Tobacco compressing vacuum wheel for continuous cigarette making machine

Claim 1

IN A CONTINUOUS PROCESS CIGARETTE MANUFACTURING MACHINE HAVING A SUCTION WHEEL ROTATING ON A HORIZONTAL AXIS, SAID WHEEL HAVING ALSO A PERIPHERAL RIM CONTAINING SMALL RADIAL PASSAGES RENDERING A PATH ABOUT SAID RIM PERMEABLE TO THE PASSAGE OF AIR, MEANS CREATING A PARTIAL VACUUM WITHIN SAID RIM OF SAID WHEEL, A STATIONARY PACKING DISPOSED WITHIN SAID RIM BLOCKING THE PASSAGE OF AIR THROUGH SAID PASSAGES ABOUT A PORTION OF THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF SAID RIM, A FIRST BELT CONVEYING TOBACCO TO AN UPPER PORTION OF SAID SECTION WHEEL, MEANS ROTATING SAID WHEEL AWAY FROM SAID FIRST BELT, AND A SECOND BELT AT LEAST PARTIALLY DISPOSED BELOW SAID SECTION WHEEL AND CONVEYING A TOBACCO CORD AWAY FROM SAID SUCTION WHEEL, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING, A PAIR OF STATIONARY SPACED AND PARALLEL SIDE WALLS EXTENDING RADIALLY AND EXTERNALLY OF SAID WHEEL AND TERMINATING IN EDGE PORTIONS RELATIVELY SLIGHTLY SPACED FROM SAID RIM FORMING A TOBACCO RECEIVING CHANNEL THEREWITH, SAID SIDE WALLS BEING DISPOSED ON EITHER SIDE OF SAID SMALL PASSAGES THROUGH SAID RIM, SAID FIRST BELT HAVING AN UPPER RUN WHICH, IF CONTINUED, WOULD BE SUBSTANTIALLY TANGENT TO SAID RIM, SAID FIRST BELT ENDING AND LEAVING A GAP BETWEEN THE END OF SAID FIRST BELT AND SAID RIM BETWEEN SAID SIDE WALLS, SAID PACKING BEING DISPOSED WITHIN SAID RAM AND HAVING A PORTION EXTENDING IN THE DIRECTION OF ROTATION OF SAID WHEEL FOR A SHORT DISTANCE BEYOND SAID