DE3923014A1 - CIGARETTE PRODUCTION MACHINE - Google Patents

Description

Cigarette making machines form a cigarette filler stream usually by tobacco through a shower channel is shivered against a suction belt that runs across the downstream end of the channel is running. The tobacco collects on the suction belt and is held on the belt by negative pressure, which is put through the tape. During the filling current is compressed by the vacuum, it becomes more common trimmed wisely to take off excess tobacco, and he is then placed on a continuous wrapping path, that traced from a format tape by a format device will. The wrapping path is included in the format device Using the format tape around the tobacco filling flow. While the tobacco filling flow runs through the format device, it becomes compressed, and its cross section changes from a right square shape in the circular shape of the finished cigarette.

An example of a cigarette making machine like this is still built in practice today, shows the US-PS 30 19 793. Newer proposals are in GB-OS 21 79 840 and the corresponding corresponding US-PS 37 42 834 described. According to one of these pressures tobacco is written against a suction belt in one direction with a large movement component (a "forward compo nente ") shivered in the direction of movement of the suction belt; analogous to the other document, tobacco is ge by two separate channels shivered in the area of the suction belt converge.

The present invention is a further development of the known cigarette manufacturing machines. The invention as well advantageous embodiments of the invention are in the claims Chen marked.

Shivering of tobacco is related to a "forward component" Lich each suction belt is advantageous for reasons that the applicant so far only in connection with one  Suction drawstring could be used. The use of two converging suction belts according to the present invention manure has other advantages, particularly that of cigarettes filling flow, which is formed by combining the two partial flows is essentially symmetrical with respect to the tobacco density is. While in conventional cigarette manufacturing machine the tobacco density on one side (on the Side of the suction belt) is largest, enables the inven that the tobacco density is at least on opposite Sides of the filling flow and possibly the entire order beginning of the filling flow around is essentially the same.

In a preferred embodiment, the two suction belts (or at least their corresponding Margins) slightly further after the union point. The Continuing the convergence serves to compress and prefer wise also to form the united stream of tobacco. For the purpose of the current formation, the suction belts preferably consist of woven fiber material so that it is flexible in the transverse direction and it gives them a slightly concave cross section, at least in the area downstream of the union point hen to increasingly deform the united tobacco flow and to compress. In this way, the two suction band neighboring sides of the united tobacco stream already towards the final circular cross section of the finished cigarette to be deformed while the final Shaping possibly in a format facility with the help a format tape and a format tongue essentially like with conventional cigarette manufacturing machines.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention are illustrated by the drawings explained. It shows:.

Figure 1 is a plan view of a cigarette manufacturing machine.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a modification of the cigarette making machine shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view looking in the direction of arrow III in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a cigarette making machine;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of part of the cigarette making machine shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is another enlarged view of a portion of the cigarette manufacturing machine shown in Figs. 4 and 5;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged cross section along the lines VII-VII in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a modification shown in Figs 4 to 6 shown cigarette manufacturing machine, in particular in the Hin view of the means for feeding tobacco in the shower channel and wind sifting of the tobacco.

Fig. 9 is an elevator machine another cigarette manufacturing;

FIG. 10 shows an enlarged cross section along the line AA in FIG. 9;

Figs. 11 to 15 different possibilities for arranging the cigarette manufacturing machine.

Fig. 1 shows a cigarette manufacturing machine in which tobacco is showered through a shower channel 10 against suction belts 11 , 12 , which form two tobacco streams 13 , 14 from the showered tobacco. These tobacco streams are brought together at a unification point 15 . The suction tapes run around disks 16 and their tracks pass around vacuum chambers 17 , from which vacuum is applied to the suction tapes to hold the tobacco on the tapes. A portion of the air which is used to support the tobacco through the chill channel 10 is subtracted by a "supercharger" opening 18 in a wall of the channel 10 degrees.

As the combined flow of tobacco is conveyed from the union point 15 to a strand forming area (format device) 19 , it is shaped (and preferably also reduced in cross-section) by holding the band guides (not shown) so that their cross-section is from one flat cross section changed to an approximately semicircular cross section; the cross sections of the tobacco flow at two points are illustrated in FIG. 1 by the cross-sectional representations 21 and 22 , respectively.

The areas of the suction belts 11 , in which the showered tobacco arrives from the shower channel 10 , are inclined to the direction of movement of the tobacco by the angle A. As shown in the drawing, the angle A is approximately 40 °. Thus, the tobacco has a component of movement parallel to the suction belts when it hits the suction belts, which is equal to V cos A, where V is the speed of the tobacco. This movement component can be increased by decreasing the angle A.

As an example of how the combined and shaped tobacco flow is handled after leaving the suction belts 11 and 12 , Fig. 1 can be understood as a top view, and the wrapping web can be conveyed from a format belt on a web running below the belts, so that the tobacco emerging from the tapes is deposited on the wrapping web and continues to move in essentially the same direction.

The final formatting and compression of the tobacco stream can be done in a conventional manner using a format tongue, which is above the stream of tobacco and is increasingly smaller becoming cross section for the tobacco stream forms around the tobacco compress current while making the final cross section who receives cigarettes. Instead, the cross section of the Stream of tobacco exiting the tapes essentially that correspond to the finished cigarette.

The tobacco can be entered into shower channel 10 through any known distributor. Instead of deflecting the tobacco from a horizontal movement into a vertical movement so that it moves up through a vertical shaft (a "chimney"), the tobacco can be moved in a substantially horizontal direction to channel into the shower 10 to occur, as shown in Fig. 1.

As has been shown, the forward component of the tobacco shower with respect to the movement of the suction drawstrings 11 , 12 results in a more uniform construction of the tobacco on the belts as well as a better random orientation of the tobacco. The latter property improves the strength of the finished cigarettes based on a predetermined density. In view of the improved uniformity of the tobacco flow, the conventional trimming can be omitted if necessary. However, trimming is possible, for example, in the manner shown in FIG. 2.

Fig. 2 shows the same arrangement as Fig. 1, but additionally with a spiked roller 30 , which is brought on a shaft 31 and provided with spikes, which in the upward or downward direction part of the at the union point 15 ( Fig. 1) remove incoming tobacco. The position of the roller 30 is controlled in a direction transverse to the axis of the shaft 31 (horizontal) to control the amount of tobacco removed from the roller. This regulation can be done manually or automatically as a function of a nucleon device or other device for monitoring the mass or density of the finished cigarette strand. A V-shaped hood 32 surrounds the roller 30 and directs the tobacco, which would otherwise reach the roller, against the suction pull belts 11 , 12 .

Instead, each stream of tobacco on the suction belts 11 , 12 can be trimmed separately, for example in a conventional manner by means of disc pairs, the two disc pairs being inclined so that they can be close to the unification point 15 without interfering with one another.

Fig. 3 is a front view of the device in the direction of arrow III in Fig. 1 and shows an application possibility of the present invention. The cigarette manufacturing machine of this embodiment includes a conveyor belt 40 which conveys a tobacco fleece into an air classifying chamber 41 from which heavy particles fail through a downward channel 42 . Lighter tobacco particles move around a suction roller 43 and move upwards into a shower channel, which consists of a vertical section 44 , a curved section 45 and a downwardly inclined section 46 . Section 46 contains the arrangement shown in FIG. 1. A cigarette filling stream that emerges from the downstream end of section 46 of the shower channel is conveyed on an order wrapping web 47 with the aid of the format tape 48 , from which the wrapping web is folded and closed to the combined filling stream 49 .

Instead, other forms of trimmer can be used, which are arranged, for example, at the location of the trimmer roller 30 or at a location such that they remove excess tobacco from the stream of tobacco after it has left the suction traction belts of 11 , 12 .

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of another Ziga rescue machine with a distributor 50 and a strand molding 51 , the strand molding is shown in more detail in FIGS . 5 and 6. The distributor contains a space 53 from which tobacco is conveyed upwards by a spiked elevator 54 against a concave plate 55 , on which a roll of tobacco accumulates. A spiked roller 56 conveys a measured amount of tobacco from the tobacco roll upwards, the evenness of the conveyance being improved by a spiked deflector roller 57 .

As shown in Fig. 5, the tobacco is removed from the spiked roller 56 by a knock-out roller 58 , and it is accelerated by a roller 59 into a shower channel 59 which forms part of the strand form shown in Fig. 4 direction. Heavy tobacco particles (rib parts, etc.) can fail through a channel 71 on the way to the shower channel.

The strand section corresponds to that shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. In this embodiment, however, two “supercharger” openings 62 , 63 are provided parallel to the corresponding converging suction belts 66 , 67 . Furthermore, a device is provided which supplies additional tobacco at the unification point through a pipe 64 , this pipe being shown in detail in the enlarged view at 5 A; the enlarged representations 5 B- 5 F show the cross-sectional change of the tobacco flow at successive locations along the strand section (compare the reference lines which extend from the enlarged representations 5 B- 5 F).

As shown in FIG. 5 and in particular in the enlarged illustration 5 A, the channel 64 enters a hollow four-sided body 73 . The body 73 is provided on one side with an outlet opening 65 through which tobacco can reach the adjacent tobacco band 66 . Tobacco can be continuously fed through the channel 64 in a variable amount so that a substantially constant weight remains in the finished strand, the actual amount depending on a weight monitoring device which may be of conventional design. Instead, or in addition, tobacco can be pulsed into channel 64 so that it coincides with the end portions of the finished string; in this way denser end sections are produced.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged view in the direction of arrow VI in Fig. 5. It shows in particular the suction belts 66 , 67 , which run back around the disks 68 and 69 , respectively. The axes of the disks are inclined relative to each other in the upward direction so that the disks do not cut a format bed 70 on which a format tape 71 runs together with a wrapping web 72 which serves to enclose the tobacco stream.

Fig. 7 is a cross section along the line VII-VII in Fig. 6 and shows the cross section of the vacuum belts 66 , 67 and slightly modified discs 68 , 69 (the axis of which is inclined at 20 ° to the vertical) at one point , at which the (approximately circular) shaped cigarette filling stream is just being delivered to the wrapping web 72 .

Instead, the wrapper can be combined with the tobacco filling current can be brought into contact earlier, for example at or near the union point.

Fig. 8 shows another device for feeding tobacco into the shower channel of a cigarette manufacturing machine accordingly that shown in Figs. 4 to 6. In this exemplary embodiment, the distributor delivers tobacco in metered quantities to a fast belt 120 which moves the tobacco into a shower channel 121 , preferably with the aid of a centrifugal roller 122 . Heavy particles such as rib parts are discharged from a separating plate 123 and then fall onto a roller 124 , which conveys these particles down into a suspension chamber 125 at a controlled speed. In this suspension chamber there is a second air sifting due to the fact that air is drawn up through the chamber 125 and at least takes with it the lighter tobacco particles which were carried away by the heavier particles but are suitable for use in the cigarettes.

Air that flows upward through the suspension chamber enters the shower channel 121 via an inclined channel 126 . The separating plate 123 can be adjustable in its effective length and / or in its inclination in order to change the proportion of the tobacco which it exudes. Most of the air flow through shower duct 121 is generated by a fan 127 which is connected to one or two openings 128 of the type described above. The air outlet of the blower 127 is connected via a (preferably adjustable) flow part 129 to a nozzle 130 and air channels in a bridge part 131 , via which the tobacco is thrown off the belt 120 . Air flowing upward from the bridge portion 131 tends to lift the tobacco, while air from the nozzle 130 tends to propel the tobacco horizontally towards and into the shower channel 121 .

The pressure in the shower channel is lower than atmospheric pressure. Inclined air inlets 121 A in the lower wall of the viewing channel have the result that air is sucked in from the atmosphere, and the air thus let in tries to lift the tobacco from the lower wall of the channel.

Fig. 9 shows another cigarette manufacturing machine, in which a chill passage 75 extends vertically upward in the direction of two Saugzugbänder 76, 77. The suction drawstrings extend around the disk 83 and then move on substantially parallel tracks on which their cross-section gradually changes from a flat cross-section to a concave cross-section to form the tobacco stream formed by sub-streams 78 , 79 . Fig. 10, which is a cross section along the line AA, shows that the band 76 is narrow, wherein it has the same width wesent union as the tobacco substream 78 that forms on it. Band 77, on the other hand, is wider; the partial stream 79 on it merges with the partial stream 78 to form the combined filling stream. The filling flow is carried on by the belt 77 to a point at which it is deposited on a wrapping web 80 which is carried by a format belt 81 .

The belt 76 runs around three disks 82 , 83 and 84 , while the belt 77 has three disks 85-87 and is also guided by the disk 83 . As shown in FIG. 10, the disk 83 has flanges 83 A and 83 B that support the edges of the belt 77 as it runs around the disk 83 ; the filler flow sections 78 , 79 are delimited by the low clearance flanges so that they remain on the belt 77 as it moves towards the wrapper web, being held on the belt 77 by vacuum.

Further details of the cigarette manufacturing machine shown in FIGS . 9, 10 can correspond to those described above, for example with regard to the trimming or the production of denser tobacco ends.

Fig. 11 shows a cigarette making machine with a vertically extending shower channel 90 (as in Fig. 9). The combined filler streams are conveyed vertically beyond the union point through a format device 90 and further through strand forming and cutting devices 92 , from which a series of rods 93 emerge. Successive, vertically moving rods are then taken up by a grooved catch drum, such as those used in conventional filter attachment machines, and are then carried in the horizontal direction (with vertically extending axes) to a turning device which turns them into positions whose axes are horizontal. Such a turning device can consist, for example, of a conical grooved drum or a series of conical drums.

Fig. 11 also shows the arrangement of two trimmer 94 for the partial flows to the two belts. Each trimmer has a circular disc, which has a spiked conical circumferential surface and is inclined to the level of the shower channel so that only a small part of the disc has to protrude into the channel to the tobacco in a plane parallel to the corresponding band trim.

FIGS. 12 and 13 are a side view and a plan view of another cigarette manufacturing machine. In this cigarette making machine, a manifold 100 forms a stream of tobacco particles that is treated in any manner, such as by screening, sorting, and re-combining selected tobacco particles that have been screened. The tobacco is conveyed vertically upwards through a channel 101 and then horizontally into a shower channel 102 , which ends in converging bands 103 and 104 .

FIGS. 14 and 15 are a plan view and a Vorderan view of another cigarette manufacturing machine. In this cigarette manufacturing machine, tobacco is fed from a distributor device 110 to form a metered tobacco flow which travels through a horizontally extending channel 111 and then through a further channel 112 before it enters a shower channel 113 with converging bands 114 , 115 . The upper band 114 extends beyond the band 115 to carry the merged tobacco stream under vacuum to a location where it deposits the tobacco stream on a wrapper web 116 . The weight of the finished strand can generally be regulated partially or entirely by regulating the delivery of the tobacco to the shower channel. Instead of this or in addition, means can be provided by which either each individual shower flow (for example by means of pairs of disks to be cooperated) or the combined flow of cigarettes is trimmed as in FIG. 2. In a further embodiment, as mentioned above, tobacco is supplied at the point of union, with a regulated throughput which ensures that a regulated density of the finished cigarette rod is maintained; this tobacco may consist of low quality tobacco or short tobacco particles that have been extracted from the main tobacco stream elsewhere.

Instead of all tobacco through a common shower channel to shower, two separate shower channels can be provided be made by two separate sections of the tobacco divider to be fed tobacco the two corresponding tapes feed. The space between the two channels allows arranging one or more trimmers or feeding of weight-affecting tobacco at the union point.

In each embodiment, the two suction belts at the same or slightly different speed are driven. For example, the speed of the two suction belts 4% larger or smaller than that Speed of the wrapping path. This way a certain compensation for short-term fluctuations in tobacco achieve electricity; that is, fluctuations that change if directly reflected in the finished cigarette rod would be compensated for as increases in a band with respect to corresponding increases in the other volume ben are.

One suction belt or both suction belts can have one (concave) curved cross section upstream and downstream of the Vereini point of departure.

Spaced quantities of tobacco for feeding at the union point for the manufacture of compressed cigarette ends can be produced by collecting tobacco on a wheel which is provided with a sawtooth-shaped circumference, as is the case for example with reference to FIG. 9 in GB-PS 21 70 693 is described.

The cigarette making machine shown in Fig. 9 can be modified in the following manner. The shower channel can lie in an approximately horizontal plane instead of in a vertical plane. Disc 84 is omitted so that belt 72 runs immediately around discs 82 and 83 ; the combined stream of tobacco is carried by the band 77 by means of negative pressure. In this case, the portion of the longer band 77 which moves away from the union point can twist 90 ° to deposit the union tobacco flow on a conventionally oriented wrapper web.

Claims (12)

1. cigarette making machine, characterized by a shower channel ( 10 ; 46 ; 59 ; 75 ; 90 ; 102 ; 113 ; 121 ), through the tobacco in the direction of two suction belts ( 11 , 12 ; 66 , 67 ; 76 , 77 ; 103 , 104 ; 114 , 115 ), which are arranged in such a way that they move towards one another in order to form two tobacco sub-streams ( 13 , 14 ; 78 , 79 ) from the showered tobacco and these sub-streams in an area ( 15 ) to bring together, in which the suction belts have the smallest distance from each other. 2. Cigarette making machine according to claim 1, characterized characterized in that the suction belts in the area in which they receive the shuddered tobacco, so converge that each suction belt towards the direction in which the tobacco shivered is inclined so that the showered tobacco on everyone Suction belt arrives while moving in one direction a movement component in the direction of movement of the induced draft bandes moves. 3. Cigarette making machine according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the point ( 15 ) at which the two partial flows converge, is centrally located with respect to the Schauerkana les, substantially equal amounts of tobacco being shuddered onto the corresponding suction belts. 4. Cigarette manufacturing machine according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the suction belts are movable on approximately parallel paths beyond the point ( 15 ) at which the two partial flows converge, the paths of the suction belts and / or their cross sections successive locations of the approximately parallel paths are so selected that the combined stream of tobacco is increasingly compressed. 5. Cigarette making machine according to claim 4, characterized characterized in that the cross-sectional profile of the suction belts  is chosen so that the cross section progressively in changes an approximate semicircular cross section. 6. Cigarette making machine according to claim 5, characterized characterized in that the semicircular cross sections of the Saugzugbänd he at the end of the approximately parallel path sections each have a radius that is approximately the same or slightly larger than the radius of the finished cigarette rod. 7. Cigarette making machine according to one of the claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the shower channel in a approximately horizontal level, so that the two tobacco Partial streams the sides of the combined cigarette filling stream form that an enveloping web conveyor is provided is a continuous under the united stream of tobacco Wrapping path moved on which the combined stream of tobacco abge and that a wrapping device is provided, which wraps the wrapper around the combined stream of tobacco and closes to create a continuous cigarette rod put. 8. Cigarette manufacturing machine according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized by a trimmer device ( 30 ) which trims each tobacco substream or the combined tobacco stream. 9. A cigarette manufacturing machine according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized by a feed device ( 64 , 65 , 73 ) which supplies additional tobacco or other material at the unification point ( 15 ) between the two tobacco substreams. 10. Cigarette making machine according to claim 9, characterized in that the feed device ( 64 , 65 , 73 ) intermittently feeds the additional tobacco so that it reaches the cigarette end portions of the tobacco stream to form cigarettes with denser end portions. 11. Cigarette making machine according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the tobacco can be conveyed pneumatically through the shower channel, at least part of the air flow being induced by the shower channel with the aid of negative pressure which is generated by one or more openings ( 18 ; 62 ; 63 ) is placed in a wall of the shower channel. 12. Process for the production of cigarettes, characterized thereby records that tobacco shuddered on two converging bands is used in order to produce essentially the same tobacco substreams to form the tapes and that the two sub-streams together to form a cigarette filling stream which, if necessary after trimming the partial streams or the unions ten current, with a continuous wrapping path is used to form a continuous cigarette rod, which is then used to manufacture individual rods at regular intervals stands is cut.