A rod for use in a smoking article is provided, the rod including a gathered sheet of homogenized tobacco material circumscribed by a wrapper. The sheet may include one or more aerosol-formers and have an aerosol-former content of greater than 5% on a dry weight basis or of between 5% and 30% by weight on a dry weight basis. The rod may include a continuous element to which one or more additives have been applied, which is incorporated into the gathered continuous sheet of homogenized tobacco material. A method of forming the rod includes providing a continuous sheet of homogenized tobacco material; gathering the continuous sheet transversely relative to the longitudinal axis thereof; circumscribing the gathered continuous sheet with a wrapper to form a continuous rod; and severing the continuous rod into a plurality of discrete rods. The sheet is preferably crimped or otherwise textured.

A rod for use in a smoking article is provided, the rod including a gathered sheet of homogenized tobacco material circumscribed by a wrapper. The sheet may include one or more aerosol-formers and have an aerosol-former content of greater than 5% on a dry weight basis or of between 5% and 30% by weight on a dry weight basis. The rod may include a continuous element to which one or more additives have been applied, which is incorporated into the gathered continuous sheet of homogenized tobacco material. A method of forming the rod includes providing a continuous sheet of homogenized tobacco material; gathering the continuous sheet transversely relative to the longitudinal axis thereof; circumscribing the gathered continuous sheet with a wrapper to form a continuous rod; and severing the continuous rod into a plurality of discrete rods. The sheet is preferably crimped or otherwise textured.

Suction belt conveyor of a rod-forming machine of the tobacco processing industry for conveying materials, in particular tobacco, a rod-forming machine of the tobacco processing industry and use of the rod-forming machine and a method for measuring material properties of a material rod of the tobacco processing industry. The suction belt conveyor includes at least one rod guiding channel, which is open at the bottom and which is delimited by two lateral channel sides and a suction belt along a conveying path. At least one electromagnetic measuring device is integrated in the channel sides of the suction belt conveyor at at least one position along the conveying path in order to determine properties of the conveyed material.

Suction belt conveyor of a rod-forming machine of the tobacco processing industry for conveying materials, in particular tobacco, a rod-forming machine of the tobacco processing industry and use of the rod-forming machine and a method for measuring material properties of a material rod of the tobacco processing industry. The suction belt conveyor includes at least one rod guiding channel, which is open at the bottom and which is delimited by two lateral channel sides and a suction belt along a conveying path. At least one electromagnetic measuring device is integrated in the channel sides of the suction belt conveyor at at least one position along the conveying path in order to determine properties of the conveyed material.

The method includes transporting tobacco into and through a shaft of a tongue of a compression box, and compressing the tobacco into a tobacco rod as the tobacco is transported through the compression box, the compression box including a first plate, a first portion of the first plate being formed over an upper portion of the shaft, the first portion running along a majority of a longitudinal length of the shaft.

An apparatus for the formation of machine-made tobacco rods for use in the production of smoking articles, such as cigars, from tobacco comprising a tacky material. The apparatus includes a pair of transfer and compression belts for receiving and compressing the stream of tobacco, the transfer and compression; a pair of squeeze bars for compressing the tobacco in a direction perpendicular to the pair of transfer and compression belts, the pair of squeeze bars produced from a material comprising a poly(aryl ether ketone); a tongue for receiving the compressed tobacco, the tongue produced from a material comprising a poly(aryl ether ketone); and a folder for folding a wrapper material around the compressed tobacco so as to form a continuous rod of tobacco, the wrapper material provided from a source of wrapper material, the folder produced from a material comprising a poly(aryl ether ketone).

A system for portioning a beaded substrate in a rod. The system includes a suction conveyor belt. The suction conveyor belt includes a belt suction chamber, a first belt end, and a second belt end, the second belt end opposite and downstream of the first belt end. The system also includes a metering device configured to provide the beaded substrate to the suction conveyor belt, and more specifically to the first belt end. The metering device includes a reach and a hopper. The metering device may provide the beaded substrate to the first belt end prior to the suction conveyor belt biasing a filler material onto the first belt end. The system may further includes a cutting mechanism that cooperates with the metering device to position the beaded substrate a first distance away from a first cut end.

A method of forming a wrapped article, comprising the steps of: forming a continuous stream of material such as an agricultural product; moving the continuous stream of material along an elongated path; compressing the continuous stream of material to reduce the cross-sectional area thereof until a predetermined cross-sectional dimension is achieved; drawing the compressed continuous stream of material through a rod-forming arrangement, the rod-forming arrangement having a non-contact displacement transducer associated therewith; folding at least one web longitudinally around the compressed continuous stream of material to form a continuous rod of material; and detecting variations in rod density within the rod-forming arrangement from a signal obtained from the non-contact displacement transducer.

Described herein are systems and method for forming cannabis pre-rolls. The method includes the steps of (a) providing a feed of cannabis plant material; (b) trimming the feed of cannabis plant material to form a feed of rollable cannabis plant material having successive first zones and second zones, wherein a cross-sectional area of the first zones in a plane transverse to a feed flow direction through a trimmer is greater than a cross-sectional area of the second zones in a plane transverse to the feed flow direction through the trimmer; and (c) compressing the feed of rollable cannabis plant material to form a feed of compressed rollable cannabis plant material.

Abnormally-shaped tobacco granules are provided. The tobacco granules comprise a tobacco granule body and a coating attached to the surface of the tobacco granule body. The coating contains an adhesive. The surface of the abnormally-shaped tobacco granule has one or more grooves and/or ridges, and/or, the abnormally-shaped tobacco granule has through holes therein. The surface grooves of the abnormally-shaped tobacco granules can serve as smoke channels after the tobacco granules are bonded, cured and shaped, so that the air permeability inside a total-granule tobacco product is greatly improved. The smoking resistance of cigarettes is reduced. The flammability of cigarettes is improved and the consumption of tobacco raw materials is reduced. A preparation method of the abnormally-shaped tobacco granules, a tobacco product comprising the abnormally-shaped tobacco granules, and a preparation method thereof are also provided.