IT202100030179A1 - Method and unit of cutting of a wall of a package - Google Patents

Description

DESCRIPTION

of the industrial invention entitled:

"Method and unit of cutting a package wall"

TECHNICAL SECTOR

This invention? relating to a method and a unit? of cutting a wall of a package especially of smoking articles.

The present invention finds advantageous application in a packaging machine (for example a cellophane wrapping machine) for the production of a so-called "book-pack" packet of cigarettes, which the following discussion will cover. explicit reference without losing generality.

PRIOR ART

A pack of cigarettes ?book-pack? includes (at least) two containers, which house respective groups of wrapped cigarettes, have respective ends? open tops, and are hinged to each other to be able to rotate between a closed configuration, in which the two containers are superimposed on each other, and an open configuration, in which the two containers are separated; Furthermore, ? provided a lid that is hinged to a rear container and, when in a closed position, hugs the top of both containers.

The production of a cigarette pack ?book-pack? involves forming the two containers using two corresponding blanks which are folded around the respective groups of wrapped cigarettes, coupling (overlapping) the two containers, and then folding a third blank which joins the two containers around the two coupled (overlapping) containers and creates the common lid.

After bending the third blank? necessary to make a cut on the bottom wall of the ?book-pack? to allow the separation of the two containers (i.e. to allow the two containers to rotate relative to each other); normally a double cut is made (i.e. two cuts close together and parallel to each other) to remove a strip (strip) from the back wall in such a way as to create a clear separation between the two containers. Is a unit used for this purpose? what cut? equipped with two parallel and adjacent rotating blades which are partially housed in a collection chamber in which a suction acts which should capture and remove the strip as soon as the strip itself is removed. been separated from the rest of the back wall. However, isn't it? it is rare that even after the cut made by the two rotating blades the strip remains stuck in the back wall and therefore is not removed by the suction; consequently, downstream of the unit? cutting some packets of cigarettes ?book-pack? still have the strip on the bottom that can? be more? or less in the original position. Can this? generate various problems such as the loss of the strip in the machine before applying the transparent plastic overwrapping or the wrapping (with the transparent plastic overwrapping) of the strip together with the package in completely random positions, providing the end user with the impression of a package of poor quality cigarettes.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Purpose of the present invention? provide a method and a unit? cutting of a wall of a package, in particular of smoking articles, which allows the cutting to be carried out without undesirable consequences, in particular which allows the removal of the strip after cutting to be ensured, and, at the same time, is easy and economical to carry out. In accordance with the present invention, a method and a unit are provided. of cutting a wall of a package in particular of smoking articles, as 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

Will this invention come? now described with reference to the attached drawings, which illustrate a non-limiting example of implementation, in which:

? figure 1? a perspective view of a pack of cigarettes ?book-pack? in a closed configuration;

? figure 2? a perspective view of the cigarette pack of FIG. 1 in an open configuration;

? figure 3? a view of a blank used to make the cigarette pack of FIG. 1;

? figure 4? a plan and schematic view of a unit? cutting tool for making a cut in a bottom wall of the cigarette packet of figure 1;

? Figures 5-8 schematically illustrate a sequence of operations carried out in the unit? cutting edge of figure 4; And

? figure 9? a perspective view from below of the cigarette pack of figure 1 in the closed configuration and with evidence of a strip being removed from the back wall.

PREFERRED FORMS OF IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INVENTION

In figures 1 and 2, with the number 1 ? indicated as a whole a pack of cigarettes ?book-pack? comprising two containers 2 and 3, which house respective groups of wrapped cigarettes, have respective ends? upper ones open, and are hinged to each other to be able to rotate between a closed configuration (illustrated in figure 1), in which the two containers 2 and 3 are superimposed on each other, and an open configuration (illustrated in figure 2), in which the two containers 2 and 3 are separate; Furthermore, ? there is a lid 4 which is hinged to a rear container 2 and, when in a closed position, embraces the top of both containers 2 and 3.

According to a preferred embodiment illustrated in the attached figures, the rear container 2 is more? large and accommodates a group of cigarettes wrapped more? large (for example composed of two layers of seven cigarettes each), while the front container 3 is more? small and accommodates a smaller wrapped pack of cigarettes? small (for example composed of a single layer of six cigarettes); according to a different embodiment not illustrated, the two containers 2 and 3 have the same size.

The production of the cigarette pack 1 involves forming the two containers 2 and 3 using two corresponding blanks (not shown) which are folded around the respective wrapped groups of cigarettes, coupling (overlapping) the two containers 2 and 3, and then fold a third blank 5 (shown in figure 3) around the two coupled (overlapping) containers 2 and 3, which joins the two containers 2 and 3 and creates the common lid 4.

The cigarette pack 1 includes a bottom wall 6 (illustrated for example in figure 3) which is located on the outside, ? part of the blank 5, and embraces both containers 2 and 3; that is, the bottom walls of the two containers 2 and 3 are placed against the bottom wall 6 which covers them.

As illustrated in figure 5, when the cigarette pack 1 is made the bottom wall 6 is glued only to the rear container 2 using a glue 7 and therefore the bottom wall 6 has no connection (constraint) with the front container 3 . In other words, initially the bottom wall 6 of the cigarette pack 1 is glued only to the rear container 2 using glue 7 applied only on one side and not? glued to the front container 3.

After bending the blank 7 ? it is necessary to make a cut 8 (schematically illustrated in figure 3) on the bottom wall 6 of the cigarette pack 1 to allow the separation of the two containers 2 and 3 (i.e. to allow the two containers 2 and 3 to rotate with respect to each other) . In other words, initially the back wall 6? completely intact and therefore devoid of any division and consequently does not allow any movement between the two containers 2 and 3; ? it is therefore necessary to make the cut 8 to divide the bottom wall 6 into two parts 9 and 10 which can be moved away from each other to allow movement between the two containers 2 and 3.

In figure 4, with the number 11 ? indicated as a whole a unit? cutting tool which, to create a clear separation between the two containers 2 and 3, performs the cut 8 on the bottom wall 6 of the cigarette pack 1 which is advanced along a straight path P. Preferably, the unit? cutting 11 performs a double cut 8 on the bottom wall 6 of the cigarette packet 1, i.e. the cut 8 takes place along two parallel and spaced cutting lines and involves the elimination from the bottom wall 6 of a strip B or strip (illustrated in figures 6 and 9) between the two cutting lines (band B has a width of approximately 1 mm); according to an alternative form of implementation, the unit? 11 cutting can? make a single cut 8 on the bottom wall 6 of the cigarette pack 1 (i.e. the cut 8 occurs along a single cutting line).

The unit? cutting 11 includes a belt conveyor 12 which advances each packet 1 of cigarettes along a straight path P; according to an alternative embodiment not illustrated, the conveyor 12 is rotating and advances each packet 1 of cigarettes along a circular path P.

The unit? 11 includes a cutting station S1 which is arranged along the path P and ? provided with a cutting device 13 which makes the cut 8 on the bottom wall 6 of each packet 1 of cigarettes in such a way as to divide the bottom wall 6 into the rear part 9 which is arranged in correspondence with the rear container 2 (and which is therefore glued to the rear container 2 due to the glue 7) and in the front part 10 which is arranged in correspondence with the front container 3 (and therefore has no connection with the front container 3 since the glue 7 is applied only in correspondence with the rear container 2 and therefore only between the rear container 2 and the rear part 9). The cutting device 13 comprises two rotating blades coaxial and spaced apart which are mounted to rotate around the same rotation axis to create two parallel and separate cutting lines on the bottom wall 6 of the cigarette packet 1 to delimit the strip B which must subsequently be eliminated.

The S1 cutting station? also equipped with a 14 aspirator device which is configured to suck (i.e. remove by suction) the strip B which is separated from the cutting device 13 by means of the double cut 8 (i.e. along two parallel and separate cutting lines). The suction device 14 includes a suction duct (i.e. connected to a suction source) designed to suck the strip B which is separated from the cutting device 13; the function of the suction duct 14? to convey by suction the band B which is? been separated from the back wall 6 so as to bring the strip B to a specific collection area (not illustrated). By way of example, the suction in the suction duct of the suction device 14 can be created using an impeller or a flow accelerator. According to a possible embodiment, one end? initial of the suction duct of the suction device 14 has a conical shape having the minimum dimension in correspondence with the cutting device 13 (i.e. having a dimension that progressively widens moving away from the cutting device 13 in such a way as to have the maximum depression in proximity of the cutting device 13).

As the cutting device 13 carries out the cut 8 of the bottom wall 6 of the cigarette pack 1, the rear part 9 of the bottom wall 6 remains in its initial position as it is stably glued to the rear container 2 due to the effect of the glue 7; instead, as the cutting device 13 gradually cuts 8 the bottom wall 6 of the cigarette pack 1, the front part 10 of the bottom wall 6 tends to rise due to elastic return with respect to the front container 3 to which it is not connected. in any way constrained (as mentioned previously, no glue is initially applied between the front part 10 and the front container 3) and this lifting of the front part 10 substantially helps the removal of the strip B as it prevents the strip B can get stuck between the two parts 9 and 10.

The suction action generated by the suction device 14 obviously also has an effect on the front part 10 of the bottom wall 6 and contributes to lifting the front part 10 from the front container 3; or also the front part 10 of the back wall 6? affected by the suction applied by the suction device 14 and this suction (by pulling the front part 10 of the bottom wall 6 inside the suction device 14) contributes to lifting the front part 10 from the front container 3. The suction action generated by the suction device 14 obviously also has an effect on the rear part 9 of the bottom wall 6, but the rear part 9? glued to the rear container 2 and therefore does not move.

According to a possible embodiment, the cutting station S1 can? also include a blower device 15 which directs a blast of compressed air towards the front part 10 of the bottom wall 6 which pushes the front part 10 to rise (i.e. it pushes the front part 10 to move away from the front container 3 and from the rest of the wall 6 basically); the function of the 15 blower device ? help the lifting of the front part 10 of the back wall 6 after performing the double cut 8 to increase the effect of the natural elastic return of the front part 10 itself.

AND? it is important to note that the blank 5 (illustrated in figure 3) is born completely flat and is subsequently folded around the two containers 2 and 3; therefore in the absence of an external constraint, or if left free, the various portions of the blank 5 (including the front part 10 of the bottom wall 6) tend to move naturally towards the original flat configuration due to elastic return. Consequently, after performing the double cut 8, the front part 10 of the bottom wall 6 is ? without mechanical constraints and therefore due to elastic return it spontaneously tends to move away from the front container 3 and therefore from the rest of the bottom wall 6 (i.e. from the rear part 9 of the bottom wall 6). The 15 blower device can? be provided to accentuate by means of a jet of compressed air (and in addition to the action of the suction device 14) the spontaneous tendency of the front part 10 of the bottom wall 6 to move away from the front container 3.

The removal of the front part 10 of the bottom wall 6 from the front container 3 and therefore from the rest of the bottom wall 6 (i.e. from the rear part 9 of the bottom wall 6)? essential to ?liberate? the strip B generated by the double cut 8 as it prevents the strip B from remaining stuck between the two parts 9 and 10 of the bottom wall 6; once the band B is not ? more? held between the two parts 9 and 10 of the bottom wall 6, its removal by suction? very simple and certain.

The unit? 11 includes a separation station S2 which is arranged along the route P downstream of the cutting station S1 and is? provided with a folding device 16 which folds the front part 10 of the bottom wall 6 of each packet 1 of cigarettes in such a way as to move the front part 10 away from the rest of the bottom wall 6 (i.e. from the rear part 9). Typically, the folding device 16 folds the front part 10 of the bottom wall 6 of each cigarette pack 1 by approximately 90? to place the front part 10 approximately perpendicular to the rear part 9 (as shown in figure 7). The folding device 16 exploits the natural elastic return of the front part 10 of the bottom wall 6 which tends to spontaneously move the front part 10 away from the rest of the bottom wall 6 (i.e. from the rear part 9) and includes a fixed folding helix which pushes the front part 10 of the back wall 6 away from the rest of the back wall 6. The 16 folding device can? also includes a blower which pushes the front part 10 of the bottom wall 6 away from the rest of the bottom wall 6 by means of a blow of compressed air.

The unit? 11 includes a gumming station S3 which is arranged along the path P downstream of the separation station S2 and is? provided with a gumming device 17 which applies glue 18 to the front part 10 of the bottom wall 6 of each packet 1 of cigarettes (as also illustrated in figure 7); glue 18 can? be applied in the form of separate glue dots or in the form of one or more? continuous strips of glue. Can glue 18? be hot (therefore quick-setting), cold (therefore vinyl-based with slower setting) or a combination of hot glue and cold glue. In the preferred embodiment illustrated in the attached figures, the glue 18 is applied to the front part 10 of the bottom wall 6; according to a different form of implementation, the glue 18 is applied to the bottom wall of the front container 3 (the important thing is that in the end the glue 18 is found interposed between the front part 10 of the bottom wall 6 and the bottom wall of the front container 3).

The unit? 11 includes a folding station S4 which is arranged along route P downstream of the tire station S3 and is? provided with a folding device 19 which folds the front part 10 of the bottom wall 6 of each packet 1 of cigarettes against the front container 3, returning the front part 10 of the bottom wall 6 to the initial position (as illustrated in figure 8) which had before the S1 cutting station and especially before the S2 separation station. In the folding station S4 the front part 10 of the bottom wall 6 of each packet 1 of cigarettes rests and is then glued, due to the effect of the glue 18, to the front container 3, completing (finishing) the creation of the packet 1 of cigarettes. The 19 folding device can? comprising a fixed folding helix which pushes the front part 10 of the bottom wall 6 against the rest of the cigarette pack 1 (i.e. against the front container 3).

According to a possible form of implementation, the unit? 11 also includes a control station which could be arranged along the path P downstream of the bending station S4 (but could also be arranged in any other position between the cutting station S1 and the bending station S4) and ? equipped with a vision device which, by acquiring and analyzing one or more? pictures of 1 pack of cigarettes, ? able to establish whether the band B produced by the double 8 cut? been successfully deleted. Obviously, any packets 1 of cigarettes that do not conform to the desired specifications (i.e. in which the strip B produced by the double cut 8 has not been correctly eliminated) would be discarded in a waste station located downstream of the control station (even outside the cutting unit 11).

The embodiments described here can be combined with each other without departing from the scope of protection of the present invention.

The unit? The cutting method described above has numerous advantages.

Firstly, the unit? cutting 11 described above allows to ensure the removal of the strip B after the double cut 8, avoiding that the strip B (or a piece of the strip B) can remain in contact with the bottom wall 6 of the cigarette pack 1; this result is obtained thanks to the fact that after the double cut 8 the front part 10 of the bottom wall 6 moves away from the rear part 9 of the bottom wall 6, freeing the strip B (i.e. preventing the strip B from remaining "prisoner" between the two walls 9 and 10 of the back wall 6). That is, by separating the front part 10 of the bottom wall 6 from the rear part 9 of the bottom wall 6, the strip B produced by the double cut 8 is certainly moved away from the bottom wall 6 and therefore easily removed and consequently the correct removal of the strip is ensured B produced by the double cut 8, preventing the strip B (or a piece of the strip B) from remaining in contact with the bottom wall 6 of the cigarette pack 1.

Furthermore, the unit? 11 cutting described above? simple and economical to implement as compared to a similar unit? of known cutting requires quick modifications using commercial pieces or pieces easily obtainable with standard mechanical processes.

The unit? 11 cutting described above allows cutting 8 of the bottom wall 6 to be carried out in a very precise and accurate way, always ensuring optimal functionality. optimal of 1 pack of cigarettes.

Finally, the unit? 11 cutting described above allows cutting 8 to be performed even single, as the subsequent ?opening? of the front part 10 of the bottom wall 6 always ensures complete separation between the two parts 9 and 10 of the bottom wall 6.

LIST OF FIGURE REFERENCE NUMBERS

1 pack of cigarettes

2 rear container

3 front container

4 lid

5 blank

6 back wall

7 glue

8 cut

9 rear

10 front

11 units? cutting

12 conveyor

13 cutting device

14 suction device

15 blower device

16 folding device

17 gumming device

18 glue

19 folding device B flap

P path

S1 cutting station

S2 separation station S3 gumming station S4 folding station

Claims (12)

1) Method of cutting a wall (6) of a package (1), especially of smoking articles; the cutting method includes the steps of: make a cut (8) on the wall (6) of the package (1) which divides the wall (6) into a first part (9) and a second part (10); and apply, before making the cut (8), a first glue (7) between the first part (9) of the wall (6) and a first contents of the package (1) to glue the first part (9) to the first contents; the cutting method? characterized by the fact of including the further phases of: not applying, before making the cut (8), glue between the second part (10) of the wall (6) and a second content of the package (1); and apply, only after having made the cut (8), a second glue (18) between the second part (10) of the wall (6) and the second contents of the package (1) to glue the second part (10) to the second contents . 2) Cutting method according to claim 1 and including the further phases of: folding, after having made the cut (8) and before applying the second glue (18), the second part (10) to remove the second part (10 ) from the second content; apply the second glue (18) while the second part (10) ? separated from the second content; And after applying the second glue (18), fold the second part (10) against the second content. 3) Cutting method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cut (8) is double, i.e. it takes place along two parallel and spaced cutting lines, and involves the elimination of a strip (B) between the two cutting lines. 4) Cutting method according to claim 3 and including the further step of applying a suction configured to remove the strip (B) produced by the double cut (8). 5) Cutting method according to claim 4, in which the suction is applied simultaneously with the execution of the double cut (8). 6) Cutting method according to claim 4 or 5 and including the further step of applying a blast of compressed air which pushes the second part (10) to move away from the first part (9) simultaneously with the application of the suction. 7) Cutting method according to one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the package comprises a first container (2) which constitutes the first content and a second container which constitutes (3) the second content. 8) Cutting method according to claim 7, in which the two containers (2, 3) are hinged to each other and the cut (8) of the wall (6) allows the two containers (2, 3) to rotate one with respect to the other? other. 9) Cutting method according to one of claims 1 to 8 and comprising the further step of advancing the package (1) along a path (P) and through: a cutting station (S1) provided with a cutting device (13) which performs the cut (8) on the wall (6) of the package (1); a separation station (S2) which is arranged along the path (P) downstream of the cutting station (S1) and is? provided with a first bending device (16) which bends the second part (10) in such a way as to distance the second part (10) from the rest of the wall (6); a tire station (S3) which is arranged along the path (P) downstream of the separation station (S2) and is? equipped with a gumming device (17) which applies the second glue (18) on the second part (10) of the wall (6); and a bending station (S4) which is arranged along the route (P) downstream of the tire station (S3) and is? equipped with a second folding device (19) which folds the second part (10) of the wall (6) against the second content to which it is glued. 10) Cutting method according to claim 9, wherein the cutting station (S1) is equipped with a suction device (14) which is configured to suck a strip (B) which is separated from the cutting device (13) by a double cut (8). 11) Cutting method according to claim 10, wherein the cutting station (S1) is equipped with a blower device (15) which directs a blast of compressed air towards the second part (10) which pushes the second part (10) to lift away from the first part (9). 12) Unit? (11) cutting a wall (6) of a package (1), in particular of smoking articles; the unit? (11) includes a cutting device (13) configured to make a cut (8) on the wall (6) of the package (1) which divides the wall (6) into a first part (9) previously glued to a first contents of the package (1) through a first glue (7) and in a second part (10); the unit? (11) cutting ? characterized by the fact of comprising a gumming device (17) configured to apply, only after having made the cut (8), a second glue (18) between the second part (10) of the wall (6) and a second contents of the package ( 1) to paste the second part (10) to the second content.