EP4357257A1

EP4357257A1 - Forming method to form a group of smoking articles and respective forming device

Info

Publication number: EP4357257A1
Application number: EP23197864.4A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Michele Squarzoni; Massimo Fortini; Roberto Polloni; Stefano Sarti; Stefano Villa
Original assignee: GD SpA
Current assignee: GD SpA
Priority date: 2022-09-19
Filing date: 2023-09-18
Publication date: 2024-04-24

Abstract

A forming method to form a group (1) of smoking articles (2) comprising a plurality of rows of smoking articles (2) superimposing one another and wherein at least one row of smoking articles (2) internally has a gap (3) due to the absence of the respective smoking article (2). The forming method comprises the steps of: forming at least two sub-groups (7), each having a semi-gap (3A) in the area of an outer edge of the same; and joining, side by side, the two sub-groups (7) in the area of their outer edge, so that the two semi-gaps (3A) face one another in order to form the group (1) of smoking articles (2) with the gap (3).

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application claims priority from Italian patent application no. 102022000019086 filed on September 19, 2022 , the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a forming method to form a group of smoking articles and to a respective forming device.
In particular, the present invention finds advantageous application to groups of smoking articles, in which the group of smoking articles have a particular arrangement (also known as collation) in which there is at least one layer with at least one missing article (with the consequential formation of a gap) .
More specifically, the present invention finds advantageous application for groups of smoking articles provided with inner gaps (namely, smoking articles missing in the inner layers of the group).
In the present text, reference will be made without distinction to the specific example of the "cigarettes" rather than to the more generic expression "smoking articles", without, however, losing any generality in relation to other types of articles (such as cigars, small cigars or cigarillos, electronic cigarettes or ecigs, auxiliary products such as filters, refills for ecigs and other tobacco-based products or alternative or substitute components for tobacco).
In other words, the expression "smoking articles" refers to articles of any type relating to said field, for example traditional cigarettes or "heat not burn" (HNB) type articles which only entail heating and not combustion of the article.
The expression "smoking articles" also refers to cartridges containing liquid or powdered substances intended for use in electronic cigarettes or other devices that allow the same to be heated so as to generate aerosols.

PRIOR ART

Cigarettes are typically sold in packs. Said packs usually have a parallelepiped shape with a rectangular section and have a predefined outer dimension (that is, height, width, and depth), such as to have an adequate surface for placing any health warnings. Cigarettes are typically evenly divided into a plurality of rows to increase the filling efficiency of the cigarette pack. In particular, the cigarettes of two adjacent rows can be stacked (that is, the centres of two adjacent cigarettes arranged in two different rows are aligned with one another) or staggered (that is, the centres of two adjacent cigarettes arranged in two different rows are misaligned with one another and are staggered by an amount equal to half the diameter of the cigarette). The arrangement with staggered cigarettes is also known as "crossed".
However, for example, when, given the same outer dimensions of the cigarette pack, the number of cigarettes to be placed inside is modified (that is, is smaller) from the predefined number, it is difficult to arrange the same in the previously described way, as the cigarettes would not be stably and uniformly subdivided into rows.
To overcome this problem, but also for purely aesthetic reasons, groups of cigarettes with particular arrangements (configurations), have been used for some time. These arrangements have at least one inner row and/or an outer row which has at least one gap corresponding to the missing cigarette. The arrangements therefore provide to form a group with an arrangement of the cigarettes such as to guarantee the holding and the support for the surrounding cigarettes and for the upper rows. The gaps can affect the outer layers (known as outer gaps) or the inner layers (known as inner gaps).
At present, groups of smoking articles with inner gaps can only be obtained by arranging the cigarettes layer by layer and in the correct position. In other words, in this procedure a first layer of cigarettes is fed from a first hopper, the pocket is then fed to a second hopper which places a second layer of cigarettes in the desired position on the first layer and so on, until reaching the desired layers and configuration. It is clear that this procedure requires a forming device for the arrangement that has very large dimensions and that is structurally complex, as it requires a number of hoppers equal to the number of layers to be obtained. Furthermore, when moving the pocket from one pocket to another there may be a risk that the previously arranged layers do not remain in the desired position, thus ensuring the correct position of the gaps.
This procedure also has the disadvantage that, as the number of smoking articles to be arranged with a given conformation increases (for example for arrangements with more than 35 smoking articles), this procedure turns out to be slow.
Furthermore, this procedure has the disadvantage that complex arrangements (namely, groups having a formation in which a plurality of inner gaps are provided) having a high density of gaps are not feasible since the positioning of the smoking articles in the group would be too unstable during the forming process.
A container for shirred food sticks is known from document US6409018. Whereas, from document WO2015155721 a unit for the forming of an ordered group of truncated conical cigarettes is known and from document EP3753864 a configuration of cigarettes and the respective method for producing said configuration is known.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide a method to form a group of smoking articles and a respective forming device, which are free from the drawbacks described above and are, at the same time, easy and inexpensive to implement.
According to the present invention, a method to form a group of smoking articles and a respective forming device is provided, as claimed in the attached claims.
The claims describe preferred embodiments of the present invention forming an integral part of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described with reference to the attached drawings, which illustrate some non-limiting embodiments thereof, wherein:

Figures 1-3 are schematic and front views of possible embodiments of groups of smoking articles obtainable with the forming method and the forming device object of the present invention;
Figures 4 and 5 schematically illustrate some steps of a forming step for sub-groups of the group of smoking articles in Figure 3;
Figure 6 is a front perspective view of a possible embodiment of the forming device object of the present invention;
Figure 7 is a perspective and enlarged view of a part of Figure 6 (with some parts removed for clarity);
Figure 8 is a front view of the part illustrated in Figure 7 (with some parts removed for clarity);
Figure 9 is a front perspective view of a part of the forming device of Figure 6 according to a further and different embodiment (with some parts removed for clarity);
Figure 10 is a front perspective view of the part illustrated in Figure 9, made according to a further and different embodiment (with some parts removed for clarity);
Figure 11 is a schematic view of a further embodiment of a part of the forming device of Figure 6; and
Figure 12 is a front perspective view of a pushing member of the device in Figure 6.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

In Figures 1-3, number 1 denotes as a whole a group of smoking articles 2 which is configured to be subsequently wrapped in an inner wrap (not illustrated) and to be housed inside a cigarette pack (not illustrated). In particular, the cigarette pack can be of the "single bundle" type (that is, single wrapped group 1 or of the "double bundle" type, namely, two groups 1 each wrapped in its own inner wrap and both housed in a single cup-shaped body of the pack. The groups 1 illustrated in the attached figures serve as an example only and are not intended as limitations.
In the following disclosure, the expression "smoking articles" refers to rod-shaped articles of the tobacco field. In particular, without losing generality, this comprises (non-exhaustive list): cigarettes, cigars, small cigars or cigarillos, electronic cigarettes or ecigs, auxiliary products such as filters, refills for ecigs and other products based on tobacco or alternative components or tobacco substitutes.
In other words, the expression "smoking articles" refers to articles of any type relating to said field, for example traditional cigarettes or "heat not burn" (HNB) type articles which only entail heating and not combustion of the article. The expression "smoking articles" also refers to cartridges containing liquid or powdered substances intended for use in electronic cigarettes or other devices that allow the same to be heated in order to generate aerosols.
As illustrated, the group 1 comprises a plurality of rows of smoking articles 2 superimposing one another and in which at least one row of smoking articles 2 internally has at least one gap 3 due to the absence of the respective smoking article 2. The gap 3 is caused by the absence of a respective smoking article 2 in the area of an inner row (that is, layer) of the group 1.
As illustrated in Figures 1-3, the group 1 of smoking articles 2 could also have a gap 4 in the area of an outer row. In other words, the group 1 can have both at least one inner gap 3 and at least one outer gap 4 (that is, at least one absent smoking article 2 in the area of an inner row and at least one absent smoking article 2 in the area of an outer row). The term "outer gap" refers to both gaps arranged in the area of a lateral edge of the group 1 (for example due to the absence of a first or last article 2 of a given row, as illustrated in Figures 1-3), or gaps arranged at a top or bottom outer layer (for example, due to the absence of an article 2 from an outer row, as illustrated in Figure 1, where the third article 2 from the left of the first row is absent).
As illustrated in Figures 1-3, the smoking articles 2 of the group 1 can be arranged in a staggered manner (Figures 1 and 2), stacked or a combination between the same (as illustrated in Figure 3, in which the same group 1 has a portion 5 in which the smoking articles 2 are staggered from one another and a portion 6 in which the smoking articles 2 are stacked together, as illustrated in Figure 3). Therefore, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, the smoking articles 2 of the group 1 can be arranged in at least two rows of smoking articles 2, which superimpose one another and are staggered so that a smoking article 2 of a row is in contact with two corresponding smoking articles 2 of the other row and is misaligned with respect to the corresponding smoking articles 2 of the other row. Additionally (Figure 3) or alternatively (not illustrated), the smoking articles 2 of the group 1 can be arranged in at least two rows of smoking articles 2 which superimpose one another and are aligned so that a smoking article 2 of one row is in contact with only one corresponding smoking article 2 of the other row and is aligned with the corresponding smoking article 2 of the other row.
As illustrated in Figures 1-3, the group 1 is ideally divided into at least two sub-groups 7 in the area of the gap 3. The joining of all sub-groups 7 defines the group 1. In Figures 1 and 2, the group 1 has been divided in two sub-groups 7; whereas in Figure 3 the group 1 has been divided into four sub-groups 7. The division of the group 1 into sub-groups 7 takes place in the area of the gaps 3 arranged internally. In Figures 1-3, the division plane has been illustrated schematically by way of the imaginary line L (that is, not present in reality). In this way the group 1 which has a complex overall arrangement (configuration), is divided into a plurality of sub-groups 7 which can be easily formed individually.
In Figures 1 and 3, the group 1 has been illustrated comprising a plurality of sub-groups 7 placed laterally next to one another (that is, with a division plane arranged substantially vertically). According to the possible alternative embodiment illustrated in Figures 2 or 3, the group 1 comprises a plurality of sub-groups 7 superimposeing one another (that is, with the division plane arranged substantially horizontally). According to a further non-limiting embodiment (not illustrated), the group 1 comprises a plurality of sub-groups 7, some of which are superimposing one another and others are placed side by side, close to one another.
In Figure 6, a forming device 10 is illustrated as a whole, which comprises a forming unit 11 to individually form a plurality of sub-groups 7 and a joining unit 12 to join side by side (by laterally flanking and/or stacking the same) the individual sub-groups 7 so as to form the group 1.
The forming unit 11 is configured to form at least two sub-groups 7, each having a semi-gap 3A in the area of an outer edge of the same (namely, the edge facing the imaginary line L). The joining of two semi-gaps 3A facing one another of two sub-groups 7 defines a gap 3 of the group 1. The joining unit 12 is configured to join the at least two sub-groups 7 side by side in the area of their outer edge (that is, the edge of the two sub-groups 7 delimited by the imaginary line L), so that the two semi-gaps 3A face one another in order to form the group 1 of smoking articles 2 with the gap 3. The joining unit 12 comprises a forming conveyor 13 provided with a plurality of pockets 14, each configured to house, inside the same, a group 1 of smoking articles 2. By way of example (non-limiting), the forming conveyor 13 can comprise a conveyor belt or a conveyor drum. The forming conveyor 13 is configured to move in a step like manner so as to cyclically move the pockets 14 along a conveying path. The conveying path (not illustrated) extends between an input station S1, in which each group 1 of smoking articles 2 enters a corresponding pocket 14, and a transfer station (not illustrated), in which each group 1 is extracted from the corresponding pocket 14 to continue with the packaging process.
As illustrated in the attached figures, the forming unit 11 comprises a hopper 15 provided with a plurality of ducts 16 (also known as "veins") into which the smoking articles 2 are fed. The ducts 16 are delimited one from the other by dividing walls 50 (illustrated schematically in Figure 8).
The forming unit 11 also comprises a forming path 17 defined between an output station SU of the hopper 15 and the forming conveyor 13.
The smoking articles 2 are fed crosswise and in succession inside the respective duct 16. In particular, the smoking articles 2 are fed by gravity inside the single duct 16 of the hopper 15.
As illustrated in the attached figures (in particular in Figure 7), the forming path 17 has two side walls 18, a bottom wall 19 and a covering element 40 (illustrated in Figure 6 and removed for clarity in Figures 7 and 8). The forming path 17 is laterally delimited by the two side walls 18 (in Figures 9 and 10 only one of the two side walls 18 is illustrated), each provided with at least one rib 20 that projects towards the forming path 17. The forming path 17 is divided into at least two forming lanes 21 (illustrated schematically in Figure 7) side by side and separated by at least an intermediate partition 22 which has at least two ribs 23 which project from a respective wall 24 and/or 25 of the intermediate partition 22. The walls 24 and 15 of the intermediate partition 22 are opposite to one another.
Advantageously, the intermediate partitions 22 have a height (that is, a dimension measured orthogonally to the longitudinal extension of the smoking articles 2 which is approximately equal to a height (measured in the same way) of the forming path 17.
Depending on the specifications of the group 1 to be formed, the at least one intermediate partition 22 can be arranged at the centre of the forming path 17 or it can be arranged out of the centre. Furthermore, in the case in which several intermediate partitions 22 are provided, they can be arranged equally spaced or at different distances from one another.
As illustrated, the ribs 23 of the same intermediate partition 22 or of two intermediate partitions 22 of the forming unit 11 can have a position (in particular a distance from the bottom wall 19), dimension (that is, height or depth of protrusion) and different shape from one another, precisely to allow the sub-groups 7 to be obtained with the smoking articles 2 arranged differently from one another.
The intermediate partition 22 is arranged between the two side walls 18 of the forming path 17. The ribs 20 and 23 are configured to prevent a smoking article 2, arranged at the output station SU of the hopper 15 and facing the respective rib 20 and 23, from being moved towards the forming conveyor 13 and/or to move crosswise the smoking articles 2 adjacent to the respective rib 20 and 23, so as to obtain the sub-group 7 with the semi-gap 3A in the area of the rib 20 or 23.
The ribs 20 and 23 also contribute to obtain a sub-group 7 having the smoking articles 2 arranged staggered from one another (that is, the smoking article 2 of one row is misaligned relative to the corresponding smoking articles 2 of the other row) .
Advantageously, the shape (in particular the size, that is, the protrusion, of the rib in the forming path 17 at the output station SU) of the ribs 20 or 23 influences the function of the rib 20 or 23. In other words, the ribs having a progressive protrusion in the path 17 (such as the rib 20 of Figure 9 or the rib 23 of Figure 10) allow one row of smoking articles 2 to be moved crosswise with respect to the other. Whereas, the ribs 20 or 23 which project into the forming path 17 with a protrusion such as to hinder the passage of the smoking article 2 (for example the ribs 20 and 23 of Figure 7, the ribs 23 of Figure 9 and the rib 20 illustrated in Figure 10) allow locking the smoking article 2 facing the same, thus preventing the latter from moving in the forming path 17.
According to a possible embodiment, the ribs of the intermediate partition 22 extend substantially along the entire forming path 17.
Alternatively, as illustrated in Figures 9 and 10, the ribs of the intermediate partition 22 extend only for a portion of the forming path 17. In particular, the ribs can be arranged at the beginning of the forming path 17, that is, near the output station SU of the hopper 15, (as illustrated in Figure 9) or they can be arranged in the final section of the forming path 17, that is, near the input station SI.
In detail, according to the embodiment illustrated in Figure 9 (in which some parts have been removed for clarity), the rib 23 is shaped in such a way so as to lock the smoking article 2 facing the same in the output station SU and subsequently, due to its conformation, to move the other smoking articles 2 crosswise. On the contrary, the ribs 20 and 23 have a path arrangement (that is, configuration) along the forming path 17 so as to obtain only the transversal movement of one row of articles relative to the others, in order to obtain the predefined arrangement. In particular, in Figure 10, the ribs 23 appear to be diverging in the direction D, whereas the ribs 20 appear to have a converging path arrangement. Therefore, in this case the ribs 20 and 23 act as guides for the smoking articles 2 arranged in the row facing the same.
Advantageously, according to an alternative embodiment illustrated in Figure 10 (in which some parts have been removed for clarity), the rib 23 is shaped in such a way so as to move crosswise immediately (that is, starting from the output station SU) the row of smoking articles 2 arranged in the area thereof. As illustrated, also in this case the ribs 20 and 23 have a path arrangement (that is, configuration) along the forming path 17, such as to move the row of smoking articles crosswise relative to the others, in order to obtain the predefined arrangement.
According to a possible alternative embodiment (not illustrated), the forming path 17 has (only) the at least one rib 23 of the intermediate partition 22; while, it is devoid of the rib 20 in the area of the side walls 18.
Advantageously, as illustrated in Figure 7 (in which some parts have been removed for clarity), each side wall 18 of the forming path 17 and each rib 20 converge towards the pocket 14 of the forming conveyor 13. Preferably, each wall 24 and 25 of the intermediate partition 22 is also made to converge towards the pocket 14 of the forming conveyor 13. In other words, the forming path 17 has a decreasing cross-section along a feeding direction D of the smoking articles 2.
As illustrated in the attached figures, the intermediate partition 22 is arranged crosswise in the forming path 17. In particular, in the attached figures, the intermediate partition 22 is illustrated with a vertical orientation (that is, it projects from the bottom wall 19 of the forming path 17).
According to a possible alternative embodiment (not illustrated), the intermediate partition 22 is arranged with a horizontal orientation (that is, it projects from at least one side wall 18 of the forming path 17).
Advantageously, each intermediate partition 22 is connected to the respective wall of the forming path 17 in a removable manner (namely, in a non-permanent manner). According to a possible alternative embodiment, the connection between each intermediate partition 22 and the respective wall of the forming path 17 is of a permanent type.
As illustrated for example in Figure 5, the intermediate partition 22 can have a cross section such as to make the shape of a lane 21 complementary to the shape of the other lane 21 adjacent to the same near to the intermediate partition 22. In this regard, the intermediate partition 22 can comprise portions 26 having a curved cross section (concave or convex) configured to house at least a portion of a smoking article 2. In this regard, for example with reference to Figure 5, the portions 26 define a recess in the area of the wall 24 and a protrusion in the area of the wall 25.
Advantageously, the device 10 is provided with a pushing member 27 provided with at least two (in particular a plurality) of prongs 28, each configured to cyclically move (pushing) within the respective lane 21 each sub-group 7 of smoking articles 2 from the output station SU of the hopper 15 into the pocket 14 of the forming conveyor 13. In Figures 5 and 11, the prongs 28 of the pushing member 27 have been schematized by illustrating the same in broken lines. The prongs 28 are in particular hinged at one end 29. In particular, the prongs 28 are connected in a cantilevered manner to a support 30. The support 30 is connected to a specific actuator device (not illustrated) which is configured to cyclically move the pushing member 28 in the direction D.
As illustrated in Figure 12, the pushing member 27 has at least one prong 28 having a rectangular cross-section. In particular, if the prong 28 has a size and shape complementary to the lane 21, it is able to move the entire column of smoking articles 2 along the lane 21.
In addition, or alternatively, at least one prong 28 of the pushing member 27 can have a smaller shape and size than the lane 21. By way of example, as illustrated in Figure 5, at least one prong 28 can have a square or shaped cross section, in particular "C" or "L" shaped to move only some of the smoking articles 2 along the lane 21. Advantageously, the prong 28 has a size and shape complementary to the shape of the rib 20 and/or 23 facing the lane 21 wherein said prong 28 is arranged.
According to a possible embodiment (illustrated schematically in Figure 11), to obtain a possible outer gap 4, one of the ducts 16 (in particular one of the two ducts 16 arranged externally, that is, arranged at the lateral ends of the hopper 15) has a lower end 51 of the curved dividing wall 50. The curved lower end 51 is also spaced from the bottom wall 19 of the output station SU of the hopper 15 (contrary to what is illustrated for example for the embodiment of Figure 8). The curved lower end 51 is configured to lock in place the smoking article 2 held by the same. In other words, due to its curved shape, the lower end 51 of the dividing wall 50 allows the smoking article 2 placed on the same to be kept suspended and spaced apart from the bottom wall 19. By means of a replenishment duct 52, a smoking article 2 is fed below each curved lower end 51 and therefore below the suspended smoking article 2, so as to form a group 1 with an outer gap 4. The smoking articles 2 thus arranged are then moved along the forming path 17 by means of the pushing member 27. To form the at least one inner gap 3, as previously described, at least one row of smoking articles 2 is moved crosswise relative to one another by means of the intermediate partition 22 (illustrated schematically and in broken lines in Figure 11), in particular by at least one rib 23 (not illustrated in Figure 11) of the intermediate partition 22.
In the following, the use of the device 10 is described, referring (without losing generality) to the example illustrated in Figures 3-5. In use, the group 1 is ideally divided into sub-groups 7 in the area of the gaps 3 arranged internally (in Figure 3 there are four sub-groups 7). The smoking articles 2 are fed by means of the hopper 15, arranged in ordered columns and rows. As can be seen by comparing Figure 3 (which illustrates the group 1 to be obtained) and Figure 4 (which illustrates the articles 2 actually fed by the hopper 15) at the output station SU, the number of smoking articles 2 fed into the ducts 16 of the hopper 15 is greater than the actual number of smoking articles 2 provided in each sub-group 7. At this point, by means of the prongs 28 of the pushing member 27 (illustrated in broken lines in the section of Figure 5), the smoking articles 2 are moved cyclically along the forming path 17. It should be noted that by virtue of the ribs 20 and 23 not all the smoking articles 2 provided in the output station SU of the hopper 15 are moved along the forming path 17. The excess smoking articles 2 (namely, those locked by the ribs 20 and 23) remain at the output station SU and are used to form group 1 at the next cycle.
During the movement along the forming path 17 (in the direction D) the smoking articles 2 change their relative position. In particular, due to the shape of the ribs 20 and 23, each row of articles 2 facing the rib 20 and/or 23 moves crosswise relative to one another to move from the perfectly stacked arrangement provided at the output station SU (Figure 4) to a staggered arrangement and provided with at least one inner gap 3 (Figure 5). In particular, the smoking articles 2 of the sub-groups 7 have the arrangement of the articles 2, as illustrated in Figure 5, near to the station S1, namely, just before being inserted into the pocket 14 and with the consequent joining of the sub-groups 7 in order to form the group 1.
Once the sub-groups 7 have been inserted into the pocket 14, the group 1 of articles 2 continues the traditional packaging process.
Advantageously, if the pack of smoking articles 2 is of the "double bundle" type, then there will be two forming devices 1 as described above, each producing the respective group 1 which will subsequently be wrapped.
According to an additional aspect of the present invention, a manufacturing machine (not illustrated) is provided for the production of packs of smoking articles 2 comprising one or more forming devices 10 described so far.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, a method is provided to form the group 1 of smoking articles 2 comprising a plurality of rows of smoking articles 2 superimposeing one another and in which at least one row of smoking articles 2 internally has the gap 3 due to the absence of the respective smoking article 2. In particular, the forming method described below is implemented by the previously described forming device 10.
The method essentially comprises (but not limited to) two main steps of:

forming at least two sub-groups 7, each having a semi-gap 3A in the area of an outer edge of the same; and
joining the two sub-groups 7 side by side in the area of their outer edge, so that the two semi-gaps 3A face one another in order to form the group 1 of smoking articles 2 with the gap 3.

Advantageously, but not limited to, the sub-groups 7 of a group 1 are formed simultaneously.
Advantageously, but not limited to, the sub-groups 7 are formed individually and independently of one another.
Advantageously, but not limited to, the step of forming the at least two sub-groups 7 can entail forming identical sub-groups 7 (that is, having the same number of smoking articles 2, arranged in the same way and having the semi-gaps 3A arranged in the same place) . In particular, in this case the two sub-groups 7 have an arrangement of the smoking articles 2 which is mirrored along the imaginary line L.
Alternatively, the step of forming the at least two sub-groups 7 can entail forming sub-groups 7 that are different from one another (such as for example those illustrated in Figures 1-3). In this regard, the two sub-groups 7 are different in at least one of the following characteristics (non-exhaustive list): number of smoking articles 2 that form the sub-groups 7 and position of the smoking articles 2 in the sub-groups 7.
Advantageously, the step of forming the sub-groups 7 entails arranging the smoking articles 2 in at least two rows of smoking articles 2, which superimpose one another and are staggered (so that a smoking article 2 of a row is in contact with two corresponding smoking articles 2 of the other row and is misaligned relative to the corresponding smoking articles 2 of the other row) or in at least two rows of smoking articles 2, which superimpose one another and are staggered (so that an article 2 of one row is in contact with only one corresponding smoking article 2 of the other row and is aligned with the corresponding smoking article 2 of the other row).
The step of grouping the two sub-groups 7, which is subsequent to the step of forming the sub-groups 7, entails placing the two sub-groups 7 side by side and/or stacking the two sub-groups 7 on top of one another, so as to obtain the group 1 of smoking articles 2.
According to a possible alternative embodiment, in which the sub-groups 7 are more than two, the step of grouping the sub-groups 7 entails stacking at least two sub-groups 7 on top of one another and placing at least two other sub-groups 7 side by side. In other words, for complex groups 1, which have multiple inner gaps 3, it is possible to join the individual sub-groups 7 either by placing some of them side by side or by stacking others.
The method of forming a group 1 of smoking articles 2 and the respective forming device 10 described above have a plurality of advantages.
First of all, the forming method has the advantage of forming, in a simple and fast way, a group 1 of smoking articles 2 that has any arrangement of smoking articles 2, which can also be complex (namely, having a high number of inner gaps 3 and outer gaps 4).
Secondly, the present invention has the advantage that thanks to the independent forming of the individual sub-groups 7, the risk of collapse of the sub-group 7 is drastically reduced (in particular annulled). In fact, as previously described, all sub-groups 7 only have gaps 3 or semi-gaps 3A arranged externally along their edge. Therefore, each sub-group 7 does not have inner gaps 3 before being joined, by means of the joining unit 12, to the other sub-groups 7. It follows, therefore, that each sub-group 7 cannot collapse and the smoking articles 2 that form the same are stably supported by the surrounding smoking articles 2 of the same sub-group 7.
The present invention allows, furthermore, the management of groups 1 comprising a large number of smoking articles 2 to be simplified.
The forming device 10 of the present invention also has the advantage of being flexible. In fact, upon format change, in which for example the position of the inner gap 3 of the new group 1 varies relative to the position of the inner gap 3 of the previous group 1, the changes to be made to the device 10 are minimal and in particular mainly concern the intermediate partition 22. In fact, the format change can be done by simply moving the intermediate partition 22 to the new position or by replacing the previous intermediate partition 22 with a new intermediate partition 22 which has for example a (different) number of ribs 23 and positioning (height, protrusion) and shape (rectangular, curved) thereof.
Finally, the present invention has the advantage that it can be easily implemented even in existing manufacturing machines, thus requiring reduced adaptation times and costs.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS OF THE FIGURES

1 group
2 smoking articles
3 gap
4 gap
5 portion
6 portion
7 sub-group
10 forming device
11 forming units
12 joining units
13 forming conveyor
14 pocket
15 hopper
16 duct
17 forming path
18 side wall
19 bottom wall
20 rib
21 lane
22 intermediate partition
23 rib
24 wall
25 wall
26 portion
27 pushing member
28 prong
29 end
30 support
40 covering element
50 dividing wall
51 lower end
52 replenishment duct
D direction
L imaginary line
SI input station
SU output station

Claims

A forming method to form a group (1) of smoking articles (2) comprising a plurality of rows of smoking articles (2) superimposing one another and wherein at least one row of smoking articles (2) internally has a gap (3) due to the absence of the respective smoking article (2); the forming method comprises the steps of:
- forming at least two sub-groups (7), each having a semi-gap (3A) in the area of an outer edge of the same; and

- joining, side by side, the two sub-groups (7) in the area of their outer edge, so that the two semi-gaps (3A) face one another in order to form the group (7) of smoking articles (2) with the gap (3).
The method according to claim 1, wherein the two sub-groups (7) are identical to one another.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the two sub-groups (7) are different in at least one of the following characteristics: number of smoking articles (2) making up the sub-groups (7) and position of the smoking articles (2) in the sub-groups (7).
The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the step of forming the sub-groups (7) entails arranging the smoking articles (2) in at least two rows of smoking articles (2), which superimpose one another and are staggered so that a smoking article (2) of one row is in contact with two corresponding smoking articles (2) of the other row and is misaligned relative to the corresponding smoking articles (2) of the other row.
The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the step of forming the sub-groups (7) entails arranging the smoking articles (2) in at least two rows of smoking articles (2), which superimpose one another and are aligned so that a smoking article (2) of one row is in contact with one single smoking article (2) of the other row and is aligned with the corresponding smoking article (2) of the other row.
The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the step of grouping the two sub-groups (7) entails placing the two sub-groups (7) side by side.
The method according to any one of the claims from 1 to 6, wherein the step of grouping the two sub-groups (7) entails stacking the two sub-groups (7) on top of one another.
The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein:
there are more than two sub-groups (7); and

the step of grouping the sub-groups (7) entails stacking at least two sub-groups (7) on top of one another and placing at least two more sub-groups (7) side by side.
A forming device (10) to form a group (1) of smoking articles (2) comprising a plurality of rows of smoking articles (2) superimposing one another and wherein a row of smoking articles (2) internally has a gap (3) due to the absence of the respective smoking article (2); the forming device (10) comprises:
a forming unit (11) to form at least two sub-groups (7), each having a semi-gap (3A) in the area of an outer edge of the same; and

a joining unit (12) to join, side by side, the two sub-groups (7) in the area of their outer edge, so that the two semi-gaps (3A) face one another in order to form the group (1) of smoking articles (2) with the gap (3).
The forming device (10) according to claim 9, wherein the joining unit (12) comprises a forming conveyor (13) provided with a plurality of pockets (14), each configured to house a group (1) of smoking articles (2) arranged with a predefined arrangement.
The forming device (10) according to claim 10, wherein the forming unit (11) comprises:
- a hopper (15) provided with a plurality of ducts (16) inside which the smoking articles (2) are fed; and

- a forming path (17) defined between an output station (SU) of the hopper (15) and the forming conveyor (13).
The forming device (10) according to claim 11, wherein the forming path (17) is:
i) laterally delimited by two side walls (18), each provided with at least one first rib (20), which projects towards the forming path (17);

ii) divided into two forming lanes (21) side by side by at least one intermediate partition (22), which has at least two second ribs (23), which project from a respective wall (24, 25) of the intermediate partition (22);

iii) wherein the first and the second ribs (23) are configured to prevent a smoking article (2) arranged in the area of the output station (SU) of the hopper (15) and facing the respective rib (20, 23) from being moved towards the forming conveyor (13) and/or to move the smoking articles (2) adjacent to the respective rib (20, 23) crosswise, so as to obtain the sub-group (1) with the semi-gap (3A) in the area of the rib (23).
The forming device (10) according to claim 12, wherein each side wall (18) of the forming path (17) and each first rib (20) and/or second rib (23) converge towards the pocket (14) of the forming conveyor (13).
The forming device (10) according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the intermediate partition (22) is arranged crosswise to the forming path (17), in particular with a vertical or horizontal orientation.
The forming device (10) according to any one of the claims from 12 to 14, wherein the intermediate partition (22) has a cross section that is such that, close to the partition (22), the shape of a first lane (21) is complementary to the shape of a second lane (21) next to the same.
The forming device (10) according to claim 12 and comprising a pushing member (27) provided with at least two prongs (28), each configured to push, within the respective lane (21), each sub-group (1) of smoking articles (2) from the output station (SU) of the hopper (15) into the pocket (14) of the forming conveyor (13).
The forming device (10) according to claim 16, wherein said at least one prong (28) has a rectangular cross section.
The forming device (10) according to claim 16 or 17, wherein at least one prong (28) has a square or shaped, in particular "C" or "L"-shaped, cross section, which, in particular, is complementary to the shape of the first rib (20) and/or of the second rib (23).
A manufacturing machine for the production of cigarette packs comprising one or more forming devices (10) according to one of the claims from 9 to 18.