EP0231779B1 - Method and device for checking cigarettes - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a method for testing cigarettes in the area of upright or inclined magazine chutes of a cigarette magazine, a cigarette testing unit being deliverable to at least one layer of a cigarette group and defective cigarettes being able to be separated out during the further transport thereof . The invention further relates to a device for testing cigarettes according to the preamble of claim 4.

Checking cigarettes for correct formation, especially for the presence of a sufficient tobacco filling and - if applicable - a filter before packaging, is an important measure. The cheapest is one Checking the cigarettes in the upright magazine slots of the cigarette magazine serving as a cigarette store. In the magazine shafts, cigarettes are stacked one above the other and conveyed down to a lower main ejection level. Here, cigarette groups corresponding to the contents of a cigarette pack are pushed out in the longitudinal direction of the cigarettes. During the downward movement of the cigarettes in the magazine shafts, a cigarette testing unit can be attached in order to check the intact formation of the cigarettes. The cigarettes identified as defective are subsequently discarded.

Checking the cigarettes inside the magazine shafts is made more difficult by the irregular position of the cigarettes. A faultless test requires that the cigarettes are aligned as precisely as possible with the test organs of the cigarette testing unit. As a result of the staggered position and the differences in the dimensions of the cigarettes, they are not aligned with one another from magazine slot to magazine slot in one plane.

Another difficulty is the sorting out of the defective cigarettes before further processing, especially before packaging.

A device for testing cigarettes is already known from EP-A-0 198 282 (published on October 22, 1986). This has a plurality of parallel shafts below a funnel-shaped storage container and above the magazine shafts of a cigarette magazine, the number of shafts being considerably larger than one layer of a cigarette pack. A test and downstream ejection device for defective cigarettes is assigned to each shaft. Below the end of the zigzag-shaped shafts, several slides are arranged in parallel, which can be moved transversely to the shafts. The slides have recesses corresponding to the number of shafts, through which the cigarettes can pass the slider. A fixed support is arranged between the two lower slides, which has support rods below the shafts to support previously tested cigarettes. After the support, the tested cigarettes are moved by transverse movement of one of the sliders into recesses in the fixed carrier and are also held there by the lowest slider. An ejector is assigned to each recess. The flawless cigarettes can then leave the test and ejection device through recesses in the lower slide and after its transverse movement. They reach lower shafts, which are offset to the upper shafts, and finally into a funnel-shaped storage container arranged above the cigarette magazine.

The test and ejection device form one unit. This is mechanically very complicated and difficult to integrate into the actual packaging process. In addition, the cigarettes can only be checked outside a cigarette magazine and thus independently of a packaging unit.

Another device of the type described above is known from US-A-3 207 308. Independently of a cigarette magazine, this has a plurality of essentially vertical shafts through which the cigarettes to be checked reach a test station. Regardless of the dimensioning of a cigarette pack, several layers of cigarettes are positioned and held exactly one above the other in the test station. Subsequently, fine supporting rods lying in the horizontal plane are inserted between them in the longitudinal direction of the cigarettes, in such a way that a part of the cigarette group thus separated from the other cigarettes is brought into a test position and tested in this. The cigarettes in the situation, which is supported directly, do not belong to the test group. The test station is an ejection device directly assigned, by which the entire test group is expelled from the further packaging process if defective cigarettes are found.

This device is difficult to classify in a continuous cigarette packaging process. Under no circumstances does it enable cigarettes to be checked in the area of the cigarette magazine. In addition, the risk of damage to the cigarettes in the test station itself is great if the support rods are inserted between the cigarettes in the very small spaces.

The invention has for its object to provide a method and an apparatus of the type mentioned (cf. US-A-3207308) that enable error-free testing of cigarettes in the area of the cigarette magazine and a high number of cycles, as well as being mechanically simple and not susceptible to faults are.

To achieve this object, the method according to the invention is characterized in that the layer or layers of the group of cigarettes to be tested are shifted for testing by half a diameter of a cigarette or half a width of a magazine shaft and aligned in a common plane upper support ends of shaft walls are stored and aligned.

Thereafter, it is possible to move a cigarette group corresponding to the contents of a cigarette pack with three layers in particular, to align it in layers and to check it. After the test, the cigarettes are moved back in the magazine shafts in line with the row of cigarettes.

To achieve the object, the device according to the invention is further characterized by the features of claim 4.

According to the device, a group of cigarettes to be tested is received in a cross slide. This is designed like a section or section of a respective shaft group of the cigarette magazine. In the initial position of the cross slide, individual slide walls extend in the plane of the associated shaft walls as a continuation of the same. The cigarettes can run through the cross slide. For testing, the cross slide is moved slightly across the conveying direction by half a diameter of a cigarette or half the width of a magazine shaft. The group of cigarettes carried is thus offset from the upright rows of cigarettes in the magazine shafts. The lower cigarettes of the cigarette group (lower layer) are supported on supports, the supports being formed by the upper support ends of the shaft walls. The upper support ends are aligned in an exact plane, which also gives the entire cigarette group an alignment.

In the case of cigarette magazines with several, in particular two, shaft groups, a cross slide is assigned to each shaft group. The two cross slides are moved synchronously and coordinated by a common actuator.

If defective cigarettes are found, they are separated out in the area of an ejection level for defective cigarettes. This is located above the main extension level. The procedure according to the invention is such that in the case of cigarette groups of several layers, a number of cigarettes lying one above the other corresponding to the number of layers is pushed out with the defective cigarette.

Further features of the invention relate to the design of the cross slide and to organs for ejecting the defective and the correct cigarettes.

Fig. 1

einen Teil eines Zigaretten-Magazins mit Zigaretten-Revolver in Vorderansicht,

Fig. 2

eine Einzelheit der Darstellung gemäß Fig. 1 in vergrößertem Maßstab, nämlich zwei Schacht-Gruppen des Zigaretten-Magazins,

Fig. 3

einen Abschnitt einer Schacht-Gruppe als Einzelheit mit einem Querschieber in Ausgangsposition,

Fig. 4

eine Darstellung entsprechend Fig. 3 mit dem Querschieber in der Prüfstellung,

Fig. 5

einen Horizontalschnitt durch eine Schachtgruppe des Magazins im Bereich des Querschiebers,

Fig. 6

einen Vertikalschnitt im Bereich eines Magazin-Schachts mit Ausschuborganen für Zigaretten,

Fig. 7

einen Horizontalschnitt durch eine Schachtgruppe im Bereich der Ausschubebene für fehlerhafte Zigaretten,

Fig. 8

eine Darstellung analog zu Fig. 6 für eine andere Ausführungsform der Vorrichtung,

Fig. 9

eine Darstellung analog Fig. 6 und 8 einer weiteren Ausführungsform der Vorrichtung.

Exemplary embodiments of the device according to the invention are explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings. It shows:

Fig. 1

part of a cigarette magazine with cigarette revolver in front view,

Fig. 2

1 on a larger scale, namely two shaft groups of the cigarette magazine,

Fig. 3

a section of a shaft group as a detail with a cross slide in the starting position,

Fig. 4

3 with the cross slide in the test position,

Fig. 5

a horizontal section through a shaft group of the magazine in the area of the cross slide,

Fig. 6

a vertical section in the area of a magazine shaft with ejection elements for cigarettes,

Fig. 7

a horizontal section through a shaft group in the area of the ejection level for defective cigarettes,

Fig. 8

6 shows a representation analogous to FIG. 6 for another embodiment of the device,

Fig. 9

a representation analogous to FIGS. 6 and 8 of a further embodiment of the device.

Cigarette packaging machines are usually constructed in such a way that the cigarettes coming from a cigarette manufacturing machine are filled into a funnel-shaped cigarette magazine 10 assigned to the packaging machine. A lower part of this is shown in FIG. 1, namely two shaft groups 11 and 12, each consisting of a number of downwardly extending magazine shafts 13 and 14, respectively. As is known, these are designed in such a way that in each magazine shaft 13th , 14 finds an upright row 15 of cigarettes. The number of magazine chutes 13, 14 combined to form a chute group 11, 12 corresponds to the number of cigarettes in one layer within a cigarette group 16 intended to be received in a cigarette packet. In the present exemplary embodiment, there are therefore seven magazine chutes 13 each , 14 formed within a shaft group 11, 12. The magazine shafts 13, 14 are separated from one another by thin shaft walls 17, 18. The width or transverse dimension of a magazine shaft 13, 14 is slightly larger than the diameter of a cigarette.

At the lower end of the shaft groups 11, 12, the cigarette groups 16 are pushed out in the area of a main extension level 19 into a pocket 20 of a cigarette revolver 21 which rotates in a vertical plane next to the shaft groups 11, 12. The cigarette groups are fed through this to the packaging , in the present case via a cigarette conveyor 22 receiving the cigarette groups 16.

The rows 15 of cigarettes in the individual magazine shafts 13, 14 rest in the main extension level 19 on oblique or roof-shaped extension plates 23, 24. A plurality of cigarettes, namely three superimposed cigarettes, are pushed out of a magazine shaft 13, 14 by ejecting members, through a mouthpiece 25 into the pocket 20 of the cigarette revolver 21, which is aligned on the same axis.

The ejection elements for the cigarettes are a cigarette ejectors 26 with a number of web-like slide fingers 27 corresponding to the number of magazine slots 13, 14 to be emptied 13, 14 is detected, in the present case three. The slide fingers 27 are moved with the cigarettes so far that the cigarette group 16 gets into the pocket 20.

The cigarettes are checked for correct formation in the area of the magazine chutes 13, 14. The cigarettes, which are moved downward under their own weight in sections - namely in each case by three cigarettes (conveying section) - reach a cross slide 29 in the area of a test plane 28. This is designed like a section or intermediate piece of the shaft group 11, 12. A frame-shaped structure with slide side walls 30 and 31 and a slide rear wall 32 is displaceable within the shaft group 11, 12 in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal extension of the magazine shafts 13, 14. Shaft group side walls 33 and 34 are dimensioned such that the cross slide 29 within one Recess 35 or 36 of the shaft group side walls 33, 34 can carry out transverse movements, specifically with an amplitude corresponding to half the width of a magazine shaft 13, 14. Slider dividing walls 37 are arranged within the cross slide 29, which is open at the top and bottom, which in the starting position of the cross slide 29 (FIG. 3) are flush with the shaft walls 17, 18, namely form continuations of the same. In this position, the rows 15 of cigarettes therefore also run continuously in the area of the cross slide 29.

The cross slide 29 is arranged at a distance from the lower main ejection plane 19 (ejection plate 23, 24), which corresponds to a multiple of a conveying section of the cigarettes in the magazine shafts 13, 14. In the present case, the distance is four conveyor sections, the length of a conveyor section corresponding to the added diameter of three cigarettes. The (three) cigarettes one above the other in the individual magazine shafts 13 and 14 in the area of the cross slide 29 are subjected to a test. For this purpose, the cross slide with this cigarette group 16 is moved from the aligned starting position according to FIG. 3 into the test position 4 moves. Here, the cigarettes located in the cross slide 29 are offset relative to the rows 15 within the magazine shafts 13, 14. The arrangement is such that the respective lower cigarettes or a lower layer 38 rest on upper support ends 39 of the lower sections of the shaft walls 17, 18. Since the support ends 39 are aligned with an exact transverse plane or test plane 28, the cigarettes within the transverse slide 29 are also given a corresponding orientation. The cigarette groups 16 are now very exact. A test unit 40, which is laterally arranged in the test position and can be delivered to the cross slide 29, can now test the end faces of the cigarettes 15 exactly in the center with test organs - in the present exemplary embodiment with mechanical test plungers 41. The cross slide 29 is provided on the side facing the test unit 40 with a thin slide front wall 42, which here has holes 43 for the passage of the test plunger 41.

The cross slide 29 can be moved by suitable thrust members. In the present exemplary embodiment, the cross slides 29 are moved by separate actuating members, namely in each case by a routing driven cam disk 44, 77. Tracing rollers 45 connected to the cross slider 29 run on the circumference of the routing driven cam disks 44, 77. The cross slides 29 are simultaneously moved from the initial position into the test position by elevations on the cam plates 44, 77. The cam disks 44, 77 are arranged on a common drive shaft 47.

The cross slide 29 are elastically supported within the shaft walls, namely by return springs 46. Each cross slide 29 is moved back into the starting position by this as soon as the sensing roller 45 leaves the elevation on the cam plate 44, 77.

Insofar as defective cigarettes are identified during the test, they are sorted out before reaching the lower main ejection level 19. In the exemplary embodiment in FIGS. 1 and 2, an ejection level 48 for defective cigarettes is located a conveying section above the main ejection level 19. An ejection element 49 is designed in this way that from the tested cigarette group 16 three superimposed cigarettes - together with the faulty cigarette - are pushed out. In the worst case, two intact cigarettes will be lost together with a faulty one.

For this purpose, the extension member 19 consists of an elongated, box-shaped holder 50 in which a number of extension fingers 51 corresponding to the number of magazine shafts 13, 14 of a shaft group 11, 12 is accommodated. Each extension finger 51 is assigned to a magazine shaft 13, 14.

The holder 50 is connected to the cigarette ejector 26 - via a web 52 - is therefore always moved back and forth with the cigarette ejector 26. Unless defective cigarettes are to be rejected, the ejecting fingers 51 are in a retracted position within the holder 50 such that they remain outside the shaft groups 11, 12 in the end position of the cigarette ejecting device 26. If a faulty cigarette is to be rejected (by ejecting three cigarettes), the eject finger 51 in question is extended from the holder 50 in such a way that this eject finger 51 takes along three superimposed cigarettes passes through the magazine shaft 13, 14 in question. A rear wall 53 of the shaft and a front wall 54 of the shaft are provided with through-slots 55 for the push-out fingers 51 and with slot openings 56 for the passage of the ejected cigarettes. In the present exemplary embodiment, the shaft front wall 54 is provided with a continuous opening which is divided into individual slot openings 56 in this area by the correspondingly widened or enlarged shaft walls 17, 18.

The extension fingers 51 are actuated pneumatically in the present case. Each extension finger 51 is supported with a piston end 57 in a cavity of the holder 50, namely a cylinder space 58. Compressed air channels 59 and compressed air lines 60, which are also assigned to each extension finger 51 or each cylinder chamber 58, can individually apply compressed air to individual extension finders 51 so that they extend from the retracted position (dash-dotted lines in FIG. 6) in an extending manner (solid lines in FIG. 6) ) can be moved.

Each compressed air line 60 is connected to a solenoid valve 61 which responds to signals from the test unit 40.

After an extension movement of an extension finger 51 has been carried out, the cylinder chamber 58 is vented by switching over the solenoid valve 61. The relevant extension finger 51 is pulled into the starting position by an automatic return element, namely a return tension spring 62. The particularly long return spring 52 is received in the contracted position in a channel 63 within the extension finger 51.

The movements of the cigarette ejector 26 and the ejection element 49 or the ejection finger 51 are coordinated with one another in such a way that any defective cigarettes are separated out in the manner described within a short period of the movement cycle of the cigarette ejector 26. For this purpose, the extension movement of the relevant extension finger 51 is initiated immediately after the beginning of the extension movement of the cigarette ejector 26 by the application of compressed air. The ejection finger 51 has returned to the starting position before the slide fingers 27 of the cigarette ejector 26 emerge from the area of the shaft groups 11, 12 in the course of the return movement. This means that in the magazine chute 13, 14 with the defective cigarette, the number of cigarettes ejected is already conveyed (by its own weight) before the number of cigarettes 16 corresponding to the ejected cigarette group 16 is conveyed in all magazine chutes 13, 14 becomes.

The separated (three) cigarettes arrive in the present embodiment on a baffle 64 with an upright stop wall 65. The baffle 64 extending alongside the two shaft groups 11, 12 is roof-shaped, so that the separated cigarettes slide sideways under their own weight.

Alternatives for the removal of defective cigarettes from one or more magazine chutes 13, 14 are shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. In both cases, the defective cigarettes are ejected in a direction opposite to the ejection direction for the cigarette groups 16. An ejection element 66 is accordingly fixedly arranged on the side of the cigarette turret 21, in particular on the shaft front wall 54. Individually movable ejection fingers 67 assigned to the individual magazine shafts 13, 14 are inside the ejection element 60 slidably mounted in individual cylinder spaces 68 with piston ends 69 and pressurized by compressed air connections 70 and 71 in both directions of movement. In the exemplary embodiment in FIG. 8, only an upper partial area of the extension fingers 67 is designed as a piston rod for receiving the piston end 69 by a corresponding reduction in cross section.

In the alternative according to FIG. 9, the defective cigarettes or a sub-group of three cigarettes are conveyed out on the relevant magazine shaft 13, 14 by means of compressed air. For this purpose, a blow head 72 can be attached in the area of the shaft front wall 54, which directs a blow jet to each of the cigarettes to be ejected via blow holes 73 assigned to each individual cigarette. The blow head 72 is equipped for this purpose with nozzles 74 for each cigarette or for each blow hole 73. The group of three nozzles 74 arranged one above the other can be individually pressurized with compressed air, so that here, too, three cigarettes, at least one of which is defective, are discharged. The blow head 72 is designed such that each group of (three) nozzles 74 can be supplied individually with compressed air, the control being able to take place via solenoid valves, as described in connection with the exemplary embodiment in FIG. 6.

In addition to the inspection of the cigarettes in the area of the magazine shafts 13 and 14, an inspection of the ejected cigarette groups 16 in the area of the cigarette turret 21 is provided in the device shown, specifically through the pockets 20 of the same cigarette testing devices 75 and 76 of known design.

Claims (17)

1. Process for testing cigarettes in the region of vertical or inclined magazine shafts (13, 14) of a cigarette magazine (10), in which process a cigarette test unit can be advanced towards a cigarette group (16) composed of at least one layer, and defective cigarettes can be separated out during the further transport of these, characterised in that the layer (38) or layers of the cigarette group (16) to be tested are transversely displaced by half the diameter of one cigarette or by half the width of a magazine shaft (13, 14), and are laid and aligned on the upper supporting ends (39) of shaft walls (17, 18) aligned in a common plane for testing.
2. Process according to Claim 1, characterised in that a cigarette group (16) corresponding to the content of a cigarette pack and having three layers in particular is displaced transversely, aligned in layers and tested, the lower layer (38) resting on the supporting ends (39) of the shaft walls (17, 18).
3. Process according to Claim 1 or 2, characterised in that, after testing has been carried out, the cigarette group (16) is moved back into the initial position, at the same time being aligned with the rows (15) of cigarettes in the magazine shafts (13, 14).
4. Apparatus for testing cigarettes in the region of vertical or inclined magazine shafts (13, 14) of a cigarette magazine (10), in which apparatus a cigarette test unit can be advanced towards a cigarette group (16) composed of at least one layer, and defective cigarettes can subsequently be separated out, characterised in that, in the region of the magazine shafts (13, 14), a transverse slide (29) for a cigarette group (16) consisting of at least one layer (38) is transversely moveable relative to the magazine shafts (13, 14) by half the diameter of one cigarette or by half the width of a magazine shaft (13, 14), in order to move the cigarettes into a position in which they are aligned in layers in which the cigarettes of one layer (38) lie on supports aligned in a plane, the supports being formed by the upper supporting ends (39) of the shaft walls (17, 18).
5. Apparatus according to Claim 4, characterised in that the transverse slide (29) is made frame-like with slide side walls (30, 31) and subdivisions corresponding to the magazine shafts (13, 14), in particular as a result of slide partition walls (37) in the plane or in the extension of shaft walls (17, 18).
6. Apparatus according to Claim 4 or 5, characterised in that cigarette groups (16) composed of three layers are displaceable transversely and can be tested jointly.
7. Apparatus according to Claim 4 and one or more of the further claims, characterised in that the transverse slide (29) can be moved into the testing position by an actuating member, especially by a rotating cam disc (44), counter to the load of a restoring member, especially a restoring spring (46).
8. Apparatus according to Claim 7 and one or more of the further claims, characterised in that, as regards a cigarette magazine (10) with two shaft groups (11, 12) and one transverse slide (29) for each of these, an actuating member is assigned to each of the transverse slides (29), in particular cam discs (44, 77) arranged on a common drive shaft (47) and having individual tracer rollers (45).
9. Apparatus according to Claim 4 and one or more of the further claims, characterised in that a front wall (42) of the transverse slide (29) is provided with bores (43) for the passage of test members, especially test push rods (41).
10. Apparatus according to Claim 4 and one or more of the further claims, characterised in that the defective cigarettes, in a part group corresponding to the number of layers of the cigarette group (16) tested, especially with three cigarettes lying on top of one another, can be pushed out of the respective magazine shaft (13, 14) in the region of a pushing-out plane (48) at a distance above a main pushing-out plane (19) for the cigarette groups (16) to be packaged.
11. Apparatus according to Claim 10 and one or more of the further claims, characterised in that a test plane (28), the pushing-out plane (48) for the defective cigarettes and the main pushing-out plane (19) for the cigarette groups (16) to be packaged are arranged at distances from each other which correspond to one or more feed strokes of the cigarettes in the magazine shafts (13, 14).
12. Apparatus according to Claim 10 and one or more of the further claims, characterised in that a pushing-out member (49) for defective cigarettes is coupled to and moveable simultaneously with a cigarette pushing-out device (26) for the cigarette groups (16) to be packaged, and pushing-out fingers (51) for the defective cigarettes are moveable individually relative to the pushing-out member (49) according to the result of the test.
13. Apparatus according to Claim 12 and one or more of the further claims, characterised in that the pushing-out fingers (51) can be subjected to pressure individually in a holder (50) of the pushing-out member (49), especially to compressed air, ends of the pushing-out fingers (51) being designed as piston ends (57) and being moveable in individual cylinder chambers (58).
14. Apparatus according to Claim 13 and one or more of the further claims, characterised in that the pushing-out fingers (51) can be moved back into the initial position by restoring members, especially by an elongated restoring tension spring (62).
15. Apparatus according to Claim 10 and one or more of the further claims, characterised in that the defective cigarettes can be pushed out onto a take-off plate (64) which is located next to the shaft groups (11, 12) and which is roof-shaped, so that they fall off to the sides.
16. Apparatus according to Claim 10 and one or more of the further claims, characterised in that defective cigarettes can be pushed out of the magazine shaft (13, 14) in the opposite direction to the pushing-out direction for the cigarette groups (16) to be packaged, especially by a fixed pushing-out member (66) with pushing-out fingers (67) which are assigned to each magazine shaft (13, 14) and which can be actuated individually, especially by compressed air.
17. Apparatus according to Claim 10 and one or more of the further claims, characterised in that defective cigarettes can be ejected from the magazine shaft (13, 14) by means of compressed air, blowing bores (73) assigned to each cigarette to be blown out being arranged on a shaft rear wall (53) or shaft front wall (54), and a nozzle (74) of a blowing head (72) being assigned to each blowing bore (73).

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