EP0226872B1 - Device for making (cigarette) packages from at least one foldable blank - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a device for producing packs from at least one foldable blank, in particular cigarette soft-cup packs, in which individual blanks in a transfer station can be fed by a feed unit to a folding turret with receptacles (hollow mandrels) for each blank, the blanks be held ready by a stationary blank holder for takeover by one of the receptacles (hollow mandrel).

High-performance packaging machines are required for the manufacture (folding) and filling of cigarette packs. Particularly high demands are placed on machines for the production of soft cigarette packs. This type of pack has an inner wrapping on, in particular a tinfoil cut, which surrounds the cigarette group on all sides as a pack content. The tinfoil block thus formed is accommodated in a cup made from a paper blank that is open on the top or front side.

Packaging machines for the production of this type of packaging are predominantly equipped with a folding turret which has a plurality of receptacles arranged along the circumference in the form of hollow mandrels. These are elongated receptacles with a rectangular cross-section for internal (tinfoil) cutting and subsequently paper cutting. The blanks are wrapped around the stationary hollow mandrel and then - together with the cigarette group previously introduced into the hollow mandrel - are pulled longitudinally from the hollow mandrel.

The previously known packaging machines for soft cup packs and similar types of packs have a limited performance primarily because the complex folding turret is driven in cycles. A continuously revolving folding turret is shown in DE-A-20 32 184. The blanks are fed in tangentially to the outer circumference of the receptacles formed there as winding mandrels. For this purpose, a feed drum holding the blank is provided radially outside the receptacles. The cut is brought to the winding mandrel with one edge and held there with additional levers. The overall structure is complex and the achievable performance is limited.

The object of the invention is to improve the performance of a packaging machine of the type mentioned at the outset, without at the same time accepting losses in terms of the quality of the packaging or with regard to the treatment of the contents of the pack (cigarette groups).

• a) der Zuschnitthalter ist in Axialrichtung versetzt zum Faltrevolver bzw. außerhalb der Bewegungsbahn der Aufnahmen angeordnet,
• b) die zu übergebenden Zuschnitte sind lediglich mit einem Randbereich an dem Zuschnitthalter (Haltescheibe) gehalten,
• c) ein von dem Zuschnitthalter (Haltescheibe) seitlich frei abstehender Teil des Zuschnitts ragt derart, in die Bewegungsbahn der Aufnahmen (Hohldorne), daß durch die Drehung des Faltrevolvers jeweils ein bereitgehaltener Zuschnitt durch eine Aufnahme mitnehmbar ist unter Abziehen vom Zuschnitthalter (Haltescheibe).

To achieve this object, the device according to the invention is characterized by the following features:

• a) the blank holder is offset in the axial direction from the folding turret or outside the movement path of the receptacles,
• b) the blanks to be transferred are held on the blank holder (holding disc) only with an edge region,
• c) a part of the blank that protrudes laterally freely from the blank holder (holding disk) protrudes into the path of movement of the receptacles (hollow mandrels) in such a way that a ready-made blank can be taken through a receptacle by rotating the folding turret by pulling off the blank holder (holding disk).

To increase the performance of the packaging machine according to the invention, measures have been taken which enable a continuous circulation of important packaging units, in particular the folding turret. Dispensing with the standstill phases of the folding turret first requires a manner of feeding the blanks, namely the tinfoil blank on the one hand and the paper blank on the other hand, to the respective hollow mandrels on the folding turret. In the invention, the blanks are fed into the (circular) movement path of the hollow mandrels arranged at intervals from one another on the folding turret, namely by a blank holder which is arranged stationary next to the moving path of the hollow mandrels and which holds the blank in the position for acceptance by one of the continuously rotating hollow mandrels brings.

According to the invention, the blank holder is designed as a circular, rotationally driven holding disk with suction bores on the peripheral surface. The cyclically driven holding disk, which is stationary during the takeover of a blank by a hollow mandrel, detects a blank only in the area of an edge strip. The blank is held in the transfer position so that the circumferential hollow mandrel grips the blank from the rear and takes it away from the holding disc when it is removed. It is important that the blank on the holding disc has a three-dimensional shape, namely that of a partial cylinder. As a result, the blank, which is made of thin material, is kept ready for wrinkling by the hollow mandrel.

The blank holder (holding disc) and this upstream blank conveyor are designed so that the blanks can be fed and brought into position at high speed according to the performance. For this, the cut after the Detachment from a material web accelerates. The blank is held on the blank conveyors by suction air, which is controlled in such a way that the conveyance of the blank as well as the transfer from one blank conveyor to the next run exactly at high speed.

The continuously revolving folding turret is designed so that the pack (soft cup pack) can be completed during one revolution of the folding turret - except for the front fold of the tinfoil cut - and the contents of the pack (cigarette group) can be pushed off the hollow mandrel.

For this purpose, the folding turret is equipped with a plurality of movable pressing members which are assigned to each hollow mandrel and which fix the blank to a hollow mandrel during the takeover of the blank and during folding thereof at different locations. The pressing elements in question are assigned, on the one hand, narrow side surfaces which extend in the circumferential direction at the front and rear, and an inner surface of the hollow mandrel corresponding to the front of the pack. The relevant pressing members are designed to be movable back and forth in the radial direction or are pivotably mounted. The control takes place via cams, cams etc.

Furthermore, the folding turret is assigned a number of stationary folding members which carry out folding of the blanks on the radially outer side (outer surface) and on a free end face of the hollow mandrel during the conveying movement of the folding turret.

With regard to the inner cut (tinfoil cut), these are initially folding members that cover the radially outer hose fold (hose cover) of the blank. In addition, folding elements are used that fold the bottom of the tinfoil cut in the area of the free end face (envelope folding).

Furthermore, organs for fixing and stabilizing folds are assigned to the folding turret following folding organs.

Following the folds for tinfoil and paper cutting, the cigarette groups are fed along a partial circumference of the folding turret to the hollow mandrels, namely pushed into and through them in the longitudinal direction thereof, the cigarette groups taking along the largely finished folded blanks (cups Pack) emerge from the hollow mandrels.

The cigarette groups are preferably made by an endless pocket chain, at least in the area of the folding turret, continuously and at the same speed as this, particularly in the version according to DE-A-35 27 741.6. Along a part of the circumference of the folding turret, the pocket chain rests against the pocket in such a way that pockets of the pocket chain are aligned with the hollow mandrels, so that by sliding elements movable in the longitudinal direction of the hollow mandrels, the cigarette groups are pushed out of the pockets, pushed into the hollow mandrels and pushed through them can be.

Fig. 1

die Vorrichtung in Seitenansicht, nämlich Faltrevolver mit den zugeordneten Aggregaten,

Fig. 2

ein (erstes) Zuschnittaggregat mit einem Ausschnitt des Faltrevolvers in Seitenansicht bei vergrößertem Maßstab,

Fig. 3

die Einzelheit gemäß Fig. 2 in einer anderen Darstellung von Zuschnittförderern,

Fig. 4

Einzelheiten des Zuschnittaggregats gemäß Fig. 2 und 3 im Schnitt bei nochmals vergrößertem Maßstab,

Fig. 5

ein (zweites) Aggregat für den Papierzuschnitt in schematischer Seitenansicht,

Fig. 6

einen Längsschnitt durch einen Zuschnittförderer des zweiten Zuführungsaggregats (Beschleunigungsförderer),

Fig. 7

Einzelheiten des Zuschnittaggregats gemäß Fig. 6 in veränderter Darstellung,

Fig. 8

einen Axialschnitt durch den Faltrevolver,

Fig. 9

einen stirnseitigen Teilbereich des Faltrevolvers, ebenfalls im Axialschnitt bei vergrößertem Maßstab,

Fig. 10

einen Ausschnitt des Faltrevolvers in Ansicht bei vergrößertem Maßstab,

Fig. 11

ein Faltorgan als Detail in vergrößertem Maßstab, teilweise im Schnitt,

Fig. 12

ein Funktionsdiagramm.

An exemplary embodiment of the device, namely the folding turret with associated units, is explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings:

Fig. 1

the device in side view, namely folding turret with the associated units,

Fig. 2

a (first) cutting unit with a section of the folding turret in a side view on an enlarged scale,

Fig. 3

2 in another representation of blank conveyors,

Fig. 4

Details of the cutting unit according to FIGS. 2 and 3 in section on a further enlarged scale,

Fig. 5

a (second) unit for paper cutting in a schematic side view,

Fig. 6

a longitudinal section through a blank conveyor of the second feed unit (acceleration conveyor),

Fig. 7

6 in a modified representation,

Fig. 8

an axial section through the folding turret,

Fig. 9

an end section of the folding turret, also in axial section on an enlarged scale,

Fig. 10

a section of the folding turret in view on an enlarged scale,

Fig. 11

a folding organ as a detail on an enlarged scale, partly in section,

Fig. 12

a functional diagram.

The part of a complete packaging machine that is of interest here essentially consists of a folding turret 20 with assigned aggregates. The folding turret 20 is driven continuously in a rotating manner. Soft cup packs for holding cigarette groups are produced and filled during one revolution. Packs of the aforementioned type consist of an inner wrapper, in particular a tin foil blank 21, and an outer wrapper, namely a paper blank 22.

To accommodate the aforementioned blanks 21, 22, to carry out folds and to fill in the cigarette groups, the folding turret 20 is provided with blank receptacles in the form of hollow mandrels 23 adjacent to the outer edge. These are hollow bodies with a rectangular cross section that are open at their ends. The hollow mandrels are cantilevered or projecting on a turret disk 24. The latter is each provided with an aligned passage opening 25 in the region of the hollow mandrels 23. The axial dimension of the hollow mandrels 23 is such that the blanks 21 and 22 can be received on the hollow mandrel 23 with the formation of protrusions at the free end. The protrusions are each folding tabs 26, which are folded against the free, open end of the hollow mandrel 23 to form a bottom wall of the tin foil blank 21 or the paper blank 22. The hollow mandrels 23 are attached to the turret disk 24 in such a way that narrow side faces, namely a front side face 27 and a rear side face 28 are turned forward or backward in the circumferential direction. These are assigned to the narrow side walls of the pack. A larger inner surface 29 and a corresponding outer surface 30 are directed radially inwards and outwards. The former is used to place front walls of the blanks or the pack, while 30 rear walls rest on the outer surface.

The folding turret 20 is assigned cutting units 31 and 32 for the production of the tinfoil blanks 21 or the paper blanks 22 and for transferring them to the hollow mandrels 23 of the folding turret 20. The blanks are made from a continuous tinfoil web 33 or a paper web 34 separated. The cutting units 31 and 32 are each arranged in a stationary manner on the circumference of the folding turret 20 in the region of a first transfer station 35 and a second transfer station 36 for the cuts 21, 22. During the transport of the tinfoil blank 21 from the transfer station 35 to the transfer station 36 (cutting unit 32), the necessary folds are carried out on the tinfoil blank 21, namely a hose overlap 37 on the outer surface 30 of the hollow mandrel 23 and a bottom wall 38 trapezoidal folding of the folding tabs 26.

In the transfer station 36, the paper blank 22 is then applied to the hollow mandrel 23 or to the already folded tinfoil blank 21 on the hollow mandrel.

Subsequent to the transfer station 36, the paper blank 22 is then folded, likewise with the formation of a hose overlap 39, but in the region of the rear side surface 28 in the conveying direction. Furthermore, the folding tabs 26 protrude beyond the rotary range of the folding turret 20 and are stationary folded over to form a bottom wall 40.

The first transfer station 35 is located laterally on the folding turret 20 rotating in an upright plane, approximately in the horizontal central plane. The transfer station 36 is formed offset by a quarter circle approximately in the vertical central plane. Opposite this, namely in the area of a lower pitch circle, occurs a pocket chain 41 to the circumference of the folding turret 20. This is formed with individual pockets 42, in each of which a cigarette group (content of a pack) is accommodated. The pocket chain 41, which is driven continuously or synchronously in the area of the folding turret 20, is received by the folding turret 20 such that a number of pockets 42 are aligned with associated hollow mandrels 23 during the synchronous movement, so that the cigarette groups are transferred to the hollow mandrels 23 and finally to the blanks 21, 22 folded over one another.

The transfer of the blanks 21, 22 to the folding turret 20 is of particular importance.

In the cutting unit 31 for the tinfoil blanks 21, the tinfoil web 33 is fed to a knife roller 44 at a defined speed via a pair of pull rollers 43. This is provided in a manner known per se with a knife 45 which projects beyond the circumferential surface of the knife roller 44 and which cooperates with the cutting edge of a fixed counter knife 46. The knife roller 44 is provided with suction bores opening on the peripheral surface for fixing the tinfoil sheet 33. Two groups of suction bores 47 with a subsequent axially parallel suction channel 48 are located adjacent to the rotating knife 45. The double row (in the longitudinal direction of the roller) of the suction bores 47 in connection with the suction channel 48 brings about a particularly effective fixation of the area of the tin foil web in the direction of transport after the cutting of a blank . At a distance from the suction bores 47, a single row of suction bores 49 is provided, which exerts a lower holding force. The suction bores 47, 49 or the suction channel 48 connecting them to one another is connected in the usual way to a stationary suction segment 50. Suction air is transmitted to the suction bores as long as the suction channel 48 is in the area of the suction segment 50 is located.

Before a tinfoil blank 21 is cut off, the tinfoil web 33 is transferred to a further blank conveyor, namely to an acceleration roller 51, which is also provided with systematically distributed suction bores along the circumference. Two rows of suction bores 53 are assigned to one (axially parallel) suction channel 52 for grasping the respective front part of the tinfoil sheet 33. This is followed by a number of individual rows of suction bores 54 arranged at equal distances from one another, each with suction channel 55. As can be seen in FIG. 4, the suction bores or the suction channels 52, 55 are in pneumatic connection with a fixed control disk 56. On the side facing the suction channels 52, 55, the control disk is provided with suction segments 57, 58 and 59 in the form of an arc of a circle. These are arranged concentrically with the control disk 56 or the acceleration roller 51. When the ends or mouths of the suction channels 52, 55 are covered with the suction segments 57, 59, suction air is applied to the suction bores 53, 55 via a central vacuum line (not shown).

In the case of the acceleration roller 51, the (main) suction segment 57 is arranged along the conveying path from the area where the tinfoil web 33 is taken over by the knife roller 44, almost up to an intermediate conveyor roller 60 which takes over the tinfoil blank 21 from the acceleration roller 51. In an area following the takeover of the tinfoil web 33 from the knife roller 44, an increased suction force is exerted on the tinfoil web 33 or on the tinfoil blank 21 which has now been separated. This secures the tinfoil blank 21 after separation on the jacket of the accelerating roller 51 even at a higher conveying speed as a result of the higher peripheral speed of the accelerating roller 51 compared to the knife roller 44 When the tinfoil blank 21 is cut off, the area of the tinfoil web 33 taken over by the accelerating roller 51 is kept slipping. After separation, the tinfoil blank 21 moves away from the tinfoil web 33 at the significantly higher peripheral speed.

To increase the holding or suction force, the second suction segment 58 is arranged concentrically to the suction segment 57 in the required area. The shorter suction segment 58 is connected to the suction segment 57 via radial suction grooves 61. These are formed in an end face or end face of the acceleration roller 51 facing the control disk 56, that is to say assigned to a specific, selected group of suction bores 52 and 55 for fixing the front part of the tin foil web 33.

The suction air for the suction segments 57, 58 and 59 is supplied via the control disk 56. This is provided with an annular, larger-sized vacuum chamber 62 in order to generate a sufficient vacuum. The cavity acts like a "wind kettle", ie with a storage and buffer effect. The vacuum chamber 62 is connected on the one hand via a grommet 63 to a vacuum source and on the other hand directly to the suction segments 58 and 59.

When the area of the tinfoil blank 21 lying forward in the transport direction, after being separated from the tinfoil sheet 33, reaches the area of transfer from the acceleration roller 51 to the intermediate conveyor roller 60, the negative pressure is to be reduced. For this purpose, the suction segment 57 has a smaller axial depth in this area (marking by dotted area) than in the previous area. For example, while the suction segment 57 has a depth (in the axial direction) of 6 mm in the region of the increased suction force, the region facing the intermediate conveyor roller 60 has a depth of only 1 mm.
Immediately in the area of the transfer of the tinfoil blank 21 to the intermediate conveyor roller 60, a short venting segment 64 is formed concentrically or on the circular path of the suction segment 57 in the control disk 56 in order to reliably remove the tinfoil blank 21 by reducing the negative pressure to the suction bores To pass 65 equipped intermediate conveyor roller 60.

The suction bores 65 of the intermediate conveyor roller 60 are distributed over a larger circumferential area and connected in rows to axially parallel suction channels 66. These are temporarily connected in the manner already described with an annular suction segment of a fixed control disk, so that suction air at the suction bores 65 for holding the tinfoil cut 21 becomes effective.

Adjacent to the circumference of the intermediate conveyor roller 60 is a blank holder, which has the task of positioning and holding the tinfoil blank 21 for the takeover by a hollow mandrel 23 of the folding turret 20. The blank holder is designed as a circular holding disk 68 with two groups of suction bores 69 and 70 which act on the peripheral surface of the holding disk 68 at a distance from one another. The arrangement is such that the group with the larger number of suction bores 70 take effect when the blank (tinfoil blank 21) is taken over by the intermediate conveyor roller 60, while the group with the suction bores 69 grips a part of the blank which is in the conveying direction. The intermediate conveyor roller 60 or its control disk is provided with a venting segment 71 of known function in the transfer area.

In order to ensure the transfer of the blank (tinfoil blank 21) from the intermediate conveyor roller 60 to the holding disk 68, a wedge-shaped guide piece 72 is installed in this area in a stationary manner. This surrounds with a guide surface a part of the circumference of the holding disc, such that the blank that comes loose from the peripheral surface of the intermediate conveyor roller 60 is brought to the circumference of the holding disc 68. The guide piece 72 is provided for the error-free transfer of the blanks to the holding disk 68 with spaced fingers 151 which enter in annular grooves 152 on the jacket of the intermediate conveyor roller 60. The annular grooves 152 are each arranged in the area between the suction bores 65.

The holding disk 68 is a core piece of the cutting unit 31. It is arranged so that the cutting is kept ready in the movement path (orbit) of the hollow mandrels 23. The cyclically driven holding disk 68 stands still during the moment when a blank is taken over by a hollow mandrel 23. The holding disc 68 or its axis of rotation is arranged centrally to the hollow mandrels 23 or to the movement path.

Another special feature is that the holding disc is laterally offset in the axial direction with respect to the upstream cutting conveyor as well as with respect to the folding turret 20 and its hollow mandrels 23. As can be seen in particular from FIG. 6, the latter can pass the holding disc 68 laterally .

The blank (tinfoil blank 21) is fixed in accordance with the offset arrangement of the holding disk 68 only in the region of a side strip 73 on the peripheral surface of the holding disk 68. The shoulder 73 corresponds to the protrusion of the blank for formation the folding tab 26, from which the bottom wall 38 is folded in the later course. The suction bores 69 and 70 are arranged such that they grip and hold the entire blank in the region of the side strip 73. The predominant area, namely that for the formation of side walls and front and rear walls and an upper end wall of the inner covering (tinfoil cut), extends outside the area of the holding disk 68, projecting laterally from it, but in the movement path of the hollow mandrels 23.

The holding disc 68 is dimensioned such that the blank or its side strip 73 only covers part of the circumference. In this way, the blank 21 forms a partially cylindrical hollow body which is open in a rear region, as viewed in relation to the direction of rotation of the folding turret 20. From here, the hollow mandrel 23 enters the hollow body formed by the blank and grasps it on the inside in a position predetermined by the relative position of the blank on or on the holding disk 68. Due to the further movement of the hollow mandrel 23, the blank 21 is taken along and pulled off the outer surface of the holding disk 68. In this position, the two groups of suction bores 69, on the one hand, and 70, on the other, are located on different sides of the movement path of the hollow mandrels 23. The blank 21 is (initially) thereby fixed on both sides of the hollow mandrel 23 on the holding disk 68. By lifting the blank 21, the suction holes 69 and 70 are free. The vacuum breaks down, so that the blank 21 can be easily taken away.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the blank 21 is positioned offset on the holding disk 68 in the circumferential direction. The cutting legs forming on both sides of the hollow mandrel 23 when pulled off from the holding disk 68 are not of the same length (FIG. 2).

The arrangement and design of the suction bores 69 and 70 are based on this. When the blank 21 is received by the hollow mandrel 23, the smaller number of suction bores 69 is located directly adjacent to the movement path of the hollow mandrel in the region of the shorter blank leg. During this phase, the suction bores 69 are also located in the area of a suction segment 74, which is formed in the manner already described within a fixed control disk 75 (FIG. 6). The group of suction bores 70, which detects and carries along the front area of the blank when the blank 21 is taken over by the intermediate conveyor roller 60, is located outside the area of the suction segment 74 when it is transferred to the hollow mandrel 23. However, since the suction bores 70 are in this position are not vented, the blank 21 is held with sufficient force. When the blank 21 is lifted off the holding disk 68, the negative pressure also breaks down in the area of these suction bores 70.

The drive of the blanking conveyors of the blanking unit 31 (and of the blanking unit 32 designed in the same way) is based on the pair of pulling rollers 43 driven at a uniform speed. Via a drive gear 76, intermediate wheels 77, 78 and 149, the knife roller 44 and the accelerating roller 51 are also continuously Rotary motion driven. The drive ratio is chosen so that the acceleration roller 51 rotates at a significantly higher speed than the previous conveyor.

The intermediate wheel 149 assigned to the acceleration roller 51 is mounted on an intermediate shaft 79 which, on the one hand, transmits the drive of the acceleration roller 51 and, on the other hand, is connected to a step-by-step transmission 81 by means of a gear 80, specifically via a transmission gearwheel mounted on a transmission shaft 82 83.

The stepping transmission 81 is designed in a manner known per se, namely with a drive wheel 84 and a star 85. Due to the design of these transmission parts, a step movement, that is to say with a standstill phase, is generated.

The star 85 is mounted on a star shaft 86 which is connected to a main shaft 89 via gear wheels 87, 88. This is rotatably mounted in the intermediate conveyor roller 60 designed as a hollow body or guided through it. Outside the area of the intermediate conveyor roller 60, the (step) drive of the main shaft 89 is transmitted via an intermediate gear 90 to the holding disk 68 with its drive shaft 91. The intermediate conveyor roller 60 can therefore be driven independently of the main shaft 89 continuously relative to the latter via a gear 92, which meshes with a further gear 93 on the intermediate shaft 79 of the acceleration roller 51 (FIG. 4).

The movement sequence of the blank conveyors on the one hand and the blanks on the other hand is shown schematically in the time-distance diagram according to FIG. 12. The straight line 153 symbolizes the feed speed V 1 of the tinfoil web 33 (or paper web 34). From an intersection 154, the tinfoil cut 21 separated from the tinfoil sheet 33 is conveyed at an increased speed V₂, represented by the straight line 155. The movement of the holding disk 68 is represented by the broken line 156. From a standstill, the holding disk 68 is accelerated to the speed of the blank 21 until the same conveying speed is given over a distance, shown by covering the straight line 155 with the line 156. A dot marking 157 indicates the moment when the blank is received by the holding disk 68 again. Cutting and the holding disc then move to a standstill in the region of a standstill point 158. At this moment, the blank 121 is gripped by a hollow mandrel 23 on the rear side.

The (tinfoil) blank 21, which is taken over by the front surface 27 of the hollow mandrel 23 in the direction of movement, is immediately fixed on this side surface 27, specifically by a first presser 94. After leaving the area of the holding disk 68, a further holding member for the blank 21 comes used, namely a radially movable pressure plate 95 which presses a part of the blank against the inner surface 29 of the hollow mandrel 23. The aforementioned holding members are assigned to each hollow mandrel 23 and rotate with the folding turret 20.

In this position, the (tinfoil) blank 21 is fed to a first folding station. A hose flap 97 on the back or inside is folded against the outer surface 30 of the hollow mandrel 23 by a stationary, rotatingly driven folding brush 96. At the same time or immediately before that, a lateral folding leg 98 is moved outwards in the radial direction. As a result, an area of the (tinfoil) blank 21 is pressed against the rear side surface 28 of the hollow mandrel. In the course of the further movement, the hollow mandrel comes into the region of a fixed inlet guide 99, through which an outer tubular tab 100 of the blank 21 is also folded against the outer surface 30 or against the tubular tab 97 as a result of the relative movement.

The hollow mandrels 23 with the so far folded (tinfoil) blanks 21 reach the area of a pressure brush 101 shaped as a circular arc section, which fixes the folding described above during the further movement.

At the same time, the folding flaps 26 are folded in this area to form the bottom wall 38 by means of stationary or fixed folding members that act laterally next to the folding turret 20, namely a circumferential side folder 102, a fixed folding finger 103 and also fixed folding switches 104 Pressing brush 101 adjoining rotary brush 105 is fixed next to the folding turret 20 and smoothes the folding of the bottom wall 38.

The hollow mandrels 23 with the folded tin foil blank 21 now reach the area of the transfer station 36 for the paper blank 22. Before this, the presser 94 is released from the contact position on the front side surface 27. The folding leg 98 is triggered by an inward movement withdrawn from the holding position on the side surface 28. Instead, a second presser 106 comes to rest on the side surface 28.

With the now free front side surface 27 covered by the tinfoil blank 21, the hollow mandrel 23 in the transfer station 36 can take over the paper blank 22, namely pull it off the holding disk 68 of the blanking unit 32. The transfer of the paper blank 22 takes place in the same way as described in connection with the blanking unit 31 or the tin foil blank 21. The cutting unit 32 is thus constructed in the same way as the cutting unit 31. The only difference is that the paper cutting 22 is fixed approximately centrally on the holding disk 68. A slight eccentricity is given by the position of a hose fold 150 of the paper blank 22 in the area of the rear side surface 28.

The folding elements that now follow predominantly correspond to those for folding the tinfoil cut 21. Special folding arrangements are provided for the formation of the hose fold 150 in the region of the side surface 28. The hollow mandrel 23 initially runs with the paper blank 22 in the region of a longer circular-arc-shaped pressure brush 107. As a result, a radially outer blanking leg is applied to the outer surface 30. On the back of the hollow mandrel 23 there is a (somewhat shorter) inner tab 108 over the hollow mandrel 23. This is folded over against the rear side surface 28 by a stationary, rotatably mounted folding unit 109.

The folding unit 109 consists of several, namely four (double) folding fingers 101, which are pivotably arranged (pivot bearing 111) on a rotating support disk 112 with the same circumferential distances from one another. The folding fingers 110 are preloaded into a starting position by tension springs 113. 11, the (double) folding fingers 110 are pivotally mounted on a fixed axis of rotation 114 and two diametrically opposed folding fingers 110 are connected to one another by the tension springs 113. The entire folding unit 109 is driven by a shaft 115 in such a way that one of the (double) folding fingers 110 is fed to the rear (side surface 28). Due to the movement of the folding unit 109, the folding finger 110 folds the protruding inner tab 108 against the rear side surface 28. Constraints are avoided by the pivotable, elastic mounting of the folding fingers 110.

Immediately following this folding step, the folding leg 98 already described is moved outward from its starting position in the radial direction, taking along and folding over an outer tab 116, the partially lies over the inner tab 108 so that the hose fold 150 is fixed in this area overall by the folding leg 98. The pressure brush 107 is provided in the area of the folding unit 109 with slot-like recesses 117, which allow the folding fingers 110 to pass through the pressure brush 107.

The subsequent folding members for forming the bottom wall 40 correspond to the folding members already described, namely side folder 102, folding finger 103, folding switch 104 and rotary brush 105.

The package thus far completed (except for the upper end wall) is fed through the hollow mandrel 23 to the area in which the pocket chain 41 runs synchronously with the folding turret 20 (lower area of the folding turret 20).

Details of the filling of the packs and the pushing-off of the packs from the hollow mandrels 23 result in particular from FIGS. 8 and 9, which also show the overall structure of the folding turret 20.

The turret disk 24 is then firmly mounted on a turret shaft 118. On the back opposite the hollow mandrels 23, an elongated, cylindrical support part 119 connects to the turret disk 24, namely forms a workpiece with the latter. The supporting part 119 is provided immediately adjacent to the rear of the turret disk 24 with a recess 120 running all around, which has an even deeper guide trough 121. The depression 120 serves to receive the pocket chain 41 in each case in the lower circumferential area of the folding turret 20. The guide trough 121 has an adjusting function. For this purpose, along the circumference in the recess 120 are lined up, in side view approximately semicircular guide troughs arranged. The arrangement of the same and dimensions are selected such that a correspondingly semicircular extension 122 on each pocket 42 of the pocket chain 41 fits into one of the guide troughs 121 in a form-fitting manner. This "interlocking" of the pocket chain 41 with the folding turret 20 provides an exact alignment of the pockets 42 or the pocket openings with the hollow mandrels 23.

The supporting part 119 extends over a longer axial area and forms a guide 123 for elongated extension pushers 124, which are assigned to each hollow mandrel 23. Each push rod 124 is slidably mounted in the longitudinal direction in an axially parallel bore of the guide 123. At the free end, each push rod 124 is provided with a lateral guide roller 145, which runs in a guide groove 126 of a control body 127 of the folding turret 20. The guide groove 126 is designed so that the push rod 124 can perform a long stroke by rotating the turret disk or the support member 119 as a result of the movement of the guide roller 125 in the guide groove 126.

The control body 127 is fixed. The turret shaft 118 passing through the control body 127 is rotatably mounted in the latter, so the control body 127 is supported on the turret shaft 118.

Adjacent to the turret disk 24, the control body 127 forms a (fixed) control wall 128. This is provided with a plurality of control grooves 129, 130 and 131 running all around on the side facing the turret disk 24 for carrying out controlled movements of the aforementioned organs of the folding turret 20.

The rear part of the control body 127, which is remote from the control wall 128, is cylindrical and is covered on the outside by the support part 119 provided with a cylindrical projection 132.

Each push rod 124 is retractable into an outermost position in which a push rod end plate 133 or push rod 124 lies outside of the recess 120 or the path of movement of the pocket chain 41. During the rotation of the folding turret 20, the plunger is then moved through the pocket 42 of the pocket chain 41 in the lower region, taking the cigarette group in the pocket 42 with it. The cigarette group passes through the passage opening 25 of the turret disk 24 directly adjacent to the pocket chain 41 into the hollow mandrel 23 a. By advancing the cigarette group against the bottom wall 38 of the tinfoil blank 21. With the help of the moving cigarette group, the folded blanks 21 and 22 are now pulled off or pushed off the hollow mandrel 23 while simultaneously taking up the cigarette group. In the further process, the upper end wall of the tinfoil blank 21 must now be produced.

The push rod 124 is then pulled back into the starting position so that the pocket chain 41 can run from the circumference of the folding turret 20. Thereafter, however, the push rod 21 is moved back into the push end position in which the push rod end plate 133 is approximately flush with the free end of the hollow mandrel. The plunger end plate 133 now forms a bottom against which the folding tabs of the bottom walls 38 and 40 can be folded.

The organs described above for holding and folding the blanks 21 and 22 on the hollow mandrels are designed in a special way and are movably mounted on the turret disk 124.

Each hollow mandrel 23 is assigned a radially movable supporting plunger 134, which is slidably mounted on the turret disk 24 in two sliding guides 135. For actuation, namely for the radial to-and-fro movement of the support plunger 134, a guide roller 137 is attached to a cross arm 136 and enters the control groove 131 of the control wall 128 already mentioned. The shape of the control groove 131 is shown in FIG. 1 and in FIG. 10 by dash-dotted lines.

On the upper or radially outer end of the support plunger 134, on the one hand the folding leg 98 is attached and on the other hand the pressure plate 95. The latter is elastically supported on a transversely projecting bracket 138 at the end of the support plunger 134. For this purpose, the pressure plate 95 is mounted on two spaced-apart holding plungers 139 which are slidably mounted in the bracket 138. The holding plungers 139 are surrounded by support springs 140 which are supported on the one hand on the underside of the pressure plate 95 and on the other hand on the bracket 138. The pressure plate 195 is thus brought to the hollow mandrel 23 or the blank 21, 22 with increasing contact pressure. At the same time it is ensured that first the blank 21, 22 is gripped by the pressure plate 95 and then the folding leg 98 comes into effect when the pressure force increases.

The two pressers 94 and 106, which are each mounted between adjacent hollow mandrels 23, are actuated by swivel arms 141 and 142, at the ends of which they are arranged as laterally projecting, namely projecting parts. The swivel arms 141, 142 can be moved in different lengths and in different planes so that they can be guided past one another (FIG. 9).

At the radially inner actuating ends of the swivel arms 141, 142 are rotatable in the turret disk 24 mounted actuating pins 143, 144 attached. These are each connected to a crank mechanism 145, 146. These are actuated by guide rollers 147, 148 in the control grooves 129 and 130 already mentioned. By appropriately designing the control grooves 129, 130 (dash-dotted line in FIG. 1), pivoting movements are transmitted to the pivoting arms 141 and 142.

Due to the design of the pressers 94 and 106, special relative positions of the same are possible. The presser 94 for fixing a blank 21, 22 to the front side surface 27 of a hollow mandrel 23 is designed with a large pressing surface, namely as a U-profile. The presser 106, on the other hand, is designed as a simple rod that can enter the open cavity of the U-profile in certain areas, namely in particular in the area of the transfer stations 35 and 36, so that both pressers 94 and 106 can be folded together in the smallest space, in each case on a rear side surface 28 of the hollow mandrel, so that as large a space as possible to the adjacent hollow mandrel is released for the passage of the blank 21, 22 supplied by the holding disk 68.

Claims (30)

1. Apparatus for producing packs from at beast one foldable blank (21, 22), especially soft-cup cigarette packs, in which, in a transfer station (25, 36), individual blanks can be fed by means of a feed unit (31, 32) to a folding turret (20) with receptacles (hollow mandrels 23) for in each case one blank, the blanks being held ready by a fixed blank holder (holding disc 68) for transfer by one of the receptacles, characterised by the following features:

   a) the blank holder (68) is arranged displaced in the axial direction with respect to the folding turret (20) and/or outside the path of movement of the receptacles (23),

   b) the blanks to be transferred (21, 22) are held only with an edge region against the blank holder (68),

   c) a part of the blank which projects laterally from the blank holder (68) extends into the path of movement of the receptacles (23) in such a way that the rotation of the folding turret enables in each case one blank (21, 22) held ready to be carried along by a receptacle by drawing away the blank holder.
2. Apparatus according to Claim 1, characterised in that the blank (21, 22) is held in three-dimensional form, especially as the shell of a part cylinder, by the blank-holder (68), the particular receptacle (23) grasping the blank (21, 22) on its inside and releasing it by taking it up from the blank-holder (68).
3. Apparatus according to Claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the blank-holder is designed as an (intermittently driven) holding disc (68), to the peripheral surface of which the blank (21, 22) is fixed by means of a lateral edge strip, especially by suction air.
4. Apparatus according to Claim 3 and one or more of the further claims, characterised in that the blank (21, 22) surrounds the holding disc (68) along a part periphery of the latter, in such a way that a gap for the entry of the hollow mandrel into the blank (21, 22) in the form of a part cylinder is formed on the side located at the rear in the conveying direction of the receptacles, especially the hollow mandrels (23).
5. Apparatus according to Claim 1 and one or more of the further claims, characterised in that the blank (21, 22) is offered offset relative to the hollow mandrel (23) and can be received by this, in such a way that a region for forming bottom folding tabs for a bottom wall (38, 40) projects beyond the hollow mandrel (23) protruding on one side.
6. Apparatus according to Claim 3 and one or more of the further claims, characterised in that the blank (21) is fixed eccentrically on the periphery of the holding disc (68) arranged centrally relative to the path of movement of the hollow mandrels (23), in such a way that the blank (21) comes up against the hollow mandrel (23) offset, a tubular overlap (23) of the blank (21) being formed in the region of a (wide) outer face (30) of the hollow mandrel (23).
7. Apparatus according to Claim 3 and one or more of the further claims, characterised in that the blank (21, 22), immediately after being received by a hollow mandrel (23), can be fixed in the region of a front (narrow) side face (27) and subsequently in the region of a (large) inner face (29) and an opposite outer face (30).
8. Apparatus according to Claim 1 and one or more of the further claims, characterised in that the blanks (21, 22) can be fed to the blank-holder (68) by endless conveyors, especially by axis-parallel conveyor rollers with suction bores, and the blanks can be conveyed predominantly, especially up to transfer to the blank-holder (68), in a continuous movement.
9. Apparatus according to Claim 8 and one or more of the further claims, characterised in that the blanks (21, 22), after being severed from a continuously conveyed sheet of material (tinfoil sheet 33, paper sheet 34), can be accelerated, and in the region of an acceleration roller (51) the blanks can be conveyed under the slipping effect until they are severed from the sheet of material (33, 34).
10. Apparatus according to Claim 9, characterised in that, in the region of the acceleration roller (51), increased suction forces are exerted on the blanks (21, 22) after they have been severed from the sheet of material (33, 34).
11. Apparatus according to Claim 3 and one or more of the further claims, characterised in that the holding disc (68) is equipped with at least two groups of suction bores (69, 70) arranged at a peripheral distance from one another, and a first group of suction bores (70) takes effect in a blank-receiving region and can be cut off from a vacuum source after the complete reception of the blank (21, 22) by the holding disc (68).
12. Apparatus according to Claim 11, characterised in that, during a stationary phase of the holding disc (68), the two groups of suction bores (69, 70) are each located on different sides of the path of movement of the hollow mandrels (23).
13. Apparatus according to Claim 3 and one or more of the further claims, characterised in that, arranged in the region of the feed transfer between a conveyor roller, especially an intermediate conveyor roller (60), preceding the holding disc (68) and the holding disc (68) is a fixed lead piece (72) which by means of lead fingers penetrates into peripheral grooves in the intermediate conveyor roller (60) and which, because of its shape in the form of a part circle, transfers the blanks (21, 22) onto the periphery of the holding disc (68).
14. Apparatus according to Claim 8 and one or more of the further claims, characterised in that the endless conveyors for the sheet of material (33, 34), the blanks (21, 22) and the holding disc (68) are movable by means of a common transmission, a stepping mechanism (81) being assigned to the holding disc (68) and the intermediate conveyor roller (60) being designed as a hollow roller for the passage of a main shaft (89) for transmitting the stepping movements to the holding disc (68).
15. Apparatus according to Claim 7 and one or more of the further claims, characterised in that there are pressing devices (94, 106) which can be advanced alternately towards the front and rear side faces (27, 28) of the hollow mandrel (23) in order to fix parts of the blanks (21, 22).
16. Apparatus according to Claim 15 and one or more of the further claims, characterised in that arranged between successive hollow mandrels (23) are two separately movable, especially pivotable pressing devices (94, 106) of differing design, of which a first pressing device (94) serving for fixing the blank (21, 22) received by a hollow mandrel (23) is provided with a hollow profile open on one side (U-shaped profile) and the other pressing device (106) is provided with a pressing rod which projects on one side and which can penetrate into the hollow profile of the pressing device (94).
17. Apparatus according to Claim 15 and one or more of the further claims, characterised in that the pressing devices (94, 106) can be actuated on pivoting arms (141, 142) of a crank mechanism (145, 146) assigned to each pressing device (94, 106), each crank mechanism (145, 146) being movable by means of separate control grooves (129, 130) in a control wall (128).
18. Apparatus according to Claim 7 and one or more of the further claims, characterised in that a pressing member for fixing the blank (21, 22) to the inner face (29) of the hollow mandrel (23) is designed as a pressing plate (95) and can be moved each time by means of a radially movable supporting ram (134).
19. Apparatus according to Claim 18, characterised in that the pressing plate (95) is mounted elastically, preferably on (two) supporting springs (140) which are supported on holding rams (139) of a laterally projecting, jutting-out console (138) of the holding ram (134).
20. Apparatus according to Claim 7 and one or more of the further claims, characterised in that, to fix the blank (21, 22) or to fold it in the region of the rear side face (28) of the hollow mandrel (23), a folding leg (98) is assigned to each hollow mandrel (23) so as to be radially movable, and the folding leg (98) can preferably be moved by the supporting ram (134), in such a way that first the pressing plate (95) comes up against the hollow mandrel (23) and thereafter the folding leg (98) is movable into the folding position.
21. Apparatus according to Claim 18 and one or more of the further claims, characterised in that the supporting ram (134) can be moved by a laterally mounted guide roller (137) which penetrates into a control groove (131) in the control wall (128).
22. Apparatus according to Claim 1 and one or more of the further claims, characterised in that, for producing (soft-cup) packs with a tinfoil blank (21) and a paper blank (22), two blank-units (31, 32) are assigned to the folding turret (20) at a peripheral distance from one another of preferably approximately 90°, folding members fixed in place and, if appropriate, movable for folding the tinfoil blank (21), including a bottom wall (38) of the latter, being arranged between the first blank-unit (31) for feeding the tinfoil blank (21) and the blank-unit (32) for the paper blank (22) preferably arranged in the upper region of the folding turret (20)
23. Apparatus according to Claim 22 and one or more of the further claims, characterised in that the blank-units (31, 32) are of substantially identical design, and in the region of the transfer station (36) of the blank-unit (32) the paper blanks (22) can be taken up approximately centrally by the hollow mandrel (23), in such a way that a tubular overlap (39) is formed in the region of a rear side face (28) of the hollow mandrel (23).
24. Apparatus according to Claim 23 and one or more of the further claims, characterised in that a folding unit serves for folding in an inner tab (108) projecting beyond the hollow mandrel (23) at the rear and belonging to the tubular overlap (39) and is equipped with a plurality of rotating folding fingers (110) which are mounted so as to be elastically movable, especially pivotable, and which, as a result of the rotation of the folding unit (109) at a higher speed, grasp the inner tab (108) and fold it round against the side face (28).
25. Apparatus according to Claim 1 and one or more of the further claims, characterised in that the pack contents, especially a cigarette group, can be fed to the folding turret (20) by means of an endless conveyor, preferably a pocket chain (41) with pockets (42), each for receiving a cigarette group, and the pocket chain (41) can be guided up to the periphery of the folding turret (20) in a lower region preferably located opposite the blank-unit (32), in such a way that the pocket chain (41), with pockets (42) aligned with the hollow mandrels (23) is guided on the side of a turret disc (24) located opposite the hollow mandrels (23) projecting on one side.
26. Apparatus according to Claim 25 and one or more of the further claims, characterised in that, on the side of the turret disc (24) facing away from the hollow mandrels (23), the folding turret (20) has a cylindrical supporting part (119) which is connected to the turret disc (24) and which is provided, adjacent to the turret disc (24), with a depression (120) extending all round for receiving the pocket chain (41), there being assigned to each hollow mandrel (23) a displaceable pushing-out ram (124) which is guided in the supporting part (119) and which can be moved out of an initial position outside the range of movement of the pocket chain (41) inside the depression (120) through the pocket (42) and through the hollow mandrel extending in the same axis.
27. Apparatus according to Claim 26 and one or more of the further claims, characterised in that the pushing-out rams (124) are movable via guide rollers (125) by means of a guide groove (126) extending in the outer surface of a pot-like or cylindrical control body (127) which is arranged fixedly in the same axis as the folding turret (20).
28. Apparatus according to Claim 27 and one or more of the further claims, characterised in that the cylindrical control body (127) is joined to the control wall (128) to form a common moulding mounted immovably on the turret shaft (118).
29. Apparatus according to Claim 26 and one or more of the further claims, characterised in that, outside the region where the pocket chain (41) comes up against the folding turret (20), the ram (124) is moved into an end position in which a ram end plate (133) attached to the end of the ram is flush with the free open end of the hollow mandrel (23).
30. Apparatus according to Claim 26 and one or more of the further claims, characterised in that the pocket chain (41) is guided in the depression (120) against lateral movements, especially as a result of the penetration of an extension (122) on each pocket (42) into a guide trough (121) extending all round in the supporting part (119).

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