Pre-formed smokable tube filling device and methods

Abstract

A system and method for simultaneously packing a plurality of pre-formed tubes with a predetermined volume of material to a selectable pack density. The system includes a press assembly having a pressing plate with a plurality of pressing rods, an actuator configured to control compression force, a tube carrier assembly with tube receptacles and a release mechanism, and a modular material loading assembly with stackable layers for volume control and a slider for dispensing material. The material loading assembly is temporarily positioned above the tube carrier assembly to deliver material into the tubes, after which the pressing rods are actuated to compress the material. The system enables efficient and consistent packing of multiple tubes simultaneously. The method includes loading material, positioning components, actuating the press, and releasing the packed tubes in a repeatable cycle.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for simultaneously packing a plurality of pre-formed tubes, the system comprising:
 a base plate;   a top plate;   a plurality of linear guides extending between the top plate and the base plate;   a press assembly, including:
 a pressing plate slidably mounted on the plurality of linear guides for translational movement between the base plate and the top plate; 
 a plurality of pressing rods affixed to a surface of the pressing plate and extending axially therefrom, the plurality of pressing rods configured to be inserted into the plurality of pre-formed tubes to compress material disposed within the pre-formed tubes; 
 at least one actuator operatively coupled to the pressing plate and configured to control vertical displacement and compression force of the pressing plate; 
   a tube carrier assembly, including:
 a tube carrier body having a plurality of vertically oriented tube receptacles, each configured to receive a corresponding pre-formed tube; 
 a tube carrier slider configured to selectively retain the plurality of pre-formed tubes within the plurality of vertically oriented tube receptacles in a first position, and to release the plurality of pre-formed tubes in a second position; 
   a material loading assembly, including:
 a material loading base having a plurality of through-bores axially aligned with the plurality of vertically oriented tube receptacles; 
 at least one stackable material loading layer removably positioned above the material loading base, each of the at least one stackable material loading layer having a plurality of apertures aligned with the plurality of through-bores of the material loading base to define material channels for temporarily retaining a predetermined volume of material; 
 a material loading slider configured to selectively retain the predetermined volume of material within the material channels in a first position, and to release the predetermined volume of material in a second position; 
 wherein the material loading assembly is removably positionable above the tube carrier assembly such that the material channels are aligned with the plurality of vertically oriented tube receptacles to enable material flow from the material channels through the plurality of through-bores into the plurality of pre-formed tubes; and 
 wherein, upon actuation of the at least one actuator at a selected force parameter, the pressing plate is driven toward the tube carrier assembly to insert the plurality of pressing rods into the plurality of pre-formed tubes, thereby mechanically compressing material contained therein to a selectable pack density corresponding to the selected force parameter. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one actuator is selected from the group consisting of a pneumatic actuator, a hydraulic actuator, an electric linear actuator, a servo motor, a stepper motor, and a solenoid actuator. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one actuator is a pneumatic actuator configured to operate within a pressure range of about 20 psi to about 200 psi. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one actuator is a pneumatic actuator configured to operate within a pressure range of about 40 psi to about 100 psi. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one actuator comprises one or more pneumatic actuators providing pressure-controlled force distribution to the pressing plate. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one stackable material loading layer enables modular volume control by stacking layers of different thicknesses to achieve the predetermined material volume. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the tube carrier slider and the material loading slider each include manually operable handles for user control. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of vertically oriented tube receptacles accommodates pre-formed tubes having inner diameters ranging from about 8 mm to about 25 mm. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the pressing plate further includes a plurality of linear motion bearings configured to operatively engage with the plurality of linear guides to facilitate guided linear movement of the pressing plate. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the tube carrier assembly further includes a plurality of alignment holes in the tube carrier body configured to receive alignment features from the material loading assembly. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the tube carrier assembly further includes a plurality of tube carrier bolts extending from the tube carrier body, the tube carrier bolts configured to engage with the base plate. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the base plate includes a plurality of tube carrier alignment features configured to receive and position the tube carrier assembly. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the tube carrier assembly further includes a tube carrier slider retainer configured to maintain the tube carrier slider in slidable position.  14  The system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of pressing rods further includes contoured distal ends configured for smooth insertion into the plurality of pre-formed tubes. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the material loading assembly is configured to be removed prior to actuation of the at least one actuator. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of linear guides comprises one or more linear guides. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one actuator is a pneumatic actuator, and the selected force parameter is controlled by adjusting pneumatic pressure supplied to the actuator to achieve the selectable pack density of the pre-formed tubes. 
     
     
         18 . A method for simultaneously packing a plurality of pre-formed tubes, comprising the steps of:
 (a) loading a plurality of pre-formed tubes into a plurality of corresponding vertically oriented tube receptacles of a tube carrier assembly, the tube carrier assembly having a tube carrier slider in a first position to retain the plurality of pre-formed tubes within the corresponding vertically oriented tube receptacles;   (b) positioning the tube carrier body such that a plurality of pressing rods of a pressing assembly are vertically aligned with the plurality of pre-formed tubes;   (c) positioning a material loading assembly on top of the tube carrier body, the material loading assembly comprising a material loading base and at least one stackable material loading layer, each having axially aligned openings defining a plurality of material retention channels configured to temporarily retain a predetermined volume of material, the material retention channels aligned with the plurality of pre-formed tubes, and a material loading slider positioned in a first position to retain the predetermined volume of material within the material retention channels;   (d) loading the plurality of material retention channels of the material loading assembly with the predetermined volume of material;   (e) dispensing the material from the material loading assembly into the plurality of pre-formed tubes by moving the material loading slider from the first position to a second position to release the predetermined volume of material from the plurality of material retention channels into the plurality of pre-formed tubes;   (f) removing the material loading assembly from the tube carrier body;   (g) actuating at least one actuator at a force parameter to drive the plurality of pressing rods downward into the plurality of pre-formed tubes, thereby compressing the predetermined volume of material to a target pack density corresponding to the force parameter;   (h) retracting the plurality of pressing rods; and   (i) moving the tube carrier slider from the first position to a second position to release the plurality of pre-formed tubes from the plurality of vertically oriented tube receptacles.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising repeating steps (c) through (h) until the predetermined volume of material is compressed to the target pack density within the plurality of pre-formed tubes.