摘要 |
Improved winnowing and tobacco feeder techniques are described. Tobacco particles in substantially separated condition are subjected to air flow transverse to the direction of movement thereof to cause separation of usable tobacco particles from heavy stem and debris, collecting the separated particles on the outer foraminous surface of a vacuum drum and gripping the collected particles to the foraminous surface so that the particles assume the speed of the surface, preferably greater than in the stream subjected to air flow, prior to discharging the gripped particles into a chute as a broad stream of vertically-moving particles, particularly downwardly-moving, from which a filler stream for cigarette formation is collected. |