CN112238966A

CN112238966A - Device, system and method for filling rod-shaped articles into packages

Info

Publication number: CN112238966A
Application number: CN201910842492.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 迪米塔尔·扬切夫; 伊万·艾科夫; 卡洛扬·扬切夫
Original assignee: Aiger Group AG
Current assignee: Aiger Group AG
Priority date: 2019-07-19
Filing date: 2019-09-06
Publication date: 2021-01-19
Also published as: EP3766790A1; US20210016908A1

Abstract

An apparatus, system and method that can facilitate the placement of rod-like articles, such as cigarettes, into waiting packages includes a space into which the articles can be inserted, the space being defined by a bottom member and a plurality of side walls. The sheet of deformable material may then be secured to the apparatus, for example by vacuum force provided through vacuum openings in the side walls, to further restrict the space and provide support for items contained in the space as the apparatus is transported or reoriented during the packaging method.

Description

Device, system and method for filling rod-shaped articles into packages

Background

The production of smoker products in the tobacco industry typically requires the manufacture of various rod-shaped articles. Such rod-like articles may be filter or non-filter cigarettes, cigarette filter portions, cigarillos, cigars and other similar articles. The cigarette production process typically involves first making rod-shaped articles, combining them with other rod-shaped articles (e.g., cigarette portions and filter portions) if desired, then processing the rod-shaped articles and packaging them.

One popular method of packaging cigarettes is to use shoulder boxes. These shoulder boxes are typically made of cardboard and have a hinged lid attached to the box. The cigarettes are generally laid flat therein, usually in two layers one on top of the other. The loading of loose cigarettes into such containers, particularly at high speeds, presents a unique set of problems.

Information relevant to attempts to solve these problems can be found in us patent 7,325,382. However, this reference suffers from disadvantages such as speed limitations and misorientation of the articles due to the articles falling improperly into the waiting packages. As a result, the process may require additional steps to complete the packaging of the articles prior to closing and sealing the box.

Accordingly, the disclosure described herein addresses these limitations and establishes an overall improvement to gravity-fed packaging systems for rod-shaped articles.

Disclosure of Invention

In one exemplary embodiment, an apparatus is provided that may facilitate placing rod-like articles, such as cigarettes, into waiting packages, the apparatus comprising: a space into which an article can be inserted, the space being defined by a bottom member and a plurality of side walls; and a sheet of deformable material secured to the device, for example by vacuum force provided through vacuum openings in the side walls.

In another exemplary embodiment, a method is provided by which rod-like articles such as cigarettes may be placed into a packing element, the method comprising placing the articles into a space of a device, placing a sheet or packing element of deformable material such that it forms an additional boundary to the space, securing the deformable sheet to the device, for example by vacuum force, reorienting the device such that the articles are supported by the deformable sheet, and placing the articles and/or deformable sheet into a waiting packing element.

Drawings

Advantages of embodiments of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments thereof, which description should be considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote like elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 is an exemplary embodiment of a machine configured to facilitate the insertion of rod-shaped articles into packaging elements;

fig. 2A is a view of an exemplary embodiment of an apparatus for filling rod-shaped articles into packaging elements;

FIG. 2B is a view of an exemplary embodiment of an apparatus for filling rod-shaped articles into packages, illustrating a possible placement of a sheet of deformable material;

FIG. 3A is a view of another exemplary embodiment of an apparatus for filling rod-shaped articles into packages, utilizing a device for ejecting the articles from the apparatus;

FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view along line A-A of another exemplary embodiment of an apparatus for filling rod-shaped articles into packages utilizing a device for ejecting the articles from the apparatus;

fig. 4 is an exemplary diagram of a method by which rod-shaped articles may be placed in waiting packages.

Detailed Description

Aspects of the invention are disclosed in the following description of specific embodiments of the invention and the associated drawings. Alternative embodiments may be devised without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Additionally, well-known elements of exemplary embodiments of the invention will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the invention. Furthermore, to facilitate understanding of the description, some terms used herein are discussed below.

As used herein, the word "exemplary" means "serving as an example, instance, or illustration. The embodiments described herein are not limiting, but merely illustrative. It should be understood that the described embodiments are not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. Furthermore, the terms "embodiments of the invention," "embodiments," or "invention" do not require that all embodiments of the invention include the discussed feature, advantage, or mode of operation.

Throughout the present description of the invention, generally accepted terminology may be used. For example, "vacuum" may be understood as applying an air pressure differential to apply a force to an object, including but not limited to a partial vacuum and a full vacuum.

Turning to fig. 1, an exemplary embodiment of an assembly line 100 is provided, the assembly line 100 being configured to fill rod-shaped articles into packaging elements. For example, the transfer system 161 may be coupled to the device 200, thus moving the device 200, positioning the device 200 relative to other systems that may act thereon, and manipulating the orientation of the device 200 in space. For example, a vane-based feed system 111 may be coupled with the pusher bar 112 to place rod-shaped articles into the apparatus 200. The sheet 240 of deformable material may be positioned relative to the apparatus 200 using, for example, a vacuum conveyor belt 121 so that, in one possible embodiment, the sheet 240 of deformable material may be pushed against the apparatus using the advancing ram 131. In doing so, the pushing ram (pushing ram)122 may thus also fold the sheet 240 of deformable material around one or more edges of the apparatus 240. The assembly line may also include a detection element, such as a camera 152, configured to estimate the final placement of the sheet 240 of deformable material on or around the device 200. The assembly line may also include one or more discharge stations 151, where the rod-shaped articles and/or the sheet 240 of deformable material may be discharged from the apparatus 200 at the discharge stations 151. In one possible embodiment, the ejection station 151 may be configured to eject the rod-shaped articles and/or sheets 240 of deformable material into a waiting packaging element, or in another possible embodiment, to eject the rod-shaped articles and/or sheets 240 of deformable material from the assembly line, for example when an article or sheet 240 of an undesired configuration is detected.

Turning now to FIG. 2A, an exemplary embodiment of an apparatus 200 for filling rod-shaped articles, such as cigarettes, into packages is provided. The device may comprise a bottom member 201, a plurality of side walls 210 and a cavity defined by the bottom member 201 and the plurality of side walls 210 in which the rod-shaped articles may be placed. A plurality of vacuum openings are positioned on the outer side 230 of a given sidewall 210 and/or on the top end 231 of a given sidewall 210. These vacuum openings may be fluidly connected to a vacuum source 202.

Turning now to fig. 2B, another exemplary embodiment of an apparatus 200 for filling rod-shaped articles into packages is provided, which may include a sheet 240 of deformable material, the sheet 240 being placeable with the apparatus 200 or foldable about the apparatus 200. Further, for example, in one possible embodiment, deformable sheet 240 may be secured to apparatus 200 by vacuum suction provided by vacuum source 202 through the plurality of vacuum openings 230.

Turning now to fig. 3A-3B, another exemplary embodiment of an apparatus 200 for filling rod-shaped articles into packages is provided that may include a means for ejecting the articles and/or sheets 240 of deformable material contained within the apparatus 200 from the apparatus. In one possible embodiment, the base member 201 may include both the fixed portion 351 and the movable surface 352. The movable surface 352 may be actuated by, for example, a plunger-type actuator 350 to apply a force to an article contained within the apparatus 200 and/or to the sheet 240 of deformable material to eject the article and/or sheet from the apparatus 200.

Turning to fig. 4, an exemplary embodiment of a method 400 for filling rod-shaped articles, such as cigarettes, into a package is provided. The method may include placing (410) a rod-like article into the apparatus 200, positioning (420) the sheet of deformable material 240 above the bottom member 201 relative to the apparatus 200, folding (430) the sheet of deformable material 240 about one or more edges of the apparatus 200, securing (440) the sheet of deformable material 240 to the apparatus, reorienting (460) the apparatus 200 such that the article contained in the apparatus 200 is supported by the sheet of deformable material 240, and ejecting (450) the rod-like article and/or the sheet of deformable material 240 contained in the apparatus 200 from the apparatus 200 to be placed in a packaging element or removed from the system.

The foregoing description and drawings illustrate the principles, preferred embodiments and modes of operation of the present invention. However, the invention should not be construed as being limited to the particular embodiments discussed above. Those skilled in the art will appreciate other variations of the embodiments discussed above (e.g., features associated with certain configurations of the invention may alternatively be associated with any other configuration of the invention, as desired).

Accordingly, the above-described embodiments should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Accordingly, it should be appreciated that variations may be made in those embodiments by workers skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims.

Claims

1. An apparatus for filling rod-shaped articles into packages, the apparatus comprising:

the bottom part is provided with a plurality of grooves,

a plurality of side walls having top and bottom ends and defining a cavity therein, the top or bottom ends pivotally connected to the bottom member, the side walls having an inner side and an outer side,

a plurality of vacuum openings connectable to a vacuum source and located at the top end and/or the outer side of one or more of the sidewalls,

a sheet of deformable material positioned above the bottom member and secured by the plurality of vacuum openings.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the bottom member comprises a fixed portion and means for ejecting items contained in the space from the apparatus.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the means for ejecting is a movable surface that can be actuated to apply a force to an article contained within the space.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the sheet of deformable material is ejectable from the apparatus in addition to items contained in the space.

5. A method for filling rod-shaped articles into a package, comprising:

placing at least one rod-like article in a tray of a carrying device;

placing a sheet of deformable material over the tray of the carrier;

securing the sheet of deformable material to the carrier device;

reorienting the carrier device such that the items contained in the carrier device are supported by the sheet of deformable material;

placing the contents of the carrier and the sheet of deformable material into a packaging element.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of securing the sheet of deformable material comprises applying vacuum suction.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising the step of folding the sheet of deformable material about at least one edge of the carrier.

8. A method according to claim 5, wherein the carrier device pushes the articles contained in the tray into the packaging element.