labbfi

Claim 1

A CONTINUOUS ROD CIGARETTE MAKING MACHINE COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, MEANS FOR FORMING AN ELONGATED CONTINUOUS TOBACCO FILLER, AN ELONGATED CONVEYOR TO CONVEY THE FILLER IN THE DIRECTION OF ITS LENGTH, A PAIR OF SPACED, OPPOSED, STATIONARY SIDE GUIDES BETWEEN WHICH THE FILLER IS CONVEYED, SAID SIDE GUIDES HAVING OPPOSED FACES SHAPED TO PROVIDE THEREBETWEEN AN ELONGATED CHANNEL OF WHICH THE CONVEYOR FORMS THE BASE, SAID CHANNEL HAVING A NARROW PART ADJACENT THE CONVEYOR AND A WIDER PART REMOTE FROM THE CONVEYOR AND BEYOND SAID NARROW PART, SAID NARROW PART BEING SUBSTANTIALLY OF UNIFORM WIDTH AND PROGRESSIVELY INCREASING DEPTH IN THE DIRECTION OF THE MOVEMENT OF THE FILLER SAID CHANNEL HAVING A LEADING END HAVING A DEPTH SUBSTANTIALLY LESS THAN THE DEPTH OF THE FILLER, MEANS TO EXERT AIR PRESSURE ON THE FILLER IN SAID CHANNEL TO URGE THE FILLER TOWARD THE CONVEYOR AND INTO THE PROGRESSIVELY DEEPENING NARROW PART OF SAID CHANNEL AS THE FILLER IS CONVEYED ALONG THE CHANNEL, SO THAT THE QUANTITY OF FILLER CONFINED IN THE NARROW PART OF THE CHANNEL IS PROGRESSIVELY INCREASED SAID CHANNEL HAVING A TRAILING END AND A TRIMMING DEVICE POSITIONED ADJACENT SAID TRAILING END AND SO SPACED THEREFROM AS TO TRIM AND REMOVE SURPLUS TOBACCO FROM SAID FILLER, SAID SURPLUS TOBACCO EXTENDING BEYOND THE NARROW PART OF SAID CHANNEL.