Abstract: A crash helmet for use by motorcycle drivers or riders has a rigid shell; a first flexible acoustic tube a first section of which extends into and has a bell horn in the region of the mouth-protecting part of the shell, and a second section extending from the shell through the opening in the neck-surrounding part of the shell; a second flexible acoustic tube a first section of which extends into and has a sound-intensifying terminal portion in the region of an ear-protecting part of the shell, and a second section extending outwardly through the aforementioned opening of the shell; first and second additional flexible acoustic tubes respectively corresponding to the second and first tubes and having first sections installed in the shell of a second crash helmet; and a quick-release coupling respectively connecting the second sections of the first and second tubes with the second sections of the second and first additional tubes.

Abstract: A cigarette testing apparatus wherein each end of the wrapper of a cigarette advancing with a rotary conveyor past a testing station receives a stream of gaseous testing fluid from a conduit which is connected with a source of testing fluid, and wherein a further conduit connects the interior of the wrapper at the testing station with an electropneumatic transducer which generates signals denoting the condition of successively tested wrappers.

Abstract: The magazine for parallel cigarettes in a packing machine has several groups of ducts each of which serves to accumulate successive layers of cigarettes at different levels so that the layer which is formed in the first group is disposed at a level below the layer formed in the second group, and so forth. A conveyor advances stepwise along the groups of ducts and has openended receptacles for layers which are transferred from the groups of ducts during each period of dwell of the conveyor by an intermittently actuated transfer unit. The conveyor is flanked by two stationary guide members whose undersides have sections disposed at different levels and staggered with reference to one another, as considered at right angles to the direction of travel of the conveyor. The guide members further have end faces against which the ends of cigarettes abut during travel from a preceding toward the next-following group of ducts.

Abstract: Apparatus for making holes in a running web of tipping paper for filter cigarettes has a carrier for a battery of suitably distributed perforating units each of which has an optical system for focusing upon the running web a discrete beam of coherent radiation which is furnished by a laser. The making of holes entails the development of contaminants, and such contaminants are removed by air streams which are circulated through the perforating units not only to remove the contaminants but also to cool the optical systems of the respective perforating units. The web advances along the convex side of a shroud which maintains the web at an optimum distance from the optical systems of the perforating units. The shroud is installed between the web and the perforating units and has elongated slot-shaped apertures for the beams of radiation. The perforating units form several rows, and the shroud has or can have one elongated aperture for each row of perforating units.

Abstract: Apparatus is provided for forming a tobacco filler, said apparatus being adapted to ensure gentle transport of a tobacco stream through an arcuate duct in the distributor of a cigarette rod making machine and into a tobacco channel which is located below a rod conveyor. The wall of the arcuate duct is provided with compressed air admitting means which extend along the wall of and into the duct in the direction of transport of the tobacco stream and generate a current advancing along the wall of the duct to entrain and accelerate the tobacco.

Abstract: Shredded tobacco is supplied from a storage reservoir to one or more cigarette making machines by way of discrete pneumatic conveying pipes. The reservoir receives fresh tobacco at regular or irregular intervals so that the quantity of tobacco in its interior is constant. The contents of the reservoir are maintained in suspension so that at least the major part of the supply of tobacco shreds forms a fluidized bed which is located directly below the intakes of the conveying pipes. When a machine requires a batch of tobacco shreds, the respective pipe is connected to a suction generating device so that it draws air from the region between the underside of the fluidized bed and the upper side of the bottom wall of the reservoir whereby the ascending current of air entrains tobacco particles directly from the fluidized bed.

Abstract: An apparatus for forming a tobacco stream in cigarette making machines or the like to production of rod-shaped smokers' articles comprising a tobacco channel with an air-permeable channel bottom which extends substantially horizontally from a stream building section to a stream discharging location and above which the lower reach of an air-permeable tobacco band is guided. The tobacco channel cooperates with a suction chamber to generate suction which holds the built-up tobacco stream. In order to maintain the structure of the stream, even at high transporting speeds, there are provided means for reducing suction through the bottom of the channel outside of the stream building section.

Abstract: Apparatus for supporting, locating and transferring plate-like or disc-shaped workpieces between several stations or between several machines where each of two plane parallel surfaces of each workpiece is subjected to one or more treatments has at least two partially overlapping plate chucks. A workpiece which is introduced by one chuck into the space where the two chucks overlap is released by the one chuck and is then attracted by the other chuck so that the previously exposed surface of the workpiece becomes concealed and vice versa. The chucks can transport workpieces between successive stations of a series of stations where the surfaces of the workpieces can be subjected to a coarse and thereupon to a precision or final treatment such as grinding and polishing, lapping or honing. If the chucks are installed in a separate frame, they can be rotated through 180.degree. about an axis which is parallel to their work-contacting surfaces so that a workpiece between such chucks is inverted, i.

Abstract: Apparatus for selectively transferring cigarettes, uniting bands or other discrete articles from a first onto a second conveyor has a first suction generating device which communicates with suction ports in the periphery of the cylindrical rotor of the first conveyor while such ports advance along a first portion of a first endless path, and a discrete second suction generating device which can be activated to draw air from the ports in a second portion of the first path adjacent to a portion of a second endless path defined by the second conveyor. When the second suction generating device is activated, the articles which reach the second portion of the first path are not transferred onto the second conveyor. The second suction generating device can constitute an injector which can be activated or deactivated by a valve within a few milliseconds.

Abstract: A continuous stream of moist tobacco particles is withdrawn from a magazine by a carded belt conveyor, and successive increments of the stream are weighed prior to transport past a measuring unit which ascertains the initial moisture content of successive increments of the stream. The signals which are generated by the weighing device are used to regulate the speed of the carded conveyor so as to insure that each unit length of the stream reaching the measuring unit contains identical quantities of tobacco particles per weight. The stream is thereupon transported through a moisture increasing unit wherein the stream is traversed by ascending currents of steam and wherein one or more nozzles sprinkle metered quantities of water onto successive increments of the stream.

Abstract: A surface grinding machine wherein a tool holder is mounted on an upright feed screw which is in mesh with a rotary spindle nut. The latter is held against axial movement in the column of the grinding machine and is normally driven by a torque transmitting unit having an endless toothed belt trained over a first pulley which is coaxial with the nut and a second pulley mounted on the output shaft of an electric motor. A gear train is installed in parallel with the torque transmitting unit to prevent automatic lowering of the tool holder when the belt breaks. The gear train has a first gear coaxial with the first pulley, a second gear coaxial with the second pulley and an additional gear meshing with the first and second gears. The tension of the belt is monitored by a detector which transmits a signal when the belt breaks, and such signal is used to immediately arrest the motor.

Abstract: Apparatus for transporting holders for filled cigarette trays from the lower level of a tray filling machine to the higher level of a removing station defines an elliptical path at the vertex of which filled trays are removed from the holders and at the lowermost point of which empty holders receive trays which are filled with arrays of cigarettes. The holders are transported by conveyors which are directly or indirectly mounted on levers rotating about axes which are defined by the arms of a further lever rotating about a fixed axis. The holders are guided in such a way that their orientation remains unchanged during transport along the elliptical path.

Abstract: Groups of coaxial filter rod sections and plain cigarettes are delivered onto the peripheral surface of a rotary drum in such orientation that each group extends in parallelism with the axis of the drum and overlies the adhesive coated outer side of a discrete uniting band which adheres to the surface by suction and is formed on the drum in such a way that its leader overlies a groove in the surface. The cigarettes of each group are attracted to the drum by suction, and the sections of the groups are mechanically urged against the leaders of the respective bands by claws which are retractible into and extendable from the drum by one or more stationary cams, followers which track the cams and gears which receive motion from the followers and rotate discs having eccentric pins coupling them to the respective claws.

Abstract: Apparatus for reciprocating the tubular rod guide which supports the cigarette rod during severing by the orbiting knife of a cutoff has a pair of identical drives whose first driving units receive rotary motion from a common driver gear and transmit torque to eccentrically mounted second driving units. The second driving units support an eccentrically mounted holder for the rod guide. The eccentricity of the second driving units with reference to the respective first driving units is the same as the eccentricity of the holder with reference to the second driving units. The RPM of the first driving units is half the RPM of the second driving units, and the first and second driving units of each drive rotate in opposite directions. Elastic cushions are interposed between the holder and each second driving unit.

Abstract: A double head grinding machine for the roots of turbine blades or similar complex workpieces with concave and/or convex surfaces has two parallel horizontal spindles the upper of which carries a single grinding wheel and the lower of which carries two coaxial grinding wheels. The base of the machine frame supports a table which is movable by a first motor in a direction at right angles to the axes of the spindles, tangentially of the grinding wheels and along a horizontal path below the spindles. A work holder on the table is movable by a second motor along a sloping path in a direction making an angle of 30 degrees with the axes of the spindles and at right angles to the direction of movement of the table in such a way that the workpiece which is held in the holder can be moved toward or away from the grinding wheels.

Abstract: A continuous stream of tobacco particles is conveyed through a conditioning zone wherein the stream is agitated and is directly contacted by a current of hot air. The moisture content of the thus dried tobacco particles is measured downstream of the conditioning zone and the temperature of hot air is changed when the measured moisture content of dried tobacco particles deviates from a desired value. A second parameter of hot air (e.g., its initial moisture content) is varied when the temperature of freshly dried tobacco particles deviates from a preselected temperature. This ensures that the moisture content of tobacco particles does not fluctuate subsequent to cooling which follows the drying operation.

Abstract: A cigarette testing apparatus wherein a rotary drum-shaped conveyor has axially parallel peripheral flutes for cigarettes and is flanked by two swash plates which rotate therewith and carry annuli of elastically deformable sealing elements for the respective ends of cigarettes on the conveyor. Each sealing element has a socket facing the adjacent end of the cigarette in the corresponding flutes of the conveyor when the cigarette is inserted into the flutes. The swash plates thereupon move the sealing elements nearer to the ends of the cigarettes therebetween whereby the ends of the cigarettes enter the corresponding sockets and displace transversely extending partitions of the sealing elements with attendant radial contraction of those tubular sections of the sealing elements which surround the respective sockets.

Abstract: A magazine which contains a supply of parallel filter rod sections has an outlet which discharges a multi-layer stream of sections onto a receiving conveyor which delivers the sections into a gap between two parallel belt conveyors wherein the sections form a single layer and are positively advanced into successive flutes of a rotary drum-shaped withdrawing conveyor. The speed of the receiving conveyor equals or exceeds the speed of the flutes, and the speed of the belt conveyors exceeds the speed of the receiving conveyor. This ensures that the gap invariably contains a layer of parallel sections so that the belt conveyors can admit a section into each oncoming flute of the withdrawing conveyor. The sections which issue from the outlet and are about to enter the gap accumulate in a pileup zone which is disposed above the receiving conveyor and from which the receiving conveyor accepts sections in the absence of adequate delivery via outlet of the magazine.

Abstract: A grinding machine with two parallel horizontal spindles which are movable radially of toward and away from each other and wherein each spindle carries a set of several coaxial grinding wheels having different outer diameters. The smaller wheels are nearer to and the larger wheels are more distant from the outer end portions of the respective spindles which are mounted, in cantilever fashion, in vertically movable carriers guided by vertical ways at the front side of an upright column forming part of the machine frame. The dressing mechanism for the grinding wheels has discrete coaxial or angularly staggered dressing discs for the respective grinding wheels, a common dressing disc for the grinding wheels on each spindle, or a single dressing disc for all of the grinding wheels.

Abstract: A filter rod making machine wherein a rotary brush which is installed in a housing normally atomizes successive increments of a stream of liquid plasticizer which is supplied thereto by a varibale-delivery pump at a rate matching the speed of transport of a permeable tow of filamentary filter material through the housing so that the housing confines a quantity of residual plasticizer and the tow thereafter continuously withdraws atomized plasticizer from the housing at the rate at which the pump supplies liquid plasticizer into the range of the brush.