JP5096144B2 - Equipment for transferring rod-shaped articles - Google Patents

Abstract

Filters (2) dispensed from a hopper (6) are taken up by aspirating flutes (13) on the periphery of a rotating drum (11) and transferred to a pneumatic feed duct (5) along which each one is propelled in turn toward a filter tip attachment machine (4). A transfer station (27) located beneath the drum (11) is occupied by a body (14) of which a first portion functions as a concave sealing block (19) capable of movement between a first position of contact with the cylindrical face of the drum (11), and a second position distanced from the drum (11) ; the feed duct (5) includes a channel (29) incorporated into a second portion (20) of the body (14), and therefore integral with the sealing block (19), so that with the block distanced from the drum (11), the channel (29) assumes a position in which the opposite ends are exposed and accessible, allowing an operator to clean the duct or remove a blockage.

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for transferring a rod-shaped article such as a cigarette filter.

  In particular, the present invention relates to an apparatus for transferring a filter from an in-line storage unit installed on the outlet side of a filter manufacturing machine to an inlet of a pneumatic supply duct connected to a feed hopper constituting a filter chip mounting machine.

  Prior art includes an apparatus that constitutes a magazine case filled with a mass of filters stacked horizontally in the longitudinal direction, as disclosed, for example, in US Pat. No. 3,827,757. The filters are transported one by one to the inlet of the pneumatic supply duct, from which they are propelled along the duct in a direction parallel to the axis of the filter itself.

  The apparatus for transferring the filter from the bottom of the magazine case to the entrance of the duct is typically means for rotating around a horizontal axis and constituting a drum arranged parallel to the axis of the individual filters. In the periphery, suction grooves extending parallel to the rotation axis, each of which can be fitted to a single filter, are arranged.

  Filters are dropped from the magazine into the drum groove by gravity, rotated approximately 180 degrees on the outer periphery, and then continuously carried one by one to the transfer stations that are sequentially poured by compressed air. It is guided along the pneumatic duct towards.

  The apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,827,757 further includes a cylindrically recessed surface sealing member associated with the cylindrical surface of the drum that is coupled to the bottom of the drum.

  The sealing member substantially contacts the cylindrical surface of the drum, and when the apparatus is in operation, the raised first position covers the groove of the drum, the daily cleaning, or the filter is in one groove of the drum or in the pneumatic duct. A vertical movement is possible between the second position lowered and away from the drum so that other maintenance operations can be performed, such as removal of clogging that may occur when stuck to the entrance.

  However, for certain types of clogging, it is not possible to remove the filter even when the sealing member is away from the transfer station, especially if the filter is completely or almost completely inserted into the duct entrance. It is known that it is extremely difficult.

  The object of the present invention is typically a device for the transfer of rod-shaped articles, such as cigarette filters, which is unaffected by the drawbacks in the above problems and which is a simple and simple embodiment of the transfer of rod-shaped articles. Is to provide a device.

  The above object is achieved by the present invention relating to a device for transferring a rod-like article, typically a cigarette filter, whose characteristic mechanism is set forth in the appended claim 1.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings by way of examples.

  Referring to FIGS. 1 and 5, reference numeral 1 indicates that a pneumatic article, such as a cigarette filter, is supplied from a supply means 3 to a user's equipment, such as a filter chip mounting machine, schematically represented by a block 4. 1 represents the entire device transferred by a supply duct 5.

  The feeding device 3 in question consists of a hopper 6 and front and rear walls, denoted 7 and 8, interconnected with walls 9 and 10 on both sides, respectively. The filter 2 is stacked horizontally on the side walls 7 and 8 of the hopper 6 surrounded by the drum 11 at the bottom. The drum 11 is rotatably installed around a central shaft 12 that extends horizontally on the side walls 7 and 8, and has a plurality of suction grooves 13 that can be fitted to the individual filters 2 in the axial direction around the drum 11. .

  As also depicted in FIG. 4, the apparatus 1 is further disposed below the drum 11, is diametrically opposed to the hopper 6, and is long disposed on an axis A parallel to the rotary shaft 12. It includes a body 14 with a stretched appearance. The bottom of the body 14 is a flat horizontal surface 15, and the side surfaces are two vertical surfaces 16 parallel to the axis A, while a vertical back surface 17 and a vertical surface 18 are at the ends perpendicular to these sides. Is arranged.

  The body 14 extends beyond the right end face 21 of the drum 11 as seen in the direction of the first part or the sealing member 19 located directly below the drum 11 and the air pressure supply duct 5 in FIGS. The second portion 20 extends.

  The aforementioned sealing member 19 is a cylinder of the drum 11 so that the cylindrically recessed surface 22 functions as a radial sealing member covering all the grooves 13 surrounded by the arc 23 (see FIG. 4). The upper limit is set by proceeding to the surface and fitting together.

  The second portion 20 is capped by a flat horizontal surface 24 and a vertical surface 25 adjacent to the recessed surface 22 due to the presence of the drum 11 at the end. With careful attention to FIGS. 1 and 4, this same surface 25 fits snugly to a position that substantially contacts the lower portion 26 of the right end surface 21 of the drum 11.

  In particular, at the transfer station 27, the recessed surface 22 provides an element that surrounds and seals the lower part of the drum 11. The individual stations 2 are preferably directed to the transfer station 27 by means of drums 11 marked in the direction of rotation, and from the transfer station 27 the second part 20 when the associated groove 13 occupies the station 27. The individual filters 2 are discharged pneumatically into the supply duct 5 through an inlet in the form of a conduit 29 which is incorporated in and aligned with the groove 13.

  In particular, the conduit 29 installed in the second part of the body 14 is also the movable part 29 of the pneumatic supply duct 5 and is the fixed part of the groove 13 of the drum 11 and the pneumatic supply duct 5 in the operating position of FIG. It also functions as an air inlet portion 28 that connects 5a.

  As shown in FIGS. 4, 6 and 7, the entire sliding means 30 is sandwiched in the body 14 so that it can reciprocate parallel to the axis A, and the two limits shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. It is incorporated together to support the entire means 31 that also allows vertical movement between positions.

  More precisely, the slide means 30 includes a slide 32 fixed below the body 14 and two slides extending in parallel with the axis A of the body and fixed to the support means 31 at opposite ends. A rail 33 is provided.

  The slide 32 is substantially rectangular and has a large area extending parallel to the axis A of the body 14 and includes two side-by-side blocks each having a pair of through holes 35 for receiving the rails 33. 34a and 34b. The two blocks 34 a and 34 b are connected to each other by a web 36.

  The support means 31 is composed of a frame frame 37 having a substantially elongated rectangular outer shape. The frame frame 37 includes two horizontal bars 39a in which both ends of two slide rails 33 are embedded, and There are two longitudinal bars 38 parallel to axis A, interconnected one at both ends by 39b.

  Further, the support means 31 can be reciprocated by a drive means schematically shown as a block 41, inserted through a hole 42 provided in the web 36 of the slide 32, and connected to the middle of the frame 37. It comprises a vertical shaft 40 fixed at the top end.

  The horizontal bar 43 connecting the middle extends outward beyond the vertical bar 38 and has two protrusions 44 each provided with a bush that fits so that two vertical guide bars 46 parallel to the vertical axis 40 can slide. (Refer to FIGS. 5, 6 and 7).

  With the arrangement described above, the driving means 41 can move the body 14 in the vertical direction toward the drum 11 or away from the body 14 while sliding the body 14 itself in parallel with the axis A (FIG. 1). And 3).

  A spring means 47 embodied as a compression coil spring 48 mounted on the outer periphery of the slide rail 33 between the left lateral bar 39a seen in FIGS. 4, 6 and 7 and the corresponding slide block 34a. As shown in FIG. 1, a pressing force can be applied to the slide 32 and the body 14 from left to right.

  When the conduit 29 occupies the position of FIG. 1 serving as the inlet of the supply duct 5, it is installed immediately after the second portion 20 described above, and is provided in the second portion of the body 14. Between the movable conduit 29 and the fixed part 5a of the duct 5, a joint part 49 that builds a pneumatic joint also forms part of the device.

  The joint portion 49 is capable of axial movement along the axis A of the body 14, and in particular, with respect to the tubular element 50 that incorporates the insertion port of the fixed portion 5 a and is inserted into the joint portion 49. It is possible to slide.

  The above-described axial movement is performed between two limit positions by means of a driving means 51 dedicated to this joint part 49, indicated by a block. One of them is an airtight contact position between the joint portion 49 shown in FIG. 1 and the lateral front surface 18 provided in the second portion of the body 14. In the other position shown in FIG. 2, the joint portion 49 is away from the lateral front face 18, so that the air continuity of the supply duct 5 is broken.

  2 and 7, when the slide 32 pressed against the spring 48 abuts against the stop element 52 projecting from the bar 39b of the corresponding frame 37 toward the block 34b, it is lateral to the joint portion 49. It will be seen that the front face 18 is separated.

  During operation, the filter 2 that descends from the hopper 6 due to gravity is caught in the groove 13 of the drum 11 that rotates intermittently counterclockwise as seen in FIG. 4, and each is connected to a compressed air source 55. One by one is transferred to the transfer station 27 located in line with the outlet 53 of the duct 54.

  Referring to FIG. 1, assuming normal operation of the present transfer device, one filter 2 passes from the groove 13 along the supply duct 5 through the conduit 29, the joint portion 49, and the fixed portion 5 a of the duct 5. To the filter chip mounting device 4 by air pressure.

  If, for example, clogging occurs as a result of the filter 2 being completely or partially grasped at the inlet of the supply port 5, ie inside the conduit 29, the driver will have the following sequence in the arrangement as described above: By performing the steps, the obstacle can be removed from the device 1.

  Starting from the normal operating state shown in FIG. 1, that is, the state in which the movable part 29 and the groove 13 of the drum 11 are connected to each other, the joint part 49 is slid on the tubular element 50 by the driving means 51 and is moved to the drum 11. Pulled away from.

  In the first stage of the sliding operation, the body 14 moves according to the joint portion 49 while receiving the force of the spring means 47. Then, even if the surface 25 of the second portion 20 is separated from the corresponding end surface 21 of the drum 11, the lateral front surface 18 initially remains in contact with the joint portion.

  When the surface 25 of the second part is separated from the end face 21 of the drum 11, the movable part 29 is disconnected from the groove 13 of the drum 11, so that the continuity of the air pressure of the supply duct 5 is interrupted.

  During the second stage of the sliding movement, i.e. after the body 14 has reached its limit position and the block 34b of the slide 32 has come into contact with the stop element 52, as shown in FIG. 18 is separated from the joint portion 49.

  In this state, the body 14 is free from restrictions and can be moved to the position of FIG.

  At this stage, the position occupied by the conduit 29 is open and ready for operation, and the operator is free to perform any necessary repair work, for example using pneumatic or mechanical tools. Can be implemented.

  Importantly, at this same stage when the body 14 is moved away from the transfer station 27, it is easy to remove a filter that may be clogged between the movable conduit 29 and the entrance of the joint portion 49. .

1 is a front view showing a device for transferring a filter embodied by the present invention, schematically showing a first operating position together with a cross-section of components. FIG. It is a figure which shows the further different operation position of the apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows the further different operation position of the apparatus of FIG. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing the details of FIG. 1 in a perspective view. It is a front view which shows the arrow F of the apparatus of FIG. 1, and omits a certain component in order to show another component, and shows it schematically. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing details of FIG. 4, schematically showing an operation position corresponding to FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing details of FIG. 4, schematically showing an operation position corresponding to FIG. 2.

Claims (8)

Means (3) for supplying the article (2);
A pneumatic supply duct (5) through which the article (2) is carried to the user's machine (4);
Pneumatic supply through the transfer station (27) where the article (2) is captured from the supply means (3) and the groove (13) is carried axially in line with the inlet of the pneumatic supply duct (5) A drum (11) rotatable about an associated axis (12) provided with a plurality of axial intake grooves (13) transferred to the duct (5);
A rod-shaped article comprising a body (14) disposed under a drum (11), the body including a sealing member (19) disposed directly under the drum (11) as a first portion. A device for transporting,
The sealing member (19) has a cylindrically recessed surface (22) that matches the cylindrical surface of the drum (11) so as to function as a sealing member covering the groove (13) and Movable between a first position substantially in contact with the cylindrical surface of the drum (11) at a station (27) and a second position remote from the drum (11);
The body (14) is a second part (20) which is embodied in an integrated manner with the sealing member (19) and is movable with the sealing member, in the direction in which the air pressure supply duct (5) continues. 11) further comprising a second portion (20) extending beyond one side of
The pneumatic supply duct (5) is located between the groove (13) of the drum (11) and the fixed part (5a) of the pneumatic supply duct (5) when the sealing member (19) occupies the first position. An inlet portion (28) in the form of a conduit (29) incorporated in the second portion (20) and aligned with the groove (13) ( 28)
An apparatus for transferring a rod-shaped article. The air pressure supply duct (5) is further provided between the air inlet portion (28) and the fixed portion (5a), and the air intake duct (5) is connected to the air inlet portion (28) of the air pressure supply duct (5) from the operating position. Comprising a joint part (49) operable by individual drive means 51 to an operating position remote from the mouth part (28);
The apparatus of claim 1. The sealing member (19) is provided on the individual support means (31) capable of lateral movement in the direction of the rotation axis (12) of the drum (11), at a first position substantially in contact with the drum, and from the drum. Mounted in a way that reciprocates between a second position apart,
The apparatus is further provided between the support means (31) and the sealing member (19), so that the movable part (29) of the member (19) and the air pressure supply duct (5) is provided on the drum (11). Comprising slide means (30) capable of sliding in a direction parallel to the rotation axis (12),
The apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. The movable part (29) of the sealing member (19) and the air pressure supply duct (5) includes a first operating position where the movable part (29) is connected to the groove (13) of the drum (11), and the movable part. (29) is separated from the groove (13) of the drum (11), and a sliding movement between the second position where the air pressure continuity of the supply duct (5) is cut off is possible.
The apparatus of claim 3. The joint portion (49) is individually moved by the driving means (51) between the position of contact with the air inlet portion (28) of the air pressure supply duct (5) and the position away from the air inlet portion (28). As a result of being moved, in the first and second positions, the movable inlet part (29) and the groove (13) of the drum (11) are individually connected or separated,
Apparatus according to claim 3 or claim 4 . The action applied to the joint part (49) by the drive means (51) is counteracted by the spring means (47).
The apparatus according to claim 5. A body (14) comprising a first part constituting a sealing member (19) and a second part (20) incorporating a conduit (29) constituting a movable part (29) of the pneumatic supply duct (5). )
Apparatus according to any of claims 1-6. The second part (20) of the body (14) has a vertical surface (25) adjacent to the recessed surface (22), and a lower part (26) of one end surface (21) of the drum (11). On the other hand, when the second part (20) occupies the first operating position where air pressure continuity is established, it comes into contact with the lower part (26), and the second part (20) is in the second operating position. Separate from the lower part (26) when occupying position,
The apparatus according to claim 7.

Images