Abstract: A cigarette making machine forms a tobacco stream on a moving air-pervious suction band by showering tobacco downwards through a chute which terminates in a narrow trough of which the depth increases progressively in the direction of motion of the band, with at least one air inlet for directing air obliquely downwards into the trough to pull the tobacco through the trough and towards the band. As the tobacco stream is formed on the band it acquires a depth which increases directly in accordance with the increasing height of the trough, in the direction of the motion of the band.

Abstract: A continuous carpet of particulate cigarette filler material, of which part along one side comprises core such as a low quality tobacco or non-tobacco material and the remainder comprises normal tobacco, is rolled by means of an air jet, starting from the core material side of the carpet, to form a cigarette filler stream consisting of an annulus of normal tobacco around a core consisting of the core material. Before the annulus tobacco is rolled around it, the rolled core material is trimmed to remove excess core material. Furthermore, a variable part of the normal tobacco in the carpet is discarded under the control of a sensor responding to the density of the nearly completely formed filler stream.

Abstract: Cigarettes are made with a filler comprising an outer annulus of tobacco surrounding a core of a tobacco or other material different from that in the outer annulus. The annulus tobacco is showered onto a conveyor to form a layer which is then bent into a U-section. Core material is fed into the longitudinal recess in the layer, after which further tobacco is showered on to the layer plus core to enclose the core in tobacco the core may be formed by showering the core material onto a separate conveyor which then feeds the core material into the recess in the first layer. Alternatively, the core material may be in the form of regularly spaced segments.

Abstract: A cigarette making machine has a carpet-forming apparatus comprising a rotary spreading device which delivers tobacco with a winding action into an annular space between a rotary drum and a surrounding casing. Thus, a carpet is built up in the annular space and this carpet is continuously fed out of the annular space in a tangential direction. The spreading device rotates several times faster than the drum and therefore smooths or averages out the effect of variations in the physical characteristics of the tobacco. The carpet is used to form a cigarette filler stream, for example by showering the tobacco from the carpet onto a band moving transversely to the carpet, so that each section of the filler stream includes tobacco particles obtained from various positions across the width of the carpet.

Abstract: A cigarette making machine for making cigarettes containing a core of material different from that of a surrounding annulus of tobacco comprises a conveyor, a conveyor band for forming a continuous substantially flat initial layer of tobacco on the conveyor, a further conveyor band for feeding a core onto the initial layer of tobacco, side walls for at least partially confining the sides of the core along a predetermined distance after the core has been fed onto the initial layer of tobacco, and a shower for feeding tobacco onto side portions of the initial layer, on opposite sides of the core, while the core is being confined by the side walls.

Abstract: A cigarette making machine comprises means for feeding tobacco towards a part of the machine which forms the tobacco into a tobacco stream, a trimmer arranged to trim away part of the tobacco stream, and means for feeding the discard tobacco (i.e., the tobacco removed from the stream by the trimmer) back to the tobacco-stream-forming part of the machine. The trimmer is arranged so that it can remove a temporarily increased amount of tobacco while the machine is being started. In particular, the tobacco stream is formed by showering tobacco towards a conveyor on which the tobacco builds up into a tobacco stream; and the discard tobacco is showered towards the conveyor at a position such that it forms part of the tobacco stream which is not removed by the trimmer. The tobacco may be showered upwards with the aid of an air stream towards the conveyor.

Abstract: A filler for a continuous cigarette filter rod is formed by feeding a wide band of filaments of filter material on to a slower moving surface, to which suction is applied so that the band is axially shrunk and the filaments crimped. The band is then narrowed to the desired width of the filler whilst retaining the crimp in the filaments, preferably by the use of a plasticiser.

Abstract: Cigarette filters are made by passing a continuous rod of filter material continuously through a moving die to form a continuous filter element having a repeated pattern of staggered grooves so arranged that the continuous filter element can be cut at regular intervals to form individual filter elements each having in its peripheral surface a number of grooves extending substantially axially alternately from opposite ends of the element.