System for feeding granulated substance and feeding method used therein

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11484057-B2
Application number	US-202017131243-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 22, 2020
Priority date	Sep 12, 2018
Publication date	Nov 1, 2022
Grant date	Nov 1, 2022

Abstract

This system is for implementing a method for feeding of a granulated substance, and is provided with: a feeding path through which cut tobacco is fed toward a tobacco band in a cigarette manufacturing machine; a separation device for separating, by winnowing, the cut tobacco into good products and sub-standard products that are heavier than the good products, in the process of feeding the cut tobacco; an adjustment device that is capable of directly and/or indirectly adjusting the velocity of a current of air used for separation through winnowing; a transfer path which receives and transfers the sub-standard products discharged from the separation device; a weighing device which takes a sample of the sub-standard products being transferred on the transfer path and measures the weight of the sampled sub-standard products and outputs the weighing result; and a controller which, on the basis of the weighing result, controls the operation of the adjustment device so as to bring the sampling weight equal to a target value being the management standard.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A feeding system of a granulated substance, comprising:
a feeding path configured to feed, toward a use machine that uses a granulated substance, the granulated substance together with a carrying airflow;
a separation device configured to, in a feeding process of the granulated substance, separate the granulated substance into a good product and a sub-standard product heavier than the good product by separation through winnowing, and discharge only the sub-standard product from the feeding path;
an adjustment device capable of adjusting a flow velocity of a sorting airflow to be used for the separation through winnowing;
a transfer path configured to receive and transfer a sub-standard product discharged from the feeding path;
a weighing device configured to sample the sub-standard product transferred through the transfer path at a predetermined timing and for a predetermined period, perform weighing of a sampling weight of the sub-standard product and output of a weighing result of the weighing, and then return the sampled sub-standard product to the transfer path; and
a controller configured to receive the weighing result from the weighing device, and, based on the weighing result, control an operation of the adjustment device to bring the sampling weight equal to a target value of a management standard,
wherein the adjustment device is capable of adjusting the flow velocity of the sorting airflow by changing the opening degree of the feeding path.

2. The feeding system of a granulated substance according to claim 1 ,
wherein the feeding path includes a gravity chute forming an upstream section of the feeding path and configured to cause the granulated substance to fall due to a self-weight, and a downstream section extending from a lower end of the gravity chute to the use machine,
wherein the separation device comprises
a first separator configured to separate through winnowing a granulated substance that has reached the lower end of the gravity chute into a first granulated substance as a good product and a second granulated substance heavier than the first granulated substance, cause the first granulated substance to move toward the downstream section, and in contrast cause the second granulated substance to fall from the lower end of the gravity chute into a first separation chute, and
a second separator, the second separator having a second separation chute extending downward from the downstream section and configured to receive the second granulated substance from the first separation chute, and an air nozzle configured to generate a sorting airflow in the second separation chute,

wherein the second separator separates through winnowing the second granulated substance into a third granulated substance as a good product to move toward the downstream section and a sub-standard product heavier than the third granulated substance using the sorting airflow in the second separation chute, and
wherein the third granulated substance moves toward the downstream section together with the sorting airflow in the second separation chute, and in contrast the sub-standard product falls in the second separation chute against the sorting airflow.

3. The feeding system of a granulated substance according to claim 2 , wherein the adjustment device is capable of adjusting smallest flow-path cross section of the second separation chute and a flow rate of air to be supplied to the air nozzle.

4. The feeding system of a granulated substance according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to convert the weighing result into a conversion value with regard to the management standard, and control an operation of the adjustment device based on a deviation between the conversion value and the target value.

5. The feeding system of a granulated substance according to claim 1 , further comprising an input device configured to input each of the timing, the period, and the target value of the management standard to the weighing device and/or the controller.

6. A feeding method of a granulated substance, comprising:
a feeding step of feeding, toward a use machine that uses a granulated substance, the granulated substance together with a carrying airflow along a feeding path;
a separation step of, in a feeding process of the granulated substance, separating a good product and a sub-standard product heavier than the good product by separation through winnowing, and discharging only the sub-standard product from the feeding path;
a transfer step of receiving the sub-standard product discharged from the feeding path and transferring the sub-standard product along a transfer path;
a weighing step of sampling the sub-standard product transferred through the transfer path at a predetermined timing and for a predetermined period, performing weighing of a sampling weight of the sub-standard product and output of a weighing result of the weighing, and then returning the sampled sub-standard product to the transfer path; and
a control step of receiving the weighing result from the weighing step, and, based on the weighing result, controlling a flow velocity of a sorting airflow to be used for the separation through winnowing to bring the sampling weight equal to a target value of a management standard,
wherein the controlling of the flow velocity of the sorting airflow includes changing the opening degree of the feeding path.

7. The feeding method of a granulated substance according to claim 6 ,
wherein the separation step separates through winnowing the granulated substance in a separation duct defining a circulation path of the carrying airflow that also serves as the sorting airflow, and
wherein the control step is capable of directly adjusting a flow rate of the carrying airflow.

8. The feeding method of a granulated substance according to claim 6 ,
wherein the feeding step includes a process of causing the granulated substance to fall due to a self-weight in a gravity chute forming an upstream section of the feeding path,
wherein the separation step comprises
a first separation process of separating through winnowing a granulated substance that has reached a lower end of the gravity chute into a first granulated substance as a good product and a second granulated substance heavier than the first granulated substance, causing the first granulated substance to move toward a downstream section of the feeding path, and in contrast causing the second granulated substance to fall from the lower end of the gravity chute into a first separation chute, and
a second separation process of separating through winnowing the second granulated substance using a sorting airflow into a third granulated substance as a good product and a fourth granulated substance as a sub-standard product heavier than the third granulated substance in a second separation chute extending downward from the downstream section and configured to receive the second granulated substance from the first separation chute, the sorting airflow being generated by an air nozzle configured to blow air in the second separation chute in the second separation process, and

wherein the third granulated substance moves toward the downstream section together with the sorting airflow, and in contrast the fourth granulated substance falls in the second separation chute against the sorting airflow.

9. The feeding method of a granulated substance according to claim 8 , wherein the control step adjusts a smallest flow-path cross section of the second separation chute and a flow rate of air to be supplied to the air nozzle.

10. The feeding method of a granulated substance according to claim 6 , wherein the control step converts the weighing res

Assignees

• Japan Tobacco Inc

Inventors

• Iwano Toru
• Tsuboi Katsuyuki
• Ono Kazuyoshi
• Iwao Tatsuya

Classifications

• A24C5/396 Primary

  with separating means, e.g. winnowing, removing impurities · CPC title

• B07B11/04

  Control arrangements · CPC title

• B07B11/06

  Feeding or discharging arrangements · CPC title

• A24B3/16

  Classifying or aligning leaves · CPC title

• B07B9/02

  Combinations of similar or different apparatus for separating solids from solids using gas currents · CPC title