JP2014527006A - Conveying apparatus and object conveying method - Google Patents

Abstract

Object transport device and object transport for short filter elements to ensure the transition of a filter element of a smoking article between a first transport means and a second transport means having different movement paths for a short filter element Providing a method.
An object transport apparatus includes a first transport unit having a plurality of holding units for an object, and the first transport unit transports an object along a first movement path. While the collecting means is adapted to receive the object along the second movement path, the collecting means is adapted to receive the object transferred along the second movement path along the first movement path. Follow the movement of the first transport means. After receiving the object from at least one holding means of the first transport means, the collection means moves in a direction substantially opposite to the first movement path of the first transport means to perform reciprocation.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a device for conveying objects, in particular substantially cylindrical objects such as filter elements or filter segments, for example used in smoking articles, and a method for conveying these objects.

  In the prior art, there is known a filter segment transport device provided with a first transport means in the form of a drum having an axial groove on its outer periphery. Some of these grooves are supplied with a plurality of substantially cylindrical filter elements that rotate with the drum along a first circumferential movement path relative to the drum. A drive chain that extends in the axial direction of the drum and engages with at least one of a plurality of objects included in one groove of the drum is provided as the second transport unit. Accordingly, the chain conveys the object along the second movement path that is substantially coaxial with the direction along the groove of the drum and takes out the object from the drum. Furthermore, this kind of filter element conveying device is provided with stationary guiding means, which guides the object taken out from the groove of the drum while maintaining the orientation of the longitudinal axis of the object, which is the conveying direction of the guiding means. It can be done. In this guide means, the width of the end facing the drum is increased so that a plurality of objects can be taken out from one groove of the drum while the drum is continuously rotated.

International Publication No. 2009/0774540

  However, in conveying devices known in the art, an object that has just been removed from the groove of the drum is not stably held in the preferred orientation due to the increased width of the guiding means and is therefore damaged by rotation or There is a problem that the guide means may be caught in an enlarged portion.

  WO 2009/074540 discloses a rotary guide element that moves at the same radial speed as a grooved drum. The rotary guide element includes a tapered groove that guides the individual filter elements from the grooved drum into the stationary channel.

  The object of the present invention is that of an object, in particular a filter element of a smoking article, between a first conveying means and a second conveying means with different movement paths, in particular for a short filter element. It is an object of the present invention to provide an object conveying apparatus and an object conveying method that ensure transition.

  According to the present invention, there is provided a transport apparatus including a first transport unit having a plurality of object holding units. According to the present invention, the transport means transports the object along the first movement path. The apparatus further includes second transport means for taking out an object from the first transport means along a second movement path different from the first movement path. According to the invention, the conveying means is adapted to receive an object along the second movement path and at the same time receiving an object transferred along at least the second movement path. It follows the movement of the first transport means along the first movement path. The present invention has the advantage of not requiring a greatly enlarged or overhanging inlet portion as found in the prior art. By synchronizing the collecting means with the movement of the first conveying means, the conveying means can be aligned even during movement. Therefore, at least the end of the collecting means facing the first transport means is in a position suitable for receiving an object moving along the second movement path. Specifically, these objects are filter elements or filter segments of smoking articles.

  Throughout this specification, the term “filter segment” is used throughout, which means that portion of the filter that can form part of the smoking article or can be the entire filter of the smoking article. The filter segment can also comprise a filter element consisting of more than one filter, i.e. a rod consisting of a plurality of filter elements cut into fine filter segments later in the manufacture of the smoking article. Such filter rods typically have a length that is two or four filters of the final smoking article. Examples of filter segments include, but are not limited to, plain filter tow plugs, or filter tow plugs in which additional elements such as beads, capsules, plant materials, or threads are disposed within the filter material. Further examples of filter segments include non-cutable objects such as restrictor elements or tubular elements. Further examples of filter segments include plugs comprising other non-tow materials such as plant material, beads, capsules or granules, or combinations thereof. These segments can also be a combination of two to five individual filter elements, such as a double filter segment including a plain filter tow segment and a filter tow segment including carbon beads. These segments can also be a combination of filter segments as described above, i.e. empty segments, including "gap" elements, e.g. so-called plug-space-plug filters or filters including mouth end cavities. For the avoidance of doubt, the term “filter” is used to indicate the position of such a filter segment without touching the possible filtering effects of the filter segment within the filter portion of the smoking article.

  The collection means moves in a direction substantially opposite to the first movement path of the first conveyance means after receiving an object from at least one holding means of the first conveyance means. . In this way, an object can be received from the next downstream holding means on the first conveying means. By the reciprocating movement of the collecting means, the object can be received in the collecting means from the subsequent holding means on the first conveying means while the first conveying means is constantly moving.

  The moving speed of the collecting means in the direction substantially opposite to the first moving path may be faster than the moving speed while following the movement of the first conveying means along the first moving path. preferable. Specifically, this speed is at least twice as fast and preferably at least five times as fast. Thereby, while the time during which the object can be transferred from the first transport unit to the collection unit is increased, the time for the collection unit to move in the reverse direction of the first movement path is decreased, and the processing capability of the object in the transport device The advantage that will become higher.

  The first conveying means is a drum that rotates around its central axis, and the first movement path is preferably in a circumferential direction on the circumference of the drum. Thus, the first travel path is defined as a circle having a diameter that substantially corresponds to the diameter of the drum. The direction of movement on the first movement path is determined by the rotation direction of the drum. The drum is a common transport means for elements of smoking articles. The object is preferably supplied to the drum substantially radially, for example from a hopper. Thereafter, these objects rotate with the drum until taken out by the second transport means.

  In one embodiment, the preferred holding means is a groove on the outer periphery of the drum which extends along a second movement path which is preferably substantially in the axial direction of the drum. These grooves are preferably linear recesses in the axial direction located on the outer peripheral surface of the drum. The recess that forms the groove preferably has a semicircular cross section to facilitate accommodating a cylindrical object. The object is preferably held in the groove by applying a vacuum.

  A suction hole having a pressure lower than the ambient pressure is preferably disposed in the groove so that the object can be held in the groove. These suction holes are preferably connected to a vacuum source provided separately from the drum through a suction tube in the drum.

  In one embodiment, the collecting means is a channel with a slightly funnel-shaped receiving end adjacent to the first conveying means. This slightly funnel-shaped receiving end is located next to the first transport means and moves along the second movement path while following the movement of the first transport means along the first movement path. To receive. The funnel-shaped receiving unit only needs to smoothly move the object from the first conveying means to the collecting means, and corrects any misalignment between the collecting means and the first conveying means as known in the prior art. There's no need to do so, it's only slightly expanded. The width of the funnel-shaped receiving end is preferably shorter than the length of the object. This prevents the object from rotating about other than its longitudinal axis. The alignment of the collecting means and the first conveying means is preferably obtained by at least a part of the collecting means moving synchronously with the first conveying means along the first movement path. The funnel-shaped receiving end of the collecting means is preferably arranged directly at the end of one groove and moves with the groove arranged on the rotating drum. Usually, the end of the groove is located on the outer periphery of the axial end of the drum.

  The channel preferably has a cross-section adapted to the shape of the object in order to maintain the orientation of the longitudinal axis of the object substantially in the direction of the channel. Specifically, the length along the longitudinal axis of the object is greater than the width or height of the object. Specifically, the object is a cylindrical object and its longitudinal axis extends parallel to the center of the nap of the cylindrical object. Thus, the channel preferably has a circular or semi-circular cross-section that is slightly larger than the diameter of the cylindrical object, but substantially less than the length of the object in the longitudinal direction. Thus, the orientation of the longitudinal axis is substantially maintained throughout the channel, while rotation about the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical object is not limited. Specifically, the longitudinal axis of the object is aligned with the second movement path.

  In one embodiment, the collecting means is attached by a hinge at a distance from the receiving end and follows movement along the first movement path of the first conveying means by rotating about the hinge. It becomes possible. The rotation axis of the hinge is preferably substantially perpendicular to the rotation axis of the drum. This is yet another reason for having a slightly larger funnel to compensate for the angular change between the groove and the channel of the collecting means. The rotational speed of the collecting means is obtained by multiplying the rotational speed of the drum by the radius of the drum and dividing this by the distance between the hinge and the drum. Accordingly, the collecting means, which is directed substantially towards the drum, moves at its receiving end at substantially the same speed as the corresponding groove in the drum. However, if the collecting means is not facing the drum, the distance between the drum and the receiving end of the collecting means is increased, so that the collecting means is substantially free during the reciprocating rotation of the collecting means. Keep facing the drum. For example, when the collecting means moves from left to right, the object begins to enter the collecting means funnel towards the right side of the funnel, but the transition between the holding means and the collecting means ends towards the left side of the funnel To do.

  Each holding means on the first transport means preferably holds a plurality of aligned objects. The collecting means follows the movement of the first conveying means while the second conveying means transfers a plurality of aligned objects from one holding means to the collecting means. It is preferable that 2 to 10 objects are supplied to each holding means in the first conveying means, and more preferably 2 to 6 objects are supplied. Since a plurality of objects can be transferred simultaneously from one holding means to the collecting means, a high processing capacity of the apparatus can be obtained.

  In one embodiment, the second transport means is a belt or chain having a drive projection adapted to engage and transport an object in the holding means of the first transport means into the collection means. is there. These drive protrusions move along the holding means and engage the object. The drive protrusion is preferably a finger provided on a belt or chain. The holding means is preferably a groove on the grooved drum. In this way, the object is pushed into the collecting means and taken out from the holding means of the first conveying means. Specifically, the protrusion engages only with the most upstream object in the holding means, and all downstream objects are pushed in by the adjacent upstream object. The protrusion is configured to have a certain flexibility along the first movement path so that the holding means remains in the holding means even though the holding means is moving along the first movement path. It is preferable.

  The holding means is preferably adapted to guide the objects arranged inside while the object is driven by a belt or chain. Accordingly, the belt or chain only needs to provide a driving force, and the alignment and guidance are performed by the holding means.

  In order to engage with the object, a general driving projection well known in the art may be provided. Such a general drive projection is placed on the belt or chain so that the drive projection maintains its orientation with respect to the belt or chain, and thus the orientation of the drive projection changes as soon as the orientation of the belt or chain changes. Can be provided. Specifically, the direction of the drive protrusion is usually changed in the circumferential direction of a guide wheel such as a sprocket. However, this increases the speed of the tip of the protrusion, thus increasing the driving speed for the object and making the object conveyance speed unstable. Furthermore, if the direction of the drive protrusion changes, the object may be pinched and damaged during the change in direction.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, it is preferred that the drive protrusion, specifically the fingers, be arranged on the belt or chain so as to maintain the absolute orientation of the drive protrusion throughout the belt or chain movement. That is, while the belt or chain portion to which the driving protrusion is fixed rotates around the pulley or sprocket, the driving protrusion maintains the same orientation. Specifically, this configuration is made possible by a mechanical transmission that compensates for the rotation of the belt or chain between the belt or chain and the drive projection. The mechanical transmission between the protrusion and the belt or chain keeps the protrusion in one orientation. The orientation of the drive protrusion is preferably kept substantially vertical throughout the movement of the drive protrusion. Therefore, while the belt or chain is guided around the pulley or chain sprocket and retracted from the object, the drive speed of the protrusion is reduced only slightly. This allows for smooth and continuous movement of the object. Two drive protrusions are preferably provided on the belt or chain.

  In one embodiment, at least one air nozzle is provided in the collecting means for supplying compressed air carrying the object. These air nozzles form an effective driving means for the objects in the collecting means, since these air nozzles eliminate the need to provide additional mechanical parts in the collecting means to drive the objects. In some embodiments, this configuration is particularly effective because the collecting means has the shape of a channel and therefore cannot be properly engaged with the object by external drive means. In addition, the air nozzle allows the design of a lightweight collection means that is effective for high speed reciprocation of the collection means. However, in addition or alternatively, the collecting means can also include a slot for allowing driving means such as the protrusions described above to engage the object.

  In one embodiment, the collecting means has a downstream end positioned adjacent to the upstream roller set positioned adjacent to the downstream roller set. Each roller set engages the object from at least two sides, and the upstream roller set rotates at a slower speed than the downstream roller set so that the objects previously adjacent to each other are separated from each other. Therefore, the set of objects that are in contact with each other upstream of the roller has a defined distance between the objects downstream of the roller.

  The distance between the upstream roller set and the downstream roller set can be adjusted so that objects of different lengths can be processed. Since the speed of each roller set is different, it is necessary to adjust the distance so that the length of the object does not become larger than the distance between the engaging portions of the two roller sets. Therefore, both the upstream roller group and the downstream roller group do not engage with the object at the same time.

  In one embodiment, downstream of the roller set, a transport disk is provided having teeth that engage each of the objects individually separated by the roller set and place the object at a defined position on the downstream transport line. The distance between the objects formed by the rollers is preferably adapted so that the conveying disc can insert teeth between the objects.

  The object of the present invention is further solved by a method for conveying a filter element of an object, in particular a smoking article, which method comprises the following steps.

  First, an object is transported along a first movement path in a plurality of holding units on the first transport unit. Next, all objects are taken out from one of the holding means along a second movement path different from the first movement path. Thereafter, the object is collected by the collecting means that follows the movement of the first transport means along the first movement path at least while the object is received along the second movement path.

  The collecting means performs a reciprocating movement of a movement substantially along the first movement path and a movement substantially opposite thereto. The movement in a direction substantially opposite to the first movement path constitutes the return operation. Thus, while the object is being transferred from the holding means to the collecting means, keep the collecting means aligned with one of the holding means and then align with the next or another one of the holding means Can do.

  In a preferred embodiment, the moving speed of the collecting means during the return step is faster than the speed during the object collecting step.

  Within the collecting means, it is preferred that an object is in contact with the next upstream and downstream objects, and a defined distance is established between each object downstream of the collecting means. This defined distance allows objects to be individually selected and transported by further processing means during manufacture of the smoking article.

  The method can further include all features shown as unique functional features of the transport apparatus according to various embodiments of the invention.

  The invention will now be further described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings.

It is a partial sectional side view of the conveying apparatus by embodiment of this invention. It is a partial bottom view of the conveying apparatus of FIG.

  FIG. 1 shows a conveying device 1 for a filter element of an object 2, in particular a smoking article. The filter element is a substantially cylindrical object. Typically, such filter elements are longer in length than diameter. In addition, the filter element can include a constriction in the nap that is a reduced diameter portion. A longitudinal axis is defined at the center of the object so as to extend parallel to the nap in the length direction of the object and perpendicular to the diameter of the object. Specifically, the object 2 can be a restrictor for a smoking article that combines with a filter material to form a filter segment for the smoking article. This type of restrictor is preferably formed of a plastic material.

  First, the object 2 is supplied to a drum 3 shown in cross section in FIG. 1, and the drum 3 rotates around its central axis 100. The drum 3 is a substantially cylindrical body including the groove 4. The groove 4 is a recess extending in the axial direction within the outer peripheral surface of the drum 3. Specifically, these grooves are formed so that the object 2 can be accommodated and held therein. Therefore, although the cross section of the groove has a shape corresponding at least partially to the outer shape of the object, it can have a shape slightly larger than the outer shape of the object so that the object can further move in the axial direction of the drum 3. When the drum 3 rotates about its central axis 100, the object 2 is conveyed outside the drum 3 along a first movement path corresponding to a circular movement path along the circumference of the drum 3. During this transporting operation, the object 2 is held at a substantially fixed position in the groove 4 of the drum 3 so as not to fall down in the radial direction. This configuration is obtained by the shape of the groove 4 or by further holding means such as a clip or a suction hole that holds the object 2 in a low pressure by applying a low pressure. Alternatively, the holding means may be a guide plate sufficiently spaced from the drum so as to prevent the object from falling from the groove during the rotational movement of the drum while allowing the object to move.

  In this embodiment of the present invention, the drum 3 constitutes the first conveying means. The first transport means can have an additional cutting mechanism for separating the objects from each other. This cutting mechanism can be realized by providing a plurality of knives next to or inside the drum. These knives can be fixed so that the object can be cut by rotating the drum. Alternatively, the knife can be rotated with the drum. In this case, the knife can be cut by an actuator such as a servo or linear drive, or a cam drive. Specifically, the filter material supplied to the drum as a longitudinally extending rod can be cut into individual objects.

  When the object 2 reaches the lowest point of the drum 3, it starts with a semi-finished product further separated into smaller individual pieces and is taken out by a second conveying means as described below.

  This second transport means is a chain drive 5 including a first sprocket 6, a second sprocket 7, and a chain 8 provided between the two sprockets 6, 7. The extension of the chain 8 is roughly aligned with the groove 4 at the lowest position of the drum 3. Accordingly, the chain drive 5 generally extends in the axial direction of the drum 3. The chain 8 is provided with two protrusions in the form of fingers 9. The fingers 9 are provided at opposite positions of the chain 8 so that the distances along both directions of the chain 8 between them are the same. The fingers 9 are connected to the chain 8 by a mechanical transmission so that the corresponding chain link moves along the first or second sprocket 6, 7 and thus maintains its orientation as it rotates. . The finger 9 protrudes into the lowermost groove 4 of the drum 3 and moves in the axial direction of the drum 3 through the entire groove 4. Thus, the finger 9 engages the rightmost and therefore most upstream object 2 in the groove 4. As a result, the most upstream object 2 comes into contact with the next downstream object 2, and so on until all the objects 2 included in the groove 4 are transferred in the axial direction of the drum 3. Therefore, in this embodiment, the axial direction of the drum 3 becomes the second movement path.

  In another embodiment, the finger 9 maintains its absolute orientation throughout the movement with the chain 8. This is illustrated in FIG. 1 by the dashed finger 9 that rotates relative to the chain link as it travels along the sprockets 6 and 7 but is initially fixed on the chain link. The In this way, the finger 9 maintains its absolute orientation. This provides the advantage that no further acceleration of the tip of the finger 9 occurs due to the rotation of the finger 9, otherwise the transport speed of the object 2 driven by the finger 9 becomes unstable or the filter element becomes It may be damaged.

  A collecting means 10 is provided at the downstream end of the groove 4. The collecting means 10 shown in cross-section in FIG. 1 is a channel and expands slightly in the direction of its receiving end 11 adjacent to the drum 3. The receiving end 11 is provided close to the drum 3 so that the receiving end 11 and the opening of the groove 4 are substantially aligned. The object 2 is pushed into the collecting means 10 from the groove 4 by the finger 9. The collecting means 10 preferably has a length of about 70 mm.

  The collecting means 10 can rotate about a substantially upright axis 200. The collecting means 10 reciprocates around the upright shaft 200. The peak-to-peak amplitude angle of the reciprocating movement is preferably a small one such as about 2 to 3 degrees. Due to the reciprocating movement of the collecting means 10 around the upright shaft 200, the receiving end 11 moves with the rotation of the drum 3, and the drum 3 rotates even while the object 2 is moving from the groove 4 to the collecting means 10. Even so, the receiving end 11 can be kept aligned with the groove 4. Specifically, the collecting means 10 is driven accurately in the rotation direction of the drum 3 for a time required until all the objects 2 are transferred from the groove 4 to the collecting means 10. Thereafter, the collecting means 10 moves in the direction opposite to the direction of movement of the drum and is aligned with the next upstream groove 4 to receive the object 2 of the next upstream groove 4. In order to allow rotational movement of the collecting means 10, a cam drive 20 is provided. The rotation of the drum 3, the chain drive 5 and the cam drive 20 are all synchronized by mechanical or electrical means to ensure that correct alignment and synchronization between the individual drives is ensured even at high transport speeds. Accordingly, the collecting means 10 is substantially adapted to follow the movement of the drum 3 along the first movement path at least while receiving the object 2 to be transferred along the second movement path.

  In this embodiment, the collecting means only performs reciprocating rotation about the upright shaft 200. Since the object 2 is transferred from the groove 4 to the collecting means 10 at a high speed with little time, this reciprocating rotational movement is sufficient. Thus, during transfer, the first travel path is substantially linear. The vertical component of the circular first movement path can be compensated by the slightly enlarged receiving end 11 of the collecting means 10. The main displacement of the groove 4 at the lowest position of the drum 3 due to the rotation of the drum 3 occurs in the horizontal direction. In this direction, the collecting means 10 follows the groove 4 by rotation about the shaft 200. be able to.

  Alternatively, the upright shaft 200 can be arranged downstream from the collecting means 10, specifically at a point of about 15 mm in the downstream direction of the collecting means 10.

  An air nozzle 12 is provided in the collecting means 10 to supply compressed air in the conveying direction of the object 2 so that the object is transferred to the downstream end 13 of the collecting means 10.

  Furthermore, an airflow nozzle (not shown for clarity) can be provided in the collecting means 10.

  In a preferred embodiment, the receiving end 11 of the collecting means 10 contacts the drum 3 when the object 2 is removed from the groove 4 to the collecting means 10.

  Adjacent to the downstream end 13 of the collecting means 10 is provided an upstream roller set 14 comprising two rollers rotating around a parallel horizontal axis. These rollers engage each other so that the lower roller drives the upper roller. As shown in FIG. 2, these rollers form a space corresponding to the outer shape of the object 2 between the rollers, and have a small diameter at the central portion of the roller so that they are in contact with each other only at the outer side in the axial direction. The outer part has a large diameter. The contact area of the rollers can include a friction enhancing material to ensure that the upper and lower rollers are synchronized. Alternatively, the roller may have small teeth, and the lower roller may be engaged with the upper roller. As a further alternative, the rollers can be synchronized by external transmission means such as a belt or chain connection or via gears.

  A downstream roller set 15 is provided next to the upstream roller set 14 in the conveyance direction of the object 2. The lower roller of the downstream roller set 15 is engaged with the upper roller and drives the upper roller in the same manner as the upstream roller set 14. The distance between these two roller sets can be adjusted according to the length of the object 2 by moving the downstream roller set 15 in the conveying direction of the object 2. The distance between the upstream roller group 14 and the downstream roller group 15 can be adjusted so that the object 2 engages with the downstream roller group 15 at the same time as the engagement between the object 2 and the upstream roller group 14 ends. Therefore, the object 2 that is separated from the collecting means 10 at the downstream end 13 is first engaged with the upstream roller set 14 and conveyed toward the downstream roller set 15, and then the downstream roller set 15 is engaged with the object 2. To do. The downstream roller set 15 is driven at a higher speed than the upstream roller set 14. Accordingly, all the objects 2 in the collecting means 10 are in contact with each other, but are separated by the two roller sets 14 and 15 having different rotational speeds, and are further conveyed while maintaining a predetermined distance from each other. In one embodiment, the speed of the downstream roller set is about four times the speed of the upstream roller set 14 so as to form a space between the objects 2.

  The upstream roller set 14 is driven by the first drive wheel 16, and the downstream roller set is driven by the second drive wheel 17. Specifically, these drive wheels are driven by a belt drive 18 having a plurality of belts. The first drive wheel 16 is engaged with the lower roller of the upstream roller set 14. The second drive wheel 17 engages with the lower roller of the downstream roller set 15.

  Further, a vertical drive shaft 19 driven by the cam drive 20 is also provided. The vertical drive shaft is a shaft that causes the collecting means 10 to reciprocate.

  The cam drive 20 is driven by gears 21 and 22 so that the movement of the collecting means 10 is synchronized with the movement of the chain drive 5 and the drum 3.

  FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the drum 3, the chain 8, the collecting means 10, and the transport disk 23. It can be seen that all the grooves 4 of the drum 3 upstream of the chain 8 on the first movement path are filled with the object 2 while the downstream grooves 4 are empty. The fingers 9 of the chain 8 push the object 2 into the collecting means 10. Since one set of objects is pushed out of the groove 4 by only one finger 9, all the objects 2 are in contact with the adjacent upstream and downstream objects 2 in the collecting means 10. The fingers 9 of the chain 8 can have a certain flexibility in the circumferential direction of the drum 3 so that the drum 3 continues to rotate while the fingers 9 move in the groove 4 or It can be made thinner than 4.

  An upstream roller set 14 and a downstream roller set 15 are provided at the downstream end 13 of the collecting means 10, and the downstream roller set 15 rotates at a higher speed so that a distance is generated between the adjacent objects 2. As can be seen in FIG. 2, these rollers have a reduced diameter for passing the object 2 between the two rollers. As the individual objects 2 pass the downstream roller set 15, each of them is engaged with the fingers 24 of the conveying disk 23 and is transferred along the curved guide means 25. The downstream roller set 15 is provided with an opening or a gap on at least one side between the rollers so that the finger 24 of the transport disk 23 can pass through the inside and take out the object 2. The speed difference between the two roller sets 14 and 15 needs to be matched so that the space generated between the objects 2 and the time required for the fingers 24 to enter between the objects 2 are correlated.

  A linear conveying means 26 for further conveying the object 2 is provided downstream of the conveying disk 23. It is also possible to supply the object 2 from the upstream part 27 of the linear conveying means 26 and interpose it between the objects 2 supplied by the conveying means 1 according to the present invention.

2 Object 3 Drum 4 Groove 5 Chain drive 6 First sprocket 7 Second sprocket 8 Chain 9 Finger 10 Collecting means 11 Receiving end 12 Air nozzle 13 Downstream end 14 Upstream roller set 15 Downstream roller set 16 First drive wheel 17 Second drive wheel 18 Belt drive 19 Vertical drive shaft 20 Cam drive 21 Gear 22 Gear 100 Center shaft 200 Upright shaft

Claims (15)

An object transfer device comprising:
A first transport unit that transports an object along a first movement path and has a plurality of object holding units;
Second conveying means for taking out the object along a second movement path different from the first movement path from at least one of the holding means of the conveying means;
And receiving the object along the second movement path, while receiving the object transferred along the second movement path, the first transport Further comprising collecting means adapted to follow movement of said means along said first movement path, said collecting means after receiving said object from at least one said holding means of said first transport means The reciprocating movement is performed by moving in a direction substantially opposite to the first movement path of the first conveying means.
A conveying apparatus characterized by that. The collecting means while the moving speed of the collecting means in the direction substantially opposite to the first moving path follows the movement of the first conveying means along the first moving path. Faster than the moving speed of
The conveying apparatus according to claim 1. The first conveying means is a drum that rotates about its central axis, the first movement path is a circumferential direction on the circumference of the drum, and the holding means is preferably substantially A groove on the outer periphery of the drum that extends along the second movement path that is the axial direction of the drum.
The conveying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein A low-pressure suction hole is arranged in the groove so that the object can be held in the groove.
The conveying apparatus according to claim 3. The collecting means is a channel adjacent to the first transport means, having a funnel-shaped receiving end, and is arranged next to the first transport means and the first of the first transport means. An object that moves along the second movement path while following the movement along the movement path of
The conveying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The channel has a cross-section adapted to the shape of the object so as to maintain the orientation of the longitudinal axis of the object substantially in the direction of the channel;
The conveying apparatus according to claim 5. The collecting means is attached by a hinge at a distance from the receiving end, so that the receiving end rotates on the hinge to the first movement path of the first transport means. Can follow the movement along,
The conveying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein Each holding means on the first conveying means holds a plurality of aligned objects, and the collecting means causes the second conveying means to transfer the plurality of aligned objects from one holding means to the collecting means. During the transfer, it is adapted to follow the movement of the first conveying means,
The conveying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The second conveying means is a belt or chain having a driving protrusion adapted to engage the object in the holding means of the first conveying means and convey the object into the collecting means. is there,
The conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein In the collecting means, at least one air nozzle is provided for supplying compressed air carrying the object,
The conveying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein The collecting means includes a downstream end adjacent to the upstream roller set disposed next to the downstream roller set, each roller set engaging the object from at least two sides, the upstream roller set being Rotating at a slower speed than the downstream roller set so that the objects adjacent to each other are separated from each other,
The conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein The distance between the upstream roller set and the downstream roller set can be adjusted to handle objects of different lengths.
The conveying apparatus according to claim 11. A method of transporting an object, specifically a filter element of a smoking article,
Conveying the objects in the plurality of holding means on the first conveying means along the first movement path;
Extracting all objects from one of the holding means along a second movement path different from the first movement path;
Collecting the object by a collecting means following the movement of the first transport means substantially along the first movement path while receiving the object along the second movement path;
Returning the collecting means by moving the collecting means in a direction substantially opposite to the first movement path so that the collecting means performs a substantially reciprocating movement;
A method comprising the steps of: The moving speed of the collecting means during the returning step is faster than the moving speed of the collecting means during the step of collecting the object.
The method according to claim 13. The conveying step is such that the object is substantially in contact with the next upstream and downstream objects within the collecting means, and a defined distance is established between each of the objects downstream of the collecting means. Including transporting objects
15. A method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that

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