Patent ID: 7882843

Claim:
A method for transferring rods comprising: feeding a plurality of rods into a hopper; each rod having a longitudinal axis; feeding the rods through the hopper using agitation and gravity to align the rods one above the other in a single-file stacked configuration, with the longitudinal axes parallel to one another; transferring the rods to a plurality of flutes on a first drum rotating about an axis transverse to the longitudinal axes of the aligned rods by engaging one end of the rod at the bottom of the hopper with a raised surface of each flute to strip the rod from the hopper; applying a vacuum to the rods to retain the rods within the flutes of the drum; transferring the rods from the first drum to a plurality of flutes on a second drum rotating about an axis transverse to the longitudinal axes of the aligned rods by removing the vacuum from the first drum and applying a vacuum to flutes in the second drum; transferring the rods from the second rotating drum to a plurality of flutes on a third drum rotating about an axis transverse to the longitudinal axes of the aligned rods by removing the vacuum from the second rotating drum and applying a vacuum to flutes in the third rotating drum; and removing the rods from the third rotating drum by removing the vacuum from the third drum and engaging the rods with pushers on a continuous cable so that the rods may be transferred for insertion in a tobacco column.