Patent ID: 8262550

Claim:
An apparatus for forming a rod member for use in the manufacture of cigarette filter elements, the rod having a length and defining a longitudinal axis, the apparatus comprising: a rod-forming unit configured to form a continuous supply of a filter material into a continuous filter rod; an object insertion unit configured to insert a plurality of first objects and a plurality of second objects into the continuous filter rod, the object insertion unit comprising: an insertion device comprising a rotatable insertion member configured to insert the first and second objects into the continuous filter rod; and first and second delivery systems respectively comprising a rotatable feeder device configured to respectively provide the first and second objects to the rotatable insertion member; and a rod-dividing unit configured to subdivide the continuous filter rod, at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal axis, into a plurality of filter rod portions such that each filter rod portion includes at least one first object and at least one second object disposed therein, the first objects being different from the second objects.