FR2503685A1 - METHOD FOR SUPPLYING AN AUTOMATIC CUTTER WITH CONTINUOUS BANDS OF PREIMPRIME PACKAGING MATERIAL - Google Patents

Abstract

METHOD OF FEEDING AN AUTOMATIC CUTTER BY CONTINUOUS BANDS OF A PREPRINTED PACKAGING MATERIAL. THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROCESS IS THE PRODUCTION OF INDIVIDUAL PRINTED PACKAGING SHEETS. DEFECTIVE PORTIONS OF CONTINUOUS BANDS, FOR EXAMPLE DUE TO PRINTING DEFECTS, ARE NOT PREVIOUSLY REMOVED, BUT ARE MARKED WITH A START MARK OF SOME TYPE SUITABLE TO BE DETECTED BY SENSOR DEVICES 156, 157 AND D 'A VISIBLE END MARKER. THE PREPRINTED CONTINUOUS TAPE COILS ARE MOUNTED ON A PACKING MACHINE WHICH INCLUDES AN AUTOMATIC COIL CHANGE AND CONNECTION DEVICE. EVERY TIME A BEGINNING MARK OF A DEFECTIVE PORTION IS DETECTED, THE AUTOMATIC CHANGE DEVICE INTERRUPTS THE ADVANCING OF THE DEFECTIVE BAND, AND GOES TO THE RESERVE COIL. IN THE INTERVAL, THE OPERATOR MANUALLY REMOVES THE DEFECTIVE PORTION, THE END OF WHICH IS MARKED BY THE VISIBLE END MARK, AND INSERTS THE UPSTREAM END OF THE CONTINUOUS BAND, FROM WHICH HE REMOVED THE DEFECTIVE PORTION, INTO THE AUTOMATIC CHANGE AND CONNECTION DEVICE.

Description

The present invention relates to a method of feeding a

  automatic cutter by continuous strips of pre-printed packaging material, for

  production of individually printed packaging sheets

  the. This method is particularly suitable for being

  in the operation of the production

  individual packaging sheets in the

  machines for packaging cigarettes, and more particularly

  in packaging machines for cigarettes

  intended to provide packets of cigarettes of the so-called nsouplen ounaméricainn type, in which a printed sheet of packaging paper of

  rectangular format, this printed packaging sheet

  each individual die being cut in a continuous strip unwound by a roll or reel. The continuous strip is reprinted to present a continuous succession

identical impressions.

  In practice, in the printing process in con-

  tinu for supplying the pre-priced packaging tape,

  there may be print defects. The por-

  defective parts of the continuous strip must be

  lifted, so we have to make connections on the band

  taking care to maintain the correct printing phase

  rect. Apart from printing defects, the tape may have damaged portions, which require them

also removal and connection.

  As a result, the continuous printing process has drawbacks that lead to an elevation

  production costs. In addition, during the use

  tion, the presence of portions with connections on the strip

  continuous is likely to lead to other

  nients, such as jamming the band during its

passage through the cutter.

  The method according to the present invention proposes:

  - In the use of the continuous strip of material

  pre-printed packaging, defective portions

  are not removed beforehand, but they are simply

  marked with a start mark (of any type suitable for detection by sensing devices)

and by a visible end mark.

  - Rolls or reels of pre-printed continuous tape

  award winning products are mounted on a packaging machine that

  carries a device for changing and connecting

  tomatic of coils. - Whenever there is detection of a defective portion start mark, the change device

  automatically interrupts the progress of the faulty

  and put the spare coil into service.

  In the meantime, the operator manually removes the defective portion, the end of which is marked by the visible end mark, and reintroduces the upstream end of the continuous strip, from which he has removed the portion

  defective, in the device of change and

automatic cording.

  These characteristics, among others, of the invention

  will be more fully apparent from the detailed description

  of a preferred embodiment of the invention which is given below by way of nonlimiting example with reference to the accompanying drawing, the single figure is a schematic side view of an automatic connection device of the type described. in the French patent application 81 07118 of 9.4.81, filed in the name of the Applicant, which is adapted to the implementation of the method according to the

present invention.

  Reference will now be made to the figure, in which the marks NI and 12 denote two bands of packaging material which are unwound from a first coil BI and a second coil B2 and each form a respective buffer loop A1, A2. within each respective suction channel 14. Each of the channels 14 is provided with sensors 16, 17, 18, 19 which detect the length of the loops A1, A2 cooperating with transmission means

  20, 21, 22, 23 arranged vis-à-vis. The sec-

  outgoing loops of Al, A2 loops converge to a

  transverse shear cutter 26, 27 and are guided

  suitably upstream of this shear, within a Y-shaped guide which has convergent ducts. Along the path of each of the continuous strips N1, N2 are arranged an optical sensor 225 which detects the presence of the associated band and a pair of drive rollers 11, 12 and a hand shear 54, 55 for to clearly slice the upstream end of the band NI or N2 which comes from the coil BI or B2. Upstream of each buffer loop AI, A2, along the path of each band N1, N2, there is provided a detection device 56, 57 which indicates the depletion of the respective coil BI, B2 and may for example be formed by a photosensitive device of the working type

by transparency or reflection.

  If it is assumed that the reel being unwound is the reel B2 and the auxiliary reel is the reel BI, the passage from one reel to the other takes place as follows: In consideration of the fact that the reel reels

  BI, B2 is previously printed, the operation of section-

  manually from the upstream edge of the NI spool strip must be made along the line of

  predetermined. As a result of this, this upstream edge is

  seam between the respective drive rollers 11, 12, and the web is manually advanced so that the trimmed upstream edge reaches beyond the detector 25, which will be of the "dot" reading type. press the start push button to start an exceptional cycle of the step-by-step motor

  drives the pair of drive rollers 11, 12

  associated with the NI band of the reserve coil BI. This cycle is performed in a discontinuous regime such that after the detection of the reference point or mark on the band by the optical sensor 125, the aforementioned motor performs

  a number of steps to bring the upstream edge of the bank

  of reserve NI near the interference zone Zi, to a number wnu of steps of the cutting line of the

shears 26, 27.

  Whenever given an order of change of

  coil, by a control circuit actuated by

  appropriate devices, both in the case where the reel being unwound (reel B2) is exhausted

  the sensor has detected a start mark signaling a

  fault on the N2 band, and after completion of the cutting cycle of the last sheet F authorized by the N2 band supply of the respective buffer loop A2, there is the beginning of an interval of inactivity of the rollers.

  11, 12 associated with the N2 band.

  During this interval, the stop signal of the cutting cycle of the shear 26, 27 gives the start to an exceptional cycle of the motor which controls the rollers

  11, 12 associated with the N2 band. This ex-

  This consists of a rotation in reverse of the rollers 11, 12 in the opposite direction to the direction of advancement.

  of the N2 band, so as to bring back shear

  26, 27 the terminal part of the band N2 of the coil B2. Simultaneously, or with an appropriate delay,

  the step-by-step motor that drives the drive rollers

  11, 12 associated with the reserve band N2 initiates a new exceptional cycle which brings the upstream end of the band N1 in coincidence with the cutting line of the shears 26, 27, which increases the number of steps In this way, when the next start signal arrives, the NI reserve band

  is in a state of being delivered normally.

  In order to ensure correct operation of the

  likewise, the defective portions (printing defects) of the continuous web material are marked with a start mark and an end mark, which marking is made during the winding of the web material for

  form the coil. The starting mark (appearing ini-

  alternatively in the unwinding direction of the web roll) may consist of a hole or cut, or a magnetic zone, or an electrically conductive zone, while the end mark may be formed

  by any visible mark adapted to be disappointing

  by drawing the attention of the operator. Correspondingly, the sensor means for detecting the start mark of each defective portion will be formed by auxiliary sensors 156 (for the band N1) and 157 (for the band N2), such sensors being sensitive to either the hole either to the magnetic zone or to

  the electrically conductive area carried by the band.

  In this way, whenever the auxiliary sensors 156 or 157 detect a start mark on the web being fed, a reel change command is automatically given to the device, which leads to the change of the reel. In the meantime, the operator

  can manually eliminate the defective portion and discard

  resubmit the band in anticipation of a

  new coil change operation that occurs

  ra when detecting a defective portion on the tape Previously playing the auxiliary tape role,

or reserve, and so on.

  The final exhaustion of one or other of the B1 and B2 coils, indicated by an appropriate exhaustion mark

  carried by the band concerned, will be detected by

  appropriate operators 56 (for the NI band) and 57 (for the

  N2), which will control the passage on the spare coil for the replacement of the depleted coil by a

  full reel, as described above.

  It is considered that the detailed description which precedes

  has given the invention an understanding of

  sion clear. Without departing from the scope of the invention

  tion, it is possible to make various modifications and variations of detail in the arrangement and operation, which have been described and illustrated only by way of non-limiting example, and it must therefore be understood that the

  The appended claims are to be interpreted in the same way

  the broadest that the terms allow.

? 50368S

Claims (3)

  1.- Method for dispensing continuous strip of material   pre-printed packaging material at an automatic cutter,   for the production of printed packaging sheets   dividends, and adapted in particular to be implemented   in the operation of ciga-   tassels of the type comprising at least two coils (B1, B2) of continuous strip packaging material (N1, N2) and an automatic change and connection device (14, 15) adapted to react to the presence of pins arranged   on the continuous bands to unwind the tape   one or the other of the two coils with the possibility of   to move from one to the other, characterized by the fact   defective portions of the continuous strips of   packaging materials are marked with a start mark, auxiliary sensor means (156, 157) being arranged in said switching and connecting device, said sensor means being adapted to detect said   start marks and to act on said exchange device   automatic detection so that when a start mark is detected on the web fed by a reel, a   automatic switch on the other coil, the defective portion   killer being as a result of this manually removed from the continuous strip, which is finally inserted back into   the device for automatically changing and connecting   than. 2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the defective portions of the continuous strips of packaging material are also marked with a   end marker, visible to the operator.   3. A process according to claim 1, characterized in that the start marks and the end marks of the defective portions of the continuous web of material   packaging are worn on the tape when it is wound on its respective coil.