US 11,937,628 B2
Smoking article assembly
Gerhard Malan Le Roux, Paarl (ZA)
Assigned to TOBACCO RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE (PROPRIETARY) LIMITED, Stellenbosch (ZA)
Filed by Tobacco Research and Development Institute (Proprietary) Limited, Stellenbosch (ZA)
Filed on Nov. 23, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/533,869.
Application 17/533,869 is a continuation of application No. 16/743,546, filed on Jan. 15, 2020, granted, now 11,185,106.
Application 16/743,546 is a continuation of application No. 14/123,673, granted, now 10,548,344, issued on Feb. 4, 2020, previously published as PCT/EP2012/060366, filed on Jun. 1, 2012.
Claims priority of application No. 2011/04167 (ZA), filed on Jun. 3, 2011.
Prior Publication US 2022/0087308 A1, Mar. 24, 2022
Int. Cl. A24C 5/47 (2006.01); A24C 5/39 (2006.01)
CPC A24C 5/47 (2013.01) [A24C 5/39 (2013.01); A24C 5/471 (2013.01); A24C 5/475 (2013.01)] 25 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A modular apparatus for smoking article assembly, configured to cause received rods of smokeable material to undergo a first sequence of operations,
wherein the modular apparatus can be reconfigured so as to cause received rods of smokeable material to undergo a second sequence of operations, different from the first sequence of operations, and
wherein the first and second sequences of operations respectively form at least part of first and second processes for assembling smoking articles, each smoking article comprising a said rod of smokeable material,
the modular apparatus comprising:
a first inserter configured to insert a first rod article between two tobacco rods;
a first rod divider configured to divide the first rod article into at least two parts,
a separator configured to separate a first group comprising a rod of smokeable material and one of said parts from a second group comprising a rod of smokeable material and another of said parts, and
a second inserter configured to insert a second rod article between the first and second groups,
wherein the first inserter, the first rod divider, the separator, and the second inserter each include a respective drum forming a conveyance path through the modules.