Abstract: A method and apparatus for opening cigarette packs involving minimal contact with the cigarettes in the pack and little likelihood of damage or degradation of the tobacco contained in the cigarettes. The invention includes conveying packs to a first location where they are received, moving the packs to a second location where they are pressurized and expanded, moving the pressurized expanded packs to a third location where one end is cut off, moving the packs to a fourth location where impulse is applied to the pack as a whole, resulting in the transfer of the pack to a fifth location, where the motion of the pack itself is stopped, but the inertia of the cigarettes themselves is conserved sufficiently that they are transferred to a conveyance for further processing. The empty packs are disposed of at a sixth location. The method and apparatus is intermittent, involving regular starting and stopping motions.

Abstract: A unit for sampling cigarettes on a filter assembly machine, which unit is designed to cooperate with a conveyor for feeding the cigarettes through the filter assembly machine, and features a sampling conveyor tangent to the feed conveyor and having an even number of peripheral seats for the cigarettes; the aforementioned seats being arranged along the sampling conveyor, and each having a respective suction device; and a selecting device being provided for selectively activating the suction devices and so withdrawing given cigarettes off the feed conveyor.