Method and apparatus for detipping loose cigarettes
US5076291A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 3, 1990 |
| Grant date | Dec 31, 1991 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 3, 2010 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA24C5/36
- WIPO fieldOther consumer goods
- WIPO sectorOther fields
Abstract
The method and apparatus of this invention relates to the detipping of cigarettes at high speed without degradation of the tobacco in the tobacco rod and regardless of the intial orientation of the filter tip and the tobacco rod in the apparatus. Cigarettes are fed onto a conveyor belt so that they are traveling in a direction perpendicular to their longitudinal axis. A rolling belt disposed above the conveyor belt straightens bent cigarettes and rolls uneven cigarettes. The cigarettes are then fed onto a fluted rotating drum and aligned on the drum by means of an optical sensor and an air jet so that the filter tip portion of each cigarette is adjacent either side of the drum. Rotating knives are properly oriented so they engage the cigarettes only at the point where the filter tip is connected to the tobacco rod and cut off the filters of the cigarettes.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.