BRPI0709974A2 - process for the production and / or packaging of cigarettes in a production and / or packaging facility - Google Patents

Abstract

<B> PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION AND / OR PACKAGING OF CIGARETTES IN A PRODUCTION AND / OR PACKAGING FACILITY <D> The present invention relates to a process for the production and / or packaging of cigarettes in a production facility and / or packaging, from starting materials (28 to 32, 36 to 40; 28.1, 28.2, 29.1 ...), at least one of the starting materials, such as foil strips, paper strips or similar, are fed into the production and / or packaging facility in defined material units. Data (A - E) - characteristic material values - relevant to production, in particular data exclusively collected during the production process, which depend on at least one starting material (28 to 32, 36 to 40; 28.1, 28.2, 29.1 ...) are raised and clearly conjugated to this starting material (28 to 32, 36 to 40; 28.1, 28.2, 29.1 ...), preferably to a unit of starting material of this starting material , and the characteristic material values (A - E) raised, combined with the starting material (28 to 32, 36 to 40; 28.1, 28.2, 29.1 ...) are stored in a memory of a computer unit (33, 42) for subsequent evaluation.

Description

Patent Descriptive Report for "PROCESSES FOR THE PRODUCTION AND / OR PACKING OF CIGARETTES IN A PRODUCTION AND / OR PACKAGING INSTALLATION".

The present invention relates to a process for the production and / or packaging of cigarettes in a starting material production and / or packaging facility where at least one of the starting materials, such as foil strips, foil strips and paper or the like, are fed into the production and / or packaging facility into defined material units.

In the cigarette industry, the starting materials needed for the production process - sheet strips, paper strips, cutouts and the like - are often sourced from various suppliers with respectively identical technical theoretical properties, such as measurements. of the identical and other parameters. The various starting materials which are respectively conjugated to a particular type of starting material have certain characteristic values which can be verified in the laboratory with the aid of appropriate measurement methods even before the use of materials in the production and / or packaging facility. - hereinafter I call it line. In addition to these there are, however, other characteristic (material) values relevant to the production process that can be determined or measured exclusively during the process of the respective material in the line.

For example, the running behavior of paper strips, foil strips or the like wrapped in spool can only be analyzed during the production process. Also the tendency of the respective starting material to fail productions is an example for these characteristic values. In addition, the compatibility of certain starting material combinations can only be ascertained during the production process.

The above characteristic values of material, which cannot be verified in the laboratory, which can only be determined during the production process of starting materials from various sources of manufacture of a particular type of starting material, cannot be quantified in state-of-the-art production and / or packaging lines. Due to lack of testable data, an operator of a particular machine, such as a packaging machine, needs over time to develop insight into which of his suppliers' departmental materials provide better production results and which starting materials provide results. worse production These assessments on the basis of pure operator experience cannot be quantified. Therefore, they are subject to failure.

The present invention has the task of improving a process for the production and / or packaging of cigarettes in a production and / or packaging facility in the sense that an analysis based on quantifiable objective criteria of material characteristic values obtained during In particular, it is possible to compare the quality of the starting material from various suppliers.

This task is solved with the help of a process of the genre initially mentioned, where relevant production data are determined depending on at least one starting material that can be obtained during the production process - in particular exclusively during the process. which may be conjugated in a manner unequivocal to at least this starting material, preferably to a unit of starting material of this starting material, and the determined characteristic values, combined with the starting material, are stored in a memory of preferably a computer unit for subsequent evaluation.

Thus, for the first time in the cigarette industry, material-related data arising during the production process, depending on the starting material, are referred to hereinafter referred to as material characteristic values. Such material characteristic values may be, for example, the tendency of the starting material to fail productions, the movement behavior of the starting material, the number of splices that become necessary due to breakages of the starting material or already existed at the time the materials were supplied or similar. This material-related determination advantageously allows for verifiable multiple analyzes of the properties of the departmental material used.

In the various production units of the cigarette production and / or packaging facility, it is often made available starting material for various types of starting material in the form of coils. As soon as the coil material and a particular type of Starting material finishes during the production process, a new coil is placed. This could possibly be a coil from another supplier.

Particularly preferably, material characteristic values are surveyed in a manner related to material units. A survey of material characteristic values related to the material unit for the purposes of this patent application is each combination of material characteristic values that are determined and raised, especially measured exclusively during the production process, for a given unit. of material from the starting material used. One unit of material, in the simplest case, may be a coil of starting material. But at first it is also possible to define several successive coils as a unit of material or also only a part of a coil. Also piles of cutouts or the like may be understood as a unit of material in this regard. Decisive is the combination of the characteristic values of material originating from a material unit to the material unit.

Preferably, the times of exchanged material units may be recorded, in particular the time when a new material unit is brought into the production and / or packaging facility, and the time when this material unit is completely consumed. The characteristic values of material can be determined at these times and can be compared with each other. For example, from the number of products that were produced from one unit of material, it may be deducted if the unit of material covers the quantity / size indicated by the supplier. In the case of a coil, the (actual) strip length of the material actually wound on the coil can be verified in this way.

A preferred possibility of enabling the starting material to be combined with characteristic material values that can be obtained or obtained during production is to apply a clear identification to the starting material or units of the starting material respectively, for example. , an encoding that is stored in the memory of the computer unit. In a special embodiment, such identification is already applied to the starting material or starting material unit already by the supplier, for example in the form of a barcode.

The ID can be automatically read by a reading device in conjunction with the production and / or packaging facility and transmitted to the computer unit for storage. During the production process the material characteristic values for unambiguous identification of the starting material are then consulted, combined with the identification and then stored in memory.

In another embodiment of the present invention, in the use of a material alternative to a used starting material of a defined starting material type which is required for the production of a particular end or intermediate product - cigarette, cigarette package, package Unpacking, custom-cut and / or the like - the characteristic values related to the material or material unit of that alternative material are also stored.

Further features of the present invention are apparent from the appended claims, the following description of a preferred embodiment and the accompanying drawings. The drawings show:

Figure 1 shows a production and / or packaging facility for cigarettes in a schematic floor plan; and

Figure 2 shows a schematic presentation of material related data that can be obtained from various partition materials, various types of starting material.

The exemplary embodiment shown in the drawings and described in the following description relates to a cigarette production and packaging facility, i.e. a so-called line. This comprises production units, for example a cigarette making machine, you need a maker 10, a next wrapping machine, i.e. a wrapper 11, a next sheet folding machine 12, a packaging machine for the production of packages with various cigarette packs, that is, a package packer 13 and a box packer 14 which packs the packages consisting of several packs into boxes for distribution. The cigarettes produced by the maker ) 10 are carried by a cigarette carrier 15 with a conjugate cigarette holder 16 to the pack 11, for example a "hinge-lict" packer, for the manufacture of folding boxes. a tailor-made cutter deposit 17, i.e. a device for receiving a larger stock of tailor-made cuts for cigarette boxes having transport elements for transporting tailor-made stacks for the packer 11. The (cigarette) packs produced by the packer 11 are carried by a pack carrier 18 to the foil wrapping machine 12. This has the task of wrapping the cigarette packs in a custom cut It is formed from packs of foil or external synthetic material. With the finished cigarette packages, groups of packs are formed which in the area of the package wrapper 13 receive a package wrapper, thus constituting a package of usually cigarette-wrappers. These cigarette packs are carried by a pack carrier 19 to a box packer 14. This distributes packaged boxes 20 packed with a large number of cigarette packs to a carrier 21. In the area of pack carrier 18, between packer 11 and the foil wrapping machine 12 is provided with a packaging container 22 for receiving a larger number of cigarette packages (without the outer wrapper).

The production units described need to be supplied from starting material. Maker 10 needs to receive the smoke in sufficient quantity, moreover, cigarette paper in the form of rolled strips, that is, reels. It is also necessary to feed the maker 10 with filter paper, also wrapped in coils, so that the produced cigarettes can receive in the area of a filtering machine 23 or its material. The other production units also need to receive packaging material, also in rolled strips, ie as coils. This applies to the production of a usual collar for canister-type cigarette packaging also for the inner casing, a so-called innerliner of the cigarette group and for the outer casing of foil or cellophane. A central hopper 24 is provided where the coils 25 of the various materials are stored, for example in plates. A suitable conveying device, for example, a common material conveyor 26 can be moved along a transport path27 between the hopper 24 and the various production units, for the delivered coil material according to demand. In the example shown, the central deposit 24 may be constructed such that filter paper 28, collar material 29, innerliner material 30, sheet material 31 and cigarette paper 32 may be positioned in the area of the transport route 27 to be used. received by material carrier 26, and this respectively in the most favorable relative position relative to the combined production unit.

The course of cigarette production to the production of ready-made distribution boxes 20 filled with cigarette packages occurs under the control of a central computer unit, that is, a control device 33 which is communicatively connected to each other. particular to a machine control 35 respectively combined locally with one or more of the production units, for example via a bus, especially a fieldbus 34 or a local network, especially a Through the fieldbus 34 the control device 33 exchanges data with respectively one or each production unit and transmits, for example, adjustment values to the respective production unit or receives production data. Computer unit 33 is, for example, a process computer or a central unit of a memory programmable control. In a memory not shown of computer unit 33 codes are stored in a data structure suitable for all materials. used for the production and packaging of cigarettes. At the same time, in this memory a code assignment is deposited with the help of a material for at least one production unit respectively.

Figure 2 shows the starting materials taken to various production units, ie to maker 10, wrapper 11, foil wrapping machine 12, package wrapper 13 and box wrapper 14 The maker 10 receives two different departmental materials, that is, cigarette paper 32 and filter paper 28. Both cigarette paper 32 and filter paper 28 are wound coils. HL 36 cut-out stacks are carried to the wrapper 11, and coil-shaped, the innerliner material, ie tin foil and glue material 29. Sheet wrapping machine 12 receives coil-shaped sheet material 31 and opener tape material 37. The package wrapper 13 is supplied with stacks of pack cutouts 38 and, in coil form, wrapper material 39. The box packer receives stacks of box 40. The respective pack materials Different starting materials, such as the two starting materials of the "cigarette paper" starting material type, in this example, are purchased from various suppliers. Thus, different products or material alternatives are available from the same material type with identical theoretical characteristics, hereinafter also generally referred to as different "loads". The two charges of the clearing paper 32 in Figure 2 are marked with references 32.1 and 32.2, the three loads of filter paper 28 are marked with 28.1, 28.2, 28.3, the three loads of cuttings HL 36 are marked with 36.1, 36.2, 36.3 etc .. Their loads do not necessarily have to come from different suppliers, they can also identify different products with identical theoretical characteristics from the same supplier.

For example, for the production of a particular type of cigarette in maker 10, the two cigarette paper loads 32.1, 32.2 of the "cigarette paper" starting material type may in principle be used. However, also when the verifiable theoretical characteristics in the laboratory of different loads are identical - such as the date width of the cigarette paper - in use often different production data dependent on or influenced by the load respectively used appear.

For example, the number of perfect or defective products produced, for example, the number of perfect or defective cigarettes, perfect or defective cigarette packages or the like, may depend directly on the load of the respective starting materials or the combination of used loads of starting materials.

In addition, the theoretical strip length indicated by the supplier of a material wrapped in a coil, which cannot be verified or can be verified without precision in the laboratory, may differ from the actual length in fact. According to the present invention this can be verified by the data collected during the production process, whereby for example the number of end products or intermediates produced such as the number of cigarettes, the number of cigarette packages is raised. -ros, or, in general, the number of cutouts that were produced from a defined unit of material, such as a given coil.

According to the present invention, during the production process, data relevant to the production, directly or indirectly dependent on the starting material - characteristic values of material - are collected and then stored in a memory of the control device 33. related to material, especially material units or material loads.

References A - E refer to Figure 2 for each production unit 10 to 14 different material characteristic values of the starting materials respectively processed in these production units10 to 14. Characteristic values of material A - E can be measured or taken from each other. otherwise exclusively during the production process each starting material of production units 10 to 14 is combined with those characteristic values of material A - E which are directly or indirectly influenced or dependent on the respective starting material.

A means, for example, human failures that occur during the current processing of the respective loading of the starting material, for example of the cigarette paper loading 32.1. Similarly symbol B symbolizes mechanical failures that occur during the processing of the respective load. Similarly other characteristic values of material are raised in the context of one or more of the respective starting materials, such as, for example, material defects found during production, the coil length D actually measured and ruptures. of the strip found E.

Each of these characteristic values of material A - E is derived from processes known in the art, for example by direct or indirect measurement with appropriate measuring elements such as sensors and the like. Then the characteristic values of material A - E are communicated to the computer unit 33. In the present execution example, the characteristic values of material are transmitted to the central computer unit 33 and stored therein intermediate.

Computer unit 33 combines the characteristic values of material A-Ea respectively one or more of the currently processed loads of one or more selected starting materials. For example, certain characteristic values of material A - E referred to as the maker 10 are coupled with the currently processed cigarette paper load 32.1 or 32.2 and / or the filter paper load 28.1 for example 28.2 or 28.3.

Some of the characteristic values of material raised, for example, the actual strip length of a coil, are preferably coupled to the actual load of only one type of starting material, for example, to cigarette paper. Other material characteristic values, such as the number of perfect and defective products, are preferably combined with the respective current loads of various starting materials, as these characteristic values are eventually influenced by a combination of various starting materials. In the preparation of the production process it is determined which characteristic values of material are matched to the respective current loads of which materials divided. This conjugation - characteristic value of material on the one hand, type of starting material on the other - can be stored in memory belonging to the computer unit 33.

The conjugation of the currently processed material or the currently processed material unit, in turn, to the characteristic values of the material raised, preferably takes place through the transmission of identifications 41, that is, unambiguous barcodes, coupled to the material unit, by a reading device. When the material unit is introduced in the production unit 10a 14, it is read in particular automatically and transmitted to the computer unit 33.

Thus, in a coil exchange, the new identification 41 of the coil can be verified and transmitted to the computer unit 33.

All material characteristic values - including unambiguous material identification of the currently processed starting material - of all starting materials are historically collected and stored. At each point in determining the various material characteristic values during the production process, therefore, which starting materials, especially units of starting material or loads of their starting materials, of the various types of starting material are currently processed are stored. . This allows in particular an assessment of historical collected data to the extent to which combinations of starting material give particular favorable material characteristic values, for example the number of perfect and defective packages, the number of machine stops. In the present embodiment, all data is transmitted to a higher hierarchy analysis unit 42. This analysis unit 42 features a superior computer unit with an appropriate analysis software, preferably SAP software.

The unit of analysis 42 selects from the raised characteristic values and respectively conjugates of the various material alternatives, for example, cigarette paper fillers 32.1 and 32.2, for a given starting material that starting material, for example, paper charge. cigarettes 32.1 that meet a predefined criterion or that almost meet the best criterion of all material alternatives. The selected starting material is indicated in a video.

Such a criterion could be, for example, the frequency of machine runs that occur with the selected material. The analysis unit 42 selects that material where under otherwise identical production conditions the lowest number of machine stops has been recorded.

The analysis unit 42 may further select from a large number of characteristic values captured and respectively combined from various material alternatives of various types of starting material which are required for the production of the defined final or intermediate product - cigarette, cigarette pack, package of cigarettes, cut or similar - that combination of starting materials that meets a defined criterion or comes as close as possible to the criterion. This selection is also indicated in a video.

Also in this selection to be made by the analysis unit42, such a criterion may be the frequency of machine shutdown that occurs in this combination of starting materials.

Starting materials selected by analysis unit 42 are preferably included in product parts lists 43 - cigarettes, cigarette packages, packages or the like - produced by the production and / or packaging facility.

In another embodiment of the present invention, as material characteristic values, machine preset data from one or more production units 10 to 14 can also be raised in conjunction with one or more of the starting materials, such as adjustment values for the adjustment of adjustable elements. In several tests of production units 10 to 14, some of these machine presets may be slightly changed from test to test, subject to the remaining influence values, especially keeping the starting materials. Also machine shutdowns and / or ejections or other characteristic values of material are captured and conjugated to the starting materials. Data from all tests are historically recorded and analyzed. From the analysis it can be concluded, for example, in which of the various machine presets under the predefined conditions the number of machine stops and / or injections is minimal.

As the technician will recognize, the various historically high material-related data can be used for multiple analyzes that provide important technical information regarding the starting materials used.

REFERENCE LIST

10 Maker 11 Packing machine 12 Sheet folding machine 13 Packing machine 14 Box packing machine 15 Cigarette conveyor 16 Cigarette container 17 Custom-cut container 18 Package conveyor 19 Distribution box 21 Conveyor 22 Package container 23 Filtering Machine 24 Central Storage25 Coil26 Material Conveyor27 Transport Way28 Filter Paper29 Collar Material30 Innerliner Material 31 Sheet Material32 Cigarette Paper33 Control Device34 Field Bus35 Machine Control 36 Cutouts HL37 Slot Tape38 Package Cutouts39 Material 40 Box Cutouts41 Bar Code42 Analysis Unit43 Parts List

Claims (12)

1. Process for the production and / or packaging of cigarettes in a production and / or clutch facility from split materials (28 to 32, 36 to 40; 28.1, 28.2, 29.1 ...), with at least starting materials, such as foil strips, paper strips or the like, are fed into the production and / or packaging facility into defined material units, characterized in that data (A - E) characteristic material values - relevant for production, in particulates raised exclusively during the production process, which depend on at least one starting material (28 to 32, 36 to 40; 28.1, 28.2, -29.1 ...) are raised and clearly coupled to at least this starting material (28 to 32, 36 to 40; 28.1, 28.2, 29.1 ...), preferably to a unit of starting material of this starting material, and that the raised characteristic values of material (A - E) in conjunction with the divided material (28 to 32, 36 to 40; 28.1, 28.2, 29.1 ...) are stored in a memory of a computer unit (33, 42) for subsequent evaluation. Process for the production and / or packaging of cigarettes according to claim 1, characterized in that the characteristic values of material (A - E) are respectively combined with a material identification (41) assigned to the starting material (28 to 32, 36 to 40; -28.1, 28.2, 29.1 ...) for unambiguous identification, preferably having the material characteristic values (A - E) for the respective material identification (41) of the respective material (28 to 32, 36 to 40; 28.1, 28.2, 29.1 ...) or the respective starting material unit (28 to 32, 36 to 40; 28.1, 28.2, 29.1 ...) are stored in the memory of the computer unit (33, 42). Process for the production and / or packaging of cigarettes according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the number of machine stops and / or the number of ejections of finished or intermediate products produced - cigarettes, cigarette packaging, packages, cut-outs or the like - is lifted and combined with one or more starting materials (28-32, 36-40; 28.1, 28.2, 29.1 ...). Process for the production and / or packaging of cigarettes according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that machine preset data, such as adjustment values for the adjustment of adjustable elements of the production facility and / or unpacking, are lifted and combined with one or more starting materials (28 to 32, 36 to 40; 28.1, 28.2, 29.1 ...). A process for the production and / or packaging of cigarettes according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the unit number of the end product material or intermediates produced - cigarettes, cigarette packages, packages, cutouts or the like - is raised and conjugated to one or more starting materials (28 to 32, 36 to 40; 28.1, 28.2, 29.1 ...). Process for the production and / or packaging of cigarettes according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the number of perfect or defective products - cigarettes, cigarette packagings, packages, cut-outs or the like - produced in the package. -production and / or packaging arrangement and / or the number of product ejections, is determined and combined with one or more starting materials (28a 32, 36 to 40; 28.1,28.2, 29.1 ...) . A process for the production and / or packaging of cigarettes according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the number of splices of the starting material is determined with respect to the starting material. Process for the production and / or packaging of cigarettes according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that by means of sensors, measurable properties, especially optically measurable properties, of the end or intermediate products - cigarettes are measured. , cigarette packages, packages, cut-outs and the like - produced at the production and / or packaging plant and combined with one or more of the starting materials (28 to 32, 36 to 40; 28.1, -28.2 , 29.1 ...). Process for the production and / or packaging of cigarettes according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the computer unit (33, 42) compares the characteristic values of material (A - E) raised during and conjugates to the starting material (28 to 32, 36 to 40; 28.1, 28.2, 29.1 ...) with theoretical values stored in a memory, and that in the event of deviations from the theoretical values, an emission device outputs a signal indicating the divergence. A process for the production and / or packaging of cigarettes according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that if a material alternative is used (28 to 32, 36 to 40; -28.1, 28.2, 29.1. ..) for a used starting material (28 to 32, 36 to 40; -28.1, 28.2, 29.1 ...) of a defined starting material type that is required for the production of an end product or intermediate defined - cigarettes, cigarette packages, packages, cut-outs and the like - also the material characteristic values (A - E) of this material alternative are captured and matched to the material alternative. Process for the production and / or packaging of cigarettes according to claim 10, characterized in that the decomputing unit (33, 42) selects from a large number of material characteristic values (A - E) captured and respectively conjugates of various material alternatives for a particular type of starting material to that starting material (28 to 32, 36 to 40; 28.1, 28.2, 29.1 ...) meeting a given criterion or coming as close as possible to the compliance with the criterion among all material alternatives, and that the selected match material is indicated through a display, especially a video. Process for the production and / or packaging of cigarettes according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that the calculation unit (33, 42) selects from a large number of material characteristic values (A - E ) captured and respectively conjugated from various material alternatives of various types of party material necessary for the production of a defined end product or intermediate - cigarettes, cigarette packages, packages, cuttings and the like - such a combination of starting materials (28 to 32, 36 a 40; 28.1, 28.2, 29.1 ...) of different starting materials meeting a given criterion, or as close as possible to the fulfillment of the criterion, and that the selected combination of starting materials is indicated by means of a display, in particular, through a video.