EP0648675B1 - Packaging machine for delicate rod-shaped objects, especially cigarettes - Google Patents

Packaging machine for delicate rod-shaped objects, especially cigarettes Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0648675B1
EP0648675B1 EP94115553A EP94115553A EP0648675B1 EP 0648675 B1 EP0648675 B1 EP 0648675B1 EP 94115553 A EP94115553 A EP 94115553A EP 94115553 A EP94115553 A EP 94115553A EP 0648675 B1 EP0648675 B1 EP 0648675B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
cigarettes
stroke
carrying
packaging machine
group
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP94115553A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0648675A1 (en
Inventor
Valter Spada
Giuseppe Tosi
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Sasib Tobacco SpA
Original Assignee
Sasib Tobacco SpA
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Sasib Tobacco SpA filed Critical Sasib Tobacco SpA
Publication of EP0648675A1 publication Critical patent/EP0648675A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0648675B1 publication Critical patent/EP0648675B1/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
    • B65B19/00—Packaging rod-shaped or tubular articles susceptible to damage by abrasion or pressure, e.g. cigarettes, cigars, macaroni, spaghetti, drinking straws or welding electrodes
    • B65B19/02—Packaging cigarettes
    • B65B19/22—Wrapping the cigarettes; Packaging the cigarettes in containers formed by folding wrapping material around formers
    • B65B19/223—Wrapping the cigarettes; Packaging the cigarettes in containers formed by folding wrapping material around formers in a curved path; in a combination of straight and curved paths, e.g. on rotary tables or other endless conveyors
    • B65B19/226—Wrapping the cigarettes; Packaging the cigarettes in containers formed by folding wrapping material around formers in a curved path; in a combination of straight and curved paths, e.g. on rotary tables or other endless conveyors using endless conveyors having pockets, each pocket being provided with separate members, e.g. folders

Definitions

  • the invention relates to a packaging machine for delicate rod-shaped objects, especially cigarettes, of the type comprising a feeder which takes a succession of not wrapped groups of ordered cigarettes to a feeding station that feeds said groups of cigarettes to a transfer unit, which in turn transfers the groups of cigarettes one after the other by pusher means and together with a wrapping sheet into a coinciding empty cigarette carrying socket in a folding drum that folds said wrapping sheet around the group of cigarettes, the individual groups of cigarettes being transferred from the feeding station following a straight path of predetermined length along a horizontal stationary movement guide which is oriented radially with respect to the folding drum and has an inlet end at the feeding station and an outlet end near the folding drum.
  • a packaging machine of this kind is known from its prior manufacture by the Applicant.
  • An analogous packaging machine is known from the document DE-A-2439192, but in this machine wrapped groups of cigarettes are transferred from a station to another, while in the initially described packaging machine according to the pre-characterizing part of claim 1 the transferred groups of cigarettes are not wrapped.
  • the handling of not wrapped groups of cigarettes is different from the handling of wrapped groups of cigarettes and requires the solution of different problems.
  • the invention is based on the problem of providing a packaging machine of the type described at the outset, in which the transfer unit is constructed in such a way as to provide a treatment that is more appropriate for the delicate, not wrapped objects being handled, while assuring a greater accuracy of synchronization and greater efficiency of the machine, as well as an easier and direct accessibility for manual intervention and visual monitoring of the products being processed and of the operating parts.
  • the invention solves this problem with a packaging machine according to the pre-characterizing part of claim 1 and characterized in that the transfer unit is constructed in such a way that the individual groups of cigarettes are carried by a first pusher from the feeding station to a transfer station provided at the terminal portion of the stationary conveying surface and then by a second pusher from the transfer station into the cigarette carrying socket of the folding drum, by an additional transferring movement in the direction of a continuation of the straight path.
  • the length of the straight transfer path from the feeding station to the transfer station is comparatively short and is between two and three times the length of the group of cigarettes in the transfer direction.
  • the cigarettes, or rather the group of cigarettes, is transferred along the conveying surface perpendicularly to their axis.
  • the transfer unit consists of a straight, horizontal, stationary movement guide oriented radially with respect to the folding drum and aligned vertically with the cigarette carrying sockets of said folding drum, which guide is provided with means for the linear collecting/carrying of a group of cigarettes from the inlet end to the outlet end of said guide.
  • the collecting/carrying means may be of any kind.
  • They are preferably constructed in such a way as to keep the cigarettes of each group in the pre-ordered condition adopted in the feeder of the ordered groups of cigarettes and can be moved back and forth in both directions over the horizontal movement guide in an active transfer stroke from the inlet end to the outlet end and an empty return stroke along a path a certain distance away from said guide, away from the area of interference of said collecting/carrying means with the groups of cigarettes on the movement guide.
  • the collecting/carrying means may consist of a vertical transverse wall that acts on the rear side of the group of cigarettes on the movement guide, with reference to the carrying direction.
  • said means may have two transverse walls, one at the front and the other at the back, separated from each other in a fixed manner in the carrying direction by a distance corresponding to the size of the group of cigarettes which are moved together.
  • the movement guide consists of an open-sided and open-ended movement channel, the distance between whose horizontal sides corresponds to the horizontal size of the group of cigarettes.
  • the transfer stroke is reduced, it is possible to obtain higher machine operating speeds.
  • keeping the operating speed constant gives the advantage of a lower running speed for the carrying means. This opens the way to a more delicate treatment of the cigarettes, reducing the risks of damage and thus conserving the product better.
  • the lower running speed of the collecting/carrying means together with a smaller inertial mass of these means makes it possible to reduce the inertial load on the drive motor, the dimensions of which can be smaller. Furthermore, the smaller inertial mass ensures that synchronization is more accurate.
  • the design according to the invention is more easily accessible, visually and manually, both for monitoring purposes and to allow maintenance and work to be done in the event of malfunction.
  • a packaging machine especially for cigarettes, comprises an endless feeder belt 1 provided with a plurality of cassettes 2 for holding successive ordered groups of cigarettes S.
  • the cigarettes S are fed from a hopper (not shown) in which they are held loose and are arranged in an ordered manner in the cassettes 2 in a predetermined manner in a previous station.
  • the ordered groups of cigarettes S are conveyed to a feeding station A in which they are fed to a transfer unit 30 which is to the side of and forwards of the conveyor belt 1.
  • cigarettes S are conveyed perpendicularly to their axis, while each group of cigarettes is fed to the inlet end of a horizontal movement channel in the transfer unit 30 by means of an axial pusher 3.
  • the transfer unit 30 is composed of a horizontal movement channel oriented parallel with the conveyor belt 1 and positioned to the side of, in front of and at the same level as the belt 1.
  • the horizontal movement channel is open at the sides and at its forward end, with reference to the carrying direction, at the outlet end.
  • the movement channel is formed by two lower parallel horizontal rods 4 which are spaced apart and on which the opposite end portions of the cigarettes S rest, and by a roof 5 consisting of a plate parallel with the rods 4.
  • the roof 5 is centred with respect to the two lower rods 4 and its width in the axial direction is less than the axial length of the cigarettes S, thus leaving their end portions supported on the rods 4 free.
  • the roof 5 is raised vertically above the upper surface of the rods 4 by a distance corresponding approximately to the vertical opening of the cassettes 2 on the conveyor belt 1, in other words to the vertical dimension of the ordered groups of cigarettes S.
  • the movement channel has a loading chamber 8 whose internal volume is identical to the internal volume holding the ordered groups of cigarettes S of the cassettes 2 on the conveyor belt 1.
  • the loading chamber 8 has a stationary vertical transverse rear wall 6 which closes off its rear end.
  • the rear wall 6 may possess, as in the case depicted, a central horizontal rib 106 on its inside face, which rib 106 helps to maintain the staggered arrangement of the superimposed rows of cigarettes S in each ordered group, as is customary in the packaging of cigarettes.
  • the transverse forward wall 107 is formed by the forward vertical foot of an angled lever 7 which extends underneath the rods 4 and pivots near its centre at 9, while the opposite end from the vertical foot 107 is engaged by a roller 10 in a cam 11.
  • the transverse forward wall 107 can oscillate between a position in which it closes the loading chamber 8 and a position in which it opens it (Figs. 1, 4 and 5) on its side facing towards the transfer station, that is towards the outlet end of the movement channel.
  • the length of the rear 6 and forward 107 transverse walls, tranversely to the movement channel, is approximately equal to or preferably slightly less than the free distance between the two lower guide rods 4, said walls being interposed between said guide rods 4, so that the end portions of the cigarettes resting on the rods 4 also project beyond said transverse walls 6 and 107.
  • a stationary guideway 12 which is coaxial and coincident with the loading chamber 8 and whose lateral walls and upper and lower walls (not shown) flare out 112 towards the cassette 2 to guide it in.
  • the group of cigarettes fed into the loading chamber 8 is conveyed to the outlet end of the movement channel by means of a collector/carrier 13.
  • the collector/carrier 13 possesses, on its forward and rear sides with reference to the direction in which the group of cigarettes is carried, means for engaging the corresponding transverse sides of the group of cigarettes which are complementary to the movement channel and to the loading chamber 8 and also so designed that these engaging means can be freely engaged with the movement channel in their active position or disengaged from the movement channel.
  • pairs of vertical end fingers 14 and 15 are vertically in line with the guide rods 4 and therefore engage the ends of the cigarettes S projecting out of the roof 5 of the movement channel and out of the vertical transverse walls 6 and 107 of the loading chamber 8.
  • the two pairs of fingers 14 and 15 are spaced apart in the direction in which the group of cigarettes is carried by a distance equal to the extension thereof, that is to the distance between the transverse walls of the cassettes 2 and of the loading chamber 8, thus forming a carrying chamber which enables the predetermined ordered arrangement of the cigarettes in one group to be maintained while that group is being moved along the channel.
  • the fingers 14 and 15 of the collector/carrier 13 project from a supporting part 113 located above the roof 5 of the movement channel, to which part the means that drive the collector/carrier 13 are connected.
  • a pusher 16 moving back and forth in the transfer direction projects into the movement channel from below, between the two movement rods 4.
  • the pusher 16 consists of a vertical transverse wall carried cantilever-fashion by a lower supporting part 17. In much the same way as the transverse rear wall 6 of the loading chamber 8, this has, in a complementary position, a horizontal transverse rib 116 which projects towards the facing transverse rear side of the group of cigarettes. As shown in particular in Fig. 4, in the active position, the pusher 16 is in contact with the rear side of the group of cigarettes and the rib 116 fits into the recess formed by the staggered arrangement of the rows of cigarettes in the row to be transferred.
  • the outlet end of the movement channel is located at a transfer station T in which the group of cigarettes is transferred into an empty cigarette carrying socket 118 in a folding drum 18.
  • the folding drum 18 is so positioned that the movement channel is oriented radially with respect to the drum and is vertically in line with the cigarette carrying sockets 118 of the folding drum 18.
  • Said sockets 118 are also arranged radially and are open on their radially outward peripheral side.
  • the lower movement surface of the movement channel, i.e. the lower guide rods 4 is positioned, in relation to the axis of rotation of the folding drum 18, in such a way that in the transfer station T the corresponding empty cigarette carrying socket 118 is horizontally in line and in a coaxial position with the movement channel.
  • the transfer station T Between the folding drum 18 and the outlet end of the movement channel, in the transfer station T there are means for feeding/positioning a wrapping sheet F.
  • These means may be of any kind.
  • the means illustrated consist of a pair of parallel, mutually coplanar suction belts 19 running around two rollers 20, 21, at least one of which is powered. One side of each suction belt 19 is interposed between the outlet end of the transfer unit 30 and the folding drum 18 and is oriented vertically.
  • the belts 19 are set laterally back from the corresponding ends of the cigarettes S of the group in the movement channel, so that said group can pass freely between them. They grip the corresponding lateral edges of the sheet F. Correct positioning of the sheet F is monitored and controlled by presence sensors 23, for example a light barrier or the like.
  • the collector/transferrer 13 is made to move along an approximately rectangular path in the vertical plane.
  • This path comprises: a first carrying stroke X parallel with the movement channel from the inlet end to the outlet end thereof, that is from the feeding station A to the transfer station T, during which said collector/carrier 13 is in the lowered position with the fingers 14 and 15 inside the movement channel, and the group of cigarettes is engaged with the front and rear fingers 14 and 15; next an approximately vertical rising stroke Y in which at the outlet end of the movement channel the collector/carrier 13 is raised above it to a position of disengagement of the fingers 14 and 15 from it and of non-interference with the group of cigarettes; a return stroke Z approximately parallel with the carrying stroke X and in which the collector/carrier 13 is moved back to the feeding station A at the inlet end of the movement channel and a lowering stroke W in which the carrier/collector 13 is lowered on to the loading chamber 8 so that the front 14 and rear 15 fingers are lined up with its corresponding forward 107 and rear 6 trans
  • the pusher 16 executes a stroke which is basically similar but symmetrically opposite with respect to the horizontal plane of the movement channel. A substantial difference is that, since as shown in Fig. 5 the pusher accompanies the cigarettes all the way into the empty socket 118 of the folding drum 18, it must be withdrawn from said socket 118 before it can execute the vertical lowering stroke W'. Accordingly the return stroke Z' includes an initial section Z'' that is approximately coplanar with the end section of the transfer stroke X'.
  • the example illustrated uses basically similar means consisting of an articulated parallelogram provided with means for correcting the rounding of the circuit during the individual strokes.
  • a front driving link 25 and a rear driving link 126 At points that are spaced out at longitudinal intervals in the movement channel, hinged to the part 113 supporting the collector/carrier 13 in such a way as to pivot about a horizontal axis at right angles to the movement guide, are a front driving link 25 and a rear driving link 126.
  • the front link 25 pivots on the free end of an intermediate lever 27 whose opposite end pivots in turn on the free end of another control lever 29 which is keyed at its opposite end to the output shaft 128 of a periodic or rotary actuator 28 (for example of the kind sold by the company Tecnocamme s.r.l.) and which comprises an input shaft providing continuous drive to a positive-drive cam controlling a pair of rollers at the ends of mutually opposing levers keyed to the output shaft 128, the cam being constructed in such a way as to produce an angular movement in the output shaft in one direction or the other at predetermined intervals of its angular actuation.
  • the rear driving link 126 is formed by one section of an angled lever 26.
  • the length of said section is equal to the length of the front driving link 25.
  • the angled lever 26 pivots in the region of the angle, relative to it, on the free end of a control lever 31, whose opposite end is keyed to the output shaft 132 of a separate rotary actuator 32.
  • the region of the angle of the angled lever 26, that is the upper end of the driving link 126 and the equivalent end of the front driving link 25 are connected rigidly together by a crosslink 33 which is mounted so as to pivot relative to these.
  • the section 226 of the angled lever 26 pivots on the end of a correcting lever 34 whose opposite end pivots freely on a stationary spindle 35.
  • the control lever 29 essentially controls the lifting of the collector/carrier 13, while the control lever 31 controls its movement in the horizontal plane.
  • the appropriately synchronized driving of the two controlling rotary actuators 28, 32 enables the collector/carrier 13 to be moved around the approximately rectangular circuit shown in Fig. 6, while the correcting lever 34 for correcting the rounding of the carrying stroke X and return stroke Z permits suppression or substantial limitation in unimportant regions of said curved circuit.
  • the articulated parallelogram for driving the pusher 16 is constructed in much the same way as that for driving the collector/carrier 13.
  • the difference between the two circuits shown in Figs. 6 and 7 is achieved by altering the synchronization of the two rotary actuators with each other.
  • the collector/carrier 13 collects, by fitting over it, the group of cigarettes in the loading chamber 8 of the movement guide.
  • the forward transverse wall 107 of said loading chamber 8 (Fig. 5) is then lowered and the collector/carrier 13 executes its carrying stroke up to the outlet end of the movement channel (Fig. 1).
  • the forward transverse wall 107 of the loading chamber 8 is raised and at the same time the next group of cigarettes is fed in.
  • the pusher 16 is moved up against the rear side of the group of cigarettes (Fig.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Wrapping Of Specific Fragile Articles (AREA)
  • Confectionery (AREA)
EP94115553A 1993-10-13 1994-10-04 Packaging machine for delicate rod-shaped objects, especially cigarettes Expired - Lifetime EP0648675B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
ITGE930088A IT1261909B (it) 1993-10-13 1993-10-13 Macchina impacchettatrice di oggetti astiformi delicati,in particolareper sigarette.
ITGE930088 1993-10-13

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0648675A1 EP0648675A1 (en) 1995-04-19
EP0648675B1 true EP0648675B1 (en) 1998-12-23

Family

ID=11354471

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP94115553A Expired - Lifetime EP0648675B1 (en) 1993-10-13 1994-10-04 Packaging machine for delicate rod-shaped objects, especially cigarettes

Country Status (3)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0648675B1 (it)
DE (1) DE69415465T2 (it)
IT (1) IT1261909B (it)

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
ITUA20161853A1 (it) 2016-03-21 2017-09-21 Gd Spa Unità e metodo di incarto per piegare un foglio di incarto attorno ad un articolo

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
IT983255B (it) * 1973-05-09 1974-10-31 Gd Spa Macchina impacchettatrice di sigarette
DE2439192C2 (de) * 1974-08-16 1985-08-29 Focke & Pfuhl, 2810 Verden Vorrichtung zum Herstellen bzw. Schließen von Packungen, bei denen ein Zuschnitt einen Packungsinhalt schlauchförmig umschließt und gegen die Stirnseiten des Packungsinhalts gefaltet ist
GB1516521A (en) * 1974-06-11 1978-07-05 Focke Pfuhl Verpack Automat Wrapping rod-like articles
IT1060844B (it) * 1976-03-17 1982-09-30 Gd Spa Dispositivo di guida e di tenuta dei gruppi di sigarette nelle apparecchiature di trasferimento di detti gruppi da un convogliatore ad una macchina condizionatrice di sigarette in pacchetti rigidi del tipo a coperchio incernierato (hinged lid)

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
IT1261909B (it) 1996-06-03
EP0648675A1 (en) 1995-04-19
ITGE930088A0 (it) 1993-10-13
DE69415465D1 (de) 1999-02-04
ITGE930088A1 (it) 1995-04-13
DE69415465T2 (de) 1999-05-12

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