EP4667371A1

EP4667371A1 - Forming unit and method to couple two reinforcement elements to two groups of smoking articles side by side

Info

Publication number: EP4667371A1
Application number: EP25180736.8A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Quintino MARRONE; Terence TONELLI
Original assignee: GD SpA
Current assignee: GD SpA
Priority date: 2024-06-05
Filing date: 2025-06-04
Publication date: 2025-12-24

Abstract

Forming unit (10) and method to couple two reinforcement elements (6) to two groups (5) of smoking articles side by side. The following are provided: a forming conveyor (11) provided with at least one drawer (12) comprising two pockets (13), which are side by side and are each designed to contain a respective group (5) of smoking articles, and two seats (14) which are side by side, are coupled to the respective pockets (13) and are each designed to contain a respective "U"-folded reinforcement element (6); a feeding system (15) configured to insert the two "U"-folded reinforcement elements (6) into the seats (14) of the drawer (12) in a first feeding station (S1); and a hopper (16) configured to insert the two groups (5) of smoking articles side by side into the two pockets (13) of the drawer (12) in a second feeding station (S2).

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application claims priority from Italian patent application no. 102024000012799 filed on June 5, 2024 , the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a forming unit and method to couple two reinforcement elements to two groups of smoking articles side by side.

PRIOR ART

Patent application WO2023180862A1 describes a packing machine for producing a pack for cigarettes commercially called "twin" and comprising a rigid outer container which houses two identical groups of cigarettes (i.e., "twins," from which the commercial name of the pack for cigarettes), which are arranged side by side and are wrapped in corresponding wrapping sheets. The packing machine comprises a forming conveyor provided with a plurality of drawers, each of which has two pockets shaped to house two respective groups of cigarettes and two seats which are arranged next to the pockets and are shaped to house two respective reinforcement elements. The packing machine further comprises a feeding unit for simultaneously feeding two "U"-folded reinforcement elements to the two seats of a pocket of the forming conveyor and a hopper provided with three outlets for simultaneously feeding three pairs of groups of cigarettes to the pockets of three respective drawers of the forming conveyor.
Patent application EP4289752A1 describes the coupling of two groups of cigarettes side by side with a single common reinforcement element having two main walls, two partition walls interposed between the main walls, and two side walls arranged on opposite sides of the main walls.
Patent application US2014311930A1 describes a pack for cigarettes provided with a sealed wrap having fin sealing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide a forming unit and method to couple two reinforcement elements to two groups of smoking articles side by side, which feeding unit and method are simple to manufacture and implement and allow operating at a high production speed.
In accordance with the present invention, a forming unit and method to couple two reinforcement elements to two groups of smoking articles side by side are provided, according to what is claimed in the appended claims.
The claims describe embodiments of the present invention, forming an integral part of the present description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be disclosed with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a non-limiting embodiment thereof, wherein:

Figure 1 is a front perspective view and in a closed configuration of a rigid "twin"-type pack for cigarettes, i.e. containing two sealed wraps side by side;
Figure 2 is a rear perspective view of the pack for cigarettes of Figure 1 in a closed configuration;
Figure 3 is a front perspective view of the pack for cigarettes of Figure 1 in an open configuration;
Figure 4 is a perspective view of two groups of cigarettes side by side and coupled to two respective reinforcement elements;
Figure 5 is plan view of the two spread reinforcement elements of Figure 4;
Figures 6 and 7 are a front view and a perspective view, respectively, and with parts removed for clarity, of a forming conveyor of a packing machine manufacturing the pack for cigarettes of Figure 1;
Figure 8 is a perspective view of a drawer of the forming conveyor of Figures 6 and 7;
Figure 9 is a perspective view of part of a feeding system coupled to the forming conveyor of Figures 6 and 7;
Figure 10 is a schematic view of a processing device of the feeding system of Figure 9;
Figure 11 is an enlarged scale view of a suction seat of a transport drum of the feeding system of Figure 9;
Figures 12-15 are four schematic views illustrating the transfer methods of two reinforcement elements side by side in the feeding system of Figure 9; and
Figures 16, 17 and 18 are three different perspective views of part of the feeding system of Figure 9.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

In Figures 1, 2 and 3, reference numeral 1 indicates, as a whole, a "twin" rigid pack for cigarettes. The pack 1 for cigarettes comprises a cup-shaped container 2 made of cardboard or rigid paperboard and a pair of sealed wraps 3 (illustrated in Figure 3) housed side by side inside the container 2.
The container 2 has an open upper end and is provided with a lid 4, which is cup-shaped and is hinged to the container 2 along a hinge (illustrated in Figure 2) for rotating, with respect to the container 2, between an open position (illustrated in Figure 3) and a closed position (illustrated in Figures 1 and 2) of the open upper end.
Each sealed wrap 3 (illustrated in Figure 3) encloses a parallelepiped-shaped group 5 of cigarettes (illustrated in Figure 4) coupled to a reinforcement element 6 (better illustrated in Figure 5), which consists of cardboard or rigid paperboard, is "U"-shaped and is arranged inside the sealed wrap 3 in contact with the group 5 of cigarettes.
The formation of the sealed wraps 3 entails initially forming pairs of groups 5 of cigarettes side by side provided with respective "U"-folded reinforcement elements 9; subsequently, around each pair of groups 5 of cigarettes side by side, two respective wrapping sheets 8 are folded simultaneously to complete two respective sealed wraps 3 side by side. Further details on the manufacturing modes of the sealed wraps 3 and the pack 1 for cigarettes are described in patent application WO2023180862A1 .
According to what is illustrated in Figure 5, each reinforcement element 6 comprises a front wall 7 arranged in contact with the cylindrical side walls of the cigarettes of the group 5 of cigarettes, two side walls 8 which are arranged on opposite sides of the front wall 7 in contact with the cylindrical side walls of the cigarettes of the group 5 of cigarettes and are folded perpendicularly with respect to the front wall 7, and a lower wall 9 which is arranged in contact with the tips of the cigarettes of the group 5 of cigarettes (i.e., it is arranged in contact with the lower wall of the group 5 of cigarettes) and is folded perpendicularly with respect to the front wall 7. Preferably, the front wall 7 has an upper countersink, which has a shape complementary to a shape of the lower wall 9.
A packing machine which is designed to manufacture the pack 1 for cigarettes described above generally operates with intermittent motion (i.e. a motion which provides a cyclical alternation of motion phases and stop phases) and comprises a forming unit 10 (illustrated in Figures 6 and 7) in which the groups 5 of cigarettes coupled to the reinforcement elements 6 are formed in succession, a wrapping unit in which a respective wrapping sheet is wrapped around each group 5 of cigarettes to manufacture a sealed wrap 3, and a wrapping unit in which a blanked is wrapped around each pair of sealed wraps 3 coupled to each other (i.e. arranged side by side) to manufacture the container 2 provided with the lid 4.
According to what is illustrated in Figures 6 and 7, the forming unit 10 (which couples two groups 5 of cigarettes side by side with two respective reinforcement elements 6) comprises a forming conveyor 11 which is closed in a loop around two end pulleys (one of which is motorized) and supports a plurality of drawers 12 which are arranged in succession and are advanced by the movement of the forming conveyor 11 along a forming path.
According to what is best illustrated in Figure 8, each drawer 12 comprises two pockets 13 which are side by side (i.e., arranged side by side at a certain mutual distance) and are designed to contain respective groups 5 of cigarettes side by side. Furthermore, each drawer 12 comprises two seats 14, each arranged on the side and in close proximity to a respective pocket 13, is independently separated from the respective pocket 13, and is designed to contain a corresponding "U"-folded reinforcement element 6.
According to what is illustrated in Figures 6 and 7, the forming unit 10 comprises a feeding system 15 which is configured to insert, in a feeding station S1 arranged along the forming path, two "U"-folded reinforcement elements 6 side by side in the two seats 14 of a drawer 12 which is standing still in the feeding station S1.
According to what is illustrated in Figure 6, the forming unit 10 comprises a hopper 16 which is provided with three outlets and is configured to insert, in a feeding station S2 arranged along the forming path downstream of the feeding station S1, two groups 5 of cigarettes side by side in the two pockets 13 of three drawers 12 which are standing still in the feeding station S2.
According to what is illustrated in Figure 6, the forming unit 10 comprises an extractor 17 which is configured to extract together, in an extraction station S3 arranged along the forming path downstream of the feeding station S2, the two groups 5 of cigarettes side by side coupled to the two respective "U"-folded reinforcement elements 6 from a drawer 12 which is standing still in the extraction station S3.
According to what is best illustrated in Figure 9, the feeding system 15 comprises a transport drum 18 which is vertically oriented, is mounted rotatable around a horizontal rotation axis 19, and supports a plurality of seats 20 (in particular eight seats 20) which are each designed to house a pair of reinforcement elements 6 arranged side by side. The rotation of the transport drum 18 around the rotation axis 19 cyclically moves the seats 20 along a circular transport path which passes through a gripping station S4 in which a pair of reinforcement elements 6 is inserted into a seat 20 standing still in the gripping station S4 and a release station S5 (arranged downstream of the gripping station S4 with respect to the rotation direction of the transport drum 18) in which a pair of reinforcement elements 6 is retrieved from a seat 20 standing still in the release station S5.
The feeding system 15 comprises a gripping head 21 which is arranged in the area of the gripping station S4, is located inside the transport drum 18, is disconnected and independent from the transport drum 18 (i.e. does not rotate together with the transport drum 18), and is radially movable (i.e. perpendicular to the rotation axis 19) to retrieve a pair of reinforcement elements 6 side by side which are located in front of the seat 20 standing still in the gripping station S4 and insert the pair of reinforcement elements 6 side by side into the seat 20. In this regard, it is important to note that each seat 20 has two through openings 22 (best illustrated in Figure 11) and that the gripping head 21 has a "fork" shape having two prongs shaped to enter the through openings 22 of the seat 20 standing still in the gripping station S4. Preferably, the gripping head 21 is provided with four suction cups which are designed to hold two reinforcement elements 6 side by side by suction. That is, the gripping head 21 which is arranged inside the transport drum 18 in the area of the gripping station S4, is shaped to engage the two flat reinforcement elements 6 side by side through the two through openings 22 of the seat 20 standing still in the gripping station S4, and is configured to insert the two flat reinforcement elements 6 side by side in the seat 20 standing still in the gripping station S4.
The feeding system 15 comprises a release head 23 which is arranged in the area of the release station S5, is located inside the transport drum 18, is disconnected and independent from the transport drum 18 (i.e. does not rotate together with the transport drum 18), and is radially movable (i.e. perpendicular to the rotation axis 19) to accompany (push) a pair of reinforcement elements 6 out of the seat 20 standing still in the release station S5. In this regard, it is important to note that the release head 23 has a "fork" shape having two prongs shaped to enter the through openings 22 of the seat 20 standing still in the release station S5.
According to what is illustrated in Figure 11, each seat 20 has, at the centre, the two rectangular-shaped through openings 22 separated from each other by a central partition element 24; furthermore, each seat 20 has a series of suction holes 25 which are arranged around the two through openings 22 and are designed to generate in use a suction to hold a pair of reinforcement elements 6.
According to what is illustrated in Figure 10, the feeding system 15 comprises a processing device 26 configured to cyclically feed pairs of reinforcement elements 6 into the gripping station S4, i.e. to arrange pairs of reinforcement elements 6 side by side in the gripping station S4 such that each pair of reinforcement elements 6 side by side is retrievable from the gripping head 21 to be arranged in a respective seat 20 standing still in the gripping station S4.
The processing device 26 comprises an unwinding station in which a single wrapping-material band 27 of double width is unwound from a roll 28 and is moved through a cutting member 29 of a known type which makes both a longitudinal cut in the wrapping-material band 27, dividing the wrapping-material band 27 into two mirror-like halves, and a transverse cut to separate the two reinforcement elements 6 side by side from the wrapping-material band 27. Preferably, the cutting member 29 also carries out controlled deformations of the wrapping-material band 27 to imprint pre-weakened fold lines which separate, in each reinforcement element 6, the side walls 8 and the lower wall 9 from the front wall 7.
Downstream of the cutting member 29, the reinforcement elements 6 just created by the wrapping-material band 27 of double width are two-by-two side by side and in mutual contact (that is, at a zero distance from each other) along the longitudinal cutting line. In particular, along the longitudinal cutting line two residual joining points 30 (illustrated in Figure 5) are left, which keep two reinforcement elements 6 side by side joined together (and therefore not separable). The function of the residual joining points 30 is to guarantee the correct mutual positioning of two reinforcement elements 6 side by side which cannot (in an unwanted and uncontrolled manner) move away from each other, overlap each other or tilt with respect to each other. Thanks to the presence of the residual joining points 30, it is much simpler to guarantee the correct advancement and the correct positioning of two reinforcement elements 6 side by side.
According to what is best illustrated in Figures 16, 17 and 18, the feeding system 15 comprises a folding body 31 having two housings 32 side by side, each shaped to receive a respective reinforcement element 6 determining the "U"-shaped folding of the reinforcement element 6; i.e. each housing 32 is shaped to contain a respective "U"-folded reinforcement element 6 and is shaped to determine a progressive "U"-folding of the reinforcement element 6 as the reinforcement element 6 approaches the housing 32. The folding body 31 is mounted in a fixed position in the area of (on one side) the release station S5 and in the area of (on the other side) the feeding station S1. That is, the folding body 31 is fixed to a frame of the forming unit 10 and therefore does not perform any type of movement, being separate and independent from both the forming conveyor 11 and the transport drum 18.
The folding body 31 has two through openings (holes) 33 which pass through the folding body 31 from side to side and are parallel and side by side.
The feeding system 15 comprises a transferring device 34 which is movable along a direction D1 to retrieve two flat reinforcement elements 6 side by side from a seat 20 of the transport drum 18 standing still in the release station S5 and then insert the two reinforcement elements 6 into the two housings 32 of the folding body 31, determining the "U"-shaped folding of the reinforcement elements 6.
The feeding system 15 further comprises a transferring device 35 which is movable along a direction D2 perpendicular to the direction D1 to push the two "U"-folded reinforcement elements 6 side by side from the housings 32 of the folding body 31 to the seats 14 of a drawer 12 standing still in the feeding station S1 (i.e. standing still in the area of the folding body 31). In other words, the transferring device 35 is configured to enter, moving along the direction D2, the two housings 32 of the folding body 31, pushing the two "U"-folded reinforcement elements 6 side by side out of the two housings 32.
The transferring device 34 comprises a support element 36 which is mounted movable along the direction D1 and supports four suction gripping heads 37 which are configured to hold two flat reinforcement elements 6 side by side; i.e. two suction gripping heads 37 engage one reinforcement element 6 while the other two suction gripping heads 37 engage the other reinforcement element 6. The suction gripping heads 37 are shaped to pass, two-by-two, through the two through openings 33 of the folding body 31 to go to retrieve two flat reinforcement elements 6 side by side beyond the folding body 31 and then insert the two flat reinforcement elements 6 side by side into the two housings 32 of the folding body 31. That is, through the through openings 33, the transferring device 34 passes through the folding body 31 between a waiting position, in which the transferring device is arranged on one side of the folding body 31, opposite the transport drum 18, to a gripping position in which the transferring device 31 is arranged on the opposite side of the folding body 31, in the area of the transport drum 18, to retrieve two flat reinforcement elements 6 side by side from a seat 20 standing still in the release station S5. According to a preferred embodiment, each gripping head 37 is mounted on a respective elastic element 38 which is axially elastically compressible; in other words, thanks to the presence of a spring, each elastic element 38 elastically reduces its axial extension when subjected to compression.
According to a preferred embodiment, the transferring device 34 comprises two knives 39, each of which is mounted in a fixed position on the support element 36 and is arranged between two suction gripping heads 37. The knives 39 are configured to cut the two residual joining points 30 between the two flat reinforcement elements 6 side by side when retrieving the two flat reinforcement elements 6 side by side from a seat 20 standing still in the release station S5.
With particular reference to what is illustrated in Figures 12-15, the feeding of two flat reinforcement elements 6 side by side to the two seats 14 of a drawer 12 standing still in the feeding station S1 (i.e. standing still in the area of the folding body 31) is described below.
Initially, the transferring device 34 is arranged on the opposite side of the folding body 31 with respect to the transport drum 18 to allow the rotation of the transport drum 18 around the rotation axis 19.
When the transport drum 18 stops, stopping in the release station S5, a seat 20 containing two flat reinforcement elements 6 side by side, from the inside of the rotation drum 18, the release head 23 moves radially outwards to come into contact with the two flat reinforcement elements 6 side by side through the two through openings 22 of the seat 20 and simultaneously the transferring device 34 moves along the direction D1 to pass through the folding body 31 through the two through openings 33 of the folding body 31 and then come into contact with the flat reinforcement elements 6 side by side from the opposite side of the release head 23 (as illustrated in Figure 12). That is, the transferring device 34 engages the two flat reinforcement elements 6 side by side on the opposite side of the release head 23 with their suction gripping heads 37.
Subsequently, the transferring device 34 compresses the two flat reinforcement elements 6 side by side against the release head 23 (which acts as a striker, or as an anvil, for the transferring device 34) determining the gradual elastic compression of the elastic elements 38; the consequent shortening of the elastic elements 38 brings the two knives 39 into contact with the two flat reinforcement elements 6 side by side so that the knives 39 cut the two residual joining points 30 (as illustrated in Figure 13). It is important to note that the cutting of the two residual joining points 30 occurs when the two flat reinforcement elements 6 side by side are compressed between the suction gripping heads 37 of the transferring device 34 and the release head 23 and therefore when the flat reinforcement elements 6 side by side are firmly held in a predetermined and known position, guaranteeing a high precision in the cutting of the two residual joining points 30.
In other words, the transfer head 23 is arranged inside the transport drum 18 in the area of the release station S5, is shaped to engage the two flat reinforcement elements 6 side by side carried by a seat 20 standing still in the release station S5 through the two through openings 22 of the seat 20, and is configured to offer a striker to the transferring device 34 during the retrieval of the two flat reinforcement elements 6 side by side (i.e. the transferring device 34 can push the two flat reinforcement elements 6 side by side against the release head 23 which remains standing still and determines the elastic compression of the elastic elements 38 of the transferring device 34).
Once the cutting of the two residual joining points 30 is completed at the end of a forward stroke along the direction D1, the transferring device 34 reverses the direction of motion along the direction D1 and begins a return stroke which moves the two flat reinforcement elements 6 side by side held by their suction gripping heads 37 away from the seat 20 standing still in the release station S5 and towards the housings 32 of the folding body 31 (as illustrated in Figure 14). During the return stroke of the transferring device 34 (which passes through the through openings 33 of the folding body 31), the progressive entry of the reinforcement elements 6 side by side in the housings 32 causes a progressive "U"-folding of the reinforcement elements 6 side by side (which are now separate and independent of each other and therefore free to fold independently of each other). When the transferring device 34 has completed the insertion of the reinforcement elements 6 side by side into the respective housings 32 of the folding body 31, the transferring device 34 separates from the reinforcement elements 6 side by side (now folded in a "U" shape) and completes its return stroke, detaching from the reinforcement elements 6 side by side (as illustrated in Figure 15).
At this point, the transferring device 35 completes its forward stroke along the direction D2 to push the "U"-folded reinforcement elements 6 side by side from the housings 32 of the folding body 31 to the seats 14 of the drawer 12 standing still in the feeding station S1.
The embodiments described herein can be combined to one another without departing from the scope of protection of the present invention.
The forming unit 10 described above has numerous advantages.
Firstly, the forming unit 10 described above allows coupling two "U"-folded reinforcement elements 6 to two groups 5 of cigarettes side by side in a very precise and accurate manner (i.e. guaranteeing a high precision in the coupling between each group 5 of cigarettes and the respective reinforcement element 6) also operating at a high production speed (i.e. with a high number of sealed wraps 1 produced in the unit of time). Furthermore, the forming unit 10 described above has high accessibility to all its components and thanks to this feature it is possible to quickly carry out format change operations (i.e. the adaptation operations to modify the features of the sealed wraps 1 to be produced).
Finally, the forming unit 10 described above is of a relatively simple design.
The embodiment illustrated in the accompanying figures refers to the production of a pack for cigarettes, but the present invention is also applicable without substantial modifications to the production of any other kind of pack for smoking articles (for example a pack for cigars, a pack for electronic cigarettes of the liquid vaporization type, a pack for next generation heat-not-burn cigarettes...).

LIST OF THE REFERENCE NUMERALS OF THE FIGURES

1: pack for cigarettes
2: container
3: sealed wrap
4: lid
5: group of cigarettes
6: reinforcement element
7: front wall
8: side walls
9: lower wall
10: forming unit
11: forming conveyor
12: drawers
13: pockets
14: seats
15: feeding system
16: hopper
17: extractor
18: transport drum
19: rotation axis
20: seats
21: gripping head
22: through openings
23: release head
24: central partition element
25: sucking holes
26: processing device
27: wrapping-material band
28: roll
29: cutting member
30: residual joining points
31: folding body
32: housings
33: through openings
34: transferring device
35: transferring device
36: support element
37: suction gripping heads
38: elastic elements
39: knives
S1: feeding station
S2: feeding station
S3: extraction station
S4: gripping station
S5: release station

Claims

A forming unit (10) to couple two reinforcement elements (6) to two groups (5) of smoking articles side by side; the forming unit (10) comprises:
a forming conveyor (11) provided with at least one drawer (12) comprising two pockets (13), which are side by side and are each designed to contain a respective group (5) of smoking articles, and two seats (14), which are side by side, are coupled to the respective pockets (13) and are each designed to contain a respective "U"-folded reinforcement element (6);

a feeding system (15) configured to insert the two "U"-folded reinforcement elements (6) into the seats (14) of the drawer (12) in a first feeding station (S1); and

a hopper (16) configured to insert the two groups (5) of smoking articles side by side into the two pockets (13) of the drawer (12) in a second feeding station (S2);

the forming unit (10) is characterized in that the feeding system (15) comprises:
a folding body (31) arranged in a fixed position and having two housings (32) side by side, each shaped so as to receive a respective reinforcement element (6), determining the "U"-shaped folding of the reinforcement element (6);

a first transferring device (34), which is movable along a first direction (D1) to retrieve the two flat reinforcement elements (6) side by side and insert the two reinforcement elements (6) into the two housings (32) of the folding body (31), determining the "U"-shaped folding of the reinforcement elements (6); and

a second transferring device (35), which is movable along a second direction (D2) perpendicular to the first direction (D1) to push the two "U"-folded reinforcement elements (6) side by side from the housings (32) of the folding body (31) to the seats (14) of the drawer (12) standing still in the area of the folding body (31).
The forming unit (10) according to claim 1, wherein the first transferring device (34) comprises at least one knife (39) configured to cut a residual joining point (30) between the two flat reinforcement elements (6) side by side upon retrieving the two flat reinforcement elements (6) side by side.
The forming unit (10) according to claim 2, wherein the first transferring device (34) comprises at least two suction gripping heads (37), which are configured to hold the two flat reinforcement elements (6) side by side and are mounted on elastic elements (38), which are axially compressible in an elastic manner.
The forming unit (10) according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the knife (39) is arranged between the two suction gripping heads (37).
The forming unit (10) according to claim 2, 3 or 4, wherein the folding body (31) comprises at least one through opening (33), through which the first transferring device (34) goes through the folding body (31) between a waiting position, in which the first transferring device (34) is arranged on one side of the folding body (31), to a gripping position, in which the first transferring device (34) is arranged on the opposite side of the folding body (31) to retrieve the two flat reinforcement elements (6) side by side.
The forming unit (10) according to one of the claims from 1 to 5, wherein the second transferring device (35) is configured to enter, moving along the second direction (D2), the two housings (32) of the folding body (31), pushing the two "U"-folded reinforcement elements (6) side by side out of the two housings (32).
The forming unit (10) according to one of the claims from 1 to 6, wherein:
the folding body (31) has at least one through opening (33) which is configured, during the transfer of two reinforcement elements (6), to make the two suction gripping heads (37) of the first transferring device (34) go until coming into contact with the two flat reinforcement elements (6) side by side; and

a contrast is entailed which is configured to support the pressure of the suction gripping heads (37) of the first transferring device (34) with the interposition of the two flat reinforcement elements (6) side by side so as to elastically compress the elastic elements (38) supporting the suction gripping heads (37).
The forming unit (10) according to claim 7, wherein the first transferring device (34) comprises at least one knife (39) which is arranged between the two suction gripping heads (37) and is configured to cut a residual joining point (30) between the two flat reinforcement elements (6) side by side by the effect of the compression of the elastic elements (38) during the transfer of the two reinforcement elements (6).
The forming unit (10) according to one of the claims from 1 to 8, wherein the feeding system (15) comprises a transport drum (18), which supports at least one seat (20) designed to receive the two flat reinforcement elements (6) side by side and can rotate around a rotation axis (19) to move the seat (20) between a gripping station (S4), in which two flat reinforcement elements (6) side by side are inserted into the seat (20), and a release station (S5), in which the two flat reinforcement elements (6) side by side are retrieved from the seat (20) by the first transferring device (34).
The forming unit (10) according to claim 9, wherein:
the seat (20) has, at the centre, two through openings (22); and

the feeding system (15) comprises a release head (23), which is arranged inside the transport drum (18) in the area of the release station (S5), is shaped so as to engage the two flat reinforcement elements (6) side by side through the two through openings (22) and is configured to offer a striker for the first transferring device (34) during the retrieval of the two flat reinforcement elements (6) side by side.
The forming unit (10) according to claim 9 or 10, wherein:
the seat (20) has, at the centre, two through openings (22); and

the feeding system (15) comprises a gripping head (21), which is arranged inside the transport drum (18) in the area of the gripping station (S4), is shaped so as to engage the two flat reinforcement elements (6) side by side through the two through openings (22) and is configured to insert the two flat reinforcement elements (6) side by side into the seat (20).
The forming unit (10) according to claim 9, 10 or 11, wherein the feeding system (15) comprises a processing device (26) provided with:
an unwinding station, where a single wrapping-material band (27) of double width is unwound from a roll (28); and

a known cutting member (29), which makes both a longitudinal cut in the wrapping-material band (27), dividing the wrapping-material band (27) into two mirror-like halves,

and a transverse cut to separate the two reinforcement elements (6) side by side from the wrapping-material band (27).
The forming unit (10) according to claim 12, wherein the cutting member (29) is configured to leave at least one residual joining point (30) between the two reinforcement elements (6) side by side, which keeps the two reinforcement elements (6) side by side joined together.
A forming method to couple two reinforcement elements (6) to two groups (5) of smoking articles side by side; the forming method comprises the steps of:
conveying, by means of a forming conveyor (11), at least one drawer (12) comprising two pockets (13), which are side by side and are each designed to contain a respective group (5) of smoking articles, and two seats (14), which are side by side, are coupled to the respective pockets (13) and are each designed to contain a respective "U"-folded reinforcement element (6);

inserting, by means of a feeding system (15), the two "U"-folded reinforcement elements (6) into the seats (14) of the drawer (12) in a first feeding station (S1); and

inserting, by means of a hopper (16), the two groups (5) of smoking articles side by side into the two pockets (13) of the drawer (12) in a second feeding station (S2);

the forming method is characterized in that it comprises the further steps of:
retrieving, by means of a first transferring device (34) movable along a first direction (D1), the two flat reinforcement elements (6) side by side;

inserting, by means of the first transferring device (34), the two reinforcement elements (6) into two housings (32) side by side of a folding body (31) arranged in a fixed position, determining the "U"-shaped folding of the reinforcement elements (6);

pushing, by means of a second transferring device (35) movable along a second direction (D2) perpendicular to the first direction (D1), the two "U"-folded reinforcement elements (6) side by side from the housings (32) of the folding body (31) to the seats (14) of the drawer (12) standing still in the area of the folding body (31).
The forming method according to claim 14 and comprising the steps of:
moving, in a forward stroke, the first transferring device (34) along the first direction (D1) to bring at least two suction gripping heads (37) of the first transferring device (34) into contact with the two flat reinforcement elements (6) side by side, going through at least one through opening (33) of the folding body (31);

pressing the suction gripping heads (37) of the first transferring device (34) against a contrast with the interposition of the two flat reinforcement elements (6) side by side to elastically compress the elastic elements (38) supporting the suction gripping heads (37);

moving, in a return stroke, the first transferring device (34) along the first direction (D1) to bring the two flat reinforcement elements (6) side by side inside the two housings (32), determining the "U"-shaped folding of the reinforcement elements (6);

separating the suction gripping heads (37) of the first transferring device (34) from the "U"-folded reinforcement elements (6) side by side; and

moving, in a forward stroke, the second transferring device (35) along the second direction (D1) to push the two "U"-folded reinforcement elements (6) side by side out of the housings (32) of the folding body and into the seats (14) of the drawer (12) standing still in the area of the folding body (31).
The forming method according to claim 15, wherein the transfer of two reinforcement elements (6) entails that the compression of the elastic elements (38) causes at least one knife (39) of the first transferring device (34) arranged between the two suction gripping heads (37) to cut a residual joining point (30) between the two flat reinforcement elements (6) side by side.