公开(公告)号：US20180332889A1

公开(公告)日：2018-11-22

申请号：US15596868

申请日：2017-05-16

Applicant: ALTRIA CLIENT SERVICES LLC

Inventor： Dwight D. Williams ,  Thaddeus Paul Kwolek

IPC: A24D3/02 ,  B65H57/08 ,  B65H57/14

CPC classification number: A24D3/0295 ,  A24D3/0254 ,  B65H57/08 ,  B65H57/14

Abstract: A method of operating a filter rod making machine comprising disposing a plurality of stations laterally of the filter making machine, placing a bale of tow at each of the laterally disposed plurality of stations, drawing tow from above each of the placed plurality of bales into the filter rod making machine in succession, and upon depletion of tow from the placed plurality of bales, replacing the depleted plurality of bales as a set. The drawing of tow may include, for each bale, drawing tow from above the respective bale with a station guide operative at the respective, laterally disposed station and drawing the tow transversely from the respective station guide to a machine-based guide adjacent the filter rod making machine. The disclosure also provides associated apparatus, including a system for making a filter rod and a boom assembly of a tow conditioning section of a system for making a filter rod.