US 11,744,280 B2
Cutting and arranging rods for tobacco industry products
Andrew Jonathan Bray, London (GB); Gerhard Le Roux, Paarl (ZA); and Gary Fallon, London (GB)
Assigned to BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO (INVESTMENTS) LIMITED, London (GB)
Appl. No. 16/98,148
Filed by British American Tobacco (Investments) Limited, London (GB)
PCT Filed May 17, 2017, PCT No. PCT/GB2017/051371
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Nov. 1, 2018,
PCT Pub. No. WO2017/199021, PCT Pub. Date Nov. 23, 2017.
Claims priority of application No. 1608810.6 (GB), filed on May 19, 2016.
Prior Publication US 2019/0142059 A1, May 16, 2019
Int. Cl. A24C 5/47 (2006.01); A24C 5/28 (2006.01); A24C 5/33 (2006.01); A24C 5/32 (2006.01)
CPC A24C 5/336 (2013.01) [A24C 5/28 (2013.01); A24C 5/327 (2013.01); A24C 5/472 (2013.01); A24C 5/475 (2013.01); A24C 5/471 (2013.01)] 17 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A tobacco industry product assembly machine comprising an apparatus for cutting and arranging rods, the apparatus comprising:
a first cutting mechanism for cutting a four-length rod into first and second axially-aligned double-length rods, each double-length rod having respective remote ends,
a positioning mechanism for moving at least one of the first and second double-length rods such that said first and second double-length rods are moved from a first configuration in axial-alignment, to a second configuration in which the first and second double-length rods are out of axial alignment and the axes of the first and second double-length rods are parallel and spaced apart, and the remote ends of said first and second double-length rods are substantially aligned with each other, wherein the positioning mechanism comprises a turning mechanism configured to rotate said first double-length rod relative to said second double length rod, and into alignment with said second double-length rod so that the first and second double-length rods are arranged in the second configuration, wherein said second double length-rod is not rotated by the turning mechanism whilst the turning mechanism rotates said first double-length rod into alignment with said second double-length rod, and
the tobacco industry product assembly machine further comprising a second cutting mechanism downstream of the first cutting mechanism for cutting said first and second double-length rods in the second configuration into single-length rods, wherein said positioning mechanism comprises a positioning drum that is adapted to transfer the first and second double-length rods directly or indirectly to a cutting drum of the second cutting mechanism.