RU2580471C2 - Method of feeding and feed assembly for fixing coupon to collar and package with hinged cover, collar and coupon - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: food industry.

SUBSTANCE: group of inventions relates to the food industry and includes packing with a hinged lid, the method for coupon affixing to the cuff and a delivery unit for coupon affixing to the cuff, providing accommodation available for the first wall of the cuff, bending of the retaining tongue of the cuff to a raised position relative to the first wall to accommodate coupon a first retaining wall and flexing of the tongue after placement of the cuff available for attachment to the first wall to the cuff by coupon clamping against the first wall.

EFFECT: group of inventions allows to get the method, feed assembly and package, cheap and easy in performance.

18 cl, 19 dwg

Description

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

The present invention relates to a feeding method and a feeding unit for attaching a coupon to a cuff, as well as to a package with a hinged lid, cuff and coupon. The following description refers to a pack of cigarettes for simplicity and solely as a non-limiting example.

BACKGROUND

A pack of hinged-lid cigarettes contains an inner pack containing a group of cigarettes, and a rigid container that holds the inner pack has a hinged lid and is wrapped in a heat-sealed transparent plastic (usually polypropylene) wrapper to preserve the moisture and flavor of the tobacco.

Some packs of cigarettes contain a coupon in the form of a sheet (usually folded) with a printed advertisement or image that is usually inserted between the container and a transparent plastic wrap, so that it can be seen without opening the package, or which is inserted in the front of the container, i.e. between the front wall and front wall of the tank.

To place the coupon in the container, the coupon is placed on the front wall of the inner packaging, and the blank is folded around the inner packaging and the coupon to form a container. Despite widespread use, this method has a significant drawback: between the state in which the coupon is placed on the front wall of the inner packaging and the state in which the preform is folded around the inner packaging and the coupon, the inner packaging is fed through several other stations, and in this way measures must be taken to prevent the coupon from slipping out of the inner packaging, that is, to keep the coupon in the correct position on the inner packaging. Such measures, however, are invariably complex and, therefore, expensive and not always effective, as a result, a rather significant number of unusable packs are rejected.

One proposed technical solution to the problem is to fix the coupon to the inner packaging by means of a drop of hot (i.e., quick setting) glue. The solution is not too common due to the fact that part of the coupon comes off when removed from the inner packaging, thereby spoiling the look of the coupon (as well as the inner packaging).

To solve this problem, in EP 0665174 B1, it is proposed to first attach the coupon mechanically (i.e. without glue) to the cuff, and then fit the cuff and coupon together to the inner packaging. For the mechanical connection of the coupon with the cuff, the front wall of the cuff has a V-shaped notch engaged with the corresponding section of the coupon. In other words, the V-shaped notch forms a retaining tab raised slightly from the front wall to engage and clamp the coupon against the front wall. The cutout is centered and facing upward, thereby substantially retaining the coupon longitudinally relative to the cuff.

The technical solution proposed in EP 0665174 B1, at least partially solves the problem of preventing the coupon from sliding when bending the workpiece around the inner packaging and coupon to form a container, but for full effectiveness, a cut in the coupon is also required, into which the retaining tab on the cuff can be inserted. Apart from the fact that cutting can ruin the look of the coupon (which is obviously an important issue, provided the coupon is exclusively advertising), it is extremely difficult to insert the retaining tab on the cuff automatically inside the cutout in the coupon on the packaging machine.

In addition, the technical solution proposed in EP 0665174 B1 relates only to uncomplicated coupons (i.e., it does not apply to relatively large coupons folded once or more to reduce them).

EP 0691267 A1 discloses a method and apparatus for securing cuff-coupon assemblies on a wrapping line of a packaging machine for producing rigid packs with a hinged lid, whereby the cuff and the corresponding coupon, when they pass along the respective paths to the connecting station, are respectively provided with a pocket by cutting and a protrusion inserted at least partially inside the corresponding pocket on the connecting station for the cuff and coupon to be essentially integral with each other, while they pass along a common a path further from the connecting station.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a feeding method and an assembly for attaching a coupon to a cuff and packaging with a hinged lid with a cuff and a coupon, made to eliminate the aforementioned disadvantages, in particular, which are inexpensive and easy to implement.

According to the present invention, there is provided a method and an assembly for attaching a coupon to a cuff and packaging with a hinged lid with a cuff and a coupon, as indicated in the attached formula.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Next, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention is described, in which:

figure 1 is a front view in perspective of a pack of cigarettes in accordance with the present invention in the closed position;

figure 2 is a front view in perspective of a pack of cigarettes of figure 1 in the open position;

figure 3 is a rear view in perspective of a pack of cigarettes of figure 1 in the closed position;

figure 4 is an expanded view of the cuff of a pack of cigarettes in figure 1;

figure 5 - cuff of figure 4, fitted to the coupon;

6, 7 and 8 - three options for the cuff of figure 4;

Fig.9 is a schematic perspective view of a packaging machine for producing a pack of cigarettes of Fig.1;

10 and 11 are two perspective views of the forming part of the cuff feeding unit of the packaging machine of FIG. 9;

12-17 are schematic views of the sequence of operations performed by the feeding unit of FIGS. 10 and 11 for attaching a coupon to the cuff of the cigarette packet of FIG. 1;

Fig. 18 is a perspective view of another view of the cuff feeding assembly of Figs. 10 and 11;

Fig. 19 is another perspective view with parts removed for clarity of a number of component parts of the feed assembly of Fig. 18.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Nos. 1, 1, 2, and 3 denote a generally rigid pack of cigarettes containing a bowl-shaped cardboard container 2 and an inner package 3 placed inside the container 2. The inner package 3 contains a group of cigarettes in the shape of a parallelepiped and has an upper and front opening for removing cigarettes closed by a tear-off covering portion and continuing along a portion of the front wall and a portion of the upper wall of the inner packaging 3.

The container 2 has an open upper end 4 and a cup-shaped lid 5 pivotally attached to the container 2 along the hinge line 6 for rotation relative to the container 2 between the open position (figure 2) and the closed position (figures 1 and 3), opening and closing the open upper end 4 respectively.

When the lid 5 is in the closed position, the container 2 has the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped and contains the upper wall 7 and the lower wall 8, opposite and parallel to each other, the front wall 9 and the rear wall 10, opposite and parallel to each other, and two parallel side walls 11 placed between the walls 9 and 10. Four longitudinal edges 12 are formed between the side walls 11 and the front and rear walls 9, 10, and eight transverse edges 13 are formed between the upper and rear walls 7, 8 and the front, rear and side walls 9, 10, 11.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3, all edges 12, 13 are straight. In alternative embodiments not shown, some edges 12 and 13 may be beveled or rounded.

The pack 1 also contains a rigid (for example, cardboard) cuff 14, bent into a U-shape and attached (glued) to the inner side of the container 2, as well as partially open to the upper upper end 4, for engaging the corresponding inner surface of the lid 5 when the lid 5 in the closed position. In a preferred embodiment, the cuff 14 has two protrusions 15 protruding to the side for intersecting with the side walls of the cover 5 to hold the cover 5 in the closed position. The cuff 14 comprises a front wall 16 located in contact with the front wall 9 of the container 2 and two side walls 17 located on opposite sides of the front wall 16 and in contact with the side walls 11 of the container. These two side walls 17 of the cuff 14 are bent 90 ° relative to the front wall 16 of the cuff 14 and connected to the front wall 16 along two longitudinal fold lines 18 (shown in FIG. 4).

The pack 1 also contains a coupon 19 inserted inside the container 2 between the front wall 16 of the cuff 14 and the front wall of the inner packaging 3, so that one surface of the coupon 19 is in contact with the front wall 16 of the cuff 14, and the opposite surface of the coupon 19 is in contact with the front wall of the inner packaging 3 .

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the cuff 14 contains two retaining tabs 20 located on opposite sides of the front wall 16 of the cuff 14, and each of them secures the coupon 19 with the cuff 14 by clamping the coupon 19 against the front wall 16 of the cuff 14. In other words , the end portion of the coupon 19 is inserted and grasped between the respective retaining tab 20 and the front wall 16 of the cuff 14. As shown more clearly in FIG. 5, each holding tab 20 is partially lifted from the front wall 16 of the cuff 14 to clamp the coupon 19 against the wall 16. Uevy but, each retaining tongue 20 partially raised from the front wall 16 of collar 14 towards the front wall of inner package 3 (i.e., inside the container 2), because the opposite side of the front wall 16 of the cuff 14 is bonded to the front wall 9 of the container 2.

In a preferred embodiment, each retaining tongue 20 is made in a U-shaped through-cut, extending from the two ends of the fold line 20a, along and near the corresponding fold line 18 (that is, the two ends of the U-shaped cut “lean” on the fold line 20a). In other words, each retaining tab 20 is rectangular and bounded on one side by a U-shaped through cut, and on the other hand by a fold line 20a that is different and separate from the fold line 18. Each fold line 20a should be different and separate from the corresponding fold line 18 due to the fact that the material (cardboard) of the cuff 14 is weakened and therefore not sufficiently elastic along the fold lines 18, while along each bend line 20a, the material (cardboard) of the cuff 14 must remain sufficiently elastic for tight clamping I am coupon 19 holding tongue 20.

In an alternative and completely equivalent, not shown embodiment, each retaining tongue 20 is made of one of the V-shaped cuts (and, therefore, has a triangular shape).

In the embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5, each retaining tab 20 is formed in the front wall 16 of the U-shaped section extending into the front wall 16 from the corresponding fold line 20a. Whereas in the equivalent embodiment of FIG. 6, each retaining tab 20 is made in the side wall 17 in a U-shaped through-cut that extends into the side wall 17 from the corresponding fold line 20a and must be bent 180 ° around the fold line 20a to the front wall 16 to clamp the coupon 19 against the front wall 16.

In the embodiment of FIG. 7, the lower side of each holding tongue 20 is aligned with the lower edge of the front wall 16 of the cuff 14, in an equivalent embodiment, the upper side of each holding tongue 20 is aligned with the upper edge of the front wall 16 of the cuff 14, and in both cases each cut has L-shaped.

In the embodiments of FIGS. 4-7, these two fold lines 20a are parallel to each other and the fold lines 18. In the embodiment of FIG. 8, these two fold lines 20a are inclined relative to each other and the fold lines 18. In particular, they converge in the direction the cuffs 14 upward and diverge in the downward direction of the cuffs 14 (i.e., if there are two fold lines 20a intersect above the cuff 14). In the embodiment of FIG. 8, each retaining tab 20 has the shape of a rectangular trapezoid.

Each bend line 20a is only slightly inclined, but not more than 30 °, usually 10-15 ° relative to the corresponding fold line 18.

It is important to note that the retaining tabs 20 may have a different shape (e.g., semicircular, semi-elliptical, pentagonal, hexagonal, etc.) not described or shown in detail.

The embodiment according to the drawings has one coupon 19 resting on the front wall 16 of the cuff 14. Another, not shown embodiment has one coupon 19 resting on the side wall 17 of the cuff 14, or two coupons resting on two of these side walls 17 of the cuff 14.

Figure 9 shows a portion of model X2, X3, or X6 of a cigarette packaging machine 21 from G.D. Società per Azoni for producing a pack of 1 cigarettes of the kind described above and shown in FIGS. 1-3.

The packaging machine 21 includes a grouping unit 22 for forming groups of 23 cigarettes, a packaging unit 24 for packing groups of 23 cigarettes in sheets 25 of foil packaging material to form inner packages 3 and a packaging unit 26 for forming outer containers 2 by folding the cuffs 14 to which the coupons are fitted 19, and blanks around the inner packages 3. The cuffs 14 with fitted coupons 19 are supplied to the packaging unit 26 by means of a feeding unit 28, shown schematically in FIG. 9.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 (showing part of the feed assembly 28), the feed assembly 28 includes a gear wheel 29 rotating around a central pivot axis (not shown) and provided with a series of vacuum gripper heads 30, each of which contains a vacuum device 31 (containing two joint vacuum elements) to hold the cuff 14, and a vacuum device 32 (containing one vacuum element) to hold the corresponding coupon 19. Obviously, the number and position of the vacuum elements of the vacuum devices 31 and 32 can vary for hell aptations to specific cuffs 14 and / or coupons 19. Each vacuum device 31 has a bending device 33 containing a fork-shaped flexor 34 having two ends located on the retaining tabs 20 of the cuff 14 held by the vacuum device 31. Each flexor 34 can be moved radially by a cam driving system between the extracted position (shown on the vacuum device 31 on the right in FIG. 10 and the vacuum device 31 in FIG. 11), in which the two ends of the flexor 34 are removed from (for example, a predetermined distance The cuff 14 held by the device 31 and the elongated position (shown on the vacuum device 31 to the left in FIG. 10), in which the two ends of the flexor 34 are inserted through the cuff 14 held by the vacuum device 31 to bend the two retaining tabs 20 onto cuff 14 90 °.

The rotation of the gear wheel 29 feeds each vacuum grip head 30 cyclically through the grip station (FIG. 19), where the vacuum grip head 30 picks the cuff 14 from the cuff feed unit, the connecting station 35 (FIGS. 10 and 11), where the vacuum grip head 30 picks up a coupon 19 fitted to a cuff 14 previously gripped and a releasing station (not shown), where the vacuum gripper 30 releases a cuff 14 to which the coupon 19 fits into the packaging unit 26.

The feed unit 28 includes a conveyor belt 36, which feeds the coupons 19 sequentially to the connecting station 35 and contains an endless conveyor belt 37 provided with a number of pockets 38, each of which accommodates a corresponding coupon 19.

The connecting station 35 comprises a supporting surface 39 onto which the conveyor 36 sequentially inserts coupons 19 for subsequent selection by means of vacuum gripping heads 30 on the transmission wheel 29. The supporting surface 39 is movable vertically (perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the transmission wheel 29) between the lower receiving position (FIG. 10 ), in which the pocket 38 on the conveyor places the coupon 19 on top and at a predetermined distance from the supporting surface 39, and the increased releasing position (11), in which rum, the supporting surface 39 removes the coupon 19 from the pocket 38 and moves the coupon 19 to the selection position by means of the vacuum gripping heads 30 on the gear wheel 29. In particular, when the supporting surface 39 is in the lowered receiving position (FIG. 10), the pocket 38 on the conveyor 36 places the coupon 19 on top of the support surface 39, and while it moves vertically to the raised release position (FIG. 11), the support surface 39 intercepts and removes the coupon 19 vertically from the pocket 38 on the conveyor 36. Obviously oh, the pockets 38 on the conveyor 36 and the supporting surface 39 are configured to move the pockets 38 through the supporting surface 39 as it moves from the lowered receiving position (FIG. 10) to the raised releasing position (FIG. 11).

Finally, the connecting station 35 includes a bending device 40, containing two bending elements 41, which are moved cyclically to and from each other and, in a preferred embodiment, rotated around respective rotation axes parallel to each other and transverse to the rotation axis of the transfer wheel 29. The supporting surface 39 has a through an opening 42 through which one bending element 41 moves, while the other bending element 41 is placed along the supporting surface 39. Thus, the supporting surface st 39 is free to vertically move relative to the folding element 41 without mechanical interference. Obviously, each bending device 33 is made in one piece and moves together with the corresponding gripping head 30, and the bending device 40 is separated and independent of the gripping heads 30 and placed on the connecting station 35.

The following describes the operation of the feed unit 28 for connecting the coupon 19 with the cuff 14 with a separate link to the sequence shown in Fig.12-17.

First, as shown in FIG. 12, the vacuum gripper 30 on the gear wheel 29 feeds the cuff 14 to the connecting station 35.

As shown in FIG. 13, before the cuff 14 reaches the connecting station 35, the bending device 33 on the vacuum gripping head 30 is moved from the extracted to the elongated position to insert the two ends of the flexor 34 through the cuff 14 and bending the two retaining tabs 20 on the cuff at an angle of 90 ° (this stage is also shown on the gripping head 30 on the left in figure 10). Then, before the coupon 19 is placed on the front wall 16 of the cuff 14, the bending device 33 bends each holding tab 20 in a position raised from the front wall 16.

As shown in FIG. 14, when the cuff 14 reaches the connecting station 35, the bending device 33 on the vacuum gripping head 30 returns from the elongated to the extracted position to disengage the holding tabs 20. By this time, the supporting surface 39 is moved from the lowered receiving position (FIG. 10 ) to the raised release position (FIG. 11) and removes the coupon 19 vertically from the pocket 38 on the conveyor 36, as described in detail previously.

As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, at the connecting station 35, said two bending elements 41 of the bending device 40 are moved horizontally from a position inside the retaining tabs 20 (FIG. 14) to a position outside the holding tabs 20 (FIG. 15) to bend the holding tabs 20 90 ° relative to the front wall 16 of the cuff 14 in the V-shaped "funnel" for subsequent submission of the coupon 19 to the front wall 16 of the cuff 14 with its help. In other words, each holding tongue 20 is bent 90 ° with respect to the front wall 16 of the cuff 14 by a first bending operation performed by a bending device 33 moving perpendicular to the front wall 16, and then bent 90 ° with respect to the front wall 16 of the cuff 14 by the second bending operation, subsequent and different from the first, the second operation is performed by a bending device 40, moving parallel to the front wall 16.

When the supporting surface 39 is positioned as close as possible to the gripping head 30, as shown in FIG. 16, the coupon 19 is inserted between the two holding reeds 20 and onto the front wall 16 of the cuff 14, and the vacuum device 32 of the gripping head 30 (as shown by the gripping head 30 on 11).

When the coupon 19 is inserted on the front wall 16 of the cuff 14, as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, two bending elements 41 of the bending device 40 are moved horizontally from a position outside the holding tabs 20 (FIG. 16) to a position inside the holding tabs 20 (FIG. 17 ) to bend the retaining tabs 20 to the cuff 14 and secure the coupon 19 with the cuff 14 by clamping the coupon 19 against the front wall 16. In other words, when the coupon 19 is inserted on the front wall 16 of the cuff 14, the bending device 40 bends each holding tab 20 towards cuff 14 d I fixing the coupon 19 to the cuff 14 by pinching the coupon 19 against the front wall 16.

Thus, the coupon 19 is attached to the cuff 14, so that the gripping head 30 leaves the connecting station 35 and moves to the release station (not shown), where the vacuum gripping head 30 releases the cuff 14 provided with the coupon 19, into the packaging unit 26 (as shown by the gripping head 30 on the right in FIG. 10).

In the embodiment of FIG. 18, the supply unit 28 does not have bending devices 33 (i.e., each vacuum device 31 on the gear wheel 29 does not have a bending device 33) and does not have a bending device 40.

In this embodiment, the two retaining tabs 20 on each cuff 14 are 90 ° bent relative to the front wall 16 of the cuff 14 by means of a flexor 43 at the gripping station (FIG. 19), where the vacuum gripping head 30 picks up the cuff 14 from the cuff-feeding unit. In other words, in this embodiment, the flexor 43, fixed on the gripping station and offset from the gear wheel 29, bends the two retaining tabs 20 from each cuff 14 90 ° relative to the front wall 16 of the cuff 14.

This embodiment has two fixed bending screws 44 on opposite sides of the path traveled by the vacuum gripping heads 30 between the gripping station and the connecting station 35. Each bending screw 44 is mounted in a fixed position and has a bending profile that engages a corresponding holding tab 20, while the corresponding gripping head 30 moves past, to bend the retaining tab 20 to the cuff 14 to secure the coupon 19 with the cuff by clamping the coupon 19 against the front wall 16, then n 19 put on the front wall 16 of the cuff 14.

In other words, each retaining tongue 20 is bent 90 ° with respect to the front wall 16 of the cuff 14 by a first folding operation performed by the bending device 43, and then bent 90 ° with respect to the front wall 16 of the cuff 14 by a second folding operation subsequent to and separate from the first , the second operation is performed by the bending screw 44.

When using the feed assembly 28 of FIG. 18, the fold lines 20a are preferably inclined with respect to each other and the fold lines 18, as shown in the embodiment of FIG. 8, to facilitate bending of the retaining tabs 20 by means of bending screws 44 and 45.

In an alternative, not shown embodiment, the supply unit 28 may comprise parts of the embodiment of FIGS. 10 and 11 and parts of the embodiment of FIG. 18. For example, the feed unit 28 may comprise bending devices 33 (embodiment of FIGS. 10 and 11) and bending screws 44 and 45 (embodiment of FIG. 18) or may include a flexor 43 at the gripping station (embodiment of FIG. 18) and bending device 40 (embodiment of FIGS. 10 and 11).

In the preferred (non-limiting) embodiment shown in FIG. 19, the cutting device 46 at the gripping station cuts the sleeve 14 sequentially from a continuous strip unwound from the bobbin and comprises a movable blade 47 rotating back and forth and a fixed transverse blade 48 cooperating with a movable blade 47 for cutting the strip. In particular, the movable blade 47 moves cyclically from the extracted position (Fig. 19), in which the strip is fed through the gap between the movable blade 47 and the transverse blade 48, and the extended position (not shown), in which the movable blade 47 inserts the cut sleeve 14 onto vacuum device 31 of the vacuum gripping head 30.

The cutting device 46 also includes two fixed transverse blades 49 that cooperate with the movable blade 47 to form cuts in the cuff 14 forming the retaining tabs 20, that is, the movable blade 47 is moved through each transverse blade 49, which reproduces the shape of the holding tab 20 to form a cut-out holding tongue 20. In other words, the rotation of the movable blade 47 from the extracted position (Fig. 19) to the extended position (not shown) not only cuts the cuffs 14 from the continuous path strip m cutting action produced by a fixed transverse blade 48, interacting with the moving blade 47, but also forms two cuts in the cuff 14, forming the retaining tabs 20 by the cutting action produced by the fixed transverse blades 49, interacting with the movable blade 47. Obviously, the movable blade 47 has two through holes located on the fixed transverse blades 49, and allows sliding of the fixed transverse blades 49 along the movable blade 47.

In addition to cutting the cuff 14 to form the retaining tabs 20, the fixed transverse blades 49 also provide for the simultaneous folding of the retaining tabs 20 90 ° relative to the front wall 16 of the cuff 14. In other words, one easily workable part (fixed transverse blades 49) provides two different operations cutting the cuff 14 to form retaining tabs 20 and bending the retaining tabs 20 90 ° relative to the front wall 16 of the cuff 14.

It is important to note that the cutting device 46 with two fixed transverse blades 49, as described previously, only provides the formation of the cuff 14 of the kind shown in Fig.7, in which one side of each retaining tongue 20 is aligned with the edge of the front wall 16 of the cuff 14 due to the impossibility of fixed transverse blades 49 to make cuts in the middle of the front wall 16 of the cuff 14.

The described design of a pack of cigarettes 1 is also applicable to the production of other types of packages, such as a cardboard box of cigarettes, which differs from a pack of cigarettes 1 only in the content of a group of packs of cigarettes, in contrast to the inner pack 3.

The described pack of 1 cigarette has several advantages.

In particular, in the described cigarette pack 1, the coupon 19 is held on the cuff 14 by means of the retaining tabs 20. This means that when the coupon 19 is secured in the correct position, any sliding of the coupon 19 relative to the cuff 14 is prevented, and the described cigarette pack 1 can be produced on a standard packaging machine without special measures required to keep coupon 19 in the correct position.

These two retaining tabs 20 secure the coupon 19 transversely relative to the cuff 14, that is, allow the coupon 19 to move longitudinally (i.e. parallel to the fold lines 18), but not transversely (i.e. perpendicular to the fold lines) relative to the cuff 14. Preventing the transverse movement of the coupon 19 relative cuff 14 is necessary due to the fact that any lateral movement is necessarily noticeable when the pack of cigarettes 1 is open, while the limited longitudinal movement of the coupon 19 relative to the cuff 14, vlyayuscheesya as in the case of extraction direction coupon 19 from packet 1 of cigarettes is substantially unnoticeable.

These retaining tabs 20 also secure the coupon 19 on the front wall 16 of the cuff 14 when the cigarettes are removed one after the other from the pack 1. In other words, the consumer can even wait until the pack 1 is empty and then remove the coupon 19, meanwhile, the coupon Does not interfere with the extraction of cigarettes.

The coupon 19 is firmly mechanically fixed with the cuff 14, that is, without glue.

The holding tabs 20 are invisible from the outside of the pack of cigarettes 1 and are thus hidden from the eyes of the consumer.

The described feed unit 28 also has several advantages: it is cheap and simple to implement, and also provides effective folding of the retaining tabs 20 on the coupon 19 for attaching the coupon 19 to the cuff 14.

Claims (18)

1. A method of attaching a coupon (19) to a cuff (14), comprising the steps of:
placing the coupon (19) on the first wall (16; 17) of the cuff (14) and;
bending at least one retaining tongue (20) of the cuff (14) to a raised position relative to the first wall (16; 17) until the coupon (19) is placed on the first wall (16; 17);
characterized in that it further comprises the steps of:
bending the retaining tongue (20) 90 ° relative to the first wall (16; 17) by means of the first folding operation until the coupon (19) is placed on the first wall (16; 17); and
bending the retaining tongue (20) more than 90 ° relative to the first wall (16; 17) of the cuff (14) before placing the coupon (19) on the first wall (16; 17) and by means of the second folding operation, which follows and is separate from the first operation bending; and
bending the retaining tab (20) to the cuff (14) after placing the coupon (19) on the first wall (16; 17) to attach the coupon (19) to the cuff (14) by clamping the coupon (19) against the first wall (16; 17) . 2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising, prior to placing the coupon (19) on the first wall (16; 17), the step of folding the retaining tab (20) 90 ° relative to the first wall (16; 17) by means of the first folding device (33 ) moving perpendicular to the first wall (16; 17). 3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:
cutting the cuff (14) to form a through hole forming a retaining tab (20); and
bending the retaining tab (20) 90 ° relative to the first wall (16; 17) and simultaneously cutting the cuff (14) until the coupon (19) is placed on the first wall (16; 17). 4. The method according to claim 3, in which cutting the cuff also separates the cuff (14) from the continuous strip. 5. The method according to claim 3, in which the cuff (14) is cut with a movable blade (47) moving through a fixed transverse blade (49), reproducing the shape of the holding tab (20). 6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising, after placing the coupon (19) on the first wall (16; 17), the step of folding the retaining tab (20) relative to the first wall (16; 17) by means of a second holding device (40), which moves parallel to the first wall (16; 17). 7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising the steps of:
moving the second bending device (40) until the coupon (19) is placed on the first wall (16; 17) in a first direction parallel to the first wall (16; 17) to bend the retaining tab (20) by more than 90 ° relative to the first wall ( 16; 17); and
moving the second bending device (40) after placing the coupon (19) on the first wall (16; 17) in a second direction parallel to the first wall (16; 17) and opposite to the first direction, for attaching the coupon (19) to the cuff (14) by clamping the coupon (19) against the first wall (16; 17). 8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising, after placing the coupon (19) on the first wall (16; 17), the step of folding the retaining tab (20) relative to the first wall (16; 17) by means of a first fixed bending screw (45), the movement of which brings the cuff (14) with the coupon (19) on it into contact with the retaining tab (20). 9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising the stage, prior to placing the coupon (19) on the first wall (16; 17), bending the retaining tab (20) 90 ° relative to the first wall (16; 17) by means of a second fixed bending screw ( 44), the movement of which brings the cuff (14) into contact with the retaining tab (20). 10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:
cuff selection (14) by means of a vacuum gripping head (30);
placing the coupon (19) on the supporting surface (39); and
removing the coupon (19) from the supporting surface (39) by means of a vacuum gripping head (30), so that the coupon (19) rests on the first wall (16; 17) of the cuff (14). 11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising the steps of:
moving the supporting surface (39) to the lowered receiving position;
placing the cuff (19) on top and at a given distance from the supporting surface (39); and
lifting the support surface (39) vertically to engage the coupon (19) from the lowered receiving position to the raised releasing position in which the coupon (19) is picked up by a vacuum gripping head (30). 12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising the step of feeding the pocket (38) of the conveyor (36) to the supporting surface (39) to place the cuff (19) over the supporting surface (39); wherein the pocket (38) and the supporting surface (39) are configured to move the pocket (38) through the supporting surface (39) when the supporting surface (39) is raised from the lowered receiving position to the raised releasing position. 13. A feed unit (28) for attaching a coupon (19) to a cuff (14), comprising:
a connecting station (35), where the coupon (19) is placed on the first wall (16; 17) of the cuff (14); and
the first bending device (33), before placing the coupon (19) on the first wall (16; 17), bending the retaining tab (20) of the cuff (14) to a raised position relative to the first wall (16; 17);
characterized in that:
the first bending device (33) is designed to bend the retaining tab (20) 90 ° relative to the first wall (16; 17) by means of the first folding operation until the coupon (19) is placed on the first wall (16; 17);
the second bending device (40) is made to bend the retaining tab (20) more than 90 ° relative to the first wall (16; 17) of the cuff (14) before placing the coupon (19) on the first wall (16; 17), and for the second operation bending performed after and separately from the first bending operation; and
the third bending device (40), made to bend the retaining tab (20) to the cuff (14), after placing the coupon (19) on the first wall (16; 17), to attach the coupon (19) to the cuff (14) by clamping the coupon (19) against the first wall (16; 17). 14. A package containing:
a container (2) having an open end (4) and a cup-shaped lid (5) pivotally attached to the container (2) along the hinge line (6) for rotation relative to the container (2) between the open position and the closed position, opening and closing the open end (4) respectively;
a cuff (14) protruding partially outward from the open end (4) and comprising a front wall (16) placed in contact with the front wall (9) of the container (2); and two side walls (17) located in contact with the respective side walls (11) of the container (2), on the sides opposite the front wall (16) of the cuff, and connected to the front wall (16) of the cuff along the respective fold lines (18); and
a coupon (19) placed inside the container (2) in contact with the front wall (16) of the cuff (14);
a cuff (14) containing at least one retaining tab (20) for attaching the coupon (19) to the cuff (14) by clamping the coupon (19) against the front wall (16) of the cuff (14), made in the cuff (14) by section;
characterized in that:
two separate retaining tabs (20) are placed on opposite sides of the coupon (19) near the fold lines (18), connecting the side walls (17) of the cuff with the front wall (16) of the cuff; and
each retaining tab (20) rises from the cuff (14) by turning around the fold line (20a), tilting no more than 30 ° relative to the fold lines (18). 15. A package according to claim 14, wherein each fold line (20a) is different and separate from said two folded lines (18). 16. The package according to clause 15, in which each fold line (20A) is placed along and near the fold line (18). 17. A package according to claim 14, in which one side of each retaining tongue (20) is aligned with the edge of the front wall (16) of the cuff (14), and the through cut forming each retaining tongue (20) is L-shaped. 18. Packaging according to claim 17, in which the lower side of each retaining tongue (20) is aligned with the lower edge of the front wall (16) of the cuff (14).

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