EP2352676B2 - Method and device for producing bundle packages and bundle package - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a method for producing multi-packs, in particular multi-packs for cigarettes (cigarette rod), wherein a group of packs, in particular cigarette packs, is wrapped in an outer wrapper to form the multi-pack, and the packs each have a code, in particular a barcode, have and the group of packs is wrapped in the outer cover in such a way that the coding of the packs is not covered by the outer cover and that a means for covering the coding of the packs, in particular a blank or an (adhesive) label, and a coding for the multipack are arranged on the multipack, according to the preamble of claim 1. Furthermore, the invention relates to a device for carrying out the method according to the preamble of claim 5.

Bundle packs have been known for a long time, particularly in the field of the cigarette industry. The packs or cigarette packs, which form the contents of the bundle pack or cigarette rod, are generally arranged next to one another and preferably in several rows one behind the other. A preferred formation is an arrangement of the packs in two rows of five packs each. The contents of the pack are usually wrapped in an outer wrapping made of a packaging material such as paper or cardboard, which is optionally covered by an additional Protective cover, for example made of polypropylene, polyethylene, cellophane or the like, can be surrounded in order to close the bundle pack in an aroma-tight manner.

It is also customary to provide each pack with a code, in particular a machine-readable code such as a barcode. In addition to information about the manufacture or about the manufacturer, the coding can also provide information for the sale to the end customer, for example information for querying the sales price from a product database or the like.

In addition, bundle packs are known in which the outer casing is designed in such a way that the packs are partially visible. This type of bundle pack also includes the so-called "naked wrap", in which the outer cover is formed merely by a transparent protective cover made of polypropylene. This has the consequence that the packs or their coding are visible or readable through the outer casing. When selling these and similar multi-packs, however, there is the problem that it can happen that the code of the pack is read in by mistake instead of the code of the multi-pack, which can lead to an incorrect calculation of the sales price of the multi-pack.

One solution to this problem is that the multipack is provided with a blank, for example a label, to cover the coding of the pack. This label can also have the code for the multi-pack.

Proceeding from this, the invention is based on the object of proposing measures which lead to an inexpensive production of multi-unit packs of this special type.

A method according to the invention has the features of claim 1. It is accordingly provided that the bundle pack is fed to a coding station for applying the coding for the bundle pack to the outer casing and / or for attaching the means for concealing the coding of the packs, the bundle pack being transported at least in the area of the coding station by a cyclically driven conveyor is, and that the coding and / or the means for concealment are attached during a brief standstill of the conveyor in the coding station. Furthermore, the coded bundle pack is subsequently used in a test station, in particular for testing the coding and / or the concealment of the Coding of the packs supplied, with faulty bundle packs being sorted out in the area of an ejection station arranged after the testing station. Furthermore, the bundle pack is transported at least in the area of the coding station and / or the testing station, with its longitudinal extent essentially transverse to the transport direction of the conveyor, the coding of the bundle pack being applied in the area of the coding of the packs by a coding station arranged laterally next to the conveyor, preferably in the area of the transverse end faces of the bundle packaging. This arrangement enables the coding and / or labels to be easily applied in the area of the coding of the packs. Furthermore, the bundle pack is initially transported with its longitudinal extension essentially parallel to the transport direction of the conveyor and rotated by about 90 ° in a turning station before reaching the coding station, so that the bundle pack is transported with its longitudinal extension essentially transversely to the transport direction of the conveyor, the bundle pack after the coding station and / or the test station is rotated again by about 90 ° in a further turning station so that it is transported with its longitudinal extension essentially parallel to the transport direction of the conveyor. In this way, simple integration into existing devices for the production and packaging of multi-packs is possible.

Preferred configurations and developments of the method according to the invention emerge from the subclaims and the rest of the description.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the method, the coding of the packs is overprinted in the coding station and the coding of the bundle pack attached to the outer casing, in particular printed on. This makes it possible to dispense with the application of a blank to conceal the coding of the packs.

With regard to the attachment of separate blanks to conceal the coding of the packs, it is conceivable that a continuous strip of material is provided at intervals with a code for one container pack and then separated into blanks by cutting through the material strip between the codes and that the blanks are provided with glue and fastened in the coding station to an outer casing of a bundle pack.

The coding station in the conveying path between a device for producing the bundle packs (rod packer) and a device for Grouping and / or cartoning the coded multiple packs (cartoning machine) to be arranged in order to ensure integration into existing packaging machines.

A device for solving the aforementioned object has the features of claim 5.

The bundle pack can be arranged at least in the area of the coding station and / or the test station on the conveyor with its longitudinal extent pointing essentially transversely to the conveying direction, with the end faces of the bundle pack facing a coding station arranged next to the conveyor line.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is provided that blanks for concealing the coding of the packs can be fed from a reel to the coding station (30), a continuous strip of material as carrier material with labels arranged one behind the other as blanks being wound on the reel, and with the strip of material can be transported in a plane that runs parallel to the end face of the bundle packs, and the labels are preferably printed in this upright conveyor section in a printing station, and the labels can be detached from the carrier strip by deflecting the strip of material, and in the area of the Deflection a slide is arranged for receiving a label detached from the carrier strip and wherein the slide can be moved in a substantially horizontal plane against a facing end face of the bundle pack for attaching the label to the outer casing of the bundle pack.

Alternatively, it can be provided that the coding station is assigned a reel with a continuous material strip of packaging material for forming blanks to cover the coding of the packs, the material strip being removable from the reel and being fed to a printing station for applying a coding and / or an additional Printing on the continuous strip of material and that the printed strip of material can be fed to a gluing station for applying glue to the strip of material and that the glued strip of material can be fed to a separating station for separating blanks from the strip of material and that the separated blanks can be moved to one end of the bundle by means of a slide for attaching the printed, glued and separated blank to the outer casing of the bundle pack.

Another special feature can be that two coding stations are arranged one after the other along the conveyor line, with only one coding station always in operation for uninterrupted operation of the coding station when new material is fed to one of the two coding stations or when a material is changed.

Fig. 1

eine Gebindepackung in Form einer Zigarettenstange in schematischer räumlicher Darstellung,

Fig. 2

eine Stirnseite der Gebindepackung gemäß Fig. 1 gemäß einem alternativen Ausführungsbeispiel,

Fig. 3

eine Vorrichtung zum Anbringen von Etiketten an Gebindepackungen in einer schematischen Draufsicht,

Fig. 4

die Vorrichtung gemäß Fig. 3 in einer Seitenansicht,

Fig. 5

eine Seitenansicht der Vorrichtung gemäß Fig. 3 in vergrößertem Maßstab 5 in vergrößertem Maßstab,

Fig. 6

einen Vertikalschnitt durch die Vorrichtung entlang Schnittlinie VI-VI in Fig. 4,

Fig. 7 und Fig. 8

eine Einzelheit der Fig.6 in vergrößertem Maßstab während verschiedener Phasen des Anbringens eines Etiketts,

Fig. 9

eine Einzelheit der Fig. 6 in verkleinertem Maßstab während eines Materialwechsels, und

Fig. 10

eine alternative Lösung zur Anbringung von Etiketten in einer Darstellung analog zu Fig. 6.

The invention is explained below with reference to preferred exemplary embodiments according to the drawing. In this show:

Fig. 1

a bundle pack in the form of a cigarette rod in a schematic spatial representation,

Fig. 2

one end face of the multipack according to Fig. 1 according to an alternative embodiment,

Fig. 3

a device for attaching labels to multiple packs in a schematic top view,

Fig. 4

the device according to Fig. 3 in a side view,

Fig. 5

a side view of the device according to Fig. 3 on an enlarged scale 5 on an enlarged scale,

Fig. 6

a vertical section through the device along section line VI-VI in Fig. 4 ,

Figures 7 and 8

a detail of the Fig. 6 on a larger scale during various phases of the application of a label,

Fig. 9

a detail of the Fig. 6 on a reduced scale during a material change, and

Fig. 10

an alternative solution for attaching labels in a representation analogous to Fig. 6 .

The invention is explained below using an example from the cigarette industry. A bundle pack 10 in the form of a cigarette rod 11 is shown. The pack content of the cigarette rod 11 consists of cigarette packs 12 which are arranged as a group in two rows of five cigarette packs 12 each. Within the rows, the cigarette packs 12 lie next to one another with narrow sides facing one another. The two rows are arranged one behind the other, so that an upper or first row of the cigarette packs 12 with a large-area rear side rests or rests on a large-area front side of a lower or rear row.

The contents of the pack are encased in an outer casing 13 which, in the present case, is made from a polypropylene film and is transparent, that is to say allows a view of the cigarette packs 12. The outer wrapping 13 is wrapped around the group of cigarette packs 12 like a tube and closed in an overlapping area 14. In the area of the end faces 15 of the multipack 10, folding tabs of the outer casing 13 are placed one on top of the other like envelopes and connected to one another, in particular by sealing. In order to open the outer casing 13, a tear-open thread 16 is provided which extends around the bundle pack 10 in an eccentric and transverse manner to the longitudinal direction of the latter. One end 17 of the tear thread 16 is delimited by a U-shaped punch cut 18 in order to be able to grasp the end 17 more easily for opening the outer casing 13.

The cigarette packs 12 have a code 19 in the region of their narrow side. In the present case, the coding 19 is a barcode, that is to say a machine-readable identification. Due to the fact that the outer casing 13 consists of a transparent material, the coding 19 of the cigarette packs 12 is visible from the outside in the area of the end face 15 of the bundle pack 10.

In order that the coding 19 is not accidentally detected by a cash register scanner when the multipack 10 is sold, FIG Fig. 1 it is provided that a separate blank 20 in the form of an (adhesive) label is attached in the area of the end face 15 of the multipack 10. On the one hand, due to its positioning and size, the blank 20 covers the coding 19 of the two cigarette packs 12 in the area of the end face 15. In addition, the blank 20 bears a code 21 for the bundle pack 10. After the blank 20 has been attached to the outer casing 13 of the bundle pack 10 The codes 19 of the cigarette packs 12 can no longer be read or recorded, but only the code 21 of the multipack 10.

Another special feature is that the blank 20 has additional, in particular individual, printing 22. This printing 22 can have design and / or information-containing elements.

After an in Fig. 2 The alternative embodiment shown, the coding 19 of the cigarette packs 12 is not covered by a separate blank 20 but by printing 23 on the outer cover 13. In the present case, the printing 23 extends only in the area of the coding 19 of the cigarette packs 12. In addition, the coding 21 for the bundle pack 10 is printed on the outer casing 13, but offset laterally with respect to the printing 23. It is also conceivable that the coding 21 is part of the printing 23.

Another exemplary embodiment not shown in the figures can be designed in such a way that the group of cigarette packs 12 is partially encased in a blank of packaging material, namely in such a way that the end faces 15 are not covered by the blank. The group of cigarette packs 12 wrapped with the blank is then as in the embodiment shown in FIG Fig. 1 wrapped in an outer casing 13. In this case, too, the codes 19 of the cigarette packs 12 are visible through the outer wrapping 13 and can either be covered with a blank 20 or an imprint 23.

Fig. 3 shows part of a device for producing and handling bundle packs 10. The structure is roughly as follows: The bundle packs 10 are transported from a rod packer (not shown) on a conveyor, in particular an endless conveyor belt 24 in a transport direction according to arrow 25. On the conveyor belt 24, the bundle packs 10 are transported lying flat on a large-area side and with their longitudinal extension pointing in the conveying direction according to arrow 25.

The bundle packs 10 then come into the area of a first turning station 26 in which the relative position of the bundle packs 10 is rotated by 90 °, so that the bundle packs 10 point with their longitudinal extension transversely to the conveying direction.

The bundle packs 10 come after the turning station 26 in the area of a further conveyor 27 for transporting the transverse bundle packs 10. In the area of the conveyor 27, the bundle packs 10 rest on the underside on a conveying level 28 and are on the upper side by spaced-apart drivers 29 of a conveyor belt transported, which is designed as a revolving endless conveyor. The drivers 29 grasp the bundle packs 10 at an upper edge lying at the rear in the transport direction.

The conveying means 27 is cyclically driven for the intermittent advance of the bundle packs 10 along the conveying plane 28. In this way, the bundle packs 10 transported at a distance from one another pass step by step through this area of the device.

Following one another in the transport direction according to arrow 25, several stations for processing the bundle pack 10 are arranged one behind the other in the area of the conveyor 27. These are initially two coding stations 30 as well as a test station 31 and an ejection station 32.

In the coding stations 30, the blank 20 or the printing 23 and coding 21 according to FIG Figs. 1 and 2 attached to the bundle packs 10. In the area of the test station 31, the processed container pack 10 is then checked for proper design and, if necessary, in the area of the ejection station 32, the container packs 10 found to be defective are discharged by the conveyor means 27. These steps are described in detail below.

In the further transport path of the bundle packs 10, a further turning station 33 is arranged in order to turn the bundle packs 10 back into the original relative position on the conveyor belt 24. In the area of the turning station 33 and thereafter, the bundle packs 10 are again transported on conveyor belts 24 and rotated during the transport by bearing against a curved guide plate 34. In the area of the second conveyor belt 24, the processed bundle packs 10 are fed to a machine for packing the bundle packs 10 in cardboard boxes, that is to say a cartoning machine (not shown). In the area of the first turning station 26, the bundle pack 10 is grasped by means of a swivel arm 36 driven to rotate by a motor 35 in a horizontal plane and swiveled into the transverse position while resting on a further curved guide plate 37.

There is a special feature with regard to measures for integrating the coding stations 30 into existing systems. The bundle packs 10 are thus transported on the two conveyor belts 24 in the longitudinal direction of the bundle packs 10 in front of the first turning station 26 and the second turning station 33. The conveyor belts 24 run parallel to one another and along an imaginary straight line. Laterally offset to this, but parallel to the conveyor belts 24, the conveying means 27 is arranged, in the area of which the coding stations 30 are positioned. This arrangement makes it possible to separate a continuous conveyor belt 24 and to integrate the conveyor 27, which is connected to the two conveyor belts 24 via the turning stations 26, 33, in parallel and laterally offset thereto. However, it is also conceivable that the conveyor 27 is integrated into the course of the conveyor belts 24, that is to say without a lateral offset.

It should also be mentioned that the coding stations 30 can optionally also be arranged on the opposite side of the conveyor 27, depending on the position or arrangement of the cigarette packs 12 within the bundle pack 10, ie depending on the side on which the codings 19 of the cigarette packs 12 are in the area the end face 15 of the multipack 10 are visible. The use of two coding stations 30 is not absolutely necessary, ie only one coding station 30 can be provided. In order to avoid a stop of the device when changing material or supplying other blanks 20, however, two coding stations 30 are preferred, which are used alternately. Preferably, only one of the two coding stations 30 is in operation, the other coding station 30 taking over as soon as the other coding station 30 receives new and / or different material for the blanks 20 or has to be serviced. In the Fig. 3 and 6th the coding stations 30 on the other side of the conveyor 27 are indicated with dashed lines.

The attachment of a blank 10 in the form of a self-adhesive label according to FIG Fig. 1 explained. Fig. 6 shows a schematic representation of the device in the form of a vertical section transverse to the transport direction. It can be seen here on the one hand that the conveying plane 28 is formed by two web-like organs which extend at a distance from one another in the longitudinal direction of the conveying means 27 and on which the bundle packs 10 rest on the underside. The blanks 20 are located on a carrier material 37, which is kept ready wound on a reel 38. The carrier material 37 is unwound from the reel 38 and initially guided downwards to a first deflection roller 39. From there, the carrier material 37 runs obliquely upwards to the area of a printing station 40. In the area of the printing station 40, the carrier material 37 is transported in an upright plane and printed at the same time. On the one hand, the coding 21 in the form of a barcode and the additional printing 22 can be printed on. Instead of the additional printing 22 being applied in the printing station 40, this can also have already been applied during the manufacture of the reel 38. The same applies in principle to the coding 21 in the form of the barcode. However, both the coding 21 and the printing 22 are preferably applied in the area of the printing station 40.

In the area of an upper end of the printing station 40, the blanks 20 or labels are removed from the carrier material 37 detached and transferred to a slide 41, which attaches the blanks 20 to the end face 15 of the multipack 10. For this purpose, the slide 41 can be moved back and forth in a horizontal plane, for example by means of a pneumatic cylinder 42. The slide 41 therefore works in the same plane in which the bundle packs 10 are also transported. The blanks 20 are held on the front side of the slide 41 by means of negative pressure or vacuum, so that the sticky side of the label faces the front side 15 of the multipack 10. By extending the pneumatic cylinder 42, the label is pressed against the end face 15 and attached there. The detachment of the blanks 20 from the carrier material 37 can take place in that the carrier material 37 is deflected at a large angle so that the labels are automatically detached. In the present case, the carrier material 37 is deflected in the area of the underside of the slide 41 on a deflection rail 43 by approximately 180 ° and then conveyed downward in an upright plane via a deflection roller 44. After reaching a further deflection roller 44, the carrier material 37 is conveyed obliquely downwards and fed via a further deflection roller 45 to a winding roller 46 on which the empty carrier material 37 is rolled up.

The coding station 30 is pivotably mounted on a machine frame not shown in detail. For this purpose, a carrier 47 for the coding station 30 is pivotably arranged on an axis 48 and serves to accommodate the elements of the coding station 30, i.e. essentially the reel 38, the take-up roll 46, the printing station 40, the slide 41 and the guide for the carrier material 37 To replace the reel 38, the coding stations 30 can be used, as in FIG Fig. 9 shown to be pivoted about the axis 48.

Fig. 10 shows an alternative solution for concealing the codes 19 of the cigarette packs 12. In this case, an endless strip of packaging material 50 is pulled off a reel 49 and fed to a printing station 52 via a deflection roller 51. The packaging material 50 then arrives in the area of a gluing station 53 in which the packaging material 50 is glued. This is followed by a separating station 54 for separating blanks 20 from the continuous material web of the packaging material 50 and in a manner comparable to the exemplary embodiment according to FIG Figures 6 to 9 a pneumatic cylinder 55 for actuating a slide 56 which presses the cut blanks 20 against the end face 15 of the bundle pack 10. Opposite the printing station 52 and the gluing station 53, the packaging material 50 is each driven and / or supported by a conveyor belt 57.

The packaging material 50 can be already printed material which, for example, is already provided with the coding 21 at intervals, with only the additional printing 22 being applied with the aid of the printing station 52. Alternatively, the packaging material 50 can also be material that has neither the coding 21 nor the printing 22, so that this is applied in the area of the printing station 52. To apply glue to the web of material, permanently tacky glue is preferably applied so that the individual blanks 20 can be glued to the end face 15 of the multipack 10.

To test the bundle packs 10, a monitoring element, in particular a monitoring camera 58, is arranged in the test station 31 and is aligned with the end face 15 of the bundle pack 10. In this way, with the aid of the surveillance camera 58, an image of the end face 15 can be recorded and compared with a reference image. This can take place in a control device (not shown). If the coding 19 of the cigarette packs 12 is not completely covered or the coding 21 of the bundle packs 10 is incorrect, the corresponding bundle pack 10 can be separated out in the ejection station 32: Of course, other features of the bundle pack 10 can also be checked in the test station 31.

In the ejection station 32, two slides 59 are arranged on both sides of the conveying means 27 to separate out a faulty bundle pack 10. The slides 59 act in the upright or vertical direction and serve to eject a faulty bundle pack 10 downwards. For this purpose, a section of the conveying plane 28 can be pivoted about a hinge 60, so that an opening 61 is formed in the conveying plane 28, through which the bundle pack 10 is ejected by the slide 59. The slides 59 can preferably be operated by pneumatic cylinders.

Instead of multiple packs 10 for cigarette packs 12, other types of pack contents can also be processed accordingly. The multipack 10 does not have to consist of two rows of cigarette packs 12, but can have a larger or smaller number of rows. The number of cigarette packs 12 within a row can also vary without departing from the invention. The arrangement of the coding stations 30 in relation to the conveying means 27 can be selected depending on the arrangement of the coding 19 on the cigarette packs 12 or the alignment of the cigarette packs 12 within the bundle pack 10. It is also conceivable to adapt the device to cigarette packs 12 in which the coding 19 is not arranged in the area of the narrow sides of the cigarette packs 12.

It is also conceivable that the blank 20 or the printing 22, 23 does not have to be attached to the outer casing 13 at the same time or in the same station, but that this can be done in two or more successive steps. In this case, the coding station 30 in the sense of the invention includes all organs that are required to carry out these work steps.

The codings 19, 21 are preferably barcodes. However, other codings can also be used, in particular other machine-readable identifications.

Claims (8)

1. A method for producing bundle packages, in particular bundle packages (10) for cigarettes (cigarette carton 11), wherein a group of packs (12), in particular cigarette packs, is encased in an outer casing (13) to form the bundle package (10), and wherein the packs (12) respectively exhibit a code (19), in particular a barcode, and the group of packs (12) is encased in the outer casing (13) such that the code (19) of the packs (12) is not concealed by the outer casing (13) and that a means (20, 23) for concealing the code of the packs (12), in particular a pre-cut piece (20), for example in the form of an (adhesive) label, and a code (21) for the bundle package (10) are then arranged on the bundle package (10), characterized in that

   a) the bundle package (10) is fed to a coding station (30) for applying the code (21) for the bundle package (10) to the outer casing (13) and/or for affixing the means (20, 23) for concealing the code (19) of the packs (12), the bundle package (10), at least in the region of the coding station (30), being transported by a cyclically driven conveying means (27), and in that the code (21) and/or the concealing means (20, 23) are affixed in the coding station (30) during a brief pause of the conveying means (27),

   b) the coded bundle package (10) is subsequently fed to a checking station (31) for checking the code (21) and/or for the concealment (20, 23) of the code (19) of the packs (12), wherein defective bundle packages (10) are separated out in the region of an ejection station (32) arranged after the checking station (31),

   c) the bundle package (10), at least in the region of the coding station (30) and/or of the checking station (31), is transported with its longitudinal extent substantially transversely to the direction of transport (25) of the conveying means (27), wherein the code (21) of the bundle package (10) is affixed in the region of the code (19) of the packs (12) by a coding station (30) arranged laterally beside the conveying means (27), namely in the region of transversely directed end faces (15) of the bundle package (10),

   d) the bundle package (10) is firstly transported with its longitudinal extent substantially parallel to the direction of transport (25) of the conveying means (27) and, prior to reaching the coding station (30), is turned in a turning station (26) through about 90°, so that the bundle package (10) is transported with its longitudinal extent substantially transversely to the direction of transport (25) of the conveying means (27), and in that the bundle package (10), after the coding station (30) and/or the checking station (31), is turned in a further turning station (33) once more through about 90°, so that it is transported with its longitudinal extent substantially again parallel to the direction of transport (25) of the conveying means (27).
2. The method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that in the coding station (30) the code (19) of the packs (12) is overprinted by a print (23) on the outer casing (13) and the code (21) of the bundle package (21) is affixed to, in particular imprinted on, the outer casing (13).
3. The method as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a continuous material strip (50) is provided at intervals with a code (21) for respectively a bundle package (10) and is subsequently separated into pre-cut pieces (20) by cutting of the material strip (50) between the codes (21), and in that the pre-cut pieces (20) are provided with glue and are fastened in the coding station (30) to respectively an outer casing (13) of a bundle package (10).
4. The method as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the coding station (30) is arranged in the path of conveyance between a device (carton packer) for producing the bundle packages (10) and a device (cartoning machine) for grouping and/or cartoning the coded bundle packages (10).
5. A device for producing bundle packages, in particular bundle packages (10) for cigarettes (cigarette carton 11), wherein a group of packs (12), in particular cigarette packs, respectively exhibits a code (19), in particular a barcode, and for the formation of the bundle package (10) are encased in an at least partially transparent outer casing (13), so that the code (19) of the packs (12) is visible or readable through the outer casing (13), and wherein on the outer casing (13) are arranged means (20, 23) for covering the code (19) of the packs (12) and a code (21) of the bundle package (10), characterized in that

   a) along a conveyor line formed by a conveying means (27) for the bundle packages (10) there is arranged a coding station (30) for affixing the means (20, 23) for concealing the code (19) of the packs (12) and/or for affixing the code (21) to the bundle package (10), preferably in the region of the code (19) of the packs (12), wherein the conveying means (27) is cyclically driven to allow the application of the concealing means (20, 23) and/or code means (21) to the bundle package (10) during a stationary phase of the conveying means (27),

   b) downstream of the coding station (30), in the region of the conveyor line, there is arranged a checking station (31), in particular for checking the code (21) and/or the concealment of the code (19) of the packs (12), wherein downstream of the checking station (31), in the region of the conveyor line, is arranged an ejection station (32) for separating out defective bundle packages (10) from the conveying means (27),

   c) the bundle package (10), at least in the region of the coding station (30) and/or of the checking station (31), is arranged on the conveying means (27) with its longitudinal extent pointing substantially transversely to the direction of conveyance (25), with outwardly directed end faces (15) for application of the code (21) in the coding station (30) arranged laterally beside the conveyor line (27),

   d) upstream and downstream of the conveying means (27) are arranged conveyor belts (24) for transporting the bundle package (10) with its longitudinal extent pointing in the direction of conveyance, which conveyor belts are aligned parallel to the conveying means (27) and are arranged in an imaginary straight line, the conveying means (27) being positioned laterally offset to the conveyor line of the conveyor belts (24).
6. The device as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that pre-cut pieces (20) for concealing the code (19) of the packs (12) can be fed from a reel (38) to the coding station (30), wherein on the reel (38) is wound a continuous material strip as the backing material (37) carrying, as the pre-cut pieces (20), labels arranged one behind the other at a distance apart, and wherein the material strip is transportable in a plane running parallel to the end face (15) of the bundle packages, and wherein the labels preferably in this vertical conveyor section are printed in a printing station (40), and wherein the labels are detachable from the backing strip (37) by diversion of the material strip, and wherein in the region of the diversion is arranged a slide bar (41) for receiving a label detached from the backing strip (37), and wherein the slide bar (41) is movable in a substantially horizontal plane toward a facing end face (15) of the bundle package (10) in order to affix the label to the outer casing (13) of the bundle package (10).
7. The device as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that to the coding station (30) there is assigned a reel (49) bearing a continuous material strip of packaging material (50) for the formation of pre-cut pieces (20) for concealing the code (19) of the packs (12), wherein the material strip can be drawn off from the reel (49) and can be fed to a printing station (52) for the application of a code (19) and/or of an additional print (22) on the continuous material strip, and in that the printed material strip can be fed to a gluing station (53) for applying a coating of glue to the material strip, and in that the glued material strip can be fed to a cutting station (54) for separating pre-cut pieces (20) from the material strip, and in that the separated pre-cut pieces (20) are movable by means of a slide bar (56) onto an end face (15) of the bundle package (10) for the application of the printed, glue-coated and separated pre-cut piece (20) to the outer casing (13) of the bundle package (10).
8. The device as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that two coding stations (30) are arranged consecutively along the conveyor line, wherein always just one coding station (30) is in operation for the uninterrupted operation of the coding station (30) during the supply of new material to one of the two coding stations (30) or during a change of material.

Images