Apparatus and method for manufacturing tobacco industry products

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12108782-B2
Application number	US-202218085895-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 21, 2022
Priority date	May 27, 2016
Publication date	Oct 8, 2024
Grant date	Oct 8, 2024

Abstract

An apparatus for use in the manufacture of tobacco industry products (TIPs), including a rotatable drum having a plurality of flutes formed in a curved outer surface of the drum to receive axially-aligned components of a TIP, a roll hand having a contact surface facing and spaced from the outer surface of the drum to define a space, between the contact surface and the outer surface, within which space components of a TIP are rollable upon rotation of the drum, and a kicker bar disposed adjacent to the roll hand and having a contact edge facing and spaced from the outer surface of the drum, where at least one of the roll hand contact surface, kicker bar contact edge and drum outer surface includes a groove extending in a substantially circumferential direction of the drum and configured to least partially receive one or more of the TIP components as the drum rotates.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An apparatus for manufacture of tobacco industry products, the apparatus comprising a rolling unit comprising:
a rotatable drum having a plurality of flutes extending in an axial direction of the drum and spaced circumferentially around a curved outer surface of the drum, the flutes being formed in the curved outer surface of the drum to receive axially-aligned components of a tobacco industry product;
a roll hand having a contact surface facing and spaced from the outer surface of the drum to define a space, between the contact surface and the outer surface, within which space components of a tobacco industry product are rollable across the outer surface upon rotation of the drum; and
a kicker bar disposed adjacent to the roll hand and having a contact edge facing and spaced from the outer surface of the drum;
wherein at least one of the roll hand contact surface and the kicker bar contact edge includes a first groove extending in a substantially circumferential direction of the drum and configured to at least partially receive one or more of the tobacco industry product components as the drum rotates; and
wherein the roll hand and the kicker bar are held in a fixed position relative to the rolling drum during operation of the apparatus, and
wherein the kicker bar is adjustable relative to the roll hand such that the projection distance of a contact edge of the kicker bar from a contact surface of the roll hand can be adjusted and set.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the roll hand contact surface, kicker bar contact edge and drum outer surface includes two first grooves extending in a substantially circumferential direction of the drum, and wherein the two first grooves are spaced apart in an axial direction of the drum.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the kicker bar contact edge and the roll hand contact surface both include said first groove.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the first groove in the kicker bar contact edge is aligned with the first groove in the roll hand contact surface with respect to a circumferential direction of the drum.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the curved outer surface of the drum includes a second groove extending in a substantially circumferential direction of the drum and extending between circumferentially adjacent flutes, the second groove in the curved drum outer surface being configured to at least partially receive one or more of the tobacco industry product components as the drum rotates.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the kicker bar contact edge includes the first groove and the roll hand contact surface includes the first groove, and wherein a base surface of the first groove in the kicker bar contact edge is level with a base surface of the first groove in the roll hand contact surface.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the kicker bar contact edge includes the first groove and the roll hand contact surface includes the first groove, and wherein a base surface of the first groove in the kicker bar contact edge is off-set from a base surface of the first groove in the roll hand contact surface.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the kicker bar contact edge includes the first groove, and wherein a depth of the first groove in the kicker bar contact edge varies from a side of the kicker bar remote from the roll hand to a side of the kicker bar proximate the roll hand.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the roll hand contact surface includes the first a groove, and wherein a base surface of the first groove in the kicker bar contact edge is level with a base surface of the first groove in the roll hand contact surface at the side of the kicker bar proximate the roll hand, and is off-set from the base surface of the first groove in the roll hand contact edge at the side of the kicker bar remote from the roll hand.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the kicker bar is a separate component to the roll hand and is fixedly secured to the roll hand.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10 wherein a position of the kicker bar relative to the roll hand can be adjusted.

12. A tobacco industry product assembly machine comprising an apparatus according to claim 1 .

Assignees

• British American Tobacco Investments Ltd

Inventors

• Bray Andrew Jonathan
• Whiffen Sam
• Le Roux Gerhard

Classifications

• A24C5/473

  Cutting the connecting band · CPC title

• A24C5/472

  Applying adhesives to the connecting band · CPC title

• A24C5/471 Primary

  by means of a connecting band · CPC title

• A24C5/478 Primary

  Transport means for filter- or cigarette-rods in view of their assembling · CPC title