Smith Timothy D.,Day, V George B.,Wells Larry G.,Ross Ira J.
申请号：
US201514844604
公开号：
US9999892(B2)
申请日:
2015.09.03
申请国别(地区):
美国
年份:
2018
代理人:
King & Schickli, PLLC
摘要：
A method and apparatus are provided for processing whole tobacco plants. The method includes cutting the whole tobacco plants into segments in a segmenter assembly, classifying the segments by leaf characteristics, separating leaf material from a waste material stream of undesirable stalk and shatter material for each class of leaf characteristics and reclaiming portions of leaf material trapped in the waste material and recycling the reclaimed portions of leaf material to the segmenter assembly. The apparatus includes a stalk segmenter assembly, a processor assembly, a plurality of cleaning conveyor modules and a cyclonic separator system to reclaim small bits of leaf from the waste stream and return them through a rotary airlock to the segmenter assembly for reprocessing.
