Cigarette maker

Abstract

In a cigarette maker equipped with a surface on which continuous cigarette rods are assembled from respective strips of paper and streams of shredded tobacco, a cutter by which the rods are divided up into cigarette sticks, and guide ways by which the assembled rods are directed toward the cutter, the table or the guide ways, or both, will be positioned so that the rods advance along respective paths converging one with another.

1 ) A cigarette making machine comprising means by which to form at least two continuous cigarette rods from respective paper strips and respective streams of shredded tobacco, cutter means by which the rods are divided into discrete cigarette sticks, and means by which each rod is guided toward the cutter means, wherein the forming means and/or the guide means combine to create respective mutually convergent paths along which the rods are directed.  
   
   
       2 ) A machine as in  claim 1 , wherein forming means comprise three divisions along which to fashion three respective continuous cigarette rods.  
   
   
       3 ) A machine as in  claim 2 , wherein the three rods follow respective feed paths occupying the same plane, at least on a line coinciding with the cutter means.  
   
   
       4 ) A machine as in  claim 2 , wherein the paths followed by the rods coincide with respective points on a circumference located in a plane coinciding at least with the cutter means and lying perpendicular to at least one of the feed paths.  
   
   
       5 ) A machine as in  claim 2 , wherein forming means comprise a central division, also two lateral divisions disposed symmetrically on either side of the central division and convergent one with another.  
   
   
       6 ) A machine as in  claim 5 , wherein the divisions of the forming means comprise respective power driven looped belts each presenting a top branch slidable along a prescribed distance in contact with a groove of varying cross-section, of which the belt occupying the central division is of length dissimilar to the length of the two belts occupying the two lateral divisions.  
   
   
       7 ) A machine as in  claim 6 , wherein the central belt extends beyond the lateral belts.  
   
   
       8 ) A machine as in  claim 7 , wherein the central belt reassumes a normal flat profile, beyond the relative groove of varying cross-section, along a part of the relative feed path lying downstream of the parts of the two paths along which the lateral belts reassume a flat profile, beyond the respective grooves of varying cross-section.  
   
   
       9 ) A machine as in  claim 2 , wherein the feed paths converge at an angle of less than 5°.  
   
   
       10 ) A machine as in  claim 9 , wherein the feed paths converge at an angle of less than 1°.  
   
   
       11 ) A machine as in  claim 10 , wherein the feed paths converge at an angle of approximately 0° 30′.  
   
   
       12 ) A machine as in  claim 3 , wherein the feed paths converge at an angle of less than 5°.  
   
   
       13 ) A machine as in  claim 4 , wherein the feed paths converge at an angle of less than 5°.  
   
   
       14 ) A machine as in  claim 5 , wherein the feed paths converge at an angle of less than 5°.  
   
   
       15 ) A machine as in  claim 6 , wherein the feed paths converge at an angle of less than 5°.  
   
   
       16 ) A machine as in  claim 7 , wherein the feed paths converge at an angle of less than 5°.  
   
   
       17 ) A machine as in  claim 8 , wherein the feed paths converge at an angle of less than 5°.