Abstract: The distributor of a cigarette rod making machine delivers particles of tobacco into a stream building zone wherein the particles are accumulated into a continuous stream. The surplus of tobacco is removed by an adjustable trimming device and the removed surplus is transported back to the distributor for reuse. The quantity of removed surplus is measured by a weighing device whose transducer transmits signals which are compared with signals denoting the position of the trimming device, and the resulting signals are used to adjust the rate of delivery of tobacco particles to the stream building zone. The weighing device has a frame which carries two pulleys for an endless belt. The frame can pivot about the axis of one of the pulleys or it can be tiltably mounted on a fulcrum between the two pulleys.

Abstract: The heat-sealing tool for closing the thermoplastic transparent outer wrappers of cigarette packs in a cigarette packing machine is pivoted intermittently into engagement with the wrappers of successive packs while the indexible turret which transports the packs is idle. The tool is held in engagement with each of a series of wrappers for the same interval of time irrespective of the speed of the prime mover which drives the turret. To this end, the tool is pivotable by a rotary disc-shaped cam which is driven by a variable-speed motor whose operation is regulated by a control circuit including a function generator. Alternatively, the tool is actuated by a transmission which receives motion from the prime mover and is adjusted when the speed of the prime mover changes.