The invention relates to a suction belt (1) for transporting tobacco and/or filter material during the production of cigarettes, comprising a flat belt material (7), which is shaped to form a ring, and a plurality of openings (11) which are distributed over the surface of the belt material (7). At least 75% of all the openings (11) have a clear width of 0.3 mm or less.

An orbital plant material feed assembly includes a drum structure and hopper assembly. An external surface of the drum structure has a curved shape and includes a peripheral groove. A width of the peripheral groove varies along the external surface of the drum structure. The hopper assembly may define a compression space between the drum structure and a portion of the hopper assembly that covers a portion of the peripheral groove.

Apparatus for producing a rod of aerosol-generating material is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a first feed device adapted to supply a first web of aerosol-generating material to a processing unit, a second feed device adapted to supply a second web of aerosol-generating material, and a web changeover unit arranged to change supply of aerosol-generating material to the processing unit from the first web of aerosol-generating material to the second web of aerosol-generating material. The web changeover unit is configured to position a leading edge of the second web of aerosol-generating material adjacent to a trailing edge of the first web of aerosol-generating material upstream of the processing unit during changeover from the first web of aerosol-generating material to the second web of aerosol-generating material. A method of producing a rod of aerosol-generating material is also disclosed.

A method for reducing stress of a garniture belt in a tobacco industry machine for manufacturing rods from a continuous rod comprising a garniture belt, guiding bars configured for guiding the garniture belt, a filling material receiving section, a rod diameter setting section, and a rod stabilizing section, the method comprising adjusting a resistance of motion of the garniture belt in at least one of the filling material receiving section or the rod stabilizing section by adjusting a width of the garniture channel by changing positions of the guiding bars in the horizontal direction perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the garniture channel.

A reconfigurable wrapping mechanism (100) for forming a substantially cylindrical wrapped element by wrapping a core (160) within a web material (162), comprising a reconfigurable garniture bed (110) having an elongate formation channel (112) for supporting a conveying belt (120) extending along the length of the elongate formation channel (112) for entraining the web material (162), and wherein the elongate formation channel (112) has an elongate open side.

The present invention relates to a machine for the production of a component for an aerosol generating article, the machine including: —a buffer station, the buffer station including: # fixed sheet guides; # movable sheet guides which are movable in a reciprocating manner in a direction towards the fixed sheet guides and in a direction away from the sheet fixed guides; # an actuator for moving the movable sheet guides, wherein the fixed and movable sheet guides together define a zig-zag trajectory for the sheet having a variable length for varying the total length of the sheet of material in the buffer station; # supports for the sheet, the supports being arranged so that, when the movable sheet guides are moved towards the fixed sheet guides, at least one of the movable sheets guides is interposed between two different supports of the plurality; # an air system; # wherein the each of the supports defines an outer surface, at least one of the outer surfaces having a first portion in which a sucking action is exerted by the air system to attract the sheet towards the outer surface and a second portion in which a blowing action is exerted by the air system to push the sheet away from the outer surface.

The garniture includes at least one first garniture section with a first longitudinal length and a first upper surface, a first groove being defined within the first upper surface along the first longitudinal length, the first groove being defined by one or more first mating surfaces, and at least one first insert overlaying the first groove, an upper end of the at least first insert defining a second groove within a second upper surface of the at least one first insert, a lower end of the at least one insert including one or more second mating surfaces, a first upper portion of the first upper surface and a second upper portion of the second upper surface being substantially flush with each other.

A conveyor for conveying strands of aerosol-generating material is disclosed. The conveyor comprises a conveying surface, comprising a plurality of openings, on which the strands of aerosol-generating material are conveyed, and an air flow generator for generating a flow of air through the plurality of openings in the conveying surface to provide an air cushion between the conveying surface and the strands of aerosol-generating material. Apparatus for producing a rod of aerosol-generating material comprising a slitting unit arranged to slit a web of aerosol-generating material into a plurality of strands of aerosol-generating material that are received by the conveyor is also disclosed, as well as a method of conveying strands of aerosol-generating 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.

A machine for wrapping smokable material in a wrapper includes a garniture defining a straight path along a longitudinal axis on which a wrapper is guided. A garniture belt transports the wrapper along the straight path. A feeding device for feeding a smokable material to the garniture includes a first conveyor having an upper section on which the smokable material is supported, the first conveyor being actuatable to move the smokable material in a feed direction toward a downstream side of the first conveyor. A holding container has a bottom defined at least partially by the first conveyor. A feed transports the smokable material from a supply container to the holding container so that that an amount of smokable material in the holding container is maintained within a range including a predetermined minimum amount and a predetermined maximum amount. A metering device meters the amount of smokable material that is moved by the first conveyor from the holding container toward the garniture.