Abstract: The exterior of successive filter cigarettes, filter rod sections or other rod-shaped articles of the tobacco processing industry is monitored for the presence of various defects including absence or improper orientation of filter mouthpieces, improperly applied or outwardly projecting uniting bands, absence of roundness and/or others by directing a beam of radiation along successive articles while they move sideways in the flutes of a drum-shaped conveyor. The beams of radiation are influenced by defects and are thereupon monitored for the purposes of generating signals which are indicative of defects, if any. The beam of radiation extends all the way along the full length of each article and can also extend partially or around the entire circumference of each article.

Abstract: Wrapping material which is supplied from a reel to the intermittently actuated withdrawing tongs of a cigarette packing machine is looped in a magazine adjacent to the tongs and is stabilized against fluttering and other stray movements by a pneumatic conveyor which attracts one leg of the loop and tensions it so that such leg of the loop remains in its prescribed path.

Abstract: A tobacco shredding machine wherein the cutting edges of orbiting shredding knives are sharpened by the undulate annular surface of a grinding wheel which is reciprocated forwardly and backwards in parallelism with the axis of the holder for the knives and is retracted from the circular path of the cutting edges during each return stroke of its support. The speed of forward movement of the support while the grinding wheel sharpens the cutting edges is such that the support covers during each revolution of the holder a distance which equals or is a whole multiple of the width of an undulation on the grinding surface. The axes of the grinding wheel and of the holder for the knives are located in a common plane.

Abstract: A cigarette testing apparatus wherein a single layer of cigarettes is transported sideways in the flutes of two conveyors one of which exposes a first half of the wrapper of each cigarette thereon from the one to the other end of the cigarette and the other of which exposes the remaining half of the wrapper. A first optoelectrical scanning system monitors the first half of the wrapper of each cigarette on the first conveyor for the presence or absence of defects, and a discrete second optoelectrical scanning system monitors the remaining half of the wrapper of each cigarette on the second conveyor for the presence or absence of defects. Each of the two systems can employ two discrete scanning units having light sources, mirrors and lenses which focus light from the sources upon the respective halves of the wrappers, rows of photoelectric transducers, and elements which focus reflected light upon the transducers.

Abstract: Apparatus for filling ink cartridges which are used in printer units of cigarette making machines has a frame which can removably support an empty cartridge in register with a stationary housing having a reciprocable plunger with axial and radial bores for evacuation of ink from a chamber in the interior of the housing. The chamber receives ink from a tank by way of a feed screw which is driven by a motor. The plunger reduces the volume of the chamber when it is lifted by the nipple of an empty cartridge, and the plunger then permits ink to flow from the chamber into the cartridge. When the cartridge is filled, a piston in its interior indirectly opens a switch in the circuit of the motor so that the feed screw is arrested.

Abstract: A tobacco filler is formed in a machine which turns out two trough-shaped tobacco streams whose concave sides face each other. The two streams are thereupon caused to merge and to form a single stream whose central portion is less dense than the outer layer. The single stream is then compacted in the wrapping mechanism of the machine so that its cross section matches that of a cigarette, and the resulting filler is draped into cigarette paper prior to subdivision into discrete cigarettes of desired length. The density of the central portion of the filler in each cigarette is less than the density of the layer which is immediately adjacent to the wrapper. This improves the burning characteristics of the cigarettes and allows for a reduction of the quantity of tobacco which is needed to make a cigarette exhibiting a desired firmness.

Abstract: A cigarette testing apparatus wherein the cigarettes are transported in axially parallel peripheral flutes of a testing drum toward, past and beyond a testing station. A wobble plate is adjacent to one end of and rotates with the drum and supports a set of sleeve-like elastic sealing elements each of which is slipped onto the adjacent end of a cigarette when it approaches the testing station. The sealing elements are surrounded by resilient annular clamping members which tend to reduce their inner diameters and automatically compel the respective sealing elements to sealingly engage the peripheries of the inserted ends of cigarettes at the testing station. Pivotable cams are provided on the wobble plate to expand the clamping members downstream of the testing station in order to permit extraction of the ends of tested cigarettes from the sealing elements and insertion of untested cigarettes into the respective flutes.

Abstract: A hydraulic brake having an electrohydraulic antiskid system with a high switching frequency which is speed-proportional. The switching frequency is determined from the number of cross holes in a gear and the gear speed. The cut-in time is electronically determined in a computer and control circuit by a speed comparison of all wheels, whereby the switching frequencies of the passing teeth of a transport gear to a sensor are used as control impulses. If the computer and control circuit determines a deviation, e.g., if a wheel is being braked too sharply and, therefore, runs slower than the other wheels, a camshaft is rotated only in a forward direction, thus activating an antiskid system. If the difference is zero, the camshaft falls back into its initial position, the antiskid system is cut-out and only the braking system of the piston is operating.

Abstract: A grinding machine for workpieces having pairs of surfaces which are disposed opposite each other and each of which must be treated by the grinding wheel has one or two inverting heads each of which can removably receive one end portion of a workpiece so that the two surfaces of the workpiece remain exposed. The inverting heads can be turned in synchronism through 180 degrees between first positions in which the first surface of the workpiece can be treated by the grinding wheel and second positions in which the grinding wheel can treat the second surface of the workpiece. The inverting heads are further movable to intermediate positions in which a finished workpiece can be replaced with a fresh workpiece. Several workpieces can be accumulated into a stack which is inserted into a cassette and the latter confines the stack during introduction into, movement in and evacuation of stacked workpieces from the grinding machine.

Abstract: A tobacco stream which is formed at the upper side of one elongated reach of a foraminous endless belt conveyor opposite a suction chamber is inverted upside down by a twisted intermediate portion of the elongated reach so that it adheres to the underside of such reach by suction before it is transferred onto a web of cigarette paper. The elongated reach of the foraminous conveyor is guided in the groove of an elongated channel which has a flat surface upstream, a twisted surface adjacent to and a flat surface downstream of the intermediate portion of the elongated reach, and such surfaces are formed with suction ports to attract the tobacco stream to the elongated reach.

Abstract: A surface grinding machine wherein the grinding wheel is partially surrounded by a hood which can be turned about the axis of the grinding wheel in dependency on the shape and level of that part of a workpiece which is then treated by the grinding wheel. The hood carries coolant discharging nozzles which are continuously directed toward the location of contact between the grinding wheel and the workpiece. For this purpose, the nozzles are adjustable relative to the hood by discrete motors so as to compensate for wear upon and the resulting reduction of the diameter of the grinding wheel, or the hood is movable with the nozzles radially of the grinding wheel. The angular movements of the hood are shared by a dressing apparatus which is movable radially of the grinding wheel so that the dressing tool can treat the grinding wheel while the machine is in actual use.

Abstract: The pneumatic conveyor pipe which connects an article discharging station with an article receiving station in a production line for rod-shaped smokers' products passes through the sealed housing of an article influencing unit which contains friction wheels driven at a peripheral speed which ensures acceleration or deceleration of successive axially moving articles to a selected speed. The thus influenced articles are thereupon accelerated by compressed air so that they are separated from each other by gaps of preselected minimum width to allow for unobstructed changes in the direction of movement of articles which arrive at the receiving station.

Abstract: A continuous rod-like filler is formed in a cigarette rod making machine on an endless foraminous belt conveyor by depositing a row of spaced-apart batches consisting of a first type of tobacco at one side of the conveyor, holding the batches by suction, and showering tobacco particles of a second type onto and/or into the spaces between the batches. The density of successive increments of the filler is monitored by a pneumatic and/or radiation type detector, and the thus obtained density signals are used to generate control signals which regulate the density of the filler as well as control signals which are used to influence the batches, if and when necessary. For this purpose, the density signals can be processed to single out those which are attributable to monitoring of the density of successive batches, and the singled out density signals are then analyzed and used to vary one or more parameters of the batches.

Abstract: A stream of agglomerated short, medium long and long tobacco shreds as well as clumps or lumps of shreds and elongated fragments of tobacco ribs is fed onto a vibrating sieve which permits the short and medium long shreds to descend onto a first vibrating conveyor and causes the long shreds, clumps and fragments of ribs to advance onto a second vibrating conveyor whose upper surface has longitudinally extending grooves for the fragments. The long shreds and clumps are removed from the conveyor by a rotating carded drum which breaks up the clumps and delivers the long shreds and the shreds of the broken up clumps into a duct. The latter also receives short and medium long shreds from the first conveyor which is mounted below the second conveyor. The latter has openings for short and medium long shreds which might have been entrained by the long shreds, clumps and fragments of ribs. A metering device regulates the rate of admission of long shreds and shreds of the broken-up clumps into the duct.

Abstract: A portion of the path for a moving cigarette or filter rod in a cigarette rod making or filter rod making machine is surrounded by a ring-shaped carrier for a polygonal light-transmitting rod guide and a set of radiation conducting units, one behind each facet of the guide. Each unit receives a beam of radiation from a discrete source and directs such radiation radially of and at right angles to the axis of the moving rod. Radiation which is reflected by the exterior of the rod is caused to pass through the respective unit and is directed against a discrete photoelectric transducer which generates signals denoting the characteristics of reflected radiation. Such signals are used to evaluate the condition of the exterior of the rod and, if necessary, for segregation of corresponding (defective) plain cigarettes or filter rod sections from satisfactory cigarettes or filter rod sections.

Abstract: Each tobacco compacting chain of a tobacco shredding machine has several rows of block-shaped synthetic plastic links which are articulately connected to each other by transversely extending metallic pins receiving motion directly from the teeth of several coaxial sprocket wheels. The links form several endless rows, one for each sprocket wheel, and the links of neighboring rows are staggered relative to each other. Each pin extends through a pair of coaxial annular bearing elements at the inner side of one link in each of the rows and the end portions of the pins carry caps which are held thereon by screws and serve to hold the links against movement in the longitudinal direction of the respective pins.

Abstract: The distributor of a cigarette rod making machine has an air-permeable tobacco transporting conveyor adjacent to a channel which is bounded by two spaced apart sidewalls and receives a mixture of tobacco particles and compressed air. The quantity of air entering the channel exceeds the quantity which can be evacuated through the air-permeable conveyor. Therefore, at least one of the sidewalls has a recessed air-permeable portion adjacent to an external suction chamber to draw the surplus of air from the channel without adversely influencing the trajactories of tobacco particles which are propelled toward the conveyor to form thereon a growing homogeneous tobacco stream.

Abstract: A grinding machine wherein a column supports a vertically movable holder for the spindle of a grinding wheel and the dressing apparatus is mounted on the holder. The dressing apparatus has a carriage disposed at a level above the grinding wheel and movable up and down radially of the grinding wheel. The carriage has a forward extension for a follower which supports a pivotable carrier for two parallel or nearly parallel spindles each of which carries one or more dressing tools. The carrier is pivotable relative to the follower between a first position in which the first dressing tool is ready to treat the working surface of the grinding wheel and a second position in which the second dressing tool is ready to treat the working surface. Separate motors are provided to move the follower along the carriage, to move the carriage along the holder, to drive the spindles for the dressing tools, as well as to pivot the carrier relative to the follower.

Abstract: A numerically controlled profile grinding machine has a bed for a first carriage which supports an upright column and is reciprocable along a first horizontal path. The column supports a second carriage which is reciprocable thereon along a vertical second path and supports a turntable which is indexible about a horizontal axis. The turntable supports one or more work clamping devices which are indexible about second axes extending at right angles to and intersecting the first axis. The base further supports a carriage for one or more tool supporting units each of which is movable along a second horizontal path at right angles to the first path and has a turntable indexible about a vertical axis and supporting one or more spindles for grinding wheels as well as a dressing apparatus for grinding wheels. Alternatively, each tool supporting unit can be mounted on a discrete carriage.

Abstract: Circumferentially extending recesses in the peripheral surface of a rotating suction wheel are filled with tobacco shreds which are delivered in the form of a narrow stream by a pneumatic conveyor having a narrow tobacco propelling channel extending radially of the suction wheel and receiving the shreds of the stream in a current of compressed air. The surplus of shreds is removed by the current and/or by a trimming device which is installed in the interior of the pneumatic conveyor, and such surplus is recirculated through the distributor of a cigarette rod making machine and back into the pneumatic conveyor. The batches are used to form the interrupted core of a composite tobacco filler wherein the core is surrounded by a tubular envelope containing a different blend of tobacco.