摘要:
An apparatus for stretching and smoothing tobacco leaves comprising an intermittently advanced, air-permeable, stretchable conveyor belt for carrying leaves from a receiving station to a smoothing station to a stretching station. A moist leaf placed and aligned on the belt at the receiving station, and held thereon by suction through the belt, is advanced to the smoothing station where it is clamped by its central vein and subjected to diverging air currents that flutter the edges of the leaf outwardly. Suction is then reapplied to hold the leaf and it is advanced to the stretching station where the belt is transversely stretched to thereby stretch the leaf as well.