Distributor for cigarette makers or the like

摘要

A distributor for use in a cigarette maker has a relatively long and relatively narrow upright duct whose upper end receives particles of tobacco from one or more magazines by way of an endless belt. The resulting column of tobacco descends through the lower end of the duct and into the range of orbiting needles at the periphery of a horizontal drum. An oscillating barrier is interposed between the lower end of the rear wall of the duct and the path of needles close to the apex of the drum. The barrier has a profiled rib which extends into the lower end of the duct to homogenize the lower end of the descending column of tobacco as well as to promote uniform filling of gaps between the neighboring needles with particles of tobacco along the full axial length of the drum. The particles are expelled from the gaps by a picker roller and are converted into a wide carpet, thereupon into a narrow stream and finally into a rod-like filler.