RU2656088C2 - Packing method and machine for producing a packet of cigarettes with a spacer inside the group of cigarettes and corresponding packet of cigarettes - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: package.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to packing method and machine for producing a packet of cigarettes comprising a group of cigarettes with at least two rows; and an inner package enclosing the group of cigarettes; a group-forming pocket, for housing the group of cigarettes, is fed along a group-forming path extending past a succession of first cigarette hoppers; group of cigarettes is formed by expelling each row of cigarettes from a corresponding first hopper into the group-forming pocket; wherein a second hopper, containing a spacer, is located along the group-forming path, between two first hoppers; and the spacer is transferred from the second hopper to the group-forming pocket so as to insert the spacer between, and separate, two rows of cigarettes.

EFFECT: in the following description, reference is made, for the sake of simplicity and purely by way of a non- limiting example, to a rigid, hinged- lid packet of cigarettes.

2 cl, 10 dwg

Description

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

The present invention relates to a packaging method and a machine for manufacturing cigarette packs, as well as to a cigarette pack.

In the following description, reference is made for simplicity and clarity by way of non-limiting example to a rigid cigarette pack with a hinged lid.

BACKGROUND

A rigid cigarette pack typically contains an inner pack containing a group of cigarettes; and a rigid outer container accommodating said inner package.

The specified inner packaging is initially completely closed and has a hinged upper part, which is removed the first time you open this package to allow the removal of cigarettes from the inner packaging.

The filter cigarette contains a tobacco portion with an inner end and an outer end; and a filter connected end-to-end to the inner end of the tobacco portion and affixed with a tape wrapped around said filter and around a portion of the tobacco portion.

The filters used in this present are made of cylindrical parts with a length of 10-35 mm from cellulose acetate with a diameter of 4-9 mm, identical to the diameter of the tobacco part. The tape wrapped around the filter also covers a 2-3 mm section of the tobacco portion.

The inner packaging and outer packaging often apply a certain lateral compression to the cigarette group in the inner container. In the case of a new pack, i.e. containing a complete group of cigarettes, the lateral compression applied by the internal capacity and the external capacity to the group of cigarettes can be significant enough to make it difficult to remove the first cigarette from the group due to the friction between the first and adjacent cigarettes. To facilitate removal of the first cigarette from the group, it is proposed to provide at least one cigarette in the group with a tension tape having a gripping end protruding from the top wall of the cigarette group that is pulled to raise the cigarette.

Known tension tapes, however, require gluing the inner end of the tape opposite the gripping end to the wall of the inner packaging. This is a significant drawback, since glue in contact with or located close to the cigarettes can release volatiles absorbed by the cigarettes and change the aroma and / or taste of the cigarette tobacco, usually the inner packaging of the cigarette packs is left without glue.

On standard packaging machines, it is also difficult to insert a gumming device capable of applying adhesive to the inner surface of the inner packaging.

In patent application US5433318A1 a cigarette packet is disclosed comprising: a group of cigarettes in two rows; a pack containing a group of cigarettes; and a separator mounted and inserted in the cigarette group for separating two rows of cigarettes.

GB516097A discloses a cigarette packaging machine in which a group of cigarettes, when removed from a loading funnel, is split in the middle into two halves, between which a separator is inserted, made by folding a flat billet.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a packaging method and a machine for producing a cigarette packet made to eliminate the above disadvantages, at the same time inexpensive and easy to handle. An additional objective of the present invention is the provision of a cigarette pack made to eliminate the above disadvantages.

According to the present invention, there is provided a packaging method, a packaging machine and a cigarette packet, as indicated in the attached formula.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following discloses a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a cigarette pack of the present invention in a closed configuration;

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of a cigarette pack in an open configuration;

FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the cigarette pack of FIG. 1 in a closed configuration;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal section through the inner packaging of the cigarette pack of FIG. one;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the inner packaging of FIG. four;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a group of cigarettes contained in the inner packaging of FIG. four;

FIG. 7 is a detail perspective view of the cigarette group of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an expanded preform bent to form the cigarette group separator of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a packaging machine for producing a cigarette pack of FIG. one;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of a grouping assembly of the packaging machine of FIG. 9 to obtain the cigarette group of FIG. 6.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Position 1 in FIG. 1, 2, and 3 denote a generally rigid cigarette pack. The specified cigarette pack 1 contains a bowl-shaped cardboard outer container 2 with a hinged lid, accommodating the inner packaging 3 (shown in Fig. 2).

As shown in FIG. 4-7, the inner packaging 3 contains a group of 4 cigarettes in the shape of a parallelepiped, said group of 4 cigarettes contains two rows of 5 cigarettes; and a separator 6 mounted and inserted in the cigarette group 4 to separate two rows of 5 cigarettes.

A separator 6 is inserted between two cigarette rows 5 to separate the rows 5 and facilitate the capture and removal of cigarettes from group 4 due to the cigarette rows 5 in contact with the separator 6, in contrast to their compressed contact with each other.

In a preferred embodiment, the separator 6 is shorter than the cigarettes in group 4 and is located at a predetermined distance D from the top of the inner packaging 3, through which the cigarettes are removed from the inner packaging 3.

Thus, and as shown in an understandable manner in FIG. 4 and 6, the upper parts of the cigarettes (usually filters) that are gripped by the fingers to remove the cigarettes from the inner package 3 are completely free therein, that is, in the upper central part of the cigarette group 4, the cavity is deep enough to obtain a predetermined distance D, thereby simplifying grip (using the thumb and other fingers) the top of the cigarettes (usually filters) to remove the cigarettes from the inner packaging 3.

In a preferred non-limiting embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings, the spacer 6 is in the form of a box (i.e., a hollow body). Alternatively, the separator 6 may take the form of a solid (i.e., not hollow) body, possibly made of a spongy material, solid foam material (i.e. expanded polystyrene), or the like. The separator 6 may even take the form of a portion of corrugated cardboard, a portion of corrugated thin cardboard, or an insert of deformed plastic material.

The separator 6 has an upper end 7, which should be located facing the cigarette filters in rows 5, and not the tobacco parts below, which, being more fragile than the filters, can be damaged - thus, the specified distance D is less than the length of the filters.

In particular, the predetermined distance D between the upper part of the inner packaging 3 and the upper end 7 of the separator 6 for gripping cigarettes with fingers is 50-80% of the length of the filters, i.e. 5-28 mm, preferably 8-15 mm.

In a preferred non-limiting embodiment, in the accompanying drawings, the separator 6 is parallelepiped-shaped and has an open upper end 7 facing the top of the inner packaging 3, through which cigarettes are removed from the inner packaging 3. The separator 6 also has a lower wall opposite the open upper end 7; two opposite parallel main side walls, supported by cigarettes in two rows 5; and two opposite parallel secondary side walls resting on the corresponding secondary side walls of the inner packaging 3. Separator 6, as such, can also be used as a container for products inserted in the manufacture of cigarette pack 1 (for example, a free gift in cigarette pack 1), and for products inserted later, after opening the cigarette pack 1 (for example, a lighter or, if necessary, cigarette ash or cigarette butts).

Alternatively, the separator 6 can be closed on all sides, that is, it can have an upper wall opposite and parallel to the lower wall and covering the open upper end 7 (in this case, the separator 6 can also be used as a container for a free gift in a cigarette pack 1, to which you can access by tearing open the separator 6).

In the preferred non-limiting embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the separator 6 is made by bending and gluing a flat blank 8.

In FIG. 8 shows an unfolded blank 8 from which a spacer 6 is formed, closed on all sides (in FIG. 8, all walls of the spacer 6 are clearly shown).

In the preferred non-limiting embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings, the cigarette group 4 contains two rows 5 of cigarettes, between which a separator 6 is inserted. In other not shown embodiments, the cigarette group 4 may contain three rows 5 of cigarettes, between which one separator 6 is inserted (i.e. between one row 5 and two adjacent rows of 5 cigarettes), or between which two separate separators 6 are inserted, each between two adjacent rows of 5 cigarettes. Generally speaking, a cigarette group 4 may comprise several rows of 5 cigarettes alternating with one or more separators 6.

However, in practice, it is necessary to remove only cigarettes in the first row 5 from the cigarette pack 1 (usually the first row 5 of cigarettes facing the front of the cigarette pack 1) to remove lateral pressure on the cigarette pack 4 in the inner pack 3 and eliminate the need for a separator 6, which can even be removed from cigarette group 4, in other words, removing the first cigarette row 5 eliminates lateral pressure on the cigarette group 4 and resistance due to friction between the removed cigarette and adjacent cigarettes. Thus, it is obvious that in order to solve the problem of the present invention and to facilitate the extraction of the first cigarette, one separator 6 in the cigarette group 4 between the first row 5 and the other cigarette rows 5 in the inner packaging 3 is sufficient.

In a non-limiting embodiment, the separator 6 is attached to the inner package 3 by dots or with a cold glue coating, or preferably the flat blank 8 may have areas glued with hot-melt adhesive to avoid even only partially removing the separator 6 along with the first cigarette due to friction in the full group of 4 cigarettes. With reference to the accompanying drawings, a parallelepiped-shaped separator 6 is attached to the lower end and / or to at least the secondary side wall of the inner packaging 3.

In FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a packaging machine 9 for manufacturing a cigarette packet 1 described previously.

As shown in FIG. 9, the packaging machine 9 comprises a bending unit 10 for forming a spacer 6 by folding and gluing a corresponding preform 8; grouping unit 11 to form a group of 4 cigarettes; and a packaging unit 12 for forming an inner package 3 by folding a sheet of soft packaging material around a group 4 of cigarettes, and then forming an outer container 2 by folding a rigid blank around the inner package 3.

In FIG. 9 shows a schematic view of a packaging machine 9 for manufacturing a cigarette pack 1, disclosed above.

As shown in FIG. 9, the packaging machine 9 comprises a bending assembly 10 for manufacturing a spacer 6 by folding and gluing a corresponding blank 8; grouping unit 11 to form a group of 4 cigarettes; and a packaging unit 12 for forming an inner package 3 by folding a sheet of soft packaging material around a group 4 of cigarettes, and then forming an outer container 2 by folding a rigid blank around the inner package 3.

Alternatively, the folding unit 10 corrugates part of the cardboard or pleats part of the thin cardboard to form a separator 6.

As shown in FIG. 10, the grouping unit 11 comprises a grouping belt conveyor 13 having several grouping slots 14, each for receiving and transmitting a corresponding group of cigarettes. The grouping conveyor 13 moves counterclockwise in stages to feed each grouping slot 14 along the direct grouping channel P. Two cigarette loading funnels 15 and a separation loading funnel 16 located between the cigarette loading funnels 15 are located along the grouping channel P.

Each cigarette loading funnel 15 contains three identical outlet openings in series along the forming channel P. In the embodiment of FIG. 10 cigarette loading funnels 15 have the same supply resource, that is, cigarettes come into them from one upper capacity 17.

In another, but completely equivalent, not shown embodiment, each cigarette feed funnel 15 comprises two outlet openings in series along the forming channel P or only one outlet. Similarly, the separator 16 contains three identical outlet openings sequentially along the group forming channel P. In another, but completely equivalent to not shown embodiment, the separating loading funnel 16 contains two outlet openings sequentially along the grouping channel P or only one opening. It is important to note that the separation feed funnel 16 may have a different number of outlets from the cigarette feed funnels 15.

In other words, the direct grouping channel P successfully continues beyond the loading funnels 15 and 16.

The forming unit 11 comprises several moving elements 18, each of which is attached to a corresponding outlet of the cigarette loading funnel 15. When the forming socket 14 stops in front of the outlet of the cigarette loading funnel 15, the corresponding moving element 18 pushes the cigarette row 5 from the outlet into the forming socket 14 .

The grouping socket 11 contains several moving elements 19, each of which is mounted on the corresponding outlet of the separation feed funnel 16. When the grouping socket 14 stops in front of the outlet of the separation charging funnel 16, the corresponding moving element 19 pushes the separator 6 from the outlet into the grouping slot 14.

The separator 6 has a lower end facing the lower part of the inner packaging 3, opposite the upper part, through which the cigarettes are removed from the inner packaging 3. In particular, the lower end of the separator 6 is closed and made for engagement by the transferring element 19 of the forming unit 11, i.e. a flat blank 8 has a panel at the indicated lower end.

In other words, each cigarette group 4 is layered in a respective group-forming nest 14, that is, by first inserting a row of 5 cigarettes, then a separator 6, and finally another cigarette row 5 into a group-forming nest 14.

As shown in FIG. 9, the bending assembly 10 forms the dividers 6 by bending the blanks 8 in a known manner around the tubular bending shafts, and then feeds the dividers 6 into the separation loading funnel 16. When the cigarette group 4 is formed from the forming assembly 11, it is moved from the forming assembly 11 to the packaging assembly 12 for the formation in a known manner of the corresponding cigarette pack 1.

The described cigarette pack 1 has several advantages.

Firstly, the described cigarette pack 1 makes it easy to remove cigarettes from the inner packaging 3 by their upper parts (usually filters) —tripable by fingers — of cigarettes which in each row 5 remain completely free, and thus cigarettes are easily caught by the fingers to remove cigarettes from inner packaging 3.

Secondly, the described cigarette pack 1 can be easily manufactured on a substantially standard packaging machine (requiring only a few minor changes) and does not require an expensive packaging machine for special purposes (i.e., specially made for this type of cigarette pack 1).

Claims (16)

1. A packaging method for producing a cigarette pack (1) containing a group (4) of cigarettes having at least two rows (5) of cigarettes; and an inner package (3) containing a group (4) of cigarettes; wherein said packaging method comprises the steps of: supplying a grouping nest (14) configured to hold a group (4) of cigarettes along a grouping channel (P) extending past a sequence of first cigarette loading funnels (15); forming a group (4) of cigarettes by pushing each cigarette row (5) from the corresponding first loading funnel (15) into a grouping nest (14); and bending a sheet of packaging material around a group (4) of cigarettes to form an inner package (3) containing a group (4) of cigarettes; characterized in that: the second loading funnel (16) is located along the group-forming channel (P) between the two first loading funnels (15) and contains a separator (6) inserted to separate the two rows (5) of cigarettes; and the specified separator (6) is moved from the second loading funnel (P) to the grouping nest (14) by first supplying one row (5) of cigarettes, then the specified separator (6) and finally another row (5) of cigarettes to the grouping nest (14). 2. A packaging machine (9) for producing a cigarette pack (1) comprises a group (4) of cigarettes having at least two rows (5) of cigarettes; wherein said packaging machine (9) contains: the sequence of the first cigarette loading funnels (15); grouping nest (14) for holding a group (4) of cigarettes; group-forming conveyor (13) for feeding the group-forming nests (14) along the group-forming channel (P), continuing past the sequence of the first feed hoppers (15); first moving elements (18) for forming a group (4) of cigarettes by pushing each cigarette row (5) from the corresponding first loading funnel (15) into a grouping nest (14); and a packaging unit (12) for folding a sheet of packaging material around a group (4) of cigarettes to form an inner package (3) containing a group (4) of cigarettes; characterized in that it contains: a second loading funnel (16) located along the forming channel (P) between the two first loading funnels (15) and containing a separator (6) that is inserted between the rows of cigarettes to separate the two rows (5) of cigarettes; and the second transferring elements (19) for transferring the separator (6) from the second feed funnel (16) to the grouping slot (14) by first supplying one row (5) of cigarettes, then the separator (6) and finally another row (5) of cigarettes into the grouping nest (14).

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