US1870533A - Method of and machine for packaging cigarettes - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 9, 1932.

F. E. SCOTT ET .AL

METHOD OF AND MACHINE FOB PACKAGING CIGARETTES Filed July 24, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet Ai g- 1932- F. E. SCQTT ET AL 1,870,533

METHOD OF AND MACHINE FOR PACKAGING CIGARETTES Filed July 24, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. f fag) 5c0TT Mia's; 11/, WW

ATTORNEYS.

Patented Aug. 9, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE FITZHUGH EARLY SCOTT AND LAWRENCE R. BRYANT, OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, AS- SIGNOBS TO LIGGETT & IVIYERS TOBACCO COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A COR- PORATION OF NEW JERSEY V METHOD OF AND MACHINE F03 PACKAGING GIGARETTES Application filed July 24,

Our present invention relates to a method of and machine for packaging cigarettes and has to do more particularly with a method of and means for packaging cigarettes with a humidifying insert included in the finished package.

At the present time the more popular brands of cigarettes now upon the market are enclosed inv what are known as cup or pouch packages consisting of an inner wrapper of foil or foil and paper and an outer wrapper of relatively stiff paper. Cigarette packages of this type are made by automatic machinery, which operates to suc cessively select or segregate a given number of cigarettes, as, for instance, 20 ci arettes from a hopper or magazine and tien enclose the same within the on or pouch, the latter being usually formed about hollow mandrills carried by a rotary turret in the pockets or carriers of which the groups of cigarettes have been previousi inserted. The cigarettes arethen pushed out of the pockets along with the cup or pouch and the projecting ends of the inner foil or foil and paper wrapper folded to closed position and sometimes sealed, as by an overlying revenue stamp, or otherwise.

' We have shown our improvements as applied to such a known type of machine, although we do not wish to be understood as limiting ourselves to the particular machine illustrated and described except as we may be limited by the appended claims. Brief ly and generally stated, our invention includes the method of packaging cigarettes with a humidifying insert therein, which consists in segregating a group of cigarettes from a mass, then associating a humidifying insert with said group, and then delivering the said group of cigarettes along with the insert into a prepared wrapper, such as a formed pouch and sealing the same; and further includes a means for automatically feeding the humidifying inserts to successively selected groups of cigarettes prior to the step of inserting the group, with its associated insert, into a wrapper such as a pouchtor cup. In order to enable others skilled in the art 1931. Serial No. 552,992.

to understand, make and use our said invention, we will now proceed to describe a preferred embodiment thereof, which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein.

Fig. 1 is a side elevatiton of a portion of'an automatic machine for packaging cigarettes, with our improvements incorporated therein, and including the means for automatically feeding the inserts; I

Fi 2 is a similar View looking at the opposite side of the cigarette carrying turret shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the broken line 3-3 of Fig. 2,-

Fig. 4 is a view of one form of humiditying insert, and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a cigarette package made according to our invention, a portion of the walls thereof being broken away to expose the insert.

' In the said drawings the reference numeral 1 designates an intermittently rotatable shaft upon which is mounted a turret frame 2, carrying at its periphery a plurality of spaced cigarette pockets 9:. As all the pockets are of like construction a description of one will sufiice. Each pocket consisting of a fixed upstanding side wall 3, having an overhanging top flange 4, and a movable upstanding side wall 5, having a bottom section 6, extending toward and meeting the inner face of the opposite fixed side wall 3, so that said side walls 3 and 5 and bottom and top walls a and 6 constitute a pocket 2 of a size and shape to hold group or selected number of cigarettes, as, for instance 20, to be included in each package. The overhanging top flange i of the fixed wall 3, terminates short of the inner face of the movable side wall 5, for a purpose presently to be described.

Each movable side wall 5, is mounted upon a slidable bar 7, each bar carrying a roller 8, mounted for rolling movement in a cam-slot 9, formed in the face of a fixed camplate 10, which is mounted concentric ith the intermittently rotating shaft 1.

,1 1e cam-slot 9, as more clearly shown in Fig. 1, is so arranged that the movable side wall 5, with its bottom 6, may be progressively moved relative to the fixed wall 3, and its overhanging top flange 4;, so that as the turret rotates in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 1, the group of cigarettes in each pocket will be slightly compressed. The letter A, in Fig. 1, indicates approximately the station at which the groups of cigarettes are pushed endwise into the pockets 2 as they successix ely appear at said station so that when they reach the discharge position B, the groups of cigarettes will be pushed successively from the pockets 2*, into the pockets 12, formed by the mandrils 13, carried by a secondintermittently rotating tur- I each of the pockets 2*, a humidifying element or insert, which in the present instance, is in the form of a cylinder or tube carrying moisture. As shown in Fig. i, this humidifier may consist of an open-ended tube 16 formed of wax paper or the like, and which carries a filler of moistened absorbent material 16, all as shown and described in the copending application for patent, Dr. Paul M. Groce'and George H. Flowers, filed July th, 1931, serially numbered 550,978.

In order to feed the humidifying inserts or tubes 16, into the pockets carried by turret 2, and in association with the cigarettes therein, we provide each pocket with a movable substantially hook-shaped top wall 17, having the upper face of its end 18, slightly beveled and projecting downwardly into the ocket 2 and positioned to enter the space etween the overhanging wall 4. of the fixed side Wall 3, and the inner face of the movable side wall 5, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. Each top wall 17 is formed as a part of a casting pivoted at 19' to the outer face of the fixed side wall 3, and each has a downwardly and rearwardly trailing arm 20, carrying at its end a roller 21, which normally rides on a track 22, also formed on the fixed turret plate 10. A spring 23 (Fig. 3) is coiled about the pivot pin 19, of. each pocket, the free projecting ends of the spring acting respectively upon the fixedwall 3, and the casting of the overhanging top wall 17, so as to normally hold the top wall 17 in position to have its downwardly projecting end 18 enter the pocket between the overhanging portion 4 of the fixed wall 3, to completely close the cigarette pockets, and to engage and push the humidifying inserts into position. in association with the group of cigarettes in the pocket. p

The track 22, is provided at one point with a cam-plate 24, as more clearly shown in Fig. 1, and with which the roller 21 carried by the arm 20, contacts during the rotation of the turret so as to move the top wall 17 on its pivotat the moment the pockets successivelyarrive at the station C, indicated in Fig. 1, andthus raise the downwardly projecting portion 18, from the pocket and leave a free space for the insert to enter the top of the pocketand become associated with the cigarettes therein.

The humidifying inserts 16, are carried by a hopper or magazine 25, in the forward open end'of which is mounted a rotatable drum 26, carried by a shaft 27, driven by a belt 28,

from the intermittently rotating main shaft 1, or from any other suitable source, said shaft 27, and itsdrum 26, being so timed that an insert will be delivered into each cigarette pocket 2 as the pockets successively appear at the station C. The drum 26, carries longitudinally extending peripheraldepressions 26, into which the humidifying inserts may enter as the drum rotates in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 1.. The inserts are prevented from falling from the pockets by a curved plate 29, having a depending portion 30, so positioned that the inserts will be discharged from the depressions atthe proper moment to permit them to fall into the cigarette pockets. A rotat able wheel or brush 31, is mounted in the hopper 25, above the drum 26, and operates to assist the inserts in finding their Way into the depressions in the periphery of the drum.

I The operation of the mechanism described is as follows:

Assuming the turrets 2 and 14 to be rotating intermittently in the direction of the arrows, when the cigarette pockets of turret 2, reach the station A, at which the pockets have their largest dimensions, a group of cigarettes is fed into each pocket. As the turret continues to rotate inthe direction of the arrow, the movable wall 5, is moved relative to the fixed wall 3, of each pocket, so that the cigarettes will become gradually compressed, and as the pockets successivey appear at the station C, the compression is relieved by the rollers 8,, moving in the flattened portion 32 of the cam groove 9, and at this momentthe overhanging top wall 17 will be moved back or ,to open position as the roller 21 engages the cam 24 of the cam track 22. At this point a humidifying insert which has been brought to position by the drum 26,. drops into the open pocket, whereupon the overhanging top wall a is immediately brought to position to cause its downwardly extending portion 18 to enter the cigarette'pocket directly above the insert.

The group of cigarettes together with the inserts are thereafter again, placed under cup or pouch and at a later position of the turret 14, the projecting end of the pouch is folded to closed position and thereafter pushed out of its hollow mandril in a finished state, to be then stamped or otherwise sealed, as desiredf-these several operations occurring successive-1y and in regular sequence during the intermittent motion of the turrets.

\Ve have notillustrated herein the mechanism for pushing the separate groups of cigarettes into the cigarette pockets, nor have we illustrated the mechanism for forming the cups or pouches and for closing them, as these mechanisms are all well known in the art and do not constitutea part of our present invention, the latter residing primarily in the application to such a known cigarette packaging machine of a means for so compressing the groups of cigarettes to be packed and associating with each group a humidifyingim sert, such as herein described, so that each group of cigarettes wrapped or packaged by the machine will have incorporated in the sealed orclosed package, a humidifying insert which will raise the moisture content of the tobacco in the packaged cigarettes,'-all as more clearly described in the before mentioned application for patent of Groce and Flowers.

parting from the spirit of the invention, and

it will be further obvious that the mechanism shown may be employed in' connection with the packaging of other articles besides cigarettes' and wherein it is desired to associate an insert of some kind with the packaged articles. r

What we claim is:

1. The method of packaging cigarettes with a humidor insert, which consists in seg regating a group of unwrapped cigarettes,

compressing the group, associating a humid ifyinginse'rt with said group and in direct contact with certain of the cigarettes therein, and then delivering. the said groupof cigarettes along with the insert into a prepared wrapper and closing the same, whereby the moisture from the humidifying element will be free to be taken up by the tobacco in the wrapped package.

2. The method of packaging cigarettes With a humidifying insert in the package to increase the moisture content of the tobacco in the packaged cigarettes, which consists in segregating a group of unwrapped cigarettes, associating a humidifying insert with said group and in direct contact with the cigarettes, and then pushing the said group with its insert endwise into a preformed cup or pouch package and closing thesame.

3. The method of packaging cigarettes with a humidifying insert in each} package toincrease the moisture content of the tobaccoin the package, which consists in successively advancing groups of unwrapped cigarettes to be packaged, associating a humidifying insertwith each group during such advance and before the group is wrapped, advancing a succession of formed pouch-like containers and bringing them, into register with the advancing cigarette, groups, and then assembling the said containers and groups to form filled and closed packages of cigarettes each containing a humidifying insert, whereby the moisture from the humidifier will be free to be taken up by the tobacco in the packages. i a c 4. The method of packaging cigarettes with a humidifying insert in each package to-increase the moisture content of the tobacco therein, which consists inintermittently advancing in a ,circular path successive groups of unwrapped cigarettes to be packaged, associating a humidifying insert with each group before the groups are wrapped at a predetermined point in said advancing path, simultaneously advancing successively pro-formed pouch-like containersand bringing them into register with the advancing cigarette groups, and then assembling the said containers and groups of cigarettes to form closed packages each containing cigarettes and an associated humidifying insert.

5. In a machine for packaging cigarettes,

a turret carrying a plurality of cigarette thereto and a movable closure therefor,

' relative means for" compressing the cigarettes while I in said" pockets,'and means for feeding a humidifyin-g insert through the said opening and into direct contact with the cigarettes in each pocket.

7. In a machine for packaging cigarettes, an intermittently rotating turret carrying a plurality ofpockets, each formed of two reiativel'y mo'vable walls, a movable closure pivoted to one of said walls and having a portion adaptedto enter its associated pocket, means for moving theclosureon its fpivot to open and closed positiomand means or feeding a humidifying insert intoeach pocket Whenitsclosure isin open position;

8.111 a machine for packaging cigarettes, an intermittently rotatable turret having a plurality of spaced pockets, each consisting of two-relatively movable walls. with'an opening leading intoeach pocket, a pivoted closure for said opening, meansoperated during rotation of the turret to move the closure to open position at a predetermined point, and means operating to feed; an insert into each pocket when its associated closure is in open position.

9. Ina machine for packaging cigarettes wan humidifying inserts therein to increase the moisture-content of the tobacco in the packages, an intermittently rotating turret carrying a plurality of pockets, each having y movable walls constructed to providean opening leading into the-top of'each pocket when in an upward position, an independent closure member having a portion movableinto'and out of said opening, means for feeding a humidifyin g insert" through said opening and into each pocket when t c said closureis in open osi'tion', and means for thereafter movingtlie closure to closed position. i I 3 10. In a machine-for packaging cigarettes with a humidifying'insert'in each pocket, a rotatable turret carrying a plurality'of cigarette pockets,each pockethaving an opening in a wall'thereof, a movableclosu-re for said opening, means for compressing the cigarettes in the pockets, and for relieving the compressiomfmeans for opening the closure, means for feeding an insert into thepockets when their associated closures are in open poanion, and meansfor thereafter again placing the cigarettes'in the pockets under com-v pression.

11.. In a machine for packaging groups of cigarettes, with a humidifying insert as sociated with each. group, an intermittently rotating turret carrying a'plurality of spaced cigarette pockets, each having an opening therein, a. movable closure for said opening, means for moving the closure. to open and closed position, a magazine for humidifying inserts, and'means for feeding the inserts 7 from the magazine: into each pocket when its pair ofintermittently rotating turrets, one

carrying a plurality of cigarette'pockets each with an opening in a wall thereof, and the other a luralit of pouch carrying mandrils,

means or fee ing a humidifying insert in association. with the cigarettes in each pocket and through the opening leading thereto, meansv for thereafter compressing the cigarettes andmeans for forcing the cigarettes endwise from each pocket into a pouch mandril of the other turret.

13. In a machine for packaging cigarettes with a humidifying insert in each package, an intermittently rotatable turret having at its peri 'hery a pluralityof cigarette carryingpoc ets, eachhaving an openin therein, aclosure pivoted to a wall of eac pocket, each closure having. a tail piece, a fixed cam arranged for engagement by said tail piece tomove theclosure to open position at a predeterminedpoint, and means for feeding a humidifying insert into each pocket when the closure is in open position. i l

1 4; In a machine forxpackaging cigarettes witha humidifying insert in each package, a rotatable turrethaving a plurality of ci arette-carrying pockets at its peripherywit an opening-leading into each pocket, a hOOk? shaped closure pivoted to a wall of each pocket, meansifor'normally holding the closure-in closed position, a cam for moving the sition, means for opening the closure at a predetermined point in the travel path of the turret, means for compressing cigarettes in each pocket during a: portionof the travel path of the turret, means for relieving the compression at the point where the inserts are fed into each pocket, and means for thereafter again placing the cigarettes under compression.

16. In a machine for packaging ci arettes with humid-ifying inserts in each pac age, a plurality of pockets each adapted tocarry a group of cigarettes, eachpocket having an opening through a wall thereof, a closure for said wall,means for opening and closing the closure,: means for moving the cigarette pockets through an endless path, and means for depositing a humidifying insert into each pocket When the closure is in its open position.

17. In a machine for packaging cigarettes with a humidifying insert in each package, an intermittently rotating turret, a plurality of pockets carried by said turret, each pocket having an opening in a Wall thereof, a closure associated with each pocket for opening and closing said opening, means for moving the closure to open position, a magazine for the inserts, means for delivering the inserts from the magazine into the cigarette pockets when the closure member is in open position, and means for thereafter moving the closure to closed position.

Signed at Richmond, in the county of Henrico and State of Virginia this 20th day of July, A. D. 1931.

FITZHUGH EARLY SCOTT. LAWRENCE R. BRYANT.

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