Rod forming apparatus and method

Abstract

A method of forming a wrapped article, comprising the steps of: forming a continuous stream of material such as an agricultural product; moving the continuous stream of material along an elongated path; compressing the continuous stream of material to reduce the cross-sectional area thereof until a predetermined cross-sectional dimension is achieved; drawing the compressed continuous stream of material through a rod-forming arrangement, the rod-forming arrangement having a non-contact displacement transducer associated therewith; folding at least one web longitudinally around the compressed continuous stream of material to form a continuous rod of material; and detecting variations in rod density within the rod-forming arrangement from a signal obtained from the non-contact displacement transducer.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . An apparatus comprising:
 a tongue configured to receive a continuous stream of material;   a folder configured to fold a wrapper material around the continuous stream of material so as to form a continuous rod of material; and   a non-contact displacement transducer for measuring folder displacement, the non-contact displacement transducer coupled to the folder.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a controller configured to determine a variation of density of the continuous stream of material based on an output from the non-contact displacement transducer.   
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the controller is configured to determine whether the variation is outside of a desired range. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a cutter configured to cut the continuous stream of material to form an article.   
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a clamp coupled to the folder,   the non-contact displacement transducer directly coupled to the clamp.   
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the non-contact displacement transducer is directly coupled to the folder. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the non-contact displacement transducer is an eddy current sensor. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a folder assembly including,
 a first folder including the folder, 
 a first non-contact displacement transducer including the non-contact displacement transducer, and 
 a second folder. 
   
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the folder assembly further includes a second non-contact displacement transducer coupled to the second folder. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein
 the first folder is a short folder,   the second folder is a finishing folder, and   the second folder is downstream of the first folder.   
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the folder includes,
 a base defining an elongated trough,   an upper portion coupled to the base, and   a wedge between the base and the upper portion.   
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the non-contact displacement transducer is coupled to the base. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the base defines a hole. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein the non-contact displacement transducer is in the hole. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the non-contact displacement transducer is coupled to the upper portion. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the wedge defines a fixed slope. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a conveyor configured to convey the continuous stream of material along a path.   
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a feed section configured to provide a stream of the material.   
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 18 , further comprising:
 an upper compression belt and a pair of squeeze bars configured to compress the stream of the material so as to create the continuous stream of material.   
     
     
         20 . An apparatus comprising:
 a short folder;   a first clamp coupled to the short folder;   a first noncontact displacement directly coupled to the first clamp;   a finishing folder downstream of the short folder;   a second clamp coupled to the finishing folder; and   a second noncontact displacement directly coupled to the second clamp.