Apparatus for forming continuous cigarette rods with air channels

Claim 1

IN A CIGARETTE MAKING MACHINE OF THE CONTINUOUS ROD TYPE HAVING A GARNITURE BED WITH A ROD FORMING SECTION ALONG WHICH SHREDDED TOBACCO IS ADVANCED AND TAPERED, ROD FORMING MECHANISM MOUNTED ON SAID GARNITURE BED AND HAVING AN ENTRY END OF MAXIMUM CROSS-SECTIONAL DIMENSION TO FACILITATE THE ENTRY OF SHREDDED TOBACCO THEREIN AND TAPERED TO A MINIMUM CROSS-SECTIONAL DIMENSION TO FORM WITH THE GARNITURE BED THE DESIRED CROSS-SECTIONAL ROD DIMENSION AND ALSO INCLUDING A SHORT FOLDER, A LONG FOLDER AND A SEAM SEATER FOR SECURING A WRAPPER AROUND THE CIGARETTE ROD, THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH CONSISTS OF PROVIDING IMPROVED MECHANISM FOR FORMING A LONGITUDINAL AIR CHANNEL THROUGH THE TOBACCO ROD COMPRISING PARTING MEANS IN THE FORM OF A BLADE-SHAPED MEMBER MOUNTED ADJACENT THE ENTRY END OF THE ROD FORMING MECHANISM FOR PARTING THE SHREDDED TOBACCO AS IT ENTERS THE ROD FORMING MECHANISM AND AN ATTENUATED CHANNEL FORMING CORE DISPOSED IN SAID ROD FORMING MECHANISM SPACED FROM THE SIDES THEREOF AND EXTENDING FROM THE PARTING MEANS TO A POINT BEYOND THE SHORT FOLDER.