JPH0317474B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a manufacturing machine for simultaneously producing two consecutive cigarette rods.

In a manufacturing machine of the above-mentioned type, it is constituted by a number of fluffing rollers and is adapted to produce at its exit a stream of tobacco strips having a width substantially equal to the length of said fluffing rollers. It is known to use a rasp device arranged in a.

This tobacco stream is divided into exactly two parts along its length to form two streams of tobacco strips, each of which is closed above by a respective suction belt. supplied to the ascending path.

According to the known method, the suction belt collects the respective tobacco strips and feeds them onto the roll of paper to form a continuous filling.

One of the drawbacks of the known manufacturing machines mentioned above is that the tobacco strips, which have different physical properties, are unevenly distributed so that the stream of tobacco leaving the fluffing device is It does not always have perfect uniformity along its length.

This results in the formation of two fillers of different thickness and/or weight for a unit length.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a manufacturing machine in which the stream of cigarettes leaving the fluffing device can be divided into two substantially identical streams.

The above-mentioned object is achieved by a manufacturing machine according to the invention for simultaneously manufacturing two continuous tobacco rods, in which the chopped tobacco strips are passed through at least two risers. and the two riser pipes each terminate directly below a suction conveyor moving in a fixed direction, said two pipes forming the upper part of said airway and supplying this air In a machine for making continuous cigarette rods, the continuous flow of tobacco strips is characterized by a thickness of supplied to the lower end of the conduit so as to be located in a direction transverse to the direction of movement of the suction conveyor;
The riser pipes are arranged with at least their lower ends parallel to each other in a direction transverse to the direction of movement of the suction conveyor, so that the successive stream of chopped tobacco strips has two successive uniform thicknesses. It is characterized by being divided into two streams.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a manufacturing machine, designated in its entirety by 1, comprising an internal chamber 2,
The base of the interior chamber is bounded by the upper part 3 of the conveyor belt 4, which runs over only one roller 5, which is visible. The upper part 3 is arranged to receive a stream of chopped tobacco leaving a fluffing device of known type (not shown) and directs the stream to one of the rollers 5 and above it. and a roller 7 rotating in the opposite direction.
supply to.

This chamber 8 communicates below with a conduit 9 connected to the outlet of a source of compressed air 10, and above with an ascending air duct, generally designated 11, formed inside a vertical column 12. I understand. Above this column 12 are two belts 14 of a suction conveyor 16 moving in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of the page of FIG.
and 15 by an inclined surface 13 which slidably supports them.

The belts 14 and 15 are made of a material permeable by the air sucked in by a suction device 17, which has two chambers 18, 1
9, these chambers communicate with the upper surfaces of the belts 14, 15, respectively, and are separated from each other by walls 20.

The air duct 11 has a lower part constituted by a rising conduit 21, the upper end of which branches to form two rising pipes, respectively designated 22 and 23. The two risers are arranged substantially in a V-shape, and the belts 14, 15
are lined up in parallel in a direction transverse to the direction of movement.

Near the upper end of each conduit 22, 23 it consists of a section 24 of enlarged cross-section, above which each communicates with an elongated hole 25, the upper end of which is connected to the belt 14, 15, respectively. They are arranged to connect with the lower surface.

The elongated holes 25 constitute the upper end of each tube 22, 23 and are arranged parallel to the aforementioned direction transverse to the direction of movement of the belts 14, 15.

The tubes 22, 23 have a substantially rectangular cross section, preferably of constant size, and the conduit 21 has a substantially rectangular shape, preferably of constant size. , and its size is essentially equal to the size of the passage 6 at least at its lower end in the direction along the aforementioned movement direction.

At its upper end, the conduit 21 is laterally bounded by the outer peripheral surfaces of two perforated rollers 26, 27.
7 are mounted inside the column 12 and rotate in opposite directions about respective tubular shafts 28, 29. The tubular shafts 28, 29 are located substantially parallel to the direction of movement and opposite to the conduit 21.

The inner surfaces of the rollers 26, 27 are partially sealed by a fixed annular sector 30;
The sector defines a perforated portion 31 through which the conduit 21 communicates with each tubular shaft 28,29.

The tubular shafts 28, 29 each have a conduit 3.
2, 33 to a conduit 36 communicating with the inlet of the air source 10, which conduit 32, 3
3 are controlled by control valves 34 and 35, respectively.

Inside the column 12 there are two tubes 22, 23 separated from each other by a wall 37.
is an upper portion 38 having a substantially rectangular cross section.
and a wedge-shaped lower portion 39, the lower tip of which is positioned to coincide with the upper end of the conduit 21.

Inside the upper part 38 is a chamber 40 which communicates at one end with the tubes 22, 23 by a number of holes 41 and at the other end with the conduit 36 by a conduit 42.
is provided.

The lower part 39 of the wall 37 can be fixed or can be a device for regulating the flow of tobacco through the tubes 22,23.

In the preferred embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the adjustment device is constituted by a curved plate 43 in the form of an airplane aileron;
At its upper part, it is rotatably attached to a shaft 44 parallel to the shafts 28, 29.

The rotational position of the curved plate 43 around the shaft 44 is controlled by an actuating device 45 and an outlet rod 46 connected to the intermediate portion of the curved plate 43. It is adjusted by being fixed in a selected position. Preferably, but not necessarily, the lower part 39 of the wall 37 has at its lower tip a means called "anti-straddling", i.e. so that tobacco strips can accumulate on said tip and straddle it. Means are arranged to prevent this from occurring.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the straddling prevention means consist of a roller 47 rotatably mounted on wall 37 so as to rotate about an axis parallel to the axes of rollers 26, 27.

A roller 47 is arranged at the lower end,
The transmission mechanism 4 is then connected to a drive device 49 arranged to reciprocate the roller 47 around its axis.
They are connected via 8.

In another embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the anti-straddling means consist of an elongated hole 50 extending in the direction of the lower extremity of the part 39 and forming a discharge nozzle of the compressed air circuit.

The compressed air circuit is provided in the chamber 5 in the section 39.
1, each communicating with an elongated hole 50 at one end and a conduit 52 connected to the output of the air source 10 at the other end.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the straddle prevention means includes a pair of left and right rollers 53 with holes;
54, these rollers are in contact with each other, and a shaft 2 is attached to the lower end of the curved plate 43.
8, 29 by respective tubular shafts 55, 56 parallel to each other. Said tubular shaft 55,5
6 are rotated clockwise and counterclockwise, respectively, and communicate with the internal holes of the rollers 53, 54 and are connected to said conduit 36 by respective conduits 57, 58.

In the modification shown in FIG. 2, the belt 14,
15 are rigid together to form a suction conveyor 16 consisting of a single belt 59;
This belt 59 closes the upper part of the two elongated holes 25.

In the variant shown in FIG. 3, a belt 59 closes the lower ends of two elongated holes 60 in line with the elongated holes 25, and a chamber 11 with the wall 20 removed.
It communicates with a single suction chamber 61 formed by 8 and 19.

In a modification not shown, the belt 59 of FIG. 3 can be replaced by the belts 14, 15 of FIG. 1.

In operation, the stream of tobacco strips leaving the passageway 6 is redirected upwards into the chamber 8 by the action of the rollers 7 and in particular by the combination of compressed air supplied from the air source 10. Go inside.

Said compressed air rises along the air duct 11 and carries the tobacco strips upwards through the conduit 21, the two tubes 22, 23, and finally to the lower surface of the suction conveyor 16, where they are inscribed. forming two continuous bands of smoked cigarettes.

During its ascent along conduit 21, the air supplied from air source 10 is primarily air and passage 6.
A large number of vortices are formed by the collision with the leaves of the tobacco strips and the redirection of the air flow and the tobacco flow. These vortices contribute to establishing a substantially uniform flow of tobacco within the conduit 21.

In other words, the action that takes place in the conduit 21 and, unlike the action that takes place in the known two rod manufacturing machines,
The remixing effect, which affects the overall flow of tobacco leaving the conduit 21, substantially uniformizes the distribution of tobacco particles of different physical properties in the flow leaving the conduit 21. As a result, this flow
9 into two ascending streams along pipes 22, 23, the two ascending streams have substantially the same physical properties, with slightly different flow velocities. It is safe to say that only.

If a curved plate 43 is provided, then the amount of tobacco flow can be adjusted by rotating the curved plate 43 around the shaft 44 to change the cross-sectional area of the entrance to the tubes 22, 23. .

The velocity of the flow of tobacco along the tubes 22, 23 can also be varied, but this effect can be achieved by using perforated drums 26, 27 in combination with a curved plate 43, or instead of this curved plate 43. It is done by using The drums 26, 27, by their rotation, facilitate the division of the flow ascending along the conduit 21 into two streams, and the valves 34,
Adjusting the suction force at 35 facilitates the introduction of the cigarette into either tube 22 or 23.

As already mentioned, the curved plate 43 can be fixed and the rollers 26, 27 as well as the holes 41 and the chambers 40 can be omitted.

The rollers 53, 54 may be unperforated, and then do not communicate with the conduit 36.

Moreover, the lower ends of the tubes 22, 23 must be arranged parallel, whereas their upper ends can be replaced with each other in the direction of movement of the suction conveyor 16, so that overall only their parts are parallel. That will happen.

Depending on the position of the suction conveyor 16, the conduit 21
is the first parallel to the moving direction of the suction conveyor 16
must be relatively large in the horizontal direction and relatively thin in a second horizontal direction transverse to this first direction, so that the flow of tobacco strips along the conduit 21 is limited in the first direction. There is a very large possibility that it will be non-uniform and will be substantially uniform in the second direction.

a continuous stream of tobacco strips is fed to the lower end of said conduit 21 such that its thickness lies transverse to the direction of movement of said suction conveyor 16;
In addition, the lower ends of the conduits 22 and 23 are arranged parallel to each other in the second direction, that is, in a direction transverse to the direction of movement of the suction conveyor 16, so that the flow of cigarette strips flowing upward along the conduit 21 is prevented. is divided in its thickness into two streams, so that the streams are substantially uniform with respect to each other everywhere in the first direction. In other words, since these two flows are in the same state and are non-uniform,
The flow is essentially the same.

According to the variant shown in FIG. 6, the lower part of the wall 37 consists essentially of a cylinder whose axis is parallel to the belts 14, 15, the diameter of which is
greater than the average thickness of. According to the particular embodiment shown therein, two tubes 22, 23
defines the curved axis surrounding the cylinder as the lower part 22
a, 23a.

According to one variant not shown, this cylinder can consist of a fixed cylindrical sphere with an axis substantially parallel to the axes of the belts 14, 15. According to the embodiment shown, on the other hand, the cylinder is constituted by a roller 47 , which is connected to a drive 49 by a transmission 48 . The flow of tobacco along the pipes 22, 23 is controlled by a regulating device consisting of two slotted holes 62, 63 which are passed through the vertical column 12 at positions corresponding to the upper end of the ascending conduit 21 and opposite each other. controlled. The slotted holes 62, 63 have axes substantially transverse to the axis of the roller 47;
These slotted holes communicate directly with the lower ends of the tubes 22,23.

A portion of each slot 62, 63 communicates with the outside world and is controlled by a respective valve element 64 provided to reduce the size of the slot 62, 63 concerned and, in its extreme, is belt 1
The communication with the outside is cut off by the protrusion of each actuating element 65, which is controlled in a prescribed manner by a metering means (not shown) provided to control the amount of cigarettes arranged on 4 and 15. become. In operation, the metering means are connected to the respective belts 14, 15.
If a difference is detected between the amounts of cigarettes that have arrived, the valve element 64 on the same side of the wall 37 as the belt 14 or 15 receiving more cigarettes is gradually opened.

By opening the associated valve element 64,
Air passes through the elongated hole 62 or 63 to the conduit 21.
, which acts as an aerodynamic source and whose effect on the flow of air ascending within the column 12 coincides with the axis of the slotted hole 62 or 63 through which the air passes, as can be seen. The effect is similar to that obtained by inserting into the conduit 21 a cylinder having an axis that corresponds to the velocity of the flow and whose diameter is of a size commensurate with the velocity of the flow.

From the foregoing, it can be seen that when air enters through the slotted holes 62, there is a commensurate reduction in the flow rate of the air/tobacco mixture that can enter the tube 22, commensurate with the amount of air introduced. It is clear that there is a commensurate reduction in the flow rate of the air-tobacco mixture that can enter the tube 23 when air is admitted through it. In this way, by the simple action of the actuating element 65, the quantities of cigarettes reaching the belts 14, 15 can be kept exactly equal to each other throughout the entire operating cycle of the production machine.

Within the principles of the invention, numerous variations of the adjustment device, which are shown in open-ended implementation, exist without departing from the scope of the invention.

In a modification not shown, the elongated holes 62, 6
3 are each constituted by a set of apertures or holes. In this case, these valve elements 64 can each be replaced by a number of opening/closing elements which are adjusted to selectively open or close, respectively, the holes or openings concerned.

In the variant shown in FIG. 7, the wall 37 is formed at its lower end by a groove 66, the surface of which groove has a cylindrical surface with an arc of less than 180°, which is joined to said cylindrical surface. Cylindrical rollers 67 having equal radii and whose axial directions are substantially parallel to the axes of the belts 14, 15 are slidably connected.

The cylindrical roller 67 forms part of a device for regulating the flow of tobacco along the tubes 22,23. For this purpose, the roller 67 is arranged to rotate about its axis relative to the wall 37 and has a metering mechanism (not shown) adjusting the control of the amount of cigarettes disposed on the belts 14, 15. It is rotated via a transmission mechanism 68 from a drive 69 which is controlled in a defined manner by means. The roller 67 includes a laterally flat surface 70 which, together with the roller 67, has a normal rest position in which the surface 70 faces the upper end of the conduit 21 and is perpendicular to the axis;
The surface 70 moves between one of the two endpoints of the operating position, in which the surface 70 occupies a position parallel to the axis of the conduit 21 and the surface 70 occupies a position facing one of the tubes 22, 23. .

In operation, movement of the surface 70 towards one of the two ends of said operating position results in a change in the cross-section of a certain portion of one of the tubes 22, 23;
In contrast, the cross-sections of the corresponding parts of the other tubes remain unchanged.

By rotating the rollers 67 in one direction or the other, the flow of cigarettes along the tubes 22, 23 can be controlled and the amount of cigarettes reaching the belts 14, 15 can be controlled over the entire working cycle of the manufacturing machine. can be kept strictly equal to each other through

In this regard, it should be noted that the velocity of the flow of tobacco through the tubes 22, 23 is generally regulated by influencing the aerodynamic conditions of one of the two tubes. Similar results are obtained for surface 7
The method is not limited to the method using the roller 67 provided with 0,
It is clear that this can also be achieved with a large number of series of regulating devices controlling the flow of the air/tobacco mixture along either tube 22, 23.

According to the invention, the continuous flow of shredded cigarettes is divided into two flow layers in the thickness direction, where the uneven distribution of shredded cigarettes is less pronounced than in the width direction. , a unique effect is obtained in that the two resulting flows have equal distribution of tobacco particles.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a portion where the end portion of a rod-shaped body is formed in the manufacturing machine of the present invention, and a portion thereof is depicted in block form. 2 and 3 are cross-sectional views schematically showing the respective deformations of the first detail in FIG. Figures 6 and 7 are schematic cross-sectional views of two variations of the third detail of Figure 1; 1... Manufacturing machine, 2... Inner room, 6... Passage,
7... Roller, 8... Chamber, 10... Compressed air source, 11... Air duct, 12... Column, 14, 15...
Belt, 16... Suction conveyor, 17... Suction device, 21... Conduit, 22, 23... Tube, 2
6,27...roller, 28,29...shaft, 37...wall, 43...curved plate, 47...roller, 50...elongated hole, 53,54...roller, 59...belt, 62, 63...Slot hole, 6
7...Roller.

Claims (1)

Claims: 1. A continuous stream of shredded tobacco strips having a relatively large width and a relatively small thickness is provided at the lower end of a rising air duct 11 comprising at least two rising pipes 22, 23. and each riser pipe 22, 23
each end directly below the suction conveyor 16 moving in a predetermined direction, and the two rising pipes 2
2 and 23 constitute the upper part of the air passage 11, and the air passage 11 connects the two riser pipes 2 below.
In a manufacturing machine 1 for simultaneously producing two continuous cigarette rods, comprising one conduit 21 connected at its upper end to the lower ends of 2, 23, said riser pipes 22, 23 have at least one The lower ends of the conveyor 16 are arranged parallel to each other in a direction transverse to the direction of movement of the conveyor 16, so that a continuous flow of the shredded tobacco strips fed to the lower end of the conduit 21 is arranged parallel to the parallel direction of the riser pipes 22, 23. two continuous streams of shredded cigarettes of equal thickness, thereby dividing the continuous stream of shredded cigarette pieces into two continuous streams of uniform thickness. Machine for simultaneous production of continuous cigarette rods. 2. Machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the two tubes (22, 23) are arranged such that their upper ends are aligned parallel to the transverse direction. 3. said two tubes 22, 23 are separated from each other by a wall 37, the lower part 39 of which is substantially wedge-shaped, the tip thereof pointing downwards and towards the upper end of said ascending conduit 21; A machine according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it is arranged as follows. 4. Machine according to claim 3, characterized in that it includes a regulating device for controlling the flow of tobacco along the two tubes (22, 23). 5. Machine according to claim 4, characterized in that the adjustment device is arranged at the lower end of the wall member 37. 6 the adjustment device comprises a shaft 44 having a substantially triangular cross section and substantially parallel to the direction of movement;
2. A curved plate 43 rotatably mounted around said shaft 44, said actuating means 45 being provided for fixing said curved plate 43 in an adjusted position about said shaft 44. Machine according to paragraph 5. 7. said adjusting device comprises a roller 67 connected to the lower end of said wall member 37 and arranged with an axis substantially parallel to said direction of movement;
7 includes a side surface 70, and actuating means 68, 69 are provided to rotate said roller 67 about its axis and move said side surface 70 towards either of said two tubes 22, 23; A machine according to claim 5, characterized in that: 8. said adjusting device consists of two rollers 26, 27 with outer peripheral parts delimiting opposite sides of the upper part of said conduit 21, said two rollers 26, 27 substantially extending in said direction of movement; Claim 4, characterized in that it is mounted on shafts (28, 29) parallel to and adapted to rotate in opposite directions around said shafts, and is provided with radial holes communicating with the air suction means (10). The machine described in. 9 the adjustment device has at least two openings 62;
63, characterized in that the openings 62, 63 are controlled by associated valve elements 64 and are arranged to be located at the lower end of each said tube 22, 23 in direct communication with the outside. A machine according to claim 4. 10 said wall member 37 comprises a lower portion having a substantially cylindrical shape, said cylindrical lower portion being disposed with its axis in a direction substantially parallel to said direction of movement; and Machine according to claim 9, characterized in that the wall (37) has a diameter that is greater than the average thickness. 11. The straddling prevention means 47-50, 53-54 are supported by the wall member 37 to prevent cigarette pieces from accumulating and straddling the tip. A machine according to claim 3. 12. The straddle prevention means comprises a roller 47 having an axis parallel to the moving direction and supported at the tip by the wall member 37, and driving means 48, 49 move the roller 47 in relation to the roller 47. 12. A machine according to claim 11, wherein the machine is arranged to reciprocate about the axis. 13 The straddling prevention means is comprised of an elongated hole 50 formed in the wall member 37 along the tip, and the elongated hole 50 is connected to the compressed air supply circuits 51 and 5.
12. Machine according to claim 11, characterized in that it constitutes 2.10 discharge nozzles. 14. The straddling prevention means consists of two rollers that are in contact with each other and rotate in opposite directions, the axes of the rollers being parallel to the moving direction and supported at their tips by the wall member 37. 12. Machine according to claim 11, characterized in that: 15. The machine according to claim 14, wherein the rollers 53, 54 have holes in their circumferential surfaces and communicate with the air suction means 10 inside. 16 At a position where the wall member 37 corresponds to the upper portion of the tubes 22, 23, a number of holes 41 whose one end communicates with the tubes 22, 23 and the other end communicates with the air suction means 10. One of the claims characterized in that it comprises:
Machines listed in Section. 17 The suction conveyor 16 connects the air suction chamber 17, the upper ends of the pipes 22 and 23, and the chamber 17.
a belt means 1 for permeating air disposed between
Machine according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it consists of: 4, 15, 59. 18 The belt means comprises two belts 14,1
18. Machine according to claim 17, characterized in that the two belts are arranged facing the upper ends of the associated tubes (22, 23). 19 The belt means connects the two tubes 22, 2
18. Machine according to claim 17, characterized in that it consists of a single belt 59 arranged facing the upper end of the belt. 20. Machine according to claim 18 or 19, characterized in that said chamber 17 consists of a single chamber 61 communicating with said two tubes 22, 23. 21. Machine according to claim 18 or claim 19, characterized in that said chamber 17 consists of two chambers 18, 19 communicating with said respective tubes 22, 23, respectively.