Apparatus for testing rod-shaped articles of the tobacco processing industry

A cigarette testing apparatus wherein the cigarettes are transported in axially parallel peripheral flutes of a testing drum toward, past and beyond a testing station. A wobble plate is adjacent to one end of and rotates with the drum and supports a set of sleeve-like elastic sealing elements each of which is slipped onto the adjacent end of a cigarette when it approaches the testing station. The sealing elements are surrounded by resilient annular clamping members which tend to reduce their inner diameters and automatically compel the respective sealing elements to sealingly engage the peripheries of the inserted ends of cigarettes at the testing station. Pivotable cams are provided on the wobble plate to expand the clamping members downstream of the testing station in order to permit extraction of the ends of tested cigarettes from the sealing elements and insertion of untested cigarettes into the respective flutes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to improvements in apparatus for testing 
cigarettes and analogous rod-shaped articles of the tobacco processing 
industry. More particularly, the invention relates to improvements in 
apparatus of the type wherein rod-shaped articles of the tobacco 
processing industry are conveyed sideways (i.e., at right angles to their 
respective axes) toward, past and beyond a testing station at which their 
tubular wrappers are tested by one or more streams of air or another 
gaseous testing fluid. 
Commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 3,948,084, granted Apr. 6, 1976 to Heitmann et 
al., discloses a testing apparatus for cigarettes or like rod-shaped 
articles wherein the end faces of articles which approach the testing 
station are engaged by apertured sealing elements which serve to seal the 
end faces from the surrounding atmosphere as well as to provide paths for 
the admission of testing fluid into the respective ends of the wrappers. 
The sealing elements consist of rubber or a similar elastomeric material 
and are mounted on two carriers in the form of wobble plates which flank 
the drum-shaped conveyor for the articles and rotate therewith so that the 
sealing elements of the two carriers are in register with the adjacent 
ends of articles in the respective flutes at the periphery of the 
conveyor. 
It is further known to provide specially designed means for ensuring that 
the sealing elements on the carriers of the testing apparatus will more 
reliably engage the adjacent ends of the articles to prevent uncontrolled 
leakage of testing fluid which could lead to distorted measurements and 
expulsion of satisfactory articles from the path wherein satisfactory 
articles are supposed to advance to storage, to a further processing 
station (e.g., into a filter tipping machine) or directly to a packing 
machine. Reliable sealing of the ends of articles at the testing station 
(so as to prevent uncontrolled escape of testing fluid) is especially 
desirable when the apparatus is used for the testing of filter cigarettes 
or filter rod sections having so-called climatic or ventilation zones with 
perforations which are supposed to admit predetermined quantities of cool 
atmospheric air into the column of tobacco smoke. The testing apparatus 
are supposed to monitor the permeability of such ventilation zones and to 
ensure segregation of all articles whose perforations admit excessive or 
insufficient quantities of air. Adequate sealing of the ends of cigarettes 
or filter rod sections against uncontrolled escape of testing fluid or 
uncontrolled penetration of atmospheric air is indispensable in connection 
with the testing of ventilation zones because even minor leaks are likely 
to greatly distort the results of measurements since the rate of flow of 
testing fluid through the perforations of a ventilation zone is very low. 
A drawback of presently known testing apparatus wherein the sealing 
elements are forced into sealing engagement with the adjacent ends of the 
articles to be tested is that the complexity and cost of such apparatus 
are very high and also that the sealing action is not sufficiently 
reliable. For example, certain presently known apparatus employ axially 
shiftable sleeves which are slipped onto the sealing elements at or 
slightly ahead of the testing station. It was also proposed to move the 
sealing elements into engagement with the adjacent ends of rod-shaped 
articles by streams of air or another gaseous fluid. The provision of such 
devices in a testing apparatus for cigarettes or other rod-shaped articles 
of the tobacco processing industry contributes significantly to the 
initial and maintenance cost as well as to the bulk of the testing 
apparatus without, however, ensuring a highly predictable, reliable and 
reproducible sealing action. 
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
An object of the invention is to provide a testing apparatus for rod-shaped 
articles of the tobacco processing industry wherein the sealing elements 
are movable into and from engagement with the articles to be tested in a 
novel and improved way. 
Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus wherein the 
articles are treated gently even if they are being tested at the rate at 
which they issue from a modern high-speed making machine. 
A further object of the invention is to provide a testing apparatus which 
is much less likely to permit uncontrolled leakage of atmospheric air or 
testing fluid than heretofore known testing apparatus. 
An additional object of the invention is to provide a testing apparatus 
which can be installed in existing tobacco and/or filter material 
processing machines as a superior substitute for heretofore known testing 
apparatus. 
Another object of the invention is to provide novel and improved sealing 
elements for use in an apparatus of the above outlined character. 
A further object of the invention is to provide the testing apparatus with 
novel and improved means for deforming sealing elements into engagement 
with and/or for permitting or causing disengagement of sealing elements 
from the ends of rod-shaped smokers' articles. 
Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved method 
of sealing the ends of filter cigarettes or other rod-shaped smokers' 
articles during testing of their wrappers. 
An additional object of the invention is to provide a filter tipping 
machine which embodies the above outlined testing apparatus. 
A further object of the invention is to provide a testing apparatus which 
is simpler, more compact and more reliable than heretofore known testing 
apparatus. 
The invention resides in the provision of an apparatus for testing 
rod-shaped articles of the tobacco processing industry wherein open-ended 
tubular wrappers surround fillers of tobacco and/or filter material. The 
apparatus comprises means (e.g., a rotary drum-shaped conveyor) for 
conveying a succession of rod-shaped articles sideways (at right angles to 
their respective longitudinal axes) past a testing station, elongated 
flutes or analogous receiving means provided on the conveying means for 
the articles, carrier means (e.g., a rotary wobble plate adjacent to one 
axial end of the drum-shaped conveyor) adjacent to one end of each 
receiving means and arranged to move with the conveying means, elastically 
deformable tubular sealing elements provided on the carrier means, one for 
each receiving means and each in register with the adjacent end of the 
article in the respective receiving means, means (e.g., suitably inclined 
bearings for the aforementioned wobble plate) for effecting a relative 
movement between the conveying means and the carrier means so that the 
ends of the articles at the testing station penetrate into the respective 
tubular sealing elements, substantially annular clamping members, one for 
each sealing element and each surrounding the respective sealing element, 
and actuating means for varying the diameters of the clamping members so 
as to urge the respective sealing elements into sealing engagement with 
the peripheral surfaces of the article ends therewithin during travel of 
the articles past the testing station. 
In accordance with a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, the 
clamping members are resilient and exhibit a tendency to contract into 
deforming engagement with the respective sealing elements, and the 
actuating means then comprises means for effecting radial expansion of the 
clamping members while such clamping members are remote from the testing 
station. This allows for removal of freshly tested articles from their 
receiving means and for insertion of fresh (untested) articles into the 
thus emptied receiving means. 
The clamping members can constitute annular bodies made of wire or metallic 
or plastic strip stock (such as conventional hose clamps) each of which 
has a first end portion anchored in or otherwise mounted on the carrier 
means and a second end portion which is movable relative to the first end 
portion to thereby increase or reduce the diameter of the respective 
clamping member. The actuating means then includes means for moving the 
second end portions of the clamping members relative to the respective 
first end portions. For example, the actuating means can comprise a 
discrete cam for each clamping member (the cam can be used to move the 
second end portion of the respective clamping member relative to the first 
end portion) and means for pivoting or otherwise moving the cams with 
reference to the carrier means. The means for moving the cams can comprise 
shafts, one for each cam, and means for rocking the shafts back and forth 
in response to movement of the carrier means. Such rocking means can 
comprise a discrete lever affixed to each of the shafts, a discrete roller 
or other suitable follower on each lever, and stationary cam means (e.g., 
on the aforementioned bearing for the wobble plate) which is tracked by 
the followers. 
Each sealing element can constitute a length of flexible cylindrical hose. 
Each sealing element can be provided with an apertured internal partition 
which is spaced apart from its open article-receiving end and abuts 
against the end of the inserted article during travel past the testing 
station. The partition can be used to facilitate other types of testing, 
for example, a determination whether or not the end faces of the articles 
are disposed in planes which are exactly normal to the longitudinal axes 
of such articles. 
If the carrier means includes a wobble plate, such carrier means and the 
drum-shaped conveying means rotate about mutually inclined axes and the 
aforementioned movement effecting means preferably constitutes the bearing 
or bearings for the wobble plate; such bearing or bearings cause 
successive increments of the wobble plate (and hence successive sealing 
elements on the wobble plate) to approach the adjacent end face of the 
conveyor during travel toward the testing station and to move away from 
the adjacent end face of the conveyor during travel beyond the testing 
station. 
The novel features which are considered as characteristic of the invention 
are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The improved apparatus 
itself, however, both as to its construction and its mode of operation, 
together with additional features and advantages thereof, will be best 
understood upon perusal of the following detailed description of certain 
specific embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
FIG. 1 shows a portion of a cigarette testing apparatus which is installed 
in a filter tipping machine, e.g., a machine known as MAX or MAX-S (both 
produced by the assignee of the present application). A MAX is described 
and shown in the aforementioned patent to Heitmann et al. whose disclosure 
is incorporated herein by reference. Reference may further be had to 
numerous U.S. patents of the assignee which also disclose testing 
apparatus for cigarettes or other types of rod-shaped articles of the 
tobacco processing industry. 
The testing apparatus of FIG. 1 comprises a conveying means 1 which is a 
rotary drum-shaped conveyor having axially parallel peripheral flutes 2 
constituting receiving means for rod-shaped articles 3 each of which is a 
filter cigarette of unit length having a tobacco-containing portion 63a, a 
filter tip 63 with perforations 62 constituting a climatic or ventilation 
zone, and a tubular wrapper whose ends are open and which surrounds a 
rod-like filler consisting in part of tobacco and in part of filter 
material. The purpose of the testing apparatus is to ascertain the 
condition of the tubular wrappers of the articles 3, i.e., whether or not 
such wrappers have open seams, leaks in the regions where the filter tips 
63 are connected to the tobacco-containing portions 63a, frayed ends, 
holes and/or a combination of such defects. Furthermore, the testing 
apparatus is supposed to detect those articles 3 whose ventilation zones 
62 permit the passage of excessive or insufficient quantities of 
atmospheric air. 
Each receiving means or flute 2 can consist of several coaxial sections and 
the drum-shaped body of the conveyor 1 has substantially radially 
extending channels 6 serving to draw air from the respective flutes 2 
while the flutes contain or are supposed to contain articles 3 so as to 
ensure that the articles are held in the flutes against the action of 
centrifugal force and/or gravity between a first transfer station where 
the flutes 2 receive untested articles from a preceding conveyor (not 
shown) and a second transfer station where the tested articles 3 leave the 
conveyor 1. The inner ends of certain channels 6 communicate with an 
axially extending channel 4 which is machined into a stationary shaft 7. 
The latter contains bearings 8 for a rotary drive shaft 9 which transmits 
torque to the cylindrical body of the conveyor 1 by way of a disc or 
flange 11 which is affixed to the shaft 9 by screws or bolts 12a and to 
the conveyor 1 by screws or bolts 12. 
The end faces of the conveyor 1 are adjacent to two stationary bearings 17 
whose axes are inclined relative to the axis of the conveyor 1. The 
left-hand bearing 17 surrounds the stationary shaft 7 and is secured to 
the frame of the filter tipping machine. An elongated key 16 is inserted 
into matching grooves in the peripheral surface of a sleeve 14 surrounding 
the shaft 7 and in the internal surface of the left-hand bearing 17. The 
right-hand bearing 17 of FIG. 1 is mounted on a second stationary sleeve 
14 which is attached to the frame of the filter tipping machine by a link 
13 and whose peripheral surface has an axially parallel groove for a key 
16 also extending into a complementary groove in the internal surface of 
the right-hand bearing 17. The keys 16 enable the bearings 17 to move 
nearer to or further away from the conveyor 1, depending upon the length 
of articles 3 which are to be tested in the improved apparatus. The axes 
of the cylindrical peripheral surfaces 18 of the bearings 17 make small 
acute angles with the common axis of the shafts 7 and 9, and the two 
bearings 17 are mirror symmetrical to each other with reference to a plane 
which is normal to the axis of the conveyor 1 and is disposed midway 
between its end faces. The peripheral surfaces 18 are surrounded by 
antifriction ball or roller bearings 19 for annular carriers 21 each of 
which can be said to constitute a wobble plate and each of which is 
coupled to the conveyor 1 so that the conveyor 1 and the two carriers 21 
rotate in unison but successive increments of the two carriers either 
approach or move away from the adjacent end faces of the conveyor during 
different stages of each revolution. The article 3 which is shown in FIG. 
1 is located at the testing station and the inclination of the peripheral 
surfaces 18 on the stationary bearings 17 is such that successive 
increments of the carriers 21 are nearest to each other and to the 
adjacent end faces of the conveyor 1 during travel past the testing 
station. 
The outer sides of the carriers 21 are adjacent to stationary valve plates 
22 which are coupled to the respective bearings 17 by links 23. The 
sealing faces 24 of the valve plates 22 are in permanent sealing 
engagement with the adjacent portions of the rotating carriers 21, and 
these valve plates flank the testing station at the twelve o'clock 
position of the conveyor 1. 
The testing apparatus further comprises suitable means (not shown) for 
releasably locking the bearings 17 to the respective sleeves 14. Such 
locking means must be disengaged or removed before the bearings 17 can be 
shifted along the respective keys in order to increase or reduce the 
distance between the planes of movement of the carriers 21, i.e., to 
convert the apparatus for the testing of shorter or longer articles. 
In accordance with a feature of the invention, the left-hand carrier 21 of 
FIG. 1 supports an annulus of novel and improved tubular sealing elements 
26 each of which can constitute a piece of flexible cylindrical hose and 
each of which is in register with the article 3 in the adjacent flute 2 of 
the conveyor 1. The sealing elements 26 can receive the free ends of 
filter tips 63 of the adjacent articles 3 not later than during travel of 
such articles and of the respective sealing elements past the testing 
station. The other end of each article 3 is sealingly engaged by one of an 
annulus of conventional sealing devices 27 each of which consists of an 
elastomeric material and may be similar to the sealing devices shown in 
the patent to Heitmann et al. The sealing devices 27 are designed to 
engage the end faces of the tobacco-containing portions 63a of the 
adjacent articles 3 not later than during travel past the testing station. 
The sealing elements 26 have outer portions which sealingly surround 
nipples 28 installed in the left-hand carrier 21 of FIG. 1 and having 
axial passages which communicate with bores 32 provided in the left-hand 
carrier 21. The sealing devices 27 are slipped onto similar nipples 28 
which are installed in the right-hand carrier 21 and whose passages 
communicate with bores 32 in the respective carrier. The bores 32 move 
past and temporarily communicate with arcuate recesses 33 which are 
machined into the sealing faces 24 of the respective valve plates 22 and 
which flank (and actually define) the testing station. The recesses 33 of 
the valve plates 22 communicate with radially outwardly extending channels 
29 receiving portions of nipples 31 for admission of testing fluid (e.g., 
air) by way of a supply conduit 57. The conduit 57 receives testing fluid 
from a suitable source (not shown) and contains a shutoff valve 61, a 
preferably adjustable flow restrictor 59 downstream of the valve 61, a 
pressure gauge 58 downstream of the flow restrictor 59, and additional 
adjustable flow restrictors 59a immediately upstream of the nipples 31. 
The length of the recesses 33 does not exceed the distance between two 
neighboring flutes 2, as considered in the circumferential direction of 
the conveyor 1. The ends of a cigarette 3 which advances past the testing 
station between the recesses 33 receive testing fluid from the conduit 57 
as long as the respective bores 32 of the carriers 21 communicate with the 
corresponding recesses 33. 
Each sealing device 27 has a front end wall 34 which consists of 
elastomeric material and has a centrally located aperture 36 for admission 
of testing fluid into the adjacent end face of the tobacco filler in the 
respective article 3. As mentioned above, each sealing element 26 can 
constitute a length of flexible cylindrical hose preferably made of soft 
rubber or soft elastomeric synthetic plastic material. 
In accordance with a feature of the invention, the left-hand carrier 1 of 
FIG. 1 further supports an annulus of resilient clamping members 37, one 
for each sealing element 26 and each surrounding the respective sealing 
element. The clamping members 37 can constitute loops or annuli of plastic 
or metallic spring wire or metallic or plastic strip stock. The purpose of 
the clamping members 37 is to ensure that those end portions of the 
corresponding sealing elements 26 which are surrounded thereby and which, 
in turn, surround the adjacent ends of articles 3 in the registering 
flutes 2 during travel past the testing station between the recesses 33 
are invariably moved into reliable sealing engagement with the peripheral 
surfaces of the respective filter tips 63 during those intervals when such 
filter tips receive testing fluid from the corresponding bores 32. 
A first end portion 38 of each clamping member 37 is anchored in or 
otherwise mounted on the left-hand carrier 21 of FIG. 1, and a second end 
portion 41 of each clamping member 37 is movable relative to the first end 
portion 38 to thereby increase or reduce the diameter of the respective 
clamping member and to thus allow the sealing element 26 within the 
respective clamping member 37 to expand or to force such sealing element 
into engagement with the peripheral surface of the article end within the 
sealing element. The carrier 21 for the sealing elements 26 has slots 39 
(FIG. 2) or otherwise configurated cavities for the first end portions 38 
of the clamping members 37. 
The actuating means for moving the second end portions 41 of the clamping 
members 37 relative to the first end portions 38 during certain stages of 
each revolution of the left-hand carrier 21 of FIG. 1 comprises cams 42 
(one shown on a greatly enlarged scale in FIG. 2) which are pivotable 
about the axes of shafts 44 and are installed in recesses 43 of the 
respective carrier 21. The shafts 44 constitute component parts of means 
for moving (pivoting) the cams 42 relative to the respective carrier 21, 
and such moving or pivoting means further comprises means for rocking the 
shafts 44 and their cams 42 back and forth. The rocking means comprises a 
discrete lever 46 for each shaft 44 (the shafts extend axially outwardly 
of the respective carrier 21 and the levers 46 are affixed to their 
exposed ends), a roller follower 47 on each lever 46, and a stationary cam 
48 which is provided on the stationary bearing 17 for the left-hand 
carrier 21 of FIG. 1 and is adjacent to the path of movement of roller 
followers 47 with the carrier 21. A torsion spring 49 (see FIG. 1) is 
provided on each shaft 44 outwardly of the respective carrier 21 to bias 
the corresponding roller follower 47 against the cam 48 on the respective 
bearing 17. As can be seen in FIG. 2, the stationary cam 48 on the bearing 
17 for the left-hand carrier 21 of FIG. 1 comprises a substantially 
radially inwardly sloping portion 51 along which successive roller 
followers 47 travel on their way from a raised portion 52 which is tracked 
while the corresponding cam 42 engages the adjacent second end portion 41 
to thus expand the clamping member 37 radially and to allow for radial 
expansion of the corresponding sealing element 26. 
The means for coupling the carriers 21 to the conveyor 1 comprises pins 53 
which are anchored in the carriers and extend with clearance into sockets 
or holes 54 in the adjacent end faces of the conveyor 1. Coil springs 56 
are provided to bias the carriers 21 away from the conveyor 1 in order to 
maintain the carriers in sealing engagement with the faces 24 of the 
adjacent valve plates 22. The dimensions of the sockets 54 are selected 
with a view to ensure that the carriers 21 can wobble with reference to 
the conveyor 1 when the main prime mover of the filter tipping machine 
drives the shaft 9 which transmits torque to the conveyor. The coil 
springs 56 are compressed and store energy during movement toward the 
testing station, and they are allowed to dissipate energy while moving 
beyond and away from the testing station. 
The gauge 58 not only serves to indicate the pressure of testing fluid in 
the conduit 57 but can also facilitate the task of an operator to adjust 
the flow restrictor 59 and/or the flow restrictors 59a. 
The mode of operation of the apparatus of FIGS. 1 and 2 is as follows: 
The prime mover of the filter tipping machine (or another suitable prime 
mover) drives the shaft 9 which, in turn, drives the conveyor 1 so that 
the latter can rotate the carriers 21 through the medium of the pins 53. 
The suction generating device (e.g., a suction pump or a fan) is on so 
that it draws air from the channel 4 which, in turn, draws air from the 
channels 6 communicating with flutes 2 which contain or are supposed to 
contain rod-shaped articles 3. The flutes 2 receive untested articles 3 at 
a time when they are remote from the testing station (i.e., at a location 
where the corresponding portions of the two carriers 21 are more distant 
from one another than at the testing station between the recesses 33 of 
the valve plates 22). Those portions of the carriers 21 which flank a 
flute 2 containing a freshly admitted (untested) article 3 thereupon 
advance toward each other while they continue to rotate with the conveyor 
1. This causes the sealing device 27 for such still untested article 3 to 
move toward and to place its end wall 34 into sealing engagement with the 
respective end face of the adjacent article 3. At such time, the 
corresponding sealing element 26 is not compressed or deformed by the 
associated clamping member 37 so that it is free to permit unimpeded entry 
of the adjacent end of the filter tip 63. The free end face of such filter 
tip is located to the left of the corresponding clamping member 37 before 
the article 3 reaches the testing station. The roller follower 47 of the 
means for pivoting the cam 42 for such clamping member 37 then moves 
beyond the raised portion 52 of the cam 48 on the left-hand bearing 17 of 
FIG. 1 and travels along the sloping surface 51 whereby the second end 
portion 41 is free to move away from the first end portion 38 due to 
innate tendency of the clamping member 37 to reduce its diameter. This 
causes the clamping member 37 to reduce the diameter of the adjacent 
portion of the sealing element 26 and to deform the latter into pronounced 
sealing engagement with the peripheral surface of the filter tip 63 which, 
at such time, extends into the sealing element 26 approaching the testing 
station between the recesses 33. The roller follower 47 is acted upon by 
the respective torsion spring 49 to ensure that it remains in contact with 
the stationary cam 48 which, in turn, ensures that the cam 42 on the 
respective shaft 44 enables the clamping member 37 to contract into 
deforming engagement with the respective sealing element 26 during travel 
past the testing station. It is clear that the operation of the cams 42 
would be reversed (and that the configuration of the cam 48 would be 
changed accordingly) if the clamping members 37 were designed to exhibit a 
tendency to expand rather than contract. The second free end portions 41 
of the clamping members 37 move relative to the corresponding first end 
portions 38 in planes which are normal to the axes of the respective 
sealing elements 26. Contraction of the clamping members 37 at the testing 
station and the resulting deformation of the corresponding sealing 
elements 26 ensures that the free ends of the filter tips 63 are reliably 
sealed so that (in the absence of other defects, such open seams and the 
like), the apparatus can reliably ascertain the permeability of the 
ventilation zones 62. The pressure gauge 58 or the conduit 57 can contain 
or can be connected with a suitable transducer which generates signals 
serving to effect segregation of defective articles 3 from satisfactory 
articles in a manner which is well known from the art and need not be 
described here. 
The sealing element 26 and the sealing device 27 for the article 3 which 
has been tested at the station between the recesses 33 thereupon move away 
from each other to release the freshly tested article and to allow for its 
removal from the respective flute 2 in a region where the corresponding 
channels 6 do not communicate with the channel 4 so that the tested 
article is no longer held by suction and can be readily transferred onto a 
receiving conveyor whereby the respective flute 2 is free to receive a 
fresh (untested) article. The roller follower 47 for the corresponding 
clamping member 37 then tracks the raised portion 52 of the cam 48 so that 
the clamping member 37 is held in expanded condition (the second end 
portion 41 is located rather close to the first end portion 38) which 
ensures that the sealing element 26 does not interfere with the movement 
of the respective carrier portion away from the adjacent end face of the 
conveyor 1 while the freshly tested article 3 advances beyond the testing 
station. 
FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate a modified sealing element 126 which is slipped 
onto a nipple 128 and whose free end portion is surrounded by a clamping 
member 137, e.g., a clamping member which is identical with the clamping 
member 37 of FIG. 2. The sealing element 126 contains an internal 
partition 166 which is formed with a centrally located aperture 164 and 
whose outer side is engaged by the end face of the filter tip 163 of the 
respective rod-shaped article 103 at least slightly ahead of the testing 
station. The ventilation zone of the filter plug 163 is shown at 162. The 
filter tip 163 begins to bear against the outer side of the partition 166 
before the clamping member 137 is permitted or caused to contract (i.e., 
before it can assume the position which is shown in FIG. 4 and wherein its 
end portions 138, 141 are more distant from one another than in FIG. 3). 
This ensures that the apparatus employing sealing elements of the type 
shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 can test the condition and/or quality of the end 
faces of filter tips 163. Thus, if the end face of the filter tip 163 is 
not exactly normal to the axis of the respective article 103, some testing 
fluid will escape via aperture 164 and along the outer side of the 
partition 166, and this will be detected by the gauge or by the 
aforementioned transducer to ensure that the corresponding article is 
segregated from satisfactory articles. 
Actual testing of the wrapper of the article 103 of FIGS. 3 and 4 takes 
place after the clamping member 137 assumes the position of FIG. 4 in 
which the adjacent portion of the sealing element 126 is held in sealing 
engagement with the peripheral surface of the filter tip 163. Thus, the 
sealing element 126 of FIGS. 3 and 4 allows for two-stage testing of 
different characteristics of the articles 103. The testing of ventilation 
zones 162 takes place subsequent to testing of the end faces of the filter 
tips 163. 
An important advantage of the improved testing apparatus is that the means 
for actuating the clamping members 37 or 137 are not or need not be 
installed in or on the nipples 28 (such as the nipples and 128) which 
carry the respective sealing elements 26 or 126. This ensures that such 
actuating means cannot interfere with the admission of testing fluid into 
the respective ends of the rod-shaped articles 3 or 103. Moreover, the 
clamping members 37 or 137 are extremely simple, inexpensive and reliable. 
If the need arises, they can be replaced with little loss in time and at a 
minimal cost. As mentioned above, the sealing elements can constitute or 
resemble conventional hose clamps. Such sealing elements require little or 
no maintenance, and their useful life is surprisingly long. 
Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of 
the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, 
readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, 
from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential 
characteristics of the generic and specific aspects of my contribution to 
the art and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be 
comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the appended 
claims.