Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
  • B65H27/00—Special constructions, e.g. surface features, of feed or guide rollers for webs
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
  • B65H2406/00—Means using fluid
  • B65H2406/30—Suction means
  • B65H2406/36—Means for producing, distributing or controlling suction
  • B65H2406/361—Means for producing, distributing or controlling suction distributing vacuum from stationary element to movable element
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
  • B65H2801/00—Application field
  • B65H2801/54—Cigarette making
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
  • B65H2801/00—Application field
  • B65H2801/81—Packaging machines

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a transport drum.
• the present invention can be applied advantageously to a transport drum for moving wrapping sheets (in particular made of metallized paper) intended for the production of wraps of rigid packs of cigarettes with hinged lids, to which the following discussion will make explicit reference without any loss of generality.
• a rigid pack of cigarettes with a hinged lid comprises a wrap consisting of a group of cigarettes wrapped in a sheet of metallized paper and a rigid outer shell which houses the wrap therein.
• the outer shell consists of a cup-shaped container, which houses the group of cigarettes and has an open upper end, and a lid, which is also cup-shaped and is hinged to the container so as to rotate, relative to the container, between an open position and a closed position of the open end.
• a cigarette packer machine for example as described in the patent application EP3725691A1 , comprises a wrapping unit in which wraps intended to be successively inserted into rigid outer shells are produced by folding wrapping sheets made of metallized paper around the respective groups of cigarettes, the wrapping sheets being separated by transversely cutting a band of wrapping material unwound from a reel.
• a wrapping-sheet supply unit comprises one or more suctioning transport drums (i.e. provided with a series of suction holes that are cyclically connected to a suction source) around which the wrapping sheets are wound so as to move the wrapping sheets towards a folding area.
• the patent application EP1457444A2 describes a roller for transporting a band or sheet of paper in paper-converting machines, for example, a rewinding machine, a winding machine, an interfolding machine; the roller consists of an outer cylindrical body equipped with a plurality of radial holes, arranged according to longitudinal rows, capable of rotating with respect to a fixed inner body coaxial to it and connected to a suction system.
• the patent application US2006261120A1 describes a roller configured to select and remove pieces that have been cut or severed from a band or sheet of flexible material; the roller comprises an external surface with a plurality of through apertures and a plurality of valves in fluid communication with the plurality of apertures.
• the object of the present invention is to provide a transport drum which makes it possible to perform, quickly and at a lost cost, a format-change operation designed to allow the supply of a product of a different size.
• a transport drum is provided as claimed in the appended claims.
• the reference number 1 indicates, as a whole, a packer machine which produces a rigid pack 2 of cigarettes with a hinged lid comprising a cup-shaped outer container made of rigid cardboard or paperboard and a wrap 3 accommodated inside the container 2.
• Each wrap 3 consists of a wrapping sheet 4 made of metallized paper, which is folded around a group 5 of cigarettes that is parallelepiped in shape.
• the packer machine 1 comprises a forming unit (not illustrated) in which the groups 5 of cigarettes are formed in succession, a wrapping unit 6 in which a respective wrapping sheet 4 is wrapped around each group 5 of cigarettes so as to produce a wrap 3, and a wrapping unit (not illustrated) in which a collar and a blank are wrapped around each wrap 3 so as to produce an outer container provided with a lid.
• the wrapping unit 6 comprises a supply device 7 which cyclically supplies the wrapping sheets 4 into the folding area, i.e. arranges each wrapping sheet 4 in such a manner that the wrapping sheet 4 is intercepted by a corresponding group 5 of cigarettes moving along a wrapping path.
• the supply device 7 comprises an unwinding station in which a band 8 of wrapping material is unwound from a reel 9 and is moved towards a cutting member 10 of a known type which cyclically performs a cross cut of the band 8 of wrapping material so as to separate the individual wrapping sheets 4 from the band 8 of wrapping material.
• a cutting member 10 Arranged in succession downstream of the cutting member are two suctioning transport drums 11 (i.e. which hold the wrapping sheets 4 through suction), which move the wrapping sheets 4 to the wrapping area.
• each transport drum 11 comprises a cylindrical body 12, which is mounted in a rotary manner around a rotation axis 13 and which has a side surface 14 that is cylindrical in shape, around which the wrapping sheets 4 moved by the transport drum 11 are wound in use.
• a plurality of suction openings 15 open through the side surface 14 and, in use, are connected (in the manner described in the following) to a suction source 16 (schematically illustrated in Figure 2 ) so as to hold the wrapping sheets 4 through suction on the side surface 14.
• the suction openings 15 are arranged in groups 17 configured to adjust to different formats of the wrapping sheets 4 (in particular to different widths of the wrapping sheets 4, i.e. to different axial dimensions, measured parallel to the rotation axis 13, of the wrapping sheets 4); in particular, three different groups 17 of suction openings 15 configured to adjust to three different formats of the wrapping sheets 4 are provided.
• Each group 17 of suction openings 15 comprises two circular and lateral rows of suction openings 15 arranged laterally and one circular and central row of suction openings 15: the one circular and central row of suction openings 15 is common to all three groups 17 of suction openings 15 while each group 17 of suction openings 15 comprises two circular and lateral rows of dedicated suction openings 15, i.e. which only form part of one group 17 of suction openings 15 and do not form part of the other groups 17 of suction openings 15.
• each transport drum 11 must be configured so as to enable the group 17 of suction openings 15 corresponding to the selected format and disable the groups 17 of suction openings 15 that do not correspond to the selected format; only in this manner, in fact, is it possible to obtain at the same time an adequate adhesion of the wrapping sheets 4 to the side surface 14 of the cylindrical body 12 and a congruous "consumption" of suction (by avoiding the application of suction through suction openings 15 which in use are never covered by the wrapping sheets 4).
• each transport drum 11 comprises a plurality of supply channels 18, which are obtained inside the cylindrical body 12, are axially oriented (i.e. parallel to the rotation axis 13) and are distributed (not completely uniformly, i.e. not everywhere with the same pitch) around the rotation axis 13.
• each transport drum 11 comprises a plurality of suction ducts 19, each of which is radially oriented (i.e., perpendicularly to the rotation axis 13), originates from a respective supply channel 18 and is directed towards the outside of the cylindrical body 12, ending in a respective suction opening 15 which opens through the side surface 14 of the cylindrical body 12.
• each suction opening 15 corresponds to a respective supply channel 18, and vice versa, so that, exactly as the three groups 17 of suction openings 15 were defined, three groups 17 of supply channels 18 are defined analogously.
• each transport drum 11 comprises a plurality of distribution pipes 20, each of which is inserted inside a respective supply channel 18 so as to rotate around a rotation axis 21 parallel to the rotation axis 13 and can be connected to the suction source 16.
• each distribution pipe 20 comprises a plurality of through holes 22, each of which can be aligned with a corresponding suction duct 19 by suitably rotating the distribution pipe 20 around the rotation axis 21 in order to establish a connection between the suction duct 19 and the suction source 16.
• Figure 7 shows an example where through holes 22 of a few distribution pipes 20 are not aligned with the respective suction ducts 19 (so that the suction ducts 19 are isolated from the respective distribution pipes 20 and from the suction source 16), while Figure 8 shows an example where through holes 22 of a few distribution pipes 20 are aligned with the respective suction ducts 19 (so that the suction ducts 19 are connected to the respective distribution pipes 20 and to the suction source 16).
• the through holes 22 of each distribution pipe 20 are angularly misaligned relative to one another, i.e. in each distribution pipe 20, only the through holes 22 corresponding to a same format of the wrapping sheet 4 are angularly aligned with one another.
• the through holes 22 of each distribution pipe 20 are arranged so as to be aligned with a single group 17 of suction ducts 19 at a time depending on the angular position of the distribution pipe 20 relative to the corresponding supply channel 18.
• each transport drum 11 comprises a transmission system 23, which connects all distribution pipes 20 to one another and synchronizes the rotation of all distribution pipes 20 relative to the corresponding rotation axes 21.
• a transmission system 23 which connects all distribution pipes 20 to one another and synchronizes the rotation of all distribution pipes 20 relative to the corresponding rotation axes 21.
• the transmission system 23 comprises, for each distribution pipe 20, a corresponding peripheral (satellite) gear wheel 24, which is integral to the distribution pipe 20 (for example, is screwed into the distribution pipe 20); in addition, the transmission system 23 comprises a central (solar) gear wheel 25, which is mounted in a rotary manner on the cylindrical body 12 so as to rotate around the rotation axis 13 and meshes with all peripheral gear wheels 24, so that the rotational movement of all peripheral gear wheels 24 is always synchronized.
• the transmission system 23 comprises a braking device, which applies a friction to the central gear wheel 25 in order to counter the rotation of the central gear wheel 25 around the first rotation axis 13.
• the braking device comprises a friction ring 26 made of an elastic material, which is interposed between the cylindrical body 12 and the central gear wheel 25 and presses against a surface of the central gear wheel 25.
• the function of the braking device is to make the rotation of the central gear wheel 25 relative to the cylindrical body 12 and around the rotation axis 13 (and thus the rotation of all peripheral gear wheels 24 around their respective rotation axes 21) "difficult", i.e.
• the function of the braking device is to lock the angular position of the peripheral gear wheels 24 (i.e. of the distribution pipes 20) during normal use of the transport drum 11 in such a manner that the configuration of the transport drum 11 cannot be modified in an uncontrolled and undesirable manner during normal use of the transport drum 11.
• each peripheral gear wheel 24 has, at the centre, a dead hole 27 (so as to maintain the pneumatic isolation of the respective distribution pipe 20), which has a non-circular shape (for example, a hexagonal shape as illustrated in Figures 7 and 8 or a star shape) and is designed to be engaged by a tip of a tool shaped so as to apply a rotational torque.
• the tool is inserted inside a distribution pipe 20 from the side opposite the peripheral gear wheel 24 and thus has an appropriate length (i.e. longer than the axial length of the distribution pipe 20).
• each supply channel 18 is a through channel so that a rear end of each distribution pipe 20 axially projects out of the cylindrical body 12 and supports the respective peripheral gear wheel 24.
• Each transport drum 11 comprises a pneumatic distributor (known and not illustrated), which is arranged at an end of the cylindrical body 12 opposite the end at which the peripheral gear wheels 24 are arranged and which is configured to connect the distribution pipes 20 to the suction source 16.
• a pneumatic distributor (known and not illustrated), which is arranged at an end of the cylindrical body 12 opposite the end at which the peripheral gear wheels 24 are arranged and which is configured to connect the distribution pipes 20 to the suction source 16.
• the suctioning transport drum 11 is configured to move a wrapping sheet 4; according to other embodiments not illustrated, the transport drum 11 could be configured to move another type of product of a flat shape or even of another shape (for example of a cylindrical shape such as cigarettes, cigarette filters, cigarette components, components for cigarette filters).
• the transport drum 11 described in the foregoing has numerous advantages.
• the transport drum 11 described above makes it possible to perform, quickly and at a low cost, a format-change operation designed to allow the supply of a product of a different size; in fact, it is sufficient to apply a rotation (with an ordinary tool available in any workshop) to a peripheral gear wheel 24 in order to transmit the same rotation to all other peripheral gear wheels 24 and thereby quickly adjust the angular position of all distribution pipes 20 and establish which group 17 of suction openings 15 (or which group 17 of suction ducts 19) must be pneumatically connected to the distribution pipes 20 so as to receive suction from the distribution pipes 20.
• a rotation with an ordinary tool available in any workshop
• transport drum 11 described above is of a relatively simple and economical design.

Landscapes

• Wrapping Of Specific Fragile Articles (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=87136997

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Family Cites Families (4)

• 2023
  • 2023-05-02 IT IT102023000008589A patent/IT202300008589A1/it unknown
• 2024
  • 2024-04-29 PL PL24172928.4T patent/PL4458751T3/pl unknown
  • 2024-04-29 EP EP24172928.4A patent/EP4458751B1/en active Active

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