US RE50,435 E1
Relating to smoking article assembly
Andrew Jonathan Bray, London (GB); and Gerhard Le Roux, Stellenbosch (ZA)
Assigned to BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO (INVESTMENTS) LIMITED, London (GB); and TOBACCO RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE (PROPRIETARY) LIMITED, Stellenbosch (ZA)
Appl. No. 17/896,529
Filed by BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO (INVESTMENTS) LIMITED, London (GB); and TOBACCO RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE (PROPRIETARY) LIMITED, Stellenbosch (ZA)
PCT Filed Dec. 6, 2013, PCT No. PCT/GB2013/053224
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jun. 3, 2015,
PCT Pub. No. WO2014/087170, PCT Pub. Date Jun. 12, 2014.
Application 17/896,529 is a continuation of application No. 17/890,303, filed on Aug. 18, 2022.
Application 17/890,303 is a reissue of application No. 14/649,427, filed on Dec. 6, 2013, granted, now 10,772,351.
Application 17/896,529 is a reissue of application No. 14/649,427, filed on Dec. 6, 2013, granted, now 10,772,351, issued on Sep. 15, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 1222005 (GB), filed on Dec. 6, 2012.
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. A24C 5/47 (2006.01); A24C 5/10 (2006.01)
CPC A24C 5/475 (2013.01) [A24C 5/10 (2013.01); A24C 5/47 (2013.01)] 40 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
[ 40. A modular apparatus for smoking article assembly, comprising:
a plurality of modules, each comprising a plurality of functional units, each of said plurality of modules comprising a single respective interface unit, and
a controller configured to control each of said plurality of functional units on each of said plurality of modules via said interface units, wherein the interface unit of each module is configured to mediate communication between the controller and said plurality of functional units on the module,
wherein the modular apparatus is configured to cause received rods of smokeable material to undergo a first sequence of operations and
wherein each said module comprises one or more drums and the controller controls said one or more drums of each said module via the interface unit of its module, and
wherein the modular apparatus can be reconfigured by:
replacing at least one of said drums of at least one of said plurality of modules, and
one or more of: repositioning modules relative to one another; removing one or more of the modules; or adding one or more further modules,
so as to cause received rods of smokeable material to undergo a second sequence of operations, different to the first sequence of operations,
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, which is smoked in use. ]