JP2003512266A - Method and apparatus for checking the integrity of packages, especially cigarette packages - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) Abstract The present invention relates to the inspection of packaged cigarettes for characteristic features on the package and its appropriate label. It is intended to use an inspection method that can be easily handled by any consumer. It reads the encoded feature design (5) on the package surface and compares it with the cigarette feature design read by direct contact with the end face of the cigarette (1) when the package (4) is open. Is achieved by a reader (7) that performs In this way, counterfeiting is found due to differences or repeated identical matches.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001] The present invention assigns one or a large number of characteristic features to an article, encodes these characteristic features, puts the result of the encoding as a mark on a package, reads the mark, and reads the article. And a method for inspecting a package containing at least one article, in particular a package containing a defined group of articles in the tobacco processing industry, for integrity, in comparison with one or more of the features of FIG.

Further, the present invention assigns one or a plurality of characteristic features to an article, encodes these characteristic features, puts the result of the encoding as a mark on a package, and the mark is a package code. Of a package containing at least one article, in particular of articles in the tobacco processing industry, in a manner to be detected by a reader responsive to An apparatus for inspecting the integrity of a package containing defined groups.

The above-described modalities and arrangements guarantee and verify the original organization and attribution of the packaged article and the package or packaging material, thereby guaranteeing the product quality guaranteed by the manufacturer. , Handling and intervention due to abuse of the original and final product can be found.

The problem underlying the present invention is to make such a verification possible even with the surface covered by the simplest possible means.

This problem is solved in the method according to the invention by detecting the characteristic features attributed to the article after opening the package and comparing them with the features read on the surface of the package.

The term "characteristic characteristics of an article", in a broad sense, results from an incidental or subsequent occurrence of packaging elements inside or outside of a package composed of multiple wrapped elements or inner layers or top layers. Also means the characteristic to be attributed.

[0007] According to another advantageous configuration proposed, the characteristic features attributed to the article are detected at the open end face of the package. Thereby, the cover side of the package for constant use or taking out of the cigarette is used as a verification function.

Reliable detection of articles that are provided with a characteristic feature, ie arranged in a certain group, is provided by an additional suggestion that the characteristic feature attributed to the article is end-faced at the mouthpiece end of the cigarette. Reached by detecting by touching directly on the side.

According to another configuration of the present invention, a relatively reliable and simple inspection method is to detect the presence of an index provided at the end of the mouthpiece by contacting the end of the mouthpiece at the end face side, or This is possible by detecting the position of this index.

Since the contents of each package are usually judged by the different, ie individual, characteristic features of the article, it is based on the perspective that the package in which the duplicate was found is a counterfeit.

According to another proposal according to the invention, this is given as a counterfeit signal, with the measurement result obtained as a correctly coded combination of the package code and the content code by at least two comparative measurements. Directly recognized by.

A device for carrying out a method of the type described at the outset comprises a unique energy supply and on the one hand a package indicator by means of a magnet, electrically, mechanically, optically or by similar means, Then, it comprises a reader for detecting the characteristic features of the article by direct contact with the article.

The relatively reliable and simple interrelationship between the reader and the object to be measured is that the reader according to the invention makes it possible for the reader to come into direct contact with the mouthpiece end of the cigarette on the side of the end face of the metal. Achieved by being configured to respond to the layer or layers.

An additional configuration for optimizing the usefulness of the reading device is that the reading device has a display for displaying the agreement or difference between the package characteristic feature and the content feature.

The advantages achieved by the present invention are that even if a reader, which is easily operated by any consumer at any time and anywhere, is attached to the surface of the package, for example in the form of a check card or a writer, It is also possible to use the mounting in the regular use opening of.

The method of treatment according to the invention serves the common concern of guaranteeing the authenticity of manufactured and purchased products in the form of close cooperation between producers and consumers.

According to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the filter cigarette 1 is characterized in that the obvious features during or after the manufacturing process include a metal upper layer or a metal which can be detected by a magnet. It is attached in the form of inset 2. In this way, the characteristic features attached to the inside and outside of the filter region 3, for example the filter-coated paper or the wrapping paper joining the cigarette and the filter, are provided in the package 4 of the filter cigarette. 6 occupy any position by chance, which position can be recognized in the form of markers coded as individual property features for each single package, for example as shown in FIG. Alternatively, it is attached to the outer surface of the package 4. This coded individual feature design 5 is read by a detection device 7, which is embodied as an easy-to-handle reader, for example in the form of a check card, and is displayed on a display 10.

As shown in FIG. 2, after the end face side of the package 4 is opened, the same detecting device or another detecting device 7 directly contacts the end face of the cigarette 1 before the cigarette 1 is taken out and blocks. The individual feature design 5 of (Block formation) 6 is read and compared with the mark on the package 4 and the comparison signal is displayed on the display 10. The difference between the two test signals identifies the package and its contents handled by the abuse.

In this case, the detection device 7 is further programmed such that the detection device recognizes the duplicated package if a correctly encoded combination of the package code and its content code appears at least twice. The counterfeit is displayed on the display 10. This is because each original package has special and distinctive characterization characteristics of its contents and its proper imprinting.

FIG. 3 illustrates withdrawal from the bale 12 by spraying with a softening agent in a stretching, relaxing and spraying device 14, for example, as described in detail in Applicant's US Pat. No. 4,412,505. The first group of structures in the manner of the preparation device 11 for treating the filter tomato strips 13 and the focusing of the filter tomato strips 13 in the inflow hopper 17, the coating provided in the ganitia 19 of the resulting filter continuum. A filter making machine is shown which consists of a coating of material tape 18 and a second group of constructions in the form of a processing device 16 for making coated filter rods 3 by cutting into single filter rods 3.

The filter area, or filter portion 3, of the prepared and finished filter cigarette 1.
In order to provide a detectable property in the filter toe strip 13 forming
Between the structure group 11 and the structure group 16, a marker tape 2 drawn out from the bobbin 12, for example, of metal or exhibiting contrast by coloring, is a filter tape strip 1.
Attached to 3. This marker tape can be recognized as a foreign substance put in the intermediate layer on the vertical side or the end face side of the filter cigarette 1 by the detection device.

The thus-prepared filter cigarette 1 occupies a position according to the conditions by chance with respect to the marker 2 placed in the above-mentioned intermediate layer during the packaging process in the packaging machine. As an example, the cigarette block shown in FIG. 4 is used as a content item, and a characteristic design by chance is provided in the transfer chamber 22 of the packaging machine disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,471,866.

This characteristic design, in a unique manner for each cigarette block 6 or cigarette package 4, is detected by the detection device 7, for example at the end face of the transfer chamber 22.

The detection device 7 is, for example, a transfer chamber 22 that periodically moves by a chamber belt 23.
Of a commercially available matrix camera or cigarette block present in this transfer chamber 22 passing by, as in the embodiment of the invention as illustrated in FIG. A CCD-line camera (CCD-Zeilenkamera) equipped with an objective lens 24 for scanning 6 is used, for example the JR2048 series manufactured by Schieft Kirchhoff in Hamburg, Germany.

In order to form a high frequency synchronization period, the clock device 27 is used to
An image is scanned in the image processing unit 28 by scanning the package 4 or the filter end in the transfer chamber 22 stepwise by 6, and the image processing unit 28 detects the position of the filter end from this image. , Check the evaluation window. As an example, in FIG. 4, each evaluation window is divided into four quadrants in the rotation direction of the hands of the clock, and in this case, the division can of course be subdivided arbitrarily.

From this, the image processing unit 28 assigns the marker 2 recognized at the end of each filter to a fixed quadrant. Therefore, for each article position in the transfer chamber 22 according to FIG. 4, for example, by adding the quadrants 1, 3, 2, 4, 2, 3 for the upper position, the symbol 15 is provided as a code and for the central position it is four. Minutes 1, 2, 1,
The addition of 3,4,2,1 gives the symbol 14 and the addition of the quadrants 4,3,4,2,3,2 with respect to the lower position gives the symbol 18. From this, the image processing unit 28 obtains the coded indicia representing the special feature design, for example by forming the summation signal 47 by adding the position symbols 15, 14 and 18.

This encoded indicia is provided to a marking device in the form of a stamping device 29,
Depending on the particular packaging material to be marked, this marking device may be, for example, an ink jet printing machine or letters of conventional construction type, for example IWK Fellpacking Stehnik GmbH of Germany or Dormino Laser Inc. It may be a writing laser device.

When using the detection device 7 as a laser device, only the image processing unit 28 with a reprogrammed processing unit that encodes and compares the detected characteristic features and the stamp device 29 is simply displayed. It is replaced by a display, and the clock device 27 may not be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

[Figure 1]   It is a figure of a laser apparatus put on the surface of a cigarette package.

FIG. 2 is a view of the laser device placed on the end of the cigarette on the open end side of the cigarette package.

FIG. 3 is an overall view of a filter manufacturing machine including a schematically illustrated additional unit for performing security confirmation against forgery.

FIG. 4 is a view of a transfer chamber of the cigarette packing machine, in which an end surface side for transferring a cigarette block is open.

[Figure 5]   FIG. 7 is a diagram of a detection device for forming and reading encoded indicia.

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Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. One or a plurality of characteristic features are assigned to an article, these characteristic features are coded, the result of this coding is attached to a package as a mark, the mark is read, and Attributing to an article in a method for inspecting the integrity of a package containing at least one article, especially a package containing a defined group of articles in the tobacco processing industry, by comparison with one or a number of features A method of detecting a characteristic feature that is present after opening the package and comparing it with a feature that is read on the surface of the package. 2. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the property attributed to the article is detected at the open end of the package. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the property attributed to the article is detected by directly touching the mouthpiece end of the cigarette on the end face side. 4. The presence of an index present at the end of the mouthpiece or the position of the index is detected by contacting the end of the mouthpiece on the end face side. the method of. 5. The counterfeit signal is obtained by using at least two comparative measurements as a clue, a measurement result obtained as a correctly encoded combination of a package code and a content code. The method described in one. 6. One or a plurality of characteristic features are assigned to an article, these characteristic features are coded, the result of the coding is put on a package as a mark, and this mark is responsive to a package code. A package containing at least one article, in particular a group of articles in the tobacco processing industry, in a manner to be detected by a reader and to compare the contents of the package with the features detected by the reader and coded A device for inspecting the integrity of a package containing a
A reading device is provided which detects the characteristic features (5) of the article (1) by electrical, mechanical, optical or similar means, on the other hand, by direct contact with the article (1). A device characterized by. 7. A reading device (7) comprises a mouthpiece end () of a cigarette (1).
7. Device according to claim 6, characterized in that it is formed so as to be responsive to the intermediate or upper layer (2) of metal by direct contact with 3) on the end face side. 8. Device according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the reading device (7) comprises a display (10) for displaying a match or a difference between the package characteristic feature and the content feature.