IT201800003942A1 - Packing machine and wrapping method for making a cigarette packet provided with an external container and a hinged lid by folding a blank around a wrapping that encloses a group of smoking articles. - Google Patents

Description

Title

Packing machine and wrapping method for making a cigarette packet provided with an external container and a hinged lid by folding a blank around a wrapping that encloses a group of smoking articles.

DESCRIPTION

of the industrial invention entitled:

"Packing machine and wrapping method for making a cigarette packet provided with an external container and a hinged lid by folding a blank around a wrapping that encloses a group of smoking articles."

TECHNIQUE SECTOR

The present invention relates to a packing machine and to a wrapping method for making a cigarette packet provided with an external container and a hinged lid by folding a blank around a wrapping which encloses a group of smoking articles.

The present invention finds advantageous application to the production of a packet of cigarettes containing a group of cigarettes, to which the following discussion will make explicit reference without thereby losing generality.

ANTERIOR ART

Rigid cigarette packets with hinged lid are the most popular cigarette packets currently on the market as they are simple to make, are easy and practical to use, and offer good protection to the cigarettes contained inside.

A rigid packet of cigarettes with a hinged lid comprises a wrapping consisting of a group of cigarettes wrapped in a sheet of metallized paper and a rigid outer casing that houses the wrapping inside. The outer casing 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 to rotate, with respect to the container itself. , between an open position and a closed position of the open end. DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide a packaging machine and a wrapping method for making a packet of cigarettes provided with an external container and a hinged lid by folding a blank around a wrapping which encloses a group of smoking articles, which packaging machine and wrapping method allow to realize a wrapping of high quality (that is with extremely precise and squared folds of the wrapping sheet) also operating at a high production speed (measured as packets of cigarettes produced in the unit of time). In accordance with the present invention, a packing machine and a wrapping method are provided for making a cigarette packet provided with an external container and a hinged lid by folding a blank around a wrapping which encloses a group of smoking articles, according to what claimed in the attached 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 described with reference to the attached drawings, which illustrate a non-limiting example of embodiment, in which:

Figure 1 is a front perspective view and in a closed configuration of a rigid cigarette packet;

Figure 2 is a rear perspective view of the packet of cigarettes of Figure 1 in a closed configuration;

Figure 3 is a front perspective view of the packet of cigarettes of figure 1 in an open configuration;

Figure 4 is a front perspective view of a wrapping of the package of figure 1;

• figure 5 is a perspective view of a group of cigarettes contained in the wrapping of figure 4;

• figure 6 is a plan view of a sheet of wrapping used to make the wrapping of figure 4;

Figure 7 is a plan view of a collar of the packet of cigarettes of figure 1;

Figure 8 is a plan view of a blank used to make an external container provided with a hinged lid of the packet of cigarettes of figure 1;

Figure 9 is a schematic front view of a packing machine which produces the packet of cigarettes of figure 1 and is made in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 10 is a perspective view of a mandrel of a wrapping wheel of the packing machine of figure 9;

Figure 11 is a front view of the mandrel of figure 10;

Figures 12-15 illustrate the folding sequence of the wrapping sheet of Figure 6 around the mandrel of Figure 10 to give the wrapping sheet a tubular shape;

• figure 16 is a perspective view and with the removal of parts for clarity of a feeding station in which the wrapping sheet of figure 6 is coupled to the mandrel of figure 10;

Figure 17 is a schematic view of a folding device which cooperates with the mandrel of Figure 10 to fold the wrapping sheet of Figure 6 around the mandrel itself;

Figure 18 is a schematic view of a further folding device which cooperates with the mandrel of figure 10 to fold the wrapping sheet of figure 6 around the mandrel itself;

Figure 19 is a schematic view of two linear wrapping conveyors of the packing machine of figure 9;

• figures 20-22 illustrate the folding sequence of the wrapping sheet of figure 6 around the group of cigarettes of figure 5 to complete the realization of the wrapping of figure 4;

• figure 23 is a perspective view and with the removal of parts for clarity of the two linear wrapping conveyors of figure 19;

• figure 24 is a perspective view and with the removal of parts for clarity of an initial part of a conveyor for feeding blanks of the packing machine of figure 9;

Figure 25 is a schematic view of two linear wrapping conveyors of the packing machine of figure 9;

• figure 26 is a perspective view and with the removal of parts for clarity of the two linear wrapping conveyors of figure 25;

• figure 27 is a schematic and top view of an initial part of the packaging machine of figure 9; And

Figures 28, 29 and 30 are front and schematic views of respective variants of the packing machine of Figure 9.

PREFERRED FORMS OF IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INVENTION

In Figures 1, 2 and 3, the number 1 indicates a rigid packet of cigarettes as a whole. The pack 1 of cigarettes comprises an external container 2 made of cardboard or rigid cardboard and shaped like a cup and a wrapping 3 (better illustrated in figure 4) housed inside the container 2.

The external container 2 has an open upper end and is provided with a lid 4, which is cup-shaped and is hinged to the external container 2 along a hinge 5 (illustrated in Figure 2) to rotate, with respect to the external container 2 itself, between an open position (illustrated in Figure 3) and a closed position (illustrated in Figures 1 and 2) of the open upper end. The external container 2 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape oriented according to a predominantly vertical direction of development, is cup-shaped, and has an open upper end, a lower wall 6 opposite the open upper end, a front wall 7 and a wall 8 rear (in which the hinge 5 is obtained) parallel and opposite to each other, and two side walls 9 parallel and opposite to each other. Four longitudinal edges are defined between the front 7, rear 8 and side 9 walls of the outer container 2, while four transverse edges are defined between the walls 7, 8 and 9 and the lower wall 6 of the outer container 2.

The lid 4 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, is cup-shaped, and has an open lower end (facing the open upper end of the outer container 2 when the lid 4 is in the closed position), an upper wall 10 (which is parallel and opposite the lower wall 6 of the outer container 2 when the lid 4 is in the closed position), a front wall 11 (which is parallel and aligned with the front wall 7 of the outer container 2 when the lid 4 is in the closed position), a rear wall 12 (which is parallel and aligned with the rear wall 8 of the outer container 2 when the lid 4 is in the closed position and is hinged to the rear wall 8 of the outer container 2 along the hinge 5), and two lateral walls 13 between their parallel and opposite (which are parallel and aligned, in particular coplanar and adjacent, to the lateral walls 9 of the external container 2 or when the cover 4 is in the closed position). Four longitudinal edges are defined between the front 11, rear 12 and side 13 walls of the lid 4, while four transverse edges are defined between the walls 11, 12 and 13 and the upper wall 10 of the lid 4. The longitudinal edges and the transverse edges of the lid 4 are parallel and aligned with the corresponding longitudinal and transverse edges of the outer container 2 when the lid 4 is in the closed position.

Wrapping 3 encloses a group 14 of cigarettes (partially illustrated in Figure 3 and fully illustrated in Figure 5) of parallelepiped shape. Furthermore, the wrapping 3 has a removable portion 15 above and frontally which is separated from the rest of the wrapping 3 by a pre-weakened detachable line 16; at the first opening of the pack 1 of cigarettes, the user grabs and tears the removable portion 15 to access the underlying cigarettes of the group 14 of cigarettes.

According to what is illustrated in Figures 3 and 7, the pack 1 of cigarettes also comprises a rigid collar 17, which is connected (by gluing) folded in a "U" shape inside the external container 2 to partially protrude outside the open upper end of the outer container 2 and engaging a corresponding inner surface of the lid 4 when the lid 4 itself is disposed in the closed position. The collar 17 comprises a front wall 18, which is connected to the front wall 7 of the container 2 and is arranged in contact with the front wall 11 of the lid 4 when the lid 4 is in the closed position, and two side walls 19, which they are connected to the side walls 9 of the container 2 and are arranged in contact with the side walls 13 of the lid 4 when the lid 4 is in the closed position. According to the embodiment illustrated in the attached figures, the front wall 18 of the collar 17 is provided with a pair of claws 20 which protrude laterally to interfere with the side walls 13 of the lid 4 when the lid 4 is in the closed position so that to keep the cover 4 in the closed position. According to a different embodiment not shown, the front wall 18 of the collar 17 is devoid of the claws 20.

As shown in Figure 6, the wrapping 3 is made by folding around the group 14 of cigarettes a wrapping sheet 21 provided on one side of the tear-off line 16 that delimits the removable portion 15. As shown in Figure 4, the wrapping sheet 21 is initially folded in a "U" shape around the cigarette group 14, defining two open ends on the two minor side walls of the cigarette group 14, each of which is delimited by a transverse flap 22 (or corner fin 22) and by two longitudinal wings 23 and 24. Initially the transversal flap 22 is folded 90 ° against the group 14 of cigarettes, then the longitudinal flap 23 is folded 90 ° against the group 14 of cigarettes and over the previously folded transversal flap 22, and finally the longitudinal flap 24 is folded by 90 ° against the group 14 of cigarettes and above the previously folded transversal flap 22 and longitudinal flap 23 (according to the folding methods known with the denomination of "soap fold"); in this way the wrapping sheet 21 is given a tubular shape having a single open end in correspondence with the upper wall (in which the cigarette filters are arranged) of the group 14 of cigarettes; this open end is delimited by two transverse wings 25 (or corner wings 25) and by two longitudinal wings 26 and 27. Initially the transverse wings 25 are folded by 90 ° against the group 14 of cigarettes, then the longitudinal wing 26 is folded by 90 ° against the group 14 of cigarettes and over the previously folded transverse wings 25, and finally the wing 27 longitudinal is folded by 90 ° against the group 14 of cigarettes and above the transversal wings 25 and the longitudinal wing 26 previously folded (according to the folding methods known as the "soap fold"): in this way the folding of the wrapping sheet 21 around the group 14 of cigarettes.

According to a preferred embodiment, the final shape of the wrapping sheet 21 around the group 14 of cigarettes is not stabilized in any way (ie no glue is applied to the wrapping sheet 21 and no welds are made on the wrapping sheet 21); consequently, the final shape of the wrapping sheet 21 around the group 14 of cigarettes is maintained only by the effect of the containment action of the external container 2. As shown in Figure 8, the external container 2 and the lid 4 are made by folding a blank 28 of a conventional type in which each side wall 9 of the external container 2 is made by overlapping and gluing two wings 9 'and 9 "and each wall 13 side of the lid 4 is made by overlapping and gluing two wings 13 'and 13 ”. Furthermore, the front wall 11 of the lid 4 is formed by overlapping and gluing a panel 11 'and a flap 11 ".

In particular, the blank 28 has two pre-weakened longitudinal fold lines (which define the longitudinal edges of the outer container 2 and of the lid 4) and a plurality of pre-weakened transverse fold lines (which define the transverse edges of the container 2). and of the lid 4) which delimit, between the two longitudinal folding lines, a panel 7 'which constitutes the front wall 7 of the outer container 2, a panel 6' which constitutes the lower wall 6 of the outer container 2, a panel 8 'which constitutes the rear wall 8 of the external container 2, a panel 12' which constitutes the rear wall 12 of the lid 4, a panel 10 'which constitutes the upper wall 10 of the lid 4, a panel 11' which constitutes the front wall 11 of the cover 4, and a panel 11 "which constitutes the reinforcement flap and is bent by 180 ° and glued against an internal surface of the panel 11 '(or against an internal surface of the front wall 11 of the cover 4).

The blank 28 includes a pair of wings 9 ', which are arranged on opposite sides of the panel 7', are connected to the panel 7 'along the two longitudinal folding lines, and form part of the side walls 9 of the external container 2. The blank 28 comprises a pair of wings 9 ", which are arranged on opposite sides of the panel 8 ', are connected to the panel 8' along the two longitudinal fold lines, form part of the side walls 9 of the external container 2, and are glued and superimposed on the corresponding wings 9 '. Each wing 9 "includes a tab that is bent 90 ° with respect to the wing 9" to be subsequently placed and glued to the panel 6 '. The blank 28 comprises a pair of wings 13 ', which are arranged on opposite sides of the panel 11', are connected to the panel 11 'along the two longitudinal fold lines, and form part of the side walls 13 of the lid 4. The blank 28 comprises a pair of wings 13 ", which are arranged on opposite sides of the panel 12 ', are connected to the panel 12' along the two longitudinal fold lines, form part of the side walls 13 of the lid 4, and are glued and superimposed at the corresponding wings 13 '. Each 13 "wing includes a tab that is bent 90 ° with respect to the 13" wing to be subsequently placed and glued to the 10 'panel.

In figure 9, the number 29 indicates as a whole a packing machine which is suitable for making the packet 1 of cigarettes described above and operates with intermittent motion (i.e. a motion which provides for a cyclical alternation of motion phases and phases of break).

The packing machine 29 comprises a wrapping wheel 30 (i.e. a wrapping conveyor 30) which is rotatably mounted (with intermittent motion, i.e. "stepping") around an axis 31 of horizontal rotation (perpendicular to the plane of Figure 9). The wrapping wheel 30 supports twelve tubular mandrels 32, each of which is internally hollow to accommodate a group 14 of cigarettes and is axially arranged (ie it is arranged parallel to the rotation axis 31); each mandrel 32 is cantilever mounted on the wrapping wheel 30, i.e. each mandrel 32 is fixed to the wrapping wheel 30 only on one side while the opposite side is completely free (i.e. it does not touch the wrapping wheel 30 in any way) as illustrated for example in Figure 10.

The rotation of the wrapping wheel 30 about the rotation axis 31 cyclically advances each mandrel 32 along a circular wrapping path P1 and through: a feeding station S1 into which inside the mandrel 32 it is inserted axially (i.e. with a movement parallel to the axis 31 of rotation) a group 14 of cigarettes, a control station S2 in which the ends of the group 14 of cigarettes contained in the mandrel 32 are optically controlled, a feeding station S3 in which a sheet is coupled to the mandrel 32 21 of wrapping, a folding station S4 in which the wrapping sheet 21 is folded in a "U" shape around the mandrel 32, a reject station S5 in which any group 14 of defective cigarettes is ejected from the mandrel 32, and finally a transfer station S6 in which the group 14 of cigarettes together with the wrapping sheet 21 is extracted axially (ie parallel to the rotation axis 31) from the mandrel 32.

According to what is illustrated in Figures 10 and 11, each mandrel 32 has a tubular shape (axially oriented, i.e. parallel to the rotation axis 31), is internally provided with a tubular cavity 33 suitable for receiving the group 14 of cigarettes, and has: an external base wall 34, an internal base wall 35 opposite the external base wall 34, and a pair of side walls 36 which are interposed between the two base walls 34 and 35. In each mandrel 32, the outer base wall 34 is wider than the inner base wall 35; moreover, in each mandrel 32 the side walls 36 have respective inclined portions 37 which form a non-right angle with the base walls 34 and 35 and give a trapezoidal shape to a cross section of the mandrel 32. In particular, each side wall 36 of the mandrel 32 has the inclined portion 37 which forms a non-right angle with the base walls 34 and 35 of the mandrel 32 and originates from the internal base wall 35 and a perpendicular portion 38 which forms an angle straight with the base walls 34 and 35 of the mandrel 32, originates from the external base wall 34, and is connected to the inclined portion 37 by means of a parallel portion 39 which is parallel to the base walls 34 and 35 of the mandrel 32.

According to a preferred embodiment, each inclined portion 37 of each mandrel 32 has a width equal to the width of the longitudinal wings 23 of the sheet 21 of U-folded wrapping; in this way, each longitudinal flap 23 of the sheet 21 of U-folded wrapping can be folded against a corresponding inclined portion 37 of a mandrel 32 (as illustrated in Figure 15 and as better described below) reaching flush with the corresponding portion 39 parallel.

According to a preferred embodiment illustrated in the attached figures, in each mandrel 32 the side walls 36 have a longitudinal (axial) extension less than a longitudinal (axial) extension of the base walls 34 and 35 and consequently the side walls of a group 14 of cigarettes housed in the tubular cavity 33 of the mandrel 32 are left partially uncovered (i.e. partially exposed).

Each mandrel 32 has an inlet opening of the tubular cavity 33 through which a group 14 of cigarettes enters the tubular cavity 33 and an outlet opening of the tubular cavity 33 (opposite the inlet opening of the tubular cavity 33) through which a group 14 of cigarettes exits from the tubular cavity 33; in each spindle 32 the inlet opening is located near the wrapping wheel 30 (or on the same side as the wrapping wheel 30) while the outlet opening is arranged on the opposite side of the wrapping wheel 30. In other words, each mandrel 32 is cantilever mounted on the wrapping wheel 30 so that the inlet opening of the tubular cavity 33 is arranged at the wrapping wheel 30 and the outlet opening of the tubular cavity 33 is arranged away from wrapping wheel 30.

According to a preferred embodiment illustrated in the attached figures, each mandrel 32 has a first thickness at the inlet opening of the tubular cavity 33 which is greater than a second thickness presented by the mandrel 32 at the exit opening of the tubular cavity 33; in particular, the thickness of each mandrel 32 remains constant for a certain distance starting from the outlet opening of the tubular cavity 33 and grows progressively and linearly in proximity to the inlet opening of the tubular cavity 33. In other words, the internal base wall 35 of each mandrel 32 is perfectly flat in all its parts, while the external base wall 34 of the mandrel 32 has a first part which is arranged in correspondence with the outlet opening of the tubular cavity 33 and is parallel to the inner base wall 35 of the mandrel 32 and a second part which is arranged at the inlet opening of the tubular cavity 33 and forms an acute angle with the first part.

According to a preferred embodiment illustrated in the attached figures, each mandrel 32 has two front walls 40, which are arranged on opposite sides of the tubular cavity 33 and delimit the side walls 36.

According to a preferred embodiment illustrated in the attached figures, the outer base wall 34 of each mandrel 32 has a central through-hole 41 which is arranged longitudinally (i.e. axially and therefore parallel to the rotation axis 31 of the wrapping wheel 30) and perpendicular to the wrapping path P1; the function of the through slot 41 is to allow the passage of a pusher 42 (illustrated in Figures 19 and 23) through the mandrel 32 to axially extract a group 14 of cigarettes from the tubular cavity 33 (in the manner described below).

Each mandrel 32 is provided with a plurality of suction holes 43 which are adapted to hold the wrapping sheet 21 in contact with the mandrel 32 by suction; that is, the suction holes 43 are connected to a suction source (for example a chamber having a pressure lower than atmospheric pressure) by means of a valve system to retain by suction, when necessary, the wrapping sheet 21 in contact with the mandrel 32. suction holes 43 are arranged through the outer base wall 34 of each mandrel 32; in particular, the suction holes 43 are distributed along two parallel rows arranged at opposite edges of the outer base wall 34 of each mandrel 32. Furthermore, the suction holes 43 are arranged through the inclined portions 37 of the side walls 36 of each mandrel 32; in particular, the suction holes 43 in each side wall 36 of a mandrel 32 are distributed along a row arranged in proximity of the perpendicular portion 38 (ie of the parallel portion 39). Figures 12-15 show the folding of a wrapping sheet 21 around a mandrel 32 containing a group 14 of cigarettes (ie the folding of a wrapping sheet 21 around a group 14 of cigarettes contained in a mandrel 32). Initially and as illustrated in Figure 12, the flat wrapping sheet 21 (ie flat and still completely free of folds) is placed on the mandrel 32 by resting the wrapping sheet 21 itself on the outer base wall 34 of the mandrel 32; in this phase the wrapping sheet 21 is held on the mandrel 32 by the holding action generated by the suction holes 43 of the external base wall 34 of the mandrel 32. Subsequently and as illustrated in Figure 13, the wrapping sheet 21 is folded in a " L "around the mandrel 32 covering the outlet opening of the tubular cavity 33 with the wrapping sheet 21 itself. Subsequently and as illustrated in Figure 14, the wrapping sheet 21 is folded in a "U" shape around the mandrel 32, placing the wrapping sheet 21 itself against both the base walls 34 and 35; at the same time, on each side of the wrapping sheet 21 the corresponding transverse flap 22 is also folded against the group 14 of cigarettes (as previously mentioned, the lateral walls 36 have a longitudinal extension that is less than a longitudinal extension of the base walls 34 and 35 in such a way that the transverse wings 22 of the U-folded sheet 21 of wrapping are folded against a portion of the group 14 of cigarettes left uncovered by the side walls 36 of the mandrel 32). Finally, as shown in Figure 15, on each side of the wrapping sheet 21 the longitudinal flap 23 of the U-folded wrapping sheet 21 is folded against the inclined portion 37 of a corresponding side wall 36 of the mandrel 32; in this phase the longitudinal wings 23 of the sheet 21 of U-folded wrapping are held on the mandrel 32 by the holding action generated by the suction holes 43 of the inclined portions 37 of the side walls 36 of the mandrel 32.

Thanks to the fact that in each spindle 32 the side walls 36 are relatively thick, ducts can be obtained inside the side walls 36 themselves to bring the suction to the suction holes 43. The presence of the suction holes 43 is very useful for ensuring optimal adhesion of the wrapping sheet 21 to the mandrel 32 during the advancement along the wrapping path P1, avoiding unwanted displacements of the wrapping sheet 21 with respect to the mandrel 32 which cause a misalignment of the sheet. Wrapping 21 with respect to mandrel 32 (this misalignment significantly reduces the folding precision of wrapping sheet 21 and therefore the quality of wrapping 3); consequently, the presence of the suction holes 43 in each mandrel 32 allows the quality of the wrapping 3 to be maintained high even when operating at a high operating speed. As previously stated and as illustrated in Figure 9, the rotation of the wrapping wheel 30 about the rotation axis 31 cyclically advances each mandrel 32 along the circular wrapping path P1 and through the feeding station S1 where inside the mandrel 32 a group 14 of cigarettes is inserted axially (ie with a movement parallel to the axis 31 of rotation). In the feeding station S1 there is a feeding device 44 which is able to insert a group 14 of cigarettes into the tubular cavity 33 of each mandrel 32; the feeding device 44 comprises three hoppers 45 which are arranged in succession along the wrapping path P1, operate in parallel and are provided with respective lower outlets from which respective pushers cyclically extract groups 14 of cigarettes which are axially inserted into the mandrels 32.

In the control station S2 (located immediately downstream of the feeding station S1 along the wrapping path P1) there is an optical type control device 46, which by means of cameras controls both ends (i.e. both on the filter side, both on the tobacco side) of the cigarettes of the group 14 of cigarettes contained in each mandrel 32; if the control device 46 detects the presence of defective cigarettes, then the wrapping sheet 21 is not fed to the mandrel 32 in the subsequent feeding station S3 and the group 14 of cigarettes is extracted from the mandrel 32 in the reject station S5 by operating a device 47 which directs the group 14 of cigarettes towards a waste collection container.

In the feeding station S3 there is a feeding device 48 which couples a wrapping sheet 21 to each mandrel 32 (as illustrated in Figure 12 and as described previously). As illustrated in Figure 16, the feeding device 48 comprises a feeding conveyor 49 which picks up the wrapping sheets 21 in succession from a cutting station (not shown) in which the wrapping sheets 21 are separated by means of a transversal cut from a continuous ribbon of wrapping material. The feed conveyor 49 moves the wrapping sheets 21 in succession from the cutting station (not shown) to the feeding station S3 in which each wrapping sheet 21 is coupled to a corresponding mandrel 32. According to a preferred embodiment illustrated in the figure 16, the feed conveyor 49 comprises two suction belts 50 which are arranged parallel to each other at a certain mutual distance and engage (retaining by suction) two opposite ends of each sheet 21 of wrapping. The feeding device 48 comprises a pusher 51, which picks up each sheet 21 of wrapping from the two suction belts 50 of the feed conveyor 49 and rests the wrapping sheet 21 itself on the outer base wall 34 of a mandrel 32 (as illustrated in figure 12); in particular, the pusher 51 passes through the two suction belts 50 of the feed conveyor 49 with a movement that is radial (or perpendicular to the rotation axis 31) with respect to the wrapping wheel 30.

Furthermore, a folding device 52 is provided which is arranged in correspondence with the feeding device 48 (next to the pusher 51), is movable parallel to the pusher 51 (therefore radially), and is able to fold the sheet 21 into an "L" shape. wrapping against the mandrel 32 (as illustrated in FIG. 13 and as described above). Consequently, in the feeding station S3 each sheet 21 of wrapping is first placed on the outer base wall 34 of a mandrel 32 (as illustrated in Figure 12) and then is folded in an "L" shape against the same mandrel 32 (as illustrated in figure 13).

As shown in Figure 17, a folding device 53 is arranged in the folding station S4, which folds the wrapping sheet 21 into a "U" shape around each mandrel 32, resting the wrapping sheet 21 itself on the two walls 34 and 35 of base of the spindle 32 itself (as illustrated in Figure 14). The folding device 53 comprises a rigid "U" -shaped folding body 54 which moving axially (ie parallel to the rotation axis 31) with respect to the wrapping wheel 30 "embraces" the mandrel 32 causing the sheet to be folded into a "U" 21 of wrapping around the mandrel 32 itself. According to a preferred embodiment, the folding device 53 is also able to fold on each side a transversal flap 22 of the sheet 21 of U-folded wrapping; for this purpose the rigid body 54 shaped like a "U" also supports a pair of folding elements 55 which, when the rigid body 54 "embraces" the mandrel 32, cause the transversal wings 22 of the wrapping sheet 21 to be folded 90 ° folded in a “U” shape against the side walls of the pack 14 of cigarettes (as shown in Figure 14). As previously mentioned, in each mandrel 32 the side walls 36 have a longitudinal extension that is less than a longitudinal extension of the base walls 34 and 35 so that the transverse wings 22 of the U-folded sheet 21 are folded, by the action of the folding elements 55 against a portion of the group 14 of cigarettes left uncovered by the side walls 36 of the mandrel 32.

Furthermore, according to what is illustrated in Figure 18, in the folding station S4 there is also a further folding device 55 which folds the longitudinal flap 23 of the sheet 21 of U-folded wrapping paper on each side against the inclined portion 37 of a corresponding side wall 36 of mandrel 32 (as illustrated in Figure 15 and as described above); in other words, after the folding device 53 has "embraced" a mandrel 32 to fold the wrapping sheet 21 into a "U" shape around the mandrel 32 itself, the folding device 55 engages the mandrel 32 to fold the longitudinal wings 23 of the sheet 21 of wrapping paper folded in a "U" shape against the inclined portions 37 of the side walls 36 of the mandrel 32. The folding device 55 comprises a rigid folding body 56 shaped like a "U" which, moving radially (i.e. perpendicular to the axis 31 of rotation ) with respect to the wrapping wheel 30, "embraces" the mandrel 32, causing the longitudinal wings 23 of the wrapping sheet 21 to be folded in a "U" shape against the inclined portions 37 of the side walls 36 of the mandrel 32. According to a preferred embodiment , the folding device 55 engages the mandrel 32 after the folding device 53 has "embraced" the mandrel 32 and while the folding device 53 continues to "embrace" the mandrel 32 ; consequently, for a certain time the mandrel 32 is simultaneously engaged by the folding device 53 and by the folding device 55.

As illustrated in Figure 19, in the transfer station S6, a group 14 of cigarettes together with a wrapping sheet 21 is extracted axially (i.e. parallel to the rotation axis 31) from a corresponding mandrel 32 by means of the pusher 42 which crosses the spindle 32 passing through the through slot 41. When a group 14 of cigarettes together with the wrapping sheet 21 are axially extracted from the corresponding mandrel 32, the wrapping sheet 21 is folded in a "U" shape in the configuration illustrated in Figure 15, i.e. with the longitudinal wings 23 of the wrapping sheet 21 U-folded partially folded and with the longitudinal wings 24 of the sheet 21 of wrapping to be folded. The pusher 42 extracts a group 14 of cigarettes together with a wrapping sheet 21 from a corresponding mandrel 32 and advances the cigarette group 14 together with the wrapping sheet 21 along a rectilinear and axially oriented wrapping path P2 (i.e. parallel to the axis 31 of rotation) with respect to the wrapping wheel 30. In other words, the pusher 42 is part of a conveyor 57 of linear wrapping which is adapted to extract the group 14 of cigarettes together with the sheet 21 of U-folded wrapping from each mandrel 32 in the transfer station S6 and is adapted to advancing the group 14 of cigarettes wrapped in the sheet 21 of U-folded wrapping along a rectilinear wrapping path P2 and parallel to the rotation axis 31 of the wrapping wheel 30. The straight wrapping path P2 develops from the transfer station S6 in which each group 14 of cigarettes wrapped in the wrapping sheet 21 exits the wrapping wheel 30 and enters the linear wrapping conveyor 57 to a transfer station S7 in which each group 14 of cigarettes wrapped in wrapping sheet 21 exits from linear wrapping conveyor 57.

A folding device 58 is arranged along the wrapping path P2 which is able, on each side of the U-folded wrapping sheet 21, to fold the two longitudinal wings 23 and 24 one over the other to give the wrapping sheet 21 a tubular shape having a single open end (as illustrated in Figure 20). In other words, as the group 14 of cigarettes together with the sheet 21 of U-folded wrapping advance along the wrapping path P2, the folding device 58 initially completes the folding of the longitudinal wings 23 against the group 14 of cigarettes and over the previously folded transversal wings 22 and then subsequently the folding device 58 folds the longitudinal wings 24 by 90 ° against the group 14 of cigarettes and over the transverse wings 22 and over the previously folded longitudinal wings 23. As previously stated, the transverse wings 22 of the U-folded sheet 21 of wrapping are folded by the folding device 53 in the folding station S4; according to an alternative embodiment not shown, the transverse wings 22 of the sheet 21 of U-folded wrapping are folded by the folding device 58 instead of by the folding device 53.

According to a preferred embodiment illustrated in the attached figures, the folding device 58 comprises two fixed folding elements 59 (ie folding helices) which are free from moving parts and are arranged along the wrapping path P2; in particular, the folding device 58 comprises only fixed folding elements which are free of moving parts and are arranged along the wrapping path P2.

In the transfer station S7, each sheet 21 of wrapping is wrapped around a group 14 of cigarettes, presenting a tubular shape having only one open end as illustrated in Figure 20. Figures 20, 21 and 22 show the folding of the sheet 21 of wrapping around the group 14 of cigarettes to complete the formation of the wrapping 3 by closing the only open end of the wrapping sheet 21 having a tubular shape. Initially and as shown in Figure 21, a transverse flap 25 is bent by 90 ° against the group 14 of cigarettes and subsequently the other transverse flap 25 is also bent by 90 ° against the group 14 of cigarettes. Subsequently and as illustrated in Figure 22, the longitudinal flap 26 is folded 90 ° against the group 14 of cigarettes and over the previously folded transversal wings 25, and finally the longitudinal flap 27 is folded 90 ° against the group 14 of cigarettes and above the transversal wings 25 and the longitudinal fin 26 previously folded (according to the folding methods known with the denomination of "soap fold").

As illustrated in Figure 19, in the transfer station S7, a pusher 60 transfers, by means of a movement perpendicular to the wrapping path P2, each group 14 of cigarettes wrapped in a wrapping sheet 21 having a tubular shape from the linear wrapping conveyor 57 to a subsequent linear wrapping conveyor 61 which is adapted to advance the group 14 of cigarettes wrapped in the tubular wrapping sheet 21 along a rectilinear wrapping path P3 and perpendicular to the rectilinear wrapping path P2. In other words, the linear wrapping conveyor 61 receives the cigarette group 14 together with the tubular wrapping sheet 21 from the wrapping conveyor 57 and is adapted to advance the cigarette group 14 wrapped in the tubular wrapping sheet 21 along the path P3 of straight wrapping. The pusher 60 transfers the group 14 of cigarettes wrapped in the tubular wrapping sheet 21 from the wrapping conveyor 57 to the wrapping conveyor 61 along a transfer direction D1 (illustrated in Figure 27) which is horizontal and perpendicular to both the wrapping path P2 , both at the wrapping path P3. As previously mentioned, the straight wrapping path P2 is parallel to the rotation axis 31 of the wrapping wheel 30 and is horizontal; instead, the straight wrapping path P3 is perpendicular to the rotation axis 31 of the wrapping wheel 30 and is vertical. According to a possible embodiment, the wrapping conveyor 61 comprises a drawer 62, which moves cyclically along the rectilinear wrapping path P3 between the transfer station S7 (in which the drawer 62 receives a group 14 of cigarettes wrapped in the sheet 21 of wrapping) and a transfer station S8 (in which the drawer 62 releases a group 14 of cigarettes wrapped in the wrapping sheet 21); the use of a drawer 62 to move the group 14 of cigarettes wrapped in the wrapping sheet 21 from the transfer station S7 to the transfer station S8 allows the wrapping sheet 21 to be adequately retained to keep the folded configuration of the wrapping sheet 21 itself.

A folding device 63 is arranged along the wrapping path P3 which is able to fold a transversal flap 25 of the open end of the tubular wrapping sheet 21 by 90 ° against the group 14 of cigarettes and then to fold 90 ° against the group 14 of cigarettes and one on the other the two longitudinal wings 26 and 27 of the open end of the sheet 21 of tubular wrapping. According to a preferred embodiment illustrated in the attached figures, the folding device 63 comprises fixed folding elements 64 (ie folding helices) which are free of moving parts and are arranged along the wrapping path P3; in particular, the folding device 63 comprises only fixed folding elements which are free of moving parts and are arranged along the wrapping path P3.

A folding device 65 is arranged along the wrapping path P3 (in particular at the beginning of the wrapping path P3) which is able to fold a transversal flap 25 of the tubular wrapping sheet 21 (i.e. the transverse flap 25 not folded by the device 63 folder). The folding device 65 comprises a movable folding element 66 which cyclically moves parallel to the wrapping path P3. In this regard, it is important to note that the folding of a transversal flap 25 of the sheet 21 of tubular wrapping takes place in the opposite direction to the direction of advancement along the wrapping path P3 and therefore such folding can be achieved by means of the fixed folding elements 64 of the device 63. folder; on the other hand, the folding of the other transversal flap 25 of the tubular wrapping sheet 21 takes place in a direction concordant with the direction of advancement along the wrapping path P3 and therefore this folding can only be achieved by means of the movable folding element 66 which cyclically moves parallel to the wrapping path P3. In the transfer station S8, a pusher 67 transfers, by means of a movement perpendicular to the wrapping path P3, each wrapping 3 (composed of a group 14 of cigarettes wrapped in a wrapping sheet 21) from the linear wrapping conveyor 61 to a wheel 68 of wrapping. The pusher 67 transfers each wrapper 3 from the wrapping conveyor 61 to the wrapping wheel 68 along a transfer direction D2 (illustrated in FIG. 27) which is horizontal, is parallel to the transfer direction D1, and is perpendicular to both the wrapping path P2 , both at the wrapping path P3.

According to what is illustrated in Figure 9, the packing machine 29 comprises the wrapping wheel 68 (or a wrapping conveyor 68) which is rotatably mounted (with intermittent motion, or "step") around an axis 69 of horizontal rotation (parallel to axis 31 of rotation). The wrapping wheel 68 supports eight pockets 70, each of which is able to receive a wrapping 3 inside and is able to receive and hold externally (typically by suction) a flat (i.e. flat and still free of folds) collar 17.

The rotation of the wrapping wheel 68 about the axis 69 of rotation cyclically advances each pocket 70 along a circular wrapping path P4 and through: the transfer station S8 in which a wrapping 3 coming from the wrapping conveyor 61 is inserted radially (i.e. perpendicular to the rotation axis 69) inside the pocket 70, a feeding station S9 in which a flat collar 17 is fed on the outside of the pocket 70 (i.e. on the periphery of the wrapping wheel 68), and finally a station S10 in which the wrapping 3 together with the collar 17 are extracted radially (i.e. perpendicular to the rotation axis 69) from the pocket 70.

In the transfer station S8, each wrapping 3 is "gripped" (or gripped) between the pusher 67 and a counter-pusher 71 and is then moved by the wrapping conveyor 61 to a pocket 70 of the wrapping wheel 68 by means of a synchronized and concordant movement of the pusher 67 and counter pusher 71. In the transfer station S10, a pusher 72 extracts a wrapper 3 together with a collar 17 from a pocket 70 of the wrapping wheel 68 along a horizontal transfer direction D3 (illustrated in FIG. 27).

At the feeding station S9 there is a feeding unit 73 (only partially illustrated in Figure 9) which cyclically feeds the flat collars 17 (ie flat and still free of folds) to the pockets 70 of the wrapping wheel 68. The feeding unit 73 comprises a feeding wheel 74 (i.e. a feeding conveyor 74) which is mounted rotatably (with intermittent motion, i.e. "stepping") around a horizontal rotation axis 75 (parallel to the axis 69 of rotation). The feed wheel 74 supports four gripping heads 76, each of which is adapted to receive and hold by suction a flat collar 17 (ie flat and still free of bends).

The rotation of the feed wheel 74 about the axis 75 of rotation cyclically advances each gripping head 76 along a circular feeding path and through: a gripping station S11 in which the gripping head 76 receives a collar 17 which has been cut from a continuous strip of wrapping material (or, alternatively, it has been pre-washed from the bottom of a stack housed in a hopper) and then a release station S12 in which the gripping head 76 yields the collar 17.

The feeding unit 73 comprises a transfer conveyor 77 which is cyclically movable between the release station S12 in which it receives a collar 17 from a gripping head 76 of the feeding wheel 74 and the feeding station S9 in which the collar 17 it is fed to a pocket 70 of the wrapping wheel 68. In the feeding station S9 there is a pusher 78 which, by means of a radial movement (or perpendicular to the rotation axis 69 of the wrapping wheel 68) cyclically feeds the collars 17 from the transfer conveyor 77 to the pockets 70 of the wrapping wheel 68.

According to an alternative embodiment not shown, the feeding unit 73 could also feed coupons together with the collars 17 which are fed to the gripping heads 76 of the feeding wheel 74 upstream of the gripping station S11, in the gripping station S11. together with the collars 17, or downstream of the S11 intake station. According to what is illustrated in Figure 9, the packing machine 29 comprises a wrapping wheel 79 (or a wrapping conveyor 79) which is rotatably mounted (with intermittent motion, or "step") around an axis 80 of horizontal rotation (parallel to axis 69 of rotation). The wrapping wheel 79 supports twelve pockets 81, each of which is able to receive inside a wrapping 3 coupled to a collar 17 and is able to receive and hold externally (typically by suction) a flat (or flat) blank 28.

The rotation of the wrapping wheel 79 about the rotation axis 80 cyclically advances each pocket 81 along a circular wrapping path P5 and through: the transfer station S10 in which a wrapping 3 and a collar 17 coming from the wrapping wheel 68 are inserted radially (or perpendicular to the rotation axis 80) inside pocket 81 (entering the pocket 81, the collar 17 bends in a "U" shape around the wrapping 3), a feeding station S13 in which on the outside of the pocket 81 (i.e. on the periphery of the wrapping wheel 79) a blank 28 is fed, and finally a transfer station S14 in which the wrapping 3 together with the collar 17 and the blank 28 are extracted radially (i.e. perpendicular to the axis 80 of rotation) from pocket 81.

In the transfer station S10, a wrapping 3 together with a corresponding collar 17 are "clamped" (ie grasped) between the pusher 72 and a counter-pusher 82 and are then moved from a pocket 70 of the wrapping wheel 68 to a pocket 81 of the wheel 79 of wrapping by means of a synchronized and concordant movement of the pusher 72 and of the counter pusher 82 along the transfer direction D3 which is horizontal and perpendicular to the axes 69 and 80 of rotation. In the transfer station S14, a pusher 83 extracts a wrapper 3 together with a collar 17 and a blank 28 from a pocket 81 of the wrapping wheel 79.

At the feeding station S13 there is a feeding unit 84 (only partially illustrated in Figure 9) which cyclically feeds the flat blanks 28 (ie flat) to the pockets 81 of the wrapping wheel 79. The feeding unit 84 comprises a hopper 85 which houses a stack of blanks 28 and has an outlet at the bottom from which the individual blanks 28 are cyclically extracted. A transfer wheel 86 is provided (cross-shaped, i.e. provided with four arms) which is rotatably mounted (with intermittent motion, or “step”) around an axis 87 of horizontal rotation (parallel to axis 80 of rotation). The wrapping wheel 86 supports four gripping heads 88, each of which is adapted to receive and hold by suction a flat blank 28 (ie flat and still free of bends). The rotation of the feed wheel 86 about the axis 87 of rotation cyclically advances each gripping head 88 along a circular transfer path and through: a gripping station S15 in which the gripping head 76 receives a blank 28 coming from the mouth exit of the hopper 85 and therefore a release station S16 in which the gripping head 88 releases the blank 28.

According to a preferred embodiment, at the gripping station S15 there is a transfer device 89 which cyclically picks up the blanks 28 from the outlet mouth of the hopper 85 (holding them by suction) and rests the blanks 28 on the gripping heads 88 of the wheel 86 of transfer. As illustrated in Figure 24, the transfer device 89 comprises a plurality of arms 90, which are provided with respective suction cups 91 and are movable with a roto-translation movement (to be able to extract the blanks 28 from the outlet mouth of the hopper 85 without exerting too much traction on the blanks 28 themselves which could tear them). According to what is illustrated in Figure 24, the transfer device 89 and the wrapping wheel 86 are made by means of "comb" structures of complementary shape so as to be able to interpenetrate each other without interference. Between the gripping station S15 and the releasing station S16 there is a yielding station S17 in which a folding device 92 is arranged, which carries out a pre-folding of each blank 28 along the longitudinal folding lines pre-weakened in a manner such as to yield the pre-weakened longitudinal fold lines and thus facilitate the subsequent definitive folding of the blank along the pre-weakened longitudinal fold lines. In other words, the folding device 92 folds "empty" and for the first time each blank 28 along the pre-weakened longitudinal fold lines; this bending is "empty" since at the end of the bending the blank 28 is left free to return by elastic return to the initial flat configuration (ie the bending does not obtain any type of definitive result and only serves to unrestrain the pre-longitudinal bending lines weakened). The folding device 92 comprises two opposing folding elements 93 which are mounted rotatably about respective axes 94 of rotation horizontal and parallel to the axis 87 of rotation to move between a rest position in which the folding elements 93 are further away from each other. and a working position in which the folding elements 93 are closer to each other to "squeeze" a blank 28 together so as to cause the folding of the blank 28 along the pre-weakened longitudinal folding lines and against shaped elements of contrast carried by the gripping heads 88 of the transfer wheel 86 (not shown in Figure 24). The two folding elements 93 are supported by a support body 95 which is arranged next to the transfer wheel 86 and houses the motorization inside it.

The feed unit 84 comprises a feed conveyor 96 which advances the blanks 28 along a straight feed path P6 extending from the release station S16 where the feed conveyor 96 receives the blanks 28 from the transfer wheel 86 to the station S13 in which the feed conveyor 96 transfers the blanks 28 to the wrapping wheel 79. In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 24, the feed conveyor 96 comprises two suction belts 97 which are arranged parallel to each other at a certain mutual distance and engage (retaining by suction) two opposite ends of each blank 28; for this purpose, each belt 97 is provided with a plurality of suction cups 98. As shown in Figure 9, in correspondence with the transfer wheel 86 there is a spray gumming device 99 which applies glue (typically hot glue, i.e. quick-setting glue) on the flap of the lid 4 (indicated by the number reference 11 "in Figure 8) of each blank 28. Along the feed path P6 and immediately downstream of the release station S16 (i.e. immediately downstream of the transfer wheel 86) there is a folding device 100 which bends by 180 ° the flap of the cover 4 (indicated with the reference number 11 "in Figure 8) against the front wall 11 of the cover 4 (indicated with the reference number 11 'in Figure 8). According to a preferred embodiment, the folding device 100 comprises only fixed folding elements (ie folding helices) which are free from moving parts and are arranged along the feed path P6. Along the feed path P6 and downstream of the folding device 100 there is a pressure device 101 which typically comprises a drum and applies pressure to the flap of the lid 4 (indicated with the reference number 11 "in figure 8) just folded by the device 100 folder so as to facilitate the correct gluing of the flap of the cover 4 (indicated with the reference number 11 "in figure 8) to the front wall 11 of the cover 4 (indicated with the reference number 11 'in figure 8).

Along the feeding path P6 and downstream of the folding device 100 (i.e. between the folding device 100 and the feeding station S13) there is a spray gumming device 102 which applies glue (typically cold glue, i.e. slow setting) on the blanks 28. In particular, the rubberizing device 102 applies glue at least on the front wall 7 of the container 2 (indicated with the reference number 7 'in Figure 8) to glue the front wall 7 of the container 2 to the wall 18 front of the collar 17; the gumming device 102 could also apply glue on the side walls 9 of the container 2 (indicated by the reference number 9 "in figure 8) to glue the side walls 9 of the container 2 to the side walls 19 of the collar 17.

At the end of the feeding path P6 and in correspondence with the feeding station S13, a transfer device 103 is arranged which cyclically picks up the flat blanks 28 from the feed conveyor 96 and places the flat blanks 28 on the outer periphery of the wrapping wheel 79 in correspondence with the respective pockets 81. The transfer device 103 comprises an arm 104 which is provided at one end with suction cups and is hinged at the opposite end to rotate around an axis 105 of horizontal rotation and parallel to the axis 80 of rotation; preferably, the arm 104 is arranged between the belts 97 of the feed conveyor 96 in such a way as to be able to enter inside the feed conveyor 96 to pick up the blanks 28.

According to what is illustrated in Figure 9, the packing machine 29 comprises a wrapping wheel 106 (i.e. a wrapping conveyor 106) which is rotatably mounted (with intermittent motion, i.e. "in step") around an axis 107 of horizontal rotation (parallel to axis 80 of rotation). The wrapping wheel 106 supports twelve pockets 108, each of which is adapted to receive inside it a wrapping 3 coupled to a collar 17 and a blank 28.

The rotation of the wrapping wheel 106 about the rotation axis 107 cyclically advances each pocket 108 along a circular wrapping path P7 and through: the transfer station S14 in which a wrapping 3, a collar 17 and a blank 28 coming from the wheel 79 of wrapping are inserted radially (or perpendicular to the axis 107 of rotation) inside the pocket 108 (entering the pocket 108 the blank 28 bends in a "U" shape around the wrapping 3 and the collar 17) and a station S18 in which the almost complete pack 1 of cigarettes is extracted radially (i.e. perpendicular to the rotation axis 107) from the pocket 108. Between the transfer station S14 and the transfer station S18 there is a folding device 109 which folds the blank 28 around the wrapper 3 and the collar 17 until obtaining the configuration illustrated in Figure 25 in which, to complete the pack 1 of cigarettes, they remain at the foot 90 ° races the 9 'and 13' wings against the 9 "and 13" wings folded previously (in particular when the blank 28 enters a pocket 108 together with an internal wrapping 3 and a collar 17). According to a preferred embodiment, the folding device 109 comprises only fixed folding elements which have no moving parts and are arranged along the wrapping path P7.

In the transfer station S14, a wrapping 3 together with a corresponding collar 17 and a corresponding blank 28 are "clamped" (ie grasped) between the pusher 83 and a counter-pusher 110 and are then moved by a pocket 81 of the wrapping wheel 79 to a pocket 108 of the wrapping wheel 106 by means of a synchronized and concordant movement of the pusher 83 and of the counter pusher 110 along a transfer direction which is inclined (i.e. neither horizontal nor vertical) and perpendicular to the axes 80 and 107 of rotation. In the transfer station S18, a pusher 111 extracts an almost complete pack 1 of cigarettes from a pocket 108 of the wrapping wheel 106 by a movement along a transfer direction D4 which is horizontal and perpendicular to the wrapping path P7 and to the axis 107 of rotation (ie disposed radially with respect to the rotation axis 107).

As illustrated in Figure 25, in the transfer station S18, the pusher 111 transfers, by means of a movement perpendicular to the wrapping path P7 and to the rotation axis 107 (i.e. by means of a radial movement), each packet 1 of almost complete cigarettes ( or with the wings 9 'and 13' still to be folded) from the wrapping wheel 106 to a subsequent linear gumming conveyor 112 which is adapted to advance the almost complete pack 1 of cigarettes along a rectilinear gumming path P8 and perpendicular to the path P7 of circular wrapping. The tire conveyor 112 comprises, among other things, a pusher 113 which is movable with reciprocating motion (ie with a cyclical alternation of outward and return strokes) along the straight tire path P8. Along the straight gumming path P8 there are two gumming devices 114 which apply glue 115 (typically hot glue, or quick-setting glue) on the wings 9 'and 13' still to be folded of each blank 28. The path P8 of straight gumming develops from the transfer station S18, in which each almost complete pack 1 of cigarettes exits the wrapping wheel 106 and enters the linear gum conveyor 112, to a transfer station S19, in which each pack 1 of cigarettes almost complete and rubberized (ie provided with the glue 115) it exits the linear rubberizing conveyor 112. In the transfer station S19, a pusher 116 transfers, by means of a movement perpendicular to the gumming path P8, each almost complete packet 1 of cigarettes from the linear gumming conveyor 112 to a subsequent linear wrapping conveyor 117 which is adapted to advance the packet 1 of almost complete cigarettes along a rectilinear wrapping path P9 and perpendicular to the rectilinear gumming path P8. In other words, the linear wrapping conveyor 117 receives the nearly complete cigarette pack 1 from the gumming conveyor 112 and is adapted to advance the nearly complete cigarette pack 1 along the straight wrapping path P9. According to a preferred embodiment, the pusher 116 is part of the wrapping conveyor 117 and advances the almost complete packets 1 of cigarettes along the straight wrapping path P9. Along the rectilinear wrapping path P9 there is a folding device 118 which bends the wings 9 'and 13' by 90 ° against the wings 9 "and 13" previously folded (in particular when the blank 28 enters a pocket 108 together with an internal wrapping 3 and to a collar 17) completing the formation of the packet 1 of cigarettes. According to a preferred embodiment illustrated in the attached figures, the folding device 118 comprises only fixed folding elements which have no moving parts and are arranged along the wrapping path P9; in particular, the folding device 118 consists of a rectangular-shaped ring through which the packets 1 of cigarettes are made to pass. The straight wrapping path P9 develops from the transfer station S19 in which each almost complete and rubberized packet 1 of cigarettes (i.e. provided with the glue 115) leaves the gumming conveyor 112 and enters the linear wrapping conveyor 117 at a station S20 transfer in which each complete cigarette pack 1 leaves the linear wrapping conveyor 117.

In the transfer station S20, each complete cigarette pack 1 leaves the linear wrapping conveyor 117 and enters a subsequent linear drying conveyor 119 which is adapted to advance the complete cigarette pack 1 along a straight drying path P10 perpendicular to the path P9 of straight wrapping. According to a possible embodiment, the drying conveyor 119 comprises a drawer 120, which moves cyclically along the straight drying path P10 between the transfer station S20 (in which the drawer 120 receives a complete pack 1 of cigarettes) and a transfer station S21 (in which the drawer 120 releases a complete pack 1 of cigarettes); the use of a drawer 120 to move the complete pack 1 of cigarettes from the transfer station S20 to the transfer station S21 allows to adequately hold the blank 28 that has just been folded to maintain the folded configuration of the blank 28 unaltered (i.e. without unwanted elastic returns) itself giving way to the glue 115 to establish a sufficient grip. In the transfer station S21, a pusher 121 transfers, by means of a movement perpendicular to the drying path P10, each complete packet 1 of cigarettes from the linear drying conveyor 119 to a subsequent linear drying conveyor 122 which is adapted to advance the packet 1 of almost complete cigarettes along a straight drying path P11 and perpendicular to the straight drying path P10. In other words, the linear drying conveyor 122 receives the complete cigarette pack 1 from the drying conveyor 119 and is adapted to advance the complete cigarette pack 1 along the straight drying path P11. According to a preferred embodiment, the pusher 121 is part of the drying conveyor 122 and advances the complete packets 1 of cigarettes along the straight drying path P11. According to a preferred embodiment, a horizontal stack of complete cigarette packets 1 is formed along the straight drying path P11.

In the transfer station S22, the complete cigarette packets 1 enter an outlet conveyor 123 which advances the complete cigarette packets 1 along an outlet path P12 that is straight, vertical and perpendicular to the straight drying path P11. The linear drying conveyor 123 comprises a conveyor belt which is wound around two end pulleys and has a plurality of pockets 124, each of which is adapted to hold a packet 1 of cigarettes.

The rectilinear gumming path P8 is horizontal and parallel to the rotation axis 107 of the wrapping wheel 106. The straight wrapping path P9 is horizontal and perpendicular to the rotation axis 107 of the wrapping wheel 106 (ie it is perpendicular to the gumming path P8). The straight drying path P10 is vertical and perpendicular both to the wrapping path P9 and to the rotation axis 107 of the wrapping wheel 106 (i.e. it is perpendicular to both the gumming path P8); it is important to note that in figure 25 the drying path P10 is shown horizontal for clarity (i.e. to avoid overlaps that would have made the illustration confusing) while in figure 26 the vertical arrangement of the drying conveyor 119 which advances the packets 1 is correctly represented of cigarettes along the P10 vertical drying path. The straight drying path P11 is horizontal, perpendicular to the drying path P10 and parallel to the wrapping path P9. The outlet path P12 is vertical, perpendicular to the drying path P11 and parallel to the drying path P10; it is important to note that in figure 25 the output path P12 is shown horizontal for clarity (i.e. to avoid overlaps which would have made the illustration confusing) while in figure 9 the vertical arrangement of the output conveyor 123 which advances the packets 1 is correctly represented of cigarettes along the exit route P12.

As illustrated in Figure 27, the wrapping wheel 30 is parallel and offset, ie not coplanar, with respect to the wrapping wheel 68; in other words, wrapping wheel 30 lies on a plane that is different from and spaced from a plane in which wrapping wheel 68 lies. This geometric arrangement of the wrapping wheels 30 and 68 is due to the presence of the wrapping conveyor 57 which extends along the wrapping path P3 which is arranged horizontally and parallel to the rotation axes 31 and 69 of the wrapping wheels 30 and 68. Instead, the wrapping wheels 68, 79 and 106 are coplanar with each other, i.e. they all lie on the same plane.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 9, the feeding unit 73 comprises the transfer conveyor 77 which is interposed between the feeding wheel 74 and the wrapping wheel 68, i.e. the transfer conveyor 77 receives a collar 17 from a head 76 for gripping the feeding wheel 74 and transfers the collar 17 in the feeding station S9 to a pocket 70 of the wrapping wheel 68. In the alternative embodiment illustrated in Figure 28, the feeding unit 73 has no transfer conveyor 77, i.e. in the feeding station S9 each collar 17 is fed directly from a head 76 for gripping the feeding wheel 74 to a pocket 70 of the wrapping wheel 68.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 29, the unit 73 for feeding the collars 17 is absent and is replaced by a unit 125 for feeding the collars 17 which is arranged in a different position: the feeding unit 73 cyclically feeds the collars 17 flat (i.e. flat and still without folds) above the pockets 70 of the wrapping wheel 68 in the feeding station S9, while the feeding unit 125 cyclically feeds the 17 flat collars (i.e. flat and still without folds) inside the pockets 81 of wrapping wheel 79 in a feeding station S23. The feeding unit 125 comprises a feeding wheel 126 (i.e. a feeding conveyor 126) which is mounted rotatably (with intermittent motion, i.e. "step") around a horizontal rotation axis 127 (parallel to the axis 80 of rotation). The feed wheel 126 supports three gripping heads (not shown), each of which is adapted to receive and hold a flat (ie flat and still free of bends) collar 17 by suction.

The rotation of the feed wheel 126 about the rotation axis 127 cyclically advances each gripping head along a circular feeding path and through: a gripping station S24 in which the gripping head receives a collar 17 and therefore the gripping station S23 power supply in which the gripping head yields the collar 17.

The feeding unit 125 comprises a belt transfer conveyor 128 which is arranged vertically, cyclically picks up the blanks 17 from a pick-up station S25 and cyclically transfers the blanks 17 to the feed wheel 126 in the pick-up station S24. In the gripping station S25, the collars 17 are cut from a continuous strip of wrapping material or, alternatively, they are pre-washed from the bottom of a stack housed in a hopper.

A pusher 129 is arranged in the gripping station S24 which, by means of a horizontal movement (i.e. perpendicular to the rotation axis 127 of the wrapping wheel 126) cyclically feeds the collars 17 from the transfer conveyor 128 to the gripping heads (not shown) of the feed wheel 126.

Generally, the power supply unit 73 is used when the collars 17 are simpler and, for example, do not include a rear wall (i.e., as illustrated in Figure 7, they only include a front wall 18 and two side walls 19), while the feeding unit 125 is used when the collars 17 are more complex and include, for example, also a rear wall (examples of "complex" collars 17 are described for example in patent applications WO2015114587A1, WO2016088063A1. feeding unit 125, the collars 17 are inserted into the pockets 81 of the wrapping wheel 80 which are still empty and folded into a "U" shape inside the pockets 81; subsequently, in the transfer station S10 the wrappers 3 coming from the wheel 68 of wrapping are inserted radially (i.e. perpendicular to the rotation axis 80) inside the pockets 81 and then inside the collars 17 fed in precedence.

In the alternative embodiment illustrated in Figure 30, the feeding unit 73 is present which, in the feeding station S9, feeds the collars 17 on the outside of the pockets 70 (i.e. on the periphery of the wrapping wheel 68) and is also present a further feeding unit 130 which feeds fillers (or other types of inserts to be placed inside the pack 1 of cigarettes) to the pockets 70 of the wrapping wheel 68. By way of example, the fillers to be inserted in cigarette packets are described in patent US4771882A1 or in patent application WO2016005949A1. The feeding unit 130 comprises a feeding wheel 131 (i.e. a feeding conveyor 131) which is mounted rotatably (with intermittent motion, i.e. "stepping") around a horizontal rotation axis 132 (parallel to the axis 69 of rotation). The feed wheel 131 supports four pockets (not shown), each of which is adapted to receive and hold a filler.

The rotation of the feed wheel 131 about the axis 132 of rotation cyclically advances each pocket along a circular feed path and through: a gripping station S26 in which the pocket receives a filler and then the feeding station S27 in which the pocket transfers the filler to a pocket 70 of the wrapping wheel 68. The feeding unit 130 comprises a belt transfer conveyor 133 which is arranged vertically, cyclically picks up the fillers from a pick-up station S28 and cyclically transfers the fillers to the feed wheel 131 in the pick-up station S26. In the gripping station S28 the fillers are cut from a continuous strip of wrapping material or, alternatively, they are pre-washed from the bottom of a stack housed in a hopper.

In the transfer station S26 there is a pusher 134 which, by means of a vertical movement (i.e. perpendicular to the rotation axis 132 of the wrapping wheel 131) cyclically feeds the fillers from the transfer conveyor 133 to the pockets (not shown) of the wheel 131. Power supply. Similarly, in the feeding station S27 a pusher 135 is arranged which, by means of a vertical movement (i.e. perpendicular to the rotation axis 132 of the wrapping wheel 131) cyclically feeds the fillers from the pockets (not shown) of the feeding wheel 131 to the pockets. 70 of the wrapping wheel 68.

According to other embodiments not shown, the power supply unit 130 could be present in combination with the power supply unit 125 instead of in combination with the power supply unit 73.

According to a preferred, but not binding, embodiment, the movement of the various components (wrapping wheels, feed conveyors, pushers, mobile folders ...) of the packing machine 29 is carried out by means of respective electric motors which are mechanically independent from each other and are synchronized (i.e.

Claims (15)

moved in phase) in a virtual way (that is, not by means of a physical constraint, but by means of a control constraint). Normally an electric motor (for example the electric machine that controls the rotation of the wrapping wheel 30) is considered as the reference ("master") and all the other electric motors ("slaves") follow the position of the reference electric motor (" master's degree"). To obtain linear movements (that is, which involve a movement along a rectilinear trajectory), a rotating electric motor is generally used which rotates a pinion which meshes with a rack; that is, a “rack and pinion” mechanism is used to transform the rotary movement generated by the electric motor into a linear movement. The embodiments described here can be combined with each other without departing from the scope of protection of the present invention. The packing machine 29 described above has numerous advantages. In the first place, the packing machine 29 described above allows to make the wrappers 3 of the packets 1 of cigarettes with a high production quality (i.e. having extremely precise and squared folds of the wrapping sheet 21) also operating at a high production speed (i.e. with a high number of wrappers 3 produced in the unit of time). Furthermore, the packing machine 29 described above allows to change the format of the packets 1 of cigarettes in a relatively simple and fast way. Finally, the packing machine 29 described above is compact and has optimum accessibility to all its components; in fact an operator who is in front of the packing machine 29 is able to reach with his own hands all the active parts of the packing machine 29 in a simple, fast and ergonomic way. The embodiment illustrated in the attached figures refers to the production of a packet of cigarettes, but the present invention can also be applied without substantial modifications to the production of any other type of packet of smoking articles (for example a pack of cigars, a pack of electronic cigarettes of the liquid vaporization type, a pack of new generation cigarettes without tobacco combustion ...). CLAIMS ( 14) of smoking articles; the blank (28) comprises a pair of first wings (9 ', 13') and a pair of second wings (9 ", 13") which are superimposed and glued together to form respective side walls (9, 13) of the container (2) exterior and cover (4); the packing machine (29) comprises: a wrapping wheel (106) which is rotatably mounted about an axis (107) of rotation and advances a pocket (108) along a first circular wrapping path (P7) extending between a first transfer station (S14) in wherein the wrapping (3) and the blank (28) are inserted into the pocket (108) and a second transfer station (S18); a first folding device (109) which is arranged along the first wrapping path (P7) and folds the blank (28) around the wrapping (3) placing the pair of second wings (9 ", 13") in contact with the 'wrapping (3) and placing the pair of first wings (9', 13 ') coplanar and perpendicular to the pair of second wings (9 ", 13"); a first pusher (111) which is arranged in the second transfer station (S18) and extracts the wrapper (3) wrapped in the blank (28) from the pocket (108) of the wrapping wheel (106) by a movement along a direction ( D4) of transfer which is perpendicular to the first wrapping path (P7) and to the rotation axis (107); a gumming conveyor (112) which receives the wrapper (3) wrapped in the blank (28) from the pocket (108) of the wrapping wheel (106) in the second transfer station (S18) and advances the wrapped wrapper (3) in the blank (28) along a rectilinear gumming path (P8) perpendicular to the first wrapping path (P7) up to a third transfer station (S19); at least one gumming device (114) which is arranged along the gumming path (P8) and applies glue (115) on the first wings (9 ', 13') or on the second wings (9 ", 13"); and a second folding device (118) which is arranged downstream of the gumming device (114) and bends the first wings (9 ', 13') by 90 ° against the second wings (9 ", 13"), completing the construction of the package ( 1) of cigarettes; the packing machine (29) is characterized by the fact that the gumming path (P8) is arranged parallel to the rotation axis (107) of the wrapping wheel (106) and perpendicular to the transfer direction (D4) of the first pusher (111 ). 2) Packaging machine (29) according to claim 1 and comprising a pair of gumming devices (114) arranged on opposite sides of the gumming path (P8). 3) Packing machine (29) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the gumming conveyor (112) comprises a second pusher (113) which is movable with reciprocating motion along the gumming path (P8). 4) Packaging machine (29) according to claim 1, 2 or 3 and comprising a second wrapping conveyor (117) which receives the wrapping (3) wrapped in the blank (28) from the gumming conveyor (112) in the third station ( S19) of transfer and advances the wrapping (3) wrapped in the blank (28) along a second path (P9) of wrapping straight and perpendicular to the gumming path (P8) up to a fourth transfer station (S20). 5) Packaging machine (29) according to claim 4, wherein the second folding device (118) is arranged along the second wrapping path (P9). 6) Packaging machine (29) according to claim 5, wherein the second folding device (118) comprises only fixed folding elements which are free of moving parts and are arranged along the second wrapping path (P9). 7) Packaging machine (29) according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the second folding device (118) consists of a rectangular-shaped ring through which the packet (1) of cigarettes is passed. 8) Packaging machine (29) according to one of claims 4 to 7, wherein the second wrapping conveyor (117) comprises a third pusher (116) which picks up the wrapper (3) wrapped in the blank (28) from the conveyor ( 112) of gumming in the third transfer station (S19) and advances the wrapper (3) wrapped in the blank (28) along the second wrapping path (P9) up to the fourth transfer station (S20). 9) Packaging machine (29) according to one of claims 4 to 8 and comprising a first drying conveyor (119) which receives the packet (1) of cigarettes from the second wrapping conveyor (117) in the fourth transfer station (S20) and the packet (1) of cigarettes advances along a first drying path (P10) straight and perpendicular to the second wrapping path (P9) up to a fifth transfer station (S21). 10) Packaging machine (29) according to claim 9, in which the first drying conveyor (119) comprises a drawer (120), which moves cyclically along the first drying path (P10) straight between the fourth station (S20 ) of transfer and the fifth station (S21) of transfer. 11) Packaging machine (29) according to claim 9 or 10 and comprising a second drying conveyor (112) which receives the packet (1) of cigarettes from the first drying conveyor (119) in the fifth transfer and advancing station (S21) the packet (1) of cigarettes along a second drying path (P11) straight and perpendicular to the first drying path (P10) up to a sixth transfer station (S22). Packing machine (29) according to claim 11, in which a horizontal stack of cigarette packets (1) is formed along the second straight drying path (P11). 13) Packaging machine (29) according to claim 11 or 12 and comprising an outlet conveyor (123) which receives the packet (1) of cigarettes from the second drying conveyor (112) in the sixth transfer station (S22) and advances the packet (1) of cigarettes along a straight, vertical and perpendicular exit path (P12) to the second drying path (P11). 14) Packaging machine (29) according to one of claims 1 to 13, in which the gumming device (114) applies glue (115) on the first wings (9 ', 13'). 15) Wrapping method to make a packet (1) of cigarettes provided with an external container (2) and a hinged lid (4) by folding a blank (28) around a wrapping (3) that encloses a group (14) of smoking articles; the blank (28) comprises a pair of first wings (9 ', 13') and a pair of second wings (9 ", 13") which are superimposed and glued together to form respective side walls (9, 13) of the container (2) exterior and cover (4); the packing machine (29) comprises: the wrapping method includes the steps of: