Patent ID: 7954498

Claim:
An apparatus for mechanically preparing fibrous material, in the form of cut tobacco, for forming a uniform, homogeneous fiber or tobacco strand or tobacco stream ( 11 ), from which tobacco portions ( 10 ) can be severed, characterized in that the tobacco stream ( 11 ) forms a main stream ( 16 ) and is conveyed through a plurality of processing stations ( 18 , 19 , 20 ) which homogenize the tobacco stream ( 11 , 16 ) in a number of steps using different arrangements; and in that a first processing station ( 18 ) of said plurality of processing stations has a drum ( 21 ) with projecting needles ( 24 ) which are arranged in rows ( 25 ) on the inside of a drum casing ( 23 ) and, when the drum ( 21 ) rotates, enter into the tobacco as the latter is transported.