EP0635220B1 - Device for transferring filter rod elements from a magazine to a pneumatic transport conduit - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a device for transferring filter rods for cigarettes from a supply into a pneumatic conveyor line by means of a rotary movement driven transfer drum with a plurality of receptacles for removing filter rods from the adjacent stock in one first area and for conveying these filter rods in always the same direction in a second area in which the filter rods under the influence of air from the Recordings are moved axially into the delivery line.

A transfer device of the aforementioned type is described in US-A-3 827 757 and also by the pneumatic ones that are widespread in the cigarette industry Conveyor systems for filter rods of the FILTROMAT type have become known to the applicant. The continuously preferably at constant speed driven transfer drums of these systems remove filter rods an overlying stock in shots, each with a filter rod is conveyed from the supply to a transfer area in which the filter rods successively from their recordings by compressed air pulses into a pneumatic Conveying line are transferred. The filter rods reach the delivery line from the sending station successively to the remote receiving station on the filter magazine of a filter attachment machine, into which they are placed in succession or be transferred after the formation of a multilayer flow. From the filter magazine the filter rods are removed, mostly cut into partial rods and on cigarettes by wrapping the connection area with a glued topping paper set up for the production of cigarettes (connected). As a result of increasing the production output of a filter cigarette machine up to the time interval in which the compressed air pulses make the transfer becomes 14,000 cig./min a filter rod from the holder of the rotating transfer drum in have to transfer the pneumatic delivery line, always smaller. This grows the risk that the filter rods will not succeed in the time available to be transferred completely and correctly into the pneumatic delivery line. However, since the transfer drum continues to rotate, it can happen that the rear end of a filter rod is pinched or sheared off. Both conditions can lead to malfunctions, so that the corresponding transfer drum must be switched off with the result that the connected Filter attachment machine no longer receives filter rods and is also switched off must become. This leads to a more or less large loss of production.

From DE-A-35 38 660 it is known that the supply of filter rods to one constant speed driven approximately according to US-A-3 827 757 Transfer drum after a certain operating phase, d. H. a certain Number of filter rods transferred into the pneumatic conveying pipes to be blocked. In the Subsequent transmission pause, no filter rods will continue in the constant Conveyor drum rotating speed transferred. By varying the The delivery rate can vary depending on the time ratio of transmission phases and pauses.

The object underlying the invention is to make the delivery rate of devices of the type mentioned faster and / or safer. According to the invention, this is achieved by means of a drive by means of which the drum is rotated in movement cycles in each case by an angle which corresponds to the distance between two adjacent receptacles, one movement cycle being the movement of a filled receptacle with increased speed into the second region, with reduced speed in the second area and in the empty state again at an increased speed, which is at the same time the speed for moving the subsequent filled receptacle into the second area, from the second area.
Further embodiments of the invention can be found in the subordinate claims.

The advantage associated with the invention is that the transfer of the filter rods can be made safer, ie the risk of jamming and shearing can be reduced with the result of a malfunction. In addition, the transfer can still be effected safely even at increased production speeds of the fed filter attaching machine.
However, if a filter rod is not properly transferred into the pneumatic conveyor line every now and then, this can be detected according to an advantageous development of the invention by a sensor which prevents the transfer drum from moving further and the risk of malfunction caused by the rapid stopping of the drum drive from a low speed .

The invention is based on an embodiment illustrative drawing explained in more detail.

Figur 1

eine Überführungsstation zum Überführen von Filterstäben mittels einer Sendetrommel in eine pneumatische Förderleitung, teilweise geschnitten,

Figur 2

ein Diagramm für die Sollwerte zur diskontinuierlichen Steuerung der Geschwindigkeit eines elektrischen Antriebsmotors für die Sendetrommel.

Show it:

Figure 1

a transfer station for transferring filter rods by means of a transmission drum into a pneumatic conveying line, partially cut,

Figure 2

a diagram for the setpoints for discontinuous control of the speed of an electric drive motor for the transmission drum.

Figure 1 shows a transfer conveyor in the form of a Drum 1 (transmission drum or transfer drum), the with Provided as troughs receptacles 2 for filter rods 3 is. The troughs run parallel to the axis of rotation 4 of the Drum 1 and are outward, d. H. on the axis of rotation 4 opposite side, open. The drum 1, which by means of a in radial bearings 5 and 10 shaft 6 in the direction of Arrow 15 is driven about an axis 4 is used for removal of filter rods 3 in a first area A from a Supply 7, the container formed by a wall 8, 9 13 is limited, and for transferring the withdrawn into the recordings 2 spent and thus isolated filter rods 3 in a second area B, in which the filter rods 3 axially through a fixed channel 14 into a pneumatic Delivery line 16 are moved. Two more boundary walls are not visible in the drawing. Each one of the receptacles 2 is delimited by two webs 17 which in the second area B and a certain distance before and then bear sealingly against a counter surface 18. The counter surface 18 is adapted to the arcuate path of the webs 17 and forms the surface of a sealing block 19. The Sealing block 19 consists of material with good dry sliding properties, e.g. made of polyamide. The end face 21 of the drum 1 is of springs 22 in holes 23 of a pressure nut 24 pressed against a counter surface 27 via a thrust bearing 26, which forms the surface of a sealing washer 28, which is made of the same material as the sealing block 19. The pressure nut 24 is with an external thread in one Screwed bearing flange 29, which is fixed to a machine frame 32 is attached.

In the sealing block 19 is one with a compressed air source 33 channel connected via a line 34 36, from which a first compressed air line 37 and a second Branch off compressed air line 38. The first compressed air line 37 stands with a recording located in the second area B. 2 the drum 1 only in connection when the recording 2 and the pneumatic delivery line 16 via the channel 14 are aligned. The channel 14 is designed such that he connected to the sealing washer 28 Beginning 42 is wider than at its end 43, to which the pneumatic delivery line 16 is connected. Only in the aforementioned position in which a receptacle 2 with the pneumatic Delivery line 16 is aligned, the recording 2 is over an associated control slot 44 of the drum 1 can be supplied with air, which the filter plug in the receptacle 2 with a Force applied in the direction of arrow 45. The drum 1 is designed so that each receptacle 2 has a control slot 44 is assigned. The second compressed air line 38, in the there is a throttle 46 is a recess in the second area B already connected to a receptacle 2, before the receptacle 2 with the pneumatic delivery line 16 escapes, and she is still communicating after the shot 2 out of alignment with the pneumatic conveyor line 16 has emigrated.

The entire sealing block 19 is pressed against the drum 1 by a toggle lever 51. Adjusting screws 54 and 56 are used to adjust the pressing pressure in the direction of arrows 52 and 53. When a lever arm 57 moves in the direction of arrow 58, pressing surfaces 59 and 61 of toggle lever 51 detach from a head 62 of adjusting screw 54, whereupon sealing block 19 lies down on a support surface 63 and can be removed on a handle 64 in the direction of arrow 66, for. B. to clean the air lines or to remove filter rods not transferred into the delivery line 16. The toggle 51 closes automatically when the lever arm 57 moves in accordance with arrow 58 via a connection piece (not shown) indicated only by a dashed line of action, a valve 67 in the line 34 to the compressed air source 33 or in the pneumatic delivery line 16, so that when released of the sealing block 19, no compressed air can flow out. 69 is a sealing ring between a fixed wall 71 and the sealing block 19.
To block the removal of filter rods 3 and their supply into the receptacles 2 of the drum 1, a mechanical holding element made of resilient material, which can be designed, for example, as an arcuate rubber disk 81, is located in a recess in the wall 8. The rubber disk 81 can be moved by a drive in the form of a controllable electromagnet 82 via an angle lever 83 in the direction of arrow 84 to the end faces 86 of the filter rods 3 in the supply 7 and can be brought into mechanical, ie non-positive contact with them. The rubber piece 81 extends over the entire width of the wall 8 and thus of the space accommodating the filter rods 3.
Further details of the transfer device described can be found in US-A-3 827 757.
The drum 1 is driven by an electric drive motor 91 which drives the shaft 6 via a gearwheel 93 seated on its output shaft 92 and a gearwheel 94 fastened on the shaft 6. The output of an actual value transmitter 95 for the instantaneous speed / angular speed of the motor 91 which scans the angular speed of the motor 91 is connected to a comparison element 96, which is also connected to the output of a setpoint generator 97 for the desired speed of the motor 91. A control signal emitted by the comparator 96 in the event of deviations of the actual value from the target value (control deviations) is fed to a control amplifier 98 which controls the energy flow (supply voltage and / or supply current) supplied to the motor 91 in such a way that the control deviation disappears at the output of the comparator 96. Setpoint and actual value transmitters preferably work digitally. They can emit their output signals in the form of pulse trains, ie they can be incremental. However, it is also possible to encode the output signals (for example dual), which enables the absolute position of the motor shaft 92 to be detected.
A suitable motor 91 is the M 506 F AC servo motor sold by Bautz, D-64331 Weiterstadt, Robert-Bosch-Strasse 10, DE, which draws its electrical energy from an adapted power amplifier of the type MSK 06 or MSK 12 of the aforementioned company. The engine can be a so-called encoder z. B. of the type ES 1 of the aforementioned company as an actual speed sensor. Setpoints a (cf. FIG. 2) for the desired movement sequences can be stored in the amplifier in the movement cycles described below.
If drive motors are used for the drum 1, the setpoint pulses follow quickly and safely, e.g. B. so-called stepper motors, actual value transmitter and comparator can be omitted.
A sensor 99 for filter rods is arranged in the area of the channel 14. It consists, in a manner known per se, of a light source, the light of which is reflected by a filter rod conveyed past the sensor, deflected and fed to a light-sensitive receiver of the sensor. The sensor 99 thus emits an output signal when a filter rod 3 is guided past it in the channel 14. The output signal of the sensor 99 is fed to a gate circuit 100 which can block or pass the control signals emitted by the setpoint generator 97 for a movement cycle of the motor. The gate circuit 100 then passes the control signals to the comparator 96 when the sensor 99 has supplied the gate circuit 100 with a signal which originates from a filter rod 3 in channel 14 which has passed the sensor. The setpoint signals for a movement cycle are therefore only emitted if the filter rod 3 has been correctly transferred into the channel 14 and line 16 in the previous movement cycle. If this is not the case, e.g. B. the filter rod of the previous cycle got stuck in the area of the channel 14, which could lead to shearing or jamming in the following movement cycle with the risk of a malfunction, the output signals of the setpoint generator 97 are blocked and the motor 91 is stopped; otherwise, reference value signals are fed to the comparator 96 and the motor 91 is driven in a movement cycle. The sensor 99 thus triggers each movement cycle and only interrupts if it has not detected a filter rod 3.

The transfer device according to FIG. 1 works as follows:
The drum 1, which is driven by the shaft 6, accepts 2 filter rods 3 in its receptacles 2 from the storage 7 of filter rods located in the container 13 above the drum. The electromagnet is de-energized, the rubber piece 81 in its drawn position, in which it does not inhibit the downward movement of the filter rods in the container 13 towards the drum 1.
The filter rods 3 are conveyed in the troughs 2 by the drum 1 from the first region A to the second region B, in which the filter rods are to be transferred axially directly from the receptacles into the pneumatic delivery line 16. Before a certain receptacle 2 reaches the second area B, in which it is aligned with the pneumatic delivery line 16, it comes into the area of the recess, so that compressed air from the channel 36 via the second compressed air line 38 and the throttle 46 into the receptacle 2 can flow. Since this compressed air flows around the filter rod 3 located in the receptacle 2, the same pressure prevails both in the region 2a adjacent to the sealing disk 28 and in the region 2b of the receptacle 2 adjacent to the control slot 44. This ensures that the filter rod 3 in the receptacle 2 is not moved suddenly against the direction of the arrow 45 when the receptacle is aligned with the channel 14 and thus with the delivery line 16, in which there is considerable pneumatic pressure. If the receptacle 2 is aligned with the pneumatic delivery line 16, then compressed air can flow from the first compressed air line 37 via the control slot 44 into the receptacle 2, axially move the filter rod 3 therein in the direction of arrow 45 and transfer it into the channel 14. The transfer process is facilitated by the relatively wide beginning of the channel 14. After the connection between the first compressed air line 37 and the control slot 44 is interrupted again by the further movement of the drum 1, further compressed air can flow through the second compressed air line 38 and the recess into the channel 14 and thus into the pneumatic conveying line 16, so that the filter rod is safely transported away.

Since the webs 2 of the drum 1 delimiting webs 17 in the second area B close to the counter surface 18 of the Sealing block 19 and the end face 21 on the counter surface 27 the sealing washer 28 can apply compressed air even at relative high excess pressure does not escape to a significant extent, so that the pressure force builds up on the filter rod very quickly. The relatively narrow control slots 44 ensure that the air flowing out of the first compressed air line 37 acts impulsively precisely when the recording 2 in the correct position with regard to the pneumatic delivery line 16 is located.

The discontinuous movement cycles of the drum 1 are caused by the elements 91 ... 100. The setpoint generator 97 emits corresponding signals to the diagram in FIG. 2, which shows the setpoints a over time t, which signals are fed to the comparator 96 together with the signals from the actual value generator 95. Deviations between the target values and the actual values lead to position control deviation signals which are fed to the amplifier 98 and at the output of which cause supply current and / or supply voltage changes, by means of which the motor 91 rotates faster or slower.
If a filter rod 3 at the time t1, at which the motor 91 has a low speed corresponding to the setpoint signal a1, has been transferred from its receptacle 2 to the drum 1 by the compressed air pulse into the channel 14 and the subsequent pneumatic conveying line 16, one of opens signal sent to the sensor 99, the gate circuit 100, so that the setpoint generator 97 can send an increasing signal a1, a2 to the comparison element 96 between t1 and t2, which accelerates the motor 91 until the signal a2 for the maximum speed at the time t2 is reached. At a correspondingly increasing and then constant speed, the receptacle 2, the filter rod 3 of which was transferred to the delivery line 16 before the time t1, is moved away from the second region, the transfer region, while the following receptacle filled with a filter rod 3 is moved into the Area B is moved into it. At the point in time t3 to the point in time t4, the setpoint signal decreases in accordance with the curve a3, a4 and thus the rotational speed of the motor 91 until the lower setpoint a1 is reached at the point in time t4. With the correspondingly lower speed, the motor rotates between t4 and t5, in which the following filter rod 3 in its receptacle 2 reaches the region B and thus the transfer position in which it is transferred into the duct 14 by a compressed air pulse. The sensor 99 detects this and opens the gate circuit 100 again for the transmission of the setpoints from the setpoint generator 97 to the comparison element 96 for the subsequent movement cycle between t5 and t9.
In the manner described, the speed of the drum 1 for feeding the filter rods is continuously increased, kept at a high level and lowered again in the individual movement cycles, after which the filter rod is transferred into the channel 14 at a lower speed, after which if a line 16 is detected, transferred filter rod by the sensor 99, the speed is increased again, etc.
The speed of the motor 91 when the filter rods are transferred into the line 16 can be reduced to a standstill, but it has been shown that a substantial reduction in the speed is sufficient.
The rotational or angular speeds of the motor 91 during the individual movement cycles closely follow the courses predetermined by the setpoint signals a.

Has the sensor 99 in a time of low values a1, ie low speed of rotation of the motor 91, e.g. B. in the time between t8 and t9, no filter rod 3 moved past, ie there is a risk of jamming or shearing of a filter rod, the gate circuit 100 remains closed. From the time t9, the setpoint generator 97 can no longer transmit its setpoints for the following movement cycle to the comparator 96, so that the following movement cycle cannot be initiated, the setpoint value drops to the value a0 and the motor stops. The filter rod can then be removed and is not sheared or pinched as a result of the re-accelerated drum 1, which can cause malfunctions.
In the manner described, the motor 91 accelerates the drum 1 to a maximum value corresponding to a2 in each movement cycle, then reduces the drum speed to a lower value corresponding to a1, during which the filter rod 3 located in the receptacle 2 is transferred into the pneumatic conveying line 16, then accelerates again to a maximum value, etc. If a filter rod 3 is not taken into the delivery line 16, the motor brakes the drum quickly from the lower speed corresponding to a1 to a standstill.

Has connected to the end of the pneumatic conveyor line 16 Consumer machine must have enough filter rods the further supply of filter rods are then blocked the electromagnet 82 receives an electrical control pulse, so that the rubber washer 81 in the direction of arrow 84 moved until this the end faces 86 of the lower layers of filter rods touched in the supply 7 and against the wall 9 of the Container presses. The pressure force is chosen so that the Filter rods are not deformed so much that the danger damage. After removing the last one below the filter rods held by the rubber disk 81 3 filter rods located in the receptacles 2 of the drum 1 and their transfer into the pneumatic conveyor line 16 the further supply of filter rods 3 is blocked for as long as until the electromagnet 82 is de-energized, the rubber disk 81 from the end faces 86 of the filter rods 3 and the held filter rods 3 slide down and into the Recordings of drum 1 can get.

Claims (6)

1. A device for transferring filter rods (3) for cigarettes from a store (7) into a pneumatic conveyor line (16) by means of a transfer drum (1) which is driven in a rotary movement, having a plurality of receiving means (2) for removing filter rods from the adjacent store in a first region (A) and for conveying these filter rods always in the same direction into a second region (B) in which the filter rods are moved out of the receiving means axially into the conveyor line under the action of air, characterized by a drive (91) by means of which the drum (1) is rotated in movement cycles, in each case about an angle which corresponds to the spacing between two adjacent receiving means (2), one movement cycle being the movement of a full receiving means into the second region (B) at a higher speed, in the second region at a lower speed, and, in the empty condition, out of the second region again at a higher speed, this being the same as the speed for moving the next, full receiving means into the second region.
2. A device according to Claim 1, characterized by a control arrangement for a drive which is constructed as an electric motor (91) and has a set-value indicator (97) for the angular velocity of the motor (91).
3. A device according to Claim 2, characterized by a set-value indicator (97) for the angular velocity of the motor (91), an actual-value indicator (95) detecting the angular velocity of the motor, and a comparing element (96) which receives the output signals from the set-value and actual-value indicators and of which the output signal is delivered to a controllable amplifier (98) supplying the motor with power.
4. A device according to Claim 2 and/or 3, characterized by a set-value indicator (97) and an actual-value indicator (95) which emit incremental signals.
5. A device according to Claim 2 and/or 3, characterized by set-value and actual-value indicators emitting signals in digitally encoded form.
6. A device according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized by a sensor (99) which monitors the transfer of the filter rods (3) into the pneumatic conveyor line (16) and brings the drive (91) to a standstill if transfer fails.

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