A cigarette injection machine may include: a cigarettes tubes chamber configured to store an empty cigarette tube; a tobacco chamber configured to store tobacco, wherein the cigarettes tubes chamber and the tobacco chamber are arranged in a horizontal direction; a tobacco feed nozzle disposed between the cigarettes tubes chamber and the tobacco chamber in the horizontal direction, to guide and feed the tobacco into the empty cigarette tube; a cigarette tube loader barrel configured to load the empty cigarette tube from the cigarettes tubes chamber, rotate to a position of the tobacco feed nozzle, and move in the horizontal direction to a requested cigarette size position; and a tobacco feeder spiral rod configured to push the tobacco into the tobacco feed nozzle until the empty cigarette tube is filled with the tobacco when the cigarette tube loader barrel is at the requested cigarette size position.

The present invention relates to a cellulose filter paper for testing the ignition propensity of cigarette paper that is provided with a marking with which the rough surface of the filter paper can be distinguished from the smooth surface, and a method for its production, a method for testing the ignition propensity of cigarette paper, and a kit having a plurality of such filter papers or stacks of such filter papers.

The present invention relates to a cellulose filter paper for testing the ignition propensity of cigarette paper that is provided with a marking with which the rough surface of the filter paper can be distinguished from the smooth surface, and a method for its production, a method for testing the ignition propensity of cigarette paper, and a kit having a plurality of such filter papers or stacks of such filter papers.

A feeding apparatus for feeding a tobacco industry segment (C) comprising a hopper (12) for rods (10C) with a length being a multiple length of the segment (C), a cutting a conveying unit (13), situated underneath the hopper (12) for the rods (10C), for cutting the rods (10C) into individual segments (C), whereas from the rod (10C), after cutting the rod (10C), a group (G) of the segments (C) is formed, a transferring unit (15) situated underneath the cutting and conveying unit (13), adapted to receive the groups (G) of the segments (C) and to form of them a stream (SF) of the segments (C), whereas the gaps (U) between the groups (G) of the segments (C) in the stream (SF) are retained, and the transferring unit (15) is adapted to reduce the gaps (U) between the groups (G) so that at the outlet (23) of the transferring unit (15) the segments (C) are conveyed without gaps.

Disclosed herein are methods and apparatus for recycling cigarette waste, so that the reusable material (e.g., cellulose acetate, CA) in the cigarette waste may be isolated and reused. The cigarette waste is composed of a filter and a non-filter part. The apparatus includes at least, an adjusting unit and a treatment unit, respectively coupled to each other via a conveying member. The adjusting unit is configured to adjust the orientation of each cigarette so that each cigarette is aligned in sequence with the same orientation. The treatment unit is configured to cut out the non-filter part of each cigarette, and physically separating CA from the remaining part of the filter of each cigarette. Also disclosed herein is a method of recycling cigarette waste by use of the present apparatus.

Disclosed herein are methods and apparatus for recycling cigarette waste, so that the reusable material (e.g., cellulose acetate, CA) in the cigarette waste may be isolated and reused. The cigarette waste is composed of a filter and a non-filter part. The apparatus includes at least, an adjusting unit and a treatment unit, respectively coupled to each other via a conveying member. The adjusting unit is configured to adjust the orientation of each cigarette so that each cigarette is aligned in sequence with the same orientation. The treatment unit is configured to cut out the non-filter part of each cigarette, and physically separating CA from the remaining part of the filter of each cigarette. Also disclosed herein is a method of recycling cigarette waste by use of the present apparatus.

A method for identifying capsule defects in a tobacco filter includes measuring values for density and/or moisture content of the filter using a microwave measurement device. The measured values are compared with a threshold value and a presence of a capsule defect in the filter is determined if the measured valued undershoots the threshold value. A value for a degree of fluctuation of the measured values is determined at a region in front of a measurement location and/or behind the measurement location in which at least one measured value is below the threshold value. The value for the degree of fluctuation is compared with a predetermined capsule threshold value. The capsule defect comprises a broken capsule when the value for the degree of fluctuation exceeds the capsule threshold value, and the capsule defect comprises a missing capsule when the value for the degree of fluctuation undershoots the capsule threshold value.

An apparatus for testing vaporizers of electronic cigarettes is disclosed. Each vaporizer comprises a heating element, and electric terminals for electrically powering the heating element. The testing apparatus comprises a holding construction part with multiple movable vaporizer holding units. A contact construction part is provided with multiple electric contact members each associated with a respective holding unit, and electrically contacting at least one electric terminal of a vaporizer in the associated holding unit. A supply construction part conducts electric power to each contact member. A measuring part measures at least one electric quantity representative of an electric resistance and/or inductance of the heating element, compares the measured quantity with a pre determined range and, if the measured quantity is outside the range, outputs a rejection signal.

In order to reliably ensure the association of smoking products and the results of analysis with the tobacco products and guard against mistakes or data losses, there is provided a smoking machine whose structural components such as the smoke trap, a smoke trap component and/or a tobacco product magazine that is being used are provided with respective identity elements in which items of information specific to the structural component are contained and from which items of information are readable and/or into which items of information are insertible. A method of smoking tobacco products in a smoking machine comprises the storage of information about the respective structural components of the smoking machine and/or the processes of writing-into and reading-out the results of measurements and/or analysis into these identity elements as well as the process of linking to a database.

A diagnostic method for analysing the operation of at least part of a production line in the tobacco industry includes feeding through the line a probe having the shape of a smokers' article and provided with an electronic card configured to acquire one or more parameters; the method includes a step of activating the probe with the possibility of temporally synchronizing the data acquired by the probe with the data acquired by the line at the same time.