EP0336897B1 - Apparatus for transporting rods - Google Patents

Description

The installation according to the invention is intended to allow as simple as possible control of the feeding of sticks to one or more machines consuming sticks according to the needs of this or these machines, while at the same time allowing one or more rod producing machines operate at their own rates, independently of the consuming machine or machines.

The term "stick" used in the present description has the meaning given to it in the tobacco industry. Thus, it designates short cylindrical elements, for example cigarettes or filter rod segments.

Already known in the field of cigarette manufacturing (see for example EP-0179964) storage devices which lead in a tubular rectangular section a stream of sticks guided by conveyor belts, which thus supply one or more machines for the manufacture of cigarettes and which have storage branches which can be filled at a higher or lower rate, of sticks in stock. However, if the storage capacity of these devices must be high, their operation involves numerous movements of sticks and this results in risks of deterioration. In addition, these devices are bulky.

There are also known (see for example EP-0090124) loading devices which can be supplied with the contents of rod lockers of standard type, of standardized dimensions, such as those used in the tobacco industry.

In certain known installations, such devices, which will be called extractors and adductors below, are associated with locker transport and storage systems. The latter are therefore used as storage means. These installations allow real management of a locker store by filling empty lockers or emptying full lockers in or from the conduit which guides the flow of sticks.

The present invention therefore relates to a rod transport installation, comprising a conduit adapted to be traversed by a stream of parallel rods, oriented perpendicular to the direction of the conduit, a set of storage racks, an extractor and an adductor respectively allowing extracting rods from the duct at a first location and introducing rods into the duct at a second location, the extractor and the adductor being associated respectively with a filling means and with a means for emptying the racks, a transport and storage system of said lockers, and control means making it possible to manage the flow of the sticks in the conduit and the movement of the lockers in the transport and storage system.

Installations allowing the management of a locker store are already known, in particular by the documents GB-2,142,894, which shows the characteristics of the preamble of claim 1, GB-1,193,184, GB-2,120,994 and GB-2,171,971. However, in these known installations, the overall design of the adductor, the extractor and the transport and storage system for the lockers leads to a complex and bulky construction. In particular, in all cases, it involves at least one turning device, in which two lockers are introduced together and undergo a 180 ° rotation around the same axis. In some cases (GB-2,142,894, GB-2,171,971) this axis is horizontal while in other cases (GB-2,120,994, GB-2,193,184) this axis is vertical. The object of the present invention is to eliminate this operation while simplifying the overall design of the installation.

There are also known (FR-2,139,281) locker transport facilities which use lockers with a bottom opening. However, these known installations are not intended for the buffer storage of lockers which empty or fill as required, and the command to open and close the bottoms is not integrated into the installation. The teaching contained in this last document therefore does not make it possible to achieve the aim of the present invention.

This is achieved, according to the invention, in an installation of the kind specified above by the fact that the storage lockers are bottom opening and that the said transport and storage system comprises firstly several elongated bearings and superimposed, provided with means for receiving a series of parallel racks, arranged in a row, and on the other hand two vertical transport routes connecting the bearings to each other at their two ends, in that the said means of reception are driven in translation between the said transport tracks, and in that the said system is arranged in a vertical plane and ensures displacements of the racks exclusively in translation, along a circuit which may include different routes, between the extractor and the adductor or vice versa, the duct being oriented in a direction which intersects the said vertical plane at a point adjacent to the transport and storage system.

We thus obtain a complete installation, which normally works with a fixed number of lockers, part of which is empty and the rest full. the full lockers removed at the outlet of the extractor can be routed to the inlet of the adductor or be put in reserve in the store and the empty lockers can, for their part, be recovered after their emptying at the inlet of the adductor and stored or transported, towards the inlet of the extractor. The assembly can operate automatically according to a desired program, as a function of data which are picked up at different points in the installation and of orders supplied to the different drive means of the devices.

If necessary, additional full bins can be introduced into the system or empty bins can be removed.

In an advantageous embodiment by its simplicity, use is made of racks having an opening lower side wall, for example a wall capable of sliding parallel to itself beyond the bottom of the rack. In this case, the means for moving the lockers associated with the emptying station will be equipped with control means capable of opening the lower side wall of each full locker which is introduced into the emptying device and of closing and, if necessary , lock this wall when the rack is reintroduced into the store after being emptied.

• La fig. 1 en est une vue schématique en élévation,
• la fig. 2, une vue en perspective partielle,
• les figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, des vues partielles d'un casier en coupe selon la ligne III-III de la fig. 4 en plan de dessus en position ouverte, en élévation selon la flèche V de la fig. 3 et en plan de dessus en position fermée,
• la fig. 7 est une vue semblable à la fig. 1 montrant une variante du dispositif d'écartement et
• la fig. 8 une vue semblable à la fig. 2 montrant également cette variante.

An embodiment of the installation according to the invention will be described below, by way of example, which is shown diagrammatically in the accompanying drawing.

• Fig. 1 is a schematic view in elevation thereof,
• fig. 2, a partial perspective view,
• figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, partial views of a rack in section along line III-III of FIG. 4 in top plan in the open position, in elevation according to arrow V in FIG. 3 and in top plan in closed position,
• fig. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing a variant of the spacer and
• fig. 8 a view similar to FIG. 2 also showing this variant.

The installation essentially comprises a transport and storage system 1, also called a store, an emptying station 2, also called an adductor, a filling station 3, also called an extractor, and means for capturing information and communications d 'orders (not shown). The store 1 comprises an upper conveyor 4A, an intermediate conveyor 5A, a lower conveyor 6A, a front lift 7 and a rear lift 8. The conveyors are conveyor belts having a width adapted to the width of the standard lockers 9 which will be placed on they with their rear wall disposed vertically on the side opposite stations 2 and 3. These bands are supported and driven by rollers 10 coupled, in a manner known per se, to motors (not shown). Preferably, the various conveyors 4A, 5A and 6A form horizontal bearings 4, 5, 6 superimposed and of the same length so as to be served by the elevators 7 and 8 which are placed at their two ends.

At the upper strip 4 and the emptying station 2, there is provided a device designated by 11 and capable of carrying out different movements of the lockers located either at the end of the conveyor 4 or on the elevator 7 , or in station 2. Thus, the device 11 can take a full locker located at the front end of the strip 4 and move it either on the elevator 7 at the level of the upper strip, or to the entrance 12 of station 2, where it is in the waiting position. the device 11 which is an auxiliary of the station 2 is also designed to move laterally, in the direction perpendicular to the drawing in FIG. 1 or vertically, or in another way, a rack which has emptied its load into the duct 15. At the same time, it can close the bottom wall of this rack. In this way, a new full rack can be moved synchronously from the standby position in the emptying station by the device 11. The empty rack pushed aside by the device 11 will for example be put on hold in a position spread laterally or vertically, then replaced on the elevator 7 and brought to the entrance of the filling station or on the conveyor 5.

A device 13, similar to device 11, is placed at the level of the strip 5 to take one by one of the empty lockers 9 on the elevator 7 or on the anterior end of the strip 5 and introduce them, however without opening their wall lower, in the entry of the filling station 3. A third lateral displacement device 14 is placed at the level of the strip 6, under the device 13, that is to say between the elevator 7 and the station filling 3. It is intended to collect full lockers 9 in the outlet station (see fig. 2) of the filling station 3 and to move them in translation either on the elevator 7 or on the front end of the strip 6.

The elevator 7, like the elevator 8, can be constructed as shown diagrammatically in FIG. 2. Two conveyor belts 16 and 17 are mounted vertically on rollers 18 having horizontal and parallel axes. From distance to distance, these bands carry supports 19 on which the lockers 9 can be engaged. The drive rollers 18 are controlled by sensors for the presence of a rack 9 on the supports 19 and for the height of the position of these supports.

We will now describe in more detail the emptying 2 and filling stations 3. These stations operate on a stream of rods, for example filter rods or segments of rod intended for the manufacture of cigarettes, which flows into a conduit 15, the segment of which is visible in FIG. . 1 is arranged horizontally. It is a conduit known to those skilled in the art, in which, in the usual manner, parallel rods and oriented perpendicular to the direction of the conduit, move so as to represent a flow. The duct is equipped with conveyor belts which are not shown but which ensure the movement of the sticks either from left to right, or from right to left in FIG. 2. Its upper face and its lower face are interrupted at the location of stations 2 and 3 and thus have openings 20, 21 for the introduction and extraction of the rods.

The emptying station or adductor 2 comprises a fixed support 22 intended to successively receive full lockers 9. Preferably, the mechanism for opening the lower side wall of the locker placed on the support 22 will be activated once the presence locker at this location will have been detected. The two rigid elements of the support 22 are each connected by a segment of flexible strip 23 to one of the edges of the opening 20, so that the two segments 23 delimit with the anterior and posterior fixed walls 24 of the station 2 a hopper guiding adduction of the rods in the conduit. Vibrators 25 ensure the introduction by acting on the strips 23.

The filling station or extractor 3 also comprises two segments of flexible strips 26 connected to the two edges of the opening 21. The segments 26 are arranged so as to ensure progressive filling of an empty rack 9 having its side wall closed bottom, placed on a movable support 27, for example a horizontal plate fixed to the end of a rod 28 integral with the piston of a jack 29. Vibrators 30 control the vibrations and movements of the bands 26. An empty rack 9 from the conveyor 5 can be engaged on the walls 26 so as to rest on the plate 27 in the upper position, after which, as the plate 27 lowers, the sticks extracted from the conduit 15 through the opening 21, accumulate in the locker. When the rack is at the level of the conveyor 6, it is completely filled and the device 14 for lateral movement can convey it either to the elevator 7 or to the conveyor 6. A device 31 for driving the members 25 and 30 is also shown in FIG. 1.

Figures 3 to 6 show a possible embodiment of the lockers 9. Each of these comprises a rectangular rear wall 32 and two vertical side walls 33 rigidly fixed to the wall 32, extending in parallel and provided at their lower end d 'an internal rim 34. The rack has a third side wall 35 forming the bottom of the rack, each end of which is connected to one of the rims 34 by a linkage composed of two bars 36, 37, articulated one to the another and one of which is also articulated on the plate 35 and the other on one of the flanges 34. The control of the linkage for passing the opening bottom 35 from the position of figs. 3, 4, 5 at the position of fig. 6 can be provided by different means, for example jacks which can be associated with the supports 22 (see fig. 2). The control means of the linkage can also be of the electromagnetic type. Instead of an articulated bottom displacement system 35, it is also possible to provide simple parallel guidance and control by cylinder, the latter being mounted, if necessary, on the rack itself.

The installation described has the great advantage of making it possible to manage the feeding of one or more machines at will, such as packers or assemblers. In addition, it has a large buffer in a reduced volume. The store can have any proportion of full and empty lockers. Any empty locker located on one of the transporters can be brought to the inlet of the extractor and then once filled, reinserted in the store, without disturbing the operations in progress. Similarly, any full locker can be brought to the inlet of the adductor, and once emptied reinserted in the store. Feeding can be continuous or intermittent. Empty or full bins can also be entered manually or automatically from pallets. For this, the elevators-descenders 7 and 8 can be arranged so that at least one of them has a loading station located at a level higher than that of the transporter 4 or at a level lower than that of the transporter 6. Managing the flow of rods can therefore be very flexible. The operations to be carried out to distribute the full and empty lockers on the carriers 4A, 5A and 6A according to a judicious arrangement in the various situations which may arise can be programmed and controlled by computer. The management of the lockers does not require any turning or pivoting operation carried out on a pair of lockers and the movements are exclusively translations.

Figs. 7 and 8 show an alternative embodiment of the spacing device 11. A gripping means 38 cooperates with the adductor 2 so as to be able to grasp a rack 9 which has just been emptied and the raise vertically in a position such that the inlet 12 of the station 2 is released, so that a new full rack 9 can immediately be brought into the emptying position. A second auxiliary means represented at 39 then receives the raised locker 9 and transfers it to the upper position of the elevator 7. This empty locker can therefore be again moved down to the level of the bearing 5 and be put in stock on the conveyor belt of this bearing.

Claims (11)

1. Apparatus for transporting rods comprising a conduit (15) adapted to be passed through by a flow of parallel rods oriented perpendicular to the direction of the conduit, a set of storage compartments (9), an extractor (3) and a feeder (2) permitting, respectively, the extraction of the rods from the conduit at a first location and the introduction of the rods into the conduit at a second location, the extractor and the feeder being associated, respectively, with a filling means (31, 26) and with an emptying means (31, 23) of the compartments (9), a system for conveying and storing (1) said compartments (9), and control means permitting management of the delivery of the rods in the conduit and the displacement of the compartments in the conveying and storage system (1), characterized in that the storage compartments (9) have bottoms which open (35), and in that the said conveying and storage system (1) comprises, on the one hand, a plurality of elongated and superimposed levels (4, 5, 6) equipped with transporters (4A, 5A, 6A) capable of receiving a series of parallel compartments (9), disposed in a row, and, on the other hand, two vertical conveyor tracks (7, 8) interconnecting the levels at their two ends, in that the transporters (4A, 5A, 6A) are moved in translation between the said conveyor tracks, and in that the said system (1) is disposed in a vertical plane and assures displacement of the compartments solely in translation along a circuit capable of comprising different routes between the extractor (3) and the feeder (2) or vice-versa, the conduit (15) being oriented in a direction which intersects the said vertical plane at a point adjacent to the conveying and storage system (1).
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said first and second locations are openings (20, 21) made in a horizontal top wall and a horizontal bottom wall of the conduit (15), these openings being directly superimposed.
3. The apparatus according to claim 2, characterized by at least one transfer apparatus (11, 13, 14) associated with the feeder (2) or the extractor (3) and permitting withdrawal of a compartment (9) which has performed its function from the circuit while a new compartment is put in place to perform its function.
4. The apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that the conveying and storage system (1) includes three levels (4, 5, 6) of which one is at the elevation of the feeder (2), a second (5) at the elevation of an entrance post of the extractor (3) and a third (6) at the level of an exit post of the extractor (3), and in that a transfer apparatus (11, 13, 14) is placed at each of these levels between the conveyor track (7) closest to the conduit and the assembly consisting of the conduit (15), the feeder (2) and the extractor (3).
5. The apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that the said levels (4, 5, 6) each comprise a conveyor belt capable of receiving rod compartments (9) placed on edge, one behind the other, in a series.
6. The apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that the said conveyor belts (4, 5, 6) are horizontal.
7. The apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that the said vertical conveyor tracks (7, 8) are lifts capable of receiving simultaneously a compartment (9) at each of said levels and of moving said compartments to another level.
8. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the feeder (2) is equipped with means (22) for opening and closing the opening bottoms of the compartments.
9. The apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that said means for opening and closing are associated with the transfer apparatus (11) at the elevation of the upper conveyor belt (4).
10. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by a set of compartments which consist of a rigid structure formed of a front wall (32) and two sidewalls (33), the said opening bottom (35), and controllable connection means (36, 37) between the rigid structure (32, 33) and the opening bottom (35).
11. The apparatus according to claim 10, characterized in that the opening bottom is connected to the rigid structure by an articulated system (36, 37).

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