Apparatus and method for combining tobacco sheets

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10159275-B2
Application number	US-201715812311-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 14, 2017
Priority date	May 14, 2014
Publication date	Dec 25, 2018
Grant date	Dec 25, 2018

Abstract

The apparatus for combining tobacco sheets comprises a first shaft for carrying a first bobbin of tobacco sheet and a second shaft for carrying a second bobbin of tobacco sheet. The apparatus also comprises a splicing unit for combining an end portion of tobacco sheet from the first bobbin to a head portion of tobacco sheet from the second bobbin. The splicing unit comprises a cutting device for cutting the tobacco sheets such as to provide complementary cuts to the tobacco sheets from the first bobbin and from the second bobbin, a dispensing device for dispensing water to at least one of the tobacco sheets, and a combining device for applying force onto the tobacco sheets thereby producing a spliced tobacco sheet.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. Method for combining tobacco sheets, the method comprising the steps of:
providing a first tobacco sheet and providing a second tobacco sheet;
aligning and cutting the first and the second tobacco sheets such as to provide the first and the second tobacco sheets with complementary cuts;
dispensing water to at least the first or the second tobacco sheet;
aligning the complementary cuts of the first and of the second tobacco sheet such that the complementary cuts rest against each other; and
applying pressure onto the first and the second tobacco sheets in a cut area thereby combining the first and the second tobacco sheets and form a spliced tobacco sheet.

2. Method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of cutting the first and the second tobacco sheet comprises cutting the tobacco sheets at a cutting angle in a range between about 20 degrees and about 50 degrees.

3. Method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of cutting the first and the second tobacco sheet comprises cutting the tobacco sheets at a cutting angle in a range between about 25 degrees and about 40 degrees.

4. Method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of cutting the first and the second tobacco sheet comprises cutting the tobacco sheets at a cutting angle of 30 degrees.

5. Method according to claim 1 , further comprising the step of overlapping the first and the second tobacco sheet by more than 4 millimeters before performing the step of applying pressure.

6. Method according to claim 1 , further comprising the step of overlapping the first and the second tobacco sheet by more than 6 millimeters before performing the step of applying pressure.

7. Method according to claim 1 , further comprising the step of overlapping the first and the second tobacco sheet 8 millimeters before performing the step of applying pressure.

8. Method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of dispensing water comprises applying water to a lower lying tobacco sheet only.

9. Method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of dispensing water comprises applying water to a cutting face of a lower lying tobacco sheet only.

10. Method according to claim 1 , further comprising the step of removing a cut waste end portion of the first tobacco sheet and removing a cut waste head portion of the second tobacco sheet before performing the step of applying pressure.

11. Method according to claim 1 , further comprising the steps of:
changing a position of a second bobbin with the second tobacco sheet to a position of a first bobbin with the first tobacco sheet and vice versa after combining the first and the second tobacco sheet;
replacing the first bobbin by a further bobbin; and
providing a tobacco sheet from the further bobbin for combining with the second tobacco sheet.

12. Method according claim 1 , further comprising the step of introducing the combined tobacco sheet into a crimping device for crimping the spliced tobacco sheet.

13. Method according to claim 2 , further comprising the step of overlapping the first and the second tobacco sheet by more than 4 millimeters before performing the step of applying pressure.

14. Method according to claim 5 , wherein the step of dispensing water comprises applying water to a lower lying tobacco sheet only.

15. Method according to claim 2 , further comprising the step of removing a cut waste end portion of the first tobacco sheet and removing a cut waste head portion of the second tobacco sheet before performing the step of applying pressure.

16. Method according to claim 5 , further comprising the step of removing a cut waste end portion of the first tobacco sheet and removing a cut waste head portion of the second tobacco sheet before performing the step of applying pressure.

17. Method according to claim 1 to manufacture smoking articles.

Assignees

• Philip Morris Products Sa

Inventors

• Gindrat Pierre-Yves
• Metrangolo Alessandro

Classifications

• B65H2408/2172

  several cascaded loops of rollers · CPC title

• B65H2301/46176

  cutting both spliced webs simultaneously · CPC title

• B65H2301/46178

  cutting by transversally moving element · CPC title

• A24C5/399 Primary

  Component parts or details, e.g. feed roller, feed belt · CPC title

• B65H2301/4621

  Overlapping article or web portions · CPC title