JPH05227938A - Regulator for printing density of cigarette in machine for producing cigarette - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a regulator for the printing density of a cigarette in a machine for producing the cigarette capable of detecting the printing density of a mark printed on rolling paper of the cigarette and automatically regulating the printing density. CONSTITUTION:The objective regulator for the printing density of a cigarette is constructed by installing an ink feeder 39 for enabling the feed of a printing ink toward a printing part 20 of a mark, a color mark sensor 78, arranged between the printing part 20 and a rolling part and capable of detecting the printing density of the mark on roll paper, a level discriminating part 92 capable of discriminating the density level of the mark based on the sensor signal from the color mark sensor 78 and a CPU 94 capable of controlling the operation of the ink feeder 39 based on the discrimination results in the discriminating part 92.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cigarette print density adjusting device for a cigarette making machine, which is capable of adjusting the print density of a predetermined mark when printing a predetermined mark on a cigarette wrapping paper.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the production of cigarettes, it goes without saying that the quality and taste of cut tobacco must be kept constant, but it is also important to keep the appearance quality of cigarettes constant. For example, in a cigarette in which a predetermined mark is printed on the wrapping paper, it is necessary to maintain the appearance quality by making the print density of the mark constant.

By the way, the printing of the mark on the wrapping paper is carried out by the printing unit incorporated in the cigarette making machine. This printing unit prints the mark on the wrapping paper just before the cut tobacco is wrapped. Is arranged to print. For this reason, when visually inspecting the print density of the mark, the process of wrapping the cut tobacco on the wrapping paper at the top of the roll, and the process of cutting the rod-shaped cigarette into individual cigarettes at the cutting part However, since the wrapping paper or cigarette itself is traveling at a high speed, its visual inspection is virtually impossible, and therefore, conventionally, the operator of the cigarette making machine finally produced the cigarette. After that, the cigarette is taken out and the cigarette is visually inspected to determine the print density of the mark.

When it is determined that the print density of the mark is out of the allowable range, the operator manually increases or decreases the supply amount of the print ink to the printing unit so that the print density falls within the allowable range. ing.

[0005]

According to the above-mentioned adjustment of the print density, since the print density of the mark is visually inspected by sampling after the cigarette is manufactured, the print density of the mark is acceptable in this visual inspection. When it is determined that the cigarette is out of the range, many defective cigarettes have already been manufactured.

Further, since the visual inspection of the printing density and the adjustment of the supply amount of the printing ink are both performed manually, the operator always operates the cigarette manufacturing machine.
Alternatively, there is a problem that it needs to be regularly monitored and a lot of manpower is required for manufacturing the cigarette. The present invention has been made based on the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to detect the print density of a mark without relying on human hands,
It is another object of the present invention to provide a cigarette print density adjusting device in a cigarette manufacturing machine that can automatically adjust the amount of print ink supplied to the printing unit based on the detected print density data.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A cigarette print density adjusting device according to the present invention comprises an ink supplier capable of supplying printing ink to a printing section of a cigarette manufacturing machine, a printing section and a winding section. A density detection sensor which is arranged between the two, and which detects the print density of the mark printed on the wrapping paper, a judgment means for judging the density level of the mark on the wrapping paper based on the sensor signal from this density detection sensor, and this judgment And a control unit that controls the operation of the ink supply unit and adjusts the supply amount of the printing ink based on the determination result of the unit.

[0008]

According to the above-mentioned print density adjusting device, the print density of the mark printed on the wrapping paper is immediately detected by the density detection sensor after the wrapping paper has passed through the printing section, and is detected by the sensor signal from the density detection sensor. Based on this, the determination means determines the mark density level. If it is determined from the determination result that the mark density level is high, that is, the print density is high, the control means controls the operation of the ink supply device in the direction of decreasing the supply amount of the printing ink, and On the other hand, when it is determined that the density level of the mark is low, the control means controls the operation of the ink supply device in the direction of increasing the supply amount of the printing ink.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG. 1, a cigarette making machine is schematically illustrated. In this cigarette manufacturing machine, the cut tobacco is sucked in the chimney 2 and rises, and is adsorbed in layers on the lower surface of the perforated conveyor belt (not shown) in the intake unit 4. The sucked and held cut tobacco is conveyed to the left in FIG. 1 as the perforated conveyor belt runs, and is adjusted to an appropriate layer thickness by a trimming device (not shown).

The measured amount of cut tobacco is transferred onto a wrapping paper 6 fed from a wrapping paper roll (not shown), and thereafter, the wrapping paper 6 is superposed on a garniture tape 8,
As the garniture tape 8 travels, it further travels leftward in FIG. 1 and passes through the winding portion 10. Garniture tape 8
Is composed of an endless tape wound around a large number of rollers, and is driven by rotating the drive drum 12 in one direction.

When the wrapping paper 6 on which the cut tobacco is placed passes through the winding head 10 together with the garniture tape 8, first, one side edge of the wrapping paper 6 is bent to wrap the cut tobacco, and then the other side edge of the wrapping paper 6 is glued. After being applied, the other side edge is bent so as to be overlapped with the one side edge and is bonded to the one side edge, so that a rod-shaped cigarette is formed.

The cigarette thus formed, in the process of passing directly under the pair of heaters 14 and 16,
The glued portion of the wrapping paper 6 is dried, and thereafter, the rod-shaped cigarette is cut into a predetermined length when passing through the cutting unit 18, and becomes individual cigarettes. Although not shown, these cigarettes are supplied to a filter attachment and a packaging machine that are sequentially connected to the cigarette manufacturing machine.

The wrapping paper 6 has passed through the printing section 20 before reaching the above-mentioned winding section 10, and at this printing section 20,
A predetermined mark is printed on the surface of the wrapping paper 6. Such marks include cigarette brands, manufacturing factory numbers, and cigarette manufacturing machine numbers. The printing unit 20 described above is shown in FIG. 2, and will be described in detail below.

The printing unit 20 is provided with a case frame 22 attached to the base of the cigarette making machine, and an inlet 24 and an outlet 26 of the wrapping paper 6 are formed in the case frame 22, respectively. The wrapping paper 6 is guided from the wrapping paper roll through a large number of guide rollers 28, and is introduced into the inside of the case frame 22 from the inlet 24. Case frame 22
Inside, the wrapping paper 6 is guided through the guide roller 30 between the printing roller 32 and the pinch roller 34,
After this, further, the feeding roller 36 and the pinch roller 38
It is led out to the outside of the case frame 22 through the space between

As shown in FIG. 3, when the driving force from the driving source is transmitted to the input shaft, the driving force is transmitted to the printing roller 32 via the gear train, so that the printing roller 32 is
It can rotate in one direction at a predetermined rotation speed. A printing stencil (not shown) is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the printing roller 32. Therefore, the printing ink is supplied to the printing stencil of the printing roller 32, and the space between the printing roller 32 and the pinch roller 34 is increased. When the wrapping paper 6 passes through, the above-mentioned marks are printed on the wrapping paper 6 at a predetermined interval.

The delivery roller 36 is also rotatable in one direction at a predetermined peripheral speed by transmitting a driving force from the same drive source as the printing roller 32 through the gear train. Therefore, the feeding roller 36 and the pinch roller 3
By passing the wrapping paper 6 between the wrapping paper 8 and the wrapping paper 8, a predetermined traveling speed is given to the wrapping paper 6. Printing unit 20
Includes an ink supplier 39 that supplies printing ink toward the printing roller 32.
Is an ink pot 40 arranged outside the case frame 22.
Is equipped with. Although not shown, an ink cartridge is replaceably housed in the ink pot 40, and a large amount of printing ink is stored in the ink cartridge.

The ink pot 40 is connected to an ink nozzle unit 44 via an ink supply hose 42 shown by a one-dot chain line, and the ink nozzle unit 44 is arranged in the case frame 22. .. Also,
The ink pot 40 is connected to the control valve unit 48 via a pneumatic hose 46 shown by a one-dot chain line,
Air pressure from an air pressure source is supplied to the connection connector 50 of the control valve unit 48.

On the other hand, the ink nozzle unit 44 comprises a print ink discharge nozzle portion 52 and a plunger type pump portion 54 for controlling the discharge of the print ink from the discharge nozzle portion 52. The nozzle part 52 is connected to the ink pot 40 via an ink supply hose 42, while the pump part 54 is connected to a control valve via a pair of pneumatic hoses 56, as indicated by the chain line. It is connected to the unit 48.

Although not shown, the control valve unit 48 is composed of a plurality of solenoid valves and an electric circuit for controlling the operation of these solenoid valves, whereby the ink pot 40 and the ink nozzle unit are connected from the air pressure source. The air pressure supplied to the pump unit 54 of 44 is controlled.
Specifically, the control valve unit 48 supplies a constant air pressure to the ink pot 40 through the corresponding solenoid valve and the pneumatic hose 46, and this air pressure causes the printing ink in the ink pot 40 to become ink. The pressure is applied so as to push it toward the nozzle unit 44.

Further, the control valve unit 48 switches and operates the corresponding solenoid valves, so that the pair of pneumatic hoses 56 are operated.
While the air pressure is alternately supplied to the air hose 56, the air hose 56 to which the air pressure is not supplied is opened to the atmosphere, whereby the pump 54 of the ink nozzle unit 44, that is, its plunger is predetermined. As a result, the printing ink can be ejected intermittently from the ejection nozzle portion 52. Therefore, if the period of reciprocating motion of the plunger, that is, its pumping period is changed by controlling the supply of air pressure to the pump unit 54, the ejection amount of the printing ink from the ejection nozzle unit 52 per predetermined time is adjusted. can do.

Immediately below the ink nozzle unit 44, a transfer roller 58 and a free roller 60 that is in rolling contact with the transfer roller 58 are rotatably arranged, and the printing ink ejected from the nozzle unit 44 is Roller 5
8,60 First, while being received, it is stretched to some extent. Further, another free roller 62 is in rolling contact with the transfer roller 58, and the free roller 62 is
The sliding roller 64 having a large diameter is in rolling contact with the sheet, and the sliding roller 64 is in rolling contact with the printing roller 32 described above through the free roller 66.

As shown in FIG. 3, the sliding roller 64
Also, like the printing roller 32 and the feeding roller 36, they can be rotated by receiving a driving force from the same driving source. Further, the sliding roller 64 is driven by the cylindrical cam 64A so as to move in the traveling direction of the wrapping paper 6. The reciprocating motion is repeated in the vertical direction. Therefore, the sliding roller 64
The printing ink transferred to is sufficiently stretched in the axial direction on the outer circumference of the sliding roller 64. Also, the cylindrical cam 64A
Is driven by the variable speed motor 64B, the cycle of the reciprocating motion of the sliding roller 64 can be adjusted to an appropriate one.

Therefore, when the sliding roller 64 is rotationally driven, the free rollers 60, 62, 66 and the transfer roller 58.
Also, since the ink is rotated at the same time, the print ink ejected from the ink nozzle unit 44 is supplied to the print roller 32 while being sequentially transferred to each roller, and in the supply process, the print ink is It will be fully extended.

The wrapping paper 6 led out of the case frame 22.
After being guided to the position adjusting roller 70 via the guide roller 68, it is further guided to the pair of guide rollers 72 and 74 and guided to the winding section 10 described above.
The position adjusting roller 70 is eccentrically attached to the output shaft of the pulse motor 76, and thus the pulse motor 76 is
Of the guide roller 6 by changing the rotation angle of the position adjusting roller 70 centered on the output shaft in FIG.
It is possible to change the path length of the wrapping paper 6 between the guide roller 72 and the guide roller 72, that is, the path length to the cutting portion 18, whereby the position of the mark printed on the wrapping paper 6 and the winding portion at the cutting portion 18 described above. A position adjustment can be made between the tobacco cutting position.

This point will be specifically described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, the marks M for two cigarettes are sequentially printed on the wrapping paper 6 in a state of being close to each other, and the cutting unit 18 cuts the wrapping paper, that is, the cigarette at the position of the broken line in FIG. As a result, individual cigarettes are manufactured. Therefore, if slippage or the like occurs in the wrapping paper 6 in the supply path of the wrapping paper 6, the cutting position with respect to the wrapping paper 6 also shifts, and it becomes impossible to cut accurately at the intermediate position between the marks M. However, in such a case, the path length of the wrapping paper 6 to the cutting portion 18 is adjusted by changing the rotational angle position of the position adjusting roller 70 as described above, and thus the wrapping paper 6, that is, the cutting of the cigarette is cut. It can be carried out at the correct position.

A color mark sensor 78 is arranged between the guide rollers 72 and 74 described above. The color mark sensor 78 projects light toward the wrapping paper 6, receives reflected light from the wrapping paper 6, and from this reflected light,
The print density of the mark M can be detected. Therefore,
The mark M printed on the wrapping paper 6 as the wrapping paper 6 travels
When the color mark sensor 78 passes through the color mark sensor 78, the color mark sensor 78 outputs a sensor signal indicating the print density, as shown in FIG.

The sensor signal from the color mark sensor 78 is used to control the operation of the ink supplier 39 described above. That is, referring to FIG. 5, a control circuit of an embodiment between the color mark sensor 78 and the ink supplier 39 is shown in a block diagram. In this block diagram, first, the sensor signal of the color mark sensor 78 is shown. After being amplified by the amplifier 80, in this embodiment, the peak hold circuit 82 holds the peak values of the sensor signals for two cigarettes. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the sensor signal of the color mark sensor 78 is
According to the peak value, the output signal is converted into a trapezoidal waveform.

The output signal of the hold circuit 82 is then sampled by a predetermined number in a sample hold circuit 84 and integrated or added by an integrator circuit 86. After that, in the arithmetic circuit 88, the average value of the peak values is calculated based on the integrated value from the integrating circuit 86 and the sampling number, and this average value, that is, the average density value DA is calculated.
The density average value DA thus obtained is A / D converted by the A / D converter 90 and supplied to the level determination unit 92 and the central processing unit (CPU) 94, respectively.

The upper limit value DMAX and the lower limit value DMIN of the density level which are preset by the CPU 94 are supplied to the level determination section 92, and the level determination section 92
For the upper limit value DMAX and the lower limit value DMIN, the density average value D
A is compared with each other, and a signal indicating the comparison result and a control signal are supplied to the CPU 94. For example, the signal indicating the comparison result includes a dark display signal SN indicating that the density average value DA is larger than the upper limit value DMAX, and conversely, a light display signal indicating that the density average value DA is smaller than the lower limit value DMIN. There are a dark abnormality signal SNE and a light abnormality signal STE indicating that ST and the average density value DA are abnormal, respectively. Further, the control signal outputs the dark display signal SN and the print density of the mark M on the paper wrapper 6. There is a dark control signal SNC for making the mark M lighter, and conversely, there is a light control signal STC for making the print density of the mark M darker with the output of the light display signal ST.

When the CPU 94 receives the dark display signal SN, it turns on the dark display lamp 96 and, at the same time, controls the operation of the ink supplier 39 based on the dark control signal SNC. When you receive ST,
The CPU 94 turns on the light indicator lamp 98 and, at the same time, controls the operation of the ink supply device 39 based on the light control signal STC.

If the print density of the mark M does not fall within the allowable range even if the operation of the ink supply device 39 is controlled, the level determination unit 92 outputs dark or light abnormality signals SNE and STE to the CPU 94. At this time, the CPU 94
For example, the operation of the cigarette manufacturing machine can be stopped. The procedure of the control routine based on the sensor signal of the color mark sensor 78 described above is also shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 6 to 8, and will be described below based on this flowchart.

First, in step S1, the density peak value of the mark M, that is, the density data Dn is input, and the density average value DA is calculated from these density data Dn (step S2). In the next step S3, it is determined whether or not the rich flag FN is set to 1. At this point,
The determination result is NO (NO), and the process proceeds to step S4.

At step S4, it is judged if the density average value DA is larger than the upper limit value DMAX. If the judgment result is NO, the dark display lamp 96 and the dark abnormality signal SNE are detected.
Are both turned off (steps S5 and S6). That is, in this case, the dark display lamp 96 is maintained in the off state, and the CPU
94 does not receive the dark abnormality signal SNE. After this,
In step S7, it is determined whether or not the light flag FT is set to 1. Whether or not the determination result is negative at this point, and whether the density average value DA is smaller than the lower limit value DMIN is determined next. Is determined (step S8). If the determination result here is negative, both the light display lamp 98 and the light abnormality signal STE are turned off (steps S9 and S10). Therefore, in this case, the light display lamp 98 is kept in the off state, and the CPU 94 is light abnormality. The signal STE is never supplied.

After that, the process returns to step S1 and the steps after this step are repeated, but if the determination result of step S4 becomes positive (YES) at a certain point, the process proceeds from step S11 to step S11. In this step, after the dark display lamp 96 is turned on and turned on, the operation of the ink supply device 39 described above is controlled,
The amount of printing ink ejected from the ink nozzle unit 44 per unit time is reduced (step S1).
2) Then, in the next step S13, the dark flag FN
Is set to 1. Therefore, in such a situation, the CPU 94 causes the dark display signal SN and the dark control signal SNC to
The dark display lamp 96 is turned on by receiving the
The amount of printing ink ejected from the ink nozzle unit 44 is reduced.

Here, the control of reducing the printing ink is carried out by controlling the operation of the above-mentioned control valve unit 48, and in this case, the CPU 94 causes the density average value DA, for example.
The pumping period of the pump portion 54 in the ink nozzle unit 44 is lengthened according to the deviation between the upper limit value DMAX and the upper limit value DMAX, whereby the ejection amount of the printing ink is reduced.

As described above, after the ejection amount of the printing ink is controlled, the process returns to step S1 and if this step and subsequent steps are repeated, the dark flag FN has already been set to 1 in the previous step S13. Since is set, the determination result of step S3 is positive. So in this case,
The process proceeds to step S14 of FIG. 7, and in this step, similarly to the case of step S4 described above, it is determined whether or not the density average value DA is larger than the upper limit value DMAX. If the determination result here is negative, the dark flag FN is reset to 0, the process returns to step S1, and the steps after this step are repeated. In such a situation, step S3,
Since the determination results of S4 are all negative, the next step S
At 5, the dark display lamp 96 is turned off.

On the other hand, in a situation in which the determination result of step S14 is positive, it is determined that the control of the ejection amount of the printing ink is not normally performed, and the dark abnormality signal SNE is turned on in step S16. That is, it is output, whereby the operation of the cigarette manufacturing machine can be immediately stopped. On the other hand, if the determination result of step S8 becomes positive, in this case, the light display lamp 98 is turned on and turned on (step S17), and the ejection amount of the printing ink is controlled to increase (step S17). S18). The increase control of the ejection amount is performed by shortening the pumping cycle of the pump unit 54 in the ink nozzle unit 44 according to the deviation between the density average value DA and the lower limit value DMIN. Thereafter, the light flag FT is set to 1, the process returns to step S1, and the steps after this step are repeatedly executed. At this time, however, when step S7 is reached, the determination result becomes positive, In this case, the process proceeds to step S21 of FIG. 8 and it is again determined whether the density average value DA is smaller than the lower limit value DMIN. If the determination result here is NO, the light flag FT is reset to 0 (step S22) and the process returns to step S1. However,
If the determination result is positive, the light abnormality signal STE is output (step S23), and the operation of the cigarette manufacturing machine is immediately controlled.

According to the above-described embodiment, the color mark sensor 78 measures the density level of the mark M printed on the wrapping paper 6.
When the print density of the mark M is larger than the upper limit value, that is, when the print of the mark M is dark, the ejection amount of the print ink from the ink nozzle unit 44 is reduced. On the other hand, when the print of the mark M is light, the ejection amount of the printing ink is increased conversely, so that the print density of the mark M falls within the allowable range (between the upper limit value DMAX and the lower limit value DMIN). The range can be automatically adjusted.

Therefore, the inspection of the print density of the mark M and the adjustment of the supply amount of the printing ink can be carried out without relying on human labor, so that not only the labor of the operator of the cigarette manufacturing machine can be greatly reduced, but also the production of the cigarette. The cost can also be reduced. Also, in one embodiment,
When detecting the density level of the mark M, the density average value DA of the mark M is calculated based on the peak value of the sensor signal from the color mark sensor 78.
The calculated density average value DA is maintained even if the operating speed of the cigarette manufacturing machine changes or the reference level (shown by A in FIG. 4) of the print density signal fluctuates due to unevenness of the paper. It will not be adversely affected.

Further, the color mark sensor 78 is used for the wrapping paper 6
Since the wrapping paper 6 is arranged to detect the density level of the mark M before the wrapping paper 6 reaches the top of the winding after the mark M is printed on the mark M, the mark M immediately after being printed is inspected immediately. The ejection amount of printing ink can be controlled, and the defective product rate of cigarettes can be greatly reduced. Furthermore, since a large amount of printing ink is stored in the ink pot 40 in advance, there is an advantage that the number of operations required to replenish the printing ink can be reduced.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but various modifications can be made. For example, in one embodiment, the level determination unit 92 and the CPU 94 are shown separately, but the level determination unit 92 can be replaced with a program executed by the CPU 94. In addition, in one embodiment, in addition to controlling the supply amount of the printing ink to the printing unit based on the sensor signal from the color mark sensor 78, the deviation between the output timing of the sensor signal from the color mark sensor 78 and the reference timing. From this, a deviation of the printing position of the mark M is detected, and based on this deviation, the rotational angle position of the position adjusting roller 70 is controlled to correct the deviation, whereby the printing position of the mark M of the wrapping paper 6 is corrected. Can also be automatically adjusted to the regular position.

[0042]

As described above, according to the print density adjusting apparatus for a cigarette of the present invention, the print density of the mark printed on the wrapping paper is detected by the density detecting sensor, and the density detecting sensor detects the print density. The density level of the mark is determined based on the sensor signal of, and the amount of printing ink supplied to the printing unit is increased or decreased based on the determination result.
The print density of the mark can be automatically set within the allowable range. Therefore, since no labor is required to inspect the print density of the mark and control the supply amount of the printing ink, the labor of the operator who manages the operation of the cigarette manufacturing machine can be reduced, and the manufacturing cost of the cigarette can be reduced.
At the same time, it has an excellent effect of stabilizing the appearance of the cigarette and improving its quality.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view schematically showing a cigarette manufacturing machine.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing details of a printing unit.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a system for driving a printing roller, a feeding roller and a sliding roller of a printing unit.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing a relationship between a mark on a wrapping paper and a print density detected by a color mark sensor.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a control circuit between a color mark sensor and an ink supply device.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a part of a control routine executed by the control circuit of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing another part of the control routine.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing another part of the control routine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 6 Wrapping paper 8 Garniture tape 20 Printing section 32 Printing roller 39 Ink supply device 40 Ink pot 48 Control valve unit 44 Ink nozzle unit 52 Nozzle section 54 Pump section 78 Color mark sensor 92 Judgment section 94 CPU 96 Dark display lamp 98 Light display lamp

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Masayoshi Saito 2-20-46 Horifune, Kita-ku, Tokyo Japan Tobacco Inc. Machinery Technology Development Center

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A stick-shaped roll is formed by printing a predetermined mark on a wrapping paper in a printing unit, sending out the wrapping paper, supplying cut tobacco to the wrapping paper, and wrapping the cut tobacco on the wrapping paper continuously at the winding top. In a cigarette manufacturing machine for forming a cigarette and thereafter manufacturing a cigarette by cutting a rod-shaped cigarette into a predetermined length at a cutting portion, an ink supply device capable of supplying printing ink toward the printing portion. , A density detection sensor which is arranged between the printing unit and the winding part and detects the printing density of the mark printed on the wrapping paper, and the density level of the wrapping paper mark is determined based on the sensor signal from the density detection sensor. A cigarette manufacturing machine comprising: a determination unit and a control unit that controls the operation of the ink supply unit to adjust the supply amount of the printing ink based on the determination result of the determination unit. Definitive cigarette of the print density adjusting apparatus.