ES353454A1 - Cigarette batching apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

Pushers 4a, 4b, 4c are reciprocated to enter the base of a hopper 1 and impel one layer of cigarettes each from the hopper into receptacles 9 on an intermittently movable chain conveyer 10 towards either side of which sensing members 59, 59a, Fig. 4, are oscillated through rack and pinion mechanism 61, 60 under control of a cam 54 in order to sense the absence of cigarettes in the batch, the sensing members closing an electrical circuit to operate an expeller 64, and the complete batches being carried to a position where they are transferred by a pusher 106 into the control of jaws 77 of a rotatable conveyer wheel 78. The hopper 1 has a wall portion 11 which is oscillated about a shaft 12 under control of cam and roller mechanism 36, 37 and tappet shafts 39, 40. A control member 47 allows the wall portion 11 to be detached from the tappet shaft 40 by turning plates 43 which engage in a groove 40b at the end of the shaft. The lower part of the hopper wall is openable, but is normally held shut by a spring loaded rod 49. The base of the hopper is stepped to enable the formation of three layers of cigarettes in each batch by the pushers 4a-4c. The upper surface of the pushers is grooved to retain the cigarettes overlying the layers removed. A control shaft 13, from which the movement of the pushers 4a-4c is derived, turns through a pinion 50 the cam 54 which controls the sensing members 59, 59a it also governs the movement of a cam 55 and roller 68 the purpose of which is to return the expeller 64 to its initial position. A third cam 56, which is in driving connection with cams 54 and 55, is engaged by a roller 69 to control the movement of a guide wall (not shown) and thereby to assist in the transfer of cigarettes by the pusher 106 into the jaws 77 which are opened to receive the batch. A shaft 82 driven from the shaft 13 through pinions 80, 81 drives the chain conveyer 10 through intermediate mechanism which includes a Geneva wheel 97 and rollers 96. The shaft 82 also carries a cam wheel 98 engaged by a roller 100 through which a support sleeve 104 for a rod 92 of the pusher 106 is given an arcuate return path in order to enable the pusher to avoid successive containers 9 on the chain conveyer 10 after delivery of a batch of cigarettes to the grippers 77.