Production of streams of articles

Claim 2

Apparatus for receiving successive batches of cigarettes or other rodlike articles lying parallel and side by side, and for feeding the articles transversely to their lengths, each batch comprising substantially a rectangle having dimensions such as to accommodate a plurality of rod diameters in each direction, the apparatus comprising a hopper having substantially vertical sidewalls which are parallel to the articles and extend in the direction of feed of the articles in the hopper, the upper part of the hopper formed successively by each of a number of trays including vertical sidewalls and delivering articles to the hopper, the vertical sidewalls of said hopper cooperating with the vertical sidewalls of each tray in turn to form a hopper through which the articles move in a downward direction, a pressure member arranged to extend between the sidewalls of the hopper and to move downwards through the hopper under gravity so as to apply continuous pressure to the articles in the hopper, means to prevent the pressure member from tilting during movement through the hopper, and means to feed the articles horizontally from the hopper, past one of the sidewalls, said feed means comprising a first conveyor band which extends part of the way across the bottom of the hopper, and a second conveyor band which extends over the remainder of the bottom of the hopper and feeds the articles out of the hopper, said second band being at a lower level than the first band and arranged to move at a higher speed than the first band, each tray in turn including a removable bottom wall which initially supports the articles in the tray and is subsequently removed to allow the articles to pass downwards through the tray when the tray forms part of the said hopper.

Claim 3

Apparatus for receiving successive batches of cigarettes or similar cylindrical rodlike articles lying parallel and side by side in trays which are rectangular in shape and have dimensions in each direction such as to accommodate a large number of cigarette diameters, comprising means for delivering successive trays to a discharge position, means for initially supporting the batch of cigarettes from each new tray at a position above the upper surface of the cigarettes remaining from the previous tray, means for dropping the contents of each new tray on to the upper surface of the cigarettes remaining from the previous tray, means for feeding the contents of the new tray downwards whereby the upper surface of the cigarettes in the tray tends to depart proGressively from a flat, level contour as a result of relative rolling of the cigarettes, a horizontal pressure member arranged to rest on the upper surface of each batch of cigarettes in turn and having a width measured transversely to the cigarettes such as to extend from one vertical sidewall of the tray to the other vertical sidewall, whereby the pressure member moves downwards through the tray while applying continuous pressure through gravity on the upper surface of the cigarettes in the tray and thus maintains the upper surface substantially flat and horizontal, and including means for lifting the pressure member, after it has moved downwards through one tray, to prepare it for contacting the upper surface of the cigarettes in the next full tray, the said lifting means being releasable from the pressure member to allow the pressure member to move downwards under gravity in contact with the upper surface of the cigarettes and at a speed determined by the rate at which cigarettes are withdrawn from the bottom of the tray.

Claim 4

Apparatus for receiving successive batches of cigarettes or similar cylindrical rodlike articles lying parallel and side by side in trays which are rectangular in shape and have dimensions in each direction such as to accommodate a large number of cigarette diameters, comprising means for delivering successive trays to a discharge position, means for initially supporting the batch of cigarettes from each new tray at a position above the upper surface of the cigarettes remaining from the previous tray, means for dropping the contents of each new tray on to the upper surface of the cigarettes remaining from the previous tray, means for feeding the contents of the new tray downwards whereby the upper surface of the cigarettes in the tray tends to depart proGressively from a flat, level contour as a result of relative rolling of the cigarettes, a horizontal pressure member arranged to rest on the upper surface of each batch of cigarettes in turn and having a width measured transversely to the cigarettes such as to extend from one vertical sidewall of the tray to the other vertical sidewall, whereby the pressure member moves downwards through the tray while applying continuous pressure through gravity on the upper surface of the cigarettes in the tray and thus maintains the upper surface substantially flat and horizontal, and including means for lifting the pressure member, after it has moved downwards through one tray, to prepare it for contacting the upper surface of the cigarettes in the next full tray, the said lifting means being releasable from the pressure member to allow the pressure member to move downwards under gravity in contact with the upper surface of the cigarettes and at a speed determined by the rate at which cigarettes are withdrawn from the bottom of the tray.

Claim 5

Apparatus according to claim 2, in which the pressure member is carried by at least two vertical guides which are vertically slidable.

Claim 6

Apparatus according to claim 2, in which the lifting means comprises a fluid-powered jack having an operating member which is movable vertically upwards to lift the pressure member and is movable downwards to release the pressure member and thus allow it to move downwards under gravity.

Claim 7

Apparatus according to claim 2, in which the cigarettes are fed horizontally from each tray on a conveyor band moving past and below one of the vertical sidewalls of the tray.

Claim 8

Apparatus according to claim 5, in which the conveyor band extends only part of the way across the bottom of each tray, and including a second band which extends over the remainder of the width of the tray and moves at a lower speed than the first band.

Claim 9

Apparatus according to claim 6, in which the slower band is at a higher level than the faster band.