EP1103465B2 - Method and apparatus for manufacturing hinged-lid boxes for cigarettes - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a method for producing in particular dimensionally stable packages of preferably thin cardboard, in particular folding cartons for cigarettes, with an outer envelope of sealable film, wherein folding flaps of the outer packaging surrounding the package by stapling .bzw. Fastening be fixed in a folded position and then connected by thermal, in particular full-surface sealing in the region of overlaps. Furthermore, the invention relates to an apparatus for producing such packages according to the preamble of claim 6.

In packaging technology, it is often customary to provide dimensionally stable packs, in particular made of cardboard, with an outer casing of thin, transparent film. Such an outer wrapper is customary in particular with cigarette packs of the Hinge-Lid type. Before putting the pack into use, the outer wrapper, which is usually equipped with a tear thread, is removed.

From GB 2 179 018 A a method and apparatus for sealing outer wrappers of cigarette packets is known. The preamble of claims 1 and 6 corresponds to this prior art. In this case, folding flaps in the region of the bottom and end wall of the pack are partially connected to one another by transferring heat. During the further transport of the packages along a transport path, the folding flaps are sealed to each other over a large area. A similar device is known from US 4,843,800. Again, folding flaps are fixed in the region of the bottom and end wall of the packs by sealing organs in a folded position and later connected by other sealing organs over the entire surface.

The invention concerns measures for an improved production of such packages, in particular hinge-lid packs for cigarettes.

The invention has for its object to ensure an improved, especially wrinkle-free appearance of the outer sheath, by shrinking the film.

1. a) die Außenumhüllung ist eine Schrumpffolle, also eine durch Wärmebehandlung schrumpfende Folie,
2. b) ein Zuschnitt zur Bildung der Außenumhüllung wird zuerst schlauchförmig um die Packung herumgefaltet, derart, dass Seitenlappen der Außenumhüllung einander teilweise überdecken,
3. c) danach werden die Seitenlappen im Bereich der Überdeckung durch kleinflächige, punkt- oder linienförmige Siegelungen als Heftung miteinander verbunden,
4. d) danach werden die einer Stirnwand und/oder einer Bodenwand zugeordneten Faltlappen, nämlich Querlappen und Längslappen gefaltet,
5. e) danach werden die der Stirnwand und/oder der Bodenwand zugeordneten Faltlappen im Bereich einer Überdeckung durch kleinflächige, punkt- oder linienförmige Siegelungen als Heftung miteinander verbunden,
6. f) schließlich werden die durch Heftung miteinander verbundenen Seitenlappen und die Faltlappen der Stirnwand und/oder der Bodenwand durch vollflächiges thermisches Siegeln miteinander verbunden,
7. g) die mit der Außenumhüllung versehene Packung wird nach dem vollflächigen Siegeln der Faltlappen einer Wärmebehandlung unterzogen zur Erzeugung einer Schrumpfung der Außenumhüllung.

To solve this problem, the method according to the invention is characterized by the following features:

1. a) the outer sheath is a shrink roll, ie a shrinking by heat treatment film,
2. b) a blank for forming the outer sheath is first folded around the package in a tubular manner such that side tabs of the outer sheath partially overlap one another,
3. c) thereafter, the side lobes in the region of the overlap are connected to one another by small-area, punctiform or linear seals as a staple,
4. d) thereafter, the folding flaps associated with an end wall and / or a bottom wall, namely transverse flaps and longitudinal flaps, are folded,
5. e) thereafter, the folding flaps associated with the end wall and / or the bottom wall are joined together in the region of an overlap by small-area, punctiform or line-shaped seals as stitching,
6. f) finally, the side tabs joined together by stitching and the folding tabs of the end wall and / or the bottom wall are joined together by full-surface thermal sealing,
7. g) the package provided with the outer wrapper is subjected to a heat treatment after the full-area sealing of the folding flaps to produce a shrinkage of the outer wrapper.

The invention is based on the finding that when the shrinking or heat treatment is initiated, the outer sheath is completely finished, ie all folding flaps have to be folded into the pack-type position and fixed in this position. To connect the folding tabs together, in particular in the area of the front wall, bottom wall and side wall, large-area sealing organs that act on the folding tabs over a large area or over the full packing surface with heat to effect the thermal sealing of the folding tabs, while the shrinking process is the outside serving initiated. This leads in particular in temporally or spatially successive sealing steps to undesirable, permanent deformations of the outer sheath. In the invention, as a result of the pre-seal or pre-stitching, the outer sheath is completely fixed in the folding position suitable for packaging, without shrinkage treatment being initiated by this stitching or pre-seal. Thereafter, the package can be exposed directly to a shrinkage treatment or sealed in the usual manner in the field of folding flaps over a large area.

1. a) die Heftstation zum Anbringen einer Heftsiegelung im Bereich von Stirnwand und Bodenwand ist im Anschluss an Faltorgane zum Falten der Faltlappen in eine überlappende Position angeordnet,
2. b) zum Anbringen einer Heftsiegelung im Bereich einer Überlappung von Seitenlappen der Außenumhüllung ist eine weitere Heftstation vorgesehen,
3. c) ein Siegelwerkzeug zum vollflächigen Siegeln der Außenumhüllung im Bereich der Seitenlappen nach dem Anbringen der Heftsiegelung,
4. d) eine Schrumpfstation zur Wärmebehandlung der aus Schrumpffolie bestehenden Außenumhüllung nach dem Siegeln.

A device according to the invention for achieving this object is characterized by the following features:

1. a) the stitching station for attaching a stitch seal in the region of the end wall and the bottom wall is arranged following fold means for folding the folding tabs in an overlapping position,
2. b) for attaching a stitch seal in the region of an overlap of side flaps of the outer wrapper, a further stitching station is provided,
3. c) a sealing tool for full-surface sealing of the outer envelope in the region of the side tabs after the attachment of the stitch seal,
4. d) a shrinking station for heat treating the shrink wrap outer wrapper after sealing.

The device according to the invention as part of a packaging machine is designed such that a sealing station or sealing units for the folding flaps are arranged in front of stapling members which cause adhesion or sealing of the folded outer wrapping in the region of the folding flaps.

Fig. 1

eine Packung, nämlich Klappschachtel mit fertig gesiegelten Seitenlappen,

Fig. 2

die Klappschachtel gemäß Fig. 1 mit fertig gesiegelten Stirnlappen und Bodenlappen,

Fig. 3

die Packung mit teilweise gefalteter Außenumhüllung und gehefteten Seitenlappen,

Fig. 4

eine Darstellung entsprechend Fig. 3 mit ebenfalls gehefteten Seitenlappen,

Fig. 5

die Packung gemäß Fig. 3 mit gehefteten Stirnlappen und Bodenlappen,

Fig. 6

eine Vorrichtung zum Herstellen bzw. Siegeln und Schrumpfen einer Außenumhüllung einer Packung in schematischer Seitenansicht,

Fig. 7

eine Einzelheit der Vorrichtung gemäß Fig. 6, nämlich ein Schnitt in der Schnittebene VII-VII eines Faltrevolvers,

Fig. 8

eine Ansicht einer Einzelheit der Vorrichtung gemäß Fig. 6 entsprechend Pfeil VIII.

Further details of the invention are explained in more detail below with reference to embodiments of the package according to the invention and a device. It shows:

Fig. 1

one package, namely folding box with finished sealed side lobes,

Fig. 2

the folding box according to FIG. 1 with finished sealed frontal lobes and bottom flaps,

Fig. 3

the package with partially folded outer wrap and stapled side lobes,

Fig. 4

a representation corresponding to FIG. 3 with also stapled side lobes,

Fig. 5

the pack according to FIG. 3 with stapled frontal lobes and bottom lobes,

Fig. 6

a device for producing or sealing and shrinking an outer casing of a pack in a schematic side view,

Fig. 7

a detail of the device according to FIG. 6, namely a section in the sectional plane VII-VII of a folding turret,

Fig. 8

a view of a detail of the device of FIG. 6 according to arrow VIII.

The drawings relate to a rectangular pack 10 of the type folding carton for cigarettes. The pack 10 consists of a blank of thin cardboard. According to the conventional structure, the package consists of a box part 11 and a lid 12.

The package 10 is surrounded by an outer sheath 13 of thin film, namely a shrink film. The outer sheath 13 forms according to the shape of the pack 10 large-area walls, namely front wall 14 and rear wall 15, narrow, elongated side walls 16 and 17 and end wall 18 and bottom wall 19th

The outer sheath 13 forms folding flaps, which are interconnected by thermal sealing. In the region of the side wall 16, side flaps 20 and 21 of the blank of the outer sheath 13 form a strip-shaped overlap 22. This overlaps the full length of the outer sheath 13 (FIGS. 3, 4). The side tabs 20, 21 are connected together in the region of the overlap 22 by sealing, over the entire surface of the overlap 22, as shown in Fig. 1 by blackening of the sealing surfaces.

End wall 18 and bottom wall 19 also consist of folding flaps, namely from inside transverse tabs 23, 24 and outer, trapezoidal longitudinal tabs 25, 26. The tabs 23..26 cover each other partially. In Fig. 2 is blackened or represented as a hatched area of the overlap area and thus the area of the lobes 23.26 interconnected by sealing.

The attachment of the large-area seals in the region of the overlap 22 and the bottom wall 19 causes at least the initiation of the shrinking process with respect to the outer sheath 13. This is especially disadvantageous if the sealing of the overlap 22 on the one hand and the seal of the end wall 18 and bottom wall 19 on the other hand successive steps are performed.

In order to ensure an exact shape and position of the outer sheath 13 despite successive sealing steps, the folding tabs are connected to each other in preceding steps by stitching, the attachment of the stitch is associated with low or localized heat.

First, due to the sequence of folding steps, stitching is applied in the region of the overlap 22 of the side flaps 20, 21. This consists in the embodiment of FIG. 3 of small-area point seals 27. Several circular or oval point seals 27 are mounted along the (unfolded) overlap 22, with distances from each other. At least one point seal 27 in each case is located in the area of the regions of the outer envelope that protrude beyond the pack 10 to form the transverse tabs 23.

An alternative is shown in Fig. 4 by a sealing strip 28 extending over the full length of the blank or blank (unfolded) 22. This is of relatively small width, for example about 2 mm. As a result, a connection of the side tabs 20, 21 sufficient for the further folding process is provided, without the shrinkage process for the outer sheath 13 being introduced as a result of the heat supply.

Thereafter, over the pack 10 standing away parts of the outer sheath are folded to form the end wall 18 and bottom wall 19. For fixing the folding tabs 23..26 also small-area staples produced by thermal sealing are provided, namely two tacking strips 29, 30. This are mounted so that all folding tabs of the end wall 18 and bottom wall 19 detected, namely, are connected to each other locally. Namely, the stitching strips 29, 30 are located in a region in which respective transverse tabs 23 or 24 and both longitudinal tabs 25, 26 overlap one another.

After stapling the folding tabs 20, 21 and 23 ... 26, these areas are sealed in the usual way. As a result, a shrinkage of the film of the outer casing 13 is effected at the same time. In addition, however, the package 10 may be subjected to a separate shrinking process.

The attachment of the stitching connections to the outer sheath 13 is expediently integrated into the production process of the outer sheath 13. The device according to FIG. 6 is expediently part of a production line for cigarette packs.

The finished to the outer casing 13 packs 10 are fed to a horizontal packing web 31. The packs 10 arriving at intervals from one another pass through a cutting unit 32. This cuts off blanks of the outer wrapper 13 from a continuous material web 33. The blanks are held ready by an upright cut conveyor 34 in an upright plane transverse to the package web 31, such that the blank of the outer wrapper 13 is folded in a U-shape around the package 10 conveyed along the package web 31.

The package 10 is transferred with the outer sheath 13 to a folding turret 35. This is equipped with a plurality of pockets 36, each for receiving a pack 10 with outer sheath 13, in the present case, eight pockets 36, of which there are two each in a horizontally directed receiving position or Ausschubstellung. The pockets 36 are directed radially and open on the outside.

When inserting the pack 10 with a U-shaped folded outer sheath 13, the transverse tabs 24 projecting there are folded on both sides of the pack, by means of fixed folding fingers 37 arranged in or on each pocket 36.

By cyclic rotational movement of the folding turret 35, the packages 10 are conveyed into a first stitching station 38 and then into a second stitching station 39. The first stitching station 38 corresponds to a vertical position of the relevant pocket 36. The side flaps 20, 21 of the outer cover 13 are already folded upon reaching this first stitching station 38 into a position according to FIG. 3 or FIG. 4. During the standstill phase, the stitching station is in the stitching station 38, a heated stapling member 40 is moved to the radially outwardly directed side wall 16 of the pack 10. In this case, sealing tools 41 on the side tabs 20, 21 come to rest, in the region of the overlap 22. The sealing tools 41 are formed according to the stapling to be produced, for example as individual projections for a point stitching of FIG. 3 or as a thin, continuous sealing jaw for Embodiment according to Fig. 4. The stapling member 40 is pivotally mounted on a support arm 42.

In the next station, the second stitching station 39, the stitching of the side flaps 20, 21 is completed by a correspondingly formed stitching member 43. Two stapling members or two stapling stations 38, 39 are required in particular for short downtimes of the folding turret 35.

The pack of outer wrapper 13 designed in accordance with FIG. 3 or FIG. 4 is removed from the folding turret 35 in the radial direction in the region of an ejection station 44 and inserted into a folding web 45. In the area of this horizontal folding web 45, the parts of the outer casing 13 projecting on both sides in the region of the end wall 18 and bottom wall 19 are folded, namely first during the extension of the transverse tabs 23 by a fixed folding finger 46 and then the two longitudinal tabs 25 and 26 by corresponding folding members 47 , so-called folding switches.

Following the folding web 45, the package 10 with completely folded outer casing 13 arrives at a platform 48. From here, the packs 10 are cyclically raised to form a packing tower 49 up to the region of a correspondingly higher, horizontal sealing web 50.

Subsequent to the folding web 45, namely on the platform 48, the folds of the end wall 18 and bottom wall 19 are stapled. To attach the stitches, namely the stitching strips 29, 30, stapling members 51, 52 are arranged on both sides of the folding web 45 and the platform 48, each with two stapling jaws 53 spaced apart according to the shape of the stapling strips 29, 30. The stapling members 51, 52 are moved during the stoppage phase of the pack 10 against the end wall 18 and bottom wall 19.

The package 10 with now completely stapled outer sheath 13 is subjected to a seal in the usual way. First, the side tabs 20, 21 are completely sealed by a sealing tool 54, which extends in height over several, namely three packs 10 and during three stoppage phases of the packs 10 in the region of the packing tower 49, the side tabs 20, 21 seal.

Thereafter, the packs 10 pass through the transverse web in the sealing web 50. Within the packs 10 are positioned in two rows arranged one above the other. The sideways end walls 18 and bottom walls 19 are completely sealed here by sealing jaws 55, and also during the respective stoppage phases of the packs 10 in several Siegeltakten.

During the sealing of the side flaps 20, 21 and / or the end walls 18 and bottom walls 19 in temporally successive steps, the shrinkage of the outer sheath 13 can already be initiated or completely carried out. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the packages 10 are conveyed through a separate shrinking station 56 after the sealing of the outer casing 13. In the area of this shrinking station 56, the packs 10 are subjected to heat in the region of the front wall 14 and / or rear wall 15. For this purpose, 10 heating plates 57, 58, 59 are arranged above, below and between the rows of packages, which transfer the heat of shrinkage to the package 10.

The stapling and sealing temperature can be consistent. For stapling the folding flaps 20, 21; 23, 24, 25, 26 a sealing temperature of about 145 ° C is suitable.

After leaving the shrinking station 56, the package 10 is further processed in the usual way.

The described principle of stapling folding flaps of the outer covering 13 before sealing them may also be advantageous if no shrink film is used.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

10

pack

11

box part

12

cover

13

outer wrapper

14

front wall

15

rear wall

16

Side wall

17

Side wall

18

bulkhead

19

bottom wall

20

side tabs

21

side tabs

22

overlap

23

transverse tabs

24

transverse tabs

25

longitudinal tabs

26

longitudinal tabs

27

Point sealing

28

sealing strip

29

Heftstreifen

30

Heftstreifen

31

packing sheet

32

cutting unit

33

web

34

blank conveyor

35

folding turret

36

bag

37

folding fingers

38

finisher

39

finisher

40

Heft organ

41

sealing tool

42

Beam

43

Heft organ

44

out station

45

folding track

46

folding fingers

47

folding member

48

platform

49

pack tower

50

seal Bahn

51

Heft organ

52

Heft organ

53

Heft Backe

54

sealing tool

55

sealing jaw

56

shrinking station

57

heating plate

58

heating plate

59

heating plate

Claims (8)

1. A process for producing in particular dimensionally stable packs (10) made of preferably thin cardboard, in particular hinge-lid boxes for cigarettes, with an outer wrapper (13) made of sealable film, with folding tabs (20, 21; 23, 24, 25, 26) of the outer wrapper (13) enclosing the pack (10) being fixed in a folding position by tacking or by tack connection and subsequently being connected to one another in the region of overlaps by thermal, in particular full-surface sealing, characterized by the following features:

   a) the outer wrapper (13) is a shrink-wrap film, that is, a film which shrinks when subjected to heat treatment,

   b) a blank for forming the outer wrapper (13) is first folded around the pack (10) in a tubular shape in such a way that side tabs (20, 21) of the outer wrapper (13) partially overlap one another,

   c) then the side tabs (20, 21) are connected to one another by tacking in the region of the overlap by means of small surface-area spot or linear seals,

   d) thereafter the folding tabs assigned to an end wall (18) and/or a base wall (19), namely transverse tabs (23, 24) and longitudinal tabs (25, 26), are folded,

   e) afterwards, the tabs assigned to the end wall (18) and/or to the base wall (19) are connected to one another by tacking in the region of an overlap by means of small surface-area spots or linear seals,

   f) finally, the side-tabs (20, 21) connected to each other by tacking and the folding tabs of the end wall (18) and/or of the base wall are connected to each other by full-surface thermal sealing.

   g) following the full-surface sealing of the folding tabs (20, 21; 23, 24, 25, 26) the pack (10), being provided with the outer wrapper (13), is subjected to a further heat treatment to generate shrinkage of the outer wrapper (13).
2. The process according to Claim 1, characterized in that the folding tabs (20, 21; 23, 24, 25, 26) fixed in a folding position by tacking or as a tack connection by means of small-surface spot or linear seals.
3. The process according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized by the following features:

   a) the side tabs (20, 21) in the region of the overlap are connected to each other by spot seals (27) and/or by a narrow continuous or non-continuous sealing strip (28),

   b) the folding tabs assigned to the end wall (18) and/or the base wall (19) are connected to each other in the region of the overlap by short, narrow tacking strips (29, 30).
4. The process according to Claim 1 or one of the further Claims, characterized in that, following the tacking of the folding tabs (20, 21; 23...26) of the outer wrapper (13), full-surface sealing is first made of the side tabs (20, 21) in the region of their overlap (22), then of the transverse tabs (23, 24) and longitudinal tabs (25, 26).
5. The process according to Claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the folding tabs in the region of end wall (18) and base wall (19) are sealed by two spaced-apart, transverse tacking strips (29, 30) which are provided in the region of an overlap of the respective transverse tabs (23, 24) and longitudinal tabs (25, 26).
6. An apparatus for providing an outer wrapper (13) made of thin film on in particular dimensionally stable packs (10) made of preferably thin cardboard or the like, in particular on hinge-lid boxes for cigarettes, with a folding assembly, in particular a folding turret (35), for providing the outer wrapper (13) in tubular form on the pack (10), and with a tacking station for providing a tacking seal on folded folding tabs (23...26) of the outer wrapper (13) in the region of end wall (18) and base wall (19), and with a sealing station, in particular a sealing path (50), for the preferably full-surface sealing of the folding tabs (23...26) in the region of overlaps of the end wall (18) and the base wall (19), characterized by the following features:

   a) the tacking station for applying a tacking seal in the region of end wall (18) and base wall (19) is arranged following folding elements for folding the folding tabs (23...26) into an overlapping position,

   b) a further tacking station (38, 39) is provided for applying a tacking seal in the region of an overlap (22) of side tabs (20, 21) of the outer wrapper (13),

   c) a sealing tool (54) for the full-surface sealing of the outer wrapper (13) in the region of the side tabs (20, 21) after the tacking seal has been applied,

   d) a shrink-wrap station (56) for the heat treatment of the outer wrapper (13) made of shrink-wrap film after the sealing process.
7. The apparatus according to Claim 6, characterized in that tacking stations (38, 39) for tacking the side tabs (20, 21) are assigned to the folding turret (35), with stationary tacking elements (40, 43) outside the movement path of the folding turret (35), it being possible for the tacking elements (40, 43), for carrying out the tacking operation, to be moved against the radially outwardly directed, folded side tabs (20, 21).
8. The apparatus according to Claim 6 or 7, characterized in that folding tabs of end wall (18) and base wall (19) can be completely folded in a horizontal folding path (45) adjoining the folding turret (35), and in that further tacking elements (51, 52) are arranged at the end of the folding path (45) in order to provide the tacking strips (29, 30) in the region of the folded transverse tabs (23, 24) and longitudinal tabs (25, 26).

Images