TOBACCO-FEEDING DEVICE FOR SUPPLYING A TOBACCO-PROCESSING MACHINE AND METHOD FOR SUPPLYING A TOBACCO-PROCESSING MACHINE

摘要

The invention relates to a tobacco-feeding device (1) for supplying a tobacco-processing machine with tobacco (2), wherein the tobacco-feeding device (1) comprises at least one accommodating region (3) for the tobacco (2) and at least one conveying unit (4) for conveying the tobacco (2) from the accommodating region (3) to the tobacco-processing machine and wherein the conveying unit (4) comprises a movable retainer (5), which has a transporting device (8) and a loosening device (7), wherein the movable retainer (5) is freely movable in the accommodating region (3) and the tobacco (2) can be loosened up by means of the loosening device (7) such that the loosened tobacco (2) can be conveyed to the tobacco-processing machine by means of the transporting device (6). The invention further relates to a corresponding method, wherein first tobacco (2) is deposited into the accommodating region (3), the supplying process is started, and the retainer (5) of the conveying unit (4) is moved until there is contact with the surface of the tobacco (2). Then the retainer (5) is moved along the surface of the tobacco (2) and/or vertically with respect to the surface of the tobacco (2) and the tobacco (2) is simultaneously loosened by means of the loosening device (7) arranged on the retainer (5). The loosened tobacco (2) is then conveyed by means of the transporting device (6) arranged on the retainer (5).