or sheet pieces) or ribs (or rib pieces) in the pressed bales again and separate them.
• the tobacco is compressed very strongly by means of converging press chains (one speaks of a "tobacco cake") before slices of fiber can be cut off on a mouthpiece by rotating knives.
• the cut tobacco must then be dried again to the processing moisture of 12.5 to 13.5%, in which it is processed into cigarettes, for example on a cigarette machine.
• the object on which the invention is based is to cut tobacco without a great deal of energy and equipment, the process parameters being able to be selected such that good results are achieved with regard to the filling power of the cut tobacco produced.
• this is achieved in that the tobacco is cut in a tobacco cutter at a humidity between 10% and 17% and a minimum temperature of ambient temperature (18 ° C to 25 ° C).
• This cutting can be carried out in such a way that the pressed tobacco parts are not detached from one another beforehand, but rather that the tobacco, compressed into bales or pieces of bale, is fed to the tobacco cutter with its shipping moisture and room temperature and is processed by it to cut tobacco.
• the tobacco can also be dissolved at a slightly elevated temperature and / or humidity before it is fed to the tobacco cutter.
• Good cutting results are obtained if the tobacco is cut in a tobacco cutter at a moisture content between 11% and 16%, preferably between 13% and 16%, for example approx. 14%.
• a very advantageous moisture condition of the tobacco when cutting is to give it the moisture that the tobacco should have during further processing in cigarette machines. These are moisture values between 12.5 and 13.5%, which in exceptional cases can be slightly below or exceeded. With such moisture values, the tobacco can be cut very well directly, that is to say without the previously required moistening to values between 18 and 23% moisture content.
• a very advantageous development of the invention is that the tobacco is fed to the tobacco cutter as tobacco pressed in bales or parts thereof and cut into cut tobacco without further moistening and / or heating.
• the tobacco pressed in bales or parts thereof can, however, also be heated to a temperature of at least 30 ° C., preferably at least 40 ° C., for example 40 ° C. to 50 ° C., before cutting, which further improves the cutting result.
• the bales are broken up so far that the single sheets and / or smaller or larger lumps of them fill the baling chamber of the tobacco cutter between its chain in front of the cutting knives sufficiently homogeneously. If it was stated in the foregoing that the heated tobacco should be loosened, after which the loosened tobacco is fed directly to the tobacco cutter, this means that the temperature drop during loosening and conveying to the tobacco cutter must not become so great that the Tobacco comes too cold in the tobacco cutter, because then the tobacco leaves in the tobacco cutter can be damaged by the pressing forces.
• the tobacco Before loosening and cutting, the tobacco should therefore be warmed up to such an extent that it has a minimum temperature of 30 ° C in the tobacco cutter, but preferably about 40 ° C and above, for example between 40 ° C and 50 ° C. In this case, it is pliable enough to withstand the pressing forces.
• the tobacco pressed in bales or parts thereof can advantageously be heated by exposure to microwaves or high-frequency electrical fields, as described in US Pat. No. 4,799,501. With such heating, the tobacco is not moistened at the same time. If it is desired to moisturize the tobacco when it is heated, which makes it even more supple and allows it to be dissolved at considerably lower temperatures, this is possible in a manner known per se and described, for example, by US Pat. No.
• the energy required for heating and possibly drying is considerably less than when dampening to a relative humidity of 18% and above with conventional conditioning methods or when heating to high temperatures before cutting.
• the plants for treating the tobacco with the optimal parameters according to the invention are not very expensive.
• undesirable taste influences of the tobacco as a result of heating to high temperatures, which must be kept for a longer period of time to dry, are avoided and good values for the filling power of the tobacco are achieved.
• the tobacco is cut into cut tobacco after it has been heated and moist, while at least approximately maintaining its condition.
• the tobacco can be subjected to a dissolving step after it has been heated and moistened while at least approximately maintaining its condition, after which it is then cut into cut tobacco in a tobacco cutter without a significant change in its condition.
• damping can be advantageous, for example to compensate for temperature and moisture losses or to separate tobacco parts that are still connected. Damping can be done by passing saturated steam or dry steam onto the dissolved tobacco, for example while this is being conveyed on a vibratory conveyor. The steam can then be supplied from below. After steaming, the tobacco temperatures can be around 60 ° C, but they can also be increased to around 90 ° C.
• the warm and dry cut tobacco (leaf cut, rib cut, mixture of leaf and rib cut) leaving the tobacco cutter is, preferably immediately afterwards, d. H. before cooling, moistened, which can be done in a conventional manner in a wet drum, as z. Described in U.S. Patent 4,054,145 or 3,948,277.
• the cut tobacco is moistened in a so-called steam tunnel, which has a vibrating delivery channel with steam inlets and z. B. is described in US-PS 4 004 594 or GB-OS 2 138 666.
• the tobacco moisture can be increased in order to minimize the amount of energy used until the processing moisture (12 to 13.5%), which the tobacco has after cooling to room temperature and with which it is processed in cigarette machines. However, it can also be moistened to higher degrees of moisture (over 20%) in order to increase its filling power, after which it is dried down to the processing moisture.
• the moistening preferably takes place immediately after cutting, so that the relatively dry but still warm cut tobacco reaches the dampening device before it has cooled down.
• the cut tobacco can be flavored, e.g. B. sauce and / or flavor. If it is Burley tobacco, the temperature can be raised to ammonia expulsion levels.
• the tobacco fibers of different types or types of tobacco can be mixed with one another U.S. Patent 4,116,203 is suitable.
• the advantage achieved by the invention is that a method is specified how bale-pressed tobacco can be processed into usable cut tobacco with minimal use of energy and equipment, without the extensive and energy-consuming dissolving, dampening and drying equipment being used were previously considered necessary. These systems change the taste of tobacco and reduce its size. If the tobacco is to be fed to the tobacco cutter in a dissolved form, which offers advantages for its operation, it is advantageously slightly warmed and / or moistened, for which reasonably priced systems are suitable. The energy consumption is also low.
• the conditioning of the tobacco for loosening can be done with little energy and with simple equipment, because it has been found that the tobacco leaves do not have to be completely detached from one another, but it is sufficient if the tobacco is loosely loosened so that the tobacco cutter's pressing space is at least approximately homogeneous is filled. If necessary, the tobacco can be fed to a steaming system before it is cut, in which its temperature and humidity are increased.
• the heating to 40 ° C and 75 ° C was carried out by exposing the tobacco to microwaves. After cutting, the tobacco was brought to a moisture level of 12.04% and its filling power was determined in mm remaining height.
• the relationship between the mm remaining height of the Borgwald densimeter and the cutting moisture or cutting temperature of the tobacco is shown below: Moisture content [%] Temperature [° C] Residual height [mm] (Borgwald densimeter) 8th 8th 40 36.04 8th 75 37.10 11 20th 34.26 11 40 38.23 11 75 38.26 13 20th 38.05 13 40 39.66 13 75 38.16 3.
• Pressed raw Virginia tobacco tobacco leaves
• a moisture content of 8.4% shipment moisture
• the tobacco was cut with a condition of approx. 65 ° C. and a moisture content of 11.8% using a tobacco cutter from the applicant of the KTH type. After cutting, the tobacco was brought to a humidity of 13%, which corresponds approximately to the processing moisture at which cigarettes are produced from the tobacco.
• the residual height in the Borgwald densimeter was 36.31 mm at this humidity.
• a similar hardness value was achieved after the leaves were separated from each other after dampening and heating and before cutting and were fed to the tobacco cutter in a loose formation.
• a reference sample of the same tobacco which had been brought to the aforementioned condition of 65 ° C. and 11.8% moisture in the same way, was first subjected to a dissolving step in which the tobacco leaves were separated from one another. After being dissolved, the tobacco was moistened in a conventional manner, namely by means of a so-called steam tunnel (US Pat. No. 4,004,594) to a moisture content of 21% and cut into tobacco fibers at room temperature. These fibers were heated in a HT vibration tunnel by the applicant (GB-OS 2 138 666) to a temperature of approx.

Landscapes

• Manufacture Of Tobacco Products (AREA)

Priority Applications (1)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=6376662

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

Cited By (4)

Families Citing this family (13)

Citations (5)

Family Cites Families (7)

• 1989
  • 1989-03-18 DE DE3908937A patent/DE3908937A1/de not_active Withdrawn
• 1990
  • 1990-03-15 ES ES90104900T patent/ES2048349T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1990-03-15 EP EP90104900A patent/EP0388793B1/fr not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1990-03-15 AT AT90104900T patent/ATE99503T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1990-03-15 DE DE90104900T patent/DE59004071D1/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1990-03-16 US US07/494,733 patent/US5143095A/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1990-03-16 JP JP2064470A patent/JPH02273167A/ja active Pending

Patent Citations (5)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events