AU770256B2

AU770256B2 - Method and device for testing the integrity of a packet, especially a cigarette packet

Info

Publication number: AU770256B2
Application number: AU77878/00A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Gottfried Von Bismarck
Original assignee: Hauni Maschinenbau GmbH
Current assignee: Koerber Technologies GmbH
Priority date: 1999-10-23
Filing date: 2000-10-14
Publication date: 2004-02-19
Anticipated expiration: 2020-10-14
Also published as: CN1382090A; JP2003512266A; RU2002110285A; EP1222112A1; AU7787800A; DE19951140A1; PL356153A1; WO2001030654A1

Description

Method and device for testing the integrity of a packet, especially of a cigarette packet The invention concerns a method for testing the integrity of a packet containing at least one object, in particular of a packet of the tobacco processing industry containing a defined grouping of objects, whereby one or more characteristic features are allocated to the objects, from which feature or features a code is generated, the result of which is applied to the packet as an identification, that is read and compared with the feature or features of the objects.

In addition the invention concerns a device to test the integrity of a packet containing at least one object, in particular of a packet of the tobacco processing industry containing a defined grouping of objects, whereby one or more characteristic features are allocated to the objects, from which feature or features a code is generated the result of which is applied as identification to the packet that is detected by a reading device responding to the packet code and compared with the coded characteristic features of the objects contained in the packet detected by a reading device.

By measures and arrangements of the type described above, the original combination or arrangement of the packed goods and packet or packaging material should be guaranteed and controlled so that to ensure a product quality guaranteed by the manufacturer and to discover improper handling of and interference with the original end product.

The object of the invention is to enable such a control with the simplest possible means by covering the area.

According to the invention this objective is achieved by that the characteristic features allocated to the objects are detected after the opening of the packet and compared with the identification read on the surface of the packet.

In the widest sense under characteristic features of the objects accidentally existing, or subsequently applied or allocated features of internal or external packaging components of the packet made up from several enveloping components or linings or overlays are to be understood.

According to a further proposed preferred measure the characteristic features allocated to the objects are detected on the open front end of the packet, this having the advantage that the lid of the packet, used in any case according to the intentional use and removal of the cigarettes, is used for the control function.

According to an additional proposal a reliable detection of the objects provided with the characteristic features or arranged in a defined grouping is assured by that the characteristic features allocated to the objects are detected by directly contacting the tip ends of the cigarettes at the face end.

A relatively reliable and simple test method can be realised by that according to a development the presence or the position of indicators provided at the tip ends is detected by contacting the face of the tip ends.

Since normally the content of each packet is defined by different and/or individual characteristic features, it can be assumed that in the case of duplicated packets one deals with fakes. According to a further proposal this is immediately recognised by that in the case of a test result obtained by at least two comparison tests as correctly encoded combination of the packing and content code a falsification signal is emitted.

The device to carry out the method described in the introduction comprises a reading device, having its own energy supply, detecting on the one hand the packet identification magnetically, electrically, mechanically optically or in a similar manner and on the other hand the characteristic features of the objects by direct contact.

According to a preferred development a relatively reliable and simple interaction between the reading device and the test objects can be achieved by that the reading device is so constructed that it responds to metallic embedments or coatings by virtue of the direct contact on the face with the tip ends of the cigarettes.

An additional construction, optimising the functional value of the reading device is that it is fitted with a display unit indicating the concurrence or deviation of the identification and content features of the packet.

The advantage achievable with the invention is that a reading device, for example in the form of a cheque card or a cigarette lighter, that can be used simply everywhere by every consumer at any time, can be used both on the surface of the packet and on the normal opening of the packet.

In the form of a close cooperation between manufacturers and consumers the procedure according to the invention serves their mutual interest to ensure the authenticity of the manufactured and purchased product.

The invention is explained in detail in the following based on an embodiment illustrated in the drawing. They show in: Fig.1 a reading device placed on the surface of a cigarette packet, Fig.2 a reading device placed on the ends of the cigarettes at the open face of the cigarette packet, Fig.3 the overall view on a filter manufacturing machine with an additional, schematically illustrated, unit to prevent falsification, Fig.4 a transporting chamber of a cigarette packing machine open at the face, transporting a cigarette block, and a detection device to generate or read out an encoded identification.

According to an embodiment illustrated in Figs.1 and 2 during the production process or afterwards the filter cigarettes 1 are provided with unambiguous characteristic features in the form, for example, of a magnetically detectable metallic coating or a metal-containing print 2. The identifying features applied in this manner in the region of the filter 3, for example to the inside or outside of the wrapping paper of the filter or to the coating paper joining the cigarettes and the filters, are randomly arbitrarily positioned in the block formation 6 of the filter cigarettes combined in the package 4, which, for example according to Fig.1, are applied visibly or non-visibly to the external surface of the packing 4 as a characteristic individual pattern in the form of an encoded identification. This individual encoded pattern 5 is read out by an easily handled detector device 7, constructed, for example, as a cheque card-shaped reading device, and displayed on a display unit After opening, according to Fig.2, the packet 4 at its end, the same or another detector device 7 is brought into contact directly with its face before removing the cigarettes 1 and the individual pattern 5 of the block formation 6 is read out, compared with the identification on the packet 4 and the comparison signal is shown on the display unit 10. A deviation between the two test signals indicates an improperly manipulated packet and its content.

At the same time the detection device 7 is additionally so programmed, that it will recognise duplicated packets when a correctly encoded combination of a packet and content code occurs at least twice, thus indicating a fake on the display unit because each individual original packet has specific, individual characteristic features of its content and adequate printing.

Fig.3 shows a filter manufacturing machine described in detail, for example, in our US patent 4 412 505, comprising a first group of components in the form of a preparation equipment 11 to process a filter tow strip 13 unwound off a bale 12 by stretching, loosening and spraying with a plasticiser in a spraying device 14 and a second group of components in the form of a processing equipment 16 to produce wrapped filter plugs by gathering the filter tow strips 13 in an inlet funnel 17, wrapping the filter strand obtained with a wrapping strip 18 conveyed to it in a mould 19 and separating it into individual filter plugs 3.

To provide a detectable characteristic identification feature in the filter tow strip 13 forming a filter region or a filter section 3 of the completed filter cigarette 1, between the group of components 11 and the group of components 16 a metallic or colour-contrasting marking strip 2, for example, wound off a bobbin 21, is conveyed to the filter tow strip 13, said marking strip being recognisable by a relevant detector along the length or on the face of the filter cigarettes 1 as an embedded foreign body.

The filter cigarettes 1 prepared in this manner assume during their packaging process in a packaging machine relative the embedded markings 2 a random position and, as shown in Fig.4, consequently display a random pattern within a transporting chamber 22 disclosed, for example, in the US patent 4 471 866 of the packaging machine containing a block of cigarettes.

This characteristic pattern unique for each block 6 of cigarettes or each cigarette package 4 is detected, for example, on the face of the transporting chamber 22 by means of a detection device 7.

As detection device 7 a commercially available matrix camera, for example, that can be activated in a holding phase or detent phase of the transport chamber 22 moved step-by-step by means of a chamber belt 23 or, as in the embodiment according to Fig.5, a CCD camera 26 for example, of the JR2048 series by Schafter Krichhoff, Hamburg, Germany, having an objective 24 and scanning the front of the block 6 of cigarettes situated in the transporting chamber 22 passing by, can be used.

By scanning the filter ends in a package 4 or in a transporting chamber 22 stepby-step by means of the line camera 26 and using a pulse generator 27 to generate a high-frequency synchronous cycle an image is scanned into an image processing unit 28, the image processing unit 28 determining from the image the position of the filter ends and storing the corresponding evaluation window. In the form of an example in Fig.4 each evaluation window is divided clockwise into four quadrants 1 to 4, while the division can be, of course, arbitrarily refined.

The processing unit 28 can allocate the identifications 2 recognised on each filter end to a certain quadrant, so that for each layer of the articles within the transporting chamber 22, as shown in Fig.4, numbers are obtained as a code by adding, for example, the relevant quadrants 1, 3, 2, 4, 2, 3 for the top layer the number 15, by adding the quadrants 1, 2, 1, 3, 4, 2, 1 the number 14 for the middle layer and by adding the quadrants 4, 3, 4, 2, 3, 2 for the bottom layer the number 18. From this fact the processing unit 28 can obtain an encoded identification representing the specific pattern by, for example, adding the layer numbers 15, 14 and 18 to form the signal sum of 47.

This coded identification is issued to an identifying equipment in the form of a stamping device 29, that may be, for example, a conventional type jet printer or a laser printer, depending from the specific packaging material to be identified, available, for example, from IWK Verpackungstechnik GmbH, Germany or Domino Laser Inc.

If the detection device 7 is used as a reading device, the image processing unit 28 is replaced by an non-programmed processing unit that decodes and compares the recorded identification features and the stamping device 29 by a simple display unit, while the pulse generator 27 is omitted.

Claims

1. A method for testing the integrity of a packet containing at least one object, in particular of a packet of the tobacco processing industry containing a defined grouping of objects, whereby one or more characteristic features are allocated to the objects, from which feature or features a code is generated, the result of which is applied to the packet as an identification, that is read and compared with the feature or features of the objects, characterised in that the characteristic features allocated to the objects are detected after the opening of the packet and compared with the identification read on the surface of the packet.

2. A method according to claim 1, characterised in that the characteristic features allocated to the objects are detected on the open front end of the packet.

3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the characteristic features allocated to the objects are detected by directly contacting the tip ends of the cigarettes at the face end.

4. A method according to claim 3, characterised in that the presence or the position of indicators provided at the tip ends is detected by contacting the face of the tip ends.

A method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that in the case of a test result obtained by at least two comparison tests as correctly encoded combination of the packing and content code a falsification signal is emitted.

6. A device for testing the integrity of a packet containing at least one object, in particular of a packet of the tobacco processing industry containing a defined grouping of objects, whereby one or more characteristic features are allocated to the objects, from which feature or features a code is generated, the result of which is applied to the packet as an identification, that is detected by a reading device responding to the packet code and compared with the coded characteristic features of the objects contained in the packet detected by a reading device, characterised by a reading device, having its own energy supply, detecting on the one hand the packet identification magnetically, electrically, mechanically optically or in a similar manner and on the other hand the characteristic features of the objects by direct contact.

7. A device according to claim 6, characterised in that the reading device is so constructed that it responds to metallic embedments or coatings by virtue of the direct contact on the face with the tip ends of the cigarettes

8. A device according to claim 6 or 7, characterised in that the reading device (7) is fitted with a display unit (10) indicating the concurrence or deviation of the identification and content features of the packet.